Six Flags Exclusive Adventure

At the last minute, they lowered it from $299 to $199. Apparently, even that wasn't enough to convince people to go.

RGB:
So no TR's on this?

Yeah, I was a little disappointed that I haven't seen a single report on any site. Then again, should I expect anything else from the "$3 is too much for a drink" crowd?

YoshiFan:
At the last minute, they lowered it from $299 to $199. Apparently, even that wasn't enough to convince people to go.

$199 was a much better price point. Should've been down near there from the start.

Did the park even promote this anywhere but that one hard-to-find page on the website? I suspect the lack of promotion hurt worse than the price.

tigellinus:
the night's attendance was VERY limited, it was mostly parents and kids...

Which totally kills the idea (to me at least) that it's families who are hurt most by this price point and can't afford it.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Gonch, there were at least a few people on here who thought it was a great idea. I was hoping someone actually would have put up.

So it maybe a great idea in theory (I was curious to find out for sure), but it suffers in the execution? (Poor marketing and advertising, etc.) All the demographics and good intentions in the world don't mean a thing if the folks at SF keep stepping on their d***s.

Well, if you're asking why I didn't go...

First off the $300 price point was on the high side. I conceded that one pretty early in. $200 was much more in line. (but it wasn't advertised at $200, hell, it wasn't advertised at all - as far as I can tell)

Secondly, I'm nine hours from SFGAdv.

Third, the event was on a Friday afternoon/evening and I have two kids in school.

But aside from price, scheduling and logistics - everything looked great. ;)

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Pretty piss-poor excuses coming from an avowed non-enthusiast. :) What's an extra $400, and an 18-hour round trip? And how much are kids going to miss if you take them out of school in early September?

Actually, there were a few other people in here who were pretty much into the idea who I think live much closer to the park.

If it's decided these exclusive adventures aren't going to be successful, I'd really like it to be only because there isn't a market for it, not for any other excuse the company can come up with. If they turn out to be successful, it wouldn't bother me if it became an occasional event each season, or even if other parks pick up on the idea, as long as it doesn't become the norm.

I wonder how many more people would have went if it was on a Saturday instead of a Friday. Closing the park on a a Saturday in September probably wouldn't annoy that many people, if CF thinks it's ok to close Dorney for 2 full weekends in a row (this past weekend and upcoming weekend) for buyouts.

RGB:
If it's decided these exclusive adventures aren't going to be successful, I'd really like it to be only because there isn't a market for it, not for any other excuse the company can come up with.

Agreed. Problem is, I question whether they're smart enough to realize it may have been reasons other than the idea itself. (assuming it didn't do numbers they found acceptable)

I do think Saturday (and maybe even a full day - how novel!) would have been a better test run.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Yep, Bear. There may have been a lot of reasons this didn't quite work out as planned, but could it be that there really aren't that many people willing to spend $300 per person (or even $200) on a one day park admission after all?

It's all speculation, of course. We really don't know what happened, how many rides were running, or how many people showed up, because all of these people who were excited about Six flags Exclusive Adventure didn't, or perhaps couldn't, go.

Just one honest trip report, positive or negative, would satisfy me.

Lord Gonchar said:I suspect the lack of promotion hurt worse than the price.

Considering that it was GAdv, I have to agree on that. At 200 bucks, with proper promotion, it probably would have been a zoo again...LOL!

My thought about why you dont see TRs from buzzers is just because most of us have been able to go to SFGAdv on a dead, or near dead, day even without the special "exclusive" night. I personally have been to a couple of the Coaster Celebration events and even during the regular operating hours, the park was practically empty. So for me and that particular park, I'd pass.

Plus, I would think that an "enthusiast" being closer would make them *less* likely to attend an 'exclusive' night as they likely have been to the park many times. Now if I was travelling across the country and could only get *one* visit...then it becomes more interesting.

I also, like Gonch and Gator, think $200 is the sweet spot.

2Hostyl said:
My thought about why you dont see TRs from buzzers is just because most of us have been able to go to SFGAdv on a dead, or near dead, day even without the special "exclusive" night.

Guilty as charged. :)

(if you don't want to go back and read that - just check this & this out - that's an exclusive adventure!)

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Well, it was a rainy day, so that's probably factoring into that somehow. Still, if that's what I can expect if there's one of these things to consider next year, count me in. Maybe.

I remember that TR, Gonch. Not even those accommodations could entice you back? :)

What were the numbers we were tossing about? (Too lazy to look back here) I think it was around 2600 people @ $299 a head to equal the revenue of an "average day." At $199, that number gets bumped up to 3900 people.

But to do it on a Saturday, how many people would they need @ $199 to bring in the revenue of a "typical" Saturday? I'd think at least double, if not greater. Roughly saying they get 40,000 people on a Saturday and a per cap somewhere around $40, they would need around 8000 people at $199 to bring in the same revenue.

Is 8000 people considered exclusive enough? At least exclusive enough for people to willingly part with 200 dollars to experience it?

I wouldn't consider 8000 people to be "exclusive". I consider that small number of cars in the parking lot to be "exclusive"!

It wasn't raining in NJ on the 7th was it?

I thought it was. Maybe not. But the parking lot looked soaked and the skies were dark in those photos.

Those photos are from June 2006, Rob. In reference to (and proof of) Jeremy's claim that there's 'exclusive adventure' opportunities available outside of the $200 price tag.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Ah ok. That's what I get for skipping some posts and skimming the others.

I emailed Six Flags Great Adventure's customer service to ask how many people they were admitting into the park that day. I was willing to spend the money on that, but they never responded back with a number.

I am not going to shell out that kind of money, and not know how many people they consider to make it an "Exclusive Adventure." I wasn't going to chance it, and feel ripped of for spending that kind of money. Free food and drinks aren't worth it to me considering I am on a diet, and wouldn't have really eaten much. I would have drank a lot of water. I was more concerned with how many rides I'd be able to get in, but no answer.

It didn't seem like they cared about it. Like everyone said they didn't advertise it, and they didn't answer questions emailed to them about it. I would like to read a trip report from it to see if it was really worth it.

Coasterfantom2 said:
It didn't seem like they cared about it. Like everyone said they didn't advertise it, and they didn't answer questions emailed to them about it.

Bah! See, that's total crap.

Put the price down near $200 (give or take) and promote the hell out of it. Sell it right and it'll work.

coasterimage - lordgonchar