Is This The End of Six Flags?
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2022
- The Six Flags chain is in midst of a massive transformation under the leadership of President/CEO Selim Bassoul. Selim's vision involves a drastic change of the Six Flags business model from it's previous title of the "discount chain" to a more premium park-going experience. These abrupt changes have come with an abundance of criticism, with many people calling for the firing of Selim and proclaiming that "the death of Six Flags is upon us." In this video, I'll give my thoughts on Selim Bassoul, the current state of the Six Flags parks and this bold (and risky) new vision for the chain. Don't forget to like the video and subscribe to the channel.
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#sixflags
I get it. We did Magic Mountain followed by Knotts Berry Farms. Magic Mountain was pretty dumpy and run down feeling, not much food options and roaches in the bathrooms. The rides delivered thought! Knotts on the other hand is amazingly beautiful with ample shade and food, it really did make the experience much better!
The experience I would pay more for than amount of roller coasters. I don’t love Disney, but they make their money from that experience not thrill rides so much.
I really hope this works! Anytime I go to a Cedar Fair park I think, "Man, this is so much nicer than Six Flags."
Right now, same.
@@ParkPros ❤️
Agree, Selim did too much, too fast, & in the wrong order. Let's get frank, a lot of the complaining is people that just want $60 passes that get you into every park & $65 meal plans that give you 2 meals, snack & include season drinks. They are okay with a poor quality product. The huge mistake he made was he kept changing the offering literally every other month & each at a higher price point.
I think one of the reasons he made such drastic changes, is that over the last 20 years or so, we’ve seen no changes at all. Just the usual status quo, CEOs walking away with big bonuses, while the parks themselves remain cess pools year after year.Someone needed to say enough, and gradually making those changes would have been smarter short term, the fact is the can would have continued to be kicked until ultimately nothing actually changed. People are okay with a poor product, but people are also smart. They’ll go for the coasters and cheap passes, while not spending a dime in the park. Long term, along with the wasteful adding of quantity rather than quantity is like masturbation. It with be satisfying for a moment, but ultimately empty. But we’ll see what happens. I don’t disagree that the roll out was terrible, but I like his boldness.
They are gonna change again too they don’t know what their doing
I watched a lot of the other videos on Selim and I hated him for a bit, but after watching this video, my opinions have changed, you called out some of the stuff from the earnings call that I didn’t even realize that they were said, so that helps. And also anyone remember he had like 100 burgers and chicken and others to try to provide the best park food possible, that’s commitment right there. We should give him a chance, see how this plays out. Thank you for bringing some of these points to my attention.
@idkwhattoputhere he’s not doing it for that reason, his goal is to help the chain with profits.
Obviously the man is selfish and greedy and looks down on lower income families the same way every member of the WEF does. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s actually a member. It’s like a cult of CEOs a world leaders, it’s screwed up and they’re behind everything crazy that’s been going on for the past 3 years.
@idkwhattoputhere lmao selim thinks six flags is Walmart 😂 it's dollar tree. Selim shouldn't be disrespecting Walmart like that
I totally agree.
@idkwhattoputhere it’s a business whether you like it or not. There is a market for wal mart. Also there is a market for target to not deal with the parts of wal mart we all don’t like and don’t discuss for not getting publicly shamed. Most of us know what that is without saying it.
I think Selim could be a good CEO. But I feel Mark Spanos would've been great if he stayed because he wanted to change before raising prices and not the other way round. Selim could be great though.
We will never know. I think both could be great just different visions. I do think Selim’s vision has the faster turnaround for profits and when you are a publicly traded company the share holders want profits faster. For better or worse. I do think spanos vision was better overall, but that doesn’t mean selim will be bad. Time will tell.
I think this was incredibly well said. I understand 100% where you're coming from. We need to give Selim a chance to prove he's serious about improving the quality of the parks before we make petitions to can him. I do think the execution has been poor so far, as the prices of tickets and season passes shouldn't have increased as much as they did, but I knew things would get worse before they ever get better.
Thanks Dalton!
Why I agree with Selims plan and the state of the parks there are two things that get me upset still. 1: he should have invested already that money before increasing the price, and 2: Six Flags Great Adventure is celebrating its 50th anniversary soon and it seems like we won’t be getting any new rides to celebrate it. Which to me is just a shame because it’s a huge milestone for the park.
I applaud you for making a video like this from a different perspective and you’ve given me some new things to consider. I would absolutely be willing to go 2-3 years without new rides if we got better food options, operations, and overall amenities, so if Bassoul can get Six Flags there I’ll be happy. Problem is I still don’t fully believe he won’t go through with these significant improvements.
Up to this point the execution of his “premium” experience has been awful. I’ve never seen so many openly frustrated guests as I saw during my different Six Flags visits this year, and these are many guests who may not return. I’ve also seen more visibly frustrated employees, especially ride ops this year, compared to previous years. There’s also been more ride and restaurant closures than usual and minimal park improvements, all this with major price hikes. I’m concerned this year may have turned away too many potential returning guests or pass holders based off poor experience and increased prices. I also don’t really fully trust these improvement promises and I will need to see some major park improvements in 2023 to have any faith in Bassoul at all.
