teacherkim

They just mean you can essentially cancel your membership easily and start it back up, which you can do anyway with some restrictions. Only people really getting a break are new members less than a year. People paying off the regular passes will get a pause but still owe the same amount in the end. Yes, some will cancel their memberships but in my experience most won't go through the hassle. Look guys I think I am out of this argument. We can go back and forth all you want but we are just throwing effort after foolishness. You aren't in the Six Flags front office (at least I don't think you are, lol) and neither am I, we have both stated our opinions. You are pretty bent on predicting disaster and I am pretty sure it will all be alright in the end. Honestly, it will probably end up somewhere in the middle of what you and I think.

That for payment plans on the regular season pass. If you are paying a set amount off in installments. The membership fees are still ongoing, they are perpetual unless you cancel your membership which you cannot do until a year has gone by. So what you are talking about it is a set amount of money that they will still get, just delayed; but the same amount, not a loss.

Although it will be interesting to see which parks make a profit and how much when the year finally comes to a close.

Yeah but their costs are not the same as a normal operating day. None of the seasonal workers are being paid (Universal and Disney being the exceptions at the moment) less security is needed, utility bills will be down, purchasing stock for the stores and food, possibly insurance although I'm not sure how that works, etc. Let's say just for arguments sake my home park opens June 1, at that point they have only missed out on about 35 or 40 days at fairly short hours (most of those days would be 10:30-6 or 7) June 15 then add another 13 days without the expenses mentioned above. If a park wasn't scheduled to open til May 1 or Memorial Day weekend originally it will be even less days. Not to mention all of the memberships and season passes with money still coming in. I am still paying on the CedarFair passes we bought (for the first time, thanks Kharma) and my Six Flags membership. I know there will be some compensation but they still got their money this month. I think the price changes you mentioned are certainly a possibility as a natural reaction to recoup some of the lost days but I still don't see it as an automatic loss for the year.

Come on, man, three weeks ago the unemployment rate was 3%. One tenth of the entire country lost their jobs in the last three weeks, and you have the nerve to say it's no big deal? It's a big deal....but how big a deal will depend not so much on how many lose their jobs but for how long.

I agree with Zach that this is becoming a bit redundant. The fact is we are all just making guesses. It is very hard to predict what the populace will do. In the end we will simply have to wait and see how it pans out. I do not think people will be as paranoid as some believe they will. Yes, some, but not enough to make a significant danger. The biggest aspect of this to me is how long the restrictions stay in place. The longer they do the more lives saved but the more devastating to the economy with longer lasting affects on people. NOT making a statement on one is better than the other, just being observational. I do not agree that we are past the point of no return for parks to make money on the season. While I haven't seen the books, I am pretty sure SFSTl makes as much money off of FF as they do the rest of the season combined (or close enough to make my point) Even if seasonal parks can't open until June or July they would still have potentially have 65% - 75% of their year left, depending of course on exactly how long their season is. I'm basing those dates on my local park.

What is considered high dollar is a very relative term dependent on several variables. Salary. Debt. Number of people you have to pay for. Proximity to the parks you want to visit. (does it involve hotel? flight?) Then factor in personal financial responsibility. Just because someone really can't afford things doesn't mean they won't do it anyway. I have a lot of families in the district that I teach in that cannot buy winter coats or enough food for their children but they have satellite dishes and netflix and fancy smartphones. My husband and I didn't have HBO or take vacations for the first 8 years of our marriage but we paid off the house and now we can afford theme park trips as extras on top of the yearly family vacation. But it was hard, and many people cannot or won't do it. Just saying.

That's really funny because at Coasterstock last year while standing in line at the grilled cheese stand, I started up a conversation with the married couple in front of me. They had both worked at the park as teens back in the 70's. They mentioned the parties! The movie night list on the brochure is pretty funny. As far as the current Coasterstock, I too am waiting to hear. Probably not going to be on the original date which is too bad since it is my son's birthday and as mentioned this was his present. But he's old enough to accept that it is out of our control so we will just roll with whatever they decide because there is nothing else we can do!

Aaah didn't realize you had already been, my bad, but have fun anyway. I really think we will return to some semblance of normal by then. I think people, particularly Americans can only stand being restricted for so long. Whether it's in their best interest or not it just isn't in our national character to "stay down", literally or figuratively. And don't worry about those stocks.......you gotta play the long game there.

