Sorry for the glitch at 10:32, I was talking about the price of that "risk" which was incorrect so I took it out. Texas Giant cost $5.5M and the RMC conversion cost $10M.
No RMC Conversion is 5M, the cheapest was 10M. The reason SF has not & can't add big 20M+ coasters post bankruptcy is they instituted a Capex Formula of maximum 9% of revenue. That total Capex of 9% is then split 60% rides, 25% asset management, 15% in park non rides. Now if you do the math of SF's revenue you realize that their ride budget is low, last year under the formula they had around 77M for rides. They can't build a 20M+ coaster at 1 or 2 parks and still give each park something every year, which they are adamant about. SF got in trouble by over spending and that's not happening again. The park post bankruptcy was essentially taken over by a private equity group that bought out the majority stake of the previous owners.
On the notion SF is "breaking form in 2019" . 1)SF did not reacquire Darien Lake, they have an operating lease, the park is still owned by EPR. All 5 parks in the deal last year were operating leases, not the actually buying the parks. 2)The foreign parks are licensing deals, SF Corporate own nothing, puts no money up, etc... The foreign developer build everything and pays SF a fee to use the SF name & consulting fees in some cases. 3)Max Force is an air launch coaster, they are the cheapest launch system. A similiar sized launched built overseas a few years back was about 12-13M USD after conversion. So, it's not a big investment by SF & breaking their inexpensive trend. WCR at SFMM is the same, S&S is one of the cheapest manufactures, not like Intamin or B&M. 4)NO SF is not becoming ambitious nor spending more, they actually cut their Capex from 135 to 133M in the last year.. In fact, given that they have lease deals on the new parks, which they will be adding something newt to each year and they have been adamant about keeping the Capex formula, expect a lot of low cost clone rides.
Sorry this video is really mostly filler; its a long drawn out talk about founding, expansion and installation of new coasters, then economic collapse. This (somehow) segues into how because their multipark season pass is cheaper then Cedar Fair they are (somehow) a "discount" brand.
Are they really competitors tho? Who thinks about going to six flags then decides to just up it to disney? lol Unless you're already in Florida or Cali obviously. As a guy from Illinois seems weird to compare them
As a former Six Flags Corporate employee who, like a lot of ppl, got laid off in 2007. I can tell you one of the biggest issues is they can't decide if they are a extreme coaster park or a place for kids / families. If they would go all in on one of those strategies it would help their brand. Plus, other regional parks have learned to "bundle" services, like refillable drinks & parking, into the main gate price. When you go to Six Flags it "feels" like they are always up-charging you, even though the overall price isn't much more than competing parks. Finally, they've stopped marketing to the parks "outer markets" - places more than 2 hours away - so it's not in the front of minds as a travel destination the way it was 15 years ago. (And yeah... being about two BILLION dollars in debt for the longest time hasn't helped either.)
Can confirm on the 2 hour rule, and they seem to be going by non-turnpike drive times. I never see ads for Frontier City anymore even though it's the closest Six Flags park, being a 180km, 2h21m drive from the closest Tulsa neighborhood. (Subtract 1 hour or add 5 hours, equal odds, depending on crashes on the turnpike to get the turnpike time).
@@jeffc1347 - I also remember him coming to the park for a Town Hall style meeting an assuring everyone that there wouldn't be massive layoffs! =P (Even though they'd just closed KY Kingdom)
I am also a former SF employee, at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. What I hated was the stupid rules for ALL employees, like the call out, must have a doctor's note (even if it wasn't health related); no facial hair for male employees; and tight work schedules that were not flexible. As an adult I personally expected looser rules for adult employees, since SF usually has a large staff of youth. But NO....we all had to go by the same rules no matter what. I did enjoy the free tickets, though. And to reply to a poster below, SF really needs to keep the parks cleaner. I have seen graffiti in some areas that was not addressed for a long time. And the food? Bleah...school lunches are better. And WAAAAAY too expensive. And last...STOP with the over commercialization. Everywhere you turn in the park they want you to buy something.
I've been saying this for a while. Six Flags needs to drop the "new ride every year" plan and start saving up for some quality rides and coasters. The parks will start to land lock with mediocre rides and the crowds will start to dwindle away and then guess what. You are filing for bankruptcy again. Seems like a great short term plan but seems like a disaster in the end
That little something new every year keeps the crowds coming in, and the general park goer is still going to be impressed with anything new. I can see the Cedar Fair model of going years...sometimes a decade without getting anything new as being more stale for the general public
I'm close to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Magic Mountain. Both of these parks have massive amounts of land for expansion. For me personally I'm ready for Magic Mountain to get a giga coaster. Not this CraZanity bullshit or even West Coast Racers. Give us something to top X2 and Twisted Collossus. In other words. Stop playing!
Hervin Balfour you guys have 20 coasters! You don’t need a giga. A lot of six flags parks get shitty carnival rides, magic mountain gets solid additions.
I love how he said “They May just be cookie cutter clones. Sure they won’t be golden ticket award rides, but overall it’s still fun to ride them.” This is what I’ve needed from somebody
No that’s not true, it was because the old management racked up debt and expanded by buying parks. Do some research and see how disciplined the company is with capital spending, and they have the best margins in the industry.
They need to focus on bettering the parks before adding new to it. These new rides are like adding sparkles to shit. Especially when we have a squirrel that lives in booth 3 at the front gate.
So, I had the Gold Membership to Six Flags. I had a bad experience at one of their parks and decided I was going to cancel it. I was paying $8 A month for the Gold. When I clicked cancel on the app, it offered the same membership at a $6 per month cost if I stayed. I still clicked no. It then asked me if I'd stay for $4 a month. At that point I said that's $48 per month and I go to several SF parks each year. I kept it. The only thing I had to do is get a new card on my next visit and stay on for a full year at the new price. I'm still paying $48 for the gold membership. I know there are other levels, but I get free entry and parking at every park, plus the perks of my home park.
Reminds me of when i called to cancel my AOL subscription they kept lowering the price to get me to stay :P i finally had to yell at the guy to just cancel it. he stayed quiet for like 4 seconds then just started typing away on his key board and said "okay sir, just going ahead and beginning the cancellation process give me one moment." i felt like shit haha
Six flags have never really focused on the atmosphere of their parks. Most sf parks even struggle to maintain their older rides let alone add some scenery or theming for that matter. I think an investment in cleaning things up and making things nice would go along way to add more business especially the parks that don't add any rides. And speaking of not adding any more rides I'm not sure about the future of those parks since the rides they do have will eventually become run down and worn out. I really hope that Six Flags eventually turns things around and is able to compete with Cedar Fair once again.
Agreed! I've always found the Busch Gardens/Sea World parks to miles ahead of Six Flags in aesthetics, landscaping and theming. And of course Universal and Disney are on a whole different planet in those areas.
Just remember, RMC had a strong relationship with Six Flags before the I-Box track. They constructed El Toro, a few sky coasters, and some og wood coaster retracking. It was when they wanted to renovate it and gave the bid to RMC and the design to Alan Shilke, that we got the Iron Horse treatment and the creation of the I-Box track.
Six Flags got the first I-box conversion, the first raptor (CGA same year), maybe they'll also get the first T rex. Most people say the first T rex will go to GAdv and as much as I'd like to see that for my home park i don't expect that at all. There's not enough room unless they clear some space, and most importantly it would be a bad move for RMC to release the T rex into the industry this early on in their development. I-box and raptors are a HUGE success right now and in very high demand. sell those while they're hot, and once that dies down a bit then boom. hit them with the T rex. Of course RMC already knows this as it's pretty much common sense but as for the T rex rumors i don't buy into it at all. GAdv best case scenario we get a Raptor in El Diablo's spot
@@chase7624 it's possible, but remember the Trex track hasn't finished R&D yet and Alan Shilke said that they are working on a medium scale track that will be most likely seen before a Trex. The first Trex isn't going to open until 2024+, so the next coaster at SFGAdv will probably be something a long the lines of Maxx Force or WCR.
As I've discussed with my friends when it comes to stores where one would shop for clothes...Six Flags = Walmart, Cedar Fair = Target, Disney/Uni = Nordstrom
See to me Six Flags as Walmart and Cedar Fair as Target make's sense. But Sea World/Busch Gardens needs to be slotted into the Macy's/Dillard's spot. Universal is Nordstrom but Disney is more like Neiman Marcus.
I really appreciate the affordability with the memberships and the perks that go with it. Going to a Disney park or Universal Studios is so expensive now for families just to visit once. But I can go to Six Flags and have fun with my family over and over, at a fraction of the cost.
No doubt it's expensive to go to Universal if you don't live nearby and get the season pass... and Disney is another order of magnitude higher. But there is a certain level of quality you are getting that comes with that cost. Almost every aspect of those parks outdo most Six Flag parks with the possible exception of the coasters available to ride (looking at you on this Disney). But theming, food quality, aesthetics, landscaping, customer service and even the quality of the patrons all handily exceed the Six Flags experience when you choose to go Universal or Disney. Those resorts are destination experiences that people are willing to go across the country for. Only the most dedicated of coaster enthusiast make Six Flags parks a destination experience and most people are content to visit their "local" Six Flags park for the day once or twice a year.
You're a bit off on one of your facts. Six Flags over Texas was never sold off, only the Six Flags name and the park Management rights. Six Flags Over Texas is still owned by the descended of the man who originally built the park.
I've been saying the same thing for 5 years now I live in Texas near San Antonio I love six flags fiesta tx but it really needs a huge renovation its looked the same since the 90s i do love the new rides they've been adding but the look of the park needs an upgrade badly 2020 would be a perfect time for a new look
I agree there @rob900100 I'm also in San Antonio and Fiesta Texas could use an updated look. The only downside is that they are now open year round so they would have to close off sections at a time in order to get the whole park a new makeover, something they could easily do if they had an off season.
