Thunderbolt

Exactly my thoughts. You can only water down an already diluted product so much.

Don't forget any shots through of the loops through the trees by "El Toro's" entrance, or from inside "The Golden Kingdom"!

I didn't know that about seasonal employees and overtime. Thank you for informing me of that. Regardless of classification, non-salaried employees are usually entitled to overtime pay above 40 hours. Closing the parks an hour early seems worse, if all the company owes is straight time. Are maintenance workers considered seasonal employees? First-Aid employees are contracted IIRC. As for season pass pricing, I think you misunderstood my point. Six Flags sells their season passes so cheaply, because few people consider the product worthy of a premium price. Certainly you can find discounts everywhere for Six Flags. The company wouldn't offer them if they believed people would pay full price however. Gate pricing was ridiculous IMO considering the product. As for global corporations backing up theme park divisions, you're mistaken. In today's corporate environment, all divisions must perform their own accounting and report projections to their board of directors. They also must be self-sustaining. Under Sarbanes–Oxley, Corporations can't simply arbitrage capital from one division to artificially prop up the other. If troubled assets can't be brought back to profitability, they must be divested or face possible law suits from shareholders. Don't forget, parent companies of these theme parks possess exponentially greater debt loads than Six Flags. Time Warner had an $8B(!!) debt load (in 1998 dollars) at time Six Flags was sold to Premier Parks. While theme parks are a form of entertainment, they are hardly core (or related) products for any global entity. NBC Universal owns about 50% of Universal Orlando Resort and even less of the overseas parks. Busch Entertainment Corp. was also divested due to its lack of synergy with the former parent despite profitability (it was sold to reduce merger debt just like Time Warner had to do with Six Flags). The only company that owns its theme parks outright is Disney. Even the house of mouse has been rumored to consider a spinoff of that division.

Six Flags's debt should be quite manageable at this point. The receivership to my knowledge has secured enough credit, and the current IPO should have raised further capital. Cost cutting at this point is about Al Weber trying to drop the "interim" from his title, as well as impressing investors. The problem presented here is further diluting what is already considered a watered down product. Six Flags has to discount the hell of its parks, because few people in their right mind are willing to pay full price for their product. The fact Six Flags hasn't so much as hinted about possible CEO candidates concerns me. Is the company doing its due diligence in acquiring top tiered talent with fresh ideas to move the company forward? Is the corporate culture so fractured, that no executive wants to sully their reputation taking on what has been a mostly troubled asset for decades? An executive from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment seems like a natural fit. Both companies operate themed parks with an emphasis on animals. You don't even hear about one of their junior executives willing to prove himself by taking on the helm of Six Flags. Even former Cedar Fair COO Jack Falfas seems like someone you have on a short list of must interviews. Sadly, I wanted to like Al Weber. Currently he's nothing greater than "more of the same". Looks like we'll see another ownership change soon.

They better! You don't want to jackhammer into some high voltage conduit!

Agreed regarding closing the New York Offices. It makes little sense to continue leasing space in NYC offices with ridiculously high rent costs. Six Flags already leases space in Dallas, TX with staffing that could assume lots of redundant positions. Where additional staffing is needed, new employees can be hired at lower salaries from the local labor force. Even in the Premier Parks years (the apex of Six Flags's spending), the corporate offices were largely in Oklahoma with a small smattering of people in Parsippany, NJ. Why Six Flags doesn't move the headquarters onto an existing Six Flags property escapes me. They already own the real estate, and can write off the leasing fees in a similar fashion (theme parks are operated by a subsidiary allowing this). Al Weber is all about dropping the "interim" from his title. Despite moves he's made that have me cringing; this decision is easily correct. I'm awaiting his first conference call before I anoint him Mark Shapiro II. "Flagship" status has more to do with revenue and profit streams. The Dallas move doesn't change this.

I believe keeping parks open later has to do with potential overtime issues, more so than revenue loss. Let say Great Adventure closes at 10:00 P.M. Guests usually linger in the park some 20-30 minutes past initial closure either purchasing food or a final souvenir. Perhaps they'll play a game. I'm sure the park is operationally profitable most days in that final hour. What kills the revenue stream are guests waiting 1-2 hours past closure on "E-Ticket" rides such as "El Toro" or "Kingda Ka". To ensure these guests have a favorable experience, ride, maintenance, emergency, and security staff must be kept on site. Additional electricity is utilized by these "E-Ticket" attractions in a period where retail and gaming operations have already ceased for the evening. The park is unable to tap the remaining captive audience for ancillary spending. If the park closes early, the staff budgets are already accounted for that part of that (now) additional time period. The effects of overtime become minimized against the bottom line. It's financially prudent to pay one hour of overtime versus two. Guests may feel cheated, but Six Flags must feel the negative impact is minimal. Six Flags remains in a precarious situation. Customers don't feel the product commands a premium price as demonstrated by the current season pass pricing. They can't put forth a better quality product, on their current operational model. Guests are unwilling to spend more money on admission pricing due to Six Flags's operational model. Until Six Flags realizes that a high quality product hurts the short term revenues; but helps exponentially in the long term; it's due to ownership turnover and debt issues infinitely.

