The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

 

 

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That's awesome! Today it looked as though they're ready to start setting the footers. At this point, it seems the only thing holding them up is the weather...

Went today 2/15/2019 (will be yesterday by the time I post this). Light drizzle most of the day with only a few moments without any rain. The member’s Valentine event was rescheduled to today since they did not open due to rain on 2/14. Members could get in an hour before the general public for character meet and greets, exclusive ride time on FT, Rev, and the carousel. We planned to go early, but the day before we decided it wouldn’t be worth it given that it would not be busy at all so we slept in and got there right before noon. Lots of characters out early in the day. We got Valentine's Day buttons. No one seemed to have much more information regarding member appreciation day. They had $2.14 heart shaped funnel cakes that were cute and Instagram worthy, but kind of small and 1 per member. The buy one get one free carnival games advertised as part of member appreciation day was only 1 game that I saw (break the plates). Apparently there was also free engraving at the Glass Shop, but we didn’t stop in.

This was my first time at Magic Mountain in the rain and I was impressed. Every ride scheduled to be open was open with many running multiple trains despite light crowds. I was also surprised how many restaurants were open. I wonder if they were trying to give their employees hours after being closed for so many days this month. We walked by Carlini’s Pizza all the way in the back corner of the park about half an hour before closing and it was open and had a short line. A comparatively light crowd at a Disney park would have a lot more food service closures (well, maybe not the OLC parks). Lots of stores were closed though. Employees were generally nice; some allowed use to reride when there was no line and some made us go back through the queue. Also saw several tour groups, both American and international. Being open 365 days probably helps them book more such groups.

For fans of carnival games, they have a new play pass where you pay for $20 worth of tickets (each ticket is equal to $1 so you would redeem 5 tickets to play a game that costs $5). On top of the $20 you receive 4 free games tickets for 4 pre-selected games, 2 buy one get one free coupons, and 500 reward points. They advertise it as a $50 value for $20, but to get the full value you would have to do the buy one get one free so it would be more like a $50 value for $40. Also note that the free games are split between Boardwalk and Mining Town. After we bought our passes, we were told that Mining Town was closed and they allowed us to use all our tickets in Boardwalk. Apparently this is a new promotion and we were rang up incorrectly 3 times before we got our passes. From what we were told, several of the employees working the games were new. We had to have them call supervisors over a few times, because a couple of them weren’t following the posted rules. I’m a little surprised they decided to do these tickets instead of a card system like Disney and Knott’s. Most of the employees were really great though.

Definitely could have hit every open coaster today, but our group split up as we had different priorities. One faction focused on riding TC as many times as possible. Another decided to pick up credits in Bugs Bunny World since it was empty and there wasn’t the shame of being the only adults on a kiddie coaster. I personally made it my mission to do stuff I either hadn’t done in awhile or had never done before. In hindsight, I wish I had joined the group trying to “ride it all” since it would have been interesting to try each ride in the rain.

 

 

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Yay!!! I was starting to think they were hoping we all just forgot about this ride.

One of the reasons to go 365 was because you get better employees.

 

Temporary employees are a PITA. You are constantly hiring and training, and because they all know the job is temporary, the folks who are on a longer horizon are looking to get out quickly.

 

This is further complicated when you want to close in September, then open for Halloween, then close for November, then open for Holiday in the park.

 

If you can promise someone a full-time job, youre going to get better candidates and less turnover.

 

Of course, there are still some advantages for temporary jobs. You have a lot more labor available in the summer when the kids are out of school and need cash. But again, if you want to open during the school year, youre in trouble once your kids all quit on September 1st or whatever.

 

 

what a weird statement about not everyone checks operating schedule. I'd be shocked if anyone planned a trip to go to a park (even if just the local or home park) and didn't check to make sure they were open that day.

 

I think the point being made is that tourists might be in LA for a week, and then on Monday say "lets go to Six Flags Wednesday, itll be empty". They look up the hours and woops, its not open until Saturday when they cant make it anymore.

