The Death of Six Flags Just Got Worse 

you cant be a park primarily targeted to families who cant afford places like disney...and raise prices at a time where the middle class is actively dying out

As an EX six flags employee, I will say these parks are very disfunctional. They are poorly maintained and management keeps cutting budget to the point where all you can do is go on rides and that's it. So if a ride breaks down for a few hours, there is no entertainment or shows to go watch while the get the ride up an running again. If you got to universal or Busch Gardens even Disney, they spend millions a year on entertainment. They need to stop building rides, and fix up what they already have. 1. hire landscaper to gut the old and plant new, creatively. 2. hire entertainment maybe even celebrity appearances for addition cost. 3. start park opening and/or park closing shows IE, water, lights lasers, fireworks 4. pay for music licensing for park music, ensure park speakers are working. 4 clean up rides, repaint them, update some visuals, nothing cheesy. if you do all this, people will return.

In it's early days Six Flags was a completely different experience, much closer to Disney. There were actually a lot of musical, comedy, action, etc. shows at Six Flags, so like Disney you could take a break between rides, rest, and cool off. The employee to guest ratio and the park and cleanliness was close to Disney. They would greet you walking around and it felt like a real theme park. But that changed long before even the current downfall, and by the 90's it was pretty much all about the rides. Companies sometimes lose sight of what brought them success trying to make an extra 10%, and then have trouble getting back to it. And as a customer, the idea of them getting by with fewer employees running rides doesn't give me a great feeling about safety being a priority.

We stopped going to Six Flags Atlanta years ago. It was totally unsafe for families. The park was overrun with unruly teens. They were cutting lines, yelling profanities, starting fights, etc. No security in the park itself. All of the security staff were just milling around the entrance area. The rides were primarily operated by teens who were more interested in their cell phones than in actually checking that the guests were safely strapped in. We got off three rides before they started due to the staff not checking that everyone was secured in the seats. I complained to a person that looked like some sort of a supervisor and was told to leave if I didn't like what was happening. We did, and never looked back.

He fired people I worked with who had been with the company over TWENTY YEARS with little to same-day notice of termination. Absolutely ridiculous and killing the company from the inside out.

this past summer i took my girlfriend to six flags over texas and when i tell you it was one of the worst things that we could've done. there were multiple rides closed, a worker told me it was due to the "lack of staff". what makes me mad is that i paid for tickets to ride ALL the rides not a FEW of the rides.

It never occured to me as a child the things that would change as we grew up. Nearly everything from my childhood memories has closed and become only nostalgia. You don't think about these things until you're older. Although we don't go back to these places, they are places we love to see the next generation enjoy. It's scary knowing how fast life passes us up. Always be thankful for today, and remember every day is a memory, so make it a great memory to be had.

Went to six flags for possibly the last time this year. got tickets free from work for me and the wife. We were shocked to find out that parking had been raised to $40 dollars (I think 60 for preferred parking). Inside the park was pretty much empty. I was able to ride every major coaster before lunch (the ones that were open anyway). This was nice since that's the only reason I come to the park, however there was a strange dystopian vibe from the emptiness of the park that made me want to leave as soon as I was done riding the coasters.

It's simple. Bring back Mr. Six.

Six flags is trying to pull a Disney but they fail to understand one major thing.... DISNEY IS NOT PLAYING THE AMUSEMENT PARK GAME. Disney is selling the Disney experience... no one can compete with that experience... it's its own entire thing.

This may be something exclusive to me but, part of the fun and excitement of going to a huge park like Six Flags or anything like that is seeing so many other people also being excited to have fun with their friends and family too. It's no wonder his strategy failed. A lot of people probably agree or feel similar. I also vaguely remember the teenage girl getting both her feet severed. So, if rides aren't safe, prices are high, and no ones there, what exactly IS the entire point of going? It would feel depressing just being there, even more so when you get on a roller coaster and no ones there to scream and put their hands up with you.

