Dreamer

I have not been on this site in a while and I realize I'm dredging up an old argument, but the posts in this thread are just too outrageous not to reply. The idea that there is no benefit to paving the parking lot, that there is no return on investment, or that money just should not be budgeted for it is just ridiculous. Six Flags continues to make the same mistakes over and over again, regardless of how many times they may change Presidents. The idea that all they have to do is get some cheap thrill ride every year, market it as something far better than it is, let the rest of the park crumble and people will flock there is insane. They are a business. They have to budget. They know they have parking lots. They know how big they are. They know they need to be repaved periodically. There is no reason that expense is not included in the park budget, except stupidity. The idea that park guests do not care is ridiculous. The parking lot is the first impression of the park. The first impression guests get pulling into a crumbling parking lot is "What a dump". The idea that the only thing park guests care about is getting on the new thrill ride and that they will climb through whatever pile of garbage is in their way to get to it, and be happy about it is nonsense. The park cannot survive soley on the people who are coming to ride The Joker, and even some of them are turned off by the condition of the park and disappointed that the ride is not all it was hyped up to be. Disappointing your guests is not a good business practice, and it is the Six Flags business model, "Trick them into coming and it doesn't matter what crap they find when they get here". But it does matter. Returning customers are a necessity for a successful business and a lot of people do not return to Great Adventure because they are not happy with what they find when they get there.

Busch Tampa has cheap coin operated lockers that cost 50 cents. I think that works great. It's only 50 cents. It has no time limit. They do not cost the park very much because they are not technologically advanced. You can keep items in them all day or just while on one ride, the choice is yours. You have your items securely locked, it doesn't cause any delay in dispatching rides because they are not in the stations, and you do not have to rush to get them out.

I'm not sure I like the idea of putting them in the parking lot. It would really be a nasty atmosphere as the first impression of the park. Isn't there any nearby farmland being sold for housing developements that could be used for a solar farm instead? Or perhaps a combination of areas that the public would not see, like employee parking, Admin building, warehouse rooftops, etc.. I would hate to see more forest cut down, but I would also hate to see the atmosphere of the park ruined. Maybe they could just wait until they figure out a better plan.

I just don't understand why everything in the park has to be themed to comic book characters. They don't fit anywhere in the park, let alone everywhere. If they find it so necessary to have them, make a superhero section in the park and put them all there. This idea of throwing them all over the park is silly.