Why do you do this six flags.. a little rant
DawgByte II said:
...then how come Great America & Great Adventure are spending a combined more than 50 million for their two parks.
So much money is spent on SFGAdv and SFGAm because both those parks have the massive potential to earn that money back. SFGAdv is the largest seasonal amusement park in the country. It is also located in the largest market in the country. If there's any park in the country that could pull off a $25 million dollar ride, it's SFGAdv. In the past few years, attendance at GAdv has dropped; it used to be able to pull nearly 3.5 million people. Imagine how many people would flock to the park for such a gigantic ride.
The situation with SFGAm is a bit different because they're building an entire new park. Though I don't know for sure if it's a separate gate admission, it doesn't really matter. If it is, then you've got revenue from the waterpark admissions pouring in. If it isn't, you've got an increase in second day stays, and an increase in daily attendance because people are essentially visiting two parks instead of one. Waterparks are extremely profitable, and the Chicago market is basically untapped. Being in the third largest market in the country with zero competition, SFGAm has massive potential.
As far as I know, they have great attendance & have got something great almost every year. How are they losing money?
I mentioned this above, but I think it's necessary to point out that attendance has dropped at both parks. SFGAdv's attendance used to be near 3.5 million, and SFGAm's used to be over 3 million. Last year SFGAdv was down to 3.1 million and SFGAm was down to 2.5 million. However, just because a park's attendance is down (even way down) doesn't mean it's losing money. It simply means the park isn't reaching its potential or its expected attendance figures. Most parks in the country are profitable every single year, no matter how far up or down their attendance is.
I realize they're in much bigger markets, but that's besides the point.
But it's not. More people = higher attendance = more money to pay for that new ride. It doesn't make sense to drop something hugely expensive into a park that will never earn that money back.
For two complete seasons at SFDL, the park literally got absolutely nothing
Again, so did Valleyfair in 2001 and 2002.
-Nate
*** Edited 8/12/2004 6:45:27 PM UTC by coasterdude318***
ltlbat said:Instead of 5 trips to your "home" park, how about 2 trips to some really good parks elsewhere? I know what my choice would be.
Yeah but what if your home park is a really good (if not excellent) park and *gasp* just so happens to be a Six Flags park. Of course, it gets new rides frequently, has good customer service (yes I'm still talking about a SF park), and doesn't really have any amusement park competition except from itself... 'course there's more to the reason it gets new rides more often (besides the fact that it's a flagship park).
Just thought I would rub that in. ;)
milage = wear & tear on your car.
wear & tear = a little less value your car's worth.
A little less worth on you car = you ain't be drivin' 'da bomb on 'da road no mo'.
Besides... not everyone can affrord those day trips. Having a pass to Six Flags means a close trip that's affordable & a fun day well spent.
I can't spend 3hrs at the park without actually feeling a little bored. Not 'cause I rode everything before... but because I already rode everything that day at least once!
I can name numerous great things about the homepark of Six Flags Darien Lake... landscaping, the campgrounds, the ampitheater, Superman... and some fun up-charge attractions.
BUT... that isn't going to keep the once-a-year coming back for more. They gotta keep fresh. That's what their nearest competitors are doing. Sky Screamer is fresh, Nitro is fresh, Whirlwind is fresh... what is SFDL to a lot of locals (not just whiners?)... a stale krispy kreme doughnut caught between the refrigerator & stove!
Doesn't Six Flags have any used rides in storage that they can send to these parks? Get the parts needed to get 'em up & running? I know they got to have a boneyards somewhere from the rides removed at other parks!
I'll keep going there and to GL and CP and all the other parks around for the things they do have: coasters which thrill the crap outta me (but I still will complain when those coasters are trumped by new ones and then the new ones go down and I have to revert to riding what I rode in the past ;) just connecting common Coasterbuzz arguments ... )
In all seriousness, I'd absolutely LOVE for SF to hire some real *junkyard mechanics* to look around the boneyards and find out what IS redeemable, and what is NOT....I know they've done a good bit of that over the last two years, but boneyards shouldn't be *warehousing* useable rides, NONE of them...
That's my SF rant, what's yours? :)
You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)
Quit your Bi***in!
I only get to go to an amusement park like 3 times a year.
Be happy you get to go to an amusement park at all. Don't b***h and complain because you think Six Flags owes you another rollercoaster and/or your park is not getting the so called "needed improvement" that will make it succeed to greater heights.
Obviously, from the Trip Reports I have read, your park doesn't need any new rides because it seems to be crowded.
When I go to a themepark I don't think about its poor operations or try to pick out little negative things about it, I go there to have a good time! A time, that doesn't come often enough for me! So stop complaining and be happy to be going to a themepark at all!
My rant: For all of you that think your park deserves a coaster because your not satisfied, really shows how poorly an enthusiass can act sometimes. It also shows how selfish and spoiled some of you are.
You people shouldn't expect more things from your park. Like I stated before, you should be happy with what you have, because most people don't.
Personally, I am one to think that Amusement Parks are a luxury as well as a profitable business, a luxury that some people like myself don't get to enjoy every week. *** Edited 8/12/2004 10:40:04 PM UTC by Kyle Fobe***
Kyle Says: Diamondback was a lot of fun! Made his first time at Kings Island worth it all!