 

So people obviously check the hours, but are less likely to check the days they are open. I know as a tourist, Ive made the mistake where I planned to visit X attraction on a Tuesday, and when I check the website it turns out they dont open Tuesdays, but Ive already planned other stuff on Monday and Wednesday so Im out of luck.

They still aren't going to get quality employees because they pay minimum wage with no real benefits.

 

 

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About damn time!

Check out this funny video of South Korean celebrities riding Goliath. [youtu_be]

He sounded like Nicolas Cage being stung by bees.

^^ More importantly, is this the next "Masked Singer" for the USA???

FOX are you seeing this?

Check out this funny video of South Korean celebrities riding Goliath. [youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

I posted that in this thread a couple of years ago,They also took a ride on X2.

[youtu_be]

Here's one they did on T Express. Not sure if this video includes the do the make-up challenge or having to present the news on a top-spin since MBC block the videos domestically to send you to watch it on the Korean sites.

[youtu_be]

Oh I can't have my phone but this dudes allowed to bring a plate of fried chicken and spaghetti?!? No wonder the seats are always so sticky.

I never understood why Goliath is such a fan favorite, it is not that good. I wish they'd tear it down and replace it with one of the Intamin Supermans.

They still aren't going to get quality employees because they pay minimum wage with no real benefits.

They at least have to give full time employees ACA level insurance given the size of the company and number of hours worked per week during qualifying periods. That's more than any other Six Flags offers employees and definitely more than any seasonal park.

They still aren't going to get quality employees because they pay minimum wage with no real benefits.

 

They at least have to give full time employees ACA level insurance given the size of the company and number of hours worked per week during qualifying periods. That's more than any other Six Flags offers employees and definitely more than any seasonal park.

That's great relatively speaking for Six Flags and seasonal parks, but not really anything special in a competitive job market for entry level jobs in So Cal. In Valencia alone, there is just about every service industry job for every major brand you can think of that offer more.

That's great relatively speaking for Six Flags and seasonal parks, but not really anything special in a competitive job market for entry level jobs in So Cal. In Valencia alone, there is just about every service industry job for every major brand you can think of that offer more.

I'm not sure I understand your point then. If the job market as a whole is competitive and offering more to entry level service employees, obviously Six Flags can't offer less than they do now and be more competitive.

That's great relatively speaking for Six Flags and seasonal parks, but not really anything special in a competitive job market for entry level jobs in So Cal. In Valencia alone, there is just about every service industry job for every major brand you can think of that offer more.

 

I'm not sure I understand your point then. If the job market as a whole is competitive and offering more to entry level service employees, obviously Six Flags can't offer less than they do now and be more competitive.

My point is SFMM is NOT competitive. Healthcare is great when comparing to other Six Flags and seasonal parks where people obviously won't qualify for ACA benefits, but it means nothing when there are tons of other entry level jobs that will offer that plus things like tuition reimbursement, profit sharing, retirement plan, paid sick (outside of the mandated hours from CA law)/vacation, etc. as a way to retain quality people.

My guess is they are actually staffing their weekday operations with part time people looking for a 2nd job and having as much of their High School staff as possible work the 4 hours on school days.

So, apparently Goliath got evacuated at the top of the lift hill yesterday. Again. Anyone know what happened?

No but it reopened and it's open now so it's clearly not a big deal.

So, apparently Goliath got evacuated at the top of the lift hill yesterday. Again. Anyone know what happened?

Why is a ride evacuation a big deal?

So, apparently Goliath got evacuated at the top of the lift hill yesterday. Again. Anyone know what happened?

 

Why is a ride evacuation a big deal?

Slow news day.

My point is SFMM is NOT competitive. Healthcare is great when comparing to other Six Flags and seasonal parks where people obviously won't qualify for ACA benefits, but it means nothing when there are tons of other entry level jobs that will offer that plus things like tuition reimbursement, profit sharing, retirement plan, paid sick (outside of the mandated hours from CA law)/vacation, etc. as a way to retain quality people.

