slicknixon Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 First of all, before you go crying about how your small hometown SF park is in jeopardy of disappearing forever if the company does in fact go bankrupt, please consider some of the following: 1. Six Flags Inc. is a staple of bad business and in recent years has really given the theme park industry a bad image to the general public. 2. The loyal SF goer's annual season passes each year in combination with how much they charge a patron for a day at one of their parks can accumulate into a small fortune. Multiply that times a million and you've got an a$$load of cash. 3. The company doesn't know how to make good use of their money. The company has always had this policy that new rides come first, and park quality and maintainence come second which in turn takes you back to number 1. (and possible bankruptcy) 4. The disappearance of extra cost "line jumping" services. Once the company has failed, the industry will start to question the company's wrongdoings, and will discover upon simple research such as say Tripadvisor or ANYONE WHO GOES TO PARKS that flash passes and q-bots are the ways of satan and his plan to ruin the image of theme parks by pissing people off about being ripped off and having their standard admission rate raped as people continuously jack your queue time up because they have the extra entitlement of having paid more than you, which also in turn takes you back to number 1. If this happened you may see more parks with a free service such as Fastpass so that everyone is happy. 5. The good parks would probably be bought by good companies. I could definitely see SFGA and MM being bought up by companies like Parque Reunidos and in turn changing a new leaf and becoming a great park, something it may never had the chance to be as long as it was run by SF. I could imagine that one day security guards would actually have a "no tolerance" policy for bad behavior in the parks, something that most quality parks already have. Once the hoodlums and undesirables no longer find freedom in their "right outside of a big city" park, with time they could maybe disappear from the theme park world for good. 6. Most importantly, the sale of the parks to different companies could easily spark a nation-wide growth in the industry. The company who bought SFGA might make the park so successful they they decide to open another and another starting an all new park chain ten times better than the original SF chain ever was. I could go on and on. I really am hoping for the company's demise for these and many other reasons. Feel free to criticize or agree on any of the above statements but i can assure you that i stand by every word. Oh, and no more Mr. Six. What can i say i always hated that mascot with a passion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Why don't you just stop going to them then? Up there where you are from you have Hershey Park, Knoebels, Kennywood...etc. I see some of the points you are saying, but you truly cannot say you want Six Flags to fail, when no one is forcing you to go. It's your opinion, but I just think Six Flags has been trying extremely hard to improve with the customers experience and what the parks have to offer. 1. Six Flags Inc. is a staple of bad business and in recent years has really given the theme park industry a bad image to the general public. I think most general public people love the parks. I talk to tons of people and they always say how much they love the rides and the parks. 3. The company doesn't know how to make good use of their money. The company has always had this policy that new rides come first, and park quality and maintainence come second which in turn takes you back to number 1. (and possible bankruptcy) They paint new rides, add restraunts, new games, new scenery...ect. I think they are some HUGE improvements. Like I said, it's your opinion, but I think you have to see how much they have been trying to improve and give them credit for it. Have you even been to most of the Six Flags parks. Just asking, cause you cannot judge all of them by one. Some are WAY better than others... --James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 You are a little late to the Six Flags bashing party. It is now just tiring and old. Besides, don't you know that Cedar Fair is the new Six Flags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicknixon Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've been to SFGA six times, SFA eight times, and both SFNE and SFOG once so i guess you could say that I've had my fair share of Six Flags experiences. My least favorite would have to be SFA. That park is a freaking disgrace. Also, I've heard from MANY regular SFGA-goers that they have been so disappointed in operations in the last couple years that they no longer visit the park. Go to Trip Advisor or any public opinion site once and read some SF reviews and compare them with the rest of the country's park reviews and you will start to see a pattern in general opinion of the company. You are a little late to the Six Flags bashing party. It is now just tiring and old. Besides, don't you know that Cedar Fair is the new Six Flags? Sure, people have been saying they dislike some things about SF for years but now judgement day has finally come, and people are starting to wonder about the fate of the company more and more into the 2009 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacups Make Me Sick Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 First of all, before you go crying about how your small hometown SF park is in jeopardy of disappearing forever if the company does in fact go bankrupt, please consider some of the following: Wow! Quite the adversarial tone to start off a thread with. Sounds like you have quite a chip on your shoulder and with vague statements like: . Six Flags Inc. is a staple of bad business and in recent years has really given the theme park industry a bad image to the general public. You dont have a very good argument....what bad image do they project? Who said that they have such a bad image? