Higher ticket prices increase Six Flags quarterly revenue by 6%

Lord Gonchar said:
...the right number of people are buying at the right price to make the most money.

For now, at least.

I doubt that anyone who posts here has enough info to make any determinations as to whether they are making the right decisions on pricing. It may very well be the case that they could lower prices or take a host of other courses of action and increase their profits. Or that may not be the case. And often times its difficult to make determinations on those issues because you do not get a true test case (there are other factors that also changed that may have contributed to increases/decreases in profits). But given the choice between what folks without knowledge of the data throw out there and folks who actually have the data and whose job it is to maximize profits based on that data, I would tend to go with the latter.

Net income for the 9 months and quarter ending 9/30 were lower because they took a $35 million loss in connection with the refinancing. Without that loss, net income was up. Not sure what that says about pricing and quality of food. Also not sure I understand the burying it issue as it was in the first couple of sentences of the discussion of quarter/9 month results in the press release.

Beyond that, I would also posit that the magical price point may be a moving target, especially in an economy that seems to be in flux.

GoBucks89 said:
I doubt that anyone who posts here has enough info to make any determinations as to whether they are making the right decisions on pricing. It may very well be the case that they could lower prices or take a host of other courses of action and increase their profits. Or that may not be the case.

Exactly, but that doesn't mean we can't play armchair CEO and discuss it. It comes up enough that it's certainly an issue of interest. Don't overthink it. We're not in a situation where we can find absolute truth - otherwise that truth would be laid down and the discussion would be over.

More on topic - no, we don't have the info. Which is why you have to look around and see that other parks and entertainment venues use very similar pricing structures and that in the parks people are indeed buying the food.

It's not a stretch to say they're in the right area with pricing.

But given the choice between what folks without knowledge of the data throw out there and folks who actually have the data and whose job it is to maximize profits based on that data, I would tend to go with the latter.

And that's the other half. The people who have the info have chosen to price at that point.

Then again, that's what we're discussing. Whether or not those who have the info are making the right choices.

I tend to side with your line of thought - they have the info, they're making WAY more informed choices than any of us.

But business folk make bad choices all the time. Just because you have the info doesn't mean you're making the correct decision. And that's where I go back to the first half - pricing in in line with what I'd expect and people are buying at those prices.

I have no reason to believe they aren't "close enough for the purposes of this discussion" in pricing their food product for maximized profit.

they have the info, they're making WAY more informed choices than any of us.

And I'm not even saying they're making bad decisions. I'm saying I personally feel they could make different decisions, that would cause me personally to spend more money in the park.

Don't overthink it.

Exactly. I'm not a CEO, I just play one on Coasterbuzz. My real life job is far more interesting. Just ask the people that read my Facebook status updates from the hours of 8am to 5pm ;).

Tekwardo said:
The problem with CF food is that it's price is far higher than it's quality most of the time. Is it still 'overpriced'? Compared to eating out of the park, yes. Much like at a convienience store, you're paying a bit more for convenience.

I spent a total of around $17 dollars over 12 visits to Canada's Wonderland this past season. $9.99 for the Haunt Mortal Meal buffet thing that's not bad. Earlier in the season I spent $7ish for a spongy grilled hot dog that used to be a $3.99 park standby but now is mysteriously squishy. I'd gladly pay more for convenient park food that wasn't horrible, even if it was just ok. But unfortunately it is disgusting, so I won't. Also it's the only place I know of where 2 or 3 ahead in line means there's a good chance it's going to take 20 minutes or longer to get really bad food.