TheGreatOne Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 A big shout-out to Arthur Levine of about.com for landing an interview with Mark Shapiro. http://themeparks.about.com/od/sixflagsarticles/a/shapiro2006.htm The interview clears up some misconceptions (mainly started by some "all-knowing" enthusiasses), and I have to say I'm impressed with where he wants to take the company. It's going to take some time, but we're all better off with him at the helm as opposed to the old guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunslinger Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Too many coasters at SFMM? What a nutball. [/grabs lynching rope.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Interesting interview. One thing I'd like to see addressed is security at parks. One of the things I think keeps families away is the perception that these parks are not safe. At some SF parks, especially on a weekend, line jumping and obnoxious behavior is rampant. I'm curious to see if they will do anything to change this... dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 ^Seconded, but then again, we can't rely on coasters all of the time. I hope they keep the discounts though for the buy one, get one free coupons. That was handy for my 2004 visit to SFOG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 <<--... still pro-Red Zone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iZak Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Shapiro brings up some very good points, and I'm glad to see that he's not totally abandoning adding coasters at the parks... However, I'm afraid that all of these general ideas they are implementing for the entire chain will not work at some parks (ie. SFMM, SFGa, SFGAdv) where their customers expect something big or something new every year. I mean, take a look at the attendance figures for SFMM since the opening of Scream (shoot, since the opening of X/Deja Vu). You will notice a nice decline (yeah, it went up one year 3%...but look how far down it was). I'm really curious to see what Tatsu will do for that park... Anyway, let's see if the big man can back up his big words... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjholla2003 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 The declines that you're talking about is what he's trying to change. If you get families in the park, they just want to have a nice day. Just because you don't have the world's newest roller coaster won't keep them away, and that will help stabilize attendance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darien Laker Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Seeing as how the old "drug addiction" method of attendance maintainance failed miserably as far as cash goes, it makes sense that Shapiro is willing to try out so many new ideas. I really hope he succeeds, because it's not like he's compltely against adding rollercoasters, he just thinks it should be done a bit less compulsively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Yankee Guy Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 he mentioned having parks have local foods. That's a good idea! I remember when Riverside used to sell lobster! But hey, bringing in New England Clam Chowder into SFNE is a good idea, because I will inhale it! *loves New England Clam Chowder, not that canned kind* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Well, I wonder. Clearly, Shapiro is trying to Disneyfy 6F, but nobody out-Disneys Disney, or even comes close. Parades, for instance...Whatever 6F come up with, I'm betting it won't be another MSEP, or even close. One can only hope the parades are less abysmal than 6F's lousy stunt shows. And while costumed characters are an integral part of The Disney Experience, does Shapiro think that some guy in a Batman suit is really going to attract more families, especially for repeat visits? I mean, is anyone more likely to go to IOA because there's somebody dressed up as Spiderman running around? The English have a phrase for it: "Mutton dressed as veal." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 ^ actually I think people really like universals approach to characters with live people vs the foam characters I, a 24 year old, would rather see the character be as life like as possible (ie: popey and betty boop) than the foamy's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Yankee Guy Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 ^^ SFGAdv already does a parade, and I've seen it. Nothing compared to Disney's parades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Good interview, the future for Six Flags looks bright. Six Flags Magic Mountain is not in any way lacking, when it comes to Roller Coasters. If SFMM did not build another Roller Coaster for several years I would be fine with that. What I would like to see at SFMM is a major overhall of the themeing of this great Theme Park. When you look at an truely exceptional Theme Park like Islands of Adventure, they have many great rides, and they have exceptional themeing. If they didn't build another major coaster at IOA for several years, I wouldn't care, because that park has a great combination of original rides and