Six Flags Announces Nation's Best Theme Park VIP Program

^That's a pretty good point. Acer's get these things for less then what some of these people will pay.

Any club, Not Just ACE, will get better deals than the general public, at a club arranged event.

I'm sure that there have been a few events arranged by this very site, that people were able to get a better deal from than the general public(BEASTBUZZ).

So stop making yourself like a hypocrite, Okay!

WOW!!! Six Flags is doing something entirely different and unique to the amusement park industry! How did they ever come up with such an ingenious idea? Six Flags is the most innovative and technologically advanced theme park company in the WORLD! I wonder why NO OTHER PARK in the universe has ever come up with an idea so incredible and amazing?

And the announcement disguised as "news" is so clever as well.

Of course I'm kidding there. This is not new at all. I'll give them one thing though. They are getting better at creating buzz through news media.

And about the cutting in line thing, I understand and agree with the notion that it is a disservice to regular paying "guests" when someone more willing to spend more money, or someone who is more able to spend more money gets to cut right in front of someone who has waited in line for an hour or two. Keeping that in mind, I really don't see many "guests" buying into such an expensive ticket. VIP's at other parks are not a very large number at all, maybe 5 families per day, I'm guessing from experience.

I've already drawn the line.

IM NOT VISITING!

Chuck

I think I can get around the park fine on my own. And now that my homepark SFGAm has Qbots I don't need to get to the front of the lines. I personally like Six Flags parks but this is just a waist of money.

Well some people have money to waste.

The few people who would do this will not make any difference in "ride wait times".

Whoa, 1000 bucks for a family of four for a few amenities?

Like someone else said, For a mear 500 more you can take them for the 4 day three night disney or universal package and their characters don't charge to get a photo with.

Chuck,

Welcome to the club.

Here we get perks like going to parks that trick you into thinking that your parking for free, and actually have the nerve to let you go on a ride without having to wait for those who paid $40 dollars more.

You know those types of parks that don't charge an entrance fee, but sell you a chicken sandwich platter for $4.75, and it doesn't include the soda. HOW DARE THEY!?

Let's not forget about those parks that give out free soda. FREE! HA!

Sadly though, in this club, we will miss out on the advantages of paying out of our whazoo's for the right to go on any ride without having to wait, or parking in a lot that looks no better than any other lot where you don't have to pay.

Prediction: SFGAdv is going to get turned upside down this year.

But it can happen one of two ways. They are either gonna fix what's broken in terms of capacity, or capacity on Ka and Toro will lead to riots.

Either will be fun to watch....pass the popcorn, Gonch. ;)

I need to add that ERT for enthusiasts has nothing in common at all with legal line jumpers. Everyone attending whatever coaster enthusiast event waits in the same short line as everyone else attending the event, at a time when regular "guests" are not at the park. People who pay extra to be allowed to line cut (an activity not allowed by parks unless paid for)are cutting in front of other people during regular operating hours.

They are in no way whatsoever alike.

But I'm just talking about principal here. I do not believe that many people are willing to pay for VIP treatment; a very, very small number per day.

Do Six Flags policies matter in the region where I live? No! We didn't patronize the Six Flags in our area enough because there were much better run parks (such as CP and KW) around. Now that former Six Flags (GL) is a Cedar Fair park that is still having difficulty finding its niche after those ill fated years under the Flags.

And the other thing that makes the enthusiast events nothing like this VIP treatment is the size of the group. But that doesn't even matter since the enthusiast group won't be cutting in line while everyone else is there waiting.

I will give you the food part. When you throw that in, the deal is even sweeter, but the food is also usually catered and just about any group of people can plan a similar gathering and get a similar deal if they have enough people to justify it.

I was surprised to see that Hersheypark started to offer something similar, but then again as someone had said it's all about making money. I am sure it would be similar to CP like Jeff had said and you wouldn't really know that it is going on.

http://www.hersheypa.com/sweetAccessPass.html

Wow! Here I thought the VIP thing at CP was a bargain. But, with the SF version you get so much more. I'm actually impressed. Cedar Point's version was $350 per person in 2006 ($1400 for four people) and you didn't get food or snacks. I'm very interested in seeing how CP prices it this year and what they offer. Very interesting indeed.