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPmaverick Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 1. Six Flags Inc. is a staple of bad business and in recent years has really given the theme park industry a bad image to the general public. I think most general public people love the parks. I talk to tons of people and they always say how much they love the rides and the parks. Between CP and KI, I have mentioned Six Flags quite a few times and I get laughter most of the time. That's when the queue line discussion of how bad Six Flags is begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Also, with my experience of public trip advisor web sites is that they love going in and just b!ching about everything. I rarely rely or use them as a reliable reference. --James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatdan Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 4. The disappearance of extra cost "line jumping" services. Once the company has failed, the industry will start to question the company's wrongdoings, and will discover upon simple research such as say Tripadvisor or ANYONE WHO GOES TO PARKS that flash passes and q-bots are the ways of satan and his plan to ruin the image of theme parks by pissing people off about being ripped off and having their standard admission rate raped as people continuously jack your queue time up because they have the extra entitlement of having paid more than you, which also in turn takes you back to number 1. If this happened you may see more parks with a free service such as Fastpass so that everyone is happy. Considering that according to some Disney insiders that I trust, Disney did not get what they wanted out of the Fastpass program, and they are experimenting with ways to change the program so that they can upcharge for it, I would think this is not such an epic fail like you say that it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicknixon Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Look, I don't hate the company really I don't. I'm simply pointing out the possibilities of good things coming out of the company's demise. Also, sure general opinion doesn't mean everyone's opinion but I don't know many people or read any reviews for that matter that state a preference for a Six Flags park over any other chain company's parks, even Cedar Fair. I could have said: Face it Six Freaks!!! Your company is dying! HAHAHAHA But it's great to hear people defend their favorite parks. This is something I can appreciate believe me. I wish I felt the same about these parks but alas, I do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm open to your arguments, but I don't really see many supporting facts to any of your claims. I used to bash six flags like everyone else, but lately they've been doing better. Besides, in a recession like this, if every one of their parks was independently owned and operated, I think this year would see a vast number of them close. Sharing profits can be good in tough times, as the stronger parks can keep the weaker ones afloat until a better economic environment comes along. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movieguy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm personally glad that Darien Lake is no longer a SF park up here. When they brought us the Ride of Steel, we were really hoping that would have been the start for even bigger things...then SF proceeded to do NOTHING with the park. We didn't even get a new coaster until after they left us! So while I don't celebrate the apparent failure of the SF chain (I've heard good things about the other parks), my personal experiences don't exactly endear myself to the company either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 1. Six Flags Inc. is a staple of bad business and in recent years has really given the theme park industry a bad image to the general public. Not anymore... They've turned over a new leaf and are quickly becoming the CF of 2000-2005. 2. The loyal SF goer's annual season passes each year in combination with how much they charge a patron for a day at one of their parks can accumulate into a small fortune. Multiply that times a million and you've got an a$$load of cash. Its called paying off debt. 3. The company doesn't know how to make good use of their money. The company has always had this policy that new rides come first, and park quality and maintainence come second which in turn takes you back to number 1. (and possible bankruptcy) What about Bizarro? X2? Texas Giant? Hell they even upgraded Monster Plantation to Monster Mansion!! All these rides got major upgrades with new theming, trains, and a fresh coat of paint! Maintainence does come first with new management. 4. The disappearance of extra cost "line jumping" services. Once the company has failed, the industry will start to question the company's wrongdoings, and will discover upon simple research such as say Tripadvisor or ANYONE WHO GOES TO PARKS that flash passes and q-bots are the ways of satan and his plan to ruin the image of theme parks by pissing people off about being ripped off and having their standard admission rate raped as people continuously jack your queue time up because they have the extra entitlement of having paid more than you, which also in turn takes you back to number 1. If this happened you may see more parks with a free service such as Fastpass so that everyone is happy. TripAdvisor is filled with a bunch of angry people that had a bad day at the park. Flash Passes and Q-Bots are there to make the company money and to add convenience to the guest. The prices are jacked up to get fewer people to buy, but give the park money so that the system is abused. 5. The good parks would probably be bought by good companies. I could definitely see SFGA and MM being bought up by companies like Parque Reunidos and in turn changing a new leaf and becoming a great park, something it may never had the chance to be as long as it was run by SF. I could imagine that one day security guards would actually have a "no tolerance" policy for bad behavior in the parks, something that most quality parks already have. Once the hoodlums and undesirables no longer find freedom in their "right outside of a big city" park, with time they could maybe disappear from the theme park world for good. They tried selling MM already and that pretty much failed to do anything. New management has changed the parks for the better. Last time I checked, there were fewer problems with "hoodlums" at SF in recent years. On top of that, they're trying to give themselves a more family friendly image so they have to turn over a new leaf. 6. Most importantly, the sale of the parks to different companies could easily spark a nation-wide growth in the industry. The company who bought