I personally do not think Snyder is the right person to be in charge of SFI. Yes, SF definitely needs new management, but after reading all of Snyder's ideas, I think it would be a thousand times worse with him at the helm.

If he takes over, I predict the following:

-No new coasters in any of the parks for a long time, and the coasters they do get will be all very tame-light on thrills and heavy emphasis on family rides. While I am all for parks offering a wide variety of experiences-from extreme coasters and thrillrides to under 48" friendly coasters to coasters that the entire family can enjoy, I predict that Snyder will attempt to turn Six Flags into another Paramount or Disney-heavy on the family rides and very light on thrills; only in this case, without the rich theming. If he starts taking out classic SF coasters for this, I imagine more than a few people will be upset. Given that he plans to sell off expansion land, there goes the room for new rides as well which means the older ones might be sacrificed.

While it is true that parks which appeal predominantly to families with young children can be very profitable, it isn't good for those of us who enjoy B&M coasters with a 52" height requirement, extreme coasters like X, or the latest thrill attraction as part of a ride lineup. Families and patrons include thrillseekers wanting the latest new thing as well, and if parks go too far in the other direction, they are losing a part of the market.

I think that parks like Busch, Islands Of Adventure and to some extent, Cedar Fair get the balance correct, with a mix of high thrill rides and attractions for the entire family; at the present, Six Flags is pushing more for all thrills whereas parks like Disney (and to a certain extent, Paramount) are pushing for all family. Whoever takes over SFI should try to find the middle ground, IMHO.

-Over commercialization. I predict that the parks will become a haven for people advertising cell phones, Internet service, and maybe even timeshare communities. I go to a park to get away from this kind of thing.

-Over pricing. While the Six Flags pricing structure now is not ideal, and needs fixing, I anticipate it could go ridiculously high with Red Zone in charge.

-A loss of classic park icons in favor of outsourcing concessions. No longer will there be traditional park restaurants, but areas to eat that look more like the Food Court at the mall.

-Loss of the Looney Tunes characters (to be replaced by who knows what), and loss of the clever Mr. Six ads.....I know they can be annoying sometimes, but they have helped SFI. It also would not surprise me if they changed the name "Six Flags" to something else.

Looking at SF's investments in the past year, and the way I have seen improvements in park ops, I think they are actually *starting* to turn things around. Their new additions for this year seem to be better thought out than in recent years, and it seems as if things are cleaning up.

I'd much rather see Cedar Fair take control of SF, or perhaps Cedar Fair take over some and Busch Entertainment take over others, as they seem to have an understanding of creating a well balanced and well rounded theme park experience that creates a safe and clean environment that offers something for everyone.

Worst case scenario, and Snyder does take over.....I am grateful that the new coasters that are going in this year at SF parks are already well underway, and that I bought my pass before the prices go up.

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[quote=Thrillboy]His plans Really are terrible. I'm not sure if anyone posted this, but he plans to lure marketers into the park to sell cell phones. [/quote]
Actually if you read the Red Zone plans, the cell phone idea was actually to make a deal to insert flyers indie of cell phone bills, a form of direct advertising.

[quote=Hammy2003]No-o-o-o-o!!!! Don't let Paramount get SFoG! Heck, SFoG might as well be one of the top ones. It IS a decent park. If anything HAS to change about SFoG, I'd rather it go independent as opposed to Cedar Fair or Paramount owning it.[/quote]
Wow, I thought I was pretty much the only person on earth who thinks Cedar Fair or Paramount would be bad. I totally agree, though as someone pointed out SFOG won't be easily detached from the chain.

[quote]Busch Gardens doesn't want any SF parks, I'm sure.[/quote]
St Louis, if any. I think SF is stingy with the park though.

[quote=coasterlove]I can't understand why anyone would be happy about Snyder taking over. It doesn't mean better parks, just more commercialized ones. I know some people want a change in the Six Flags management (I don't know why since the chain has seen major improvements the last few years) but wouldn't you want to see a change that means a better product?[/quote]
I firmly believe that Snyder's plans will in the end create more revenue, profits and the whole bunch, giving the parks more money for capital improvements, salaries, training, upkeep budgets etc. I really believe, after reading through all of the RZ stuff, that Snyder will vastly improve the company. With more money, the parks could get more/better new attractions, higher quality staff, rejuevenated appearence... and doesn't all of that kind of stuff add up into how good a park is?

