Ok, I was looking into buying Six Flags tickets online since we are stopping at SFKK on the way home from Holiwood Nights at the end of May.

When I got to ticket pricing, was fine, but they now charge you $5 to print your tickets at home? My god, you want to save money, but you are gonna get charged for printing tickets at home on your own paper, printer and ink?

Does anyone else find this a little ridiculous? I mean I know Ticketmaster loves to rape you on charges with tickets, but now amusement parks?

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

I had to pay for shipping for my processed renewed online season pass as well. In these times I was trying to save as much as possible. I put off including parking until I went the beginning of the season. I think now more than ever Mr. Six wants you to get a season pass. The shipping/printing upcharge would be minimized to one time.

Comcast Spectator, owner of the Flyers and Sixers, Comcast Tix, would charge you $2.50 to print at home. I'd rather have the hard ticket as a reminder than.

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

Live Nation too! "Processing fee", "ticket fee (????)", and "charity fee"!

But, yeah I think its ridiculous as well. The park is already going off of the high chance the GP will either lose, not use, or destroy the e-ticket and have to rebuy as it is. I think printing them at home should be, as it was for all those years, free.

__________________

For what its worth.. ScreamScape is making too big of a deal out of this. Cedar Fair has the same kind of fees for its print at home tickets.

Thanks for the info James. The last print at home ticket I bought was in 2006 for PGA. It was a free print.

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

I actually don't even read screamscape, but thanks for letting me know that too!! :-)

I don't agree with anyone charging to print at home for tickets. Especially when you use your printer, ink and paper. I mean, what else are they going to charge you? They don't charge you that price when you buy at the gate....why when you are trying to save a little money?

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

I think instead of charging people to print tickets, just raise the season pass prices. They are way to cheep. Yes, it is wonderful for people to buy a season pass for $89.99, but it is really cheep, since it gets you into all SF parks. What they really need to do is get into the Tier system that Cedar Fair and has.

__________________

My Kings Island tckets were free to print at home (at least I think they were). But these fees I come to expect, sure you complain for a minute or two, but you end up going anyway and you forget while the rich get richer, so what, nothing new. But it goes to show, even the little things can be upsetting, and the problem is that there are more of these little things than we would like to admit. But rest assured, there is nothing we can do about it...

__________________
Thank you for riding Reaper! Drop Ride to Doom, and remember to desecrate a sanctuary today.

I agree with James on this, it's just getting blown out of proportion.

Plenty of companies are already charging to print at home, so it's nothing new. At least buying tickets online (usually) saves you money, so the $5 isn't that big of a deal.
I recently had to pay $2.50 per ticket to buy my dad Oakland A tickets, which had no discount applied at all.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

Most places charge a transaction free to buy tickets on line. normally 1-2 dollars. Movie tickets.com dose it also. I know that SFI offers 3 dollars or so off the tickets but I think it's the high $5 dollar price that is causing a complaint.

__________________
Michael C

Well the way I see it is this.

I have a family of 4. Three of which are over the 48 inch height limit that they sell tickets for. So, I either pay full price at the gate or try to save money by buying them online and not having to wait in line at the gate.

It's like a catch 22 here. I am trying to save money because this is the only vacation I get this year and now I have to fork out more money because I want a convenience option? That's bull.

This is why I don't go to events anymore because of the ridiculous fees attached when dealing with tickets. I think I will find out if AAA has tickets for SFKK otherwise, we may not go just on that factor alone. I was only going to credit whore then leave.

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

So this is in the name of new credits?

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

Well yes and no. I think it's ridiculous to charge that much to print my tickets at home. That's 15 more dollars I have to spend just for no more then three hours in the park.

I won't be getting back there anytime soon, so I want to be able to justify spending the money there.

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

Katie, AAA has the tickets for $17+ on the web site, so thats pretty darn good.

__________________
Life is a journey....enjoy the ride....

Great thank you for the tip. I will definitely be getting those tickets. They are worth the 2-4 possible hours that we will be in the park!

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

Also ask they can sometimes offer reduced parking tickets.

So many parks offer the same thing with only a dollar transaction free. Santa's village in NH started the online ticket sales mid summer and say 2,200 purchased.

__________________
Michael C

While I thought SF offering free print at home tickets was mighty decent of them, I'm really not surprised by this move.

I think its bologna though, it doesn't cost the company anything to let you print them out.

Ticketmaster charges like 6 bucks to print out tickets to a show, and even if you buy Angel tickets at home its like 4. I refuse to pay these charges sometimes and decide to just go by them at the location. Oh well, the good ol days are slowly ending...

Ummm...I don't think Cedar Fair charges anything to print out tickets online. I just bought my season pass there, and it was $160. Exactly.
And I think it stinks that any company charges people to print out tickets at home. Like said above, it costs the company NOTHING to give you a URL to go to to get your receipt. Then, the PURCHASER must spend money on paper and ink, not the company. It's much like txting. Phone companies would RATHER have you txting. It takes up virtually no bandwith to send a text, much less than it does to send a call. Yet, they charge you for the ability to text. BS, if you ask me.

__________________
AP Classes are so worth it...

Katie, I could be mistaken, but it's my understanding that it's only five dollars per transaction, not per ticket.

