29yrswithaGApass Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Great Adventure chief: Crazy enough for coasters February 25, 2015 Asbury Park Press JACKSON – With his parent company fresh off accolades from customers and Wall Street analysts alike, John Fitzgerald, the president of Six Flags Great Adventure, said the formula for success isn't complicated: Deliver what you say you are going to deliver. It is an old-fashioned idea that its parent company lost sight of before it went into bankruptcy in 2009, Fitzgerald said. With a new-found focus, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is improving its customer satisfaction scores – and its stock price – each year. "The primary focus is on being the best regional theme park operator, bar none," Fitzgerald said. "So all those secondary business lines that used to exist, like the hair cutting salons, all went away. It's all about just focus on your core business." Six Flags last week reported net income in 2014 of $76 million, or 76 cents a share, down from $118.6 million, or $1.17 a share, in 2013. But investors are heartened anyway. Revenue last year was up nearly 6 percent. Its stock price has risen more than 10 percent since the beginning of the year. And the company should reap rewards from an improving economy and lower gasoline prices. Six Flags "looks well positioned for 2015," Wells Fargo Securities analysts said in a Feb. 24 report that expects the company to outperform its competitors. Fitzgerald met with the Asbury Park Press on a bitterly cold day earlier this week, when summer was only a vague memory. He talked about what's in store this season, how to attract millennials and why October is his favorite time of year. How will prices compare with last year? They'll be comparable. I'd say season pass pricing about the same. The daily ticket price about the same. It might go up a dollar over last year, so we'll be hitting about $66.99. We don't take take ticket prices up all that much. We do each year try to get a little bit more on the yield. We think we actually make a good amount of investment (in) the property so there's an opportunity there, especially given how high our guest satisfaction ratings have been. Six Flags Great Adventure president John Fitzgerald stands in front of El Toro, the Jackson park’s wooden coaster. (Photo: TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) What are the newest attractions, and are you crazy enough to ride them? I'm crazy enough to ride everything we put in. Last year we put in Zumanjaro (a drop ride that is 40-stories high and reaches speeds of 90 mph), which was fantastic. You get some of the best views. On a clear day, you're sitting in the seat and you can see the Philadelphia skyline. I lost count; it's got to be somewhere around 40 or 50 (times I've ridden Zumanjaro). I don't find rides scary. It's thrilling. This year, (the new ride is) El Diablo. El Diablo is a looping coaster. Our objective with El Diablo is it's thrilling enough for teens and young adults. It's tall, seven stories tall. But our primary objective is to get those tweens, those folks who have ridden those smaller rides, children's rides, and actually get them to graduate to a major coaster. What kind of financial shape are consumers in this year? With gas prices being as low as they are, people have a lot more disposable income. And that disposable income, also with the minimum wage hike last year, that should give our target audience, our teens and young adults, a lot more money to spend. It's good in general, good for the economy and good for us. And the job market has improved. I'd say consumers are in a much better place. The millennial generation is never at a loss for entertainment. How do you attract them? I think a thrill ride actually gives them something they can't get in the outside world. In other words, you can play PlayStation, you can actually get involved in all sorts of social media and those are good experiences for someone who's a millennial. But at the end of the day you can't actually do something like drop from 43 stories unless you come to our park and ride it. But we want to make sure the things we put in are hip and exiting for them too. You want to make sure it's socially relevant, that it does show up on social media. How do you do that without needing to spend millions of dollars? I think we're very innovative at Six Flags in things we come up with. For example ... Fright Fest is geared toward teens and young adults. It does have its family aspects, but it doesn't cost us millions and millions of dollars to put on the event. Maybe a couple million dollars, but not millions and millions and millions. It is cost effective, given the volume of business it drives for us. Fright Fest is my favorite time of year. It is funny; it's a lot of work for us, and it's probably our busiest time in terms of daily attendance that we'll get, but it really is a whole lot of fun. It really is an exciting place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 That's cool to hear he goes on all the rides in the park. The picture with the frozen lake is neat to see too (even though I have had enough of this cold weather) since it's not something you would normally get to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Nice article. Always good to hear the company is overall doing well. It's an interesting practice Six Flags has of gate admission being more expensive than discount Season Passes, but apparently is working out for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Would be nice if he would talk about putting a END to all the line cutting that takes place all summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew M Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Would be nice is he would put an end to the term "looping coaster" but that's none of my business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdc12192 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Would be nice is he would put an end to the term "looping coaster" but that's none of my business They are aware 'enthusiasts' don't like that they call it a coaster, and don't consider it a coaster but they're going to do what they want, and continue to call it a coaster so people just have to learn to accept it. They even made a joke about it at winter adventure (From Great Adventure Online) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertleax Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I was not too crazy about how he mentioned the teens and young adults as their target audience. Even though I am a thrill junkie (as well as my kids), I would like him gear more attention to the families. I believe they are the ones who are willing to spend more and having more entertainment for the families (ex: shows) would bring more families to the park and keep them in