The 'Mr. Six' music is back: What's up with that?

June 20, 2007 at 11:57 AM · This blog flume entry simply seems like a lame attempt to bash Six Flags.

June 20, 2007 at 1:15 PM · It goes well with the ones that barely veil the Disney-bashing.

June 20, 2007 at 2:11 PM · I can't say I've noticed any major changes at SFOG, positive or negative. Then again, it seems that SFOG isn't plagued with all the problems and issues people associate with the rest of the chain...

June 20, 2007 at 2:46 PM · IMHO I liked the "Mr. Six theme song" and thought it was fun. I did miss hearing it in the park last season; however, how long can an ad campaign truly run without it becoming annoying?? So, I tend to agree with the new SF ownership to change their tune . . .and I am surprised to hear that song once again for new commercials for the St. Louis park. I think it was such a well-known theme-song for Mr Six that it will hard for people not to associate that song and him dancing, but, if it brings back fond memories of SF then go with it. Regarding changes to the parks: I am seeing good changes to the STL park, it still has a long way to go; however, they are improving. Noticable improvements such as pretty flowers all throughout the park; a nice afternoon parade, although it's still without floats, only moon cars and walking characters/dancers, but still, it's better than nothing at all; very good looking Justice League characters - my wife is infatuated with one Flash in particular; the new Tony Hawk coaster is a huge hit - very popular and very long lines; Johnny Rockets is cool to have; however, they are pricey, and several times they have screwed-up my order, and I've heard from others they have completely forgotten about orders - how can this happen? We have fireworks on Saturday nights at park close - very good idea. I think this park needs more attention from corporate, it's a great park, beautiful location, and has lots of potential. A new coaster for 2008 would be great, as well as a flat too.

June 20, 2007 at 2:59 PM · I would have to say that our Six Flags park (SFOG) has been a little disappointing this year. We got season passes last year (2006) with the opening of "Goliath" and promised improvements under new management. We visited numerous times, brought friends and family members (with the generous allotment of coupons for season pass holders) and agreed it was a great Summer. The park was noticably cleaner, operating hours were much improved and ride operations seemed to be more consistent. This year has seen a cutback in the operating hours (7:00 on June weekdays, this is a major theme park and tourist destination for GA ??), ride operations and even the quantity and quality of coupons given to season pass holders (Yes, I know I'm being picky here but the "coupons" factor into my decision matrix about the value of a season pass). Granted, they are still doing a pretty decent job of keeping the park clean, but I just get the feeling that their overriding concern (once again) is cost containment over long term customer satisfaction. That's my two cents on the matter.

June 20, 2007 at 3:23 PM · Hey, I'm not the one who called press conferences to trash previous Six Flags management and then did a tour of Wall Street to tell investors how much I was going to change the culture of the company.... only to bring the previous management's PR creative theme song back a year later.

Trust me, I know investment advisors who are concerned about the return of the music and whether it symbolizes a decision to reverse course on the new strategy that Snyder & Co. had promised. That's why I'm asking readers for their take on Six Flags current condition.

That's not bashing. It's reporting. :-)

June 20, 2007 at 6:33 PM · Discovery Kingdom in Nor Cal hasn't change a lot from last season when it was called Marine World. They just painted V2, put in some statues of giraffes at the entrance, and are putting in a "Thomas the Tank Engine" Town, which doesn't seem to connect at all with the animal theme that Six Flags seems to be going for with the new cheesy name. But the statues do help outside, and inside, the park. Minor improvement from last season. (Don't like V2 red and purple, much better blue and gold)

June 20, 2007 at 6:47 PM · Y'know what, Ed - you're right about the coupons. I was disappointed that there wasn't a Flash Pass coupon this year. I guess it's also a downer that they opted not to do a passholder appreciation day this year, but I understand that there's no way they could have made any money doing that. The cutback on the hours didn't bug me, as I'm rarely in the park later than 3, let alone 7.

June 20, 2007 at 7:30 PM · My park SFGAM has added a Wiggle's World which is a very nice addition for the kids. Other than that I havent seen many improvements in the park and they arent enforcing at all the smoking policies or cutting down on line jumping/vulgar language. And even worse this year is the amount of people running around the park in swimming attire.
I think the employee's are doing a good job on the rides and the park is clean, but they have commercialized the park so much with ads it taskes away from the limited attempts to actually theme it.

