coasternut Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 ^^ Think if they held off on building Yolocoaster for another two or three years and focused on smaller investments and necessary improvements. I think that Yolocoaster would have a larger, more expansive layout and not be short and (dare I say) gimmicky. Unfortunately, they've pretty much scared off many families and are going to have to really try hard if they want to win them back in the future. While I do not know much about the Jay Thomas era, from what I heard he was a great GM and knew what the park needed. Who is the new guy anyway? The" new guy" is a woman - The Ice Queen aka Bonnie Rabjon. I may have spelled her name incorrectly, but the got the "Ice Queen" correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azza29 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 What has been killing it in the local market have been the dark rides like RSR and Transformers. If they could tap into part of that trend, I think it would help overall. Possibly, but SFMM don't have the sort of capital Universal and Disney are able to put into their dark rides. I mean, RSR cost $200m and Transformers was $100m against Yolocoaster's $6m. So the park will have to find other ways to bring in the crowds. If I was running the park the first thing I'd do is improve the operations. I'd add a staff member to the more popular coasters to assign rows and maximise capacity (as is the current practice on GL and X2). On my last visit it wasn't uncommon to see 6-8 empty seats on some trains simply because some rows only had 1 or 2 riders. Extrapolate that across an hour (assuming one train dispatches every 2 minutes) and you could potentially get another 200-250 people on the ride, which would have a huge impact on wait times. Cost would be minimal, and it would actually make Flash passes more valuable since you wouldn't end up with 30 minute station waits after skipping the queue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singemfrc Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^ Along the same lines (no pun intended) add some single rider lines, or worst case if there is no room for a SR line, have an operator call for single riders when possible. I really think you can get an SR line on just about anything if you want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I just can't imagine SFMM getting a dark ride that wasn't done on the cheap. Even the Terminator theming was so-so but crapped out a few months in. SFMM doesn't need to compete with Universal or Disney. Their strength is big and gimmicky coasters...as long as they get their season pass sales every year they're fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire2box Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^^ Think if they held off on building Yolocoaster for another two or three years and focused on smaller investments and necessary improvements. I think that Yolocoaster would have a larger, more expansive layout and not be short and (dare I say) gimmicky. Unfortunately, they've pretty much scared off many families and are going to have to really try hard if they want to win them back in the future. While I do not know much about the Jay Thomas era, from what I heard he was a great GM and knew what the park needed. Who is the new guy anyway? The" new guy" is a woman - The Ice Queen aka Bonnie Rabjon. I may have spelled her name incorrectly, but the got the "Ice Queen" correct. When I finally used my VIP tour my party and our guide were walking to ride Scream first. I asked the guide if the park manager was there (out of curiosity) and shes like "Oh we just passed her." I just found it weird she wouldn't at least say hi to the two VIP groups that were there. (saw a second VIP group going on Batman.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I just can't imagine SFMM getting a dark ride that wasn't done on the cheap. Even the Terminator theming was so-so but crapped out a few months in.SFMM doesn't need to compete with Universal or Disney. Their strength is big and gimmicky coasters...as long as they get their season pass sales every year they're fine. Since this thread has turned into Magic Mountain needs a dark ride... How about something like Justice League Alien Invasion? Cost a reported 9 Million Australian according to Sally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Just an FYI: having worked in this industry my entire adult life, I can tell you that most high ups are similar to the "ice queen." They walk the park, are friendly to guests who approach them, but are all business otherwise. It's just the way it is. They have so much to do behind the scenes, their walks in the parks are usually kept on a tight schedule. Jay Thomas put on a fantastic show, but didn't do enough behind the scenes to keep his job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Thrill Dragster Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^Wasn't Jay Thomas promoted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voxelmatic Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Quick question here, does Magic Mountain still use the Q-Bots for the Flash Pass, or have they switched to the wristbands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^Wasn't Jay Thomas promoted? Technically, yes. He got moved to the corporate office first as "director of project management office" and currently serves as "corporate VP of information systems." However, it is probably not a coincidence those jobs are "behind the scenes" jobs as opposed to something higher up in the operations side of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternut Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^^ Think if they held off on building Yolocoaster for another two or three years and focused on smaller investments and necessary improvements. I think that Yolocoaster would have a larger, more expansive layout and not be short and (dare I say) gimmicky. Unfortunately, they've