fantastic themeing. SFMM could be so much better than it currently is with a major theme makeover. This new management will get the Six Flags corporation on the right track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millenniumguy Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Let's see what I would like to see park by park SFNE, How about focusing on lines and and actual park management? SFGAdv, Improve line capacity, clean up park SFA, Create a more family friendly enviroment SFOG, Build two kiddie coasters and a nice kiddie area SFNO, If you keep it, well make sure the standard of the park stays the same(at minimum) SFGrAM, ENOUGH COASTERS!,make the park more friendly to kids SFSTL, more flats would be nice SFOT, Massive cleanup campaign needed SFFT, We need a waterpark here and cleanup SFEG, Not much here SFMM, FLATS AND KIDDIES is needed SFMW, Not much here GE, not much here SFDL, ANOTHER COASTER FC, a solid kiddie area will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 I've got a lot of time for Shapiro. He is a very intelligent man who knows what need to be done to make the parks worth going to, which is very important. I'd rather spend more money at a better park than less money at a worse park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 What I would like to see at SFMM is a major overhall of the themeing of this great Theme Park. When you look at an truely exceptional Theme Park like Islands of Adventure, they have many great rides, and they have exceptional themeing. If they didn't build another major coaster at IOA for several years, I wouldn't care, because that park has a great combination of original rides and fantastic themeing. SFMM could be so much better than it currently is with a major theme makeover. This new management will get the Six Flags corporation on the right track! Well, aside from the fact that Shapiro didn't talk about major retheming, just adding fireworks and (yawn) stunt shows, the fact is that IOA is at the absolute top of the heap - not even USF is anywhere near as well-themed. Not even BGW, whose IOA-ish ride, DarKastle, is a definite second-rater compared to Spidey. Not even - dare I say it - much of WDW. Not be be mindlessly negative, but, aside from bits-and-pieces retheming like the new area arond Kingda Ka, it's hard - impossible? - to imagine that 6F is going to invest the time and money in shutting down large areas of its parks to engage in IOA-style retheming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 ^Shepp, I wasn't implying that SFMM would do a retheming along the size and scale of IOA. Instead, it would be nice to see a bit more effort put into the rides that have virtually zero theming at all. It's sad when Six Flags decides to spend millions of dollars to build a rollercoaster like Scream, only to build it over the old parking lot, and not even bother to make the minimal effort to remove the painted parking spaces below the ride! I mean even plain dirt would look better than seeing the white lines of the preexisting parking spaces. Anyhow, we'll see what the future holds. Fireworks and Stunt Shows are a nice start, but I'll be hoping for more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 ^ Not too mention the giant bleach stains they left after cleaning up following the accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenshinmac Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 What they are thinking is beyond me... They are acting like the Six Flags parks are destination parks. They don't have that reputation at all and they won't gain it in any sort of decent time span. If they implement this kind of plan they need hotels on property, they need attractions you can't find anywhere else, and overall they need not to be just a park. They are heading down a dead end. It is great to attract families but to exist in the way they are proposing requires that you become more than a regional park. What they are doing right now is driving away the people who visited before because it was regional. Lets face it there is a reason that the destination parks are only typically 2 per chain tops. I mean lets face it Disney World and DisneyLand are the only two places that people think of similarly it is USH and USF. Heck you also have the two Busch Parks. Heck Cedar Fair really only has Knotts and Cedar Point. I can't see that they can economically offer a full regional portfolio like they have with enough to make them destination parks yet he never has addressed what will happen when a regional park fails to become anything more. Look I agree to start with that parks like Magic Mountain need to cut back on the huge rides and focus on some smaller rides for years between. But parks like Elitches and other smaller parks have seen very little in the way of action in general. Elitches is a nice park but it isn't worth a higher price than Cedar Freaking Point... Plus the fact that they are asking $15 for parking. I'm sorry but it just doesn't add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 I can't see this plan working at Elich's Garden. THey should scrap that park. Anyways, this is what I would like to know about Shapiro.... Instead of building a new ride, will he use that extra money to maintain the rides they currently have? I mean almost all the wooden roller coasters at the Six Flags parks are neglected, so will they get regular retracking? (say once every 4 - 5 years?) Also another consern is how high will the price hikes go? If they're out pricing disney and aren't really giving me the experience that Disney Does (ie $70,000 shows like Fantasmic) or the 'atmostphere" then I'm not going to want to pay anymore. ALso people don't look at, "oh I'm spending 10 hours at the park today so $60 is worth it." They think, holy crap I have to pay $60 for myself, my wife, and my 2 - 3 kids. And then I got to pay $15 for parking, then I got to buy them all food. I wouldn't go beyond that $60 pricing myself.