My family of 4 have had a membership to Six Flags for over 7 years. In the beginning we would make the 45 min drive to Magic Mountain about once a month. For a couple of years we even had the food passes for me and my wife that gave you lunch and snack, then dinner and snack at around $80 each for the year. This was great because between the 4 of us we could all eat during each visit and it paid for itself in 2 visits because the price of the food was crazy. Then it just got worse, less options for meals and half of the places you could choose from would be closed. Huge lines to order in the places that are open because there are only 2 of the 8 registers open and 65% of the people in line just want a drink refill. The heat in CA is really the killing factor for Magic Mountain. It's built in the desert, so you think they would have plenty of shade for the guests that are waiting 1 to 3 hours in line for a ride.. nope! It's just gotten worse, as they build more rides it feels like less thought goes into how they are going to funnel guest to it. Trees and areas that used to be great places to relax and stay cool have been removed and replaced with concrete. The staff has just gotten bitter it seems over the past few years. They are not taken care of by the company and they pass that distain for their employer directly on to the guest. It's really rare to find anyone working at the park that really cares that the guest are the people that are the reason for their paycheck. We only go about 2 or 3 times a year now, and it's not during the summer. Haven't been to Hurricane Harbor in years. It's extremely overcrowded and dirty. The last time we did go we were there for about 5 hours and were only able to ride 2 of the rides, and the lazy river was practically shoulder to shoulder. It's just not enjoyable anymore. The events that used to be good are now just a money grab. Fright Night used to be fun until they started charging extra for the mazes. The only good thing about it now is being able to ride Tatsu in the dark, if its running, and if it's not a 3 hour wait... Writing all this out has really made me second guess why I still pay for these passes... I honestly would rather drive 2 hours to go to Knotts where they still have shows and an atmosphere that feels welcoming, and way better food...

The last time I went to six flags it wasn't too bad. They had these incredible murals made of chewing gum stuck onto all the trees that you can look at while you wait for the ride. And the lucky people on the superman ride got to be on it for almost an hour.

If Six Flags goes out of business I’d love to see a new company (not Cedar Fair or any other preexisting group) swoop in and buy the liquidated parks and bring them back to life. I feel like we’re long overdue for a new take on theme parks!

I spent $325 with my kids to attend Great Adventures this year. What I saw since I last visited back in 2016 was the park was mostly the same and less value. New rides were boring or not interesting at all. It had become a teenager hangout place and most of the value is pushed towards paying for meal plans instead of building on the park’s experience. We won’t be back again unless a major upgrade to their theme experience.

Maybe it’s because I grew up at Hershey, but Hershey park is still one of the greatest singular parks I’ve ever seen, I’d love if you ever did a video on how well it preforms, the shows, the rides, the friendly atmosphere, the Halloween and Christmas stuff they have.

the problem with lost customers is that once they are lost.. it is VERY difficult to get them back, especially when you don't actually change anything for a couple years

honestly as a 6 flags mm employee its been pretty hard on us. going from working 6 days a week 8-12 hr shifts. to only being open to 4 days… its been difficult for people trying to pay bills. they expect us to be ok working 2-3 days and expect our 100% for $16.50 an hour. but then expect us to be happy go lucky when we have 0 staffing to work the holiday season. then over work us. the company is losing employees. guests. and money.

Went to Six Flags over Texas as a kid in the early 2000s. Easily my favorite theme park experience to this date. Going to theme and amusement parks nowadays just don’t compare to that golden age of Six Flags

Saving Six Flags isn't even hard. It bothers me that they bring in these CEOs who can't figure this out, when someone like me can. It's so simple: stop focusing on only THRILLS and start building out EXPERIENCES. make Six Flags a place where people actually want to come and spend the entire day. More/Better shows, WAY better meet and greets, experiential landscaping, cohesive design, and merchandise that people actually WANT to buy and wear. Rebrand. Let's go.

