Six Flags a.k.a. Eleven Flags

[FelixDeCat]

Prior bad business decisions that carried forward finally brought down the venerable Six Flags:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...es&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

NEW YORK (AP) -- The amusement park company Six Flags is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it needs to reorganize and shed $1.8 billion of debt.

Mark Shapiro, the New York-based company's chief executive officer, says the move won't affect the operation of its 20 theme parks in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Six Flags says it actually had a great year in 2008. It saw 25 million visitors and posted record revenues. But executives are trying to lighten a $2.4 billion debt load that they say is unsustainable.

Saturday's bankruptcy filing came after earlier plan to negotiate an out-of-court deal with creditors failed.

Six Flags shares have traded below $1 since September. They closed at 26 cents on Friday.

I havent been to six flags since 2003. Sometimes Im in the mood for thrill rides, sometimes Im not. But knowing a bankrupt company is maintaining the rides now would make the rides even more thrilling!

More fun! More flags! Eleven flags!

/oldman

 

[lokiju]

Last year a kid got decapitated at the one in my area!

More fun!

 

[sjwaste]

What a sweet business model. Run up a bunch of debt, then file for BK without even having to interrupt your operations!

Besides their creditors, does anyone lose out on this deal?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Last year a kid got decapitated at the one in my area!

More fun!

That the jerk that hopped a fence and ran under a roller coaster to get his hat back?

 

[0roo0roo]

doesn't quite add up, profits++ and bankruptcy wtf were they borrowing money for?

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
What a sweet business model. Run up a bunch of debt, then file for BK without even having to interrupt your operations!

Besides their creditors, does anyone lose out on this deal?

investors ?

 

[waggy]

has to be more to it. kinda looks like a BK scam.


i hate going to Six flags. i don't like paying $50 to stand in line heh. though it is kinda worth it to go see all the hot girls in tanktops

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: lokiju
Last year a kid got decapitated at the one in my area!

More fun!

That the jerk that hopped a fence and ran under a roller coaster to get his hat back?

IIRC, yes.

The one in Louisville had the Superman ride snap a cable and cut a girls feet off a few years ago. I've only been to it one time and that was so my kids could see the Jonas brothers in concert.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: waggy
has to be more to it. kinda looks like a BK scam.


i hate going to Six flags. i don't like paying $50 to stand in line heh. though it is kinda worth it to go see all the hot girls in tanktops

Yeah, but this time of year you also have $5 drinks, 100 degree temps, smelly sweaty people and an occasional smoker or two. And if you get hungry in the park theres always the $5 curly fries.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat

Originally posted by: waggy
has to be more to it. kinda looks like a BK scam.


i hate going to Six flags. i don't like paying $50 to stand in line heh. though it is kinda worth it to go see all the hot girls in tanktops

Yeah, but this time of year you also have $5 drinks, 100 degree temps, smelly sweaty people and an occasional smoker or two. And if you get hungry in the park theres always the $5 curly fries.

And you are generally treated like a terrorist if you try to bring food into the park. Oh, and never bring small "Leatherman" keychain like tools there either. The rent a cop refused to let me into the park with my massive 5 in one keychain tool last year because it had a 2" blade on it. I could have thrown it over the fence into the bushes from the outside and walked in and picked it up. Hell, I could have thrown a M16 over the fence at that place and walked in and picked it up with all of the bushes against the chain link fence.

 

[se7en]

Seems like these places would be making a killing with how expensive stuff is there.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: waggy
has to be more to it. kinda looks like a BK scam.


i hate going to Six flags. i don't like paying $50 to stand in line heh. though it is kinda worth it to go see all the hot girls in tanktops

Lines, lines, lines!

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: se7en
Seems like these places would be making a killing with how expensive stuff is there.

During one of the worst recessions in the last 50 years? Buwhahahahah! :laugh:

It costs a lot of money to build and develop the parks not to mention the thousands of employees that they hire. "Industrial" stuff is very expensive (I know from experience).

