Six Flags needs good weather for good financial results

"Easy solution, don't go. Then we won't even hear from you in these sort of threads because you'll have no interest right? Uh-huh... "

I wish it was that easy. I had such a great time at Universal that I bought a season pass to SF since it is merely an hour away. Guess what?! Six Flags is no Universal by any means...Dirty park, rude people, but the greatest rollar coaster I've ever been on.

Regarding X, look at it from an investors point of view. It's a waste of money for them and for Six Flags right now. It's doing nothing but collecting dust. Do you think that Six Flags actually cares about OutKast? Gimme a break. If Six Flags really cared about OutKast then they would hire new help and maybe actually use two trains instead of making us wait in line for two hours. If they really cared about OutKast maybe they wouldn't charge $3.00 for a bottle of water. If they really cared about OutKast they would have more than 50% of their flatrides operating at a given time.

They don't care about you, they don't care about me. As a publicly traded company their primary concern is to maximize shareholder wealth by getting the highest possible returns on their capital expenditures. Back to my waste of money argument. What is X doing right now? Sitting there collecting dust. Is their new 12 million dollar investment attracting new customers at this time. Heck no! If anything, its closure will lead to a reduction in sales.

Hey, I'm not trying to be pejorative towards you and I'm not saying X will be considered a waste of money in the future but at this moment it is as far as I'm concerned.

The discovery channel said this coaster was way ahead of its time and, in retrospect, maybe it really is.

My understanding is that WOA has yet to break even marginal numbers. And the weather in Ohio has been much better than can be expected.

" Is their new 12 million dollar investment attracting new customers at this time. Heck no! If anything, its closure will lead to a reduction in sales".

Perhaps not, but dude, SFMM has at least 5 other rollercoasters that would headline most parks. If Millennium Force went down, do you honestly think people wouldn't show up to ride Magnum and Raptor? Get real.

As for Six Flags, I could care less whether they care about me personally or not. They provide a product that I enjoy paying for. That is the extent of my concearn for them. *** This post was edited by OutKast on 6/13/2002. ***

This a little off the subject, but I keep hearing about water costing $3.00. The SixFlags near me gives away free water, and all you have to do is go up to one of the food places and ask for it. I was just curious if any of the other parks do that. They should, but who knows?

You're probably talking about ice water. My girlfriend won't drink fawcet water so I had to pay the $3. It's really not the money, it's the principle.

OutKast, I have no doubt that SFMM is a great park as far as coasters are concerned. My qualm is with X and what a waste of money I think it is. Just my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

And if MF went down, I'm sure there would be quite a few people who would cancel their plans. I know I would.

There's much more to an amusement park experience than rollercoasters. And as I said before, no one is qualified to know how long X might be down, so it's a bit pre-mature to write off the ride, it could re-open in a few weeks.

But back to the subject, SF will be fine IMO as long as they stick with their plan to reduce spending to recoup some profit. But I know for a fact that they will not stop pushing the envelope with it comes to building cutting edge rollercoasters just because of X and Deja Vu, please. I can't wait till people find out what's coming to a certain SF park next year... *** This post was edited by OutKast on 6/13/2002. ***

I agree. They need to worry about their balance sheet but still try to implement new rides to attract more visitors.

There are other things I feel they could do to make visiting their parks a more enjoyable experience but I'll save that for a future discussion.

Listen Vassk, start traveling a little more, than come back and complain. Every big park chain charges a lot for soda. Every last one. I've routinely seen $2.50 and up sodas at two Cedar Fair parks-Cedar Point and Dorney Park, two Parmount parks-Kings Dominion and Carowinds, and Hersheypark. Do you ever go to sporting events or concerts? If you have then you need to quit your whining. You and I both know that prices are outrageous at those events.

You're complaining about a park that is located in an area considered to have the rudest people in the country. And this is coming from several people who live there. All Six Flags parks are not rude and dirty. My advice is to stay from the Massechusetts area.

