Before you worry about Six Flags' changes, Consider this.

[msoeagle]

I average about 2 times a season and go with a parent and a friend. So thats 6 x 45 = $270 and we spend about $30 on food for the season so thats $300. Six Flags is DEFINETLY making the right choice.

[Sireze]

Those are some good points, but regardless of weather or not Six Flags becomes a Family Themed Park, Teens will still come.

[SFGAMisthebest]

Dan,

With my formula you cost Six Flags about $3,449.50 last year.

Way to go man!

wOOt!!

But I did buy food there, about $7 average, so that is about $380, so they still lose money on me, YA!

sounds like me, I think you and I spent about the same durring each our visits...I did spend alot more when I went to HH, mostly because of the locker rental though

[Imeanbusiness]

You need another scenario with SF adding bad rides year after year. They are probably still going to do it. SFMM still has one of the highest attendance out of all parks believe it or not. I agree to bring in the family rides also, but don't get away from what you hopefully(SF) in some circumstances do best. I agree that is completely stupid to have Flashback standing there as useless as possible. Tear it down already.

SFMM can't tear it down. The park's budget for years was rollercoasters and nothing else. The park could not expand staffing, maintain the rides, and keep park upkeep at a an appropriate level. The actual attraction and building of the new attraction comes out of the park's budget. When a park spends most of their budget on new Multi-million dollar attractions, and nothing else, a chain reaction will start.

Honestly, The Gurnee park has not been hit bad, but it has been hit. Not many people remember the days of Raging Bull having a grouper, Demon having a grouper, and Giant Drop not opening if it did not have a grouper.

Lets put this into presepective. 2006 is the first year since the Premier Parks takeover(Feb-Mayish 1999) that Six Flags Great America(excluding Huricane Harbor) and all the other Six Flags Parks are getting a budget increase. Great America added the following rides in that time, Vertical Veolcity, DejaVu, Superman, Ragin Cajun, King Choas, Big Easy Baloons, Jester's Wild Ride, Revolution. You added 4 new Coasters that need to be maintained and staff, and 4 new flats that need to be maintain and staffed. Now since the park's budget was not increased they have to take operators from other rides, and elminate groupers and greaters....and lower the number of operators at the stations of other rides. You are actually lowering the amount of money that could be spent on park upkeep, many people are not attracted to a bad looking parks, and most of those people are families. Now that you do not have the people to operator the rides at a repectable level, you have the choice of spending less money on maintence or spend less money on staffing. Either way, you are going to make the park look like they don't care, and that is not appealing. Hell teenagers don't care how a park looks, all they care about is rides, rides, rides.

[Ilovthevu']

They don't want to tear it down. They want to have the most coasters of any park operating or not.

2001) V2 and D Vu'
2003)Superman
2004)Ragin Cajun
2006)Tornado
Don't forget the 25 million spent on Hurrican Harbor in 2005 with no extra fee, or the family flats as you have mentioned.

During that period, they have had four rollercoaster additions. I don't know what SFMM added besides these rides during this period.
2001)D Vu'
2002)X
2003)Scream
2006)Tatsu

[mschulz5]

They don't want to tear it down. They want to have the most coasters of any park operating or not.

Do you have anything to back this up with?

[FRD714]

They don't want to tear it down. They want to have the most coasters of any park operating or not.

Do you have anything to back this up with?

Flashback............its been sitting for a long time.

[mschulz5]

I know he was talking about Flashback, but there is no solid proof that the only reason it is still standing is because of the coaster record.

[w00dland]

Those are some good points, but regardless of weather or not Six Flags becomes a Family Themed Park, Teens will still come.

You hit it right on the head, and thats what Mark Shapiro is thinking. He knows that he has the teenage market at most of these parks (it's not that hard to get the teenage population) so if he stops marketing towards them it attendance will only get higher with the extra families brought in. Think logically.

[SFaddiction84]

Has he even toured Magic Mountain yet? look at the things he has said, he visited 1 park and saw that most coasters didnt have all trains running and he stated "all parks will have ALL trains running at all times, we need to cut these lines"


He also askes questions about certain food places, "do they sell? if not CLOSE THEM"

so my guess is when he see's flashback he will ask "Why is it not running, how long has it not been running" At any rate, im sure he will say, TEAR IT DOWN. its not good for appearence to just be sitting there. there are many things i have been reading that he is telling parks to close this or take that down becuase they dont sell or make money

[twixmix0303]

You need to quote only actual quotes. Shapiro never said that all parks will have ALL trains running at all times. Also, he never said to close any food places. He actually brought up quite the contrary--food places should be in every nook and cranny, so that food items are up and in guests' faces. He did refer to cutting the Italian beef.