Six Flags 2007 Parking Pass Fiasco!

I know many of you on here hate the Six Flags corporation. I am actually not one of you. I didn't start this thread to make it a Six Flags bash fest. I'm just asking if anybody has an idea as to what is going on, or if anybody has heard any different. Plus, I was thinking that maybe Jeff can get some answers to this or bring it up on the next podcast.

Last year, my fiancee and I bought SFKK season passes and a SFGAm parking pass with no problem what so ever. We attended SFGAm's (our home park btw) Fright Fest on Saturday so we went to check out how much their season parking pass was for the 2007 season as we had heard that it was going to be $45. Come to find out, it was actually going to be $50 which in all reality is a steal for Six Flags.

At the time I asked, the lady in the processing office informed me that is was no longer going to be a sticker, but the parking pass option was now going to be printed on the season pass itself, and that it was going to be valid at ALL Six Flags parks. With that bit of information, I decided that I was going to go ahead and wait to see what I could figure out. In my head I was thinking that we could go ahead and renew our SFKK pass and get a parking pass there.

I started calling around to various Six Flags parks on Sunday to see if they were all on the same page, or if SFGAm was just making stuff up. Every other park had no idea what so ever about the parking pass being valid at all of the parks. The only park that said the same thing as SFGAm was Six Flags America, but that was after I asked her and she spoke with a supervisor about it.

Being the loyal season pass holder (no groans please) to Six Flags that I am, I ended up calling the Six Flags corporate office. I left a very nice message to see if they had any idea as to what was going on, and also left my number for them to return my call. I know that more than likely they aren't going to call back, but at least I made it a point to call them and let them know there is a major mix up. Plus, I don't want to wait until the beginning of the season gets here to get my season pass because the price is just going to go up.

My question, after the long and drawn out back story, is what has everybody heard from their own park, and is there anything else that can be done with this situation?

Thanks!
Chrissy :o)

No one here hates Six Flags, we just hate that they've turned a perfectly wonderful business into a totally awful consumer experience.

Interesting though that they've dropped the ball on this and the current season hasn't even started.

I'm going to be at SFFT on Saturday buying an '07 season pass. I don't plan to buy a parking pass, as I'm not sure I'll make 5 SF visits in the upcoming year, but I'll ask about it when I'm there.

Bought a SFA 2007 Season Pass and Parking Pass (parking is now printed on the pass... at SFA it was always a window cling in years past)... just went to SFGAdv yesterday and used my 2007 SFA season pass w/ parking to get into SFGAdv no problem. The word I hear is that they will be installing scanners (similar to what they have at the front gate) at the parking booths for 2007 and they'll just scan your card when you go to park.

I got my SFA 2007 pass and parking pass on Saturday, and was also told that it would be good at all the parks. Nice to know that Coaster Lover Has already used it at a different park. Hopefully all the kinks, if there are any, are worked out by the start of the 2007 season.

So, they're taking a step forward with their parking passes... and Cedar Fair is taking a step backward.

Nice.

Here it is in writing from SFA.

Great news as far as usablility. That's sweet stuff.

Horrible news in terms of pricing. Those things need to be at least twice as much in total cost. Getting into all the SF parks and having parking covered for the rest of 2006 and all of 2007 for under $100!?

I mean when a pass that covers admission and parking at 18 parks costs less than any other passes in the industry and most offering much less access for higher prices (the only one that even comes close is the CF Maxx Pass in terms of number of parks, but you'll pay to park anwhere that's not 'home') then something is seriously off.

*** Edited 10/10/2006 4:43:12 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

SFKK doesn't offer a season parking pass. IIRC, the parking lot is owned by another company.

Looks like I'm getting a GAm pass for '07.
*** Edited 10/10/2006 4:52:09 PM UTC by rOLLocOASt***

I went to SFA this past Sunday (10/8) and bought the 2007 Play Pass for 2007. I did not know about the parking pass being valid at all parks...I wonder if I can get it added on after the fact.