Just went to Six Flags over Georgia this past month and it was a nightmare. I've always gone to my hometown's park Dollywood, and I've been to Carowinds a few times. Carowinds is significantly cleaner, better ran, and the employees didn't seem miserable. SFOG was one of the worst park experiences I've ever had; long waits, rude staff (probably exhausted), bad food, and the bathrooms were disgusting. I felt like I was a RollerCoasterTycoon NPC that had a big frowny face. Also, majority of the coasters at SFOG were closed down. It was clear weather, and about 60 degrees, so I *heavily* doubt it was the weather.

Ride safety is THE most important aspect of these places! It doesn’t matter what the theme or the name of the ride is, if there’s ANY word of a ride being unsafe or maintenance concerns, it’s gonna be ghost town advertised by news stations

This is so crazy, I used to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain in L.A. and it was awesome when I was a kid (late 80s and early 90s) and I loved it. I worked at that same park later on in my early 20’s as a roller coaster mechanic and I loved that job. The amount of back systems that are in place for safety (at least at Magic Mountain) was incredible, lots of extra safety systems in place.

In the 90s and early 2000s six flags St Louis was always packed. They had a new water park right when every other small park had closed. They had 3 new DC themed rides(superman, batman, joker) one of which had a mirror clone at universal Orlando. There were rock climbing walls tucked between rides, old west style storefronts where you could dress up and get pictures taken, an amphitheatre where at least 6 shows played daily and outside acts performed regularly. Every area had flavor actors but the medieval area was always packed with extras doing a year round ren-fair. At Halloween hundreds of extras would be hired and haunted houses would open up that smashed every local competitor. Some rides did date back to the 40s but they were well-maintained and people around here loved having older and smaller rides between the new and huge coasters. Kids and adults had plenty to choose from and there was also a kid specific area on top of the rides that were just out of date. At Christmas they sponsored a nearby campsite partner to put up an insane drive-thru light display. They would showcase cutting edge VR technology in huge plazas with 50 plus seats and headsets in addition to having one off machines on the departure walkways for rides. The train could actually be used to navigate the park because it was just so big that people needed the break, but it'd also take you to areas that couldn't be seen on foot that had unique narratives. Now when you go most of that is shut down. There are no extras, no random actors spouting area appropriate dialogue. No small attractions squirrelled away between rides. Nothing. Six flags St Louis was a small city in its own right. Now it's almost dead. In the past ten years local haunted houses have far surpassed six flags in effort and execution so the old tradition of everyone going to six flags and seeing people they knew is gone. There's a dozen better, cheaper, closer options. And almost everyone over 30 working at those outside haunted houses used to work six flags, at the very least for Halloween. Even some owners got their start there. What hurt me, and lots of other people I've spoken to, was the loss of iconic and even historic rides at the park. Those things tied generations together and now they're gone, the continuity broken. For a couple months I worked at a machine shop in eureka, right next to the park. Some days it was still busy and afternoon traffic was a nightmare but most days I couldn't hear any rides running or any water splashing or kids yelling. It was sad and it hurt. That place was an amusement park well before six flags came along so I hope when they fold someone local picks it up again and treats it right. Everyone in St Louis would come right back. Maybe one day soon...

You can't increase prices if the quality doesn't increase beyond the idea decreasing too much crowd. For some theme park goers, the idea of big crowds also is a psychological boost to show that the park is popular and where they should be.

We have a water park in Phoenix formally called wet n' wild. That is until six flags took over. My family and I had season passes every year. Then comes six flags. It became quite clear that it was all about the money with no regard to the guests. For instance, there used to be a bunch of provided tubes for each ride, then all of the sudden there was almost none. They wanted you to rent their tubes. The last time we went we were there for more than 4 hours and got on 3 slides when we used to get on multiple slides per hour. Needless to say, we quit being season pass owners. The new six flags model is all about the money, and by doing so, they are screwing themselves out of it.

Glad I learned this. I stopped going to six flags because I couldn’t even get into the park because the lot was literally overflowing into the streets. I hope it stays like this so I can actually get on more than 2 rides a trip without getting frustrated with the waits

I grew up going to Six Flags in Eureka MO. In the '70's and '80's it was kind of a big deal. They had a nice amphitheater where I saw Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard and Blue Oyster Cult. The year they opened The Screamin' Eagle, a rollercoaster with a drop of significant depth, we waited in line for 90 minutes to ride that thing. Good times.

