Six Flags question

[grsupercity]

I am in no way a huge fan of six flags, but I will admit that they build a lot of coasters. The thing that puzzles me though is why hasn't Six Flags built a giga coaster? CF has slowly been installing them in there larger parks, I believe up to four? So why hasn't Six Flags jumped into the giga race?

[Comeagain?]

Probably because it's a very expensive race.

[OrlandoGuy]

Six Flags is about quantity over quality. Their strategy is to rely less on overall park experience and instead attract people in season after season with new additions to their parks each year. Of course, with them having so many parks this is an expensive initiative and so instead of two or three big investments per year, you get one small- to mid-range investment in each park. Even when they do build big rides (Goliath for example), they are built to be very short...a giga just wouldn't do well at Six Flags unless they abandoned the policy they have going and focused on one park per year to majorly invest in, and rely on good service and park experience to keep guests coming back rather than marketable new additions each year.

[RaceBoarder]

I am in no way a huge fan of six flags, but I will admit that they build a lot of coasters. The thing that puzzles me though is why hasn't Six Flags built a giga coaster? CF has slowly been installing them in there larger parks, I believe up to four? So why hasn't Six Flags jumped into the giga race?

 

They seem to have very favorable reactions to their RMC additions recently... I'm sure that is the horse they are betting on in the short term at least...

[cfc]

It's not a bad idea to offer something the competition doesn't have, such as RMC coasters vs. B&M giga coasters. A little variety is a good thing for everyone.

[DJeXeL]

^Agreed. Cedar Fair parks have clean, well maintained bathrooms, SF decided to go with the filthy, not-so well maintained approach. Dare to be different!!

[Manic Monte]

Six Flags is about quantity over quality. Their strategy is to rely less on overall park experience and instead attract people in season after season with new additions to their parks each year. Of course, with them having so many parks this is an expensive initiative and so instead of two or three big investments per year, you get one small- to mid-range investment in each park. Even when they do build big rides (Goliath for example), they are built to be very short...a giga just wouldn't do well at Six Flags unless they abandoned the policy they have going and focused on one park per year to majorly invest in, and rely on good service and park experience to keep guests coming back rather than marketable new additions each year.

 

In fairness, Six Flags has the #1 rated wood coaster in the world, and more steel coasters in the top 20 then Cedar Fair. So I'm not sure how true your assertion is.

[OrlandoGuy]

Six Flags is about quantity over quality. Their strategy is to rely less on overall park experience and instead attract people in season after season with new additions to their parks each year. Of course, with them having so many parks this is an expensive initiative and so instead of two or three big investments per year, you get one small- to mid-range investment in each park. Even when they do build big rides (Goliath for example), they are built to be very short...a giga just wouldn't do well at Six Flags unless they abandoned the policy they have going and focused on one park per year to majorly invest in, and rely on good service and park experience to keep guests coming back rather than marketable new additions each year.

 

In fairness, Six Flags has the #1 rated wood coaster in the world, and more steel coasters in the top 20 then Cedar Fair. So I'm not sure how true your assertion is.

 

Yes, I was more speaking to the current management than the ones that installed the likes of El Toro, Bizarro, etc. Im not saying that their RMC makeovers aren't fantastic, but they are cheap(er). Maybe "quantity over quality" was the wrong phrase to use, but it is true that gigas are significant investments that aren't feasible if you promise each park a new attraction each season.

[Paradox]

Six Flags has the #1 rated wood coaster in the world, and more steel coasters in the top 20 then Cedar Fair. So I'm not sure how true your assertion is.

 

Since when did Six Flags get Boulder Dash?

[Angle O. Descent]

^ I believe you mean El Toro I won't bug you too much because I have never been on Boulder Dash.

 

Six Flags has done well enough with RMC and that they don't need Gigas as an answer to Gigas. But if Cedar Fair ever catches on to RMC, then Six flags will be in trouble

[Manic Monte]

^ Well by then Six Flags will have moved on to those neat looking S&S flip rides.

 

Seriously though, I'm almost afraid to see what SF (under their current management) would do with a Giga. It would be 350ft tall with 4,000ft of track. lol

[parkjunkie]

^ Well by then Six Flags will have moved on to those neat looking S&S flip rides.

 

Seriously though, I'm almost afraid to see what SF (under their current management) would do with a Giga. It would be 350ft tall with 4,000ft of track. lol

 

You're giving them too much credit, you'd be lucky to get 3,000 out of 'em

[rcdude]

I am in no way a huge fan of six flags, but I will admit that they build a lot of coasters. The thing that puzzles me though is why hasn't Six Flags built a giga coaster? CF has slowly been installing them in there larger parks, I believe up to four? So why hasn't Six Flags jumped into the giga race?

 

I'm sure it's mostly due to price and return on investment. A Giga is $25-30 million, which Six Flags simply can't afford if they're getting new rides for every park every year. Think about Cedar Fair's additions vs. Six Flag's additions. In one year Cedar Fair typically buys only one to three coasters (rarely more than one major one) and a few flat rides or waterslides. Usually only about half of their parks get new attractions each year and the others may get refurbishments. Six Flags, on the other hand, often installs at least two major coasters and one or two smaller coasters, plus enough non-coaster rides and waterpark attractions to ensure all of their parks have a marketable addition every year. The other thing to consider is return on investment. If you'll get roughly the same draw with a $10 million RMC or a $25+ million giga, which is the better choice?

