Six Flags Magic Mountain sued by pass holder for misleading advertising

Either that, or we'll see even more of these silly lawsuits. Even going back to PKI and SOB. How about that?

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

If this results in any improvement in factual advertisement and customer service, then I don't care what parks it affects.

I work in a business that requires that the customers come first, and if they are unsatisfied with what they get, then we make every means to make them happy. That is good business. However countless parks are not in the business of making their patrons happy, rather they want the quick buck. SF is the leader in this. they have absolutely no regard for their customers.

So my point is, this could shock the parks into better ride preperations prior to a marketing blast. Things such as the X fiasco, the SOB delays etc are all blemishes on the park. So why does the customer suffer the consequence?

SF, IMO, is the main perpretrator of this. They make very last minute decisions on their capitol improvements and where new rides are going. That consistantly results in delayed openings and immediate closures thereafter.

Now, don't get me wrong, parks and new rides are bound to have burps. But just look at the laundry list that SF has piled up in the last two season alone:

Deja Vu, Deja Vu, Deja Vu, X Flight, Batwing, V2, V2, X. And that is just off the top of my head.

That doesn't bode well for a company that bills itself as the largest park conglomerate known to man. They may own a lot of parks, but they sure suck at running most of them.

Shaggy

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Shaggy

R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002

Personal "Six Flags" feelings aside, I don't buy this crap one bit. And I hope a judge laughs him out of court.

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

Which, most likely would happen, if it makes it that far.

However I guarantee you that it will not. The park will probably offer some ammends to the fellow and it will quickly go hush hush. The point being, they should have done that in the first place.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not for frivilous lawsuits. I mean, stuff happens. But do you think it would have come to this had they listened to him a bit more and maybe made a better effort to address his individual grievance?

Shaggy

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Shaggy

R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002

Well at least we shouldn't get anymore of the annoying, "why has SF removed X from their website"? Now you see why.

I'm not so sure the park didn't listen to him. It wouldn't be that difficult to just refund him his money and send him on his way. I just don't think that would have been good enough. To me the guy sounds pissed that X is closed, period.

He could have easily included Deja Vu in his complaint and didn't. It's all about X. LOL

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

EDIT:
Alright, this is what is being sued for:

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Phillips said Mirzaie is a season pass holder and is asking for a one-third refund on his pass and for all pass holders. One of the reasons Mirzaie purchased his season pass was because of X, Phillips said.

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All he wants is $30 and he also want's his fellow seasonpass holders refunded a third of the season pass price because he feels they were cheated as well after buying season passes mainly because of a rollercoaster that has not operated on a regular basis yet this year.

Six Flags advertised before the passes were sold that the ride would be open for them to ride when they come to the park. I understand that "rides, even new rides may be down" but the ride in question has been down for unreasonable periods of time that the consumer feels he did not get his moneys worth. I support him because I don't think asking for a third of the money back is unreasonable.
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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com *** This post was edited by bigkirby on 8/2/2002. ***

Well, I think its a pathetic LawSuit, He is only basiclly sueing the park because the ride has been closed for a while, Lets face it, Rides sometimes have to close because there are problems(Take the HyperSonic Situation for example) and the park has absolutly no control over that, If a Ride suddenly brakes down, and it continues to be down for at least 2 months, Why Sue the Park over it,I find it quite puzzling. Also this person is a Season Ticket Holder, He can visit the park as many times as he likes and can even come back to the park when X is operational so why sue the park just because 1 Ride is Broken Down, He still has about 12 other RollerCoasters to choose from, Plus a whole host of other rides, so I'm just baffled why he is sueing the park over such a stupid situation. Now I could understand his situation if he saw advertising for the ride and have travelled a long way just to go on the ride, and then of course found it was not working, but the fact he has a Season Pass is just stupid.

I also agree with CRVeck, Parks clearly tell you on Maps and season tickets etc, that Rides and other attractions can sometimes be unavailable due to maintenance etc. Personally I hope this guy does not win and this guy gets laughed at in court, whatever way it goes though, the results are sure to be very interesting. *** This post was edited by PaulD on 8/2/2002. ***

Would he rather have X open in a potentially unsafe condition, taking the chance that it could be his seat that breaks off the chassis?

