Keep Hands in the Vehicle: Six Flags files for Bankruptcy
 

Do you have a special memory of the park? What would you do to make it profitable (a la Roller Coaster Tycoon)?

When I graduated middle school, my class went to Six Flags over Georgia. Unfortunately, I was scared to death of the rides so I just chilled out at the park. Fast forward many many years, I went to an amusement park here in China on Christmas and really enjoyed the roller coasters. It's something that takes time to warm up to and I hope that company emerges better than before.

Where is Mistercoaster?

this is quite the bummer. what's going to happen to the park and all the rides? are they gonna just leave it to rot, get overgrown with weeds and vines, coverd up by nature, and in about 200 years some explorer will find it, ala ankor watt, and think he uncovered a huge ancient temple to the gods of fun? that would be cool.

really, what are they gonna do with it all?

Well, a couple of years ago they thought that by selling off their parks in highly dense population areas, they would increase shareholder value. If I recall they shut down and sold one of the Texas parks and a sold Elitch's in Denver, CO. The hopes were to cash in on the real estate values, put cash into the books, and increase share prices. Never mind giving a better experience at the parks, providing world class rides at the smaller parks, or even better value for the parks.

I say this because I buy season passes at Six Flags when I can. I do not buy them from my local park because my local park they are $99 which has some decent roller coasters, but little that a coaster enthusiast would consider world class. Compare that to Magic Mountain, their crown jewel park at $69 (we paid $59.99 before June 1). Magic Mountain sports 19 operating coasters many are in the top 10 best in the world, versus Great Adventure's 14 (kiddie coasters are included in that count.) Day passes are as cheap as $26.99 for MM and $49.99 for Great Adventure. Note that Great Adventure doesn't have competition from Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, or any other major theme park attraction.

I can renew the pass every year for 3 years without visiting Magic Mountain again but getting that cheaper price.

They have squeezed out every last bit they can from this, Johnny Rocket's had 2 different locations to buy their burgers for $12 a meal. Coca-cola and M&Ms vending machines all over the place along with Aramark employees for their other food operations. There was a Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream, Panda Express for Chinese food, and let's not forget Papa John's pizza. From what I know of Disneyland and Knott's Berry farm, my experience is not with food service companies but sponsored by food companies like Carnation, Mission, La Victoria. Companies that don't have actual restaurants or storefronts.

As I stand in the long lines waiting for a roller coaster, I'm set with watching monitors that advertise to me many different products. Not just cross pollination Warner Brothers products, but Coca-cola, M&Ms, deodorant. What used to be entertainment, like Warner music videos or Looney Tune cartoons, is now just advertisements.

In short, treat me like an intelligent paying customer, not someone you're trying to get money out of.

To me, it sounds like nothing will change for visitors.

To the casual observer, it sounds like they are like those poor people that racked up a lot of credit card debt and want someone else to pay for it. Expansion and growth at any cost, probably made their stock price go up. The former CEO and management all left, taking a nice bonus and selling their stock. Then the market dropped, leaving the new management nowhere to go, except to further screw the stockholders.

We visited Six Flags Magic Mountain last summer with a bunch of friends from college. It's located in Valencia, and the real estate prices in that area have been hit pretty hard by the bubble-burst. We used to think that they would choose to close down Magic Mountain because the land was worth far too much. Not so much anymore.

Visitors have been declining significantly over the past several years. When we would go to this same park in high school, the lines were so exceptionally long that our experience was horrible. We were able to ride on three rides the entire day because we were waiting in 2-4 hour lines for each ride.

Our trip a year ago was wonderful - we rode every ride that we wanted. We waited in one line for one ride for more than an hour: X. This was during the ride's premiere. The park was nearly deserted.

I don't see how that location stays in business.

Well said.

:lol: Probably because everyone was riding X. That thing is my favorite ride.

I grew up in St. Louis MO and we used to go to Six Flags over Mid America frequently.

I have many fond memories of myself and my family at that park.

I don't know how to reconcile this type of news with headlines that blare, "The economy is improving!"

I've been to Six Flags Over Georgia. It was years ago, but my overwhelming memories of the experience were not good. The park was dirty, with horrible lines without shade. There's a Six Flags park in my own town that I've never been to, despite the fact I've lived here for 7 years. My impression of the brand has never been good. I'd rather drive the 2 hours to King's Island near Cincinnati.

If you were the new management and were given the choice between being $2.4 billion in debt with your stock price at $0.27, or claiming bankruptcy, having the stock price go to $0, but only $0.6 billion in debt (an you made a few million last year), it makes some financial sense. You will be able to pay off the debt 4 times faster (and compounding interest won't further put you in the hole.)

There might be something I am missing, but a lot of companies have done this and will continue to do this.

Halanna, can you tell us an interesting story about you and Six Flags?

It seems that there are many people displeased with this roller coaster company. What would you do to fix it?

I hear that there is a place in Minnesota called Sex World where you can ride giant golden penises. While giant golden penises, arguably, have saved many of company from folly, this might not the time or place for them in Sex Flags.

When I went to an amusement park on Christmas (not Six Flags), most of the rides were shut down, but there were no crowds and no waiting. Maybe there could shut down some of the lease popular rides and focus on the experience on their best attractions.