Also while there’s been a lot of talk of what Selim may or may not have said he has still been a poor communicator thus far. He was eaten up by not only enthusiasts but also the press about what he said in the earnings call which could’ve hurt the company’s public perception. I know this because I had 2 non-enthusiast relatives who read an article about the earnings call on their own time and they told me that they found what Selim said offensive. A CEO should know how to effectively communicate their goals in a way that won’t be seen as offensive or at the very least won’t make the press in a negative way.
He also has not laid out the improvements that Six Flags is bringing in a way that is clear or marketable to the average guest. This could change and I think it might be now that many Six Flags parks have announced some new events for this year and next year, but that’s something they need to focus on.
I think you are right that Bassoul has a little while to go before he truly is on the hot seat based on his immense success with Middleby, so I will take your advice and see where things are by Q2 of 2023. That should say quite a bit considering he will control where the capital investment goes and we will see if the company’s plan is working and performs well.
I honestly love what you pointed out in this video, but I have one problem with Selim. If he plans on spending on park improvements instead of coasters... why not tell us what he's gonna spend it on & why he thinks it'll improve the park. At what point will he go back to adding rides & how does he plan to make the park's atmosphere better? If he gave more specific examples of what he plans to do I think people would be more understanding & give him a fair chance.
My issue is the Mike Spanos didn't even get a chance to prove his vision. When he took over COVID happened, and then he started spending money for 2021 without all the parks open, and the Selim led a hostile board takeover. So Selim doesn't get a pass to me for that reason. You only let your predecessor only have a couple quarters without a full park force, then I'm holding him to the same standard.
This has to be my favorite take on this situation. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
This is a super insightful video that’s really gotten me thinking. Gonna be interesting to see how things play out with Selim
I grew up at Six Flags Great America (old enough to remember when Marriott's owned it!) and was just there the Sunday before Labor Day. My experience was totally fine. Not perfect, but totally fine. One of my friends I was with also introduced me to the phrase "Dollar Store Disneyland" which I hadn't heard before. I think the lack of nearby competition at most Six Flags parks has contributed to a steady decline in upkeep. But they still have some great modern rides like Goliath and Maxx Force. I remain cautious, but I look forward to what the next few years will bring. Because it's not about Selim, it's about ME, the customer, and whether his strategy is keeping me coming back for more, or keeping me away until they figure it all out.
I would love for Six Flags to rise to the overall level of Cedar Fair.
Same here!
You know I never thought about it this way.
This actually makes sense.
I have read & watched a ton of content on this topic & your video is the most balanced & nuanced commentary by far. Very thoughtful. Excellent job!
Really insightful video. I love your take! Great America is my home park too, and I really hope it can become what I know it can be. That place could be amazing.
I wish you could of seen great America in the early 90’s! It was so lively with employees, quality amenities, and an overall wonderful park experience!
The only park I feel really shows Selims real vision for Six Flags as a whole is SFFT. I say this because SFFT is a park that focuses on beautiful landscaping, improving guest satisfaction and updating alot of there older attractions/buildings. I think SFFT is exactly what I think you can expect for your local SF park in the coming years as far as landscape and attention to detail goes... it'll still have that six flags feel, just a little nicer... SFFT has been adding themed queue's to alot of there new attractions and I see this happening across the chain in the coming years. Your home parks are about to get a little bit of the love they deserve... I think it just takes time and getting everyone to understand the bigger picture, and if you're looking to see what the future of Six Flags looks like, I think SFFT is a great example of what is trying to be done chain wide.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas is really the exception to a lot of the sweeping generalizations I made about the Six Flags parks in this video.
@@ParkPros it’s probably the only park I really enjoy every time I visit, operations have improved quite a bit since 2019-2020 as well which is always nice, really doesn’t feel like any other six flags park in my opinion
People to six flags: Hahaha discount chain with no quality
Also people when six flags tries to raise quality: I HATE THIS
Great points dude. Thanks for not sounding like you’re playing RcT.
Loved this video. The only one about this subject that made sense and sounded mature. Thank you for this and thank you for choosing not the do the easy popular thing of agreeing with everybody.
Ps. Always wanted to tell you that I think you have the coolest intro to any coaster video channel. Lol
Thank you for giving us a different and more understandable intake of the current direction Six Flags is heading and Selim Bassoul's vision for a higher quality and more enjoyable theme park experience. I get it now. But if I were Mr. Bassoul I would visit the parks to get a first hand look at the state of the parks, especially Discovery Kingdom and Magic Mountain, our home parks 😉
God thank you for speaking some sense into this situation. As a shareholder and someone who’s home park is a SF park I would like to see these improvements.
I appreciate your analytical approach and honest evaluation. I think a lot of people are blowing this out of proportion and I’m glad you understand what’s really happening here
Found this video after just visiting six flags great america today. The park is in terrible shape as you mentioned. I was also confused by the lack of crowds and much higher costs. Now it all makes sense, new leadership and goals. Our visit today was a lot of fun, the lines were small and we spent less then 15min to ride every coaster. That being said, after visiting Cedar Point this year and being amazed at their improvements, it made Six Flags looks like junk. I spent way more $ at cedar point for high quality merch. The other comments here said they should have started improvements before raising prices and I agree. Would be way more forgiving if I saw fresh paint or other improvements today. As of today 10/2/2022 a 'gold' pass that includes parking is $82 after taxes and fees. In 2018 I paid $80 but that included nationwide park access and the 'discount' and 'bring a friend for free' perk 1 day tickets which seems like the biggest change with this CEO as those options I think are gone.