Honestly, I don't think the cost of facilities at Great Adventure to meet SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment ("BEC") standards is prohibitive. "The Golden Kingdom", "Plaza de Carnivale", and the kid sections already sync up well with BEC Parks. Where Great Adventure would require significant capital investment is the dining facilities and show venues, as well as operational staffing. Areas such as "The Boardwalk" would be jettisoned (good riddance!), and "Frontier Adventures" would benefit from a refurbishment. The most expensive components, i.e. rollercoasters are already present as well. Six Flags's worst quality, something that existed my entire life as a patron, is inadequate staffing. If Universal brought Great Adventure up to PortAventura standards, this would also work. While investments on the scale of Universal Orlando seem out of the question; PortAventura would be doable. Years ago, when Universal was rumored to be eyeing the New Jersey Complex; I considered this would be their strategy. At the time, the estimated $800M price gave the suits at Universal second thoughts with Great Adventure's limited operating window. Imagine brining "Spiderman 3D" to New Jersey? That would be amazing, and the cost to build has decreased significantly since its debut 10 years ago. Universal has IP rights to Marvel Characters East of the Mississippi IIRC.

If SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment or Universal were to acquire Great Adventure, it would be a godsend. As I commented over at Great Adventure Online, I don't like what I'm seeing with Al Weber. I believe these cost cutting measures have more to do with impressing his bosses with the bottom line, than Wall St. The Amusement Park Industry is one where razor thin profit margins are expected, but high grossing revenues make up for it. It's like the oil industry in that respect. Mr. Weber obviously wants to remove the "interim" from his title, and I haven't even heard so much as a rumor for outside candidate interviews. I'm still at a point where I'd take Kieran Burke back as CEO with Gary Story. The Board of Directors just needs to put the kibosh on rapidly expanding the company. It's hard to determine whether the current ownership is looking to "flip" the company, or maintain this investment for the long haul. Mr. Weber's first conference call will certainly be interesting.

"Chang" in "The Old Country" would be disastrous. You would need to essentially destroy every tree plus the "Garden of Eatin'" to shimmy it there. I would sooner not take "Chang" over destroying the park tree canopy further. "The Dark Knight"/"Batman & Robin: The Chiller" site would be more ideal. Coupled with either "Freefall" and the stunt arena footprint, "Chang" might fit with minimal disruption. We don't need "The Dark Knight" with the adjacent "Skull Mountain", and "Chang" would look better as "The Riddler's Revenge" there.

Al Weber and the current Six Flags Ownership is already proving to be more financially prudent than Red Zone. I never understood why Six Flags needed a New York City Address for its headquarters; and moving to Dallas saves the company the cost of a B&M "Dive Machine" annually. As for removing "The Great American Scream Machine"? Good riddance! After its (still) awesome first drop, it was nothing but pain. "The Great American Scream Machine" saved Great Adventure from closing. It's a park icon and is visually stunning despite being over a parking lot. I've enjoyed seeing it across the park more-so than ever riding it. Since it brought the park back from the brink, it does deserve a proper send off if going. That being said, it won't be leaving due to maintenance issues as Arrow Dynamics rides are rock solid. They rarely break down and can be ran by as little as 2 employees. Parts for Arrow Coasters are readily available and Great Adventure inherited "Shockwave's" inventory when the Gurnee, Ill attraction closed. Rumors suggest S&S Arrow wants to end parts for older designs, but there's no evidence to support this. Amusement Today would have been all over that if true. Plus, *NOBODY* is ordering 'X' designs from S&S. They're plagued with issues, are expensive, and lack capacity. S&S has nothing left to sell coaster wise, and tossing away a very profitable parts business is plain stupid. RobertDavid: I'd rather see "Superman" moved to "The Dark Knight"/"Batman & Robin: The Chiller" site over outright removal. It's popular with the GP and I also like it. I, like you hate its lack of theming, and would love to see an effort to remedy this in an immersive way. Great Adventure hardly needs "Chang", but if the rumored 6 "flats" come with it that would be good. I as well as you just wish someone would pay attention to the THEME aspect in THEME parks. We need leadership headhunted from Busch Entertainment Corp. in the worst way.