The park has the ride closed not only to repair the ride, but to make it SAFE for the guests who so desperately want to ride it.

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My K'Nex Coasters - 2nd Coaster added

Coming to Wyandot Lake in 2003: Sea Dragon's Revenge

You know, if I bought a bag of a dozen apples that were advertised on sale at my nearby grocery store, and then found 4 of them to be missing, then I would want my money back. It's the same thing.

Yes, but didn't you count the apples BEFORE buying them, or shortly after you bought them? If you wait a week and then try to claim missing apples the store won't care at that point, it's too late. If this guy bought a season pass back in January and is now complaining because the ride has been shut down, tough. He had his chance to go on the ride, and the ride will again open sometime and he'll be able to go back on it again.

As for the advertising, Six Flags has pulled all of the advertising for the ride that was feasable to do so. The park maps still show X, as do some merchendise, and of course the coke cans. In those cases all of those items were paid for and printed months in advance. Even if coke had stopped making X coke cans the day that X shut down for the long overhaul, the amount of cans already printed and in distribution would be sufficient for months, and coke isn't going to recall a few million cans just because one ride isn't up and running.

I wonder at what point people will start thinking for themselves. He couldn't read the back of the season pass where it clearly says that rides may break down without prior notice? So many products have safety labels on them; coasters have saftey signs and automated or operator announced spiels. Yet no one listens. What will it take? Does someone have to walk up to you, look you directly in the eye and explain it in terms that are simple enough for a 5 year old that a ride may not work 100% of the time, and that you should plan ahead accordingly? Or in the example of the idiot suing because he got fat on fast food...should it be mandatory for the people serving you the food to take you through a series of warnings that the food isn't good for you and just might cause health problems if that is all your diet consists of?

When will people think for themselves and take responsibility for their own actions?

I personally feel that after a stupid lawsuit like this is presented, that if it is shot down or thrown out of court the party that was sued can sue the idiot for wasting everyone's time. That way in this case Six Flags would be able to pay the legal fees necessary to tell this guy "stuff happens, we're working on it, get over it" without raising ticket prices, and future idiots would hopefully heed the example of the one idiot who just lost a ton of money on a stupid mertiless lawsuit.

-Ride_Op

I still think a lot of you are missing the point. It's about what is advertised versus what was delivered. Having a ride that you use as one of the key selling points for selling admission and season passes and not having that ride open is what we call "bait and switch", and last time that I checked, that's illegal. Sure, the consumer has 12 other coasters to choose from... but that's not the point. X , for many like myself, was THE reason why people decided to visit the park and even buy season passes. So, when SFMM can't live up to what they advertised, and more importantly, do not offer ANY concessions for it, I think it's more than fair to file a lawsuit.

And "no", I am not a supporter of filing lawsuits for just the sake of it or because someone was an idiot and wants to blame someone else for their problems. This is clearly an issue of taking money for services not rendered. SFMM needs to start listening to their patrons for a change.

Besides, it's not like this one guy is looking to take down Six Flags for millions of dollars. We're talking $30 (times how many season passholders there are) ! Think about it. And besides, the rest of the park is dirty and falling apart -- hardly an incentive to make me want to visit it without riding X.

It's sad that some people will sue over anything. They guy lives right in LA and can ride the damn thing anytime he wants once it's opened, so he should stop freakin whining. What about all the ACEr's including myself who flew across the country to only learn at the last minute that X was not running, and later on that week be jerked around with the opening of Xcelerator? Do you see any of us suing anybody? Geez. Get a life buddy. I was of course upset with X but got over it and eventually got to ride Xcelerator but where do these idiots get off with these lawsuits? No wonder the parks have to hike up their prices........they need to pay off the punks like these.
I do agree that any park needs to pull advertising of a new or popular ride if it's not running, or at least have something on the web page that says that a ride is closed, but come on, a lawsuit over this?

