I dont think Season Passes should be increased. I already payed $60 for my Great Escape pass...i can understand why there's is so high since you have free parking and all, but still its not a big park, and the past two years its gotten the shaft for new rides.
InCLinE LoOpER said:
"The thing with SF though, they only have security staff. That could be one reason for it. CP has an actual sanctioned police force. If SF adopted this policy, they would'nt have to worry about this stuff, so the price increase you want, would'nt be necisary for those reasons.
-------------
MF Drops-15
SOB Rides-2"
SFGADV has both town and state police officers stationed at the park. They assist in training the security staff and also are there if the need arizes for police on site.
I think they should raise season pass prices a bit, as long as that money stays at the park and is used to beef up security, cleanliness, etc. I have no problem with paying more money for a better park. I like the way WoF handles their unruly guests and I wish SF was the same. But at SFGAm this past summer, line-jumping, cursing, arguing/shouting, and other stupid things people do were regular stuff. What made it more frustrating is that occasionally park staff would be watching it all happen -- especially line-jumping -- and would do nothing about it. They know it's so out of control they can't contain it.
Bottom line: I think SF needs more personnel patrolling the parks and raising season ticket prices would be a good way to get the dough.
Why would they raise the price? The more they sell, the more money they make. That's the bottom line.
-------------
Peace, Love, and Rollercoasters.........we need more of all three.
What everyone fails to see here is the more season passes sold is a benefit to us, the owners see what park gets the most season passes and act accordingly to it. Also its the PARENT not the park that has to teach these kids manner's and respect to others it all begins at home.
Also on the tip to retain a park guest when there is trouble I would totally disagree there your just asking to be sued especially if your an adult retaining a minor, get a park employee and point them out never never everput your hands on anyone at a park your just asking for more trouble.
-------------
Army rangers lead the way
Personally, it just baffles me why anyone could justify raising ticket prices to keep rowdy park guests out. You think that's going to help?
If that's true, and it would actually work...
Well, then... let's:
Increase movie theater tickets- They're too cheap! $7 a film? No wonders all those teenagers see all those bloody violent films which promotes bad behavior. Got to raise the price to at least $12 per movie.
Increase highway tolls - It's too cheap to travel. If you raise the tolls, then it'll keep the rowdy teens out of the streets, and we can travel on the thruways in peace without being passed at 85MPH!
Increase fast food prices - Oh yea, if you bump up the price of a burger thrice the normal price, then it'll drive those pesky troublemaking teens out of the fast food joints!
Bowling Alleys & Driving Ranges need to increase their prices! - Troublemaking teens like to hang out in these places. If you double the price of a game of bowling, that's a sure way to keep the alley's clean of any trouble.
Do you get my point yet?
Increasing the price is not going to help, only open up a whole new world of problems (ie: lower attendance).
Very well put Dawg Byte higher price will not solve this type of problem.
-------------
Army rangers lead the way
StandUpFan said:
"But at SFGAm this past summer, line-jumping, cursing, arguing/shouting, and other stupid things people do were regular stuff. What made it more frustrating is that occasionally park staff would be watching it all happen -- especially line-jumping -- and would do nothing about it."
It all depends on what you mean by "Staff". If it was security that saw it then they should of done something, but if it was a ride op they are suppose to run the ride not patrol the park.
-------------
The Raging Bull #1!!
You shouldn't raise the prices. Not all teens are "bad". It just seems that people only notice teens when they're doing something wrong. It kind of annoys me when me and my friends go to the mall or something and women especially with kids always think we're getting ready to attack them so they practically run the other way. Stereotypes. Blah!!
Sometimes people like to confuse a group of loud teens with a group of rowdy teens. When people in lines notice a group of teens being loud and having fun, they tend to become antsy and assume that whatever they are doing is causing harm towards others. We get that a lot here in SFGam, being in the Chicago area. Many people see the teens who wear baggy, hip hop oriented clothing, and automatically assume that they are in a gang.
Parks just need to increase their security and take measures against offenders. At SFGam last year, I saw several ejected or kicked out lines for Raging Bull, Iron Wolf, and Viper for line-jumping. My favorite method of handling this is when the employee waits until the person is at the station and ejects them out the line.
Matter of fact, I agree with Dawg Byte, but I have others to add towards that list.
How about we not let teens enroll in college. Make them wait until they are 20.
Hey, lets not forget Public Transportation, I would love to ride the bus without any noise.
Lets also charge teens 25 dollars(credit card only), to get into a library.
Teens will be teens.
goonsta said:
"...I saw several ejected or kicked out lines for Raging Bull, Iron Wolf, and Viper for line-jumping. My favorite method of handling this is when the employee waits until the person is at the station and ejects them out the line."
Your favorite method as well as mine! ;)
-------------
Millennium is spelled with two N's ;)
Hey goonsta, when were you at SFGAm? That NEVER happened on summer weekends, so if I ever go back I'll be there when you attend instead. And SFGA_FAN made a good point -- when I say "staff" I'm talking security not ride ops or refreshment hawkers or anything else. SFGAm is very efficient with ride operation, but they need more security.
