Six Flags' Wild Ride

[Goku1910]

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1454763750001/

"Six Flags CEO Jim Reid-Anderson on the company's successful stock growth, hiring plans and expansion."

Looks like 2011 was a good year!

[Ilovthevu']

I think if they focused on doing something more like how Busch Gardens runs their parks, they would make even more money. Instead, it's new addition, new addition, new addition every year. Don't get me wrong because I like new things as long as they don't take out stuff I like, but when the debt is still in question, you have to overcome it somehow, and one way is to spend less on buying newer attractions (which I rather see than SBNO attractions - For instance, Screamscrape for SFNE reports that their Orbit, and their Pirate ship aren't on the map anymore. SFOG's mini train that they just built is also SBNO supposedly. I say forget the new addition, and keep this stuff running. People don't want to see a shattered rundown park. They want rides to be open. ), and the other way to charge more money.

And the guy does say that they had a great 2011 year, but I think a ton of parks had a great year. Cedar Fair had a great year also.

[Galvan]

With them having the best margins in the industry (a major signal of profits) I doubt they are going to make any drastic changes.

JRA is doing a great job at the top of the company.

[rb1]

As long as they keep adding something new or maybe the first or even a record breaker in their parks theyll do Ok and people well be flocking to their parks every summer.

[FParker185]

Record breaking coasters only break the bank.

[Goku1910]

As long as they keep adding something new or maybe the first or even a record breaker in their parks theyll do Ok and people well be flocking to their parks every summer.

JRA did say something new every year, whether it's a ride, show, or store. It could be anything next year if you're going to speculate.

I really like the idea of something new....we don't need big coasters and attractions every year, but they make a nice treat every once in a while.

If I can find the link to that interview....

[Galvan]

Record breaking coasters only break the bank.

And break down

[Chitown]

JRA did say something new every year, whether it's a ride, show, or store. It could be anything next year if you're going to speculate.

I really like the idea of something new....we don't need big coasters and attractions every year, but they make a nice treat every once in a while.

If I can find the link to that interview....

It's not an interview but JRA mentioned adding stuff every year to every park in this promotional video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBUfumND3jI

[BP317]

Record breaking coasters only break the bank.

You mean Superman The Escape, Top Thrill Dragster, Kingda Ka, Formula Rossa, and Ring Racer aren't all huge success stories?

[Coaster Justin]

^
Superman opened 10+ months later after it was going to.
Ring Racer might be the fastest coaster, But I don't really see that mentioned on Forums/ Listed in their Top 20-30 Coasters.
Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka had/still have Major Issues.


And you're likely not gonna see Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (Home of Formula Rossa) make a Top 30 Theme Park Attendance in the World.

[DejaVu2001]

^ I think your sarcasm detector may not be functioning properly

[FParker185]

Ringracer never opened to the public, it's had 3 very major accidents during testing one resulting in significant structural damage to a building/part of the grandstands, all involved exploding air tanks. I was hearing it might finally open this year at a hugely reduced speed, but I'm also hearing the ride might have recently been condemned by the German Government/TUV which would mean we'd see it start to be dismantled sooner rather than later. It's American engineering at it's finest

[forddude1416]

I'm so glad I bought stock in this company when it was at .02 cents. Now I'm pissed with their bankruptcy that I lost all of it. Although with the market the way how it is, I'm impressed and a bit shocked at how high their stocks are right now. It seems the new boss really knows what it takes to run a company and how to get it done. I'm so glad all the pointless franchise names are gone and are more uniquely generic. It's funny because by doing that they are making the Six Flags brand a lot stronger. Seriously, once I heard they were dropping the names, it made me think about Six Flags again. It just showed such passion and dedication to the company instead of to the dollar. Also, as a personal note, I'm so glad magicquest is gone.

Also ilovethevu', I see where your coming from there, but you can't argue with Six Flags' success. It seems like after the industry crashed and they switched to that former CEO (I so can't remember his name) and Dan Synder, they laid down the ground work for a different Six Flags. This ties into what I said previously about Six Flags being just Six Flags. Everyone wants to envision the park as some type of Disney/Cedar Fair/Busch Gardens hybrid. They want the themeing of Disney, the coasters of Cedar Fair and whatever else they can pull from another park. The thing is Six Flags is just what it is, especially SFGAm. Ask anyone who's never visited a coaster forum or has no idea that companies exist that design roller coasters, a lot of them use Six Flags as a generic name for an amusement park; like how you do with Xerox or Kleenex. That's what Six Flags strength has always been, they got huge recognition for their We like to party campaign (sorry to bring that up anyone who's had to sit through the training videos). I can almost bet that Six Flags will be a fighting contender if they keep doing what their doing.

