Originally Posted By seanyoda KABC just ran this story. The parks being considered are: Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor near Los Angeles, Six Flags Darien Lake near Buffalo, Six Flags Waterworld in Concord, Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver, Wild Waves and Enchanted Village outside Seattle, and Six Flags Splashdown in Houston. The Headline on <a href="http://www.themeparkinsider.com/" target="_blank">http://www.themeparkinsider.co m/</a> is "Good-bye Magic Mountain? Six Flags puts six parks up for sale or closure" The AP has the story "6 Flags Mulling Future of 6 Parks" <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060622/six_flags_parks.html?.v=1" target="_blank">http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060622 /six_flags_parks.html?.v=1</a> (if the link is messed up, use <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nxzog" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/nxzog</a> instead) MarketWatch has "Six Flags tumbles on deal proposal. Company looks to shed six noncore properties" <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?siteid=mktw&guid=" target="_blank">http://www.marketwatch.com/New s/Story/Story.aspx?siteid=mktw&guid=</a>%7B13A48EAC%2D425C%2D4608%2D9488%2D6B46F68DD184%7D& (again, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/n7sf8" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/n7sf8</a> just in case)
Originally Posted By leemac Thanks for the info seanyoda. Magic Mountain is "non-core"??? I'm not much of a Six Flags follower but I thought that park was regarded as one of the best. They keep adding coasters to it. Terrible timing to have to announce this. Just before the summer season.
Originally Posted By a1stav ^^^^ As far as I know MM it there flagship. (Well I guess the original SF over Texas is technically the flagship).
Originally Posted By schnebs According to postings I've read on Usenet from people that listened in on the meeting, Six Flags is arguing that since SFMM has always primarily been a thrill park, it really won't fit in with the new "family-friendly" direction that the company wants to pursue. Personally, I suspect that Six Flags is looking at the southern California housing market and realizes that there's probably a real estate developer who'd be willing to pay top dollar for the property. Considering the location (convenient to major freeways, scenic rolling hills, relatively little development surrounding the property), they've probably got a point. It'd be kind of ironic if SFMM was sold to a developer, closed and turned into housing. After all, part of the reason SFMM was conceived and built was as a way to draw people to (what was then) the boonies of Los Angeles County and give them a reason to buy homes in Valencia...
Originally Posted By a1stav ^^^^ I hope this is not true. MM is a great park. Man to see that place torn down for track homes makes me sick inside.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <After all, part of the reason SFMM was conceived and built was as a way to draw people to (what was then) the boonies of Los Angeles County and give them a reason to buy homes in Valencia... > Back in those days, Magic Mountain was a low-key, attractive park with fun rides, beautiful landscaping and a laid-back appeal. Today....it's none of those things.
Originally Posted By Ursula ^ Yeah, I remember it just like that, with those troll-thingies and that guy who built Colossus overnight. Anyone remember the glass-blowing and crafts area? I LOVED that area. I dipped so many candles, I think I drove my mom nuts.
Originally Posted By fkurucz Elitch Gardens is next door to the Pepsi Center. That is some fairly prime downtown real estate. Bye bye Elitch Gardens?
Originally Posted By fkurucz From the Denver Post: "The New York- based company said it's close to violating the terms of $1.04 billion of loans and is negotiating amendments with its banks." They need cash, and they need it fast. Selling MM for the land will definitely be a quick way of doing that.
Originally Posted By tuknshak We have family that live in Valencia who we have visited atleast 20+ times in the last seven years. I have to say I have never been once to SFMM even with them five minutes away. I have heard it has turned into not so nice of an environment with lots of gans. That might be playing part to ther low attendance/want to less the park. IMO.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Hey, I read on these message boards all the time 'It's all about business' 'Disneyland is a business' etc.. Well, so is Six Flags. And if the business ain't attracting the people, you have to take drastic measures. I went to Magic Mountain the last time in 2001 or so -- right when Goliath opened. It was a mere shadow of its former self. Filthy dirty, in need of a deep clean, mediocre staff, and a series of metal detectors to screen for guns and hypodermic needles. Family fun? I don't think so. I wouldn't miss Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Originally Posted By sherrytodd But I like our Six Flags Elitch Gardens. It's been a Denver Tradition. Every time I go there, the park seems pretty busy. Our park is already pretty family friendly so there was really no need to raise the season pass prices this year to get rid of the bad element. Gee and now they wonder why less people are showing up. It's not just teenagers that would be detered by higher ticket prices, it would be families too. Every year they would offer the family four pack season pass which they did away with this year. How is that attracting families?
Originally Posted By fkurucz I don't think the the "new" Elitch's has ever been successful. It's been through 3 different owners since it opened 10 years ago. Its a pretty unremarkable park IMO. I only go when its a freebie (i.e. my employer is having an Elitch's day in August).
Originally Posted By muffin12 Personnaly I am not surprised about the one in seattle I live right by it. When I was growing up my family went all summer long. But now admission is almost the same as disneyland.
Originally Posted By jazzfan4 MM has serious operational problems. I'm not a coaster nut but I have 4 son'a who are. last time they were at MM only one train was running on "X" and Goliath making wait time long hot and miserable. People don't pay for heat stroke more than once. "X" needs maintenance to smooth it out and restore it to glory.
Originally Posted By SuperDry "Six Flags' stock value plummets 25 percent" (in one day!): <a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3997755.html" target="_blank">http://www.chron.com/disp/stor y.mpl/business/3997755.html</a> "In recent months, the company has raised its prices for season passes in an effort to lessen the company's focus on teenagers and attract higher-paying visitors and families. Sales of season passes have fallen, but higher spending per visitor has not offset those losses." Doesn't look good, does it?
Originally Posted By Dirk_D_from_Oregon How can they build dozens of new coasters, spend millions and millions of dollars on new attractions only to shut the entire park down? How much could they possibly get for the land to make it work out?
