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Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread


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Now you'll find out how the folks in Maryland have felt for years seeing their park get passed up year after year for a new coaster let alone new ride so I say get used to it.

 

At least your major coaster didn't get snatched out to go to another park so the company can continue to spoil their major parks even when they can't afford it...of course I could be speaking too soon...

 

Why do you take it so personally? It's been pretty well established that SFGAm is one of the most profitable parks in the chain, do you really want Six Flags Inc (with all their money problems) spending money on a park that just doesn't need it? Splash Battle for 2009 was a fantastic addition, and likely cost substantially less than a coaster, and appeals to really wide range of people (a true family ride .. young, old, everyone enjoys it). You can't even complain about capacity since it is approaching Raging Bull in terms of number of people per hour.

 

Sure I'd love some infinite-looping new coaster too, but it's just not realistic; and it's certainly not something to take personally. Do you really think that Shapiro is sitting in his office saying "Bah, screw those Jag-Offs in Chicago, I hope they rot. NO COASTER FOR YOU!"??

 

Cameron.

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^^You make some valid points, but this is a borderline contradictory to the claim I made about 8-10 pages ago when everyone decided that major investments would yield better returns if they were made in parks that could use the boost in attendance...

 

The park isn't making as much money as it should, and needs a new ride to boost attendance, or needs more to compete with other parks. That's how you could justify it. It's just like Kings Dominion getting a Giga Coaster, while Cedar Point is getting a water ride doesn't mean KD is Cedar Fair's most profitable park.

 

You have to spend money to make money.

 

Sorry, but SFGAm has SFMM beat in profits. It's been that way for years, and has been reported as such.

 

Like I said, I'd much rather see alot of the Marriott theming get a nice new refresh, and HH get an addition. A ton of the buildings are showing way too much peeling and faded paint. Paint is a cheap, and cost effective way to make an improvement.

How else can you justify corporate spending the most in capital improvements on a park that doesn't make the most money?

Easy

1) They have a bunch of parks to compete with. Within 150 miles you have Disney, Legoland, Knotts, Sea World and Universal. Thus the park has to convince people to go to their park over the other major theme parks.

 

2) The park is still trying to recover from the bad press over the years. This includes gangs, the park closing rumor and other not PR friendly items. Things of this nature stick in people's heads for years if not decades.

 

3)They are trying to compete with a park on the other side of the country for who has the most roller coasters. This one is due to a stupid PR/marketing department and the male ego.

 

 

SF Great America is a park next to the 3rd largest city. The only other parks within 4 hours(driving the speed limit) of the city are Kiddieland (which closes a week from Sunday) and Indiana Beach (which is in the middle of nowhere) and some family fun centers. The park really does have a license to print money if done right.

 

So either my original claim was wrong (which most agreed was wrong) or the claim I'm making now is wrong. Either the park is getting spoiled with this ride, or it should go somewhere else in the chain where the numbers aren't as strong as GrAm's. Nothing "personal"... I just thing that for a park that has been underperforming for years should see growth, not swapping out rides. And if you MUST do so, this ride should go somewhere were the attendance and profit aren't as high, say St. Louis or Maryland, two parks that also have local competitors...

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So either my original claim was wrong (which most agreed was wrong) or the claim I'm making now is wrong. Either the park is getting spoiled with this ride, or it should go somewhere else in the chain where the numbers aren't as strong as GrAm's. Nothing "personal"... I just thing that for a park that has been underperforming for years should see growth, not swapping out rides. And if you MUST do so, this ride should go somewhere were the attendance and profit aren't as high, say St. Louis or Maryland, two parks that also have local competitors

 

Are we really going to start saying that a great new ride we got should go somewhere else? Would you like to send Raging Bull to SFSTL? I know you're saying that other parks may have needed more but each new park is getting a major attraction in 2011. They could get something ten times greater than Buccaner Battle.