[quote]So if that's you want for Six Flags, then feel good about the fact that Snyder may in fact take over.[quote]
And I am! In fact, I recently doubled the amount of stock I own in SFI, I think once the deal goes through I will bump that up even more :)

[quote]You think going to an amusement park now is expensive, wait till Snyder takes over.[/quote]
Or go to a Florida park. They are the generally most expensive parks in the nation, yet millions upon millions of people flock every year. Why? Because they are good parks and worth the money.

[quote=Jhcbiinoc]-No new coasters in any of the parks for a long time, and the coasters they do get will be all very tame-light on thrills and heavy emphasis on family rides.[/quote]
The proposals only call for an end to coasters that are too pricey for what they return in terms of reliability and the such. (AKA Kingda Ka :rolleyes:)

[quote]-Over pricing. While the Six Flags pricing structure now is not ideal, and needs fixing, I anticipate it could go ridiculously high with Red Zone in charge.[/quote]
What is redicuously high? SF is already cheap compared to others in the industry, especially their season passes.

[quote]Looking at SF's investments in the past year, and the way I have seen improvements in park ops, I think they are actually *starting* to turn things around. Their new additions for this year seem to be better thought out than in recent years, and it seems as if things are cleaning up.[/quote]
I agree, this year has been great, and I knew it would be way back in March. That doesn't mean I don't want Snyder to come in, $2+ billion is still out there, and from the dum dums in control now.

[QUOTE=BobFunland]I firmly believe that Snyder's plans will in the end create more revenue, profits and the whole bunch, giving the parks more money for capital improvements, salaries, training, upkeep budgets etc. I really believe, after reading through all of the RZ stuff, that Snyder will vastly improve the company. With more money, the parks could get more/better new attractions, higher quality staff, rejuevenated appearence... and doesn't all of that kind of stuff add up into how good a park is?[/QUOTE]

There's not much I can say since anything I say, you say or anyone else is just a matter of opinion since nobody knows for sure what will happen. I will say though that while what you say could happen, I strongly but respectfully disagree.

As for what you said about the Florida parks, I think that's because of two big issues. One is that Florida is very tourism heavy and the other is that Universal, Disney and Busch are big names and all advertise nationwide.

I don't dispute that they're good parks but look at a California park, Disney California Adventure aimed to be more of a thrill park but really hasn't lived up to that or even just being a great park. It's high in commercialism and does great because of the name Disney. So what I'm saying is, is just because a park has high attendance doesn't mean it's neccessarily a great park.

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[QUOTE=BobFunland]

The proposals only call for an end to coasters that are too pricey for what they return in terms of reliability and the such. (AKA Kingda Ka :rolleyes:)[/QUOTE]

I was not aware of that part. That to me actually makes sense.

My personal opinion is that this year, SF has played it smart with their coaster additions: Three custom B&M coasters, two of them tried and true designs that are focused on a quality ride rather than breaking records, (the Hypers), and one that is a record breaker but that is a variation on a design that has been tested and popular (the Flyer), all three built by a company known for reliability, safety, comfort and popularity with the GP and a wooden coaster that is said to offer a smoother ride than most and while it is a record breaker, it goes for steepest drop rather than trying to be a 250+ foot wooden coaster.

Not only that, they were pretty shrewd with where they added them-the markets where they will end up creating more revenue.

[QUOTE]What is redicuously high? SF is already cheap compared to others in the industry, especially their season passes.[/QUOTE]

Well, high for me would be over the $125 I just paid for the Xtreme Pass at SFMM. If he were to raise them to $150-175 and then add blackout dates, etc.....I'd still pay for them, but I would think that a bit much.

[QUOTE]I agree, this year has been great, and I knew it would be way back in March. That doesn't mean I don't want Snyder to come in, $2+ billion is still out there, and from the dum dums in control now.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm not saying that the current management is the brightest bunch.....I think they went a little crazy and now they are paying for it and it may be a case of "too little too late".

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"Strange how laughter looks like crying without sound, and raindrops taste like tears, tears without the pain."