$15 to park at SFMM!

...And that's the point. I get pissed off at spending $10 to park the car because they're taking my $10 and essentially giving me NOTHING in return except a space that is really too small for me to get the doors open. A long walk to the gate, no tram service, no security, inadequate lighting at night, and a paving job that should have been done years ago, not to mention the traffic nightmare caused by the ad-hoc erection of barriers for the 'preferred' parking area.

That doesn't mean I'm going to complain about high priced admission tickets (I like my $49 Six Flags pass, but you don't see me complaining about my $130 Cedar Point pass!) or high priced food and merchandise. It's all a matter of *value*. I made the mistake this season of buying a $4 Sno Cone at Geauga Lake. Why did I make that mistake? Because when I bought a similar looking $4 Sno Cone at Kentucky Kingdom in a season gone by, it turned out to be really good. Can I logically justify paying $4 for some flavored ice? No. Am I willing to do it, particularly given that I'm known to be unwilling to drop $2.50 for a Coke? Yes, I am. Done right, there's a value to that product that, under the right circumstances, exceeds its intrinsic value, and while $4 is excessive, it isn't outrageously so. But parking in an isolated lot at an isolated amusement park doesn't carry that kind of value. I park in the lot because of a lack of practical alternatives, not because I get any enjoyment from doing it. Besides, it's getting to the point where parking costs more than the amount of cash I happen to keep on-hand!

Ever notice that while lots of places advertise their ticket prices, nobody advertises the price of parking unless the price is "FREE"?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Back in 2000 we all got SFKK season passes. One of our group wanted a slushie. They advertised a Park container that for 8.99 you could get refills all season for 2.50 or something like that.

Well he buys the mug and they give him no product with it. The proceed to tell him it's another 8.99 to fill it. So for 18.00 he gets his first slushie.

Later in the day, They tried charging him 8.99 to refill it.

He hasn't been back since.

Chuck

I could see the corporate tie-ins now....

Bring a can of coke to the gate, save 5 bucks off of parking.

I'm going to open a parking structure within a short distance of parks, charge $7 to park and offer a shuttle to the gates. Even if there are only seven or eight people on my bus and I have to pay the parking fee every trip I make to the gates I'll still make a killing.

MD, if your bus is willing to make an initial stop at WAWA, here's a five and two singles.

I really did want to see Six Flags pull out of its debt. I still do, but after this, I hope they struggle for a little while, until they decide to lower their pricing. The worst thing that can happen from my perspective is this is widely successful.

I hate higher prices as much as anyone else. However,

Boss...that was the best explanation anybody has had to date!

Ok this six flags thing is getting out of hand. I knew and expected changes to come, but everyday I look at coasters sites six flags is in the news again. I am afford that six flags is going to run it's self in a hole with some of these price changes along with crazy park operation ideas. (No re-entry) Some of these price changes are crazy. $15.00 dollars to park my? That’s not right. I understand that they are trying to get out debt, but where do you drawl the line. They are acting like there is such a high demand for there parks. If they don't change or fix what’s wrong there won't be any customers left and at the moment there numbers aren't that great to being with. Customers want a good product and if the product is good the price isn't as important, however if you have a product that nobody wants you can't just raise the price on everything. Come on is it worth dropping 49.99 for a single day at SFA, or $59.99 at SFMM or some of the others.

I knew that changes were coming but none of these changes are going to appeal to there customers. Except the Non smoking that might appeal to some, which I can't wait too see a six flags park actually enforce this one. Maybe some of the most exciting moments this year will be watching six flags trying to enforce these rules, especially at SFGadv and a few others.

I want to see the long term affect from all of these great changes. Not only this season but the following season and the one after. People won't pay the top dollar for crap, and I don't see all of these parks becoming top notch parks over night.

---

Lord Gonchar said:
So if the enthusiasts really can change the world (as some argued in the re-entry thread) then this should be oveturned before the end of the day, right?

---

Gonchar I do not know if we can change anything but im sure some one will bring it up at the convention this year at Walt Disney World this summer. I am also sure that some one will post info on it in the ACE message boards. We just have to wait and see i guess.

Richie, it's more like "Bring an empty Coke can to the park and we'll fill it for only $10."

Everything I type vanishes!??

*** Edited 1/20/2006 5:54:47 AM UTC by Bosshawk***

^ That didn't...yet! ;)

What's interesting still is the fact that SFoG has two separate lots... a Gold lot, and a normal lot. Last year the Gold lot was $12 and the normal one was $10. This year, both lots are going to be $15. No more Gold. I can't say I'm not surprised they didn't up the Gold lot to $18 or so.