pretty much scared off many families and are going to have to really try hard if they want to win them back in the future. While I do not know much about the Jay Thomas era, from what I heard he was a great GM and knew what the park needed. Who is the new guy anyway? The" new guy" is a woman - The Ice Queen aka Bonnie Rabjon. I may have spelled her name incorrectly, but the got the "Ice Queen" correct. When I finally used my VIP tour my party and our guide were walking to ride Scream first. I asked the guide if the park manager was there (out of curiosity) and shes like "Oh we just passed her." I just found it weird she wouldn't at least say hi to the two VIP groups that were there. (saw a second VIP group going on Batman.) This is exactly why I call her the "ICE QUEEN." She doesn't speak with guests, and for that manner any male employees. Not a good attitude for being in the "people business." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternut Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^Wasn't Jay Thomas promoted? Technically, yes. He got moved to the corporate office first as "director of project management office" and currently serves as "corporate VP of information systems." However, it is probably not a coincidence those jobs are "behind the scenes" jobs as opposed to something higher up in the operations side of things. Thanks for the update on Jay. I've always been a big fan! That's a shame they're not using his "people skills" at corporate. That's a big mistake! I'm glad at least he's still at 6 Flags. Just a great guy, based on all my experiences / observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternut Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 My last comment on Jay. The employee attitudes are mirrors of management. During Jay's reign, I found the staff to be the best since I've been coming to the Mountain. Now, they're like Bonnie's - aka Ice Queen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Just an FYI: having worked in this industry my entire adult life, I can tell you that most high ups are similar to the "ice queen." They walk the park, are friendly to guests who approach them, but are all business otherwise. It's just the way it is. They have so much to do behind the scenes, their walks in the parks are usually kept on a tight schedule. Jay Thomas put on a fantastic show, but didn't do enough behind the scenes to keep his job. I would have expected that he was all business, despite his friendly attitude. You don't run a multi million dollar business without being all business. As much as we may wish that it was, running a park is not like a real life version of RCT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singemfrc Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Quick question here, does Magic Mountain still use the Q-Bots for the Flash Pass, or have they switched to the wristbands?Q-Bots, but there is an additional wristband for platinum flash pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 This is exactly why I call her the "ICE QUEEN." She doesn't speak with guests, and for that manner any male employees. Not a good attitude for being in the "people business." Unless you're watching her everyday, you can't really make statements like this..I think we all understand she's not that personable but not talking to "any male employees"? Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I've spoken with Bonnie quite a few times both at press events and just around the park. I find her to actually be a very nice person. Perhaps not as outgoing as Jay but she get's a bad wrap IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^ Thank you...you'd think from some of the comments on here she was one step away from a morlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^ Sounds like a photoshop contest in the making Wes!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberBeavis Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I think most of the 'Ice Queen' comments are from guys who are awkward around women in general. She's not super outgoing, but she's an intelligent, hard working person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I've never met Bonnie, but in her defense how many people ever stopped and chatted with Del Holland around the park? I think in all my years of going there I saw him once just wandering the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Alumni Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Any update on Full Throttle? Has anyone been to the park lately? With the big media day tomorrow, I was wondering how the area and the ride was looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I've seen a couple of pics floating around. It actually is looking better than I thought it would. But I haven't been to the park. I'm SO looking forward to not having to go to SFMM after tomorrow for a few months. We'll be doing our SFHH days and that's it until Fright Fest stuff starts showing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 My last comment on Jay. The employee attitudes are mirrors of management. During Jay's reign, I found the staff to be the best since I've been coming to the Mountain. Now, they're like Bonnie's - aka Ice Queen. I disagree. At first, things improved. Then it went back to the same as it always was. That's because line employees attitudes are much more a reflection of their direct management team---something the GM has no part in hiring (save for the head of the department). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 ^ Exactly. My company had a crappy CEO for YEARS but it didn't impact my job one bit. It impacted my stock, but it didn't impact me and what I do on a daily basis. Even decisions that my bosses boss makes don't really impact me on a day-to-day basis. Not sure why people think SFMM is different than any other company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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