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I think its great the park has something like this. I'd MUCH rather see parks do what CP does with only regular queues and the VIP thing. Like most people said, the limited number of people that take advantage of the VIP thing have NO impact on the regular queue. And, with no Q-bot (or whatever its called now), everyone else's wait time isn't really affected. But, in Six Flags' case, the Q-bot screws up the normal queue so much its just annoying waiting in line. Cedar Point's version is way better in my opinion.

Also, I think this is totally worth it in Cedar Point's case. I'm planning to do it this summer with three of my coaster fan friends. We're doing it just to get a ton of ride time in. That's really it. I doubt I would EVER do it at any Six Flags park because their rides just aren't really all that. I'll probably only do it once at CP too. Its just something I think would be fun. But, I can see how celebrities and/or people with just way too much money and/or the thought they shouldn't be bothered to wait in line would want to do this. Cedar Point also only offers a set number (no idea how many) of the VIP packages per day. So, I'm guessing they wouldn't allow groups of like 50 people do this.

Or you could save your money, go on a weekday in May, and be done with the park mid-afternoon. But hey, I'm sure CP will be happy to take your money.

Well, Jeff. Since I work out of the country, and the only time I can visit CP this summer is a Saturday in the middle of August, I thought this year was a great time to do VIP. But, thanks for your input dad.

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halltd said:
Its just something I think would be fun.

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It only took 33 replies, but we found the man who gets it! :)

It's not about being dumb enough to pay so much, it's not about thinking you're better than anyone, it's not about inequality at the parks, it's not even about SF milking you for every last buck - it's a fun idea. Plain and simple.

Ever splurged on a nice dinner for a special occasion? Every bought that sweet ass shirt 'just because' even though you probably shouldn't have? Ever said yes to 'road tripping' with friends somewhere even though you were all flat broke, just to get away? Go nuts and get the cool hotel room with the balcony overlooking the beach just because it's be cool to do?

Then why not just have fun, hit the park stress free and get treated like a rock star for the day? Sounds like a blast to me too! :)

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I do have to just sit back and chuckle sometimes though. The only thing more predictable than me posting another SF story trying to get a reaction is the reaction I get once I post it. ;)

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halltd said:

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I think its great the park has something like this. I'd MUCH rather see parks do what CP does with only regular queues and the VIP thing. Like most people said, the limited number of people that take advantage of the VIP thing have NO impact on the regular queue. And, with no Q-bot (or whatever its called now), everyone else's wait time isn't really affected. But, in Six Flags' case, the Q-bot screws up the normal queue so much its just annoying waiting in line. Cedar Point's version is way better in my opinion.

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Gonch, he also gets this, too. Six Flags has that "extra factor" that "screws things up" -- that blasted Flash Pass that I so loath :) If Six Flags didn't have that, then this VIP thing wouldn't be quite as threatening and annoying.

So that makes it less fun?

I prefer this over the Q-bot, which I too feel is sanctioned line jumping. I see this as more of the amusement park equivalent of the spa treatment offered at many hotels. Some people enjoy being pampered, and are willing to shell out a few bucks to get just that. I think this is high enough priced that only a few will partake, and the GP masses will hardly notice, if at all. But as several posters have already mentioned, it is cheaper than what some of our favorite parks are charging.

Unfortunately, I realize that some regular posters on here will slam this as another attempt by Shapiro to take all of our money. I see it as another attempt by Shapiro to try and bring Six Flags up to par with the Disney's, Universal's, Busch Parks, and yes, CP. Shapiro is not a stupid person, he is looking at what other parks are doing right, and he is trying to put that in place at Six Flags. If Six Flags fails it will not be due to a lack of effort by the current crew running things, it will be due to the fact that the last crew gave in to the "coasters only" philosophy, and ran the parks straight into the ground.

I for one, look forward to visiting SFGAM this summer, and based on all the early feedback I have seen on the parks that recently opened, it sounds like it may indeed be a good year. SFGAM is my home park, and if they can get it running anywhere even close to CP type operations, then we all have a lot to look forward to.