Meanwhile Cedar Fair has gotten the most out of RMC, steel vengeance which is now the number one coaster in the world with the most airtime in history. I love my Six Flags RMCs in Texas, but I've ridden SV and its realities above anything I've ridden. It makes Iron Rattler look like a kiddie ride haha
@@grobble8954 Twisted Colossus was listed at 7M, that's the cheapest one I have seen a price posted for. I originally thought that NTG was $5.5M but that was the original price of Texas Giant not the conversion, that's where that confusion came from
@@AirtimeThrills The original Colossus was 7M, there are dozens of articles on it. www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-twisted-colossus-six-flags-magic-mountain-20140828-story.html www.businessinsider.com/best-fastest-steel-roller-coasters-us-2017-9#16-california-twisted-colossus-2
Great analysis - the research was on-point! The current strategy seems to be working alright for Six Flags, but I wonder how they will fare once their big coasters of the 90 and early 00 run out of their lifetime. So many large scale coasters were built at a frantic, EnergyLandia-style pace, and I can't see Six Flags replacing any of those with the same diligence. Although this year Six Flags is finally building taller ground-up custom coasters again, I feel these are nonetheless relatively cheap purchases anyway. Don't get me wrong, Maxx Force and West Coaster Racers look fairly exciting, however both mostly stay low to the ground. Maxx Force may have two really high elevated sections, but nothing else seem to require the expensive use of cranes to build the ride - which is really short otherwise. In any event, I think the future of Six Flags depends a lot of how good cheaper coasters will be. In other words, what realistic but quality options the chain will have on their hand. Vekoma is doing fantastic rides with their Next Gen stuff (Lech is amazing imo, as you may know). However their orders are booked for the next 2/3 years. Who knows if Six Flags is willing to wait and get a nice deal with Vekoma to build many clones at a discount then. (Maybe even a Next Gen Boomerang? That would be much more exciting than it first sounds, trust me) Mack is most certainly too expensive for them, as you seemed to suggest when inserting Copperhead Strike. In a pattern similar to Cedar Fair pricing, Mack are banking on their new stellar reputation and now charge a lot more for their rides. Copperhead costed $28M. By comparison, Helix was around $21M for a significantly larger ride on a hillside! I'm not too sure how much Gerstlauer coaster costs these days, and their product line-up isn't the most complimentary to Six Flags' anyway. Thing is, generally family coasters are cheaper (unless you're going for detailed scenery that is), so Six Flags have to be really wise to find their next inexpensive thrill rides for their target teenage/young adult audience. RMC used to do exactly that, but now they too have risen their prices. Maybe the Raptors will fill the gap, but that may come with capacity issues... That was wayyy too long, but I really appreciate your analysis! Keep up the great work mate 👍
Just remember that Gerstlauer and Six Flags are not on good terms after the restraint issue on New Texas Giant. They can be fairly inexpensive compared to B&M or Mack, but will Six Flags ever take a chance with them again, probably not for a while.
They reacquired two Premier Parks and I figured with their history it wouldn't happen, but now people are excited that Six Flags Darien Lake and Frontier City are around, so it's possible in due time. As for if they'll work with B&M or Mack. They've already been rumored to be working with Mack with their new parks in Asia so I also believe that it's possible. It's just up to Six Flags decision to want to get bigger in terms of quality and not just numbers, like they were before, and I can already see them striving for that. It's a slower pace than Cedar Fair, but that's mostly due to how they spread the wealth. TLDR: I still have faith in Six Flags.
@@ItsSiebay remember, they don't own DL and FC, just the management rights and Six Flags does not own the parks in Europe/Asia, those are real estate companies who have a contract with Six Flags to use the Six Flags name, branding, and season pass system. Dubai was cancelled and the rides were sold to other European parks. They have already started working with B&M again with the new trains on Iron Wolf/Apocalypse/Firebird.
I live in Southern California. Disneyland and Knott's have always been the favorites of the locals because it's more family friendly and its just easier to get to.
@bigevilworldwide1 the gang thing was years ago like 1998 or something, they have dress code i think... I remember as a teen stabbing at six flags because of some homies from different gangs after that they cleaned it up. But yeah the park still feels dirty and the food is so shitty compared to knots or disneyland
Six Flags is the Walmart of amusements parks. Yeah, they have the stuff you want and need, but the customer service is just shit. Looking at you, Great America.
@@essaym7509 CF studied their parks in the early 2010's to determine which parks had the most ideal demographics, income of the surrounding area, economics, etc.. for investment beyond the big 3..Cedar Point, Knotts, and Kings Island. Those are the top 3 producers. The parks that were determined with the biggest growth potential and have thus been getting prioritized investments are Carowinds, CGA, and Wonderland,
Personally, after visiting my first Six Flags park (Six Flags St. Louis) just last month, I can tell you they have spent a massive amount of time in improving the experience, at least based on what people have told me in the past. People said the park was extremely dirty and you always felt no matter how much you washed your hands that you were still a living virus. No more; the park was super clean (not Dollywood clean but decently close). The staff were all very friendly and willing to help; I accidentally banged my knuckle as the lady went to fling down the restraint to the empty seat next to me on The Boss. She asked if I was okay four times, did I need any help, and if I needed anything else. I was fine; it hurt for a few days but that was ok, it's just another thing to forever remember The Boss by. On that note, the coasters were very fun. I'm a hugeeee wooden coaster lover, so The Boss was my favorite. I love being punished by a coaster; thrashed around, getting a short headache, etc. and The Boss more than delivered. Screaming Eagle and the other one had similar results and I was overall impressed. Ninja was an absolute disaster but that was a given; everyone says it's an awful coaster. I didn't think it was too bad but it was the only coaster besides Batman we didn't want to ride again. Their Boomerang was fun, and even their Pandomonium clone was exciting. Everything felt fresh. I didn't get to ride Mr. Freeze due to some technical problems, but I got to go on everything else that I wanted to. The drop tower was a nono, LOL. As for their future... I think they'll be fine. Since they've embraced their identity, I think they understand that taking chances (like these upcoming unique coasters) is a good idea, but in moderation. On the other hand, they can make clones, but not too many. I see them being a successful chain like they once were. They seem to have learned some lessons and basically realized they can't necessarily beat their competition overall, but they can in certain, appealing ways. *Apologies for my rant, but it is what it is and if you want to read it, have fun. :)*
I live really close to Six Flags Over Texas and used to go there often (we'd even get season passes). I have noticed they haven't really added many new coasters lately, other than El Diablo which was added this year. The previous few years were focused squarely on the Gotham City section, as for the longest time it only had 3 rides (Batman, Mr. Freeze, and Batwing). So they've recently added Catwoman Whip, Harley Quinn SpinSanity, The Riddler's Revenge, and most recently The Joker. I'd definitely say the new additions have helped flesh that area of the park out and bring new life fo it, even if it was at the cost of one of my favorite coasters, Flashback.
Six Flags is and always will be an awesome place to me, I used to get so excited when I was little about getting to go. I used to hate roller coasters, but now I'm an addict. I'd love to go to Cedar Point some day though.
My home Park is Kentucky Kingdom. When we became six Flags it was huge. But over time they took our more rides then added. Plus the passes were so cheap that the bad people would come in and cause choas. Now. When u compare it to parks like kings island or something. Kings Island is more expensive then six flags but with that being said it s up to u what park u want to go to.
@@JaimeBlanco666 Hit up Kings Island. I could only spend just a few hours at KK before I began to feel bored. Kings Island is more of a day's experience.
I think a video talking about the history of six flags incidents could be interesting! Haunted castle fire, girl chocking on taffy on raging bull, and the incident where a child lost there legs on superman! Would be very educational
Oh man I haven't been to six flags in years. Seeing clips from New England and Great Escape brought back so many memories. My best times at six flags were definitely fright fest.
Yup it was opened in 1961 here, when I-30 was a turnpike and the old exit to S.H. 360 (Watson Rd), next to McDonald's, which runs into Road to SF, was where the toll gates used to be.
I miss those old Six Flags commercials...brings back my childhood memories seeing them on TV....thank you for including them...I think Six Flags could stand to update those types of commercials
Since its inception, Six Flags has been consistent in adding new, innovative attractions to their park. They have been a trendsetter, usually taking risk with attractions, later added by other competitor chains. To call them a discount chain is misleading and suggests that they are some knock-off brand. Six Flags set the standard for theme park fun, outside of Disney. The developers, responsible for creating its original three landmark parks, eventually had their influence in the creation and enhancement of all the other parks we enjoy today. I applaud Six Flags on what they have done. They have saved lesser known, or struggling parks from liquidation, creating access to thrills certain markets may not have had access to. Their pricing scheme has remained consistent and affordable over the years, while they continue to restructure and expand. I think a lot can be learned from how they have done business. Through the challenges, they have been able to regroup and bounce back, while remaining a force in the thrill industry.
When he says discount chain, he is referring to, the way I took it anyway, the pricing of everything. Not to say they are the knock off brand, as you put it, but a cheaper alternative in regards to ticket pricing (as he was stating towards the end of the video when he went over the pass pricing between C.P. and SF.
It's funny that when you keep trying to play the video, you get a Disney themed ad to start it off! Lol Also on a side note, if you want work for SF, and have older family members working there, don't ever get injured to where you feel the need to sue them, because that will cause all sorts of re-hire problems with them, meaning lifetime no rehire possibility, plus other family members with the same last name, who never have worked with them before, will not be considered for hiring. Happened to my family, was waaaaaaay back in 1985, mom injured her back, when trying to reach into an ice pop cart, and getting stuck, some time afterwards, she sued for the injuries and as a sort of punishment, at the end of the season, my older bro and myself, turned in the uniforms, however, they say we didn't and were slapped with the no rehire clause, continued to try to get rehired even after 35 yrs!
X2 at Magic Mountain is about the most enjoyable coaster I have ever ridden. A fantastic ride. I just wish it were a little longer ride. The music sound effects really enhance the experience, not to mention the flames.
I worked for Six Flags over Georgia from 1976 to 1980. I enjoyed working there and the and the park was fairly clean and well maintained. When I returned in the late 1990s and early 2000s with my kids, I was very disappointed. The park was filthy and run down. We stopped going after a few times because I felt my money was better spent at other parks even with the extra expenses for travel. I haven't been to a Six Flags park in over 15 years. I know that ownership changed around 2010. I hope the new owners fix the problems and I will be able to take my grandchildren to a decent local park. If not, 1/3 of the country is within a day's travel of Atlanta and there are lots of alternatives.
4 hours up the road you have Dollywood, pretty much the polar opposite of SFOG in terms of cleanliness. SFOG has a nice coaster collection but the park seems poorly run in general
@@AirtimeThrills, I've been there a couple times but its been awhile. It's pretty nice park. I really liked the craft area with blacksmiths, glass blowers, etc. It's good for a break when the lines get too long.
Knott's is different from other Cedar Fair parks for several reasons. One is that it's in one of the most heavily populated areas in all of North America. It's open every day of the year except Christmas, it's an actual theme park rather than an amusement park, and it has significant competition with Disney, Universal, and Six Flags. It has to be priced right to attract people to it with so many parks nearby, and it can afford to be priced lower since it has incredibly high attendance.
I've been visiting Six Flags in Jackson New Jersey as a season pass holder since 2004 when I was six years old. It has been drastic seeing how the enormous crowds of 3 hrs+ for Kingda Ka, now will only be 1 hour long on it's busiest day, and is still to this day seems to be their most popular attraction. I'm glad the park is open still but it's been years since they've added a brand new coaster (Green Lantern opening in 2011 was recycled from their Texas Theme Park so doesn't count as brand new) I hope for the day they continue but they're struggling and I see it in their enormous push for visitors to buy more and more from their parks such as season passes (1 day tickets can be 60+ dollars where a season pass might be 80-100), photos, food, drinks (Which they have a meal plan for $100/year now) I hope the park continues to stay open but thank you for covering this, loved the A+ quality video from a smaller youtuber you did a fantastic job and gained a subscriber :)
@@AirtimeThrills They definitely have enough land for it so they aren't maxed out for area there. They've expanded their water park attractions over the past few years (been going there as well with my season pass) and the water park is doing very well despite the push for you to buy more things like rent-a-tubes etc but here's to hoping we get lucky with a new exciting coaster in 2020!