June 20, 2007 at 8:29 PM · Went to SFGA today. I have to say this was my most pleasant trip there in years. Park was spotless. I saw no out of control teens or vulgarity, and all the smokers I saw were in the little blue boxes. In 2005 it was so bad there I said I would never go back. 3 roller coasters up and running in the whole park, garbage everywhere and a less than desirable crowd. Last year they opened El Toro and I had to ride. A little bit better. Went back today and I felt I saw a lot of improvement. (it may be that the park was fairly quiet, crowds not too big, and I finally got to ride Kingda Ka) I did notice a lot of security walking around. I also noticed quite a few families.

June 21, 2007 at 6:24 AM · Hmmm... I've seen those commercials once or twice over the past couple months but didn't really give them much heed (I live near Magic Mountain). It'd be cool to see commercials like the mid-80's-era ones I remember enjoying as a kid. The first one I saw aired *the night before* our first MM trip--no kidding.

I'm in no hurry to go back to MM (went last August for the first time since 1995). I didn't have a bad time or anything but if it weren't for the coasters I'd have been bored out of my mind after a couple hours. (In all honesty I'd rather go to Disneyland again--it's absolutely impossible for me to get bored there.)

June 23, 2007 at 1:15 AM · My wife and I visited SF Magic Mountain a couple of months ago. I hadn't been since Goliath was the hot new ride so it's been a good while. I've been visiting the park for the past 30 years or so and have never seen it in such awful shape as it is now. Every single thing that is visible is badly in need of refurbishment. All the wood is cracked and starting to warp. The metal all has chipped paint and in some cases is rusting out. Any cloth that is outside is filthy and badly faded. The place looks like no one has done one bit of cosmetic maintenance for at least 3 years (and I only say that little because the sun is incredibly intense at MM... like a mini Palm Springs).

My wife actually got a little freaked out about how bad everything looked. We went on one coaster and she saw how a wooden railing next to the track was falling apart... some boards badly warped and a few missing completely and wondered if the coasters were maintained any better. It didn't help that when we went on the water flume ride, she could see right through the bottom of the boat into the water through a few holes.

What really aggravates me is that a some of this could be fixed easily and relatively cheaply. The metal surfaces, especially, could have been painted by a small crew in a short time during the off-season although the rusted areas would require a bit more work (most was not rusted though). The wood surfaces would require more raw materials and a carpenter or two but why not start working their way through the park this year? The longer they wait to start addressing these issues the more it will cost when they finally do as everything just continues to deteriorate.

I almost forgot, the employees were largely pathetic. I saw ride operators not paying attention to what was going on when coasters were loading and/or getting ready to launch. Many seemed to not care the slightest what was going on around them or about doing their jobs. The worst attitudes I have ever seen at any theme park.

So my impression of SFMM is that Snyder talks a good game but I see no indication that he and his backers are doing what it takes to make this a clean, comfortable environment for families and adults. It's nice that they've cut down on violence but that isn't enough. In Southern California there are too many well-run parks to waste my time going to a place that looks like the operators could care less about it.

June 26, 2007 at 3:48 AM · Well the Mr.Six music was always fun to hear, and is a great branding for SF Corp. Parks. But they really need to get it to gether and go back to basics, about theming...You all know i was SFGA park host for years...Actually worked way before SF took over...And belive me it was a pretty sad event..all the themring was taken away, in favor of high thrills, which is good but work it into whats there...On a vist to GA a week ago..its better but not much....Mark who worked with me on the western flume..should remember what it was like and try to return to its roots...bring back the great areana show...the street characters and all the land scaping and stuff that made it fun......

June 26, 2007 at 3:48 AM · Well the Mr.Six music was always fun to hear, and is a great branding for SF Corp. Parks. But they really need to get it to gether and go back to basics, about theming...You all know i was SFGA park host for years...Actually worked way before SF took over...And belive me it was a pretty sad event..all the themring was taken away, in favor of high thrills, which is good but work it into whats there...On a vist to GA a week ago..its better but not much....Mark who worked with me on the western flume..should remember what it was like and try to return to its roots...bring back the great areana show...the street characters and all the land scaping and stuff that made it fun......