That is so true, I never spend any money on merch on six flags but just last week I was in Disney and spent so much money cause of the quality I get. I think I will keep supporting six flags but will probably get my membership in Mexico cause it would be cheaper to fly over there and get my pass and fly back than to get it here plus I get a fun trip out of it lol
@@ggaboveaveragegamer In addition to the crazy amount of HQ merch Disney offers, they also evoke an emotional response that Six Flags doesn't. Six Flags has always been the generic amusement park. I looked up the Mexico pass, $80 for season pass to ALL six flags park. Right now it's $250 if purchased in USA. lol you weren't kidding.
I will say, the one exception to the idea that the quality of parks has taken a nosedive is Darien Lake. while I had never been before the pandemic, so I don’t exactly have anything to compare it to, compared to my home park in St. Louis, Darien lake was awesome. It was cleaner than Universal, staff were friendly, customer service was overall okay, all the rides were open, and aside from the price hike and expected lack of consistent employee training shenanigans, it was a great experience. Some things are just to be expected from Six Flags, but I feel that people will be less forgiving when it comes to these inconsistencies when passes suddenly cost an arm and a leg.
Great perspective, my man. Thank you for this!
The fact that someone from wall street bought half a million six flags stock shows that they know selim is going in the right direction
YESSS NEW PARK PROS VIDEO IM SOOOO HAPPY I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK BROOOO!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
As someone who's home park is SFOT, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! We need some TLC, upgrades, better food, better atmosphere, an Aquaman ride that is up and running! I'm begging!!!
Its my home park too and its sad to see how downhill its gone in the past year
A very rational, researched, and well presented argument. I watched this video with little to no knowledge about Six Flags (having never been to one). When the changes were first mentioned in the video I immediately thought that this was another company attempting to be like Disney and other theme parks that are increasing prices because they can. I now understand another perspective and hope that Selim can be someone that does what he promises and make those increases worthwhile. Great video overall, I am looking forward to your future uploads.
A very refreshing take on the situation, but my concern is that the beautification spending is not going to be enough to get people back through the gate on its own. Cedar Fair obviously knows that park experience makes a difference, but recently they've been tying revamps of areas to new ride additions rather than just doing them on their own. I think that's because they know that the rides are still the thing that gets people into the park at the end of the day, and that the beautification only makes a difference with spending and brand image once they're actually through the gate. If Six Flags dedicates their next two years or so to *only* beautification without new rides and stuff, how are people going to know about it? They can't just run ads saying that they made the parks nicer, even if they did. It won't get people through the gate, and until they do, their image will be the same with the general public.
Additions like WW:FOC and Dr. Diabolical get this right in my opinion, but they're clearly holdovers from Spanos, not Bassoul projects. I really liked the direction Spanos was taking and I feel like he should've been given more of a chance. He pretty much only had a chance to preside over the COVID chaos, but if he had more time, I think he would've brought park quality and guest spending up more gradually and sustainably.
I think Six Flags will benefit aiming to higher quality like Cedar Fair. Cedar Fair is a good middle ground with very pleasant parks to visit. As long as Selim isn't aiming too hight to be a competitor to Disney or Universal, Six Flags will really benefit IF this is executed correctly.
Like you, I have fond memories of my home park, Over Georgia, from the late 70’s and 80’s. Ive been watching recent videos taken at Over Georgia and I genuinely grieved at the state of the place. The park used to have lots of trees, flowers, benches, family rides, and color. The staff used to be friendly… even entertaining. I remember being in lines and a staff person that announced procedures wld be cracking jokes and interacting with guests over mic system . Now, all of those aspects that gave it charm are gone. I agree with your point that its a decent plan poorly executed. When the first thing a CEO does is raise prices, and btw, spend more inside the park, announces cost cuts while spending money on “technology”, and almost purposely trying to offend the existing customer base, it raises my eyebrow. I’m willing to more for Papa Johns but dont charge me Papa Johns prices when you’re giving me Little Ceasars. But if Sellem can pull off returning Six Flags to a place you cld enjoy even if you didn’t get on a single roller coaster, I’ll be a huge fan. Btw, ditto on the over theming of DC… DC Land is a more appropriate name at this point. And hat tip for going against the conventional wisdom. 👍
A very thoughtful video but I totally agree with everything you've said and I finally have caved and bought one of the new annual memberships. With me I consider Magic Mountain my home park and I personally don't think it's as run down as many of the other parks in the chain or as many people say. I do think these higher prices absolutely needed to happen since 2017 Magic Mountain has been overwhelmed with crowds and people always complained about the ride lines or food lines but go today and you can ride everything in 3 hours. I have never understood why in 2007 I was paying $70 for a season pass then fast forward to 2019 I was still only paying $80-$85 for a pass I thought for sure once justice league was built the passes would go up at least $15-$20 but they never did.I personally am excited for the future beautification and upgrades to all the parks it is desperately needed and I don't understand how people want to complain about how the parks are run bad and look terrible but then don't want to pay more money to help the company do what needs to be done.