I have very vague memories going to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Me and my family had a lot of fun. A SeaWorld in Ohio seems like a weird choice now that I actually think about it. My brother cried wanting to see 'Shampoo' but I guess there was a period where the whale wasn't there? I dont remember. But we had these shamoo hats that hung around our home for years. I remember seeing a stunt show there too, I think it was batman themed. It was so cool.
I stopped paying attention to theme parks in about 2014, when I ran into some health problems and got real fat as a result. How I miss the joy of being able to stand for long periods of time, walk long distances on my flat feet, and be around people. Oh, and ride roller coasters.
With Six Flags' relationship with Rocky Mountain Construction, I'd anticipate SF ordering I-Box conversions to The Boss (SFSL), Roar (SFA), Le Monstre (La Ronde), and Predator (SFDL) over the next couple of years. SFGADV could be interesting, assuming SF gets first ever RMC T-Rex single rail concept coaster (upscale version of the Raptor single rail). At the same time, El Toro could be a candidate for RMC I-Box conversion, which may be loved by some and hated by others. SFGADV needs a family-friendly wood coaster from GCI or Gravity Group added to their line-up. Cedar Fair has phased out all but 1 stand-up coaster, and converted B&M stand-ups to floor-less. Vortex (Carowinds) being CF's only remaining stand-up. SF converted Apocalypse (SFA) from stand-up to floor-less (rechristened as Firebird). I wouldnt be surprised if Georgia Scorcher (SFOG) gets conversion next. SF has sent S&S 4D Free Fly coasters to some of its parks, and added a couple of Justice League dark rides, Larson Super Loops, SkyScreamers, and Zamperla Giant Discovery rides... I wouldn't be surprised if they were to add Pulstar water coasters or a couple more Premier Rides Skyrocket 2 coasters. One thing I'd be interested in seeing with SF would be a return to originality, and scale back on clones. CF, I could see them working with Mack Rides at a couple more of their parks over the next few years. Hopefully CF has plans to add a couple more RMC coasters, with Hurler (Carowinds) being next. SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks could easily give SF, CF, Herschend, Disney, and Universal parks a run for their money with batch of new coasters going to their parks, and buzzed about RMC conversion to Gwazi (BGT).
@@seanlewis1148 tbh El Toro alone makes it a destination park already. I was considering visiting all the way from Italy recently. Combine it with a visit to NYC
I worked at Six flags over Georgia as a kid. In the 70s it was ok, but by the 80s the park was entirely engulfed in a ghetto outside Altanta. Murders outside of the park are a regular thing. Today you can get a discount pass for less than $50 and the park is full of thugs. Today, most of the employees are the worst Atlanta has to offer. Really sad to see it go down hill as it has.
I used to live near the Six flags new England.. I always had a great time there. My son and I would go in there all summer in the morning before the crowd got there.. Ride our fill and take off.. Those were some fun times.
As a Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera fan, I think these franchises would benefit greatly from a more ambitious and immersive experience at the parks. Especially if you don't pidgeonhole it towards kids the first thing you do.
What would be nice is to see Warner Brothers take an interest in these parks that would see them invest the kind of money into the partnership that would allow them to compete with Universal and Disney. DC and Looney Tunes are big ticket IP and Warner Brothers also owns the rights to The Lord of the Rings movies... which would offer good competition to the Universal and the Harry Potter Worlds.
The simple answer is what happened 2 years after those rides were opened (2006). That'd be the Great Recession, and Six Flags got hit hard by it. I know Tatsu was the last coaster of that size and cost to open at SFMM. And like Sean said, the company had a ton of debt, to the point that it pushed Six Flags into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Seems like since then the company has been more budget-conscience and doesn't take on a big debt to build a massive roller coaster project. Hopefully with the economy doing better, that means more visitors, which means more profit, which hopefully means more budget for newer, bigger rides.
Another huge reason they sold Kentucky Kingdom was because a girl lost her foot on "The Hellivator". They got sued pretty hard and a ton of people from the area refused to go there so I'm sure they lost a ton on profits.
Great videos but you forgot to mention the one price that six flags has inflated alot I was just at six flags over Texas and a single day pass at the gate they wanted $84.99 that's ridiculous I get my day pass at my bank for 56 dollars I remember when I was twelve a single day pass at the gate was $49.99 and six flags over Texas has not added that much since I was twelve but like I said great videos very informative and Disney and universal also offer big discounts if you book your visit way ahead of time and use travel agent you can save a shit ton of money if you go that route
A 1 day ticket at SFMM is 90 bucks which is more than their season pass, but like I mentioned they know youre probably getting a discount somewhere to it evens out a little
Yes Cedar Fair does charge more for you to get in their parks and get certain deals, but I feel you get a much more enhanced experience at all their parks, because of how they look, their rides, and overall have a better feel. At many Six Flags parks, they all feel pretty much the same. Cedar Fair parks have a certain feel to them that is unique to those areas, I'd say, but that's my opinion.
I always feel myself seeming more welcome at cedar fair parks, like they keep everything clean and upkept, meanwhile most six flags parks I’ve been to (outside great America which actually surprised me) have just felt run down and generally dirty
Actually six flags built the park in Madrid in late 2001 from the ground up and opened it in 2002. Also the reason why six flags sold out to premier parks in 98 was as a result of a lawsuit brought against time Warner management by SFOG regarding a deliberate lack of major investment in the park.
Dude! You are my hero. I live 6 hours from Magic Mountain (I live in Phoenix), and I've been wanting to go to Magic Mountain for years. I went back in 2008 but that was a long time ago. I didn't know season tickets were only $85. Wow. My brother and I are totally doing this.
Great video. Been wondering myself about the huge pricing difference between Six Flags and Cedar Fair. Six Flags still has really great rides, especially the ones added around 2001. Superman at Darien Lake and Six Flags America among my personal favorites. Batman and Nitro at Great Adventure. The new hybrid Wicked Cyclone at New England is great. Looking forward to 2019 at Six Flags Darien Lake with Sky Screamer.
As a current six flags employee I agree it is definitely the discount chain the first place where they get their cuts is in the employee service department
The new overall ‘owner’ of six flags wants to add new stuff to every park like every year, at six flags new England we got joker in 2017 Harley in 2018 and now cyborg in 2019. They may not be the best but they draw people in like hell. Prices have definitely increased too over the past 3 years at this park, especially with the new membership thing.
It's fine to be discount, but SFMM has so much freaking potential, but it's just a gross, poorly run park. Lines are long no matter the day because they often have only 1 or 2 trains on even the most popular coasters. The food is pretty awful, and it's tiring to walk around that park and feel like everything is run down and poorly maintained.
You're just going on bad days. Go on literally any weekday that isn't during a school break and your average attendance is 3k (being less than a 5 mintue line for every single attraction). Weekends average 15k.
I work at Six Flags Magic Mountain as a ride operator and I think that they have put in more consideration for the experience rather then just jam-packing the park with coasters because they had sold off Deja-Vu even though it was an extreme ride and they have sold off the green lantern ride because riders had bad experiences with it. I agree Six Flags is extremely affordable and id going in the right direction to accommodate not only the guests, but employees themselves because I love working there.
Six Flags Magic Mountain became a discount chain ( and worse ) about 23+ years ago when the gang problem got so bad that Six flags security only roamed the parks in groups of 5 or 6. I've only been back twice, since then and each time it made my skin crawl a little more. It reminded me of Silent Hill or Left 4 Dead, only there were slightly more people in the park. My last relationship was with a woman who said she liked Magic Mountain more than Disneyland. I wasn't surprised when I called it off with that psycho a week later.
Yeah I remember when that was the SFMM reputation. I don't see that being the case anymore. I started going to the park a lot in 2001 and started working there in 2003 and never saw a problem with gangs
Mann Washington You must be young. You haven't lived long enough to see that Magic DID have a gang problem, ESPECIALLY throughout the 80s and 90s.........I was fortunate to live through a few incidents there, trust me, it was NO joke!!
the conversion for Texas Giant to a steel coaster from wooden was much needed from what i heard. The few times my father rode it, he said it was rough riding the wooden version.
What I like about the modern Six Flags era is, high thrill low cost attractions. I think this will be the way of the future, finding cheaper ways to produce the absolute maximum experience. RMC was a great example of this, I love the pendulum (Giant Discovery) rides, RMCs, Intamin Drop Towers on existing structures, etc... You dont need 300ft+ to make a top 10 coaster, or 30+ million dollars. But one thing I have to say is, Six Flags doesnt invest enough in upkeep of attractions. One notable example is Wicked Cyclone at SFNE, all last season, there were bad bearings on both of the trains, which produced a really bad sound (quite loud too), and slowed the ride especially through the second half to the point where it felt like it could easily valley. It went from being one of my favorite RMCs, to being one of my (if not the) least favorite RMCs, simply due to some fairly inexpensive parts that need replacing. You also see a lot of rides that need paint, and some general love, which is a common sight at Six Flags parks.
I did hear that the JL rides were expensive, though there has to be some benefit in ordering them en masse. $12.5M is a good chunk of money for a new ride, but I would be really shocked if it was $25M each considering they put in 7 of them.
@@AirtimeThrills Well, DC did fit part of the bill. And they're good rides that went to parks that needed an updated dark ride or a dark ride to begin with.
I live by great adventure, The highway getting into the park is mostly woods. Paintball field. 1 super major 16 pump gas station. 1 4500sq Mcd -- Other company are building over the winter. Strip mall is be bing built. And a Major hotel. I think great adventure in Nj is pulling some good business.
It's one of their highest attended parks. A bit sad they haven't gotten an original coaster since El Toro 13 years ago. But we've been more than fortunate in the last 6-7 years with additions of Skyscreamer, Safari Offroad, Zumanjaro, Joker, Battle for Metropolis, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman this year. Really hoping for a great coaster next year.
I love Great Adventure. Put aside the kickass rides, but their lineup of shows and events is starting to get better too. My favorite event since last year was the Batman stunt arena hosting professional wrestling on Father's Day Eve; I'm going back to that event again this year as mine and my dad's Father's Day tradition.
About 10 years ago I realized I got too old for Six Flags, specifically Magic Mountain, my head hitting against shoulder bars on a few coasters leaving much longer lasting pain/effects was the primary reason, but the secondary reason was seeing how money grubbing the park seemed to be, on just about any ride that moves you can't have anything on you, now I get this due to safety reasons on roller coasters and probably some lawsuits they had to be settled but the solution was not to allow you a cubby to place your items on the loading dock, but to have a locker that you had to PAY FOR next to the ride queue. For me this wasn't a big deal, my wife with her tiny little purse, this became an upcharge on every single ride we went on so a dollar for 30-45 minutes of locker time or the locker just opens and anyone can steal your shit (yeah I did notice certain people "lingering" around the locker areas, and the people who were "conned" with the $13.95 refillable cup (that you pay for refills) well they just stuffed cups in every bush around the park. Now I get it, if you know this happens, you learn how to pack, you put all your sunscreen on at the car, you never bring a water bottle, and the only thing into the park is what you can fit in your pocket, however me not being a local this was a kick in the nuts which turned what was a "cheap day" into a much more expensive day. And my inner "get off my lawn" came out, and I was done with the fast ride "discount" amusement parks.
