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    • Fri Nov 16th 04:33 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Six Flags: Blaming It On The Rain
      Do you live somewhere in Texas, Todd? I sure do, and I have a Six Flags park 2 miles up the road. And as far as the weather being as bad as SF says, at least in Texas, my undiscovered mold allergy and related medical bills from March '07 to present due to the excessive amount of rain we've had this year are proof that they are correct. We were quite sick of rain by May, but it wasn't nearly over then. Certain areas of Austin were hit with a deluge more than once.

      Our vacation was in the middle of July and we traveled from Texas to Georgia, through SC, NC, Virginia, and back. It rained during our entire trip, with the exception of two days on the way back. And for what it's worth, this was a coaster-riding trip... Six Flags over Georgia (Atl), Carowinds (NC), and King's Dominion (VA).

      I can attest from personal experience in the parks, esp my home park, that on those many rainy days the park(s) was/were virtually empty. The public knows that with thunder and lightening comes ride shut-downs, and if you don't happen to be at a park with enough shows to keep you busy all day or you don't like seeing shows, you're likely not going to go to the park(s).

      As far as in-park spending, with the connotation that this is due as a result of increased prices rather than more people spending money, has anyone checked the price of hot dogs, popcorn and drinks at the movie theatre, or the cost of hot dogs, chips, and beer at the major league football and baseball venues? I don't 'hear' anyone complaining about *them*.

      When someone 'near' me (i.e. family, friends, co-workers) begins to complain about the season pass price, parking, or parking season pass prices going up, I remind them to put it in perspective. Where I live a season pass was $49.99 at this time last year (for 2007), and this year it's $59.99.

      A one-day ticket is $46.99. How many one-day tickets did it take to pay the $49.99? It would take more than one, but less than two, to pay for a season pass.

      At $59.99 how many one-day tickets would it take to cover it? What's that? More than one, less than two? BINGO.

      Either way, if you plan to visit your 'local' Six Flags a minimum of two times, or twice at a comination of parks, the pass has more than paid for itself.

      The same goes for the parking season pass. For 2006 the pass was $20. For 2007 it raised to $36. However, prior to the 2006 season the parking season pass was good ONLY at the park where it was purchased. For 2007 the parking season passes were good at ALL Six Flags parks- not just the one where it was purchased.

      So I paid an extra $16 for this year's parking season pass. But if I wanted to go to the other Six Flags park in Texas, it would have cost me $15 for parking in 2006, since I couldn't us my pass there. But because the pass is now good at the other parks too, we've visited the other park 3 times so far this year as opposed to the one visit we made in '06.

      The parking season passes are going up to $45 for '08. But you know what? We go to our local park once per week at a *minimum*, all season long. So at $36 or $45, it makes no difference. If we paid $12 once a week all season, that's $396. Which would I rather pay... $45 or $396? And how many visits would it take to pay for the parking season pass? At $36, it took 3 visits. At $45, it'll be 3.75 visits - both ar $3 or above, and less than 4.

      My family won't be griping about the price increases on passes, because we're still saving an insane amount of money.

      Oh... and that in-park spending? We spent an extra $25 to get the Premium Upgrade on our pass, which gave us a 25% savings on all food purchases in the restaurants. And although it doesn't bring the prices down to 'outside the park' levels, it sure gets close - as a result we *have* eaten more inside the park than ever. We're saving many more times that $25 investment, and the park's making more from us because we ARE spending more in-park. And by the way, the prices in the restaurants of the park here did not go up from last year... they are the same.

      From our experience with our home park, the other Texas park, the Georgia, NC, and VA parks we visited in July, the price of gifts and souvenirs is about the same as outside the park. My park t-shirts cost me between $12.99 and $16.99, which is quite standard. Oh, and that Premium Upgrade? Saves me 25% on *those* purchases as well, in the 'home' park.

      I've also been quite confused as to why people who are supposed to know how business works think that the 'new' corporate management of Six Flags can turn around in less than two years, the absolute mess the former management created during the many years of their tenure. Even a start-up business won't expect to see clear profit for 5-7 years, and we're talking about a multi-billion dollar company that was in a financial crisis. When they first took over I estimated it would take about 5-7 years for them to really turn the company around, and yet here we are barely two years later, with so many talking as though they should have already gotten things straightened out, and the stocks should already be back up to that double-digit level.

      I've not heard of too many stocks that went from bottom-dollar to soaring heights "overnight". I hear many people talk about "going long" and being patient, not getting 'itchy' when there are fluctuations, but hanging on for the long haul because it *can* take time.

      To see the positives requries an open mind, common sense, and the proper perspective. I'm not saying it will all work out 'in the end', there is certainly the potential right now for it to go either way.

      I'm just saying let's not put them into bankruptcy in our minds before they've had a truly appropriate amount of time to put plans into place AND for those plans to produce results - before we pass judgment.