What a great video! I love hearing your thoughts and I agree with your take. I hope Six Flags puts millions into making the parks more appealing. I did a road trip this year where I went to Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, Kings Island, Cedar Point and SFGA. SFGA was the worst of them all in terms of appearance. Even Kentucky Kingdom was cleaner and looked nicer. That has to improve as I would much rather go to a cedar fair park than six flags park at this point.
SFGA?
Excellent video. Way to be objective and look at the both sides. I will say some basic necessities have came to Magic Mountain with more seating areas and shade structures. Merchandise has also steered away from generic DC stuff and more of the restaurants have been open. I’m hoping that trend continues and carries over to other parks and overall they get better.
So hello first off been a viewer of your channel for a while, so I’m not the biggest fan of the current ceo yes some of the stuff that he did was the wrong way to do it in my personal opinion but again I’m just a hardcore theme park lover that visits the parks to get away for awhile, btw my home park is six flags fiesta texas, and again that is probably one of the prettiest parks I have been to in my personal opinion. But hearing the financial side of this and hearing how he wants to make the parks better with that money not spent on rides makes more sense to me. I definitely didn’t go to college and study finances like you but you make some valid points. I will say this, the price increases are not worth the rides and attractions that the current parks have but again it’s going to take some years to really make his plan work. Thank you for this insight and I hope you visit fiesta texas in the future.
This is such an amazing video! I have a completely different view of him! Still not very good but not as bad as before
Really solid take. Park beautification and infrastructure is exactly what they need.
I can see how his model makes sense and I'm not angry or overly caught up in the debate. But as a standard, everyday consumer I'm going to choose to go to parks where the value for the cost is better.
All I am going to say is that letting go so many workers should never be the first part of a new strategy and neither is raising prices to purposely not want to visit. We've already seen Disney doing that and now look at how they're doing. So his plan better work otherwise he just screwed up the whole company.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with your take on the current situation. As someone who got a degree in business, I understand the position from where the new CEO is coming. Am I a fan of it? No! I think he may be implementing some of these steps egregiously out of order, as you said! I echo many of the comments from others stating that it makes zero sense to pay significantly more for the same product that was already substandard at best. I can empathize with those who demand a premium product for a premium price. That being said, I do see the potential for the plan to play out favorably. Some of these early decisions certainly provide merit to be prematurely concerned. We have, however, seen with many other major companies that bringing about large-scale change within the fundamental structure of a company often requires drastic and even sometimes unfavorable decisions in infancy. In some cases, those decisions led to incredibly favorable outcomes for the company. Unfortunately, the exact opposite has also played out many times as well. At the end of the day, we have to hope that leadership at the top knows what they’re doing and that the decisions they are making today will ultimately lead to a better tomorrow for everyone involved.
I hope SFOG is first in the List cuz my home park sucks. We just go to Carowinds cuz it's better
My home park is Great Escape, it’s a nice park that needs a new coaster 🥹
Great discussion. Really appreciate your perspective on this.
Live in SA, been going to fiesta Texas since as long as I can remember, always loved it, always thought the park was beautiful, and the location of it makes it better imo, but nostalgia also plays a huge part in it, either way I loved it before and with less people I love it even more now
Edit: got farther along in the video and realize you made a lot of the same points! Great video. It's the first one that seems to be completely objective.
In my opinion it feels like he's trying to make them more like Busch Gardens parks or other SeaWorld entertainment-owned parks whose stock has continuously been doing well. I feel like the big mistake was just making the prices increase significantly before the quality increased.
Tbh I don’t hate Selim anymore after this video. I wanna give him a shot and see how things go.
Great video. I feel ya. The only thing that worries me about all this is parks like Darien Lake....that are litterally on the cusp on having so much freaking potential but just can't catch a break. You can make that park as pretty as you want but that doesn't make up for allllllllll of the rides SF has removed and not replaced. It's like a ghost town there. The Titan Track came out of nowhere but it didn't even get marketed lol. I dunno I'd say parks like that wouldn't be included in all of that money. They need to get out of that lease before that park closes.
Another thing is that Six Flags only manages Darien Lake, Frontier City, and the Hurricane Harbor water parks, right now EPR Properties owns the parks and I wonder if they would kick Six Flags out if they're not happy with them like CNL did with Hersend, Parc 7F, etc.?
I have been on predator this earlier this year and it ran great in the front row, and the Titan Track section has gotten a lot of good reviews on it. Also they're bringing back the Laser show for next year and adding events too.
@@markvolpe2305 yeah it's my home park Predator is running pretty good I must admit. With that park constantly being in these leases it gets the shaft. EPR doesn't want to add anything sadly. And it certainly doesn't sound like SF is in the position to purchase the park out of the lease which is what needs to happen for it to get some TLC. Or someone to buy it. The lease thing isn't working lol. I will say they have a nice waterpark...and I know that's a huge attendance draw...but it is bc it's nice LOL. If they continue with Titan Track on Predator that will help but I don't know if that counts as a "ride" under all of this lol.