Hurray Little Dipper! May she ever coast! Hope the other rides found good homes throughout the region. The miniature ferris wheel and the narrow gauge diesel rail were things of childhood memory. Wonder if the LD coaster still has it's manual operation levers?
bigevilworldwide1 Disney world has stopped that for most of the rides. They make people in wheelchairs and on electric scooters wait in line like everyone else and when they get up to the ride some of them may have a side entrance making it easier to get on the ride. At least that’s what I witnessed at Disney world. I was there July 21-28.
bigevilworldwide1 personally I see nothing wrong with letting someone with a disability go to the front of the line. It’s the ones on the electric scooters that’s just to lazy to walk that runs my blood pressure up.
Walibi Holland and Walibi Belgium (Six Flags Holland and Six Flags Belgium) been sold by Six Flags back in 2004 to a Spanish company. Since the full remarking and taking distance away from Six Flags the park really got a lot better.
Sucks man six flags has the right to WB characters and it feels like they never took advantage of it. It would be dope to see a superhero world like universal but for DC heroes
Noot They do at several of their parks. Magic Mountain has DC Universe AND City of Metropolis, with Justice League. But yeah, I get what you're saying: On a GRAND SCALE level, like Star Wars Land!!
Great video ! However I don’t know how dedicated some cedar fair parks are to loading up with primeur coasters. Kings dominion has now lost 3 coasters In last decade and has only rmced one to compensate. Knotts is amazingly themed and has a great history but by far is not a thrill coaster park. I think six flags and cedar fair are similar in that each flag ship parks of theirs can go toe to toe with coasters but leave their secondary parks in another class. Six Flags Magic Mountain and Great adventure cam match up with any cedar fair or sea world park with coasters. True they haven’t added any gigas but they already had a solid core of coasters at their flagships. But that’s just my opinion and I agree if they want to stay in competition they need to start stepping up and building less cookie cutter and flat spin rides. Good video !
Cedar Fair gave Fury 325 to Carowinds, Yukon Striker to Wonderland, Ghost Rider to Knotts, and now a Giga to Kings Island, WHILE taking care of "HQ" with Valravyn & Steel Vengnce... They're not neglecting, they're building long term which is what people say SF should have been doing.
Ghost rider ?!? We counting a coaster from 98 as a new editions, I guess El toro then is brand spanking new! You’re also stretching it with Valraven. You forgot about copperhead strike as well. I didn’t say Cedar fair is neglecting their parks. Some of my top coasters are at cedar fair parks and I 305 is my fav giga. But as this video states 6 flags went through a massive coaster spending spree in the 90’s/early 2000’s. Cedar fair is now the one aggressively buying. It comes in cycles .. Sea World San Diego next year will build its 3 straight year with a new coaster, will that keep up I highly doubt it. Six flags also added/adding MAXX force , west coast racer and a rmc raptor to their coaster line ups recently. I agree if cedar fair continues to build giggas and huge dive coasters at the clip they are going they will blow by 6 flags. But as 6 flags massive coaster buying spree ended so will cedar fairs. I still stand by either flagship parks going toe to toe ride wise. 6 flags does need to put some giggas in their parks in the near future though. It will be interesting to see what happens .., 🎢🎢🎢 ride on ride on ride on
You showed the coaster 'Speed of Sound' from Walibi in the Netherlands, but that is actually a rebrand of the "la Via Volta' coaster. In the Six Flags Holland days the coaster had a yellow track with blue pillars :-)
Sean Lewis I thought the same thing. 😆 The guy IS wonderfully informed on this stuff, so his input is very valuable! But he just has anger-management issues.
Airtime Thrills Heh heh. If he’s never commented on this channel before, he may not see this. He has an amazingly granular knowledge of all aspects of amusement park finance, often doing things like citing shareholder reports to make his point. He could be such a fantastic asset to the coaster community if he learned to argue or just add to a discussion with tact. Instead, he often starts by calling his interlocutor and all coaster enthusiasts complete and utter idiots. And he never stops with that line of attack. Actually, his extremely detailed knowledge combined with his inability to discuss without extreme belligerence make me suspect that he could be on the spectrum. But I could be wrong. He could just be a knowledgeable but grumpy guy.
We used to buy season passes every year when we were teens at the GA park. We would go almost everyday during the summer. The best days to go to six flags were the week days. Very few people are there during the middle of the week. You can ride any ride with very little wait time. I kinda miss those days.
Sorry for the glitch at 10:32, I was talking about the price of that "risk" which was incorrect so I took it out. Texas Giant cost $5.5M and the RMC conversion cost $10M.
No RMC Conversion is 5M, the cheapest was 10M. The reason SF has not & can't add big 20M+ coasters post bankruptcy is they instituted a Capex Formula of maximum 9% of revenue. That total Capex of 9% is then split 60% rides, 25% asset management, 15% in park non rides. Now if you do the math of SF's revenue you realize that their ride budget is low, last year under the formula they had around 77M for rides. They can't build a 20M+ coaster at 1 or 2 parks and still give each park something every year, which they are adamant about. SF got in trouble by over spending and that's not happening again. The park post bankruptcy was essentially taken over by a private equity group that bought out the majority stake of the previous owners.
On the notion SF is "breaking form in 2019" .
1)SF did not reacquire Darien Lake, they have an operating lease, the park is still owned by EPR. All 5 parks in the deal last year were operating leases, not the actually buying the parks.
2)The foreign parks are licensing deals, SF Corporate own nothing, puts no money up, etc...
The foreign developer build everything and pays SF a fee to use the SF name & consulting fees in some cases.
3)Max Force is an air launch coaster, they are the cheapest launch system. A similiar sized launched built overseas a few years back was about 12-13M USD after conversion. So, it's not a big investment by SF & breaking their inexpensive trend. WCR at SFMM is the same, S&S is one of the cheapest manufactures, not like Intamin or B&M.
4)NO SF is not becoming ambitious nor spending more, they actually cut their Capex from 135 to 133M in the last year.. In fact, given that they have lease deals on the new parks, which they will be adding something newt to each year and they have been adamant about keeping the Capex formula, expect a lot of low cost clone rides.
Airtime Thrills Hello?
MF grobble damn
@@grobble8954West Coast Racers was made by Premier Rides.
This is just 11 minutes long, yet it covers 30 minutes of material-no filler, just the facts.
Brian Beduhn you cant beat there presentation.
Sorry this video is really mostly filler; its a long drawn out talk about founding, expansion and installation of new coasters, then economic collapse. This (somehow) segues into how because their multipark season pass is cheaper then Cedar Fair they are (somehow) a "discount" brand.
Video about Six Flags...
Get a Disney Land ad...
Ouch...
Fidel Cashflow he also showed a clip of the indcredicoaster at Disneyland
Ikr?
Are they really competitors tho?
Who thinks about going to six flags then decides to just up it to disney? lol
Unless you're already in Florida or Cali obviously. As a guy from Illinois seems weird to compare them
I got a universal ad, lol
same
As a former Six Flags Corporate employee who, like a lot of ppl, got laid off in 2007. I can tell you one of the biggest issues is they can't decide if they are a extreme coaster park or a place for kids / families. If they would go all in on one of those strategies it would help their brand. Plus, other regional parks have learned to "bundle" services, like refillable drinks & parking, into the main gate price. When you go to Six Flags it "feels" like they are always up-charging you, even though the overall price isn't much more than competing parks. Finally, they've stopped marketing to the parks "outer markets" - places more than 2 hours away - so it's not in the front of minds as a travel destination the way it was 15 years ago. (And yeah... being about two BILLION dollars in debt for the longest time hasn't helped either.)
Can confirm on the 2 hour rule, and they seem to be going by non-turnpike drive times. I never see ads for Frontier City anymore even though it's the closest Six Flags park, being a 180km, 2h21m drive from the closest Tulsa neighborhood. (Subtract 1 hour or add 5 hours, equal odds, depending on crashes on the turnpike to get the turnpike time).
@@jeffc1347 - I also remember him coming to the park for a Town Hall style meeting an assuring everyone that there wouldn't be massive layoffs! =P (Even though they'd just closed KY Kingdom)
I am also a former SF employee, at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. What I hated was the stupid rules for ALL employees, like the call out, must have a doctor's note (even if it wasn't health related); no facial hair for male employees; and tight work schedules that were not flexible. As an adult I personally expected looser rules for adult employees, since SF usually has a large staff of youth. But NO....we all had to go by the same rules no matter what. I did enjoy the free tickets, though.
And to reply to a poster below, SF really needs to keep the parks cleaner. I have seen graffiti in some areas that was not addressed for a long time. And the food? Bleah...school lunches are better. And WAAAAAY too expensive.
And last...STOP with the over commercialization. Everywhere you turn in the park they want you to buy something.
Hersheypark has gotten huge and is indeed a thrill coaster park and a family fun park and now also a built in water park.
Couldn't agree more. SF New Orleans is SO filthy. its like no one has cleaned its streets in YEARS!
That ad for six flags with mr 6 and the bus arriving was SOOO GOOD! Every ad after that sucked
Robert J Agreed.
What year did that ad come out
@@Bruh-jw8mg it was begun in 1998, with the tune by the Vengaboys "the Vengabus is coming" instrumentally playing in the background
Blame the owner of the Washington Redskins.
Corey Lineberry what does he have to do with it?
I've been saying this for a while. Six Flags needs to drop the "new ride every year" plan and start saving up for some quality rides and coasters. The parks will start to land lock with mediocre rides and the crowds will start to dwindle away and then guess what. You are filing for bankruptcy again. Seems like a great short term plan but seems like a disaster in the end
That little something new every year keeps the crowds coming in, and the general park goer is still going to be impressed with anything new. I can see the Cedar Fair model of going years...sometimes a decade without getting anything new as being more stale for the general public
They’ll have to get to rid of old crappy attractions when they run out of land eventually but good point
I'm close to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Magic Mountain. Both of these parks have massive amounts of land for expansion.
For me personally I'm ready for Magic Mountain to get a giga coaster. Not this CraZanity bullshit or even West Coast Racers. Give us something to top X2 and Twisted Collossus. In other words. Stop playing!
Hervin Balfour you guys have 20 coasters! You don’t need a giga. A lot of six flags parks get shitty carnival rides, magic mountain gets solid additions.
@@Hervinbalfour did you not watch the video? They're not spending Giga types of money.
Dubai: Welcome Six Flags!
Snitch: Their a discount theme park in the USA
Dubai: Leave at once, you’re no longer welcome!