      And yes, I DO own Six Flags stock. I bought at just under $6.00 a year ago. So if I can be patient.........
      View article »
    • Fri Nov 16th 04:33 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Six Flags: Blaming It On The Rain
      Do you live somewhere in Texas, Todd? I sure do, and I have a Six Flags park 2 miles up the road. And as far as the weather being as bad as SF says, at least in Texas, my undiscovered mold allergy and related medical bills from March '07 to present due to the excessive amount of rain we've had this year are proof that they are correct. We were quite sick of rain by May, but it wasn't nearly over then. Certain areas of Austin were hit with a deluge more than once.

      Our vacation was in the middle of July and we traveled from Texas to Georgia, through SC, NC, Virginia, and back. It rained during our entire trip, with the exception of two days on the way back. And for what it's worth, this was a coaster-riding trip... Six Flags over Georgia (Atl), Carowinds (NC), and King's Dominion (VA).

      I can attest from personal experience in the parks, esp my home park, that on those many rainy days the park(s) was/were virtually empty. The public knows that with thunder and lightening comes ride shut-downs, and if you don't happen to be at a park with enough shows to keep you busy all day or you don't like seeing shows, you're likely not going to go to the park(s).

      As far as in-park spending, with the connotation that this is due as a result of increased prices rather than more people spending money, has anyone checked the price of hot dogs, popcorn and drinks at the movie theatre, or the cost of hot dogs, chips, and beer at the major league football and baseball venues? I don't 'hear' anyone complaining about *them*.

      When someone 'near' me (i.e. family, friends, co-workers) begins to complain about the season pass price, parking, or parking season pass prices going up, I remind them to put it in perspective. Where I live a season pass was $49.99 at this time last year (for 2007), and this year it's $59.99.

      A one-day ticket is $46.99. How many one-day tickets did it take to pay the $49.99? It would take more than one, but less than two, to pay for a season pass.

      At $59.99 how many one-day tickets would it take to cover it? What's that? More than one, less than two? BINGO.

      Either way, if you plan to visit your 'local' Six Flags a minimum of two times, or twice at a comination of parks, the pass has more than paid for itself.

      The same goes for the parking season pass. For 2006 the pass was $20. For 2007 it raised to $36. However, prior to the 2006 season the parking season pass was good ONLY at the park where it was purchased. For 2007 the parking season passes were good at ALL Six Flags parks- not just the one where it was purchased.

      So I paid an extra $16 for this year's parking season pass. But if I wanted to go to the other Six Flags park in Texas, it would have cost me $15 for parking in 2006, since I couldn't us my pass there. But because the pass is now good at the other parks too, we've visited the other park 3 times so far this year as opposed to the one visit we made in '06.

      The parking season passes are going up to $45 for '08. But you know what? We go to our local park once per week at a *minimum*, all season long. So at $36 or $45, it makes no difference. If we paid $12 once a week all season, that's $396. Which would I rather pay... $45 or $396? And how many visits would it take to pay for the parking season pass? At $36, it took 3 visits. At $45, it'll be 3.75 visits - both ar $3 or above, and less than 4.

      My family won't be griping about the price increases on passes, because we're still saving an insane amount of money.

      Oh... and that in-park spending? We spent an extra $25 to get the Premium Upgrade on our pass, which gave us a 25% savings on all food purchases in the restaurants. And although it doesn't bring the prices down to 'outside the park' levels, it sure gets close - as a result we *have* eaten more inside the park than ever. We're saving many more times that $25 investment, and the park's making more from us because we ARE spending more in-park. And by the way, the prices in the restaurants of the park here did not go up from last year... they are the same.

      From our experience with our home park, the other Texas park, the Georgia, NC, and VA parks we visited in July, the price of gifts and souvenirs is about the same as outside the park. My park t-shirts cost me between $12.99 and $16.99, which is quite standard. Oh, and that Premium Upgrade? Saves me 25% on *those* purchases as well, in the 'home' park.

      I've also been quite confused as to why people who are supposed to know how business works think that the 'new' corporate management of Six Flags can turn around in less than two years, the absolute mess the former management created during the many years of their tenure. Even a start-up business won't expect to see clear profit for 5-7 years, and we're talking about a multi-billion dollar company that was in a financial crisis. When they first took over I estimated it would take about 5-7 years for them to really turn the company around, and yet here we are barely two years later, with so many talking as though they should have already gotten things straightened out, and the stocks should already be back up to that double-digit level.

      I've not heard of too many stocks that went from bottom-dollar to soaring heights "overnight". I hear many people talk about "going long" and being patient, not getting 'itchy' when there are fluctuations, but hanging on for the long haul because it *can* take time.

      To see the positives requries an open mind, common sense, and the proper perspective. I'm not saying it will all work out 'in the end', there is certainly the potential right now for it to go either way.

      I'm just saying let's not put them into bankruptcy in our minds before they've had a truly appropriate amount of time to put plans into place AND for those plans to produce results - before we pass judgment.

      And yes, I DO own Six Flags stock. I bought at just under $6.00 a year ago. So if I can be patient.........
      View article »
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