Bert - Glad to hear you are still planning your trip. I am sure in July your first time on Fury experience will be more pleasant than mine; 45 degrees, dark and raining. Getting pelted in the face at 90 mph by cold rain takes a little of the fun out of things, lol. I agree that attendance will be fine although people may be more cautious about buying extras for a while. The parks probably will put some extra safety measures in place that will slow operations down a bit for awhile too. While the economy is obviously going to take a hit and the longer it goes on the worse it will be. The majority of people can work from home now and still get a paycheck. 6.6 million applying for unemployment is historically atrocious but that is about 6% of the work force meaning 94% at the moment theoretically are doing ok, now again that will get worse the longer it goes on. So the length of the pandemic, which nobody knows, will be crucial. Not trying to gloss over, just trying to be positive. On a different note. CoasterCon is still tentatively on. Yes, I know it is the OTHER club but this is no time for partisan politics. They have a schedule, hotels, etc but are holding off on registration til early May. Just thought those of you that didn't know might find a little hope in that. It means that while the parks have not given an opening date yet they must still think opening by mid June is a possible. It may not come to be but a little hope to go on.

Great. That thing beats me up and makes me sick now. Can't imagine riding it when I'm in my 70's. Zach, one of our favorite activities on those all day forays when we were kids was to play in the houses that were being constructed. With equipment laying around and stairs with no railings and open holes to basements and windows with nothing in them yet.......sometimes I am kind of amazed I made it to adulthood.

Uhhh, yeah, you young'uns have no idea of the dangerous crap that use to go on in daily life, lol. And no insult intended, I just mean you have no idea because you never experienced life like we did as kids. The whole idea of riding your bike away from home and not showing back up til the street lights were coming on and your parents had no contact with you and no idea where you were or what you did all day.

So great! I remember that day so well. I was 8 yrs old and my Dad had to really talk me into riding it because it just looked so big, he finally guilted me into it because he took a day off work and we went to the park without my Mom knowing! We both got in trouble too because that night neither of us could touch the dinner she made after a whole day of eating junk food and riding stuff. There was so much media buzz and I can remember the two hour long lines that summer when it opened. There was an added thrill knowing that you were riding the tallest and fastest coaster at the time, even though that title didn't last long. Fast forward 34 years to 2010 when my son was 7 and it was the first big coaster he was able to ride. Wonder if it will be around for grandkids and if anyone will be laughing at a gray haired old granny riding it?!

Didn't say it was realistic, said I was hoping...... And the peak may not come until May or it may come earlier or it may come later. I'm not sure anyone, even the experts can predict with accuracy. Afterall if it's unprecedented then there is no past experience to truly base it on. OK, I'm done whining for the night. Sigh. At least the sun has been out the last several days and the trees are budding. It's something. Again, sigh.

And training happens pretty quick in established parks. My son didn't turn 16 until after SFSTL opened for the season last year and after initial "classes" which they have already done for this year, he was trained for each ride in an hour or two before park opening for the day. The leads and trainers have been there for numerous seasons and ride maintenance and inspections can still be going on while maintaining social distancing. Besides so many parks make a ton of money on the Halloween events that I don't see them calling the whole year a wash even if they cannot open until sometime in the summer. Although I am still hoping like heck for some May openings. Even by Memorial Day would be nice. I don't think staffing will be an issue either with lots of people temporarily out of work.

This is what I received having a Diamond Elite Membership: Membership Update Park operations are suspended until mid-May, but we have a plan to make it up to you. Dear Kim: Due to the COVID-19 situation it looks like we are not going to be able to open the parks on our original schedule. To ensure the safety of our guests and Team Members, we are now looking at a mid-May opening date, or as soon as possible thereafter. We've come up with a plan to make it up to you. You are among our most important guests, and it is our intention to ensure that you receive much more than your money's worth from your Six Flags Membership. First off, we are going to give you one month of Membership for each month we are closed (rounded up to the nearest month). These months will automatically be added to the very end of your Membership. In addition to replacing the months that you lost, we're also going to give you special bonus benefits for the rest of the 2020 season. With your 2020 bonus benefits, you'll get (FREE): One Extra Skip the Ride Line Ticket Every Visit Triple Reward Points Every Visit One Golden Ticket valid any time in 2020 To top it off, we'll be hosting special events and adding free perks for you when the park re-opens. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us online, or by calling the Six Flags Membership Service Center at 817-607-6105. Thanks again for being a Member. Take care of yourselves, and we really do look forward to seeing you at the park again soon. Best regards, Mark Kupferman Vice President, Membership Six Flags

I have the highest tier membership and received an email about getting a "Golden Ticket" but I have no idea what that is, lol. Unless we get to tour the chocolate factory It also mentioned that we will get an extra skip the line pass each visit for the rest of the year and added months but that last one makes no sense since the membership is on going. The SFSTL app now has May 18 listed as the opening date for whatever that is worth, Hoping for my son's sake that they are maybe tentatively planning on getting the ride ops back in for training during the first couple weekends of May. Zach, best wishes for you that they let you in the birthing room. I certainly would not have wanted to give birth without my husband there. Hopefully, we will be through the worst of it by May. Don't lose faith in humanity yet!