Lastly, let's look at other recent rides that have been trouble-makers for other park chains, shall we?
1) Hypersonic XLC-PKD--Broke down constantly last year, costing PKD lost revenue due to free ticket handouts
2) Volcano the Blast Coaster-PKD--Didn't open until August, and then it only opened with 8 seats on each train
3) Rocket Rods-Disney--Mechanical nightmare, it was removed
4) Test Track-Epcot--Again, mechanical problems pushed back the opening
5) Rhino Rally-BGT--One of the jeeps flipped over, and the rapids section had many problems
6) Perilous Plunge-Knott's Berry Farm--ride was delayed and also suffered a fatality

I'm sure there are more I haven't thought of, but you get the picture. Step away from your computer and start going to as many parks as I do. Then you can criticize Six Flags all you want.

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B&M vs. Intamin? CCI vs. GCI? Who cares! They're all fun!

I've been to many parks and i criticize SF for how they RUN their parks, not for how they spend thier money or what ride choices they have.

Any park that wants to compete with other big ride parks must look at the "experimental" rides, and that leads to bugs and the like. SF gets a bad wrap because they are unwilling to spend the money in areas that improve the guest's experience. That will be their downfall if they don't change their M.O.

I don't get it. I went to PGA on June 9th and SFMW on June 8th for my birthday. I have to say that PGA is one of my favorite parks and SFMW is my least favorite. Yet, PGA was empty with walk-ons to everything except Stealth (damn trains causing problems) but SFMW was at least a 45 minute wait for anything at anytime of the day. At PGA we rode out first coaster 30 minutes before the park was even open, but at SFMW half the rides didn't test until 10:30. There is Delerium at PGA and that sells it right there. I don't understand the crowds at SFMW because PGA is such a better park with much better rides. All they need is a good wooden then it may be my favorite park...

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www.EverythingRollerCoaster.com
~Santa Cruz Trip Report just added with lots of pix!

Intamin Fan - Who are you and why should I care? Don't criticize my opinions when you don't know a damn thing about me, capise? You have no idea which parks I've traveled to and I my gripe was about water prices, not soda prices...read my posts thoroughly before jumping to conclusions.

Where are the ridiculous prices at Lake Compounce? Not at Lake Compounce evidently.

And your precious X is going to be down for the year, if not longer. What a waste of money to the shareholders!

For the record, every area of the country has rude people, not just the Northeast.

"Step away from your computer and start going to as many parks as I do. Then you can criticize Six Flags all you want."

This quote came from somebody who has well over 1200 posts. Get a life.

Hey, I'm from Boston, ***holes! ;)

In my experience, the northeast is really the most rude part of the country. I think the weather may have to do with it. Can anyone speak for Chicago or other cold areas?

Are we just speculating on X's downtime or is there really reason to believe it'll be down for a month, or a season, or forever?

It's all speculation. It's also downright silly for me(an enthusiast) to give a crap whether X was a waste of money for shareholders as I am NOT one. I just love the ride and can't wait to ride it again.

As for SF, we've over this territory over and over and over again, nothing new there...

Vassk, I may have 1200 posts, but I multi-task very well. I'm always doing something else while surfing the web. I've also been on this site since 2000. You've been on how long? How do you think I know so much? That's because I actually travel to other parks, instead of complaining about parks I've never been to.

If you come to this site and express your opinion, expect that others will fire back, and sometimes in a not-so friendly way when what you are saying is groundless. You're right that I have no idea what parks you've been to, but, a seasoned traveler wouldn't make the statements that you did.

My precious X? I've never ridden X. You see, I took a week-long coaster trip to Texas, and I only have one other roadtrip planned, which is on the eastcoast/midwest. Sure there are rude people in other parts of the country, but anyone from the midwest and west will tell you that the eastcoast, from DC on up has the rudest people in the country. Facts are facts. I lived in Baltimore, and now reside in College Park, MD, 20 minutes from DC and SFA. And yes, we can be a rude bunch.

Why are you worried about shareholders? Do you own stock in Six Flags? If you don't, then why are you worried? Roller Coaster Tycoon is a game, remember? And no, I don't own the game. I choose to actually experience rides in three-dimensions.