This makes me cry - I worked at 6F Dallas in 1996 and they had all kinds of shows, mascots walking the grounds, pop-up contests and fun stuff everywhere. Those of us stuck in the caricature booths were so jealous - but this? Oh man …

Last time I went to one of these parks it just felt… depressing. It felt empty. Felt cheap while being way too expensive.

I can't help but think that a large part of the hit was because we experienced a MISERABLE summer here in Texas from June through September.

I remember going to Astroworld as a kid and my family complaining about the same points you just named. Six flags went to shit because their parks weren’t clean, terrible service, terrible food, and outrageous prices. Just a horrible experience all around. Especially compared to when I went to Knotts berry farm and Disney.

I just recently cancelled my Diamond Platinum Membership (with Dining) after 5 years. This past summer was the nail in the coffin for me - half the coasters closed, rude/awful employees, terrible food, and overall a very unenjoyable experience. I’d rather just spend the extra $$ and go to Universal Orlando or to Cedar Fair parks.

Just hilarious to hear the CEO blame gas prices and inclement weather. As of the other theme parks exist in an alternate dimension with teleportation and an absence of weather. When leaders can’t admit they’re wrong, people suffer.

I loved six flags as a kid! My dad would always take my sister and I whenever we visited my Grandma in the summer. It’s tragic to know the parks are in trouble.

Excellent video! When six flags shut down in Houston, I was sad. I had visit one time before it shut down. I’m gonna have to rewatch this again. Very informative! Great stuff

I wholeheartedly agree with your point about high quality rides not being enough to carry an experience. I visited Great America for the first time this summer and while their coaster lineup is elite; the abhorrent wait times, dirty atmosphere, and rude staff made it one of my least favorite days I've ever had at any park. 2 hours to ride Raging Bull with the flash pass on a Tuesday in June was where I hit my limit.

this is insane because I've never even heard of Cedar Fair and they're destroying Six Flags

The things that ticked me off about Six Flags is 1) In 2022 the Season Passes no longer let you go to any park and you had to pick only one. Luckily there was a Black Friday sale that gave you an upgrade to go to all parks. That wasn't available again in 2023, 2) The price of the Dining Plan went from $109 to $149 and dropped the Snack and dropped the free drinks. I still got a Season Pass, but we won't be going but a couple of times next year.

Seems like SF has been declining for years now. I’ll never forget they they did to AstroWorld. It’s heartbreaking, a lot of my childhood, especially late teen years, was spent at SF busy they can’t seem to get out of their own way.

I'm surprised you never mentioned how he was "sick and tired of Six Flags being a cheap daycare for teenagers."

This makes me so sad. I grew up getting season passes to Six Flags Over Texas every summer and always having an amazing time. Since leaving the DFW area over 10 years ago I always talk about wanting to to back since I haven’t been since leaving the area. I had no idea how much conditions had deteriorated. Truly depressing.

As a long time resident of the San Antonio area, I used to love Fiesta Texas as a kid. It was never Cedar Point (which I frequented as a child, living in SE Michigan) but it was fun, relatively clean, and had decent rides. My girlfriend and I spent a day there a few years ago, and it was pretty much exactly the same as it was when I was a kid. And that’s not a good thing. Everything was older, more worn looking, and they hadn’t added very much since then. Maybe 1 or 2 rides that were shut down on our visit. The few rides that were actually open were the same rides that have been at the park for decades. It doesn’t look like they’ve put any money into the park in 20+ years. Attendance was way down when we went, likely because it doesn’t offer anything different than it ever has. It’s sad, but that’s I guess how the parks are gonna be.

Worth noting that this year, many parks in the system heavily released their Full-Time staff and supervisors. People with sometimes decades of experience in the parks. Even if somehow the parks rebound spontaneously? The service and staffing will be years behind recovering in experience and quality.