*They're
@@electric7487 alright karen
I love how he said “They May just be cookie cutter clones. Sure they won’t be golden ticket award rides, but overall it’s still fun to ride them.”
This is what I’ve needed from somebody
Yeah, the cookie-cutter rides are still good.
To be fair, its nice that every Six Flags gets something new every year.
Which is probably why they’ve filed for bankruptcy twice
@@ofclshn Most parks get small additions.
No that’s not true, it was because the old management racked up debt and expanded by buying parks. Do some research and see how disciplined the company is with capital spending, and they have the best margins in the industry.
@@matthewbuck8309 they need to put that margin back into the parks to clean them up. They are in horrible disrepair.
They need to focus on bettering the parks before adding new to it. These new rides are like adding sparkles to shit. Especially when we have a squirrel that lives in booth 3 at the front gate.
That Six Flags commercial, takes me back to school days staying up in the summer... man right in the nostalgia!
I loved the Disneyland ads in the Six Flags video haha. Quality content my friends keep it up
Spencer Jones me too. I busted up laughing actually. It made my whole day
Me too 😂
haha i got a disney world one
I got Christmas ones!
So, I had the Gold Membership to Six Flags. I had a bad experience at one of their parks and decided I was going to cancel it. I was paying $8 A month for the Gold. When I clicked cancel on the app, it offered the same membership at a $6 per month cost if I stayed. I still clicked no. It then asked me if I'd stay for $4 a month. At that point I said that's $48 per month and I go to several SF parks each year. I kept it. The only thing I had to do is get a new card on my next visit and stay on for a full year at the new price. I'm still paying $48 for the gold membership. I know there are other levels, but I get free entry and parking at every park, plus the perks of my home park.
I think you mean 48 per year, but yeah thats awesome. I didnt know the website would haggle with you like that
@@AirtimeThrills yeah. I meant per year. My bad. But yeah, it literally kept dropping offers down. I didn't want to chance going any lower.
Im gonna guess you did this after the first year of the membership, right? Cause i have one too, and I know I can’t cancel before the first year.
@@rojorohr4723 yes. I had it for around 3 years when I elected to cancel it.
Reminds me of when i called to cancel my AOL subscription they kept lowering the price to get me to stay :P i finally had to yell at the guy to just cancel it. he stayed quiet for like 4 seconds then just started typing away on his key board and said "okay sir, just going ahead and beginning the cancellation process give me one moment." i felt like shit haha
Six flags have never really focused on the atmosphere of their parks. Most sf parks even struggle to maintain their older rides let alone add some scenery or theming for that matter. I think an investment in cleaning things up and making things nice would go along way to add more business especially the parks that don't add any rides.
And speaking of not adding any more rides I'm not sure about the future of those parks since the rides they do have will eventually become run down and worn out. I really hope that Six Flags eventually turns things around and is able to compete with Cedar Fair once again.
Agreed! I've always found the Busch Gardens/Sea World parks to miles ahead of Six Flags in aesthetics, landscaping and theming. And of course Universal and Disney are on a whole different planet in those areas.
Just remember, RMC had a strong relationship with Six Flags before the I-Box track. They constructed El Toro, a few sky coasters, and some og wood coaster retracking. It was when they wanted to renovate it and gave the bid to RMC and the design to Alan Shilke, that we got the Iron Horse treatment and the creation of the I-Box track.
Six Flags got the first I-box conversion, the first raptor (CGA same year), maybe they'll also get the first T rex. Most people say the first T rex will go to GAdv and as much as I'd like to see that for my home park i don't expect that at all. There's not enough room unless they clear some space, and most importantly it would be a bad move for RMC to release the T rex into the industry this early on in their development. I-box and raptors are a HUGE success right now and in very high demand. sell those while they're hot, and once that dies down a bit then boom. hit them with the T rex. Of course RMC already knows this as it's pretty much common sense but as for the T rex rumors i don't buy into it at all. GAdv best case scenario we get a Raptor in El Diablo's spot
@@chase7624 it's possible, but remember the Trex track hasn't finished R&D yet and Alan Shilke said that they are working on a medium scale track that will be most likely seen before a Trex. The first Trex isn't going to open until 2024+, so the next coaster at SFGAdv will probably be something a long the lines of Maxx Force or WCR.
El Toro was built by Intamin, not RMC.
Karen Page RMC assisted intamin in building El Toro
@@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102 it was manufactured by Intamin, Constructed by RMC.
As I've discussed with my friends when it comes to stores where one would shop for clothes...Six Flags = Walmart, Cedar Fair = Target, Disney/Uni = Nordstrom
AngryGumball which one is Amazon then...?
@@trackmaster152002 dave and busters
@@trackmaster152002 a VR headset simulating a roller coaster ride
See to me Six Flags as Walmart and Cedar Fair as Target make's sense. But Sea World/Busch Gardens needs to be slotted into the Macy's/Dillard's spot. Universal is Nordstrom but Disney is more like Neiman Marcus.
The amount of work you had to put into this!! Feels like a giant high school report.
Haha I'm not gonna lie, this video from the initial idea to the time I published it took a long time
Holy cow I remember that dancing man. Nostalgia
Mr. Six.
I really appreciate the affordability with the memberships and the perks that go with it. Going to a Disney park or Universal Studios is so expensive now for families just to visit once. But I can go to Six Flags and have fun with my family over and over, at a fraction of the cost.
No doubt it's expensive to go to Universal if you don't live nearby and get the season pass... and Disney is another order of magnitude higher. But there is a certain level of quality you are getting that comes with that cost. Almost every aspect of those parks outdo most Six Flag parks with the possible exception of the coasters available to ride (looking at you on this Disney). But theming, food quality, aesthetics, landscaping, customer service and even the quality of the patrons all handily exceed the Six Flags experience when you choose to go Universal or Disney. Those resorts are destination experiences that people are willing to go across the country for. Only the most dedicated of coaster enthusiast make Six Flags parks a destination experience and most people are content to visit their "local" Six Flags park for the day once or twice a year.
You're a bit off on one of your facts. Six Flags over Texas was never sold off, only the Six Flags name and the park Management rights. Six Flags Over Texas is still owned by the descended of the man who originally built the park.
My biggest complaint is that the park is always run down and dirty. At least Great Adventures in NJ is.
the Valencia California is no better.
Walter Rivera Yep, Magic Mountain is worst.
Zoey Allen ain’t much better at six flags New England
Everytime i go to the one in NJ it looks great! I live near the DC one and in my opinion, they both look pretty clean and well kept.
The entire state of NJ is run down
This video deserves way more views! U definitely did ur research i am blown away props to u man
Luke Williams one of my absolutely most favorite videos about the theme park industry I’ve ever seen!!! Love it!
The main reason Louisville didn’t renew the lease was because that girl lost her foot on the drop ride.
Excellent vid. Describes the evolution of SF in clear, succinct terms.
I agree
Ah, seeing a WDW ad on a Six Flags video. The algorithm at work 😌
I've been saying the same thing for 5 years now I live in Texas near San Antonio I love six flags fiesta tx but it really needs a huge renovation its looked the same since the 90s i do love the new rides they've been adding but the look of the park needs an upgrade badly 2020 would be a perfect time for a new look
I agree there @rob900100 I'm also in San Antonio and Fiesta Texas could use an updated look. The only downside is that they are now open year round so they would have to close off sections at a time in order to get the whole park a new makeover, something they could easily do if they had an off season.
RMC was the ultimate return on investment. Get a world class coaster for only 5-10 million dollars.
Its no wonder they added a new RMC in 6 of the last 8 years
Meanwhile Cedar Fair has gotten the most out of RMC, steel vengeance which is now the number one coaster in the world with the most airtime in history. I love my Six Flags RMCs in Texas, but I've ridden SV and its realities above anything I've ridden. It makes Iron Rattler look like a kiddie ride haha
T@Will JOnes
The cheapest RMC Conversion was 10M.
@@grobble8954 Twisted Colossus was listed at 7M, that's the cheapest one I have seen a price posted for. I originally thought that NTG was $5.5M but that was the original price of Texas Giant not the conversion, that's where that confusion came from
@@AirtimeThrills
The original Colossus was 7M, there are dozens of articles on it. www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-twisted-colossus-six-flags-magic-mountain-20140828-story.html
www.businessinsider.com/best-fastest-steel-roller-coasters-us-2017-9#16-california-twisted-colossus-2
I'm glad Six Flags lost KY Kingdom. The original owners bought it back and fixed the mess Six Flags left behind.
Great analysis - the research was on-point!
The current strategy seems to be working alright for Six Flags, but I wonder how they will fare once their big coasters of the 90 and early 00 run out of their lifetime. So many large scale coasters were built at a frantic, EnergyLandia-style pace, and I can't see Six Flags replacing any of those with the same diligence.
Although this year Six Flags is finally building taller ground-up custom coasters again, I feel these are nonetheless relatively cheap purchases anyway. Don't get me wrong, Maxx Force and West Coaster Racers look fairly exciting, however both mostly stay low to the ground. Maxx Force may have two really high elevated sections, but nothing else seem to require the expensive use of cranes to build the ride - which is really short otherwise.
In any event, I think the future of Six Flags depends a lot of how good cheaper coasters will be. In other words, what realistic but quality options the chain will have on their hand.
Vekoma is doing fantastic rides with their Next Gen stuff (Lech is amazing imo, as you may know). However their orders are booked for the next 2/3 years. Who knows if Six Flags is willing to wait and get a nice deal with Vekoma to build many clones at a discount then. (Maybe even a Next Gen Boomerang? That would be much more exciting than it first sounds, trust me)
Mack is most certainly too expensive for them, as you seemed to suggest when inserting Copperhead Strike. In a pattern similar to Cedar Fair pricing, Mack are banking on their new stellar reputation and now charge a lot more for their rides. Copperhead costed $28M. By comparison, Helix was around $21M for a significantly larger ride on a hillside!
I'm not too sure how much Gerstlauer coaster costs these days, and their product line-up isn't the most complimentary to Six Flags' anyway.
Thing is, generally family coasters are cheaper (unless you're going for detailed scenery that is), so Six Flags have to be really wise to find their next inexpensive thrill rides for their target teenage/young adult audience. RMC used to do exactly that, but now they too have risen their prices. Maybe the Raptors will fill the gap, but that may come with capacity issues...
That was wayyy too long, but I really appreciate your analysis! Keep up the great work mate 👍
Just remember that Gerstlauer and Six Flags are not on good terms after the restraint issue on New Texas Giant. They can be fairly inexpensive compared to B&M or Mack, but will Six Flags ever take a chance with them again, probably not for a while.
GCI are good family coasters which thrill seekers enjoy too. They probably aren't cheap but they're probably cheaper than Mack or B&M
They reacquired two Premier Parks and I figured with their history it wouldn't happen, but now people are excited that Six Flags Darien Lake and Frontier City are around, so it's possible in due time.
As for if they'll work with B&M or Mack. They've already been rumored to be working with Mack with their new parks in Asia so I also believe that it's possible.