@@mattr3922 it's also my home park and I'm equally concerned about it, if they kick six flags out, who would they bring in to manage it? Cedar fair would probably treat it like Geauga lake (too close to Canada's Wonderland) and I don't think any other operators would want to run it.
@@markvolpe2305 Gene Staples for the win!!! No I'm jking. I was hoping SF would full out purchase it....but it's not looking so hot anymore.
@@mattr3922 HA! I was thinking about mentioning Gene Staples, but he has his hands full with Niagara Amusement Park and he said he wants that Park to compete with Darien in the future.
I do really feel that Six Flags should pull back on the "copy and pasting" of DC Comics with their so-called "retheming" of older rides and then calling the rides as new.
You put into word exactly how I’ve felt about the current CEO. Thank you! 🙌🏻
So Selim is pretty much copying Bob’s homework 🤣. While I do feel for the folks who have lost their jobs, I generally agree with Selim. The parks are a mess and extreme times call for extreme measures
11:56 I completely agree. Im actually happy they want to make the parks prettier cuz aside from a couple six flags parks I can think of the rest all have plenty of things that could use improvement.
great video. my home park is also sfgam and it is looking rough ..
The only dining pass abuser that I know of is a lawyer, and I highly doubt that he is on foodstamps.
I have only been to a six flags park once, Great Adventure on 8/19/22. My day speaks for itself, the park was dead, and I mean dead. Knoebels on the day before was more busy. This was a Friday. I got 8 rides on El Toro, 3 rides on Superman, and a ride on most everything else. Everything that involved a coaster was fun, but everything else sucked. I bought that middle season pass that includes all parks and a single day meal plan. The meal plan didn't work and the employee offered no solution or direction anywhere, just pay up to keep the line moving. I specifically had to go back to my car and go through luggage for cash to get one of those cards because my own CC wouldn't work on their lockers. Dunno what that deal was. The landscaping just was halfhearted with the only real beautiful view being the lake with the view of El Toro. I thought Michigans Adventure looked nicer though as a park overall. I dunno, Looney Tunes and Superhero rides kind of fit the discount chain charm and they are going to have to do alot to convince me otherwise. My trip included Kings Dominion and BGW as well. Both of those parks were much better kept. There also is a huge business reason that Six Flags should continue building coasters, even if they are small. Their ride lineup is aging fast.
I hope after all this the six flags parks have orignal themeing and have more quality rides and attractions
Me too but let's start first with just making the parks nicer 😂
First off, i love your content!! Keep up the awesome job bro! Next, I agree with you 100%.. take 2 years off on the coasters & thrill rides to get the parks up to par (or above) beautification, better food, technology improvements.. A MAJOR FACELIFT to all the parks to justify the price increases.. then after 2, maybe 3 years, start back with the coasters & rides.. just imagine the improvements & advances in coaster & ride technology in the next 2 to 3 years. I don't understand all the hate for Selim. I think Selim is in it for the long term & if I were in his position, I would do the exact same thing.. My homepark is Dollywood.. Dollywood would not be what it is today without the level of quality & stunning beauty of the park.. Also, I could not image Dollywood with advertisements on every coaster & ride.. to me, that's an embarrassment for the park.. plus (not to be racist) with higher prices, you tend to weed out the thugs that come to the parks just to start trouble.. something Six Flags knows alot about.. #TeamSelim
Thank you!
@idkwhattoputhere I don't think he's trying to keep the poor out of the parks. Like I said in my post, i think part of his process is weeding out the thugs that are only there to cause problems for everyone that's there to have an awesome day at a park with their friends & family.. not to see gang related fights & theft.. have you ever been to SFOG? If so, you'd understand. Ever priced a trip to Disney or Universal? He's trying to get out of SF being the "discount chain" Quality or Quantity.
@idkwhattoputhere Do you wanna see the parks continuously overrun by thugglets, ratchets and riff raffs, cutting lines, looting and destroying cars in the parking lot, ruining it for folks and keeping them from having a good time.....NOT TO MENTION the recent drive by shooting at SFGAm last month?
He's trying to turn the parks around to have a more well rounded experience and appeal to everyone ie... families and teenagers but that would be impossible if he allows the company down the path it has been going, thus making it a rest haven for GANGS!!
I agree with your thoughts. I just think Selim should have improved the park experience before they raised prices. My local park is Magic Mountain which gets a lot of attention from Six Flags but they still have a lot of work to do with their food quality, theming and beautification. I think high on the list of improvements would be to invest in the employees. No one there seems happy. The ride operators seem unhappy. The food service workers have no sense of urgency. I went a couple of weeks ago on a Friday and they literally had one person making the food, cleaning and ringing up food at a restaurant. It took me an hour to get nachos. And the app wouldn’t let me order most of the food of the other restaurants to pick up. Also a lot of rides weren’t running or running 1 train. I understand that on a Monday but not a Friday. A lot of the park experience is the interaction with employees and it just feels melancholy.
Just removing the asphalt from under coasters that were built on a parking lot would be nice so let’s hope that CAPEX goes to that.