"Rides bring people in and beautification gets them to come back." Definitely true. It's one of the reasons Six Flags Ohio failed. They added 6 new coasters in 2 years, but spent no effort on improving the in park experience. That's why total guests increased the first year or two, but then took a nose dive. All the out of towners came, saw how badly run it was, and did not come back.

My wife and I went to SFOT by ourselves last week because our 11 year old didn’t want to go. He said the lines suck and the rides aren’t very good anymore. We experienced a dirty park, rude staff and long lines. We definitely aren’t going back. Ever.

Like I understand Six Flag’s CEO and wanting to reduce wait times. I myself have constantly complained about multiple hour waits or even 45 minute waits on every ride. With that being said, the problem is, I’M ALWAYS ALREADY INSIDE THE PARK WHEN I’M COMPLAINING. Like not once did I ever want to go to an amusement park and decide not to because of long lines. Usually weather, felling sick, unforeseen events, lack of money are why I wouldn’t be able to go. If a person or family wants to go to an amusement park, unless it’s one of those options above, they’re gonna go regardless. The whole line problem is faced when the tickets are purchased and they’re already inside the park. At that point as a business you won, you got the customer inside your park and with long lines they’ll probably want to look at stores in hopes of the time reducing in like an hour. Nowadays, I expect all rides to take like at least 20 minutes to get on (Besides opening, closing, or events like parades happening) and I feel many of us have come to accept it. Maybe one visit you’re lucky and find your favorite ride with a 10 minute wait but no one expects that same wait each time they go. The long wait in line is just tradition at this point so to try to have that as a selling point isn’t believable because the CEO doesn’t control how many people decide to come into the park on a day. If multiple people see quick wait times, they’ll come more possibly and more people will come until either the CEO ups the price even more, alienating whatever minimal customers are left or the same cycle of multiple hour long lines occur and that turns people away along with the expensive ticket price. Overall, just a stupid idea from a stubborn idiot who is just further proof that people with money aren’t always the brightest.

Lived like 40 minutes from Magic Mountain in CA. Rides could be jank af at times but awesome memories. I worked for Blockbuster when they...went to live on a farm for old retail chains...and I'd hate to lose another pillar of childhood.

The Six Flags company is literally Six Flags New Orleans right now, abandoned

God man this breaks my heart. Six flags was my life as a kid. Even planned on going this summer with my fiancé. But I literally had no idea any of this was happening until I saw this on my recommended. Man I would really hate to see this place go.

As a Georgia native and someone who loved six flags as a kid and my first roller coaster ride I ever took was at six flags over Georgia this is sad to see.

Even when I went to SF over texas as a kid, the park felt dirty, run down, and dated. And its been 10+ years since I've been, so I imagine it's much worse. I always enjoyed going there, so its sad to see it falling like this, but it's definitely not a surprise with how poorly its been maintained. Beautification really does need to be their focus for a little while. I've never been to Disney, but what I know from all the things I've heard about their parks is the atmosphere, cleanliness, etc. So much of the park looks old and faded from sitting in the sun and not being kept up. So many things made out of wood that are dried up and ugly looking, such as the fences that are everywhere, buildings, and even a few rides. Everything looks filthy and dry. Like look at 4:53 and how dull and old it looks... They really go for the rustic old western look in a lot of places, but it comes off as dull and dated instead of charming.

It's evident this CEO never played Roller Coaster Tycoon as a child 😂

Six Flags: Would you like it if we offered the exact same experience but doubled the cost? Regular customers: ...No?

My Dad worked at E Systems in Greenville and bought me a season pass and gave me 25 dollars a day every summer when I came to visit. He would pick me up each evening and always have the sitter drop me off at the front gate about 10am every day. I had the best time at Six Flags over Texas for 3 summers. I never got tired of it. That was in the mid 70s and I still remember it well.

