Thunderbolt

My guess is Skull Mt. or "The Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure" Building.

Come on Emo! I'm a rich kid depressed that my trust fund isn't accessible until I'm 21. Will somebody speak up for me? </sarcasm>

I just read about this prior to this thread at Screamscape. The Enchanted Oak was an awesome structure, and I will miss it. "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" better be one kick @$$ project. "The Lost Continent" was my favorite section in any Orlando theme park. Until I see its successor (the artwork is intriguing), I have to consider the collateral damage a huge loss.

The Busch Entertainment Parks are some of the best operated properties. Hopefully, the Busch Family can acquire the parks and keep them privately owned. I think we all agree on this one. BEC would also be a great parent for Great Adventure come Six Flag's inevitable bankruptcy (creditor ordered Chapter 7).

You mean FUN is also going badmouth the "old management", and issue the same, lame excuses for their lousy financial performance? You can bet PKS would have staved off the takeover had the hedge funds saw the spiraling stock price, falling attendance, and no forecast to profitability under RedZone. Where are my dividend payments Mark?

Despite my annoyance towards all this "in your face" advertising at the parks; I must concede it's an easy revenue stream with little overhead. I kinda wish SIX and FUN limited the pervasive ads to ride sponsorships; but I do realize that it's a tough sell in today's market. Here's an idea. Toss some monitors or billboards by the lockers. Print the ad logo on the ticket. Let THAT revenue cover that stupid $1 fee.

Cedar Fair has reported an uptick in attendance. We'll see their earnings report on August 5th. As for Six Flags, I'm sure those $1 locker fees are coming in handy. I'd LOVE to hear an analyst question that revenue stream on the conference call. No doubt SIX will refuse to answer it. I don't think a statement of "Cashflow Positive" will matter much without a timeline for profitability.

"Are you in? Or are you out?"

Snyder is a "managing partner". He can't stop the sale of SIX no more than Burke could, if the other major investors want out. "Cash Positive" != Profitability

Shapiro and the board should be fired and disbanded. Their performance has been nothing short of disgraceful. Even PKS managed to eek out a profitable quarter and make their dividend payments ON TIME. You can blame Burke for the debt, but adjusting revenues to remove the massive expansion showed PKS to be profitable until 9/11. Why would a financially strapped company purchase a Hollywood Studio (which NOBODY in Hollywood wanted) that's completely unrelated to your core business? DCP lacks any IP relevant with SIX's target audience. Buying a Hollywood Studio is an easy way to go broke. Ask Matsushita and Vivendi. Shapiro's 2006 price-gouge and budget cuts cluster[freak] has caused irreparable harm to this company and attendance has declined ever since. 2008 may be a make or break year for Red Zone and Six Flags. If gas prices continue to increase as expected, and the park continues to bleed customers despite price reductions, the company is in deep trouble. Six Flags has already sold off a multitude of parks, and recently divested itself of American Adventures in Marietta, GA. SIX's market cap and stock price continue to fall (though shares have hugging the $0.45 mark recently; risking a de-listing). 2008 Season Pass sales are down. Increases in first quarter attended is largely attributed to earlier openings (including the expanded "Holiday In The Park") and reduced ticket pricing. The company missed the May 15th dividend disbursement. What path is left for the company to take outside of bankruptcy? Six Flags doesn't have many more assets it can sell, especially at a price where it's worth it. Six Flags Over Texas and Over Georgia are limited partnerships, and operated under contract to Six Flags. Selling Great Adventure or Great America would effectively send the banks into disarray (and call in those loan markers), as those are the most profitable links in the chain. Nobody wanted Magic Mountain. What's left to sell? Six Flags America? You can bundle the rest of the parks together and probably not get $400M. With the current market-cap, it would be cheaper to acquire the company outright and assume the debt. If an attendance spike doesn't offset the reduced revenue, I don't know what the company can do to right this ship. Six Flags could look quite different after a Chapter 11 filing, and not in any way I'd like to see it.

The only way I'd ride a Vekoma coaster is if you sat Keeley Hazell or Lucy Pinder next to me.

This suit will be dismissed. It's no SFKK situation.

