Why do you do this six flags.. a little rant

...the most thrilling moment on the park's signature coaster happens when your train slams to a stop on the brake run.

...the Miler kiddie coaster is more exciting than the pinfari looper...

...folded into each map is a note implying the park's "no outside food" policy is a matter of national security, rather than boosting profits. "In the wake of 911..."

...the film currently unspooling in the 4-D motion simulator attraction is "Debbie Does Darien lake"...

...all of the doors on the restroom stalls have been removed to prevent bored park patrons from experiencing thrills of ANY kind.

...their funhouse is hosted by carrot top...

I don't know Rob. That sounds pretty scary to me.

My home park is so lame...

...local coaster enthusiasts relish the possibility that Flashback! may someday be relocated there.

*** Edited 8/12/2004 9:21:34 AM UTC by Railshark***

It is. That's the lame part. The Funhouse sends more chills up your spine and nauseates you more than the the Haunted House.

...the earth cooled at a faster rate of pace than the bumper cars move... *** Edited 8/12/2004 9:28:52 AM UTC by Robocoaster***

If the parks that ARE pulling in a profit, not getting new rides & attractions...

...then how come Great America & Great Adventure are spending a combined more than 50 million for their two parks. As far as I know, they have great attendance & have got something great almost every year. How are they losing money?
(This is in relation to the response how a park w/ no new attractions is pulling in a profit vs. parks getting new rides must be suffering) I realize they're in much bigger markets, but that's besides the point. They're still bringing in the attendance yearly.

...I'm not whining for a shiny new coaster for SFDL (or... er... whatever my neglected home park may be), I'm just asking Six Flags to throw us a bone & give us a new ride or two. Hell, it can be used for all I care... so as long as it can be marketed as a "new for 2005" tool. For two complete seasons at SFDL, the park literally got absolutely nothing new except a revamped bathroom (as in just one. The rest are still stinky or small)...

...I'm not forced to go there... and I will stop next year if this trend continues. I just don't like seeing it get a bad rap locally. Friends, relatives, and others I know who visit the park also complain that it's the same-old thing & would much rather take the extra hour trip up to Toronto & visit Canada's Wonderland since there's sooo much more to offer.

Finally someone agrees with me about SFDL. :>) *** Edited 8/12/2004 12:09:30 PM UTC by Crashmando***

If I'm not mistaken, many people say to stay away from SFDL on concert days because the place is jam packed, lines are hours long, and it's just a mass of humanity. If that's the case, why in the world would SF install more coasters? If anything, they should increase the number of vending stalls for concerts, spend their money on maintaining and updating the concert venue and keep on marketing that part of hte park. Obviously that's the money-maker, not the park.

Tekno and Gonch, I sadly must too agree that Nate is right on this one... it is contagious. But there is just no logical reason to add rides to SFDL. It's got to be making some sort of money from those concerts.

...this year, even on concert days... it hasn't been all that crowded. Ride of Steel can back me up on that one, as he was there during one of the concert days & I was there during I think a Blink 182 concert day this year.

During that day(s), there were indeed lines, but they were how the lines SHOULD be on a normal day, where everything isn't a walk-on. It's how it used to be back in 1998, '99, & 2000.
I may like walk-ons to the ride, but it just feels a little too empty there. When you see Superman as a line only for the front seat at 3pm on a sunny afternoon, something's just not right.

I don't see why everyone is against this park getting any new rides. It'll draw more people in no matter what you think, if it's used as a marketing tool. The only modern flat we have is the Huss Topspin. Most of SFDL's rides are from the 80's (minus coasters). Give us a Frisbee or somethign else used... just not another up-charge, please.

Yes Rob, is was SLIGHTLY more than usual but I still waited no more than 10 minutes for Superman.

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coasterdude318 said:
Look at the way things used to be. Valleyfair, for instance (a park similar in size to SFDL), went *seven years* without a new coaster (1989-1996). What's happening now isn't exceptional, it's normal.