Ahyhoo, I don't want to hijack this thread, but SFA needed help on Sunday. I saw a lady get refused entry at 3:10PM after waiting in line for 15 minutes. She has a coupon from the Season Pass book (Bring a Friend for 16 bucks during Fright Fest, entry before 3PM only). So much for improved customer service. There were only two lines open to get in the park and they were both long. SuperMan and Batwing didn't open until 4PM. 4PM?!?! The park opened at 10AM. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.

The "Happy 45th Bday" announcements were no more too. Actually, the ride attendants weren't talking at all. In the Superman queue, the music was on loud the entire time, no announcements or anything.

The season parking pass benefits seem to vary from park to park. At SFOT the 2007 season parking pass is good only at SFOT, and it states that on the website. So far it looks like only SFA and SFGAm are offering a parking pass that is good at all locations.

I think it's a work in progress changing the wesbites. Last week, SFA's said the same thing.

^ I pointed out to GR at SFA on Saturday about their web site and the parking pass and they did say that all the park web sites would be updated to reflect the new policy.

Also I think the opening time for SFA on both Saturday and Sunday was 1 PM, not 10 AM.

On the one hand, it makes sense that SFKK would not participate in a chain-wide parking pass, as their parking area is owned by the KY Expo Center.

On the other hand, parking has always been included with a Wyandot Lake pass (even in the pre-Premier days) even though the City of Columbus owned the parking lot. So there is no reason that Six Flags could not enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky to provide "free" parking for Six Flags parking pass holders.

Hearing that Six Flags is going to CHEAP! chain-wide parking is yet another reason that Cedar Fair really needs to think twice about their parking plans on the Maxx Pass......

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Or, it's yet another reason why Six Flags is going to be filing chapter 11 sooner rather than later...

Time will tell, I suppose.

I received word today that the parking pass IS going to be valid at all Six Flags parks. The Six Flags corporation is currently working on getting a press release together for the near future. The reason for the mixup was that not all parks have been informed of the new policy yet as some parks haven't even put their parking passes on sale.

Why is there a total lack of coordination among the parks on this, or most anything for that matter? (Remember the re-entry or no re-entry policy of last spring?) Why is it that some parks are selling parking passes when others haven't even been told about it yet?

Corporate should be saying "this is going to be the policy, chain-wide, as of this date. Do not jump the gun, do not create your own policy, do not tell customers anything that varies from this policy, do not say what other parks are or are not doing unless you have heard it from headquarters."

The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

I am going to assume that it might be the individual parks themselves (IE: SFGAm and SFA) that jumped the gun. The person that I spoke with on the phone was very apologetic that this had even been mentioned yet and assured me that everything would be ok. I was even told that they are attempting to work something out with SFKK and their parking situation.

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palwine said:
I went to SFA this past Sunday (10/8) and bought the 2007 Play Pass for 2007. I did not know about the parking pass being valid at all parks...I wonder if I can get it added on after the fact.

Ahyhoo, I don't want to hijack this thread, but SFA needed help on Sunday. I saw a lady get refused entry at 3:10PM after waiting in line for 15 minutes. She has a coupon from the Season Pass book (Bring a Friend for 16 bucks during Fright Fest, entry before 3PM only). So much for improved customer service. There were only two lines open to get in the park and they were both long. SuperMan and Batwing didn't open until 4PM. 4PM?!?! The park opened at 10AM. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.

The "Happy 45th Bday" announcements were no more too. Actually, the ride attendants weren't talking at all. In the Superman queue, the music was on loud the entire time, no announcements or anything.

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Batwing was running just fine<til we got to it> but superman was giving them major problems all day long.

As far as the pricing, what's so wrong with it? Season passes are priced to be paid off after two to three visits, so why shouldn't season parking passes... as it is, at $45 (at least at SFA), you'd have to visit three times just to break even, four visits to actually make it a value. Most season passes at ANY other theme park are paid off after three or four visits, so seems the parking pass is priced just fine...