Anyone have problems with Six Flags Great Adventure besides me?
Six Flags Great Adventure: Long lines, malfunctioning equipment, less than helpful staff.
Has anyone had a REALLY bad experience at Six Flags Great Adventure besides me? One of their supervisors, Cody (Employee # 220) told me that malfunctioning equipment, hour long lines on most rides, except the most popular where I should expect 2 hour lines, and understaffing were part of the norm and to be expected. But then I went on a weekday (Monday) where the weather report was rain. It was sunny, but I hoped that the expectation of rain would lessen the lines.
Are my expectations too high? For $50 a ticket, and I expecting too much?
If there are any attorneys out there who think this might be a good class action suit, count me in.
Larry
Great Adventure has some great rides, but you do have to hit them on a good day. When I went the rides seemed to malfunction and go up and down throughout the day. That happens at other parks, just it has never seemed to happen nearly as much as it did at Great Adventure. As far as lines, on a weekend one to two hour waits seems about normal really. For a park with its location(being close to Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark, and New York City), heck, even during the week I bet it is pretty crowded. My only other main complaints were that the staff is overall not as friendly and helpful as parks like Hershey or Cedar Point and the grounds and rides were definitely not as well kept as more premier parks. I just went into it with the mindset that it is a Six Flags park, and I had a blast! (oh, and I guess it did help ease the pain that I already had a nice cheap outer market Six Flags season pass from SFOT) I would definitely go back if I already had my season pass and was in the area though.
I absolutly loved SFgradv. I went in May on a Monday and even then it had hour waits except Skull mountain and GramScreamM. KK was probably a good 1hr and a half wait but I got the flash pass gold which was wonderful. The longest wait I had was 15mins for KK. The only time I noticed ride breakdowns was KK of course when it started raining that day. (BTW the rain didnt run the crowds away at all like it does at most places). IMO I was very pleased with the park. Im sorry you had a bad time.
I also loved my trip there yesterday (see my post up today). The staff we encountered were mainly friendly and helpful (I agree Hershey is a bit friendlier). Also, El Toro was down (not really their fault though, it appears) and Kingda Ka went down a number of times during the day as I believe a number of other coasters did too (I kept getting messages on the Gold flash pass like "Medusa is now running"; another plus for getting the flash pass). Overall, I think they can definitely improve the park a lot, but for $25 (2 for 1 with the coke can), it was a great day. Also, it was really hot yesterday and thunderstorms were forecasted, so maybe that kept some people away; it didn't seem overly crowded (much of the VIP parking was empty, if that means anything).
I went on Wednesday and loved it. The park is fun and filled with rides, El Toro was also down when we went. King Da Ka went down once for a half hour when we were in line. That was the only problem though. It wasn't over crowded like i had imagined it would be. The line for Nitro they said was 60 min but it felt more like 20. I think they say it's more when it's really less so you get a flash pass. Well sorry you had a bad time.
An employee told me about the Flash Pass, after I was already in the park and on my 3rd line of more than 1 hour. He did mention that they were $35 additional, for each person. I guess I just expect tooooo much. Do I need to pay $85 per person to stand in shorter lines? This isn't DisneyWorld. Did anyone notice the Security Guards that are doubling as cleaners with their sticks (to pick up the trash)? I heard a woman complan that when she needed help with security, they were more interested in picking up the trash than in helping her with some people that were cutting the lines.
From James Rao
Posted August 7, 2008 at 4:25 AM
It's Six Flags, man! They are losing money so fast it would make your head swim! They don't have a budget for esoteric things like customer service training programs, cleaning supplies, or ride maintenance. In this day and age of "operating in the red" we should just be happy when we come home from a day at Six Flags with all our limbs attached (no disrespect to anyone injured at SF intended).
The best thing that could happen to Six Flags would be an InBev takeover bid....
From Greg Bark
Posted August 7, 2008 at 4:24 AM
I'm not sure how everyone had friendly staff at Hershey. About a month ago, I went, and some of the employees were nice, but quite a few were rude, unhelpful, and not too bright. For example, I tried to hit Storm Runner after Fahrenheit in the morning. But when I got to the ride, it was closed. My group asked the person at the entrance what happened. She was very friendly about this matter. She said that she had know idea what was wrong with it. It appears that the manager just called in and said "close the ride". He gave no reason. I think he's the rude one in this situation because I have concluded that he's just trying to save money on operating costs. Then, that night, we tried to get an ice cream. At a distance, we looked at the menu board and everyone had decided what they wanted. Keep in mind that the shops stay open half an hour after park closing. It was nowhere near then. Get this: as soon as we made our way to the counter, the girl running it began closing all of the ordering windows, AS SOON AS SHE SAW US WALKING TO THE COUNTER! Then every person working there ran away and hid in the back. After a few direct insults towards them, we ended up stopping at Dunkin Donuts for dessert, though the smoothie I got was quite tasty. Am I the only one whose experienced this at the sweetest place on Earth?
Umm this is about Six flags not Hershey.
Yeah, where did you pick up hershey from?
How can Six Flags be losing money when the park is packed all the time and the average wait is 1.5 hours?
From James Rao
Posted August 14, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Because previous to the current "I wanna be like Disney" regime, Six Flags execs spent all their time and money catering to teenage thrill seekers who have very little disposable income. Now they are trying to capture the lucrative family market, but it is very hard to clean up a tarnished image.
From James Rao
Posted August 18, 2008 at 7:28 AM
Maybe the "We wanna be like Disney" mantra is sinking in? Six Flags just announced that revenues are up along with attendance:
"NEW YORK, Aug. 14 -- Six Flags, Inc. announced today that with just over two weeks remaining in its full-time operating season, revenues for its third quarter through August 12, 2008 have increased approximately 7.6%, or $23.5 million, over the prior-year period on fewer park operating days. The revenue increase is attributable to attendance growth of 5.1%, or 407,000, to 8.43 million guests and a 2.4%, or $0.92, increase in total revenue per capita to $39.55. Guest spending, which excludes sponsorship, licensing, and other fees, grew by 1.6%, or $0.60, for the period to $38.56."
While the company is still operating in the red for 2008, at least it is headed in a positive direction. I just hope some of this new "family oriented focus" filters down to SF St Louis...I have rescheduled my trip to the St Louis park for the start of the 2009 season. Shapiro and Company have a year to get their park in Eureka, MO, in order!
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