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So either my original claim was wrong (which most agreed was wrong) or the claim I'm making now is wrong. Either the park is getting spoiled with this ride, or it should go somewhere else in the chain where the numbers aren't as strong as GrAm's. Nothing "personal"... I just thing that for a park that has been underperforming for years should see growth, not swapping out rides. And if you MUST do so, this ride should go somewhere were the attendance and profit aren't as high, say St. Louis or Maryland, two parks that also have local competitors...

 

Even though Great America is the closest Six Flags to my home, I agree. There are a lot more parks in the chain that would need this ride more than Great America.

 

However, I think it was smart to move Chang from Kentucky Kingdom. I know it sucks for the people there, but the fact is that when you have a water park that's booming and a dry park that's tanking, you should focus on your strengths. There's a point when the dry park's attendance is so low, any additions to it wouldn't be worth it.

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So either my original claim was wrong (which most agreed was wrong) or the claim I'm making now is wrong. Either the park is getting spoiled with this ride, or it should go somewhere else in the chain where the numbers aren't as strong as GrAm's. Nothing "personal"... I just thing that for a park that has been underperforming for years should see growth, not swapping out rides. And if you MUST do so, this ride should go somewhere were the attendance and profit aren't as high, say St. Louis or Maryland, two parks that also have local competitors...

 

Even though Great America is the closest Six Flags to my home, I agree. There are a lot more parks in the chain that would need this ride more than Great America.

 

However, I think it was smart to move Chang from Kentucky Kingdom. I know it sucks for the people there, but the fact is that when you have a water park that's booming and a dry park that's tanking, you should focus on your strengths. There's a point when the dry park's attendance is so low, any additions to it wouldn't be worth it.

 

And why is the dry park tanking? It's because SFI hasn't put any new rides in it for years....it's just for this reason that I stopped going to SFA after the 2007 season when they finally announce a new ride for 2008 that turned out to be yet ANOTHER mundane waterslide.

 

GL suffered this same fate & while folks blame CF for it's demise it was SFI who started the ball rolling in 2002 when,following the addition of x-flight no further cap ex improvements were made to the park because they went on a "let's give all the rides to SFMM,SFGRADV & SFGRAM & the rest get nothing" kick....a kick that continues unabated to this day.

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So either my original claim was wrong (which most agreed was wrong) or the claim I'm making now is wrong. Either the park is getting spoiled with this ride, or it should go somewhere else in the chain where the numbers aren't as strong as GrAm's. Nothing "personal"... I just thing that for a park that has been underperforming for years should see growth, not swapping out rides. And if you MUST do so, this ride should go somewhere were the attendance and profit aren't as high, say St. Louis or Maryland, two parks that also have local competitors...

 

Even though Great America is the closest Six Flags to my home, I agree. There are a lot more parks in the chain that would need this ride more than Great America.

 

However, I think it was smart to move Chang from Kentucky Kingdom. I know it sucks for the people there, but the fact is that when you have a water park that's booming and a dry park that's tanking, you should focus on your strengths. There's a point when the dry park's attendance is so low, any additions to it wouldn't be worth it.

 

And why is the dry park tanking? It's because SFI hasn't put any new rides in it for years....it's just for this reason that I stopped going to SFA after the 2007 season when they finally announce a new ride for 2008 that turned out to be yet ANOTHER mundane waterslide.

 

GL suffered this same fate & while folks blame CF for it's demise it was SFI who started the ball rolling in 2002 when,following the addition of x-flight no further cap ex improvements were made to the park because they went on a "let's give all the rides to SFMM,SFGRADV & SFGRAM & the rest get nothing" kick....a kick that continues unabated to this day.

 

I'm not trying to say it's not Six Flags' fault for screwing it up in the first place. I'm saying that now that they've messed it all up, they're making the smart choice and not pumping millions of dollars into a black hole.