While $5 to me seems outrageous as well. Having the convenience of printing tickets at home may cost them money. I have noticed when you go to buy Dollywood tickets online the beginning of the address is websales.omniticket.com. So its an outside company hosting the ticket transaction who probably inturn charge the park each time someone uses there service. However I HIGHLY doubt a company charges Six Flags $5 each transaction. So there for I believe Six Flags is doing an over kill on passing off the overhead of their print at home tickets.



*EDIT: Just check out Screamscape after I posted this. And here is what they have to say:

__________________

You know, its not so much the fact they charge for it but the fact that they hide the charges until you've set everything up and have your credit card out to pay.

"Oh yeah, we forgot to mention this extra $5 fee we charge for the hell of it, you know, to give you some foreplay as to hard we're gonna screw you once you actually get to our park" is the only message it sends to me.

Honestly, this just seems like "let's bash Six Flags for whatever they do next."

Ticket sites, travel sites, airline sites, etc etc all charge these "hidden" fees right at the end when you have your credit card out. It's nothing new, yet when a company like Six Flags (who everyone loves to bash) does it, all the complaining and moaning comes out.

At least the company is telling you that they are charging it. I hate when they roll everything into one lump sum; it makes it seem that much more expensive.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

Actually, airlines do say what they are charging you for when it comes to fees. It's outrageous, but we pay them to fly.

Six Flags prices are steep at some parks. SFKK is not one of them, but when I go to buy less expensive tickets on their website (they offer the discount mind you) I shouldn't be charged any fee to print it out of my printer with my ink and paper. That's crap.

I don't use travel sites, they are a waste of my time and are ridiculously over priced.

For instance...I booked a hotel room at Santa's Lodge in Santa Claus. I was quoted one price in January and then when I checked my confirmation on their site and called them, the price was raised up over 20 dollars each night. I was unhappy and cancelled my reservation and called Lake Rudolph and got a better deal on a King Sized RV (about the same size as my hotel room, but with more to use...aka stove, fridge, etc.) for over 100 bucks less.

Now I know they raised the prices due to Holiwood Nights, but come on!! They were going to charge me almost 400 bucks, when I got a King Sized RV for 288. Santa's Lodge had over 50 bucks in taxes and Inn fees. RIDICULOUS!

I am not just saying it about Six Flags, notice I did say Ticketmaster in my original post as they are known for charging outrageous fees for any ticket purchased.

So, as my long rant continues, 5 dollars or not eats out of my vacation budget for something as a piece of paper (which I paid for) and my ink (which yet again, I paid for) instead of standing in line. That's crap. Seriously now.

I know that Knott's and some other Cedar Fair parks charge that kind of fee, but not that high. I am willing to pay 1 dollar to print it out, but 5 is pushing it. Sorry, that's my belief and I am sticking to it. I bought my tickets through AAA for 6 dollars less then what the park offered AND I didn't have to pay the fee. So, I got one up on Six Flags.

__________________
~ThrillNetwork's Social Networking Director~
This signature is up for rent.

Aint AAA great Katie? They even have a good deal on SFoG tickets...I feel why most people complain about Six Flags in general is they already more than everyone else for so many other things, such as parking...$15...rediculous....oh well, atleast the passes are a very good value, which I am thankful for.

__________________
Life is a journey....enjoy the ride....

Katie,
I don't want to get off topic here, but that hotel is messed up. Any hotel I've ever booked at an advertised rate, kept that rate. If they charge more, it's easy to complain unless the fine print said something about it. My parents booked a hotel for the NHL draft a few months back at a lower rate because they knew if they waited hotels would just raise the price because rooms would get harder to find.
Travel sites have always saved me money; in February I needed a hotel for a night in Orlando and found a great one across the street from the airport for $70 CDN and that included a buffet breakfast, suite, and free shuttle. I checked the hotel's site, and for the same room they were charging well over $100 US.

Any airline and travel site I've used always give me the "hidden" fees at the end when I'm about to pay, showing them up front is pretty dumb if you ask me. Example, two airlines can be having a sale for the same route, one showing the fees up front, one waiting till the end. The one waiting will be advertised at something like $50 each way, while the other will be $75 each way. Which one do you think 90% of people will book?

But that's all besides the point. Chances are Six Flags isn't charging the $5 to screw anyone over, it's to pay for an outside company handling the process.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

Paying to print tickets at home doesn't make any sense to me. It seems like it'd make more sense for them to charge for going to the gate to get your tickets. That way they could encourage people to do it at home and cut back on staff.

Six Flags America season passes are still $50, which is very low considering it gets you into all the parks. Every coaster fan in the Mid-Atlantic should be getting those tickets.

__________________
Home Park: Busch Gardens Europe

I just bought my pass a few days ago. I didn't mind paying the extra $5 to print. Their passes are so dirt cheap.

By charging very low online prices, they are encouraging more people to buy at home instead of the gate, like you stated.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

I have to agree. People will think twice about buying a ticket with a $5 dollar fee. If it was only 1 - 1.5 people woudl feel less cheated. they would be more likely to use the service.

__________________
Michael C