This has been happening since well before Selim! Shockwave (at SFGA) was literally built on the parking lot! Finally 20 years later Superman has some trees on the same property after Shockwave was removed lol
A thoughtful, measured take. Imagine that.
A couple things: as a business leader the optics are horrible when you put down your customers. This has happened more than once. He said Six Flags was not a teenage babysitter. Maybe the observation is that annual passes are too inexpensive or pass holders don’t spend enough when they use the park. Ok, but there’s a constructive way to say that and an awful way to say that.
Also, you don’t have to wait for capital allocations to do basic things like pull weeds, fix cracks, etc. There is an undercurrent of headcount reduction in his comments that you never hear from the likes of Disney.
Middleby has been an awesome company- it’s just that raising prices is not a strategy and from the customer perspective that’s all we’ve seen in almost a year.
Appreciate that. And agree - a lot more could have been done this past year to improve the parks.
In the 00s, shopping malls started banning teens without parental supervision from entering the properties. Too many fights, shoplifting, vandalism, robbery of real customers, and on, and on. The malls were tired of it. When these malls banned the teens, the elderly and families with young children started to return to the malls.....and started spending money.
Movie theaters in the post-covid world are starting to ban unsupervised teens due to the same problems and are ready for the return of the elderly, DINKs, and families with young children spending money.
great video, love the different point of view
Appreciate it
If he actually cares to implement his changes properly and things go well, I agree 100% with his approach. As a SFGAm homeparker we don't need another ride anytime soon. I'd rather spend money to improve the park. Also I have been saying for years to increase ticket prices. I'd pay literally double what it is now for a pass if they actually improve the park. Plus keeping crowds down is always good.
@idkwhattoputhere What he meant by "poor" he means the thugs and riff raffs coming into the parks causing mischief and chaos.
@@seanlewis1148 thugs aren’t poor that’s the problem…. bottomline is sixflags isn’t Disney, Universal or Busch Gardens it’s not in the same lane rides are better theming is better food is better!!!! You raise prices but your not really offering anything worth paying more money for!
@idkwhattoputhere My main concern is this: Six Flags is too crowded and upkeep of the park is abysmal. The best way to counter this is to charge more for entry. I care more about a great experience at Six flags than I do about making it accessible to everyone. It's not like Six Flags is food, healthcare, housing, etc. The purpose is for enjoyment - I, and every guest that attends, would enjoy a park thars a little less crowded and better maintained. Raising prices isn't going to keep the poor out. They'll still attend.
And why cant Six flags be Cedar Fair? Why does it have to be a budget chain? Why can't it have great landscaping and theming, happy operations, and not be plastered with ads everywhere?
Now, if Six flags is going to increase prices and NOT invest that money back into the park, I can see why people would be sour on that.
My home park growing up was this NorCal fave. Sad to see it go
Do I think six flags is in trouble? Not really. I think if we roll into next season and see no change to the parks, then yes six flags might be goin bankrupt, but we have already seen some new improvements at the six flags parks.
My home park the great escape for instance had phase 1 of a new entrance added this year, and sfne added a handful of single rider lines which literally have no more than 5 people in them at a time. Also we've seen a lot of work go into great adventure and a few other parks have had some improvements. With this being the first full off season selim has control, we should see more park improvements by the spring which will be great! Yes the price rise sucks but most people only visit their local six flags like 1 or 2 times a year, so single day ticket sales might be up.
My only issue with this is related to rides. I feel Selim might be more selective with what parks get new additions like cedar fair. I don't necessarily mind but I also don't want my hp of the great escape to be neglected like Michigan's adventure because it's a smaller park. I'm not saying great escape needs a new ride every year but something every 2-3 years would help the park. Also on a side note great escape really needs a modern thrilling steel coaster but that's a story for another day
Witholding new ride additions might be a wise idea as it would alow certain markets to become accustomed to how other markets within the chain have been treated for over two decades now. I stopped going to SFA years ago when it became apparent that the company had no intentions(and for the most part still doesn't) of improving the park.....they lost my business to KD which unfortunately has fallen into the same sort of trap under cedar fair in recent years.
I like what Selim is bringing. Only two years without new coasters but the rest of the park gets enhanced? Sign me up! Magic Mountain has 20 roller coasters. TWENTY. They can take a break for a few years and spruce up Samurai Summit and the plaza by Goliath. New rides aren’t always the answer!
This was on point and how I feel, well said. 👌
I'm willing to see where Selim takes the company.....give him a chance.....should be interesting.
You kept it real!
Gonna hit up Great America for the first time this year in about 20 years. I've been to Kings Island, Carowinds and Dollywood in the last year... fingers crossed rides on goliath, maxxforce and raging bull make up for it.
I don't mind his business model at all, but just as you said; it's so sudden. SFMM is my home park and I live 3 minutes away. I would love for them to beautify SFMM! It truly needs it. For SFMM to be the "flagship park" of the chain, it's truly a sad excuse.
Yes, the coasters amazing but the overall atmosphere is garbage. It truly is. Knotts is a much better overall experience than SFMM will ever be, IMO.
I am willing to give him a chance. I really want SFMM to be a park where I can stay all day instead of just going to ride Twisted Collosus and X2; then leaving.
