thisdougsforu

An interview with CEO of Enchanted Parks was posted via the Coaster101 podcast and I think it's a must listen for anyone who regularly posts in this thread. https://www.coaster101.com/podcast/ I appreciate his candidness in the answers. The immediate focus isn't on new attractions but on getting the operations up to snuff, as nothing else matters without that.

Hearing the "crown jewel" talk is surprising to a degree, but also not surprising as well. The bones of the park and setting seem good enough to where someone with an actual plan could probably make a good amount of money with it. SFSL is like an earlier game (and therefore easier) roller coaster tycoon level that's fun to play where you inherit a park that already has some good attractions and fun terrain as well as some decent space to add-on, but isn't attracting new visitors. Your task is to improve the overall guest happiness by improving the theming/decor and adding a marquee roller coaster or two. And much like roller coaster tycoon or some other theme park game, there's probably very much a time limit involved for the new company to accomplish said goals here! If nothing else, I am so happy that this park is no longer under the thumb of the horrible previous ownership. What a dumpster fire of an org that turned out to be. In regards to the money people being based in KC and therefore it doesn't matter because the actual park management is based in Florida, yeah that's probably not totally true going by real world experience. You WANT the bean counters to be able to take their kids to a park(s) they are helping finance, even if they technically aren't "involved" in that side of the business!

Same. We are entering an incredibly interesting time in the park's history, which is more than could be said if things kept on as normal with the previous (horrendous) owners/management. The deal for all 7 parks was for $342 million according to Screamscape. One would sure assume that the new ownership group did not make this purchase unless they thought there was money to be made, so I think that bodes well for at least the immediate future. Probably not the long term future if things sputter, but yeah, I'd much rather roll the dice and MAYBE have chance of legit seeing improvement. I'm hoping they do not continue with any sort of agreement for the DC/WB licensing and instead do what they can to rebrand/rename and hopefully have some sort of semblance of actual theming in the park, even if it's somewhat rudimentary. I hope this park is successful. I think the opportunity is very much there if these folks come at with an actual solid plan and the budget to see it through, whatever that may be. If they can present a solid vision for what it will be, I'll happily buy passes for my entire family again and be ready to spend time and money there. If it eventually goes the way of another McBride homes subdivision, well I hope the next few years are fun, at least!

Well, the announcement just happened. Both companies put out PR's. 2026 will happen as originally planned, but the true split happens in 2027. I'd of liked to see Enchanted Parks have more of a "here's the plan" kind of release, but I suppose it makes more sense to do those later this year.

Six Flags/Cedar Fair seems INCREDIBLY mismanaged so being sold off to another amusement company is a roll of the dice I will happily take. I hope when this deal is actually announced, there is some kind of legit plan announced with it versus just stupid corporate speak of "we are taking over a legacy, we want to see growth, create family value, blah blah blah". I want to see some kind of actual, demonstrable vision for what they are wanting to do with it. As Zach alluded to, if this is to be a family park- great, give me the plan. If it's to be a thrill park, ok cool, let's hear it. If it's just gonna be what it is now (minus the licensed properties), no thanks. May as well get the dozers ready.

I would guess this week we are going to find out a significant amount more as now the media is getting behind the story. It definitely appears to be true. Even Six Flags official statement on the matter wasn't even a denial. They said they didn't comment on rumors but then said "we have been actively reviewing our park portfolio and are committed to making decisions that strengthen the company and position us for profitable growth". Yeah. This park is being sold, barring something with the deal falling through. At this point, with the dumpster fire that is the combined Six Flags/Cedar Fair group, I'm going to view it as a positive. It's better than being closed down and sold to some real estate developer! Once more info comes out, i'll be interesting to see who is actually behind this new company.

The Boss is a gigantic piece of shit. I thought about adding more context to this post but I think a simpler statement is better.

Funny reading the Tsunami Soaker talk....I've never seen it operate. That's not hyperbole....I am legit serious that I have never seen it running in all the years I've visited the park. It's basically a piece of (faded) scenery to me. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Cedar Fair does with this park. I'd assume that it will probably be around 2-3 years for the merger to start really being felt, both positive or negative.

Good on them for bringing back the classic name. It brings about nostalgia for many folks (I've seen friends of mine reposting the six flags post, and they aren't "theme park" people per se).

I appreciate you coming on here to post whatever news you can give. You don't come off as an official anything, just someone with some knowledge sharing info.

Yep. At a park like this, simply being consistent with bringing to light the work that does go on to keep things running would be huge. And when you have a park president doing that kind of thing, it also amplifies the message. Take the infamous carousel- lots of opportunity to at least show off the theoretical hand done work on it. Stuff like that goes a long way.