In response to a quite a few posts, I think SFGAm could make more money by raising prices slightly and creating a much better park environment. Some of you seem to assume that lower prices automatically means more sales, and that's wrong. Think about almost anything you buy -- is quality not a factor? If it's not then why do we have better, more expensive products in stores? Sure, price has a lot to do with it, but so do many other things. With the reputation of SF parks as below average (to put it nicely) on overall park atmosphere, I think there's more money to be made through SMALL price increases and more park staff -- er, security, etc.
Think about it, how many people will refuse to buy a pass because it's $50 instead of $45? How many people, especially families, will decide to buy a pass because the environment is better? See my point?
I am sorry to say... I don't see your point, StandUpFan.
I stand (with others) firmly & common sense tells you... beefing up the price of tickets will not increase the quality of the park.
I have to agree with the poster. At Six Flag parks you have a very low life element that takes the enjoyment away. Ive been to Six Flags Great America often(season pass holdder 2yrs) and find alot of gang bangers/teenagers runnig wild, using profane language, line skipping and nothing is done about it when mentioned to the park staff. I found similiar behavior at Kentucky Kingdom and Six Flags St Louis. The parks are very messy and with the behaviour it ruins a family atmosphere and i dont even go on Fridays or Saturdays becuase those days are even worse when it comes to the behavior of the kids. Ive been to WDW and Univeral Studios/IOA and both Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg and never had this type of behavior at all with the parks very clean and all patrons well behaved without profane langauge. Cedar Point and Paramonts Kings Island&Dominion some teenagers were more wild and the parks were dirtier but the behavior of the guests were alot better than Six Flags. Ive just found in my opinion that Six Flags draws a more low-life type element and i believe it is partially the price and that Six Flags tolerates that type of behaviour while the other theme parks dont.
Bob O try going to universal on halloween horror's
the park is open till 2am and they do not seem to card as the night goes on. You get a ton off drunk teens at that park at that time of year, trying getting in line with groups of 20 already drunk and being annoying. To get in there you had to have purchased reg ticket plus extra ticket not cheap at all and it does not keep them out. Ive been there 98,99 and 00 (halloween) and it happend every time.
-------------
Army rangers lead the way
Bob O and his statements
What do you consider lowlife? The park(SFGAm) charges about 85 bucks for a pass, 43 bucks for a single addmission, and 8 bucks for parking. In the eyes of many that is one of the most expensive parks in the nation. How does a lowlife like you like to call them afford all of this(and thats just to get through the gates)? By the other topics I have heard this type of pricing eliminates the riff-raff because they wont pay these prices. I personally have seen some problems at SFGAm but it has never been a widespread problem at the park. Also, the Gurnee police department have an office on site so that eliminates the thought that only security patrols the park.
-------------
"SAVING THE WORLD BEFORE BEDTIME" Powerpuff girls
Dawg Byte, could you offer a little more explanation as to why higher ticket prices would not bring about better park quality? I don't want this to get mean or anything (and I'm confident Jeff or someone else will close the forum if it does) but you didn't offer any reasoning for your statement. Sure, it could be that way, but the extra money could also be used to make a big difference in the park. It would all depend on how the dough was used.
For anyone else who didn't get my point, it is this: Increased prices and a better park atmosphere would result in a net gain in passes sold. There would be more folks who decide to buy passes for a better park than those who decide not to pay the extra money. Result: SF sells more passes and therefore makes more money. Obviously this doesn't hold for a huge price hike, so it would need to be only enough to significantly increase security and other staff (and that's not a lot).
I agree that higher ticket prices would not keep the "thugs" out, but stronger and better rules enforcement would force those thugs to stay in line (no pun intended) or be thrown out. I agree with Bob O that other parks/chains do a much better job of controlling guest behavior. Maybe SF oughta just study what they're doing and use the same ideas...
I understand both of your points, but to say "Lowlife" is stereotyping people that I dont think is necessary. Who are we to judge someone else?
-------------
"SAVING THE WORLD BEFORE BEDTIME" Powerpuff girls
It doesn't cost any money to have security do their job well.
* So you hire a few more security on the park premises, or send them for an extra couple of weeks training. I don't see that as justification to pass on the punch to us. Six Flags makes a decent profit as is. Hiring more security or additional training isn't going to cause a major price crunch in their budget.
If security does a better job like other franchise parks (ie: Busch, Cedar Fair, Paramount), & if the rest of the Six Flags staff is trained additionally to keep a keen eye out for troublemakers, they can radio into security, and security can rush (no, not like a SWAT team) in and handle the situation from there. This will help create a better park atmosphere, because the staff can then better control the "behaviorally challenged" park guests.
It's not that difficult & it doesn't cost much more than a little training which should definately have no effect on any pricing issues passed onto the consumer (ie: the park guest).
Price increases (as seen in the past) are reserved for the large costs of park expansion. The general public will whine & moan if they suddenly see a big jump in price tickets with nothing new in the park... thus... leading to much slower ticket sales (and not just from rowdy teens, but everyone!!!).
Dawg Byte: You are certainly not a majority in that higher pass prices will cause less in-park spending.
Also, I tend to agree that stereotyping kids (or anyone else) based on appearance is wrong. My wife has a nose ring, does that make her a thug? She's got more education than most of the people on this forum.
I will concede that some of the Six Flags parks don't do a good job enforcing policy, or generally upholding high operation standards, but at the same time, giving away the gate encourages the "bad element" to visit the park. Why are some shopping malls a problem area? They're free to get in. The parks aren't free, but they are cheap.
-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com