SIXFLAGS ANNOUNCES A NEW SPECIES OF THRILL TO THE PUBLIC:
PARKING PARK!

Valencia, CA
The Sixflags corporation just announced the expansion of its eclectic set of thrill- and waterparks by an entirely new type of eXtreme family destination: Parking Park!
Families and friends can now play amazing games of "park your car" on an exciting dusty vintage pavement artfully cracked and faded in the Californian Desert Sunshine (TM) - which has been in the making for 35 years!
But that's not all! The new park also features unique views of the magnificient Magic Mountain range of coasters from a dwarfing ground-plane perspective! Take a Drive-In scream at Scream! - the parking lot coaster - through a beautifully crafted barbed wire fence.
And if you feel like you'd rather take the train, there is the amazing "get me out of here" Tram which will take you right to the cash desk of Magic Mountain itself!

Day passes for unlimited parking are only $15 per vehicle - a wonderful economic alternative to other family destinations in Southern California.

Six Flags - GO PARKING

** Edit for spelling errors - and to remove the word "gang" from the text: *** Edited 1/20/2006 5:42:24 PM UTC by superman***

^
Ummm, no!
That was horrendous, Please try again.

When you truly put it together and do the math...

If a family of four plans for a full day of Great Adventure in 2006, it will cost between 2 and 3 hundred dollars at gate prices.

Food, Parking, Gas, Tolls, Admission....That's a lot of money for one day. It's even worse when you consider how many other people have the same idea.

The deal declines even further when you throw in broken rides, lousy service and a growing percentage of low-class clientele.

It's just too much money and hassle for the average family. They will spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere.

Though I've never been there, (but plan to) it seems as if parks like Holiday World embrace the enthusiast community as they listen, embrace and cater to us. Places like Knobels doesn't even charge for parking.

Last year I went to Great Adventure's opening day. Z-100 (New York Radio Station) was sponsering free soda all day. I doubt that similar organizations will pay for parking for the day as part of sponsorship. (Boy wouldn't that be good PR) As your driving up to the lot, the smiling employee tells you..."Oh there's no parking fee today. The good people at (Insert compnay name here) paid the $15 for you."

I love it how the parks refer to people as "guests." When I have guests over to my house I never charge them to park thier cars. And I let them go back to their cars if they forget something.

I don't understand why we're still referring to the ghost no re-entry policy. People realize it's not true, right?

The problem is human tendencies to remember what irritates them and not to look back when something is change. Remember the saying "You never get a second chance to make a FIRST impression." The first policy idea that was leaked was the no re-entry policy and now it's stuck in peoples minds. I bet if the first announced policy would have been the no smoking policy and the supposed additional security to help control the crowds and more walking around characters. The they could have announced the price hikes for parking and daily park entry with less impact, cause people would say the additional money is going to more staffing. Notice offer people good will first then hit them with the bad news. Yes the no smoking is a detractor to people who do smoke but if done right it will not inconvienence them that much.

I bet the no re-entry policy would have faced less disasterous impact if they waited until middle this season to announce it for next year, if and only if things were looking up at the parks this season. Better service levels would have lessened the blow of that policy.

Just my two cents in a million dollar world

Here is what confuses me...

There has been talk by the new management that they want to make Six Flags more family friendly...

Then, they increase prices on admission and parking...

The argument going around about them trying to change their clientelle is a valid one, but you are also pricing out 99% of the market you just said you want to cater to.

Let me cite an example. I work in a place where people are fairly well paid, so many people here are considerably wealthy. A lot of these people have families with the standard average of 2.5 kids, etc...etc...

A few of them make comments about my coaster calendar on the wall in my office and they start talking about Six Flags Great America and how much they love the park, BUT, they havent been in a while because it is TOO EXPENSIVE for them with a family of four or five. These are six digit wage earners and this is BEFORE the price increases. And, yeah, most of them are hacked off about spending ten bucks to park before they even start their day. The only ones that see ten bucks as a bargain to park work in downtown Chicago.

One would hope they did their market analysis on this one before raising those prices, or they may be in for some unexpected surprises during the season.

Now, that said, personally, I would pay the higher prices if it meant:

a) Less crowds
b) A better clientelle - although, wealthy people do make the worst clientelle, actually... they tend to expect more and demand more and can get downright ugly when they dont get it. My guess is that a majority of your linejumpers come from this socio-economic group as they EXPECT to be first in line....
c) Better service