It all started with this freakin woman who sued McDonalds cause she spilled some hot coffee on her lap years ago..........and the frivilious run amuck.

Tina N.
*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN on 8/2/2002. ***

Is the season over for SFMM yet doesnt he have a few more months of ridding the coaster when it opens again.

Also its a whole dammed if they do and dammed if they dont scenario for SF. Would he rather have ridden it and got injured or not ride for a few months of a 12 month season. Wish my home park was open for 12 months there rides are closed for 5-6 months every year and hes bothered about loosing a month or so.

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Army Rangers lead the way *** This post was edited by supermandl on 8/2/2002. ***

Yes. I made my way to Cali to HOPEFULLY ride X. But It wasn't open. I was there for 6 days too. But. What was I going to do? Why the hell would you sue the park for a coaster not being open. It's the first of it's kind. I sure was made about it not being open but, I'm not going to sue them for it. It's dumb. The more that people sue the parks the less of a chance they get a ride. People just need to get it through thier head that this ride is one of a kind. LOL. Just to piss off everyone they should put regular roller coaster trains on it until they fix the others. Then they can't get sued but, it's just not 4d. HAHA.

The thing is people CAN sue for anything. How about that guy who's sueing the fast food resturauns because he's fat. Sounds rediculous. Remeber the lady who spilled McDonald's coffee all over herself and got a TON of money for it? I used to think that was rediculous until I read up on the situation in school. McDonalds served their coffee at a temperature that would burn a person's inside if they were to drink it right away. They did it because it provided the best taste. However, McDonalds did something that was unnecessary and dangerous. Now that I have all the facts I agree with the verdict. The same thing goes with the large man who's sueing the fast-food companies. He may have a good case. We don't know all the facts yet. The person who is sueing Six Flags might have a good case also. Is Magic Mountain still advertising for X? If they are than that's fraud. This is because the ride is SBNO for the moment and, because of that, it should not be mentioned in commercials. I don't know all of the info but this person probably shouldn't get a lot of money for this. Six Flags should just give him a free season pass for next year. There is no reason to give him anything more. If Six Flags refuses to settle small and decides to take this to court, they will lose big bucks the same way McDonalds did.

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I wonder at what point people will start thinking for themselves. He couldn't read the back of the season pass where it clearly says that rides may break down without prior notice?

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Yes, but it should also say "Make sure you visit the park on one of the 3 days this year the ride is open (guess which days these are?) so we're not negligent. Oh, and by the way, I hope you don't mind waiting 5 hours in the 100+ degree weather (in no shade too) and hope that it doesn't break down while you wait."

Sorry to be cynical, but it's these types of comments accusing people of "not thinking" that drives me crazy.

The fact is, most people DON'T think. How many times do we have to pull out the same examples of people standing up on rides, then suing when they fall out?

If someone is stupid enough to wait 5 hours in 100 degree weather, I'm sorry, they deserve what they get. I don't expect parks to hold my hand and explain everything to me, there is such a thing as common sense.

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

I said it before, the guy should read the back of his card. It clearly states that rides, even new ones, may not be open for specific reasons!

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Veck
Adrenaline Coaster Design - http://pumpingrct.topcities.com/

CRVeck "Due to ride maintenance and other circumstances, certain rides and attractions (including new rides) may not be open to the public. Rides subject to availability and/or height, weight and safety restrictions."

I believe it says that on park tickets and brochures aswell.

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My Top 5 Coasters: 1)X; 2)Deja Vu; 3)MF; 4)Goliath; 5)X-Flight

Is no one else catching the obvious irony here?

The reason the ride is closed in the first place is so that the public can eventually enjoy a smoother, more consistant ride!

Misleading advertising... give me a break. How about a park that actually CARES about your safety.

If you want to file a lawsuit, start with car dealerships. How often do they outright lie?

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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

One question though... don't you have to buy a ticket or season pass to even see the disclosure statement? Seems a little after the fact to me. They already have you're money, then they tell you that there are no guarrantees that you'll get what you paid for. *** This post was edited by jazken on 8/2/2002. ***