What are some things that you would like to see MM receive that'll change the parks atmosphere? (MM is my home park as well.... I'm 45mins down the fwy)
Do you have an update to this video coming soon? I have so many questions if you see the plan at work or just more messy roll outs.
my main issue is that there shouldn’t need to be videos like this. Selim should’ve managed pr much better, and made it clear that things will get better as prices hike
IF all the people complaining on the social media actually listened to the 2 conf calls, he explained the plan. The truth is they just want super cheap passes& would whine regardless. They do nor care how trashy the parks are as long as they get $60 passes, $65 meal plans & a crappy cloned ride yearly. The are the Dollar Store customers SF has cultivated
@@grobble8954 Wouldn’t you be upset if the dollar store suddenly doubled their prices without any visible signs of improved quality? the improvement of quality needs to come first, otherwise it just feels like paying more for a slim possibility of better parks in the future
Selim is getting a lot of hate, but I think he knows exactly what he's doing. This is the exact same business model as Disney, and sure Sixflags parks are a far throw from Disney, but the point is that they will be able to increase quality. This is almost the same business model as Cedar Fair too, and it has been working extremely well for them.
I also don't see his new plan as being rolled out in a sloppy way. They have to have money to make the changes and improvements, and if they don't raise the prices, they won't make enough money to make the improvements.
As far as the "Kmart, target" comment, unfortunately the majority of problems at parks are caused by the "Kmart" guests. They are they ones who generally cause issues in the parks, weather it's graffiti, harassment, etc. The "target" guests do not cause as many issues, thus raising the overall image of the park.
well since fixing the infarstructure of the six flags chain is something that really need to be fixed overall and since I love my home park which is also Six flags great america and would never want Cedar fair to touch my home park too I'll give selim a chance who know maybe he can give great America a really nice front entrance or have a kiosk for pay for a season pass as much as anyone would love to see new right infrastructure is the first priority to fixing six flags
What was wrong with the previous CEO that Six Flags really needed to get rid of him for, that guy carried Six Flags through the pandemic, DID HE GET A REAL CHANCE TO PROVE WHAT HE COULD DO WITH THE COMPANY, NO, HE DID NOT! SO WHY NOT SHOULD BE THE QUESTION? Is it possible that this new CEO is just a puppet, or a front man, for something that the Six Flags corporation really wants to do, and this new CEO is just a front man, just in case this new strategy doesn't work out. Six Flags could then just change out the current CEO for a new CEO, and go back to what was sort of working for them, they wouldn't have anything to explain, because it wouldn't have been Six Flags idea, it would have at that point have been all the old CEO's ideas whom they would have just got rid of now giving Six Flags a squeaky clean image, and not that it was ever Six Flags corporate's idea ever, but if it is successful, then Six Flags Corporate now has one of the GREATEST CEO's, possibly, of all time now leading there company, and WHAT WOULD THAT DO FOR Six Flags Stock price, think about it. No matter which way this goes Six Flags CORPORATION comes out looking good, or ok, or squeaky clean. THINK ABOUT IT! IMAGE IS ALMOST EVERYTHING, in business!
It's interesting (but expected) that the general outcry was against the target comment and the daycare comment, and that's all I ever saw of that meeting. Nobody reported on what Six Flags' strategy was. As many others have said, it sucks to pay more without an actual increase in quality. My home park of Lagoon is in the midst of that right now.
I got bit by so many mosquitoes at six flags they need to spray for pest , they have water rides that have been torn down but left the standing water so mosquitoes are mating at a all time high eating all the park guests
I love Knott's and SFMM and live close to both. As much as I adore Magic Mountain, It's so hard to put into words how much of a difference the theming makes in a park. Knott's does an incredibly good job of creating a wild west-themed atmosphere in the park, and it's really noticeable when compared to Six Flags.
I also don't understand how people have been constantly complaining about Six Flags not having good theming, but getting upset that that means 1) prices with be raised, and 2) rides will be less prioritized.
Theme parks are by their nature a luxury. As a shareholder I appreciate the company attempting to make more money. There are better places to make money than gate prices. Also big stock buys look more like a vote take over than a vote of confidence.
I’ve got a Diamond membership (which was upgraded from Platinum because I maintained my pass during the closure). It’s $9.99 a month-or $120 a year. I’ve also got a meal plan for ehh $7 a month? I live in Orlando so I’m not using it every day, but I’ve been to 5 Six flags parks this year and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth. Parking would have cost more than my annual payout, considering that I get premium parking.
Fiesta Texas is in really good condition and Dr Diabolical is fantastic.
I would spend a ton more money in the parks if the merchandise situation was better. I don’t need generic Six Flags merch. Six Flags St Louis had almost zero ride specific merch. Ditto New England and Darien Lake.
I’m looking forward to prettier parks and better maintenance.
I don’t go to six flags much because I have way better options way closer, but if I were a regular I would be pissed I’m not seeing the improvement this year if I’m paying this year. As someone who probably won’t give them much money in the next few years, maybe stop by a couple, it might go a long way of drawing me in on a few stops during vacations.
