So it turns out that the problem with Six Flags is that it's too damn cheap.
Don't know if anybody's read anything about this, I just heard about it myself, but there's a fascinating transition going on at SIX. They installed a new CEO at the beginning of 2022, and he's absolutely running amok. The game plan at SIX is that it's better to be Target than Walmart. In his words, Six Flags has become cheap daycare for obnoxious teens. He wants to price them out. If anybody here buys season passes, they noticed that this year the price skyrocketed. Gate prices, parking, and food have all increased similarly. At SFMM if you pay at the gate rather than online you'll shell out $120 for an adult ticket. It's $70+tax online. Parking's up to $40. Season passes work for me because I travel enough to hit multiple parks. I'll be at SFMM next month, in fact. This year they changed the tier structure so you have to buy a surprisingly expensive pass to visit more than just your home park. I've visited and parked at two parks so far, and I'm not sure my pass has actually paid for itself yet (it certainly will, though).
I was obviously being a smartass with the beginning of this post, but in fairness this might actually work as a strategy. Honestly, huge crowds are one of the biggest problems with visiting a Six Flags. I've make a point to go on weekdays so it's not terrible, but it can still be damned crowded in the evenings. What I've learned is that it's a helluva lot more fun when you don't have to wait in long lines. And in fairness, there is a good amount of riffraff (myself included). His idea is to decrease attendance and increase per capita spending. If done correctly it could pan out. Or, it might be a disaster. I'm not an economist, so who the hell knows. One thing I can say is that I shop at Target a whole lot more than Walmart for that very reason.
Problem: I said that it might work as a strategy, but it's an absolute disaster the way it's being implemented. By all accounts, and it certainly looks this way to me, Selim is an absolute loon. All of this came to light in the briefing for their quarterly earnings report. When the sector is absolutely booming SIX tanked something awful. People are itching to get out and do things right now, and attendance at SIX was down 22%. This is actually what he wanted, but spending was way down, too. That could just be growing pains, so we'll see. What is a legit problem is his operation of the company. They've sacked 25% of their fulltime employees. Many of them long-timers who helped build the thing, who were fired for not going along with Selim's approach, or resigned in disgust. This includes 5 park presidents.
1 By all accounts they've lost all of their in-house talent. Moreover, his future spending will not be on new rides--the very thing that attracts people to SF. Rides are expensive. Better and more pricier food is not. Proprietary payment apps to better take customers money aren't. Landscaping and upkeep are expensive, and don't matter much, so that'll be ignored.
2 For his strategy to work they need to have better offerings to make the higher prices work, and he doesn't seem to understand what that actually entails at a theme park. The stockholders seem to be behind Selim, but by all accounts he might very well sink SIX (and they do have a history of bankruptcies already).
1I actually met the president of Six Flags America. Super-nice guy. I walked up to the first gold badge I saw and his said Park President. When I asked if he'd indulge a petty complaint he said "yes, please, I'd love to." My kind of manager.
He's "retiring" in 3 days.
2At SFA, for the first time ever I looked at a coaster and said "no way I'm getting on that thing," and it was entirely because it looked so dilapidated. It was an old, historic coaster, and looked like it hadn't seen a coat of paint in 20 years. I assumed it was SBNO when I got there, and was amazed when I saw trains running.