 

Personally, I don't really care that Six Flags doesn't build giga coasters. I've been on all three North American gigas and one RMC (Goliath), and the RMC was better than two out of three gigas. If Six Flags really wanted a giga they'd build one, but if they're unwilling to spend more than $10 million on a coaster (seems to be the recent trend) it won't get more than a drop, a couple turns, and a couple airtime hills if spent on a giga.

[WFChris]

I may be totally wrong on this, but didn't SF jump on the 'hyper coaster' bandwagon pretty hardcore back when that was the new hotness? Many of their parks seem to have a large scale B&M or simmilar type ride over 200 feet. Perhaps after investing in all those, they don't really feel the need to build more of them...a few feet taller...with more land use...and more millions of dollars.

[tarheel1231]

Six Flags is trying to get a theme park in Dubai. It would have The Dubai Giant which would be the world's tallest giga coaster at 328 feet (100 meters). There's also a rumor of SFGAdv getting one in 2016..........

[larrygator]

^Agreed. Cedar Fair parks have clean, well maintained bathrooms, SF decided to go with the filthy, not-so well maintained approach. Dare to be different!!

 

Just because your SF park doesn't maintain its bathrooms don't dog the whole chain. My park keeps its bathrooms very clean.

Edited December 11, 2014 by larrygator

[Midgetman82]

... Cedar Fair parks have clean, well maintained bathrooms...

Recounting my last visit to Cedar Point last year, I can definitely say that this is far from the truth. Kings Island's bathrooms (although better) aren't super-clean either.

[DJeXeL]

Just because your SF park doesn't maintain its bathrooms don't dog the whole chain. My park keeps its bathrooms very clean.

 

Kudos to them.

[Samuel]

I think the original question and a few subsequent posts have mentioned or implied the notion that an arms race between park chains is still going strong, but outside of some big players clustered in sunny-weathered locations, the competitive landscape of parks is a battleground fighting for disposable income and entertainment dollars in a much broader sense than the "this park vs. that park" battle lines that we draw up through our conversations as enthusiasts.

 

I had lunch with a few executives from a well-known regional park recently, and one thing we talked about was how the park's competitive landscape is shaped significantly by local entertainment competitors, as opposed to other parks hundreds of mile away. Dinner and a movie, attending a college sports game, using the Internet all day, shopping at a local mall, or just staying in to watch TV...these are some of the identities of competition that traditional amusement and theme parks face. Of course parks like bragging rights within the industry, but most of the gate that rolls through a typical Six Flags or Cedar Fair park isn't thinking along the lines of, "I'll fly into to Dallas, Texas next year if Six Flags builds this, or to Germany if Holiday Park builds that," like we do on this site. I'd like to see more giga coasters like everyone else, but it'd be ridiculous for Six Flags to start buying them up on the basis of not wanting to fall behind on the enthusiasts' scorecard of how many each park chain has built. We may see one at Six Flags St. Louis one day, for instance, but it won't be because the park needs to retaliate against Leviathan or i305 --- that's a battleground that only we're imagining.

 

With Six Flags, it does seem like a "with some new stuff here, and some new stuff there, here new stuff, there new stuff, everywhere some new stuff" approach takes precedent to ride length and quality -- and these county fair fireball flats are really stretching it as far as something to get excited about. One of my non-enthusiast friends once declared years ago in his layman's terms, "Cedar Point has real coasters, and Six Flags Ohio just has a bunch of cluttered little upside-down crap." In fairness, both chains have done their share of ride recycling in recent years, and have built some amazing and not-so-amazing rides.

 

It'd be great to see a few gigas at Six Flags parks, but I'd honestly rather see them put some $ TLC into their current rides and park operations. Fix up bathrooms, move beyond tacky facades that lead to coasters in the parking lot, landscape consistently, make sure all ride operators have a pulse, put at least a second train on the already-existing coasters, etc. Not all Six Flags parks are like this, but the ones that seem most giga-eligible already have sufficient thrills, but could use a face-lift in so many other areas.

[Midgetman82]

^Which Six Flags parks could even fit a Giga? I know Magic Mountain could monitarily get one, but then there's the question of where they would put it.

[GCI Wooden]

make sure all ride operators have a pulse

 

 

I would love to see more giga coasters, but why would they pay $30,000,000 for a B&M giga when they can just build a $10,000,000 RMC Hybrid coaster and still have an amazing new coaster?

[chase9302]

Knotts Giga Anyone

 

[ioio]

I would love to see more giga coasters, but why would they pay $30,000,000 for a B&M giga when they can just build a $10,000,000 RMC Hybrid coaster and still have an amazing new coaster?

 

Because GIGACOASTER

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^Which Six Flags parks could even fit a Giga? I know Magic Mountain could monitarily get one, but then there's the question of where they would put it.

Six Flags St. Louis has plenty of space if they put it over by Tidal Wave. But that park needs so many improvements long before they need another coaster.

[DJeXeL]

^They're not getting much of either......