I'm willing to wait it out and hope for a better future but I don't begrudge anyone for thinking these changes are too much for very little in return. My home park is Fiesta Texas and I really don't have much to complain about, we just received a new coaster and overall the park looks great but some people they might not seen much change in years at their park.
As many doubts and anxieties I have about this change in the trajectory of the company, Selim's plan does make sense and can be successful (if executed correctly, still to be seen). I've seen a lot of arguments that Six Flags will lose tons of customers and less people will come to the parks but from a business stand point what good is it to have more customers when many of those people only spend minimal money on a season pass and nothing else. Theme parks make money on food, merchandise, and up charges, not season passes and not from people riding their rides over and over. As stated in the video Six Flags is a for profit company and Selim has no other responsibilities except to shareholders and their profits. I don't think that Six Flags will attain a level of exclusivity (e.g. Disney) so much so that it becomes prohibitive for the general population. He's simply trying to force a higher per person average in spending and honestly I can't fault a company for that. Having said that, my previous comment stands, these parks need attention and ASAP.
I fully agree! A lot of the content out there has pinned him as the bad guy… but I think that he is really trying to turn around the parks!
Very well said!
Thank you!
Let's give Selim a chance, he has potential.
I so agree with you.
I could not agree with you more. This 100%. Let’s give the guy a chance.
There's still one thing I don't understand though. It's the point about spending more money inside the park. What is the CEO expecting the guests to spend money on? Food goes only so far. And I'll admit I grew up with SFMM as my home park and it DESPERATELY needs INDOOR air conditioned places to eat. But is that all he's talking about is food? That's not going to go very far.
I'll put it this way. At Disney World I did the Droid Depot ($100) activity and my awesome remote controlled R2 unit now sits on display. Expensive yes but it was a type of merchandise I wanted. But I seriously question what Size Flags can sell....At least that will have ACTUAL demand from the customer. T-Shirts probably isn't enough...so what are they going to sell that is also in demand from those with disposable income?
No not at all … you’re on point … and bring back the concerts!!
I don’t mind paying more especially for my membership that hasn’t gone up for years. I def would like to see some paint, better food and get all the rides. Sfgam is in sad shape to where I don’t wanna go much anymore.
The necessary changes will be painful in the short term. The parks have to catch up on deferred maintenance, improve customer service and food service. Park leaders have been, ahem, …coasting… for way too long.
Going to be an interesting 16 months to come.
Also, a privately held company only has to keep customers and employees happy. A publicly traded company has stockholders chomping at the bit expecting an increase in the value of their investment each year. A million dollar profit for a company this year means nothing if there was a million dollar profit last year. To keep stockholders happy, companies can either exploit their customers or exploit their employees in order to push an artificially induced profit increase by cutting services, raising prices, reducing benefits, or cutting payroll. A publicly traded company isn't in the business of whatever industry they are in. They are in the business of stockholder investment.
Very accurate analysis. I worked at a grocery store that got bought out 3 times while I was there and every time they cut the perks from the previous regime and lowered the pay for new employees.
I was at SFGAdv a couple of weeks ago, and I saw the same things that I’ve seen for years: overflowing garbage cans, weeds, lack of painting and maintenance on buildings.
Salim wants a Disney experience.
What I saw at SFGAdv is nowhere close to a Disney experience.
I visited La Ronde in June and it was the most depressing park that I had ever visited.
At the time, I thought that it was something limited to that park.
But the more that I see and hear, it’s more pervasive.
Six Flags needs to resign itself to what it is: a third-rate park chain.
I live 30 minutes from SFOG and I would rather drive over 3 hours to Carowinds to get a better experience.
Six Flags will never be at the same level of Disney, Universal or SeaWorld.
After those three is Cedar Fair, Herschend and then Six Flags.
They need to start focusing on hiring people who at least give the appearance of concern about the guest experience and hire a DIVERSE staff (not just all black kids and a variety of age ranges).
Not sure Six Flags' current path is sustainable, raising prices while not offering as much as before. And there's the issues with some of their big ticket attractions, and declining attendence.
I don't like Selim's strategy, but that doesn't mean I don't understand its purpose. Six Flags has for decades been a swinging pendulum between reckless expansion to bring in bigger crowds versus more business savvy strategies to realign the chain in much needed ways. The latter just happens to be which side of the pendulum we're on right now and that's just how it needs to be if the franchise is going to survive. I think that Selim is a very smart man, but I look forward to the next time Six Flags is in a position to hire a crazy, eccentric visionary who can really expand the ride roster at the parks while also making it easier for a lot of people to come and enjoy them.
I’m really ok with this I know this hurts certain people for sure, but it’s a business at the end of the day. I have season passes this year, and I’ve been to 3 6 flags. I know this isn’t Disney or universal which I’ve been to many times , but all 3 parks infrastructure at best are depressing. The crowds in the past I’ve been embarrassed to have my kids around their lack of caring about the behavior that’s often exposed at 6 flags compared to the Disney/universal crowd. What’s the point of more roller coasters with poor service, crumbling infrastructure and the general depressing vibe 6 flags has become over the years? We can argue over the approach of how this has been done, but I think the average person can agree at the rate it was going the average person would go to 6 flags less.