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster1 Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Let's see what I would like to see park by parkSFOG, Build two kiddie coasters and a nice kiddie area SFOT, Massive cleanup campaign needed SFFT, We need a waterpark here and cleanup SFMM, FLATS AND KIDDIES is needed SFMW, Not much here FC, a solid kiddie area will work. Seriously!? SFFT has a waterpark, which is the reason their attendance hasn't dropped badly as it did after 2000. SFOT is the model park for the chain to say the least and a flagship park. Much like SFFT, it's ran very very well by very smart people (who I know personally) SFOG has one of the better kiddie sections now after the 2004 expansion SFMM .. I aggree or just burn it FC is out SFMW needs to focus on their animals and make it no so ghetto-SeaWorld ish .. most of the animals their in March 2005 looked like they needed Betty Forc Clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 SFMW's shows sucked. THey need to get some original and entertaining shows..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 ^Well based on these opinions, Shapiro clearly has his work cut out for him! Lets hope he tunes into sites like TPR, because he could benefit from all of the good advice he receives here!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 What they are thinking is beyond me... They are acting like the Six Flags parks are destination parks. They don't have that reputation at all and they won't gain it in any sort of decent time span. If they implement this kind of plan they need hotels on property, they need attractions you can't find anywhere else, and overall they need not to be just a park. They are heading down a dead end. It is great to attract families but to exist in the way they are proposing requires that you become more than a regional park. What they are doing right now is driving away the people who visited before because it was regional. Well said. The only reason I traveled 3000 miles to SFGAdv was because of Kingda Ka, not because of the silly Spirit of the Tiger show they added. IMO, specific E-ticket rides, and not fireworks shows and bad Batman stunt "spectaculars," provide whatever attraction 6F-style parks may have to non-locals. No matter how many costumed characters are marching around SFGAdv, you ain't never gonna find find Midwestern non-coaster-riding families saying "Forget Orlando, let's head to sunny Jackson, New Jersey, instead." It really is a simple matter of economics - it's cheaper to hire some guy to wear a Superman suit than to build another S:ROS. And, as other folks pointed out, families no doubt spend more per visit than groups of teenagers, and fireworks keep dinner-buying patrons in the park till closing. But it sounds like the new 6F will be neither fish nor fowl - neither "Extreme" parks, nor WDW-style extravaganzas, but kind of post-CCF KBFs. But hey, the LA area already has DLR as well as Knott's, so why head to Santa Clarita for more of the same? And if 6F is aiming squarely at repeat visits from local families who'll spend freely inside the parks, why jack up season pass prices and send parking fees to record highs, when those are the very things that would discourage middle-income families from making multiple visits? Hell, it's now consideraby cheaper to get a season pass to USH than to SFMW... [/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Well said. The only reason I traveled 3000 miles to SFGAdv was because of Kingda Ka, not because of the silly Spirit of the Tiger show they added. I think you've totally missed what the new management is going after. They aren't neccessarily trying to be a global magnet, but to provide a local alternative to Disney and Busch. They are trying to make that trip to Florida less apealing, I mean, if you can take a couple of days and visit your local Six Flags and have an experience that is at least close and yet cheaper, wouldn't that take some luster out of a possible trip or even a return trip to Florida? They aren't loking to pull folks from the midwest into Great Adventure - they are looking to draw crods from Philly, the Beltway and the NYC metro areas. send parking fees to record highs Because at $3.75 / person for a family of 4, parking become fairly nominal. Most of the time, that may only equal the cost of a large drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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