It's just up to Six Flags decision to want to get bigger in terms of quality and not just numbers, like they were before, and I can already see them striving for that. It's a slower pace than Cedar Fair, but that's mostly due to how they spread the wealth.
TLDR: I still have faith in Six Flags.
@@ItsSiebay remember, they don't own DL and FC, just the management rights and Six Flags does not own the parks in Europe/Asia, those are real estate companies who have a contract with Six Flags to use the Six Flags name, branding, and season pass system. Dubai was cancelled and the rides were sold to other European parks. They have already started working with B&M again with the new trains on Iron Wolf/Apocalypse/Firebird.
I live in Southern California. Disneyland and Knott's have always been the favorites of the locals because it's more family friendly and its just easier to get to.
Yea if Six Flags was closer (or if only less traffic!!!) they would top Knotts, it's a better park.
@bigevilworldwide1 the gang thing was years ago like 1998 or something, they have dress code i think... I remember as a teen stabbing at six flags because of some homies from different gangs after that they cleaned it up. But yeah the park still feels dirty and the food is so shitty compared to knots or disneyland
I think that Six Flags did well until 2015-2016, with the introduction of Superloops and reduction of investment.
They went to crap about 10 years earlier than that when they began following the same trend/pattern that cedar fair is now following.
The reduction of investment? Have you actually done any research and do you know anything about the company’s capital investment?!
Matthew Buck NO , school us, lil smartass!!!!
ASTROWORLD. ROLLIE ROLLIE ROLLIE HAD ME STARGAZING
thereal eht543 Travis should build a new one.
Sean Lewis I am 100% sure he could afford one lol
I think that was travis Scott's favorite amusement park 😂😂
@@seanlewis1148 If that happens then I'll actually like him for once
Well, he said he was working on building a park in Houston.
Six Flags is the Walmart of amusements parks. Yeah, they have the stuff you want and need, but the customer service is just shit. Looking at you, Great America.
Yep. Totally agree. Parks like Sea World, DollyWood, Silver Dollar City, and Busch Gardens are far better
Totally with you and I'm looking at you Six Flags St. Louis.
dumb response. Six Flags Magic Mountain is the best thing happening in Los Angeles. You won't be missed.
So it's like a county fair. Only bigger.
80's Nostalgia Guy I love the county fair atmosphere!
Six Flags Astroworld and New Orleans: The only 2 Six Flags i've ever been too. So sad there are gone.
“Cedar fair is going to give you a high quality experience.” My local Valleyfair begs to differ. We haven’t had a new roller coaster in ages.
VF also makes pittance for the chain, parks get what they get for a reason.
Grobble Valleyfair would post larger returns if they made it a park worth going to.
@@essaym7509
CF studied their parks in the early 2010's to determine which parks had the most ideal demographics, income of the surrounding area, economics, etc.. for investment beyond the big 3..Cedar Point, Knotts, and Kings Island. Those are the top 3 producers. The parks that were determined with the biggest growth potential and have thus been getting prioritized investments are Carowinds, CGA, and Wonderland,
@@essaym7509 It's an unfortunate negative feedback loop. The park has low attendance, which discourages investment, which in turn lowers attendance.
Personally, after visiting my first Six Flags park (Six Flags St. Louis) just last month, I can tell you they have spent a massive amount of time in improving the experience, at least based on what people have told me in the past. People said the park was extremely dirty and you always felt no matter how much you washed your hands that you were still a living virus. No more; the park was super clean (not Dollywood clean but decently close). The staff were all very friendly and willing to help; I accidentally banged my knuckle as the lady went to fling down the restraint to the empty seat next to me on The Boss. She asked if I was okay four times, did I need any help, and if I needed anything else. I was fine; it hurt for a few days but that was ok, it's just another thing to forever remember The Boss by. On that note, the coasters were very fun. I'm a hugeeee wooden coaster lover, so The Boss was my favorite. I love being punished by a coaster; thrashed around, getting a short headache, etc. and The Boss more than delivered. Screaming Eagle and the other one had similar results and I was overall impressed. Ninja was an absolute disaster but that was a given; everyone says it's an awful coaster. I didn't think it was too bad but it was the only coaster besides Batman we didn't want to ride again. Their Boomerang was fun, and even their Pandomonium clone was exciting. Everything felt fresh. I didn't get to ride Mr. Freeze due to some technical problems, but I got to go on everything else that I wanted to. The drop tower was a nono, LOL.
As for their future... I think they'll be fine. Since they've embraced their identity, I think they understand that taking chances (like these upcoming unique coasters) is a good idea, but in moderation. On the other hand, they can make clones, but not too many. I see them being a successful chain like they once were. They seem to have learned some lessons and basically realized they can't necessarily beat their competition overall, but they can in certain, appealing ways.
*Apologies for my rant, but it is what it is and if you want to read it, have fun. :)*
I live really close to Six Flags Over Texas and used to go there often (we'd even get season passes). I have noticed they haven't really added many new coasters lately, other than El Diablo which was added this year. The previous few years were focused squarely on the Gotham City section, as for the longest time it only had 3 rides (Batman, Mr. Freeze, and Batwing). So they've recently added Catwoman Whip, Harley Quinn SpinSanity, The Riddler's Revenge, and most recently The Joker. I'd definitely say the new additions have helped flesh that area of the park out and bring new life fo it, even if it was at the cost of one of my favorite coasters, Flashback.
ericbazinga I hope we get a good coaster soon.
The Harley Quinn theme doesn't even fit a Tourbillon. If they had themed it after Cyborg like in NJ, it would've been a win.
This is quality content if I have ever seen it
You just had to put in We Like To Party.
Six Flags is and always will be an awesome place to me, I used to get so excited when I was little about getting to go. I used to hate roller coasters, but now I'm an addict. I'd love to go to Cedar Point some day though.
Spider-Assassin7 Depends on which Six Flags park in particular........Magic Mountain?
6:00 Little Dipper was relocated from Kiddie Land in the greater Chicago area. My first coaster ever, I'm so glad they preserved it
Little dipper was awesome as a kid
Even tough it may be discount. My home park has a ton of good rides and a overall good atmosphere. So I'm not complaining.
Wow, the New Orleans commercial
Miss that place
Did you watch this one? I just saw it a few days ago...ruclips.net/video/9bAxjEGRmXo/видео.html
D Lynn yeah
Still miss that place
They even had a sign that read closed for storm the day they went down
My home Park is Kentucky Kingdom. When we became six Flags it was huge. But over time they took our more rides then added. Plus the passes were so cheap that the bad people would come in and cause choas. Now. When u compare it to parks like kings island or something. Kings Island is more expensive then six flags but with that being said it s up to u what park u want to go to.
Kentucky Wildcat Fan78 I'm coming to Elizabethtown to visit in July. Should we hit kings island or KK?
Jaime Blanco up to u.kentucky kingdom it’s cheaper to plus a great water park
@@JaimeBlanco666 Hit up Kings Island. I could only spend just a few hours at KK before I began to feel bored. Kings Island is more of a day's experience.
I think a video talking about the history of six flags incidents could be interesting! Haunted castle fire, girl chocking on taffy on raging bull, and the incident where a child lost there legs on superman! Would be very educational
Good idea, I have added it to my list!
Righteous Reid 33 .....and also, the lady that lost her life when she fell off New Texas Giant.
Oh man I haven't been to six flags in years. Seeing clips from New England and Great Escape brought back so many memories. My best times at six flags were definitely fright fest.
You gotta go back to New England just for Cyborg Hyper Drive.
I didn't know SF Over Texas was their 1st park. I feel so cool now being from the area lol.
Yup it was opened in 1961 here, when I-30 was a turnpike and the old exit to S.H. 360 (Watson Rd), next to McDonald's, which runs into Road to SF, was where the toll gates used to be.
The best SF park IMO (I've visited 3 of them) 👌🏻
Six flags in New Jersey probably have some of the best coasters out there
Emelina Bonilla That's the best one!!
El Toro, Nitro, and Kingda Ka all give Cedar Point's coasters a run for their money
I miss those old Six Flags commercials...brings back my childhood memories seeing them on TV....thank you for including them...I think Six Flags could stand to update those types of commercials
It has always been the discount chain, mystery solved.
Six Flags absolutely had a better product than any Cedar Fair-predecessor park in the 1960s though the early '80s.
And then they lost.
The 90s during the Time Warner era was the fucking BEST. They actually put theming in their rides.
Six Flags went downhill after 2005-2006.
@@dchang11 2005 = Kingda Ka
2006 = El Toro and Goliath
@@dchang11 SF start going downhill the moment Premier took over
Bring back the nightmare fuel dancing old bald man. With the funky chicken music.
Since its inception, Six Flags has been consistent in adding new, innovative attractions to their park. They have been a trendsetter, usually taking risk with attractions, later added by other competitor chains. To call them a discount chain is misleading and suggests that they are some knock-off brand. Six Flags set the standard for theme park fun, outside of Disney. The developers, responsible for creating its original three landmark parks, eventually had their influence in the creation and enhancement of all the other parks we enjoy today.
I applaud Six Flags on what they have done. They have saved lesser known, or struggling parks from liquidation, creating access to thrills certain markets may not have had access to. Their pricing scheme has remained consistent and affordable over the years, while they continue to restructure and expand. I think a lot can be learned from how they have done business. Through the challenges, they have been able to regroup and bounce back, while remaining a force in the thrill industry.
There’s a former Six Flags corporate employee in this comment section. Might wanna give that a look my man
When he says discount chain, he is referring to, the way I took it anyway, the pricing of everything. Not to say they are the knock off brand, as you put it, but a cheaper alternative in regards to ticket pricing (as he was stating towards the end of the video when he went over the pass pricing between C.P. and SF.
Awesome quality, VERY well edited, VERY informative, I learned so much! This is your best video yet!
It's funny that when you keep trying to play the video, you get a Disney themed ad to start it off! Lol
Also on a side note, if you want work for SF, and have older family members working there, don't ever get injured to where you feel the need to sue them, because that will cause all sorts of re-hire problems with them, meaning lifetime no rehire possibility, plus other family members with the same last name, who never have worked with them before, will not be considered for hiring.
Happened to my family, was waaaaaaay back in 1985, mom injured her back, when trying to reach into an ice pop cart, and getting stuck, some time afterwards, she sued for the injuries and as a sort of punishment, at the end of the season, my older bro and myself, turned in the uniforms, however, they say we didn't and were slapped with the no rehire clause, continued to try to get rehired even after 35 yrs!
X2 at Magic Mountain is about the most enjoyable coaster I have ever ridden. A fantastic ride. I just wish it were a little longer ride. The music sound effects really enhance the experience, not to mention the flames.
