Shapiro Visits SFOG- Discusses Company-Wide Changes

[coasterdude5]

^Yeah, because usually in my situation, we go to out-of-town parks and unless I have a friend there(like in Chicago), I'm stuck with the family. Not that that's bad, but even if you do aim towards famillies, teens are still apart of that. I mean, you're going to have to add scream-machines eventually.

 

And who says they can't be like SDC and add a Powderkeg like ride. That's considered a family attraction. Everytime 6F builds a coaster, it seems as if they're trying to make it the biggest of its kind.

 

That's just my view on it.

[the_rock401]

Selling large hunks of empty acreage around some parks could be a big, big mistake. If residential properties are developed on that land that was previously buffer, you're introducing Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) issues who want the park to stop running loud coasters before sunrise and after sunset, and who will raise hell about any installation that makes things busier by their house, despite the fact that the park was there 35 years before you were. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit here, but that isn't far from the truth.

 

That said, several of his ideas make sense. Spending money on improving the physical condition of the parks (i.e. paving, paint, etc) can help a great deal.

 

Paul "Knows a thing or two about loudmouth NIMBYs" Miller

[pvcoasterguy]

But the Six Flags parks shouldn't just add trains/vehicles when needed. Common sense tells you to look at the figures from the day(s) before, and decide whether to put on the additonal vehicles before the people get in the park.

[Eunuch Provocateur]

This is reminding me of my economics class... They're producing at a loss in the short run since that's what most businesses in a Monopolistic Competition do in order to compete with other businesses. But, suddenly, they're operating at a loss to have the new and biggest thrill ride. That creates their economic profit in the short run and they're happy. But in the long run, they're way off worse than they ever were in the short run. Shapiro may have had a "Holy Shit!" moment or maybe his advisors?

[coasterboy76]

I wonder if he saw the Ga. Cyclone gum wall/roof.

 

We have many "Gum Walls" at SFSTL, its a real problem on a couple of rides

[sixflagstloldschool]

Yeah the gum roof syndrome seems to frequent many parks.

 

My personal feelings of the coasters is for the parks to have a variety of different rides not the parks having the same type of ride or mirror version.

 

My home park is St. Louis and enjoy the use of the season pass and drive to Kentucky Kingdom, for the different variety of rides than at my home park. Chicago is the same way although they have Batman a mirror to our parks, I think maybe close versions or similarity but different altogether, another words don't have the same ride at a park that can be driven to in 3 hours.

 

I think STL is in need of at least 3 new coasters to compete and to raise the industry standard to other parks in the system, but not the same version!

 

A hyper, a spinning, and a flight or Standup like Chang!! Replace the crappy one we lost to an accident. Then we lost a mine train that was then sold to Dollywood, and the accident track converted from the mine train to rail blazer was now fitted with the mine train cars and revamped as the mine train! Back to sit down and the other track was then closed and sold!

 

Although we are getting a nice family package, it is well intende for families with young children, Shapiro can't forget about the families that go to the park with a teen and a 8yr old. The park has to also change for those families and also unless with an adult, children under 16 not allowed without Adult supervision! And if the destruction of park property does not stop, make it 18! Then your responsible as an adult!

 

The parks was a great place for a family to go to and can continue with the move they are making. But the fact of the matter is, you still have families that have strong values and love the Giants of Hyper coasters and visit the park as a family, and continue with satisfying the whole family and not just the ones left for the park to babysit!

[Scaparri]

I really like a lot of Shapiro's ideas. I think he really has a firm grasp on what needs to happen in order to make this chain a success.

 

Yeah, his quote about there being no more Goliaths is kind of scary for us enthusiasts, but when you think about it, the family approach is how you drag in people year after year. Look at Disney and Universal. Look how often they put in major thrill rides and big coasters. IOA hasn't put in a major coaster since it opened, but yet it and the other Disney and Universal parks bring in massive amounts of people year in and year out because of the audience they cater to. Like what Elissa said, I don't think it means there will never be a big coaster put in again, we just might have to wait a while. I'm actually pretty excited about everything that is happening in the chain.