Six Flags "The Rise And The Fall"?
#1-6... uh.....
My take on #6 is that if SFI's gonna add cloned rides to their park (ie B:TR,S:UF etc) then they should be added to a handful,if not all of their parks instead of just one or two of them.
I'm sure parks like SFMM, SFGAm, SFGAdv, or SFoT can go with minor additions for a couple of years and they won't suffer while corporate adds some new rides to their second-tier parks.
X Factor
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Western Michigan University Engineering student.
Go Broncos!
*** This post was edited by Fury 9/3/2003 8:07:04 PM ***
....and as far as debt is concerned, my mortgage is at some ridiculously low interest rate....am I being advised to pay that off? "Debt financing" is as common as dirt....and it CAN be highly profitable....depends on the interest rate you're financing at, and the anticipated ROI of the purchase being financed....
Of course, what do *I* know....I'm just another 13-year-old economist....;)
Whether or not Walibi/Six Flags Europe is a seperate division of the corporation or not I personally don't think it was a market SFI should have tapped into - not yet anyway.
As for Six Flags Mexico, does anyone know how well they are doing? You don't hear a thing about the place and SFI never mentions it in conference calls.
X Factor
This is where SFI has messed up at,they buy a park,or flag a park like SFDL for example & then only give them 1 to 3 rides within a 5 year time span ,now how do they expect to gain any real ROI from a potential revenue source if they're not giviing the guests reasons to come back every year?sure some rides they've added may be good but it gets old after a while & the guests are expecting something new,that's why they're not attending the park in high amounts.
Now if they were to add a somewhat thrilling ride then maybe more people would show up,but since they choose not to that's where they're problems are.
That's about the scope of it,why is it that SFI seems to catagorize their parks using a system of the bigger parks getting more & better stuff while the smaller ones are rated as "2nd class properties? if they'd bring up the level of thrills for the so called 2nd class parks they can become world class like the big 4.
One more thing,how is it that SFI ended up in a $2 billion debt anyhow? if the company has been losing money since 98/99 (long before the events of 9/11/01 came into play,along with this year's crummy weather)then I assume that Premiere parks was in debt long before they even bought SF from Time warner,but by buying SF they just made it worse.
but to say they have "too many parks"? Someone is going to HAVE to explain *in great detail* how SF is hurt by a larger market share....
A large market share isn't bad in itself, but when your company is focused on a purely expansionist policy, the company often doesn't have time or resources to devote to improving service. Would you rather have an extra park this next year, or see improved training / selection of staff, more training for maintenance, etc? There's a balance between them, and I can't claim to know exactly where it lies :) .
*** This post was edited by Strijder 9/4/2003 2:39:03 PM ***
BATWING FAN SFA said:
About ROI,your'e not gonna see much of that if you don't invest in the property once you buy it.
Nonsense. The ROI on big rides takes a lot longer to achieve at smaller parks. Look at Valleyfair and the frequency of their new attractions. You can't even buy a Steel Venom every other year because the attendance doesn't merit that. SFDL is not in metropolis. They built a big signature ride (Superman) so they could at least attract a little attention from as far away as Toronto, but it's not a park that will get a major coaster every other year because the traffic can't support that kind of spending.
If anything, I'd criticize them for blasting a park with three or for major new rides in one season before I'd criticize them for neglect.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?
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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza
Why don't you pick on WOF or something?
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
The chains big problem in my opinion is a lack of corporate identity. Ya sure eveyone knows Six Flags, but within the company there are very little consistancies in policies and implimentation. The success or failure of a park in this chain lies with the local management. I wold think that the company could get a better handle on their properties if they had less to worry about.
The corporate heads have regions so large they rarely get out to see what is happening.
All the while they are hemoraging cash.
Why shouldn't they they let go the terribly preforming parks? It would increase the revenue in the short term (since the parks aren't making money). And allow for a better use of capital/operational spending.
"To top it off, SF will start making cuts in operation cost for their park as well."
START?? They've been trimming operational costs since '96! Even when it hurts in other areas.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan...but hey, PLENTY of people seem to be...then again, that's all 'Playa's fault for *hyping* them...;)
One more thing,how is it that SFI ended up in a $2 billion debt anyhow?
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Simple, Premier Parks was a small fry management company with only a couple properties at the time they decided to buy Six Flags from Time Warner. They didn't have the money so they borrowed it and have been paying interest on that $2 billion ever since while making very little progress actually paying the debt back. Meanwhile they've taken revenue that could have been profit or used to repay debt to buy more and more properties.
*** This post was edited by Pancake 9/6/2003 1:57:03 PM ***
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If someone makes a post and you post-quote it right beneath it, you're wasting bandwidth. Think before you press the button.
rollergator said:
You want to know how to get massive ROI? Build a waterpark
Couldn't agree with you more 'gator'. Waterparks generate huge attendance especially during the hot summer months. I couldn't believe how crowded HW and SFKK's waterparks were compared to their respective ride parks. PKI's wasn't crowded the day I was there due to cloudy and light rain all day.
I am still baffled to this day as to why SFGAm doesn't have a waterpark. Is this the only major park in the United States without one? Time to put future coasters on the backburner and focus on a Hurricane Harbor.
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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"
*** This post was edited by Chitown 9/7/2003 11:02:51 PM ***
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"You're afraid of heights, but you love roller coasters...yep, you're weird alright."
A friend's response to my constant yelling at the top of Power Tower. And I'll ride it again and again...:)
Gator: Would somebody mind telling the ROI story to VF management? They beg to differ. In fact, they pushed the waterpark closing to an earlier time 7/4 to force folks to 'buy stuff' in the park's shops...
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Sure, they can just read my posts the same as any other chain/park, but then they HAVE to realize I do the same for all the other chains...."exclusivity contracts" are certainly available though...;)
They don't HAVE to listen to me....but later on, they'll WISH they had...if that isn't the MOST shameless plug ever posted on the buzz, you'll have to show me the one that's worse....;)
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"Ju-ju-just like the bad guy, from Lethal Weapon 2, I've got diplomatic immunity, so Hammer you can't sue, can't touch me...." The Peter Griffin Rap
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