SFGA might make the park so successful they they decide to open another and another starting an all new park chain ten times better than the original SF chain ever was. They've sold off a bunch of parks and even tried to sell MM and yet, we still don't really see much growth in amusement parks at all. On top of that, which major chain will purchase the park in the first place? With everyone trying to sell off their parks, I don't see this happening anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Also, I've heard from MANY regular SFGA-goers that they have been so disappointed in operations in the last couple years that they no longer visit the park. As much as I hate a lot of the changes at Great Adventure, like the locker policy and removal of so many rides and I have always hated flashpass but the 1 thing that is better is operations. Last season and this season operations are the best they have been in years. Nitro is almost always running 3 trains, same with Medusa/Bizarro (as of last year), Scream Machine, Batman, Skull Mountain always are running 2 trains (Scream Machine sometimes runs 3). Superman usually runs 2 trains as well. With the exception of Rolling Thunder, dispatches are very fast. Nitro can have a line into the switchbacks and be under a 30 minute wait where the wait time sign says 90 minutes even though those signs are always an overestimate. Batman barely stacks for more than a few seconds, same with Scream Machine. Not to mention the employees are a lot nicer this year. At the entrances being told by them to enjoy the ride or at the unloading/exit area asking how the ride was or asking how my day has been, what rides I have been on etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicknixon Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 They've sold off a bunch of parks and even tried to sell MM and yet, we still don't really see much growth in amusement parks at all. On top of that, which major chain will purchase the park in the first place? With everyone trying to sell off their parks, I don't see this happening anytime soon. I suppose i was suggesting that the good parks with high attendance would probably be bought up by a good company and would be pulling in money from the success of the park as a SF park. Also we're talking about quite a few parks here. With any improvements from new ownership, any former-SF park could generate even higher attendance and make even more money than before and then have the money to buy another or even build a new park and start a new chain creating more competition for other companies and forcing more money to be overall focused on spending for the parks and not focused on general income for the company. This could ultimately spark a growth in the industry as higher standards are set, and more patrons find more reasons that they like returning to these parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 1. The major parks are already pulling in guests and making revenue. 2. In this economy, which "good" chains would buy the parks. This seems very unlikely. 3. Again, in the current state of the economy, I don't really see many new parks being built. And on top of that, the newest theme parks have fallen flat on their faces. On top of that, it would be extremely difficult to compete with already established parks. There would have to be something to draw people from the old, established parks to the new one. 4. Considering the fact that we haven't had a park building boom since the 70s, and add the fact that most major metropolitan areas are served by a park already, this would be very difficult to do. Refer to number 3. SF is both focusing on the parks through ride upgrades and maintainence as well as focusing on bringing the chain out of debt through trying to attract a larger audience (families). The idea sounds good, but it seems kinda ambitious to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatdan Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I suppose i was suggesting that the good parks with high attendance would probably be bought up by a good company and would be pulling in money from the success of the park as a SF park. Also we're talking about quite a few parks here. With any improvements from new ownership, any former-SF park could generate even higher attendance and make even more money than before and then have the money to buy another or even build a new park and start a new chain creating more competition for other companies and forcing more money to be overall focused on spending for the parks and not focused on general income for the company. This could ultimately spark a growth in the industry as higher standards are set, and more patrons find more reasons that they like returning to these parks. Whoa! You sound just like Gary Story, circa 1999! Neat trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froggypheebs Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 As much as I hate a lot of the changes at Great Adventure, like the locker policy and removal of so many rides and I have always hated flashpass but the 1 thing that is better is operations. I have to agree with this 100%. The operations have been remarkably good lately. I also can't stand the changes but can get around them. I avoid dealing with the lockers by not bringing anything extra to the park and I never get flashpass since I will only go here in May/September. But the one thing that drives me crazy is the ride removals. Especially since SF is going toward a more "family-friendly" approach. I just don't get that as GAdv at all. This unbalance is the one thing that keeps me from visiting multiple times a year even though it is pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Between CP and KI, I have mentioned Six Flags quite a few times and I get laughter most of the time. That's when the queue line discussion of how bad Six Flags is begins. That's where you made your mistake. Don't you know that no park is worthy outside the state of Ohio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm sorry guys. I think while the thread as a discussion point had merit. The comments and they way they are presented just come off as being negative for the sake of being negative, including the topic title. Come up with a more constructive way to present your point next time. --Robb "Thread Closed." Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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