Moody's downgrades ratings on Six Flags

Gee, weren't we just talking about how well Six Flags was doing? This kind of shoots that down.

Nope. Talking about how well the new guys are doing. The company is as shaky as ever.

I'm surprised that more people haven't picked up on the real reason why they've removed so many rides lately.

Please tell me how it's going to improve when inflation is 30 percent and people have had five percent raises in the last 3 years?

ONE WORD,

BANKRUPTCY!

Chuck

Eric, The rides removed required manpower and much maintainence.

Hell even SFKK couldn't get enought employees to run everything which often resulted in Rotation of ride openings. the falls would run in the morning, Blizzard river in the evening.

Chuck

Inflations is 30%? In which universe?

Look around and it's happening now, Jeff. Prices of everything is rising faster than the average income. The prices of gase is rising faster than anything and from what I heard some want it to be on the level as the prices in England and Europe.

There was a study in my home paper (Akron Beacon Journal) about inflation in groceries. They found that over a one year period, the average price for food rose 37% (or something to that effect).

The federal government doesn't include food or gas prices in what they call the "core" inflation rate. When those commodities aren't included, inflation is much lower, something like 3 or 4 percent.

Which begs the obvious question, why wouldn't food or gas be included in those numbers? Is there anybody out there who isn't eating food or putting gas in their car?

Jeff, Overal inflation isn't 30percent. House prices are coming down, TV prices are comming down, You can get a dvd player for 29 bucks If you walk into a car dealer with five grand under the sticker, You'll walk out with that car

THE NECESSITIES, GAS, Electric. Food, Heating Oil.

the price of a pound of spaggeti has gone from 41cents to 88 in two years. Same with about everything else in the store.

Don't know about anyone else but I work more overtime and have less SPENDABLE income after the bills are paid.

Chuck, finding second job soon.

*** This post was edited by Charles Nungester 3/25/2008 8:58:54 PM ***

The increase in food cost can be partially explained by the increase in fuel costs, and the fact that the government has decided to subsidize burning food instead of eating it.

Like the podcast said, Six Flags may have already been too far gone to save when Red Zone came in.

Where the heck were you buying spaghetti that it was 41 cents? The price of your bargain basement spaghetti may have doubled, but did everything in the store seriously increase by the same amount?

For me gas bills have been low this year, new windows and keeping the heat lower all year have helped that. My car gets good gas mileage and I never pay more than $30 to fill up. I am almost out of debt, in about eight months I will only have the house to pay off.

I know its not that way for everyone, my mom is having a hard time after losing her job due to cutbacks. She is now part time at the same company, they didn't want to pay her medical anymore.

Six Flags is screwed. I can't imaging them every coming anywhere near to getting out from under this debt. I have less faith in them than I do our own govt.

PerrysburgGuy, burning food? You mean ethanol? I can only imagine what its going to be like if ethanol really takes off. If more farmers are making corn for gas instead of crops for food we will be in trouble.

I don't think that it's that the parks don't have enough attendance, but it's just they are ridiculously undervalue-ing the price of admission tickets, and thus they don't have the money for these new rides, or to pay off that debt. That's what is going to hurt them bad, and still is. You just can't spend 100 million a year in capital if season passes are even $70.00 at some parks.*** This post was edited by Spinout 3/25/2008 10:45:05 PM ***

Every farmer that signs on to Ethanol signs a agreement that 1/3rd of their crop is to be sold to Con Agra, Cargill, whoever they sign on with.

This not only makes the price of wheat and corn products go up but also meat and pultry as their feed as well goes up.

It takes 400pds of corn and 2000 gallons of water to fill up one SUV but your enviro freaks will tell you its better for us despite it getting only 2/3rds the efficiency of Fosil Fuel.

Chuck, done with the off topic. SF was too far gone, I've said it before. Sell all but three our four parks and get on with whats left.

"Enviro freaks" do not like ethanol from what I can tell.

No, generally they don't. Not just because of the efficiency of production issue, but because it seems silly to burn food when there are starving people all over the world.

It's also been determined that the amount of fossil fuels used in various stages, from the fertilizer to grow the corn, to the trucks to haul the corn, to the processing of the corn to MAKE the ethanol - these offset MOST of the energy value of the ethanol produced.

Figures compiled in 2007 point to modest results for corn ethanol produced in the US: one unit of fossil-fuel energy is required to create 1.3 energy units from the resulting ethanol. Sugar-cane is a *much* better source for ethanol, and the fuel DOES show some promise....

eightdotthree, I don't what kind of car you're driving that you're only paying $30 a week to fill up. Maybe it's the kind of driving conditions you're in? I've also got a fuel-efficient car (a Mazda Protege 5) and I'm the only driver. But I have to make at least four trips that take 1/2-hour or more each way to work on I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway) to the first exit of I-83 North and I usually pay around $36 to fill up.

Unfortunately, some of this driving is done during rush hour traffic due to our rehearsal times (I work for a church) and things are bumper-to-bumper at 6 p.m. at night. And unless I'm running behind under normal driving conditions, I try to keep my speed around 60-65 mph. And that just barely keeps me up with traffic on Sunday mornings!

Anyway, back to our story. One of the parks that has got me really concerned is Great Adventure. There is so much that will be missing this year: 1) Intamin Space Shuttle in front of GASM 2) the Wave Swinger 3) Chiller 4) Watertown Movie Effect 5) The Old Country (bumper cars and Musik Express) [the theater will only be open for special events] will be closed off 6) the teepee next to Sawmill Splash (apparently the supports had rotted out)

Sure, they're getting one new ride, but all the rest of the stuff that will be missing I think sends a bad signal to the guests on top of what was gotten rid of last year: 1) Stuntman's Freefall 2) Arrow hydroflume 3) Schwarzkopf EvolutionIf you're still paying a lot of money to get in to the park and all this stuff keeps disappearing, you're going to feel like you're not getting your money's worth. If on the other hand operations stay at the same level as last year (I thought they were very good), then that's a benefit, but you can't keep keep removing flats.
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan 3/26/2008 1:10:54 PM ***

I don't spend more than thirty bucks a week either, and my commute is 20 miles one way, unfortunately (/me hangs head in shame).