I worked for Six Flags over Georgia from 1976 to 1980. I enjoyed working there and the and the park was fairly clean and well maintained. When I returned in the late 1990s and early 2000s with my kids, I was very disappointed. The park was filthy and run down. We stopped going after a few times because I felt my money was better spent at other parks even with the extra expenses for travel. I haven't been to a Six Flags park in over 15 years. I know that ownership changed around 2010. I hope the new owners fix the problems and I will be able to take my grandchildren to a decent local park. If not, 1/3 of the country is within a day's travel of Atlanta and there are lots of alternatives.
4 hours up the road you have Dollywood, pretty much the polar opposite of SFOG in terms of cleanliness. SFOG has a nice coaster collection but the park seems poorly run in general
@@AirtimeThrills, I've been there a couple times but its been awhile. It's pretty nice park. I really liked the craft area with blacksmiths, glass blowers, etc. It's good for a break when the lines get too long.
Six Flaggs Atlantis in Hollywood, FL was the greatest watermark of all time. Change my mind. ☕🙂
Damn, I always thought Knotts was the cheapest.
Knott's is different from other Cedar Fair parks for several reasons. One is that it's in one of the most heavily populated areas in all of North America. It's open every day of the year except Christmas, it's an actual theme park rather than an amusement park, and it has significant competition with Disney, Universal, and Six Flags. It has to be priced right to attract people to it with so many parks nearby, and it can afford to be priced lower since it has incredibly high attendance.
I've been visiting Six Flags in Jackson New Jersey as a season pass holder since 2004 when I was six years old. It has been drastic seeing how the enormous crowds of 3 hrs+ for Kingda Ka, now will only be 1 hour long on it's busiest day, and is still to this day seems to be their most popular attraction. I'm glad the park is open still but it's been years since they've added a brand new coaster (Green Lantern opening in 2011 was recycled from their Texas Theme Park so doesn't count as brand new) I hope for the day they continue but they're struggling and I see it in their enormous push for visitors to buy more and more from their parks such as season passes (1 day tickets can be 60+ dollars where a season pass might be 80-100), photos, food, drinks (Which they have a meal plan for $100/year now) I hope the park continues to stay open but thank you for covering this, loved the A+ quality video from a smaller youtuber you did a fantastic job and gained a subscriber :)
Thank you! And I really think Great Adventure is due for a major new coaster in 2020
@@AirtimeThrills They definitely have enough land for it so they aren't maxed out for area there. They've expanded their water park attractions over the past few years (been going there as well with my season pass) and the water park is doing very well despite the push for you to buy more things like rent-a-tubes etc but here's to hoping we get lucky with a new exciting coaster in 2020!
I have very vague memories going to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Me and my family had a lot of fun. A SeaWorld in Ohio seems like a weird choice now that I actually think about it. My brother cried wanting to see 'Shampoo' but I guess there was a period where the whale wasn't there? I dont remember. But we had these shamoo hats that hung around our home for years. I remember seeing a stunt show there too, I think it was batman themed. It was so cool.
I stopped paying attention to theme parks in about 2014, when I ran into some health problems and got real fat as a result. How I miss the joy of being able to stand for long periods of time, walk long distances on my flat feet, and be around people. Oh, and ride roller coasters.
FreelanceDev4life I hope all is well with you, and hope you're doing fine
With Six Flags' relationship with Rocky Mountain Construction, I'd anticipate SF ordering I-Box conversions to The Boss (SFSL), Roar (SFA), Le Monstre (La Ronde), and Predator (SFDL) over the next couple of years.
SFGADV could be interesting, assuming SF gets first ever RMC T-Rex single rail concept coaster (upscale version of the Raptor single rail). At the same time, El Toro could be a candidate for RMC I-Box conversion, which may be loved by some and hated by others. SFGADV needs a family-friendly wood coaster from GCI or Gravity Group added to their line-up.
Cedar Fair has phased out all but 1 stand-up coaster, and converted B&M stand-ups to floor-less. Vortex (Carowinds) being CF's only remaining stand-up. SF converted Apocalypse (SFA) from stand-up to floor-less (rechristened as Firebird). I wouldnt be surprised if Georgia Scorcher (SFOG) gets conversion next.
SF has sent S&S 4D Free Fly coasters to some of its parks, and added a couple of Justice League dark rides, Larson Super Loops, SkyScreamers, and Zamperla Giant Discovery rides... I wouldn't be surprised if they were to add Pulstar water coasters or a couple more Premier Rides Skyrocket 2 coasters. One thing I'd be interested in seeing with SF would be a return to originality, and scale back on clones.
CF, I could see them working with Mack Rides at a couple more of their parks over the next few years. Hopefully CF has plans to add a couple more RMC coasters, with Hurler (Carowinds) being next.
SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks could easily give SF, CF, Herschend, Disney, and Universal parks a run for their money with batch of new coasters going to their parks, and buzzed about RMC conversion to Gwazi (BGT).
Eric Kirk RMC’ing El Toro would be fucking sacrelige. They should build a custom RMC
Brad2Penske That's what I was thinking. Build one as an answer to the already massive El Toro!!
If Great Adventure got a ground-up RMC I-Beam in addition to El Toro it would make the park a pilgrimage worthy park
Felice Graziano I already got a name picked out. Since a bull fight isn't complete without a worthy opponent:
Matador's Fury
@@seanlewis1148 tbh El Toro alone makes it a destination park already. I was considering visiting all the way from Italy recently. Combine it with a visit to NYC
I worked at Six flags over Georgia as a kid. In the 70s it was ok, but by the 80s the park was entirely engulfed in a ghetto outside Altanta. Murders outside of the park are a regular thing. Today you can get a discount pass for less than $50 and the park is full of thugs. Today, most of the employees are the worst Atlanta has to offer. Really sad to see it go down hill as it has.
I used to live near the Six flags new England.. I always had a great time there. My son and I would go in there all summer in the morning before the crowd got there.. Ride our fill and take off.. Those were some fun times.
As a Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera fan, I think these franchises would benefit greatly from a more ambitious and immersive experience at the parks. Especially if you don't pidgeonhole it towards kids the first thing you do.
I'm a DC fan and I think the same. Thank god SFNE has Cyborg Hyper Drive and several parks have Justice League.
I want to see Space Ghost and Birdman at the parks.
What would be nice is to see Warner Brothers take an interest in these parks that would see them invest the kind of money into the partnership that would allow them to compete with Universal and Disney. DC and Looney Tunes are big ticket IP and Warner Brothers also owns the rights to The Lord of the Rings movies... which would offer good competition to the Universal and the Harry Potter Worlds.
Wait hold up they added toro, 2 b&m hypers, and tatsu IN ONE YEAR? what happened to that quality
Creatoriggy Simple.....debt killed that quality.
The simple answer is what happened 2 years after those rides were opened (2006). That'd be the Great Recession, and Six Flags got hit hard by it. I know Tatsu was the last coaster of that size and cost to open at SFMM. And like Sean said, the company had a ton of debt, to the point that it pushed Six Flags into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Seems like since then the company has been more budget-conscience and doesn't take on a big debt to build a massive roller coaster project. Hopefully with the economy doing better, that means more visitors, which means more profit, which hopefully means more budget for newer, bigger rides.
That's probably around 100 million dollars in rides which is crazy
Another huge reason they sold Kentucky Kingdom was because a girl lost her foot on "The Hellivator". They got sued pretty hard and a ton of people from the area refused to go there so I'm sure they lost a ton on profits.
Awesome content! Better than some well known coaster RUclips channels. Keep up the great work!
Great videos but you forgot to mention the one price that six flags has inflated alot I was just at six flags over Texas and a single day pass at the gate they wanted $84.99 that's ridiculous I get my day pass at my bank for 56 dollars I remember when I was twelve a single day pass at the gate was $49.99 and six flags over Texas has not added that much since I was twelve but like I said great videos very informative and Disney and universal also offer big discounts if you book your visit way ahead of time and use travel agent you can save a shit ton of money if you go that route
A 1 day ticket at SFMM is 90 bucks which is more than their season pass, but like I mentioned they know youre probably getting a discount somewhere to it evens out a little
Henry Hackbusch A shit ton! Haha!
I feel like they are way more interested in selling seasonal passes (to locals) than one day tickets (to one time visitors).
Yes Cedar Fair does charge more for you to get in their parks and get certain deals, but I feel you get a much more enhanced experience at all their parks, because of how they look, their rides, and overall have a better feel. At many Six Flags parks, they all feel pretty much the same. Cedar Fair parks have a certain feel to them that is unique to those areas, I'd say, but that's my opinion.
I always feel myself seeming more welcome at cedar fair parks, like they keep everything clean and upkept, meanwhile most six flags parks I’ve been to (outside great America which actually surprised me) have just felt run down and generally dirty
jared price California's Great America?*
@@seanlewis1148 Yep that's the one
Actually six flags built the park in Madrid in late 2001 from the ground up and opened it in 2002.
Also the reason why six flags sold out to premier parks in 98 was as a result of a lawsuit brought against time Warner management by SFOG regarding a deliberate lack of major investment in the park.
Dude! You are my hero. I live 6 hours from Magic Mountain (I live in Phoenix), and I've been wanting to go to Magic Mountain for years. I went back in 2008 but that was a long time ago. I didn't know season tickets were only $85. Wow. My brother and I are totally doing this.
Great video. Been wondering myself about the huge pricing difference between Six Flags and Cedar Fair. Six Flags still has really great rides, especially the ones added around 2001. Superman at Darien Lake and Six Flags America among my personal favorites. Batman and Nitro at Great Adventure. The new hybrid Wicked Cyclone at New England is great. Looking forward to 2019 at Six Flags Darien Lake with Sky Screamer.
I wish Six Flags were original.
*S&S Free Spins*
*Larson Loopers*
*Batman The Ride*
*The Name Six Flags*
Six Flags is based on the six flags that flew over Texas.
As a current six flags employee I agree it is definitely the discount chain the first place where they get their cuts is in the employee service department
Haha I worked there for 8 years also, through the bankruptcy, so I hear ya
Bro you take "Coaster Nerd" to a whole new level. These documentary's are History channel worthy. Thanks for the phenomenal research!
The new overall ‘owner’ of six flags wants to add new stuff to every park like every year, at six flags new England we got joker in 2017 Harley in 2018 and now cyborg in 2019. They may not be the best but they draw people in like hell. Prices have definitely increased too over the past 3 years at this park, especially with the new membership thing.
Cyborg in 2019... WITH GRID YOU GOTTA REMEMBER GRID IS IN THIS AAAAAAH
It's fine to be discount, but SFMM has so much freaking potential, but it's just a gross, poorly run park. Lines are long no matter the day because they often have only 1 or 2 trains on even the most popular coasters. The food is pretty awful, and it's tiring to walk around that park and feel like everything is run down and poorly maintained.
What lines? I’ve gone multiple times throughout 2018 and it’s so dead
The longest line being 30 minutes and it’s for X2
You're just going on bad days. Go on literally any weekday that isn't during a school break and your average attendance is 3k (being less than a 5 mintue line for every single attraction). Weekends average 15k.
I do really wish we'd fucking clean our park though. It's horrid.