 

My guess is they are actually staffing their weekday operations with part time people looking for a 2nd job and having as much of their High School staff as possible work the 4 hours on school days.

Given the limited number of hours of weekday operation, that seems pretty spurious to me. They'd be lucky to get most of those kids in before 3-4, and they're closed by 6. I can't tell you it isn't true obviously, but I also have a hard time believing that going to full time doesn't help at all in retaining help they otherwise would have been losing to those same businesses you mention existing in the vicinity when they could only offer them 16-20 hours a week and no benefits of any kind. That just doesn't make sense.

^My senior year of high school, I was able to leave at 12:30 everyday. Of course every situation is different, but it is entirely possible to leave school early enough in time to work. Or given that it is Valencia, I can stereotype and assume that there are a decent amount of homeschooled kids as well...

Seriously though, you're missing my point: There are tons of other local entry level jobs that offer full time hours AND more benefits. I have no doubt there is a portion of their staff that is happy to get more hours and don't care about the other benefits, but I do think you are overestimating the impact of going to daily operation has on impacting their staffing.

Seriously though, you're missing my point: There are tons of other local entry level jobs that offer full time hours AND more benefits. I have no doubt there is a portion of their staff that is happy to get more hours and don't care about the other benefits, but I do think you are overestimating the impact of going to daily operation has on impacting their staffing.

That was the case when they had a seasonal schedule too. Of course, the labor market now is the most competitive in 50 years, with the lowest U3 and U6 in my lifetime, but sure, it doesn't matter at all, especially when you're trying to staff for an extra 100 or so calendar days.

^ Just want to say I really appreciate your injection of expertise into the discussion. It's really valuable. Also love the sarcasm.

I hate being a dick about stuff, but the whole "theme parks can easily get labor just paying minimum wage" thing is such nonsense. Cedar Point was platooning rides last year like they were Conneaut Lake while telling people on their quarterly calls that they're spending Trump's tax cuts on building dorms for international employees at most of the chain, and this stuff somehow still comes up. Offering more hours to employees is an obvious way to keep wages from increasing (which is obviously the goal here) while retaining services of people. If every other business in town can offer more money and more benefits, why would anyone work for Six Flags ever?

Yeah, minimum wage is actually higher than minimum wage, if you know what I mean. Around where I live minimum wage is $8.60 but I frequently see fast food places advertising $9.50-$10.

When I was a kid I seriously entertained working for Silver Dollar City, but when I could get more money and more hours from McDonald's with a shorter commute, I chose that. We're seeing a similar economy now and guess what? All the kids are making the same choices I did in 2000. Go figure.

Yeah, minimum wage is actually higher than minimum wage, if you know what I mean. Around where I live minimum wage is $8.60 but I frequently see fast food places advertising $9.50-$10.

Its not any different almost anywhere. There's never been this many open jobs in history:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/12/us-job-openings-jump-to-record-high-of-7point3-million.html

That's the job market. Pay has been slow to increase, in part because lots of businesses are operating in anti-competitive fashion these days (all those corporate mergers had an effect) and in some cases created monosopoys. But even that's changing as the open jobs number creeps up.

When I was a kid I seriously entertained working for Silver Dollar City, but when I could get more money and more hours from McDonald's with a shorter commute, I chose that. We're seeing a similar economy now and guess what? All the kids are making the same choices I did in 2000. Go figure.

If your primary goal is to make money, you'll go to where the money is. On the whole, I sense that GMs and HR figures in the theme park industry believe that they want to pull from people who aren't driven solely by money, but primarily from kids who want to have fun working at theme parks, which is outrageously stupid. This is what youth labor force participation looks like at the federal level:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU01300012

I didn't make that up on the fly. It's been stable at a summer peak in the low-mid 40s for a decade, down from mid-high 60s in the 1990s. That mentality is a dinosaur that somehow managed to lurch its way into surviving long past when the asteroid should have killed it. It doesn't matter how true it is either because its so engrained as a belief that even pointing at the parks that do something different goes nowhere ("That can't work here, this is how we've always done it" mentality).