29yrswithaGApass Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Quote Veteran theme park executive named president of Six Flags Magic Mountain L.A. Times - January 4, 2018 A veteran theme park executive has been selected to run Six Flags Magic Mountain, replacing the president who started at the Valencia theme park flipping burgers. Neal Thurman, who has worked at several Six Flags theme parks across the country over the last 22 years, was named president. He most recently headed the Six Flags park in Jackson, N.J. Neal Thurman, a theme park veteran, has been named president of Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor. (Kevin Brown / Six Flags) Thurman takes over from Bonnie Sherman Weber, who has been promoted to senior vice president of in-park services at the Grand Prairie, Texas, headquarters of the park’s parent company, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. She started at the Valencia park more than 30 years ago, flipping burgers as a 16-year-old high school student. In 2010, Weber was named president of the park. Thurman previously worked at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia for seven years, starting in 2007, as director of operations. In addition to working at the Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, Thurman has held several management positions at parks including Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. With 19 roller coasters, Six Flags Magic Mountain has more coasters than any single park in the country. Thurman now oversees 3,000 employees in a 250-acre facility that includes a water park, Hurricane Harbor. On Jan. 1, the park began to operate 365 days of the year as part of a plan to transform from a niche regional attraction to a major Southern California destination, rivaling competitors such as Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggo77 Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Congrats to Neal. He will definitely be missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Why does Great Adventure continue to be a revolving door when it comes to general managers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdc12192 Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Daved Thomson said: Why does Great Adventure continue to be a revolving door when it comes to general managers? One persons decision caused a whole snowball effect for the whole company. I don't think its necessarily related to our park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 1/7/2018 at 9:47 AM, jdc12192 said: One persons decision caused a whole snowball effect for the whole company. I don't think its necessarily related to our park. Anytime a park’s general manager is replaced, it is, in one way or another, related to the park. Is Neal Thurman so needed at Magic Mountain that Great Adventure can do without him? Meaning Magic Mountain is more important to the company than Great Adventure? Has Great Adventure’s performance improved so quickly under Neal that he’s no longer needed at GA OR has management determined that GA is not a top priority for management? Because of its market size, GA Will always have the greatest potential for best performer, but because of its physical size it also has the most potential for being unprofitable. Thus, you would think that corporate would want to have their best GM running GA. Perhaps, Neal Thurman is not their best or Corporate does not believe GA is their best park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, Daved Thomson said: Anytime a park’s general manager is replaced, it is, in one way or another, related to the park. Is Neal Thurman so needed at Magic Mountain that Great Adventure can do without him? Meaning Magic Mountain is more important to the company than Great Adventure? Has Great Adventure’s performance improved so quickly under Neal that he’s no longer needed at GA OR has management determined that GA is not a top priority for management? Because of its market size, GA Will always have the greatest potential for best performer, but because of its physical size it also has the most potential for being unprofitable. Thus, you would think that corporate would want to have their best GM running GA. Perhaps, Neal Thurman is not their best or Corporate does not believe GA is their best park. In his interview the new president made the following comment: Quote "Jackson is the flagship park in the company," Winkler said in an interview. "It will always get heavy investment. Our five-year plan is loaded with investment and new technology and innovation." I doubt he would make that statement without some corporate backing so it would seem GA's standing and importance is way up there at Six Flags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 2 minutes ago, 29yrswithaGApass said: In his interview the new president made the following comment: I doubt he would make that statement without some corporate backing so it would seem GA's standing and importance is way up there at Six Flags. I just saw this article after raising the questions about Neal Thurman’s departure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper26 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/newsroom/january-8-2018 John Winkler actually used to work at the park between 2001 and 2008 as a co-general manager and director of in-park revenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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