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Old 12-05-2012, 10:01 AM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,753,815 times
Reputation: 5702

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Quote:
parking is too high and the crappy food is too expensive. The $1 soda refill is the best thing SFOG offers.
MARTA runs a shuttle from HE Holmes station. You can bring in your own food and water, buy a locker for $7 and use it. Six Flags just added a new ride this year, not talking about the flight coaster either.
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Old 12-05-2012, 01:26 PM
 
9,008 posts, read 13,994,443 times
Reputation: 7638
You could go on and on all day long about all the problems SFOG has. There are obvious theme park issues in that the park just doesn't have the same quality rides as similaryly sized parks in similar cities.

However, without spending any real money, the park could vastly improve with better operations. As was stated, SFOG has no real clue as to how to accomodate crowds and they will operate a single train on busy days for a coaster than can easily accomodate two or three trains. You may save a tiny bit of money by limiting the trains, but you lose a ton with patrons that see the lines and decide to never come back.

You also have to spend a lot more time properly training your staff. Yeah, I know they are high school kids with summer jobs and I also understand that they aren't going to be Disney quality people. But you still have to at least hire outgoing kids who seem to have fun with their jobs, who know how to make customers feel safe, and who don't allow their nasty friends to sneak into the park free and cut in line. Line cutting is a huge problem at SFOG and nobody does anything about it. At most quality parks, they instantly expel line cutters. Controlling this problem doesn't cost the park anything but makes a huge difference in the experience for the customers. Consider how much of a better job Disney does and realize that they don't pay their people any more money and it's not like they have access to some secret stash of professional theme park ride operators. They just hire high school kids who live in Orlando and we hire kids who live in Atlanta, so you should be able to get a quality that at least starts to slightly resemble what they have achieved. The real difference is they just have excellent management.

Another thing SFOG needs to figure out is a line management system. Last time I was there you could purchase the device that reserves a space in line, but that is an old model. Most decent parks nowadays don't charge for this service anymore, they just give it to you. Maybe SFOG has caught on, I haven't been there in a few years, but I suspect they haven't.

When I was a high school kid living in Alabama, we came to Six Flags all the time. It was kind of grungey and needed improvement even back then, but it's amazing to see just how far it has collapsed in the past 10-15 years. It's frustrating to know that ultimately a lot of money needs to be spent to bring the park up to par, but it could be made leaps and bounds better by spending just a little or even no extra money just by getting some decent management in there.

I suspect it will be out of business by 2025. At least it will be fun to sneak into old abandoned Six Flags and take pictures of the remains.
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Old 12-05-2012, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,242 posts, read 6,213,341 times
Reputation: 2778
Quote:
Originally Posted by cqholt View Post
MARTA runs a shuttle from HE Holmes station. You can bring in your own food and water, buy a locker for $7 and use it. Six Flags just added a new ride this year, not talking about the flight coaster either.
What is that?

I know they are taking down the wheelie and putting a new really tall swing ride.
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Old 12-05-2012, 02:20 PM
 
10,974 posts, read 10,827,136 times
Reputation: 3435
I would love for Six Flags to be open 24/7/365 for my convenience. But they are a business, they will stay open when they think they can make money. I will go and spend my money there when it fits my schedule and want to go.
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Old 12-05-2012, 02:40 PM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,237,423 times
Reputation: 8004
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLTJL View Post
Consider how much of a better job Disney does and realize that they don't pay their people any more money and it's not like they have access to some secret stash of professional theme park ride operators. They just hire high school kids who live in Orlando and we hire kids who live in Atlanta, so you should be able to get a quality that at least starts to slightly resemble what they have achieved. The real difference is they just have excellent management.
I'm sure the management is far better at Disney, but I would be very interested in seeing a breakdown of Six Flags vs. Disney in terms of pay, benefits and incentives, career opportunities, etc. It's probably safe to assume that Disney outclasses Six Flags by a wide margin.
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Old 12-05-2012, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Savannah GA
13,709 posts, read 21,820,206 times
Reputation: 10184
I've always thought that the main reason SFOG had such a limited operating season was due to the fact nearly all their employees are teenagers -- high school or college students who simply aren't available any other time of the year. Even then, they have a hard time staying fully staffed with dependable kids even during the summer from what I've heard.

I don't know how the Orlando theme parks manage to stay open year round, other than the fact they employ mostly adults willing to work for a pitiful wage.
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:26 PM
 
368 posts, read 537,219 times
Reputation: 278
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLTJL View Post
SFOG has gone downhill, but the fact of the matter is it has always been pretty much the worst park in the entire Six Flags chain.

Goliath is the first decent ride the park has gotten in the past decade and I'm pretty sure we were the last Six Flags park in the country to get a hyper coaster. If not the last, then one of the last.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

SFOG is regarded by coaster enthusiasts as one of the best parks in the Six Flags chain. On Theme Park Review it has 4 stars: Theme Park and Roller Coaster Index - Photos,Reviews,Videos for hundreds of Theme Parks and Roller Coasters . There are only 3 Six Flags Parks with a higher rating. The love SFOG so much they have a yearly event: Deep South Bash 2012 - Six Flags Over Georgia - Theme Park Review .

And SFOG was certainly not the "last Six Flags park in the country to get a hyper coaster."
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags Marine World, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and Six Flags St. Louis still don't have a hyper coaster. Several parks formerly owned by Six Flags (Six Flags Ohio, Elitch Gardens, Kentucky Kingdom, SF Belgium, SF Holland) never had a hypercoaster. Six Flags Astroworld never got one before it closed in 2005.
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Georgia native in McKinney, TX
8,057 posts, read 12,804,850 times
Reputation: 6318
It is sad that as you age the thrill goes out for a lot of these rides. I don't know if it is the inner ear or what but I just don't like them anymore, too rough, make me quesy. Never had a problem with them as a teen or twentysomething. Getting older sucks.

It has been at least 10 years since I have been to SFOG and was sad how it had deteriorated from the park of my youth in the 70s and 80s. It was always immaculate back then. Still, I found it in better shape than its Texas sister. The Texas park is still popular, but it has aged too and wasn't in the best shape in a visit a few years back, found it even more depressing than SFOG.

But no one does theme parks like the Orlando resorts. I am at the age where I like the feel, the design , the gardens, the upkeep, the live shows... that kind of thing moreso than super jarring rides. In that sense, the folks in Orlando, no matter if it is Universal, Disney or Sea World, know where and why and how there bread is buttered. Sometime you do get what you pay for.
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:47 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
21,007 posts, read 27,062,944 times
Reputation: 5976
I do not know how many parkgoers would be happy being outside partaking rides and shows in colder temperatures from November through March. Usually in colder months, people are going to stay inside rather than go to amusement parks. Staying open would require labor and many parkgoers, both likely hard to find.

I have not been to Six Flags in over 10 years. At the time of my last visit, it had more to offer than Carowinds.
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:48 PM
 
Location: Savannah GA
13,709 posts, read 21,820,206 times
Reputation: 10184
Just a thought ... but isn't it possible that SFOG has always been kinda crappy, but when we were younger we didn't realize it or simply overlooked it?

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