Easily Pecos Bill's Tall Tales Cafe For the old timers: Western Shootout or Chicago Shootout (Great Adventure shooting galleries)?

From Amusement Today.com: Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari owner and president, Will Koch, passed away Sunday evening at his home. (June 14, 2010) “Will was not only our leader, he was our dear friend,” says park spokesperson Paula Werne. “Our park family is in mourning for this sweet man who worked tirelessly to bring fun and happiness to so many families in the 20 years he ran the park.” Koch died at home of what the family believes to be complications from diabetes. He was 48. “The Koch family wants to assure the public that Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari will be open today and will continue to be owned and operated by his family,” says Werne. “We know that’s what Will would have wanted.” Born and raised in the town of Santa Claus, Koch attended Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, and was Valedictorian of his graduating class in 1979. He graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. In 1986, he received a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Koch was Chief Executive Officer of Koch Development Corporation, the parent company of Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin' Safari Water Park. Under his direction, the theme park followed an aggressive growth program including the addition of Splashin' Safari Water Park in 1993, The Raven and The Legend wooden roller coasters in 1995 and 2000, plus The Voyage wooden coaster in 2006, for which he was a designer. In 2004, Koch received the international Applause Award from the amusement industry; the criteria for the coveted award include foresight, originality and creativity, plus sound business development and profitability. Each year since 2006, annual seasonal attendance at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari has topped one million visitors. This year, the park premiered Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster. Koch served as president of the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, which worked with the State of Indiana to reopen the Lincoln Amphitheatre in 2009 with a new drama honoring the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. He was also a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions; and he served on the Administrative Council of the Santa Claus United Methodist Church. Koch is survived by his wife, Lori, and three children: Lauren, Leah, and William. He is also survived by his mother, Pat, and siblings Dan, Kristi, Philip and Natalie. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Alice Eve ("She's Out of My League") and the fact I'm not dating her. Oh yeah, and Cablevision forcing set top boxes ("STBs") down everyones' throat. With "pole traps" for security, and built in "QAM" tuners; there's no need for STBs outside of another revenue stream. STBs allow MSOs to charge per set vs. per household. Sure, "Satellite" has done this for years. The difference was there was no realistic way to provision security as "satellite" utilizes a completely different delivery system than "cable".

Absolutely! Great Adventure should celebrate its history somewhere in the park.

The sign in front of the Enterprise is not from 1981. The date groupings are slightly off (by a decade on the Enterprise sign).

Let's all have a piece of cheesecake in memory of Blanche Devereaux. She would have wanted it that way.

Who is the gentleman in this picture? http://tinyurl.com/29ubn3a

Yeah, the "Tornado" has been known to blow off roofs and bikini tops I hear. People watch the funnel for pairs of F-5s. Unfortunately, cameras provide little shelter for storms of that magnitude. All puns intended.

The file is a 11.6MB MPEG-2 clip with 704x480 resolution. In the raw MPEG-2 clip, is some buffer before and after the commercial of the TV show I recorded it from (to protect the "intro" and "outro" of the ad).

Good news! I have the ad (I recorded it from an SD station, being it's 480i 4:3). Where would you like it uploaded? It's currently in MPEG-2 format as I transferred it directly from my TiVo S3. The file can converted to h.264 AVC if you wish.

Kingda Ka continues to be a formidable beast. While the launch feels less intense than 2005 (more like I've become acclimated to it), I don't think the idea of a faster version diminishes Great Adventure's "rocket" one bit. Kingda Ka remains an icon and a draw regardless.

Harry, I was VERY excited to see Six Flags actually promote the "Wild Safari Animal Park". This is the first dedicated "spot" I can recall. I have a TiVo Series3, so if I can find the ad, I'll send you a copy if you wish (it will be in MPEG-2).

"The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats" certainly played to packed, if not capacity audiences during my trips to Great Adventure. It was a show my entire family looked forward to seeing. I could have sworn "Evolution" played 2 seasons, but perhaps my memory is foggy. I also believe "The Red White and Blue Revue" premiered in 1989 with "The Great American Scream Machine". Again my memory may fail me.

My condolences to your family "Railer". For some reason, I thought you were divorced (or divorcing), which is painful in and of itself. Either way, thankfully you can be there for your children.