coasterman7 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Apparently, a free ticket promotion at SFoG this morning at 6:00 has caused car wrecks at I-20 and 15,000 people lined up this morning at the park gates. Just read this- http://www.wsbtv.com/news/11527461/detail.html. Complete insanity. I'm very dissapointed because I had planned a week in advance to go today and now I'm stuck at home for the rest of the day. But then again, I'm not, mainly due to the fights going on over the tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LcHg5265 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 It sounds like it was a repeat of the PS3 launches, but this time, they added cars to the mix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Free give aways often bring out the worst in people. Personally, I avoid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisZer0 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Too many stupid people all in one place, its a good idea ya stayed home kid. Free stuff brings out the worst in the thug element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDumbFairy Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Thats awesome. I mean, why not just get a seasons pass? I mean, if you're close enough to drive like a maniac and get free tickets, than you must be pretty damned close anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coreyml Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 i was gonna go so i could get 4 hours of goliath goodness. A cold front went thru last night and it got down into the 30s. I woke up @ 5 and my lazy butt turned the alarm off and woke up @ 615 and heard words on that radio station like:  capacity @ 552am 10000 before 6am road rage kids walking on the interstate dont expect to move till after 9 the park just cant handle these #s this early  they were supposed to open the gate @ 530 and ert on goliath, scorcher and cyclone start at 6 then open the rest of the rides throughout the day i just woke up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I think I'd rather buy SFOG tickets at AAA for around $26 than deal with this mess to get free tickets! However, if SFOG gave a free turkey with each ticket, I might line up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersNSich Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This is probably as smart a radio promotion as "Hold your wee for a Wii" was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Didn't Knott's do this a few years ago with equally appalling results? I can only imagine what kind of crowd they attracted today and how many arrests were made in the park. Â At least it didn't turn out like Lotte Worlds promotion: Â Stampede at South Korea's Lotte World injures dozens 2006-03-27 By Robert Niles: Let's take a visit to "Irony-land" for a moment. Â More than 50,000 people gathered outside South Korean theme park Lotte World Sunday, the first day of a six-day free admission promotion at the park. The crowd rushed the gates, and the resulting stampede injured 24 people, according to the Associated Press. Â The reason for the promotion? Again, according to the AP, the park was trying to improve its image after a man fell to his death from the park's Atlantis Adventure Intamin water coaster on March 6. Â Park officials cancelled the free admission promotion after the injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noyzz Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Here's the messed up thing...My GF has a friend that works at SFOG, and he told us that the radio station "Q100" was only letting in 3,000 people for free. But on the air "Q100" was telling people that as long as you were in line between 6-9am you would get in for free. So I called "Q100" yesterday to find out? The guy on the phone told me that SFOG was lying and that everyone would get in if you were in line between those times. Sounds to me like "Q100" was the big liars in this case!!!!!!!Oh and the one guy on the station "Hoss" was challenging people to out ride him on Goliath...lmao...He has no knowledge about coasters and was being a moron about the whole thing...I hope he got his butt beat by the ladies that challenged him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisZer0 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Again, another reason "free radio" is going belly up in this country. Its one of those radio stunts that was poorly coordinated with all parties involved (SFOG,Station,Local Authorities,ect..) and is going to cost the park chain more in revenue that its gaining in publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 In all fairness I doubt Six Flags did much wrong here - someone had to pay for the event and it sounds like Six Flags got their 15K tickets paid for. I'm pretty sure that they don't just say "bring as many as you can and THEN pay us", especially since the radio station isn't a charity or anything like that. It wounds like Six Flags was doing what they could. The local authorities you talk about can only do so much. Traffic is normally pretty jammed in that area going into town during rush hour, and there's not much more you can do when people are basically parked. Plus, I don't think anyone expected it to be THIS bad because it really was a nightmare.. Â The only true "wrong" I see here is the radio station never saying there was a limit (when it should have been apparent that there had to be SOME kind of limit) and then the parents who were letting their kids walk down and across the 10 lanes of the interstate, which to me is probably what made it a mess (moreso than the sheer volume) Â oh, and I am sad I didn't go watch this awesomeness. At least some people from the AJC got pics.. http://lpe.ajc.com/gallery/view/metro/0407/sixflags/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraxleRIDAH Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 