The "kids these days are lazy" is such a nonsensical thing and it's nice to see it de-bunked here. That kind of talk is the excuse of a poorly run company. The whole "Six Flags is understaffed" seems like a relatively simple thing to me to diagnose. Maybe not fix, but diagnose. The company pays horrible and is horrible to work for. It's that simple. Also yeah, being out in Eureka does somewhat make it harder to find kids than say, somewhere in St. Louis county, so we can add bad location to to those other two, but I think that's a bit of a lesser thing. A company operating a theme park can probably get away with paying crap to bottom rung employees moreso than others because, at least in theory, it's a fun job that has cool perks.....if it treats its employees well. Six Flags, as noted in the example posted by Kim above, does not. I don't know what kind of culture Cedar Fair has at their company, but I'm hoping at the very least it's an improvement over Six Flags. That alone would help improve park operations here, though that kind of thing takes usually a couple years. Given how seasonal a theme park is though, if the right people are put in place in management a turn around on that front can be probably happen quicker than other types of businesses.

I always figured an RMC Boss was the absolute best case scenario for this park. That was until this merger/acquisition was announced though! I trust that Cedar Fair will probably decide that in order to make more money at this park it's best to invest in attractions and experiences that make people want to actually buy tickets and spend more money at the park. Or sell it off. I don't see a sell off happening here though. Too much good shit to work with. But yeah, it'll either be improved or sold. Better for one or the other to happen, IMO. I feel like this whole deal ends the days of perpetual "just gettin' by" that this park has operated under as long as I've personally been visiting it. Or at least finally numbers the days where it's like that.

There's a lot one could discuss with this merger and in general I find these kinds of things to be terrible.....but looking at this strictly from the SFSL perspective, I see this as probably the most positive news ever for this park, at least in the last couple decades. It'll either be improved or sold off. I'd expect the former, especially given this isn't one of the markets where CF/SF are competing against each other. The PR makes it sound like they are going to goose the SF parks with attractions, but even if they don't hopefully things will FINALLY improve operationally here.

We refrained from visiting this year. There were a few weekends where we talked about going to Fright fest, but figured the experience would ultimately be a crappy one so we'd wait it out. Sounds like the right decision was made. I really don't have much to add here that hasn't been said as of late, but I'll pile on. My family of 5 (late 30's, 3 kids) won't be spending our money at SFSL until things change. We took road trips this year to other parks and plan to do that next year as well. Despite being a bit pricier, WAY more value for the dollar. The kiddie coaster was a VERY smart addition. I think the disc ride is as well. But I feel fairly confident that despite those things being added, it will not be a good time at the park due to the standard stuff that we always talk about here. Understaffed, dirty, attractions down, etc. All of those things I just mentioned are indications of crappy companies, albeit non-amusement companies have different but similar comparisons. As we've all discussed here plenty, SFSL has a great set of bones. I used to think it was a headlining coaster away from being a really good park. I've changed my opinion on that some- the park needs a good headlining coaster AND the general park experience to be better- and that means various things mentioned earlier being fixed. I think a new big time coaster would get a ton of new people in the door but if the experience they have is similar to how it's gone for many the last few years in regards to the rest of the park, it would be a simple one and done. I hope the park can get it together. It would be nice to eventually look forward to visiting it again, and on the reg.

This is awesome. A new family woodie is a great thing!

The social media comments are hilarious to read as some people are saying they just re-painted xcalibur or this ride is a copy of xcalibur

It's very bizarre how the park is handling it. Not pulling it down OR acknowledging it is so weird. Thanks for the answer on the SFOT and they did. I'd guess this will replace Joker Inc. and Axis Chemicals will get a redressing or something. I'm hoping that when the announcement comes, you'll be able to see the location from the rendering.

Honest answer? No idea. I don't really pay attention to that park. Did they get rid of the old one?

If it is going to be a flat, this would be one of the best to get. I'm going to guess with the apparent size needs as posted, it goes in the Tidal Wave area. That back area of the park needs something pretty bad. Yeah, something bigger would be nice for that plot, but this is probably as good as it gets for that area realistically. Really curious what they do with the ship, though. You'd think at the very least they have to change the name, right?

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I'd assume given the park president interview saying something about a package, that it will be similar to the Fiesta Texas announcement.

SFSL posted a big pass sale with a pic of the Boss and saying they are making a BIG announcement next week for 2024. One would think if it was indeed an RMC announcement for 2024, they'd probably announce closure of the Boss first or the Boss would already be closed? Not sure how that works exactly. Seeing the comments on their social media and how folks are taking it to mean it is an RMC Boss announcement, it's going to be funny if it's a flat or something like new Boss trains.

It's probably reasonable to assume this plan is always kind of there being floated around by staffers. All the previous rumors of it, including the one where it was on the books before covid killed the plan and caused stuff to go into disarray. I mean, why wouldn't a manager want a (probable) killer attraction like that? Getting it approved or actually doing it is a different story though. I don't think the video (or what was allegedly said off-camera) is any kind of news. I think pretty much everyone WANTS it to be done. Right now the park can't seem to finish a pre-made kiddie coaster (or the infamous carousel). I dunno. At some point it probably will happen though, as something will have to be done about the Boss. I'll be surprised and excited when it does happen some year, but not totally surprised either I suppose just because there has been smoke about it for what, a decade at this point? In going with what he says about a new ride announcement, I'm curious what flat it will be. Lots of areas for it now, what with all the removals. I'd guess probably where xcalibur was, though what it would be I have not a clue.

It sounds like with the budget for this, they are going Disney-level for theming/effects which should be really cool!