the park longer which in turn they would spend more dollars. Even though I am continuing my season pass (along with my kids) my wife does not want to continue hers. Which in turn would make out family come to the park as often as I want to since she would rather do other things with the family (ex: go to the beach for the day instead) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew M Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 They are aware 'enthusiasts' don't like that they call it a coaster, and don't consider it a coaster but they're going to do what they want, and continue to call it a coaster so people just have to learn to accept it. They even made a joke about it at winter adventure (From Great Adventure Online) I am aware "they" will do what they want. And so I will do what I want and continue to point out it is not a coaster, so people will just have to learn to accept that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdc12192 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) What I'm saying though is you pointing out it isn't a coaster as many times as you want isn't going to change anything. The coaster/non coaster argument just needs to end, its becoming a broken record anymore. They aren't gonna change what they call it, you and others aren't going to change what they consider it. Agree to disagree with the park, just like they agree to disagree with 'enthusiasts'. In the end their marketing and publicity will always refer to it as a coaster so just accept that 'coaster' will be attached to this ride as long as it shall be at the park. Edited February 27, 2015 by jdc12192 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pashacar Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) I was not too crazy about how he mentioned the teens and young adults as their target audience. Even though I am a thrill junkie (as well as my kids), I would like him gear more attention to the families. I believe they are the ones who are willing to spend more and having more entertainment for the families (ex: shows) would bring more families to the park and keep them in the park longer which in turn they would spend more dollars. Even though I am continuing my season pass (along with my kids) my wife does not want to continue hers. Which in turn would make out family come to the park as often as I want to since she would rather do other things with the family (ex: go to the beach for the day instead) I agree, that really stuck out for me too. It just doesn't seem to make sense; in one breath he's talking about gas prices and people having more disposable income, and then he's saying tweens and young adults are the target demo, when they aren't the ones making families' buying decisions. To your second point, there was an old saying in the industry, "If you lose Mom, you lose the whole family." Clearly they haven't adopted it, and are instead going with something like, "If you get Brett . . . you get Brett. And maybe his sleazy girlfriend Tina. And they'll probably line cut. And buy nothing." Edited February 27, 2015 by pashacar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I think there is a misinterpretation of what Mr.Fitzgerald said, He said Fright Fest is geared to teens and young adults. I think this is something we all knew already. Everyone has complained about young kids being in the park after dark so we all seem to agree that Fright Fest is not for the young. What he did say is that El Diablo is kind of a cross over ride. Thrilling enough for teens but tame enough for the kids that are out growing the kiddy rides. In his words, "Our objective with El Diablo is it's thrilling enough for teens and young adults. It's tall, seven stories tall. But our primary objective is to get those tweens, those folks who have ridden those smaller rides, children's rides, and actually get them to graduate to a major coaster." That would seem to be just the opposite of what some of our comments here have said. He isn't targeting only teens and young adults. He is considering the family. That was my interpretation. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdc12192 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Agree with you Scott. To me he is basically saying it's good enough for adults who want a fun/thrilling ride but not to intense for younger kids who may not be ready for rides like El toro, Nitro etc and El Diablo will just give them that first step to maybe step out and try out bigger rides. I don't think if teens and adults were the target audience they would have added sky screamer, déjà Vu, Safari etc. I definitely think they are trying to add things for families and younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truepolak90 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm glad their focusing on rounding out the parks offerings. Back in 2008 the park was pretty much roller coasters and children's rides with a very light handfull of family rides. I think the park has made great progress since then and things are looking in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 For those not at Winter Adventure, here is the El Diablo momento that was given out at the event to prove it's a coaster. And if you still had a problem, the park suggested this advice (HERE)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew M Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 What I'm saying though is you pointing out it isn't a coaster as many times as you want isn't going to change anything. The coaster/non coaster argument just needs to end, its becoming a broken record anymore. They aren't gonna change what they call it, you and others aren't going to change what they consider it. Agree to disagree with the park, just like they agree to disagree with 'enthusiasts'. In the end their marketing and publicity will always refer to it as a coaster so just accept that 'coaster' will be attached to this ride as long as it shall be at the park. I'm not naive enough to really believe that by making a smart (and non-serious) remark Im going to change the minds of the whole corporation to stop referring to it as a coaster. My power of persuasion isn't that great. But thanks for the reality check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew M Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 But I do really want one of those coasters. Wonder if they will be giving them out at the restaurants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Too bad gas prices are already creeping back up, wonder if that will affect their plans? Edited March 2, 2015 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I hope it stays under $3 a gallon, last year it cost me around $14 for gasoline to drive to the park and back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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