 

[spaceman]

haha
maebe they make it back to riverside pahk in wspringfield

 

[se7en]

Originally posted by: Engineer

During one of the worst recessions in the last 50 years? Buwhahahahah! :laugh:

2008 they had a fantastic year.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: se7en

Originally posted by: Engineer

During one of the worst recessions in the last 50 years? Buwhahahahah! :laugh:

2008 they had a fantastic year.

Must not have been that good considering they they are filing bankruptcy....but, I have heard that many people are forgoing large vacations (to Florida, etc) in lieu of going to the local parks and spending much less. Maybe they did indeed have a "great" year yet their poor past decisions killed them.

Doh, that's what I get for not reading the OP entirely, lol!

FACEPALM!

 

[brxndxn]

They probably paid their executive level employees a ridiculous amount every year they were in business.. whether good or bad.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

It's a tough business. It might look like a money making machine to us, but the whole game is built on expansion and that costs a fortune. You've got to add a new roller coaster almost every year to attract customers and those are now costing more than $20 million dollars and a few as much as $40 million. You have to do it or you're doomed, so you do it even if you have to carry some significant debt and the next year you have to do it again. And again and again.

 

[se7en]

So which of our rollercoaster tycoon masters here are going to pony up and buy them out?

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Engineer

And you are generally treated like a terrorist if you try to bring food into the park. Oh, and never bring small "Leatherman" keychain like tools there either. The rent a cop refused to let me into the park with my massive 5 in one keychain tool last year because it had a 2" blade on it. I could have thrown it over the fence into the bushes from the outside and walked in and picked it up. Hell, I could have thrown a M16 over the fence at that place and walked in and picked it up with all of the bushes against the chain link fence.

An engineer rant. You dont see that too often.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat

Originally posted by: Engineer

And you are generally treated like a terrorist if you try to bring food into the park. Oh, and never bring small "Leatherman" keychain like tools there either. The rent a cop refused to let me into the park with my massive 5 in one keychain tool last year because it had a 2" blade on it. I could have thrown it over the fence into the bushes from the outside and walked in and picked it up. Hell, I could have thrown a M16 over the fence at that place and walked in and picked it up with all of the bushes against the chain link fence.

An engineer rant. You dont see that too often.

I've calmed down greatly since I got out of P&N!

Oh, and the bastard took my keychain tool and refused to "save" it for me (I'm sure he kept it for himself). I finally found the same one on eBay after about a week of searching and bought another one (cost me $15.00 but I've had it for over 10 years and use it constantly).

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat

Originally posted by: Engineer

And you are generally treated like a terrorist if you try to bring food into the park. Oh, and never bring small "Leatherman" keychain like tools there either. The rent a cop refused to let me into the park with my massive 5 in one keychain tool last year because it had a 2" blade on it. I could have thrown it over the fence into the bushes from the outside and walked in and picked it up. Hell, I could have thrown a M16 over the fence at that place and walked in and picked it up with all of the bushes against the chain link fence.

An engineer rant. You dont see that too often.

I've calmed down greatly since I got out of P&N!

Oh, and the bastard took my keychain tool and refused to "save" it for me (I'm sure he kept it for himself). I finally found the same one on eBay after about a week of searching and bought another one (cost me $15.00 but I've had it for over 10 years and use it constantly).

I would file a chapter 11 claim just to make a point.

 

[sswingle]

Six Flags has sucked for years. So glad that Cedar Fair bought one of the two in our state, and the other was so crappy the Columbus Zoo bought it.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: sswingle
Six Flags has sucked for years. So glad that Cedar Fair bought one of the two in our state, and the other was so crappy the Columbus Zoo bought it.

Its a sad shame, but because of all the bad people in our society, Six Flags has been a zoo for decades.

 

[ElFenix]

why is a tv producer running six flags? never could figure that one out.




the area where astro world used to sit is still vacant. thanks six flags!


six flags is one of the biggest clients of the marketing firm next door to us. wonder if i'll be filing some 11 claims