Six Flags bets on AI, tech to improve guest experience

""Speedy Parking, a new toll plaza automated entry, uses computer vision and AI to recognize registered license plates, allowing automatic car entry within 3 seconds.""

Unless you're behind a car that's not registered that needs an actual person to help them pay for parking, or you realize you're in a family car (or rental) that's not registered to your account and need some help at the gate.

""New Six Flags Digital Wallet, soon to launch, will enable guests to access their loyalty benefits and use their favorite payment methods via the app, smartwatch, or wristbands across all our theme and water parks, eliminating the need for physical wallets.""

Why can't the app just integrate with Apple/Google Pay??? That's way simpler than Six Flags collecting, storing, and protecting (the most important part) credit card and other personal data into their own internal mobile wallet. The only way I see this ending is eventually every Six Flags App user getting free credit monitoring, because that's the typical concession/settlement when private personal data are compromised.

""New integrated, state-of-the-art, real-time video, and photo-capturing technology on our roller coasters, enabling guests to relive their exhilarating moments with instantly accessible, high-quality imagery that captures the thrill of each ride.""

Does anyone who has ever visited a Six Flags park really think they can produce what is promised here? They can barely maintain and staff a handful of ride photo booths at their most popular parks, and even then, the quality of those photos is mediocre at best. Where is Six Flags getting the capital to fund what would constitute a massive investment into on-ride photo/videos technology, something that even Disney and Universal have difficulty executing on just a small percentage of their attractions?

""Food and beverage self-serving kiosks [to] provide a seamless selection process while maximizing the benefits of guest passes."
"Order food using QR Codes or NFC technology at tables without having the need to download the app.""

Six Flags already has these, and they're subpar at best. I guess compared to ordering from an actual Six Flags employee, ordering from their mobile app can be considered groundbreaking, but the bar to clear here is miniscule at best. However, it doesn't matter how much you put into the mobile ordering tech, it still requires humans to expedite and deliver those orders in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner. That still means Six Flags has to invest in their employees, which brings us back to why their food service is so bad.

""Retail self-checkout options, available via kiosks or the app, [to] allow guests to quickly purchase merchandise without waiting in line.""

OK, so they're going to basically encourage guests to increase their retail shrinkage, sounds about right.

Sure, these are all grand and idealistic steps forward for the company, but if you think Six Flags has the capacity, capital, and know how to actually pull this stuff off, I've got an oceanfront property near Six Flags St. Louis to sell you.

Ultimately, all of this costs money, and not a single one of these initiatives could be funded completely by revenue generated by the individual service. So that means Six Flags is investing free cash into these or they plan on raising capital somewhere else (i.e. higher prices/fees or cutting costs somewhere else). While some of these are "nice to have", not a single one is worth paying extra for, so exactly why does think Six Flags, a company that has issues far more pressing than not being "tech-savvy", think it's worth spending money on this type of stuff?

Most of this isn't even AI, it's just upgrading their tech stack. The only AI implementations I can see from this are the automatic license plate reader & the drowning detection feature. I do wonder how that last one will actually be implemented.

I am interested in what the "AI drowning prevention system" entails, however. A video monitoring system that alerts lifeguards when someone is underwater too long? That could be immensely valuable, but I would love to hear more details about it.

Will the new technology keep me from getting shanked? Because that's my primary concern about visiting Six Flags.

Disney has ruined Disneyland by fetishing the app and forcing everyone to stare at their phones all day. Genie+, mobile ordering, remote check-in--every element of their new system is worse than what we had before.

But I'm sure it will work great for Six Flags *eyeroll*

So they’re using AI to push a bunch of features that don’t require AI and have been commonplace for years?

You don’t need a digital wallet, the phone you’re putting the app on already does that, AI for license plates? APNR has been doing that for ages. Mapping? Again, base feature of a modern phone. Self serve kiosks? Been using them for years before the AI fad..

As for retail self checkout, we recently discovered the Amazon AI self checkout was a bunch of people in a poorer country watching cameras, and the AI bit doesn’t work. Are they going to jump in to help drowning folks?

Seems to be a typical “let’s jump on a fad to please the shareholders”.

The only thing that Six Flags needs is a massive influx of capital and people that know what to do with it.

Based on my experience with some of this tech at Six Flags Magic Mountain...

-Speedy parking is very useful if those using it have properly inputted their information in the app. I can imagine how there could be delays if guests forget to do that step before visiting or input their license plate incorrectly. Fortunately, the park is pretty clear about which lanes are which and does have an employee stationed there in case the camera doesn't work right or there is some other technical issue.
-The new mobile app definitely functions better than what they had before (and also much better than Cedar Fair's updated app). I haven't tried mobile ordering with it yet, though, so I can't comment on that aspect.
-The ride photo and video systems actually work quite well, and they're automated so you just scan a QR code to get digital files, eliminating the need to have the booths staffed. The end product is quite cheesy, but that actually fits the character of Six Flags pretty well.
-Haven't gotten a chance to use the food kiosks yet, but they've definitely got a presence at select locations around the park and seem to help with the lines.
-Not sure about self checkout in stores, but the park does now have one of those Amazon style stores where you scan your credit card on entry, grab what you want, and walk out, which works great (but is only used on a tiny store that mostly sells consumables rather than souvenirs).
-Other stuff on the list either hasn't been implemented yet or I haven't used it.

As for whether it will work, I'm with Robert. I don't think anyone who wasn't already going to visit Six Flags is going to suddenly change their minds because of some small quality of life upgrades. However, if these do improve the visitor experience, it might drive more repeat visitation and/or higher guest spending, which is something Six Flags desperately needs right now. However, Six Flags needs to be careful not to go all in on tech at the expense of genuine customer interaction. Tools such as these are excellent supplements to tried and true person to person exchanges, but have a tendency to feel hollow if it's all that's on offer.