Six Flags [FUN] Corporate Discussion Thread

[tndank]

I love the attention to detail by SF.  On the page with tiered Season Passes, the FAQ hasn't been touched.  So, one explicitly states you don't have to "process" a season pass.  Very next question says season passes are only good at the home park. 

Wonder how it go I showed up to SFoG with a tiered season pass from GAdv?  I would assume I'd be denied without visiting GAdv first.  However, perhaps the activation doesn't apply to any season passes now.  Maybe they are going Cedar Fair and don't care about activations and processing at 'home' parks.

Great work by the teams at Six Flags.

 

[bert425]

you have always had to activate at your home park before using elsewhere tho. . . as far as I'm aware.

I've always had to get my physical pass from SFFT, and then I can use that pass at SFOG or SFOT when I go there.  

So I guess I don't understand the issue/question?
 

 

as far as "not rolled out to all parks". . that's really really weird. . . especially since the tiered passes are good at all parks.

I guess book a trip to Texas (San Antonio is nicer than Dallas area) and buy a tiered pass at SFFT, and activate it there. . then just use it at your home park?

[joelwee]

I emailed SFMM this morning, with the question of whether they plan to offer multi-park season passes - since I would rather pay for my pass up front than be locked into a monthly payment. This was their response:

Quote

Thank you for your note. At this moment the passes that are listed on the website are the only ones we are currently offering. We do apologize for the inconvenience. 

..... which really means nothing. It doesn't mean they WON'T offer them - just that they don't offer them at this moment. So the answer to that question remains a mystery.

I'd be down to take a trip to SFFT to buy a multi-park pass. I attended Roller Coaster Rodeo last summer and had a blast.

[tndank]

44 minutes ago, bert425 said:

So I guess I don't understand the issue/question?

According the FAQ, there is no such thing as "processing" and they are "activated as soon as you complete your purchase."  This was before the new tiers that allows other parks.  Is this still true or not?

 

[bert425]

37 minutes ago, joelwee said:

So the answer to that question remains a mystery.

I'd be down to take a trip to SFFT to buy a multi-park pass. I attended Roller Coaster Rodeo last summer and had a blast.

as Jeffrey Siebert announced the other month. . . 2022 RCR will be the debut for Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger. . . and attendees will get the 1st rides on the new Dive Coaster

[bert425]

27 minutes ago, tndank said:

According the FAQ, there is no such thing as "processing" and they are "activated as soon as you complete your purchase."  This was before the new tiers that allows other parks.  Is this still true or not?

 

the Platinum Season Pass I purchased online provides me a barcode to use to get into the park, and directs me to the Season Pass/Membership building to "activate"

so yeah. . you have to show up in person to activate.

(but as I noted, that's how it's always been for me with a Season Pass - it's always been a barcode that activates once you enter the gates of the park and they handed you the pass at the entrance gate.   So the only change is that the barcode now just gets me in the park, and now I need to go to the Season Pass/Membership processing - I'm guessing because I got the "Platinum Pass". .  .  which, by the way, I will NOT be shocked if it turns out to be a "Platinum Membership" card. . .and it will just get treated as a Season Pass.)


edit to add - I would actually put $$ on the guess that anyone that purchases the "basic" Season Pass is still treated the way I noted above:  you scan at the gate, and they hand you the generic Season Pass card there.    But anyone who purchases the tiered/multi-park will have to go to the processing building to get a version of the membership cards.

[tndank]

Fully agree down to you possibly even getting a membership card.  I was just noting their lack of updating and making this clear is disappointing and could cause confusion since it goes against what is explicitly laid out on the website.  Update us on the card when you visit if we don't know by then.

 

[bert425]

will be in park to activate it on 11/21. . so will do.

[IntaminLove]

I haven't been to SFOT before and the Roller Coaster Rodeo sounds like fun. Thanks for mentioning it. I have family friends out there so I might have to take a trip next year.

[bert425]

28 minutes ago, IntaminLove said:

I haven't been to SFOT before and the Roller Coaster Rodeo sounds like fun. Thanks for mentioning it. I have family friends out there so I might have to take a trip next year.

point of order:  Roller Coaster Rodeo is at Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio).. not SFOT (Arlington)

 

[IntaminLove]

Oopd didn't realize I made the typo.

[swfan1988]

Mike Spanos it out, Selim Bassoual is in!

General Article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-15/six-flags-abruptly-replaces-ceo-even-as-park-traffic-recovers

More details: https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/news/six-flags-announces-new-ceo/article_28f5aaa0-feb8-5933-9cb3-bdd1c15cf72f.html

Six Flags announced today that Spanos is leaving effective immediately, replaced by Bassoual who was previously non-executive chairman of the board and former CEO of Middleby Corp. Ben Baldanza, former CEO of Spirit Airlines will replace Bassoual as non-executive chairman. (Is it just me or does that sound 100% like Six Flags...) No reason was given for Spanos' departure.

Bassoual is quoted as saying: “I am honored to serve as the next CEO of Six Flags, and I am excited to bring the magic back to our parks. We are a company led by a purpose–to make a positive and meaningful impact on everyone Six Flags touches," [...] "I will do my best to enable our people to fulfill their passion to make a difference, and to harness their creativity to build on a shared vision for guest satisfaction and financial growth. I am passionate about empowering employees and serving our customers, and together with our team, I know we can set up Six Flags for a new level of success in the months and years ahead.”