My "home" park for years has been Knoebels, and I though that if I could go there whenever I wanted it would be great. This year proved that wrong. Although I would never tire from S:ROS at SFDL Knoebels gets a little old, and ever since being on all the Travel Channel and Discover Channel specials the crowds are getting insane for such a small park. I miss the casual "family" atmosphere, when its was a small town park where you knew your neightbors. Added to that they don'd expand with new coasters every year...it's just not ecconmically feasible to do so, but one can hope that a new coaster is in the near future.
You are not there every day. You do not know personally if it's crowded or not. You only know that for the day's you are there.
People will come whether the park has 1 ride or 10 rides or 150 rides.
You spell crowded c-r-o-w-d-e-d.
So if your SO LUCKY to have Cedar Point 8 hours away, then why the hell are you b***in about SFDL not having enough rides for people. Like you said, all those people are SO LUCKY to have Cedar Point 8 hours away. Better yet they are SO LUCKY to have Great Adventure even closer.
The bottom line is that, the only people that are gonna notice/comment about the parks faults are people who nitpick and people who are never satisfied with what they have.
The average person who lives in that area and only goes there once or twice a summer probably won't care about the amount of money invested into the park or w/e.
As enthusiasts/enthusiasses we are spoiled because we go all around the world searching for the perfect coasters and we are never satisfied, because once we are satisfied we get something bigger and better to ride in the next year or 2 to ride.
We must remember that our opinions will, for the most part, not reflect the general publics "middle class/lower class blue collar take the family for a weekend of fun at (blank)" opinion. *** Edited 8/12/2004 11:18:26 PM UTC by Kyle Fobe***
Kyle Says: Diamondback was a lot of fun! Made his first time at Kings Island worth it all!
Even with the declining attendance figures that Nate mentions, SFGAm has capacity issues. This issue is made worse because GAm was the only (I think) SF park without a waterpark. So, I'll offer that SF gives GAm $35 million not because it's spoiled or it's corporate's pet or that it's profitable, altho that might be true, too.
It's business. It's profitable. It's customer service. It's a no-brainer.
Anyone interested in a used Arrow looper that's rusting on a hillside in Gurnee? Be careful what you ask for SFA and SFDL guys. Sometimes getting something is worse than getting nothing at all.
Will we see a "CF is un-Fair to the smaller parks" thread started by the MiA and WoF peeps as well? Probably not. But if those parks were owned by SF....
Let's see, he said S:ROS's crew was doing really well, managing to nearly hit interval, even with the new restraints from hell. He said they removed most of the graffiti from rides/benches. He commented on how much cleaner the park is, even completely replacing a gum pole, rather than half-cleaning it. The ferris wheel's lights all work now (far from what it was like prior). He said most of the ops were friendly. Oh, and this year's laser show is supposedly pretty good.
It sounds like although they're not putting in any rides, they're really trying to improve the place. Not all improvements come in the way of multi-million dollar expansions. Looks like SFDL is trying to improve the stuff that will keep people coming back.
However, they might have to put in a new ride to get those who left to come back.
Oh, and BTW Fobe.....sometimes I forget you're so young when I read well written posts like the one above. And by far, the most entertaining trip reports ever.
DawgByte II said:
gas = milage.
milage = wear & tear on your car.
wear & tear = a little less value your car's worth.
A little less worth on you car = you ain't be drivin' 'da bomb on 'da road no mo'.
A few hundred miles on your car is not going to be the death of it, as long as you take care of your ride, meaning making sure the tires are correctly inflated, the oil is changed regularly etc. Most of today's cars (and before) are built to last a long time. If you're so concerned about the wear & tear on your car, you can always fly and rent a car (provided you're of age). There's always options.
It's probably correct that a lot of the people who are complaining are younger, and don't have the wheels to get to other places. Those are the breaks.
Now under the rule that only a high attendance park should get rides then for Paramount it would be their two flagships PKI & PKD,the others shouldn't get jack squat at all & yet their corporate owners provide something new for all of them.
Yes ROI is a big factor for parks in order to justify heavy investments,however it's not like SFA or SFDL isn't capable of making an ROI it's just that it'll take a little longer to do than say SFGRADV or SFGRAM but it's not impossible.
If it were then SFI has no real need to even bother owning/operating these parks at all & if you weren't privy to the fact that there are some 20 odd SF parks but an averge joe public you too would begin to notice the lack of new rides year after year & begin to lose interest in the park & not want to go as much if at all.
Now we still have yet to learn just what plans SFI has for the remaining parks for the 05 season so instead of turning this thread into a flame war we should instead focus on the potential prospects for each park as the new season approaches.
One more thing: why are some of you withi the "spoiled SF parks so desperate for another coaster when you've gotten far more of them since 02 than the rest of us? is it really gonna effect you so negativly if SFMM or SFGRADV doesn't get a new one every two years when you can easily enjoy the ones you've just gotten the previous year?
It seems that the SFMM & SFGRADV locals are the spoiled enthusiasses & not those of us who's local SF parks havn't seen a single new coaster since 99 or 01.
If SFMM doesn't add a new coaster next year is it going to stop the crouds? NO. They already have 16.
CP, even if there is no new coasters, the people will still come and there won't be a drop in attendance because they already, like MM, have 16 coasters.
They should improve the parks that don't have as many.
Whoops... sorry. Can't break a promise. I was busy out riding stuff and enjoying myself. In this case I was driving three hours to a park that had stuff my home parks don't have.
Jeff said:
Get your rants in before this one closes...
If you live only for your nearest park, it's a lot like sitting in front of your computer and not leaving the house, with the notable exception that at least you might get a tan.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Closed topic.