These "free park admission day" promotions could be executed and work well, if they were thought out more. Â Rather than make it a "first come first enter" kind of thing, they should have all interested parties register on a website and print their free ticket online. And when the number of free tickets runs out, then that's that -- instead of having to deal with hundreds of pissed of teens and young adults that you'd have to turn away in person at the gate. Â I mean, the promotion was announced over the air by Q-100 radio station. They could've easily told all interested parties to log onto their website (this would've also kicked up their internet visitor hits) to register for the free event. Idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willski Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Â oh, and I am sad I didn't go watch this awesomeness. At least some people from the AJC got pics.. http://lpe.ajc.com/gallery/view/metro/0407/sixflags/ Â Â lololololol pwnt. Â Â Wow, people are so lazy and cheap. Why would you waste 5 hours of your life just to save 25 bucks and get into a park for free? Plus, the lines in the park were probably 2+ hours for major rides. Â Â Idiots. I have no sympathy, hahaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
map2 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 ^Exactly, I guess people did not realize before hand that the park would be REALLY crowded with spring going on, but the worst part of the whole thing as that many peopple literally had to spend the night at the gates to secure their place. MANY people were ripped off even though they did not have to pay. I mean waiting in 2+ hours of traffic just to be turned away really sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 How can you be ripped off if you don't spend any money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazed49 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I dont think Six Flags will be doing this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loco Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 ^ lol no, but on the bright side it looks like families that were rejected headed off to the Atlanta Zoo and the zoo is actually thanking Six Flags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
map2 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 How can you be ripped off if you don't spend any money? Â Yeah, they weren't ripped off, but I guess the word I was looking for was tricked even though it was unintentional. Q100 probably did not expect as big of a turnout, so they told people to come between 6 and 9. However, since it is spring break in metro Atlanta, and when you save 50$ or so to have fun for the whole day a lot of people will come. I can only imagine the frustration and anger of the guests who came to only find that the park was closed after waiting in a long line just to get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterman7 Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Yeah, my mom said that it was a good thing that we didn't go because of all the chaos and pandemonium going on at the gate and on I-20. We have season passes and we were going to pick up my friends who also have season passes to go ride Goliath early. My family doesn't listen to Q100, so we had no clue what was going on. Then we turned on the TV to Fox 5 and saw the line to get in. I was very dissapointed because I really wanted to ride Goliath and Acrophobia, but I guess it's a good thing that we turned on the TV and saw it. Â And anyways, the people who got in who usually can't afford to go probably went hungry all day because they couldn't afford the food there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 How can you be ripped off if you don't spend any money? Â Time = money. Waiting out in the cold for hours based on some idiot DJ's lies sounds like a rip off to me. Then again, you'd have to figure that the event would be stupid crowded if some annoying radio station was pimping "free Six Flags" every 2 minutes for weeks on end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrideseeker Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Ok is free admission to a theme park really that big of a deal? If I were in the line of cars that was all backed up, I would have just forgot about it. If there were that many people going anyway it would have been way over crowded. ~Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coreyml Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Just got back from the park - goliath ert for season pass holders. Asked many, "were u here yesterday?", yup. "have fun? haha" Believe it or not, i got 0 yess and all sorts of Nos. Everytime someone said no, it was forceful. I even got a Hell no from the tram ladies. "The park was this close to a full out riot yesterday." People called into the show this morn pointing fingers everywhere and telling the Bert show that they should be fired. "The Regular Guys got fired for less." "We had no way of predicting these kinda numbers" Q100 did do a sincere apology and moved on w/ the show  looking back, all they did during the broadcast yesterday was laugh at the circumstances. Laughed @ kids walking on I20, hopping the gates, fights in the park, shutting down an entire exit = very immature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 And anyways, the people who got in who usually can't afford to go probably went hungry all day because they couldn't afford the food there. Â Considering the food quality in the park, I would assume that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 ^ Eh, I don't know. It may be somewhat overpriced, but SFOG's food selection has improved a bit over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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