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Looks like I've opened quite the pandora's box. I think my original (second) point was mis interpreted. I honestly don't care where this coaster goes, I originally wanted to point out that the poster who felt that SFA was neglected, it could be worse. Every subsequet post was intended to back THAT claim and THAT claim alone. Maybe using three-week-old posts were not the best course of action to achieve that, but I still think that SFKK gets the shortest straw in the chain, and that GrAm will NEVER go through the same dry spells as Maryland and Louisville have. Sorry for all the commotion folks.

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And why is the dry park tanking? It's because SFI hasn't put any new rides in it for years....it's just for this reason that I stopped going to SFA after the 2007 season when they finally announce a new ride for 2008 that turned out to be yet ANOTHER mundane waterslide.

 

GL suffered this same fate & while folks blame CF for it's demise it was SFI who started the ball rolling in 2002 when,following the addition of x-flight no further cap ex improvements were made to the park because they went on a "let's give all the rides to SFMM,SFGRADV & SFGRAM & the rest get nothing" kick....a kick that continues unabated to this day.

 

What makes you think more people go to SFA just for the coasters. So why is SF constantly adding new rides to the water park and ignoring the dry side? Perhaps its because the water park is SFA's main draw over the dry side. Water parks draw families, which is what Six Flags wants right now. The 2009 brochure has a whole section devoted to the water park and a small section devoted to the coasters.

 

Its been stated before that the parks that can pay off bigger investments will get the bigger rides/expansions. Six Flags doesn't think SFA can pay off a shiny new gigantic coaster so they add waterslides instead.

 

On top of that, SFA is getting a Thomas Town in the future, which means that possible new ride additions/ride upgrades are possibly in the works in the future.

 

Honestly, I feel that SFGAm probably won't be getting Chang because of the fact that they already have a B&M stand-up, but it will probably go to either SFGAdv, or one of the smaller parks that hasn't gotten a major addition/upgrade in recent years.

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And why is the dry park tanking? It's because SFI hasn't put any new rides in it for years....it's just for this reason that I stopped going to SFA after the 2007 season when they finally announce a new ride for 2008 that turned out to be yet ANOTHER mundane waterslide.

 

GL suffered this same fate & while folks blame CF for it's demise it was SFI who started the ball rolling in 2002 when,following the addition of x-flight no further cap ex improvements were made to the park because they went on a "let's give all the rides to SFMM,SFGRADV & SFGRAM & the rest get nothing" kick....a kick that continues unabated to this day.

SFWOA didnt fail because they didnt give it any new rides after X Flight, it failed because they added too many new rides and didnt have the attendance increases they expected and were straddled with a lot of debt and coasters that were expensive to operate. It was a stupid move that SF would take back in a snap trying to take a smaller park a big thrill park, especially so close to CP.

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^How can we forget about the meet up? That's the only thing I've been thinking about lately. I drove by the park on my way home from work today. I noticed that Tiny and her babies are on Eagle, and STT is pretty much done with its new coat of blue paint. I wonder if they're going to paint Six Flags on it again.

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You know...

 

Missing Big Mike

Missing like 5 meet-ups

Hearing how awesome they are....

 

I really want to go! Jojo, I really hear you are really funny and everyone always has a really epic time! And it just makes me soo jelous and happy about that day!

 

I love Giant Drop though! I get scared from it ALL the time. My record was 11 times in a row earlier this year, scared every time. (I always sit in the seat where you can see Chicago from the top)

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I really want to go! Jojo, I really hear you are really funny and everyone always has a really epic time!

 

Aren't you meeting up with us that day? We always have a great time, and I always say the more the merrier.

 

And, who told you I was funny?? Maybe I should quit my job and do comedy full time, like Dane Cook!

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^If you must.

 

Years ago, the park turned the train into the Boo Line during FF. I remember they had several horror film characters charge onto the train at the Hometown Station. Does anyone know why they stopped this? I always loved the train during FF. I know in past years they had some story lines where there was some pig man on the loose, Scooby Doo and the gang were trying to solve a mystery and some robbers were on the loose. They were a little lame and nothing like the horror characters climbing on the train scaring the living daylights out of you!

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