Six Flags second quarter down on attendance and revenue, per cap spending up

and start winning people back.It would seem that this may be the most important step. Trip reports do not seem to indicate that there is really much effort on this front. Rather, it would appear that the primary effort has been to "win" more stock buys. Cutting hours and raising prices does not seem to fit into the "and start winning people back" category...no?

While I'm a businessman at heart and can appreciate attempts to raise the bottom line...I'm of the opinion that they are going about it backwards. I was fooled by the initial statements made during the Shapiro tour, but I've quickly soured on the truthfulness of those statements.

Time will tell IF Shapiro is on the right track...the intial results would seem to indicate he is no better than the fools that came before him. The stock has seen a steady decline, the debt is up, and the profits are down. Maybe this is necessary to turn it around. But maybe this is just a sinking ship too.

*** This post was edited by Jeffrey R Smith 8/3/2006 8:07:02 PM ***

the above was mine but it did not incluse my user name why ???, and it would not let me delete it

Shapiro wanted rollercoasters to operate with at least two train operation. My home park SFGAM they always operated more than one train per rollercoaster (exception being Deja Vu and V2 with good reason). This year thats not the case. They are refurbrishing one of eagles trains. Eagle Blue is one train operation ALL season. Iron Wolf also brought in a train for refurb in the middle of the season. and was running one train operation. They close the restrooms inside the park by the front gates when the park closes, and the restroom outside the park only has a few stalls in it with a huge line of angry customers. I have had instances of security guards being lax in watching people come in. They changed the nicley themed Marriot Music of Great America to this rock music. Justice League Characters people make fun about. I have seen more gangs in the park this year than the last 2 years (perhaps those are the ones that can afford to go to the park) and no security arresting them when they misbehave. The streetmosphere characterss are mostly gone and I do not see as many sweepers as before.

Park is still kinda clean and the bathrooms are still imacculate..but everything else has gone downhill. I do not know how the rest of do not touch parks are doing, but I feel like we are slaking off

I am sure each park has its share of problems. And it might take awhile for him to get "all" parks to have the amount of good customer service he wants.

In order to make more money and increase cusotmer service at the same time at all parks here are my ideas, If any of you at Six Flags are reading please take note:

1. In all parks sell hot and cold drinks in the lines for the main attractions depending on weather

2. sell balloons at night right before the night time fireworks show and when the park closes, most people will buy it then rather than when the park opens, because otherwise they cannot ride anything.

3. when it rains have venders go out into the midways to sell panchos, they may be the same people that sell drinks in line or baloons

4. have a vender parked by the exit gates of amusemnt park water rides (flume, rapides) on a chilly day and sell hot towels. There are always a few suckers who will buy them

5. put in more fountains where coins go "to a good cause"

6. make all stores by the front entereances stay open an extra hour after closing depending on the amount of crowds

7. sell more bugs bunny memorabilia tee shirts with the name of the park on it...I see too many justice league character shirts with no park names on it, looney tune character with suggestive sayings no six flags logo, and disney mrechandise this does not sell the above will

8. put in full service resturants people will buy more

9. bring back Mr. Six

I agree that we need to give them time for the new management and improved operations to kick in. They have raised per cap which is a great thing, However...

Doesn’t it make more sense to get the park up to good operational standards, and then raise prices to get and keep your desired clientele? Sure they might be pricing to the point where they get their “desired” clientele right now, but when they show up to a park with the same crappy ride operations, they’re just going to run these people out as well. This will happen regarless if kids thatlack babysitters are running around free in the park.

I’m not sure pricing is the way to pack just families in either. Large parks like Hershey and Kings Island cost less and those parks are overrun by families. I think marketing attractions towards families is the better way to go, then get them to come back with good operations.

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The most obvious is their decision to blindly cut hours at the end of every operating day to cut costs.

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Yeah, but Cedar Point cut weekdays back by an hour this season. As did the Paramount parks (PKI even cut hours off of the morning).

Seems to be the trend this year.

^ Not at Hershey or Knoebels, at least.

In the past few weeks, it's taken me half an hour to get out of HP's parking lot at 10:15 on a weeknight. Tonight I left just after 10. I got out quickly because the lot was still crowded and the main wave of people was still in the park. I could see a number of rides still operating. The temp was still around 85 degrees too.

Knoebels sundown plan and Bargain nights still pack them in week after week.

Maybe we Pennsylvanians don't have many other choices for entertainment. Or maybe our parks just provide really good entertainment that the other places don't.

But Six Flags cut hours mid season as a band aid because things are not going well, Cedar Point's hours were scheduled as such this year. Cedar Point for decades was 10am-10pm seven days a week. The later hours started in the 90's, and was primarily because of the desire to spread out exiting guests because of the log jam the laser show caused. The laser show isn't as much of a draw anymore.

I agree with the comments on how Six Flags is focusing on things that are secondary to their product. It's apparent to me also that they don't know what they are doing. They have priced a lot of people out of the market, that's apparent by the double digit decline in attendance. I can see how weather and economy may result in a 4% or 5% dip, not 14%!

I'm starting to wonder if they are really in this to run a successful amusement park business, or if they are setting the company up for failure to facilitate some massive real estate deal. Shapiro sure talks a good talk, but so far it's just been hot air.*** This post was edited by Pete 8/4/2006 2:37:39 AM ***

I personally don't feel that Shapiro is making the right decisions to turn this company around. I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I just don't see the turn around until Shapiro changes his philosophy.

I wish he would realize that none of his parks are a disney or universal and he is not going to charge tremendous prices for a cheap looking parade. Instead of trying to throw a parade and charge the prices disney does, why don't you look at other apples and figure out why yours is rot and theirs is not.

The problem I see with raising prices that it makes it impossible for a family to go there. If Sharipo wants to increase attendance and still try to get the family in, drop the price of admission as well as everything in the park. Simple logic dictates that higher prices will only drive people away and force people to go else where to spend thier vacation dollar. You also have to take in account the higher cost prices as to last year. For $15 to park, they better watch my car like a hawk and see nothing happens to it. If things go the way they have been only the rich can afford to go to amusement parks since they have money to burn.

For the same amount of food you get at any Six Flags, you can get outside the park and save a few bucks in doing it. It's outrageous in paying $3 for a can of coke while you could buy a six pack and still have a buck left over. Until Sharipo realize simple economics then things will never change. Lower prices will get more people in and they will spend. Also to make it family friendly and less of a gang problem, have a age limit as to who can get in on thier own. Let's make it 18 instead of the 21 that Lake Winnie has.

What deal would that be, Pete? The company is leveraged to death. The real estate wouldn't pay off the debt, and there are only a few properties that one would consider particularly valuable.

^Well if they were to simply close all of the parks then that would in effect wipe out the debt simply because the company would no longer exist as a theme park chain & with that then Shapiro & CO. can just rake in a huge profit from the sale of the land that each park<save for SFOG & SFOT> sits on.

They did announce a cap ex budget of $100 million,that's lower than anything Burke & CO. did in recent years but they do plan on adding a couple of family coasters along with more family rides....the only question now is which two parks are getting the coasters?I'm fairly certain that it's not SFA.

Dude, what are you talking about? What money would be left over?

I'm sure that everyone has noticed the big push on the 45th Anniversary this year. Uhm - could this be because management knows they will NOT make it to the much bigger 50th Anniversary?

Who celebrates the 45th? Whatever - stock up on your shotglasses now.