The "Big Six Pass" debuted last year during mid-season, for $69.99 (dropping to $49.99 later) at Six Flags Great Adventure. ALL Season Passes (purchased online at least) are "Premium". The "Big Six Pass" represents the entry value, multi-day proposition. I have no idea what the original "Premium" pass plans were, but it appears they were cancelled/modified.

It goes to show you how popular the fireworks show is; and how much it's missed.

I was a wee laddie in 1991, but I have fond memories of the "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves Stunt Spectacular". Man, I miss when Great Adventure had a wide assortment of shows and weekend fireworks.

Dr. Pepper is owned by Cadbury, but is sold/bottled by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of NY (in the NY/NJ area). Dr. Pepper almost became a Coca-Cola brand in the 1980s; but was blocked by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Prior to Cadbury's buyout, Dr. Pepper didn't have a large network of bottling plants, so Coca-Cola picked up the slack. The contract also prohibits the sale of Coca-Cola's "Mr. Pibb" in the CCBCNY region.

I agree with you. Lids are wasteful and bad for the environment. My issue is with the less than honest excuses given for the lid jettison. Ideally, they should be available by request.

Yes, because the pool is an open area and the plastics are light enough to be carried by the wind into it (I was saddled with pool duty as a child). This is not true throughout other areas of the park (save for the turtles). Again, many other items sold in the park pose the same problem.

Water Park Slurpee or Icee?

How does NOT including lids prevent a choking hazard for the animals? I could buy the plastic lids are environmentally bad, but the choking hazard simply doesn't fly. Animals could just as easily choke on any number of products sold in the parks. Plus, you have to toss the lid into the cage (or out of the car window for the Safari Park). Such actions merit an immediate ejection from the park without a refund. The decision not to sell lids is financial first, and everything else second. As for the ice, it's a customer benefit to not have a cup full of ice for a fountain drink. Besides the soda being more costly, it comes out of the machine cold. I remember the cost breakdown pretty well from my days working at Friendly's. Soda $$ > Ice $$. The actual cup is the most expensive component (anywhere from $0.05 to $0.07 for a large) and Coca-Cola probably gives them away free to Six Flags (charged as an advertising externality). Honestly, the plastic cups utilized for the lemonade drinks are equally as bad (if not worse) for the environment, as the lids. The lemonade/slushy cups are purchased separately, and have nothing to do with Coca-Cola.

Weren't Chris-Craft boats also used for some seasons? I miss the ski shows too.

Time Warner's MASSIVE debt forced a 51% stake sale to Boston Ventures in 1993 for $200M and assumption of $800M of TWX debt. Losing a $400M+ lawsuit (which was upheld at all levels) to the Six Flags over Georgia Limited Partnership, and Turner Broadcasting System acquisition ultimately left them with little choice but to sell the rest. Don't forget, Premier Parks almost took the operating contract for the Six Flags over Texas Limited Partnership (which would have greatly impacted Six Flags Theme Parks' value), before acquiring the company outright in 1998 for $1.9B (deal closing April 1, 1998). Ultimately, TWX paid $115M for SFTP (plus debt which TWX retired), infused $150M in operating capital, sold a 51% stake for $1B (tax free on the $800M debt assumption), took a $400M hit (stupidity), and raked another $1.9B in the end. SFTP was a financially profitable venture.

I'm quite sure "The Great Gadzooks" was located at the puppet theater (across from The Buccaneer) for the 1986 and/or 1987 season. I believe "The Salty Dog" premiered in 1988 or 1989. I still remember the "Gadzooks" theme song, and being told "he returned to the Safari", when I asked why the show left. Do you still have the show schedules from those seasons? Of course, I was still in the single digits during that time...

That's got to be false, or an incredibly poor location. I remember that as "The Beachcomber" Gift Shop. Bob Pittman also put together the AOL Time Warner Deal so maybe it could be true.

Tokyo DisneySea (without question! Current Epcot just depresses me. I'm old enough to remember when Future World had Horizons and World of Motion.) Back on topic: Main Street Electrical Parade Disney's Hollywood Studios or California Adventure?