Six Flags raises parking fees.

[orangeblue]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

[BlueFireCoaster]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

 

Yeah, I don't think anyone saw the price going so high so soon out of bankruptcy.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

 

 

You would have lost your money if you invested a few years ago. I invested $100 when they were trying to reorganize, but lost it when they went bankrupt. I'm now trying to decide if I want to invest in it again, as they are doing really well, but their current stock price is a little high with how much I'm willing to spend in total.

 

I understand that Six Flags is a business, but I just hope they find a way to increase guest happiness, improve the parks, but still manage to keep in strong financial shape. It might take a few years, but I can dream.

[orangeblue]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

 

 

You would have lost your money if you invested a few years ago. I invested $100 when they were trying to reorganize, but lost it when they went bankrupt. I'm now trying to decide if I want to invest in it again, as they are doing really well, but their current stock price is a little high with how much I'm willing to spend in total.

 

I understand that Six Flags is a business, but I just hope they find a way to increase guest happiness, improve the parks, but still manage to keep in strong financial shape. It might take a few years, but I can dream.

 

Didn't think of that. I believe I was looking before they declared bankruptcy.

[YoshiFan]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

 

 

You would have lost your money if you invested a few years ago. I invested $100 when they were trying to reorganize, but lost it when they went bankrupt. I'm now trying to decide if I want to invest in it again, as they are doing really well, but their current stock price is a little high with how much I'm willing to spend in total.

 

I understand that Six Flags is a business, but I just hope they find a way to increase guest happiness, improve the parks, but still manage to keep in strong financial shape. It might take a few years, but I can dream.

 

The same thing happened to me. I bought 100 shares when they were $0.20 a share and lost all of it.

[ParkTrips]

^ Dammit, I was toying around with buying some of their stock a few years ago. If I remember right, it was below $5/share at the time and it's almost $40 now

it was actually much higher before they did a split - but this is a completely different release of stock, the original holders lost everything and were not granted any of the new stock, they had to invest all over again. The company seems to be doing fine despite the parking fees

[nerdboyrockstar]

You guys need to consider how the everyday park guest considers these parking fees, not us fanboys who'd consider a $3 coke a bargain.

 

I'm planning my first trip to Dollywood and there are people who talk about the prices of tickets, food, and parking like its highway robbery. Just take a look at some of the TripAdvisor reviews. And the parking is only $8, some of the cheapest in the nation.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

You know what's funny?

 

Heard the same complaints when parking went up from $3 to $4.

 

Heard the same complaints again when parking went up from $4 to $5.

 

Heard the same complaints again when parking went up from $5 to $6.

 

Heard the same complaints again when parking went up to $10.

 

Heard the same complaints again when parking went up to $15.

 

And now, once again, the same complaints are being made regarding gouging, robbery, detrimental first impression, etc. What Elissa said earlier is absolutely 100% true. Think about how many other places charge the same, or more, to park. You want a place where you *might* park within 800 miles of the gate? Park at the Hollywood Bowl sometime. It's awesome.

 

Oh, and FWIW, the handicapped spaces at SFMM are the closest spaces to the front gate of the entire main lot.

[DirkFunk]

I think the problem here is that there are people defending this as a smart financial move on the part of Six Flags and then a whole lot of people who seem to remember that this is the modus operandi that led them to bankruptcy previously. It is as if nothing was learned.

[ParkTrips]

Six Flags went into bankruptcy because they became insolvent. They ran up too much debt with their massive capital expenditure in the late nineties/early noughties, and couldn't meet some long-term obligations. Parking fees had nothing to do with it -- in fact, they have been much more successful with the current model

[ginzo]

I'm planning my first trip to Dollywood and there are people who talk about the prices of tickets, food, and parking like its highway robbery. Just take a look at some of the TripAdvisor reviews. And the parking is only $8, some of the cheapest in the nation.

 

Many people go to TripAdvisor just to vent and spray their HaterAid around. Who gives a crap about the opinions of someone so f'd up they can't have a good time at Dollywood? Though I haven't done any surveys on the matter, I'd wager that the vast majority of Dollywood's guests leave happy and not feeling ripped off.

 

I do read TripAdvisor, but mostly for hotel/B&B reviews because it's very easy to sort out the reasonable complaints from just idiots making noise there. The restaurant and theme park reviews are problematic. For restaurants, the Michelin Guide and local food bloggers are far more reliable. For theme parks, you should come here.

[DirkFunk]

Six Flags went into bankruptcy because they became insolvent. They ran up too much debt with their massive capital expenditure in the late nineties/early noughties, and couldn't meet some long-term obligations. Parking fees had nothing to do with it -- in fact, they have been much more successful with the current model

 

This is an awfully simplistic way to look at why Six Flags went into bankruptcy: it doesn't take into account what the capital expenditure was intended to accomplish and how or why it failed to accomplish those goals over the long term. Needless to say, guest satisfaction was a pretty huge component of that collapse and excessive pricing certainly played a role. I honestly don't think you're looking to have an honest debate about that and I suppose this isn't really the thread to do it, so I'm bowing out.

[WFChris]

If you base where you go off of what Yelp and Trip Advisor say, you should probably just sit under a rock and wait to die. As somebody else stated, those sites are generally used as a tool to vent anger. Have you ever looked up a venue or restaurant with 5 stars? Filter the 1 star reviews on those and read 'em. Almost makes the user sound like an idiot. "I hate mushrooms, but I heard they make the BEST mushroom soup in town so I tried it and OMG it was gross! 1 STAR." This person should not have even written the review as they are not the customer that the mushroom soup was targeting.

 

The point is (oh, and I don't work in a restaurant so the above example did not apply to me;) that people are going to complain and moan forever. The advent of the internet has made it easier to vent this anger. They used to do it in journals and with their friends, now they do it in blogs and on internet forums.

 

Like I said before, theme parks are expensive. They come with expensive parking. And expensive soda. Put up or shut up