That's probably the most honest of the closures. Bottom line, no one really knows if this will be another month or 6 months, so no point in stringing everyone along and have to keep changing the date. But oh God let it please be shorter rather than longer, because this sucks!!!! Even though I know it's necessary. At least here in St Louis we have finally had a few days in a row of warmer, sunnier weather. Until Wed we had almost two full weeks of rainy, dreary, cold days.

Ok thanks for the info which is neither surprising or unreasonable. Just frustrating not knowing what's going to happen. I would imagine if there is a change of date they will probably offer a refund if you cannot attend on the new date. But I hope to see you there!

And historically, these types of events tend to be remembered as the human race overcoming tragedy and being stronger and better for it. Remember how kind everyone was to each other for months after 9/11. Most holocaust survivors (NOT to say this compares to the magnitude of that event in any way) went on to live normal lives, perspectives changed, but normal lives which is amazing when you think about it. They should have all come out of that situation as severely damaged individuals bent on revenge and murder of their assailants. Most did not. My point being that while the idiots make the most noise, most people, the vast majority; will get through this just fine, be a little more grateful of what they have, and perhaps appreciate the fun and freedoms they will enjoy again a little more. OK, done being the teacher for the day, I gotta go post some lessons on Valley Forge on line and see how many 7th graders are going to actually do them And get back to wondering if there is ANY chance in hell we will still get coasterstock since that is supposed to be my son's birthday present.

I heard about the mid-May open. Crud. I wonder what that means for Coasterstock which is on my son's birthday and is supposed to be his present.

I'm across the river from Zach in the western STL burbs. I've been to two different grocery stores in 24 hours to get everything I wanted. Now I say want, not need because not every item I bought was an absolute necessity, no I wasn't hoarding, just getting specific food items to make certain recipes. So, we aren't quite as bad as what he described but it did take some effort. Both grocery stores were rationing milk and meat. Also, both were very low on fresh meat and of course out of tp and cleaning stuff. One of the stores was completely out of bread while the other had plenty. One out of carrots, one out of bananas......just weird stuff like that. There was still plenty of cheese, eggs, frozen stuff in both, supplies of those items were lower than normal but still plenty to be had. The two stores are about 4 miles apart. Now keep in mind that Zach and I are somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 miles apart on opposite sides of the Mississippi. But that is a pretty big difference in conditions for what are essentially two suburbs of the same metro area. I am about 20 miles southwest of that big Arch, and he's about 20 miles northeast. I think how this is remembered will vary immensely depending on where you are in the USA since it is such a vast country. And I wonder how much that will affect opening dates for the parks. Some areas might be able to open in a month, some might be a lot longer.

Zach, if you want to eat out get over here quick. All St Louis city and county (and St Charles, Jefferson, Franklin counties) restaurants are banned from having dine in after midnight tomorrow. Carry out only at that point. And several places have gone ahead and pulled the plug. We're going to try the grocery store later and see how that goes. No panic buying, we are just out of food. I can tell you that the liquor store was hopping at about noon today though I imagine that in the next few weeks you will have a lot more domestic calls and I also imagine there will be a whole lotta Christmas babies this year.

I bought Cedar Fair passes for the first time. Our original plans made it well worth while, now I'm not so sure. Hopefully, the summer season will be salvaged. Since we had to cancel the Texas trip the next thing on our agenda is Coasterstock in mid May. Guess all we can do now is wait and see. Frustrating.

Well I'm trying to be positive and hope they are giving dates longer than they think they need, just to be safe, and of course it will be a lot easier and a lot less likely to get you lynched by the peasants if you shorten a closure rather than have to extend it. On the other hand I was still being positive last Friday at lunch time thinking I could still get the Texas trip in There has not been an order YET in St Louis to close restaurants although several are already doing it, or going to take out only. However, all restaurants and bars in all of Illinois have been ordered to close.