RobertDavid

I just hope that with this new change in leadership Six Flags finally begins to create quality and brings back the individuality and character each park once had. Every time there is a leadership change the new management says they are going to do this, but something always happens to derail that thinking and they continue in the direction of tackiness and mediocrity. While nothing can ever return the forrest that was needlessly destroyed, I will never give up hope that someday Great Adventure will once again become a world class theme park instead of a tacky amusement park.

No park has stayed exactly the same as it was in the 70s. Other parks, however, have been able to build a few great coasters while maintaining the park's atmosphere instead of building a lot of mediocre coasters with conflicting theming on top of each other and in the parking lots. At least half of the coasters at Great Adventure are not worth the eyesores that they are. Roller coasters aside, the main difference between the park in the 70s and the park today is the atmosphere. In the 70s the park was a magical place with magical, unique buildings and attractions in a forrest. Today the park is a slab of cement with generic buildings, fast food restaurants, and the same rides as every other park. It's lost it's identity, it's uniqueness, and it's magic. All of that could have been maintained while adding roller coasters.

That's the thinking that destroyed the park's atmosphere and led to bankruptcy, "do whatever you have to do to cram as many roller coasters into the park as possible". The most successful parks in the country have less than half as many coasters. I love coasters as much as the next guy, but half as many really good coasters would be just as good and not so damaging to the park itself. Building new coasters and keeping old ones just to say you have the most will not make a park successful.

Ka will still hold the record in the United States. I don't see a lot of people flocking to the United Arab Emirates to ride a roller coaster.

Red, White and Blue Review ran for 2 seasons, 1988 and 1989. I was in the 1988 show. I loved Fantasy Factory. It was a really fun show.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that the Busch parks are excellent and at a "whole other level" than Six Flags. Why is it that Six Flags management can't seem to understand this and actually start doing what works so well at those parks. It doesn't matter who manages Six Flags, for some reason they continue to take the parks in the same direction, making them tacky, incoherently themed carnival-like atmospheres. They need to stop using the "we don't have the money" excuse. They actually have spent quite a bit of money painting, re-theming rides, and making additions. The problem is that the money was spent continuing the trend of tacky, inappropriate choices. If they would spend the money actually improving the atmosphere, instead of making it more tacky, more people would go to the parks and they would make more money.

I know some of you do not want to hear this, and will not agree, but this is exactly what we do not need. Sacrificing park atmosphere for a quick buck. People do not go to theme parks to be bombarded with advertisements. I know some people are under the impression that this is an easy way to make a buck, and it is, however it completely destroys the atmosphere of what should be an escape from the everyday, not a constant reminder of it. Park atmosphere is one of the biggest challenges for Six Flags. The atmosphere in their parks has deteriorated throughout the years and excessive advertising is one reason, along with diluted theming and destruction of the natural resources. People want to be immersed in a unique atmosphere at a theme park, not constantly reminded of the outside world they are trying to escape for a day. Just my opinion, due with it what you will

I'm trying to be cautiuosly optimistic. I'm glad he has theme park experience, but a little nervous about it being with Paramount Parks. They have made a lot of the same mistakes that Six Flags has made in the past and have suffered for it. I hope he actually learned from those mistakes. I hope they find a great CEO.

I would develope more land and stop cramming into the existing space. Build a parking lot in nearby woods, keeping 50% of the trees so you park under the shade of trees, with a train that takes guests to a new front gate located in what is currently the back corner of the current lot, where the employee lot meets the guest lot. Then develope what is the current lot into a new themed area.

I couldn't agree more.

That's GREAT news! They actually put someone in charge who has theme park experience, what a concept! Although Paramount Parks are not the greatest brand either, at least he's not coming in totally blind. He may not be permanant, either. As they search for a new CEO, if this man is not what they choose, I hope they choose someone with experience.

What are you talking about? Shapiro is not out. They just signed him to a new contract and he is the head of the Board of Directors. When someone during the call said they liked what they did with Bizarro and asked if more such makeovers would happen, Shapiro said they were planning more. Bizarro was a mistake because it further destroyed the theming and atmosphere of the park, placing a superhero themed ride in the western section of the park. It temporarily got people to ride the coaster to see what the changes were. After the initial curiosity wears off you will have the same number people riding it as before, the people who like the ride. It does not matter what color the ride is or what it is called, people will ride a coaster if it is good and will not ride it if it is not. It is not necessary to destroy the park atmosphere to try to entice people to ride a coaster. They could theme the coasters to blend with the surrounding themes and people will ride them because they like coasters, and will actually enjoy them more if they enhance the theming and experience of the park as a whole. Six Flags still does not understand the concept of theming. They theme each ride independantly, having no concept of what will be around it or where in the park it is being placed. Then they all clash with each other and just create a mess of contrasting colors and themes. This totaly turns off adults who do not ride the rides. They spend the day in a park enjoying the atmosphere, watching shows, and eating. Adults do not like Six Flags because they are tacky, unattractive parks. Mark Shapiro said he understood this when he took control 5 years ago, however he is still taking them in the same direction. The parks have gotten cleaner, but the tacky atmospheres are just getting worse. Superheros and fast food chains are not what adults look for in a theme park. Even if they create income in the short term, they will create another downfall in the long run. Trying to make a quick buck by sacrificing the future is what led to bankruptcy in the first place.