So I participated in a Cedar Fair focus group for one of their lesser parks that they never invest in, ValleyFair. What these theme parks all want to hear that their guests really don't want a brand new $20 Million roller coaster, but want to go to their parks to see cheap entertainment shows, play their rigged carnival games, and eat their overpriced food. So they kept asking questions like "what food offerings would prompt you to visit more", "what games do you want to come play" "What shows would you come to see". Meanwhile everyone in the focus group is literally answering "we want a big new roller coaster" to every question. Focus groups are only useful if you're open to answers you don't want to hear.

Raising the price without improving the product only worked before the internet existed. Now people can see photos, videos, and reviews detailing why the new price isn't worth it and make the choice to stay away *before* spending their money.

As someone who used to work there (four years to be exact across two departments at Six Flags New England), the primary issue about Six Flags are the following: 1.) They max out their occupancy as much as possible, creating a gross, sweaty and nasty miserable experience which ruins any "bargan" price they think they have. 2.) They do nothing but cut costs and raise prices, they're always looking for cheaper ingredients, materials, labor and giving the guest less and less for the same or higher price, on top of NEVER upgrading any of the equipment, on top of reducing maintenance leaving the parks dirty and worn down Note: I'm ok with older equipment, but like anything it needs to be maintained which they don't do, so little to no maintenance and never replaced 3.) Employees are treated like shit. Example One: we couldn't clock in while getting make up done for acting or until we were at our kitchen location despite needing to walk across the park which often takes fifteen to thirty minutes depending on how busy it was, and before we left our kitchen or acting station we also had to clock out, meaning a half hour to an hour of your time could be spent at the park while not being paid, though while you were still on the premises you were expected to help guests, even if you're on break and you work the entire time helping a guest it still counts as your break! Example Two: They refused to take care of the Employee Parking lot which was made of dirt and due to poor maintenance, it was not uncommon for employee's cars to get damaged getting in and out due to potholes, rocks, broken glass, etc and no way to report or be compensated for said damage Note: there was a lawsuit against them not too long ago about the stolen time and our compensation was $23.00 when they inevitably lost the suit, I worked there every weekend during fall and all week during the summer for four years, so even when giving them the benefit of the doubt, at the very least they stole (40 days * 2 for walking in and out) = 80 * .25(15 minutes quarter of an hour spent walking through the park before and after clocking in to get in and out) = 20 hours for summer (16 days * 2) = 32 * .25 = 8 hours, so 28 hours a year, four years = 112 112 UNPAID HOURS, not even including when we'd be forced to stay late after clocking out or get threatened of being fired, which (minimum wage was 9.00/hour at that time) results in $1008.00 being stolen from high school me. So yeah, its more cost effective for them to be douchebags unfortunately. Hopefully they changed this by now, but I doubt it. My advice to anyone thinking of working at SFNE, unless they fixed the issues I listed above, don't work there. They'll treat you like shit, rob you of time you should be on break or paid for, work you like a dog, and right you up when they don't call you in but wanted you in and then you have to prove they're wrong and it takes three weeks robbing you of working for the season to save up for college or a laptop.

About 20 years ago, I worked at a cedar fair park. I took a trip to the nearby six flags, and I couldn't fathom how they were even in business. The only ride open was one of the carousels, with no signs of maintenance making an effort. The park was utterly filthy. Things that we would have gotten fired for at our park seemed to be the norm at six flags. The really sad part was that the park was a local park that was fairly well maintained prior to six flags purchasing them. Now it's abandoned.

These particular situations can get real dangerous real quick.

I just finished my final days working at Six Flags MM, and god do they treat us like trash. I worked in food and beverage. I hated being in those buildings, they were disgusting. The food is all frozen(obviously), but prepping it after it being defrosted is one of the grossest things I’ve ever done. My leads and supervisors are all 19-20 year olds who just like to order everyone around even tho leads make $0.25 more than regular team members. Also they never do anything to make the working conditions safer or cleaner. There were 3 rats living in the break area, nothing ever happened despite constant complains, and I can’t tell you how many times a day I almost slipped and cracked my head open. HR begged me to stay after I handed in my two weeks, they personally called my building, to come down to them to beg me to stay, obviously I told them no. Don’t go to six flags it’s a waste of money. And their employees are treated like trash