When I went to SFGAm in 2k10, everything just felt so... different. The employees seemed a bit more proactive in being friendly. The park was as clean as that park will ever be. Ride efficiency seemed to be as good as it ever was. I know some people on this board will tell you it was much better when they were there but I digress. The 5 dollar nachos is an amazing deal considering how they stack the chips in their sideways. The water park never felt like a bathtub. I can't wait til this summer when I finally get to revisit the old girl and see what they've done and what the people on here are going to complain about. I'm just happy we got this gem of the Midwest in this area for a long time running.

[Coaster Justin]

^
Mark Shapiro. One of the Dumber era's of Six Flags.

[CoasterDemon]

For what it's worth, Dick Kinzel called Top Thrill Dragster (I call it the High Heel Dragqueen) the 2nd biggest mistake they ever made at Cedar Point. The first being Disaster Transport (Disaster Disco).

[chester016]

^do you have an article that you can post on here where you got that from? Thats funny, because TTD is one of the rides that has made Cedar Point the park it is today. It has its fair share of maintenance issues but still......its one of those rides that keep people coming back from year to year and continues to bring new people in. The money they make from that alone has to be substantial. Look at Kingda Ka........As far as the stratosphere coasters go that one is way more of a failure than TTD. It has been down for weeks at a time on numerous occasions. I would love to know Dick's thought process and reasoning as to why he thinks that was such a big mistake. Disaster Transport......I can see being a mistake, TTD.....not so much.

[CoasterDemon]

I did a quick search and the first couple links were:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/vi ... start=1000

http://www.kicentral.com/forums/index.p ... ntry400096

So, not sure where I saw it or the interview. I could have swore it was in an interview somewhere. If you're interested in more detailed insight, might want to check pointbuzz or coasterbuzz - those are very Cedar Point oriented sites.

[BP317]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990536

[CoasterDemon]

^Good find, BP.

I started listening, but I can't stand it anymore. All that money talk/margins/stocks stuff isn't for me. One of the links said Dick complained that the Dragueen (Dragster) was a financial loss.

I'm surprised he said Disaster Transport was the biggest mistake they ever made. It's very clear that ride has many dislikes, but from a non-opinionated point of view, it's always seemed to be VERY popular with families and kids - and always has a line. I guess *everything* at Cedar Point has a line, come to think of it.

I wonder if his dislike has to do with the accident around 1992. I don't think it was very publicized (and way before internet) - a ride supervisor named Bill was on one of the 'theme decks' and fell off on to the concrete floor. It was a big deal, as he was very well liked. Last I remember hearing, that year I worked there, he was in a coma.

I have my own Disaster Disco horror story. One night I was finishing up at Blue Streak, and the supervisor came around looking for volunteers to help with a project over at Disaster. I said yes, and found myself climbing up the I-beams in the lift, replacing plastic yellow light caps with red ones. It was hot as hell, greasier than a pan of bacon, dirty, gross, etc. It went on forever. I couldn't believe they were letting - or should I say forcing - us to climb on these I-beams. It seemed a bit dangerous, even for those crazy times. The worst thing was that I was missing employee *Magnum night* and we were told we couldn't leave Disaster until the job was finished. Boo!

[BP317]

It's near the end of the interview where he says that Top Thrill Dragster replaced Disaster Transport as worst decision he has made (at least at the time this was recorded in 2005). I doubt his disdain for Disaster Transport had anything to do with any accident, he says in the interview it was getting very negative reviews.

[chester016]

I would imagine that maybe his view has changed since the time this interview was recorded. That ride is one of the first things that comes to peoples minds when they hear the words Cedar Point. Its kind of a landmark. I would imagine that ride has contributed to bringing in a great amount of money since this interview was recorded

[FParker185]

I don't think anyone doubts that TTD was the worst decision Cedar Point ever made. It cost a lot of money, it never worked right, and even now 9 years later it still doesn't work anywhere close to right. Besides all that, the year it was installed, attendance actually declined a couple percent.