I WAS in on the Fan Call. So "obviousely" you're mistaken. I was the one who asked him about the shows. He got extremely annoyed whenever someone gave him an honest opinion and didn't just tell him how wonderful he was. He also said thet he was going to do more "Bizarro-like" makovers. This is what scares me. Bizarro was a bad move. The fact that he does not see this, or at least will not admit it, and says he wants to continue the trend, is scary. Their attempts to make a quick buck by attracting teenagers is what got them into trouble to begin with. Continuing that trend will just continue the problems. Yes it will take time and money to turn the parks around. But it will never happen if they continue the trends that caused the problems in the first place. This is why I bring up Bizarro. That was not done by the previous management. This is a trend the current management is following. The same amount of money they used to make Bizarro could have been used to theme the ride to fit the western section of the park it is in. When people on this site found out they were retheming Medusa, they came up with a lot of possible themes that would have made the ride fit in the theme. Instead, they wasted money creating another completely inappropriate theme for the ride that does not fit. It's not that they were in bankruptcy and did not have the money. They had the money but did not know what to do with it. Take a look at the biographies of the new Board of Directors, led by Mr. Shapiro. Not one of those people have any theme park experience. They have no idea what they are doing. They know how to make a quick buck, but they don't know how to make a quality park, and they will suffer the same consequences they suffered in the past doing the same thing. How can you say the parks are successful when they just went bankrupt? Mark Shapiro has been in charge for 5 years. It should not take that long to at least realize what was being done wrong and start to correct it. Instead they continue to go the direction of making the parks glorified carnivals instead of theme parks. I'm sorry if it upsets you to hear it, but I'm not going to coddle Mr. Shapiro and tell him what a wonderful job he is doing while he continues taking the parks down the wrong path.

Everyone understands the limits of budgets. However, when you have money to refurbish and you spend it turning a roller coaster in the western section of the park into Bizarro, it's not a problem of having money as much as knowing what to do with it. If they ever want to be successful, they are going to have to offer quality, and something unique that makes it worth the trip and the money. Another trend in the wrong direction is making every park the same, the same rides and the same theming. It makes people feel that "if you've been to one Six Flags, you've been to them all". I have no doubt in my mind that the fast food chains are "dumbing down" the parks. Diluting the theming and atmosphere and offering nothing unique and nothing to enhance the experience of the parks. Sooner or later "Blame the previous management" is not going to work anymore.

Unfortunately, with all he has learned the past few years, Mark Shapiro still does not have the theme park experience necessary to run theme parks. He's still under the impression that throwing obscure fast food restaurants all over the park and turning everything into superheros is going to do the trick. When asked during the fan call why Great Adventure does not have any live stage shows, he tried to argue that it does. ( "There's a dolphin show and a tiger show" ). He does not understand what people want in a park and still has no plans to offer adults something to make them want to come to the park again. Adults do not want to walk around on a slab of cement surrounded by brightly colored twisted metal with comic book characters all over them. Adults want a park, with flowers and trees, restaurants that enhance the experience with food they can not get every day, and live shows to watch. You can also have the roller coasters that teenagers want, themed to blend with the atmosphere instead of clashing with it. Mark Shapiro sated when he took the job that previous management spent too much effort attracting teenagers and alienating adults and the survival of the company depended on ending that practice. However, he seems to be taking the parks farther in that direction, deepening the main problem and setting them up for another fall.

I really don't think Snyder played a big part in the parks' operations. He left that up to Shapiro, who, unfortunately, is remaining. He has done a few good things, like cleaning up the parks a little and offering more children's attractions. However, he runs the parks like a 14 year old boy, all excited he can turn everything into comic book characters with no sense of what he is doing.

They really need to put a "show" in the Showcase Theatre. Great Adventure is the only theme park I know that does not have a live stage show ( not animals, but people ). If they are serious about attracting adults, they need entertainment.

I think each park should have it's own unique theming. The last thing we need is another "Gotham". Unfortunately, Movietown is not much of a theme. I'd like to see the area get a real theme that does not involve superheroes, there's enough of those already.

I also don't understand why they consider a drop tower a "coaster".

Unfortunately, I do not believe Great Adventure's numbers have anything to do with hotel accomodations. It's purely reputation. Considering the park's location amid so many major metropolitan areas, it should be the most visited regional theme park in the country from locals alone. No one wants to plan a vacation to Six Flags. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is not close to any major metroplitan areas. the closest one is Richmond and there is a major theme park there to compete with. The park also has no on-site hotels. Yet it has higher attendance than Great Adventure. The reason is it's reputation for providing quality.

It's great to see another show being added and the venue being put to use. However I beleive it would probably be a better use of divers to enhance the dolphin shows. People are becoming bored with dolphin shows and the idea of people diving into a pool sounds a little boring also. Combining the two would create something a little more entertaining. Even Sea World has added divers and performers to their dolphin shows to make them more interesting ( Blue Horizons ). People these days expect a whole lot more than just a dolphin doing a flip or a diver jumping into a pool. They expect a "show" with costumes, music, acrobatics, and flare.

They don't necessarily need less coasters, they just need to theme them better, not painting them all obnoxious colors and making them all comic book character themed, whether it fits the park or not. Busch knows how to build a coaster and theme it to blend with it's surroundings and add to the theming, instead of detracting from it. They also didn't plow down all the trees in the park. That's a huge part of the beauty.

Are they really more apt to eat those things, or are there just more of them to choose from? Everyone says Best of the West is the most popular restaurant in the park. It's not a chain people are familiar with, it's a good restaurant that enhances the theme and experience of the park. I think putting all those chain restaurants in the park is a really bad idea, telling people there is nothing special there that they can't get around the corner at the local shopping center. The food at a theme park should be part of the whole experience. That's what makes Best of the West so good, even the building itself enhances the experience.

Six Flags could learn a lot from that park.

The Carousel The Sky Ride and the Gondola?