Ok fine, you said bottled water, not soda. And the difference is? As I've said before, "If you want the big, expensive rides, than you're going to pay for them, in one way or another."
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B&M vs. Intamin? CCI vs. GCI? Who cares! They're all fun!

"How do you think I know so much? That's because I actually travel to other parks, instead of complaining about parks I've never been to."

I never said you do know so much. I've never complained about a park that I've never been to. I complain about the company that owns these parks.

"If you come to this site and express your opinion, expect that others will fire back, and sometimes in a not-so friendly way when what you are saying is groundless."

I expect and encourage others to state their minds, in fact if everyone just agreed with each other it wouldn't be called a forum now would it? To say my opinions are groundless is incorrect. They're my opinions, not facts. As such, they can't be groundless. Besides, most of what I've said here is glaringly true.

"My precious X? I've never ridden X."

That comment was for the benefit of most of the people posting here since every third topic in the forum has to do with X.

"Sure there are rude people in other parts of the country, but anyone from the midwest and west will tell you that the eastcoast, from DC on up has the rudest people in the country."

I never once disputed the fact that the rudest people in the country live in New England. In fact, I agree with it. MA is know for its terrible drivers while CT (where I live) is known for being the biggest A-holes in the U.S. I was just pointing out that there are rude people wherever you go. It wasn't even the rudeness, it was the way Six Flags handled the situation. More on that later.

"Why are you worried about shareholders? Do you own stock in Six Flags? If you don't, then why are you worried?"

I am not worried about shareholders nor am I a shareholder myself. This is my thing. I'm a Finance major. Take a look at Six Flags balance sheet. They have debt coming out of their wazzoos. X is on the sidelines possibly indefinately. That was a 12-20 million dollar investment for the company which is returning nothing at this moment. Shareholders can punish the stock badly for this. If they do then Six Flags is going to have to show investors that it can turn a healthy profit while also paying down some debt. That means less expenditures and less new attractions for the general public to enjoy. Does that sound about right?

"Roller Coaster Tycoon is a game, remember?"

I have no idea what that is. I never included or alluded to that in my posts. I don't play games.

"As I've said before, 'If you want the big, expensive rides, than you're going to pay for them, in one way or another."

I do agree with that statement 100%.

Here are some of the things I dislike about Six Flags:

- Security issues throughout the park. My girlfriend and I, and many others, are walking through a main area of the park and a verbal confrontation breaks out. Nothing at all is done. Why should women and children have to listen to this garbage. Most other amusment parks would have dealt with this adequately, I'd assume a warning at the minumun with possible expulsion. Hey, at least I knew I had no chance of getting shot until after I exiting the park.

- Smoking and cutting lines. If it isn't bad enough that I have to wait 90 minutes to ride Superman due to single train operation, I also have to deal with others in line behind me smoking while half the line jumps forward about an hour to be with their friends. Can't they either (1)enforce non-smoking in ride lines or (2)designate areas throughout the park for smoking? Disney does it and it seems to work. I work at a bar and I have to inhale second hand smoke, I shouldn't have to when I'm at the park. The smokers are the minority, not the other way around.

- I've already said my piece regarding inflated snack bar prices. Like I said before, it isn't the money. It's the principle.

- Does Six Flags even have a PR department? Let's use this whole X debacle as an example. Where was this news on their website? There was none. In fact, they decided to remove anything associated with X entirely from their site. The attraction cost a lot of money. People are traveling to ride said attraction. Doesn't the general public have the right to know what happened to X or how long it may be down for? I think we do. They don't have to explain what happened. A simple, "Due to unforseen maintanaince issues, X will not be operating in the near future. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Everyone wins in my opinion if this was done.

There are other gripes I have with the company but I don't want to drag this post on any further.

Now don't get me wrong, I am grateful to Six Flags. Without them, I would never have the option of riding such great coasters so close to home. I understand money doesn't grow on trees, so a little upcharge is necessary. But $12 for a locker?! Gimme a break.