SF Reckoning Day

[Ilovthevu']

Coasters have nothing to do with a "good" park. It's more about providing a pleasant experience.

I agree and disagree with that. But we are getting off topic here.

The big day for SF will be the reporting of Q4.

I think it deals with both. Without great coasters, or great rides, there is no point for me going to any park. Now if I go to a park, and some of the rides are great but people are nasty, and nothing is open, I might not go back there either.

Are clones really horrible? I wish SFGAm had a clone of each of these rides:

Six Flags America: Superman: Ride of Steel & Joker's Jinx & Wild One & Avalanche (Alpine Bobs)
SFOG: Georgia Cyclone & Great American Scream Machine & Goliath & Mind Bender
SFMM: X & Scream & Riddler's Revenge & Collosus & Ninja
Kings Island: Invertigo & Top Gun & Stunt Coaster
Cedar Point: Top Thrill Dragster & Chaos & Mantis & Tilt-A-Whirl & Gemini & Blue Streak & Raptor
SFOT: Mine Train & Judge Roy Scream & Mr. Freeze & Flashback & La Vibora (Wait a minute, we did almost have a clone.) & The Boot ride

I would rather only have to visit my homepark than go 400 miles to go to another park, and than another park, and than another park; but that's life.

I'm a person though that goes back to the same park even though it's not my homepark over and over again. I don't just look for new roller coasters to get on, and get credits like anything. Some people do that, and that's fine with me.

I'm not against Batman the Ride being at a lot of the Six Flags parks. When you go SFKK, don't you miss Batman the Ride compared the garbage T2?

[monsterfan99]

I think it deals with both. Without great coasters, or great rides, there is no point for me going to any park. Now if I go to a park, and some of the rides are great but people are nasty, and nothing is open, I might not go back there either.

Are clones really horrible? I wish SFGAm had a clone of each of these rides:

Six Flags America: Superman: Ride of Steel & Joker's Jinx & Wild One & Avalanche (Alpine Bobs)
SFOG: Georgia Cyclone & Great American Scream Machine & Goliath & Mind Bender
SFMM: X & Scream & Riddler's Revenge & Collosus & Ninja
Kings Island: Invertigo & Top Gun & Stunt Coaster
Cedar Point: Top Thrill Dragster & Chaos & Mantis & Tilt-A-Whirl & Gemini & Blue Streak & Raptor
SFOT: Mine Train & Judge Roy Scream & Mr. Freeze & Flashback & La Vibora (Wait a minute, we did almost have a clone.) & The Boot ride

I would rather only have to visit my homepark than go 400 miles to go to another park, and than another park, and than another park; but that's life.

I'm a person though that goes back to the same park even though it's not my homepark over and over again. I don't just look for new roller coasters to get on, and get credits like anything. Some people do that, and that's fine with me.

I'm not against Batman the Ride being at a lot of the Six Flags parks. When you go SFKK, don't you miss Batman the Ride compared the garbage T2?

I agree with you on that completely. Kiddieland is a key example for me. The park is one that I plan to do once a year because of how nice it is. The ride selection is not the best, but it just feels nice being there.

With the going to other parks, I love to travel. When I go to a park, I like seeing different rides. Just seems odd that a park that has as many coasters as Great America only has 2 (3 if you count bother sides of Eagle) original rides. I do, however, get what you are saying about clones. I would have killed to see the Whizzer or Dark Knight over the River King Mine Train at SF St. Louis.

In the end, if there is a theme park near where I'm at, I'll go at least once. It may be the best or worst but I want to go once.

[FParker185]

SFGAm has more than 3 original coasters (not even counting Batman as being it's original)

American Eagle
Iron Wolf
Raging Bull
Whizzer
Demon, not counting the one other Demon at PGA. There are other Arrow Corkscrews with similar layouts but no other Arrow Corkscrew anywhere has a block brake that I know of.

Also 3 of the last 4 coasters removed were clones or original's that were cloned, that being Shockwave and the others being Deja Vu and Tidal Wave.

Also worth noting that SFGAm, or MGA was one of the few parks built entirely on the concept of cloned rides. With the 2 Great Americas that have been built and the 3'rd one that never came to be. There is nothing wrong with clones. I'd say a minimum of 95% of park guests have no idea that there is another Batman out there, let alone 11 more of them. Or that there are at least 4 Superman's out there, etc. For the other 5% they probably end up at SFStL at some point and see another one, and think to themselves that's sorta cool, until they ride it and it feels different due to being a mirror image and shrug it off. It probably wouldn't hit them until they are in Doha, Kuwait riding Lightning when they say "Wait a minute!"

[monsterfan99]

SFGAm has more than 3 original coasters (not even counting Batman as being it's original)

American Eagle
Iron Wolf
Raging Bull
Whizzer
Demon, not counting the one other Demon at PGA. There are other Arrow Corkscrews with similar layouts but no other Arrow Corkscrew anywhere has a block brake that I know of.

Also 3 of the last 4 coasters removed were clones or original's that were cloned, that being Shockwave and the others being Deja Vu and Tidal Wave.

Also worth noting that SFGAm, or MGA was one of the few parks built entirely on the concept of cloned rides. With the 2 Great Americas that have been built and the 3'rd one that never came to be. There is nothing wrong with clones. I'd say a minimum of 95% of park guests have no idea that there is another Batman out there, let alone 11 more of them. Or that there are at least 4 Superman's out there, etc. For the other 5% they probably end up at SFStL at some point and see another one, and think to themselves that's sorta cool, until they ride it and it feels different due to being a mirror image and shrug it off. It probably wouldn't hit them until they are in Doha, Kuwait riding Lightning when they say "Wait a minute!"

That line for some reason cracks me up.

The park is still a good park. Plus it is a 15 minute drive away, so that makes the park even better.

[BP317]

SF is in a recent Yahoo article: "15 companies that may not survive 2009"
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Companies-That-Might-Not-usnews-14279875.html

[onyxhotel08]

Moody's expects cash flow to be negative in 2009, and if consumers aren't spending during the peak summer season, that could imperil the company's ability to pay debts coming due later this year and in 2010.

[FParker185]

It's worth noting that Six Flags has had negative cash flow for about the past 8 years. Only difference this year is that there is a sizable payment due to creditors which SF simply doesn't have the money to pay for(short of a miracle) and it can't be refinanced like SF traditionally does. Though even if it was possible to refinance, with the credit markets how they are, no one would touch SF with a 10 foot pole.

It's also worth noting as an aside, that some arm of Citi Group has supposedly bought around 10% of Six Flags stock, though it could be for short term investment and nothing more.

[monsterfan99]

The big day is coming March 16th, Q4 and year end reports

Six Flags (SIX; NYSE) will hold teleconference for fourth quarter 2008 earnings results before the market opens on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time for interested investors, analysts and portfolio managers.

Participants on the call will include Mark Shapiro, President and CEO, and Jeffrey Speed, Executive Vice President and CFO. The earnings press release will be issued during the week preceding the call.

[onyxhotel08]

About time...kinda scary isn't it?

[BP317]

I'd expect all theyre going to say is "we're opening our parks for business the earliest we ever have and look forward to building our success we had last year" like they do at every conference call. Its later this season where they are going to start having answers.