Grew up going to six flags over Texas and just went back 2 weeks ago for the first time in 20 year's. I love it!
Best part of living in Ohio is Cedar Point is only a couple hours away. You just can’t beat all the coasters
Howie Carson I live 9 hours away ☹️but I love cedar point beautiful park amazing rides
Need to move to Sandusky lol
I work at Six Flags Magic Mountain as a ride operator and I think that they have put in more consideration for the experience rather then just jam-packing the park with coasters because they had sold off Deja-Vu even though it was an extreme ride and they have sold off the green lantern ride because riders had bad experiences with it. I agree Six Flags is extremely affordable and id going in the right direction to accommodate not only the guests, but employees themselves because I love working there.
Six Flags Magic Mountain became a discount chain ( and worse ) about 23+ years ago when the gang problem got so bad that Six flags security only roamed the parks in groups of 5 or 6. I've only been back twice, since then and each time it made my skin crawl a little more. It reminded me of Silent Hill or Left 4 Dead, only there were slightly more people in the park. My last relationship was with a woman who said she liked Magic Mountain more than Disneyland. I wasn't surprised when I called it off with that psycho a week later.
Yeah I remember when that was the SFMM reputation. I don't see that being the case anymore. I started going to the park a lot in 2001 and started working there in 2003 and never saw a problem with gangs
Lies
Mann Washington You must be young. You haven't lived long enough to see that Magic DID have a gang problem, ESPECIALLY throughout the 80s and 90s.........I was fortunate to live through a few incidents there, trust me, it was NO joke!!
the conversion for Texas Giant to a steel coaster from wooden was much needed from what i heard. The few times my father rode it, he said it was rough riding the wooden version.
What I like about the modern Six Flags era is, high thrill low cost attractions. I think this will be the way of the future, finding cheaper ways to produce the absolute maximum experience. RMC was a great example of this, I love the pendulum (Giant Discovery) rides, RMCs, Intamin Drop Towers on existing structures, etc... You dont need 300ft+ to make a top 10 coaster, or 30+ million dollars.
But one thing I have to say is, Six Flags doesnt invest enough in upkeep of attractions. One notable example is Wicked Cyclone at SFNE, all last season, there were bad bearings on both of the trains, which produced a really bad sound (quite loud too), and slowed the ride especially through the second half to the point where it felt like it could easily valley. It went from being one of my favorite RMCs, to being one of my (if not the) least favorite RMCs, simply due to some fairly inexpensive parts that need replacing. You also see a lot of rides that need paint, and some general love, which is a common sight at Six Flags parks.
I noticed that on WiCy also, it was running so slow on the 3rd lap
The Justice League dark rides cost $25M each...
Although that could be for 2 rides, but still, $12.5M is still a lot of money...
I did hear that the JL rides were expensive, though there has to be some benefit in ordering them en masse. $12.5M is a good chunk of money for a new ride, but I would be really shocked if it was $25M each considering they put in 7 of them.
@@AirtimeThrills Well, DC did fit part of the bill. And they're good rides that went to parks that needed an updated dark ride or a dark ride to begin with.
They did not pay $25 million for those. They ranged $12-15 million, and maybe a little bit more for Magic Mountain’s
@@AmusementLabs SFNE now has the Cyborg thing.
I live by great adventure,
The highway getting into the park is mostly woods.
Paintball field.
1 super major 16 pump gas station.
1 4500sq Mcd
--
Other company are building over the winter.
Strip mall is be bing built. And a Major hotel.
I think great adventure in Nj is pulling some good business.
It's one of their highest attended parks. A bit sad they haven't gotten an original coaster since El Toro 13 years ago. But we've been more than fortunate in the last 6-7 years with additions of Skyscreamer, Safari Offroad, Zumanjaro, Joker, Battle for Metropolis, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman this year. Really hoping for a great coaster next year.
I love Great Adventure. Put aside the kickass rides, but their lineup of shows and events is starting to get better too. My favorite event since last year was the Batman stunt arena hosting professional wrestling on Father's Day Eve; I'm going back to that event again this year as mine and my dad's Father's Day tradition.
Luciano Alonso I hope they bring back their dolphins show
@@marcsarfati3291 they're not gonna bring that back. There's no area to put it in.
Luciano Alonso I was Jk. But they have room behind the YUM YUM cafe.
They really had a dolphin show.
About 10 years ago I realized I got too old for Six Flags, specifically Magic Mountain, my head hitting against shoulder bars on a few coasters leaving much longer lasting pain/effects was the primary reason, but the secondary reason was seeing how money grubbing the park seemed to be, on just about any ride that moves you can't have anything on you, now I get this due to safety reasons on roller coasters and probably some lawsuits they had to be settled but the solution was not to allow you a cubby to place your items on the loading dock, but to have a locker that you had to PAY FOR next to the ride queue. For me this wasn't a big deal, my wife with her tiny little purse, this became an upcharge on every single ride we went on so a dollar for 30-45 minutes of locker time or the locker just opens and anyone can steal your shit (yeah I did notice certain people "lingering" around the locker areas, and the people who were "conned" with the $13.95 refillable cup (that you pay for refills) well they just stuffed cups in every bush around the park.
Now I get it, if you know this happens, you learn how to pack, you put all your sunscreen on at the car, you never bring a water bottle, and the only thing into the park is what you can fit in your pocket, however me not being a local this was a kick in the nuts which turned what was a "cheap day" into a much more expensive day. And my inner "get off my lawn" came out, and I was done with the fast ride "discount" amusement parks.
Hurray Little Dipper! May she ever coast! Hope the other rides found good homes throughout the region. The miniature ferris wheel and the narrow gauge diesel rail were things of childhood memory.
Wonder if the LD coaster still has it's manual operation levers?
since buying darien lake 6 flags added a ton of new rides (6) the old owners added 1 in 12 years
Yeah but if you go to Disneyland you have to wait 2 hours for a ride...
bigevilworldwide1 Disney world has stopped that for most of the rides. They make people in wheelchairs and on electric scooters wait in line like everyone else and when they get up to the ride some of them may have a side entrance making it easier to get on the ride. At least that’s what I witnessed at Disney world. I was there July 21-28.
bigevilworldwide1 personally I see nothing wrong with letting someone with a disability go to the front of the line. It’s the ones on the electric scooters that’s just to lazy to walk that runs my blood pressure up.
Great Video. I live down the street from Six Flags Great America, can't wait to ride new coaster.
Walibi Holland and Walibi Belgium (Six Flags Holland and Six Flags Belgium) been sold by Six Flags back in 2004 to a Spanish company. Since the full remarking and taking distance away from Six Flags the park really got a lot better.
Sucks man six flags has the right to WB characters and it feels like they never took advantage of it. It would be dope to see a superhero world like universal but for DC heroes
My six flags in chicago has superman. Batman and a dc roller coaster video simulation where you actually shoot the bad guys
Six flags over Texas has more than a couple of DC rides
Noot They do at several of their parks. Magic Mountain has DC Universe AND City of Metropolis, with Justice League.
But yeah, I get what you're saying: On a GRAND SCALE level, like Star Wars Land!!
Sean Lewis yea exactly
Cyborg Hyper Drive at SFNE
Great video ! However I don’t know how dedicated some cedar fair parks are to loading up with primeur coasters. Kings dominion has now lost 3 coasters In last decade and has only rmced one to compensate. Knotts is amazingly themed and has a great history but by far is not a thrill coaster park. I think six flags and cedar fair are similar in that each flag ship parks of theirs can go toe to toe with coasters but leave their secondary parks in another class. Six Flags Magic Mountain and Great adventure cam match up with any cedar fair or sea world park with coasters. True they haven’t added any gigas but they already had a solid core of coasters at their flagships. But that’s just my opinion and I agree if they want to stay in competition they need to start stepping up and building less cookie cutter and flat spin rides. Good video !
Cedar Fair gave Fury 325 to Carowinds, Yukon Striker to Wonderland, Ghost Rider to Knotts, and now a Giga to Kings Island, WHILE taking care of "HQ" with Valravyn & Steel Vengnce... They're not neglecting, they're building long term which is what people say SF should have been doing.
Ghost rider ?!? We counting a coaster from 98 as a new editions, I guess El toro then is brand spanking new! You’re also stretching it with Valraven. You forgot about copperhead strike as well. I didn’t say Cedar fair is neglecting their parks. Some of my top coasters are at cedar fair parks and I 305 is my fav giga. But as this video states 6 flags went through a massive coaster spending spree in the 90’s/early 2000’s. Cedar fair is now the one aggressively buying. It comes in cycles .. Sea World San Diego next year will build its 3 straight year with a new coaster, will that keep up I highly doubt it. Six flags also added/adding MAXX force , west coast racer and a rmc raptor to their coaster line ups recently. I agree if cedar fair continues to build giggas and huge dive coasters at the clip they are going they will blow by 6 flags. But as 6 flags massive coaster buying spree ended so will cedar fairs. I still stand by either flagship parks going toe to toe ride wise. 6 flags does need to put some giggas in their parks in the near future though. It will be interesting to see what happens .., 🎢🎢🎢 ride on ride on ride on
You showed the coaster 'Speed of Sound' from Walibi in the Netherlands, but that is actually a rebrand of the "la Via Volta' coaster. In the Six Flags Holland days the coaster had a yellow track with blue pillars :-)
When was the last time a six flags commercial had the dancing man? It feels like it wasnt that long ago but...
Probably 10 years ago
I hope they start themeing rides again
ys, AND MAKE IT BETTER THAN DARK KNIGHT
@@tismejaytee Cyborg Hyper Drive?
@@DannytheTourist Eh, not that immersive in terms of theming
@@tismejaytee Still, Grid.
HEADS UP FOR MR. GROBBLE, HE LOOOOOOVES THIS KINDA STUFF!!!!
Oh gosh not that guy
Sean Lewis I thought the same thing. 😆 The guy IS wonderfully informed on this stuff, so his input is very valuable! But he just has anger-management issues.
I don't think I'm familiar, should I be afraid
@@AirtimeThrills Yes. Very much so.
Airtime Thrills Heh heh. If he’s never commented on this channel before, he may not see this.
He has an amazingly granular knowledge of all aspects of amusement park finance, often doing things like citing shareholder reports to make his point. He could be such a fantastic asset to the coaster community if he learned to argue or just add to a discussion with tact. Instead, he often starts by calling his interlocutor and all coaster enthusiasts complete and utter idiots. And he never stops with that line of attack.
Actually, his extremely detailed knowledge combined with his inability to discuss without extreme belligerence make me suspect that he could be on the spectrum.
But I could be wrong. He could just be a knowledgeable but grumpy guy.
We used to buy season passes every year when we were teens at the GA park. We would go almost everyday during the summer. The best days to go to six flags were the week days. Very few people are there during the middle of the week. You can ride any ride with very little wait time. I kinda miss those days.
8:16 Cedar Fair's pass went up in 2008 because that's when they took over the 5 Paramount (ex-Taft) parks.