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I agree, although there is an odd example that seems to have always been the exception: Hersheypark. Here is a park that went 14 years, from 1977 until 1991, without a new coaster. During the whole coaster boom of the 70s and 80s, Hershey had only three coasters. Then, Wildcat was added in '96, and the park has not let up since, adding a new coaster consistently every two years, including this year. No telling if they will continue this trend in '06, but this is one park that doesn't seem to 'know' that the coaster boom is over. :)

What I find great is that Cedar Fair has its flagship park, but ALL THE PARKS get something new every few years and it is evenely spread.

Ok I can see the right in complaining that GAdv gets new coaster every 2 years but I thought I heard somewhere a rumor (might not be true) that GAdv had a contract (or verbal commitment) to build a new B&M coaster every other year, I know the new coaster is an intamin, but that could explain the last few coasters that GAdv got. Also look at the market GAdv is in NYC and Philly are less than 1 hour away. Washington and Boston are within driving distance for a person who would stay in the area. Also Dorney(Wild Mouse, Talon, Hydra) and Hershey (Lightning Racer, Roller Soaker and Storm Runner) are within 3 Hours drive and are adding coasters regularly since 2000 making them better competition. GAdv is getting stuff to keep up with the market.

RoS...it's easy to spread things out in a chain of what...six (now seven with GL) parks...

Wow, I'm tired. I didn't even see there was a second page in this thread.

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DawgByte II said:
I don't see why everyone is against this park getting any new rides.

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I'm not against any park getting new rides. I just have a substantial aversion to hearing people whine when their park doesn't get one, and 'spoiled ol' SFMM' does. It's OLD.

Rants like these are precisely why you see fewer coasters and more waterparks. Listen to the SF conference call and they'll tell you themselves.

Waterparks will consistently return your money and don't require a huge new investment to keep people coming.

The new boom has begun folks--and it doesn't involve steel rails.

-'Playa

It is also pretty easy to spread money across 20 something parks...the way I see it and have noticed around parks is that a new coaster can give good consistant attendance figures for a park for about 3 years. Superman at SFDL for example brought in just over 2 million people and it stayed around the 2 million area til 2002, then in 2002 it started to drop and has been dropping ever since.

The distribution system that I came up with that Six Flags could work well with is...its pretty simple its based on a 3 year plan. Six Flags' major parks, like SFMM, SFGAdv, etc.
Year 1: Give these parks a flat ride, can be anything they want, just one though unless its a cheapy then throw in one or two more, just something to keep the people interested.
Year 2: No rides, give the park a little money to make some general improvements to the park, maybe some paint, a new food stand, this is the year the big parks dont get tens of millions but some money to work with to keep the park lookin nice.
Year 3: Coaster, now give the park a coaster, like I said before a nice size coaster like a B&M, wooden coaster, Intamin anything of that caliber can bring in consistant attendance for 3 years.

After Year 3 the cycle starts over, next year give them the flats and so on.

Now for the smaller parks in the chain it is slightly modified cause there isnt big competition, so you dont have to add a coaster or ride AS OFTEN, so thats why with the smaller chains I came up with a modified 3 year plan.
Year 1: No rides, like I said earlier give them some money for general park improvements, to keep the park lookin nice.
Year 2: Coasters or flats, while the major parks are takin a break give the smaller parks in the chain a chance to get a ride, doesnt have to be a huge coaster but do make the flats if they put one in of decent size to have people come see it and go wow.
Year 3: No rides, lots of your money is going into the coasters for the big parks and another chance for the smaller parks to fix up things if needed.

I think this plan could work of course, depending on how the chain is doing it may need to be modified on a yearly basis, but it would be a good place to start your expansion process. This way the big parks are gettin a flat or two and a coaster every three years and the smaller parks are gettin at least some ride every three years.

Back to SFDL now real quick, I do agree with you all that the coaster boom is over, yes, but it doesnt mean you let one your properties go neglected for 6 years without putting something in that people will travel to the park to ride. A coaster isnt the only thing that can do that, of course it is the easiest one, but I bet if they built a SkySwatter or Drop Tower at SFDL people would go to the park to ride that.

When you own a bunch of properties you have a reputation to keep, and right now Six Flags' reputation is crappy customer service and horrible ride reliablity. Not exactly what you want people to remember your park by.