This doesn't make all that much sense to me, since the company's financial performance seems to have held up well during and after COVID, and Spanos seemed to be taking the company in a good directions (season pass fiasco aside), in my opinion. It will be interesting to see if Bassoul is in Spanos' vein of increasing customer satisfaction and elevating the guest experience, or if he returns to the more Jim Reid-Anderson formula.

Anyone know more about this?

[coasterbill]

6 minutes ago, swfan1988 said:

former CEO of Spirit Airlines will replace Bassoual as non-executive chairman. (Is it just me or does that sound 100% like Six Flags

Obviously I like to make a lot of jokes on here and make people laugh but sometimes the headline is the punchline. I don't even think this needs anything. It's perfectly hilarious as-is.

[AmyUD06]

22 minutes ago, swfan1988 said:

It will be interesting to see if Bassoul is in Spanos' vein of increasing customer satisfaction and elevating the guest experience, or if he returns to the more Jim Reid-Anderson formula.

Are you trying to say that Spanos' reign saw improvements to customer satisfaction and the guest experience?  Could have fooled me...Six Flags in the past few years has been Six Flags as always from the trips I had to their parks.

[swfan1988]

36 minutes ago, Mike240SX said:

Are you trying to say that Spanos' reign saw improvements to customer satisfaction and the guest experience?  Could have fooled me...Six Flags in the past few years has been Six Flags as always from the trips I had to their parks.

No...I'm trying to say that he at least tried to talk about trying to elevate the guest experience at Six Flags parks, which I commend him for trying. If we can't give him credit for trying, we should at least give him credit for getting them to paint Bizzarro...

Whether he actually did anything more than try...well...that's a debate all in itself...

[Zand]

Say what you want about Spirit, but I've flown them 6 times in the past couple years and they've been on time EVERY flight. 

If Six Flags gets the bare bones but operationally sound treatment, then I think that's a win.

[coasterbill]

15 minutes ago, Zand said:

Say what you want about Spirit, but I've flown them 6 times in the past couple years and they've been on time EVERY flight. 

If Six Flags gets the bare bones but operationally sound treatment, then I think that's a win.

I've never flown Spirit but like low cost carriers. It's still a different mindset from a theme park though and I would hold the theme park to much higher standards. Spirit and Frontier are things that you suffer through for a few hours because it's worth it to then have a great time in a place that has nothing to do with them. I actually want a theme park to be an enjoyable experience.

Now, all of that said I feel like people are always too quick to just assume that a CEO coming from another company will make the new company exactly like the old company. I know that's not true at all, so I'll give the benefit of the doubt but I'm still going to laugh... hard.

[Doppel Looping]

Was Spirit known for “stacking” their planes, or one plane operations?

[SoCalJasonland]

We listened and our customers demanded that we cut expenses to the bone and charge extra for every service that was included with admission; so I would like to welcome our new leader from Spirit Airlines, Selim Bassoual!

[Zand]

50 minutes ago, SoCalJasonland said:

We listened and our customers demanded that we cut expenses to the bone and charge extra for every service that was included with admission; so I would like to welcome our new leader from Spirit Airlines, Selim Bassoual!

Is that not the current Six Flags model though? Super cheap to get in, but then expensive food, expensive drinks, expensive merchandise, pay for lockers, pay to skip the line, pay to park.

I guess theoretically the amusement park experience almost everywhere is like this, but Six Flags does it in every way possible while having the cheapest passes.

[bert425]

My 2022 platinum season pass 

 

given to me and activated at the front gate

 

but then had to get into membership line anyways to get my drink cup

[tndank]

Looks like new passes are everywhere now. $60 (at SFoG) gets you all parks with parking for their BF sale.  SFoG is in the cheaper tier for passes so prob $10+ more at some parks. 

 

[CP_RULES]

On 11/3/2021 at 10:28 PM, TEDodd said:

https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/store/tickets-pick

https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/store/tickets-pick

 

Sadly doesn't yet work for overgeorgia yet.

 

This doesn't work for St. Louis unfortunately either, but they are offering the gold level season passes for only $55 now, which is definitely on par with what is was before. I will definitely buy one of these, but I want to hold out to see what the options look like if they come...

[bert425]

^ that's a good deal tho. . and gives you access to all parks, and includes parking.

 

[CP_RULES]

5 hours ago, bert425 said:

^ that's a good deal tho. . and gives you access to all parks, and includes parking.

 

Indeed. A deal worth buying. If only Six Flags would realize they'd get me to do it if they offered the other options too. Taking the SFFT model as an example, Platinum level is only $20 more which gets you unlimited drinks among other things (and two or three drinks alone paid in-full in the park would cover this). I am not sure the extra $50 for a single skip the line pass per visit is worth is in my case, but still, the option would be nice.

If only there were a Mr. Siebert I could call for SFStL... Six Flags appears to be listening to customer feedback, so I hope they see this: please bring the membership style season pass offers provided at SFFT and SFGAdv to all of your parks.