It is nothing like the experience I had growing up. Back then (1995-2005ish) it was a shock to see a ride closed. The food was good to decent, the rides worked, the live shows were operating routinely, and it was literally an overall experience. Took my sons back in 2019 before the Covid crash and the live shows was minimum to none, half of the good rides were closed and the train that goes around the park was not functioning. The only thing that made the experience ok was the kid world, in which my boys enjoyed. It sad to see SFOG go downhill like this. 🤦🏿‍♂️

I worked at Great Adventure, '99-'07. As the 2000s progressed it got a little dicey as large groups of, um, "undesirables," would make a presence in the park. One year, I watched some rapper I never heard of get a beat down by some other rivals' boys. That same year, a New York spanish station had some big concert planned and tickets were sold. The day of, the show producers couldn't, or wouldn't, pay for the theater rental so the concert was cancelled which resulted in a little riot. I worked in cash control that year and was given a bag with over $70,000 to take to the front gate for refunds.

The amount of detail in the video is mind blowing. Well done

I think the biggest issue with Six Flags is that at the end of the day, it's an amusement park heavily geared towards rollercoaster fans and adrenaline junkies. This is a niche product that is in a genre that NEEDS constant attendance. Worse is that it essentially locks away a major demographic these products need, families, children, and people who aren't adrenaline junkies/rollercoaster fans. That means Six Flags locked out a major chunk of revenue and essentially can't charge as much as, say, Universal, Disney, Knotts, etc. So yeah, since the parks decided to remain focused on it's niche, it needed to do a lot more than just have rollercoasters to keep people coming back on a regular basis.

I remember seeing Six Flags over Texas decline in real-time. Every time I go there it just looks worse and worse. It makes me really sad, especially when I hear my mom talk about when the park was new and she used to go with her family.

Loved six flags so much! Used to go from school a couple of times. Went to magic mountain last year and it was the worst experience i've ever had on a theme park. Covid had to do with it but i spent over 2 hours trying to get my flash pass bracelet and i was only able to ride like 5 rides during the whole day 😭

As a former employee of Six Flags, it was awful. In ONE SEASON, I was almost hospitalized 3 times, assaulted by my Lead for wearing transition lenses, and forced to work from 8 am to 3am, only to be yelled at by a supervisor for working past my hours because my replacement didn't bother to call in. It was my 1st real job after high school and I wasn't aware of my worker's rights. Not something taught to Special Ed students as we're not expected to be able to work on our own. On July 4th, our POS was down parkwide, our soda dispensers broke down, and half our rides broke down. But we were still expected to up-sell those over priced Sports Bottles, sell food and drink, and keep the rides that worked going. All we got for the death threats, screaming, complains, and working double shifts, our compensation were half melted Slurpees at 3 am and an expectation to be back at 8:30 am for another day of abuse. I wouldn't go even if someone payed for everything. The only good thing about Six Flags was "Ride Night", the only time employees were allowed to play games because we could cheat in front of guests to "steal" prizes. I got a Supergirl guitar in Ring Toss because they didn't stock prizes for the game. It's hanging in my dad's tournament hall. Happy I left when I did because they changed how to clock in the season I was suppose to go back for my 3rd season.

My bf and I love Six Flags so much, being our first date 7 years ago (high school sweethearts). We had the Diamond Elite membership 2018-2019 and let me tell you, the discounts on merchandise and food had me buying things I didn't need. That was peak of the potential for Six Flags. The park was FULL. I still have like 15 SF hoodies in my closet. For our anniversary this year, I purchased the 2023 Diamond Pass and Platinum Season FastPass for ourselves ($1k in total). This is not only a huge price jump from pre-pandemic times, but the perks themselves fall short. They even put a ONE-time use per visit of the FastPass for certain rides! This CEO's plan will destroy SF. I just hope it falls apart after 2023 so our passes don't go out in vain :(((

Haven't been to SF over Georgia since 2019 but i remember how it looked. Paint has gotten old plant life under maintained. They could use a remodel and pretty the place up. Maybe in the process make it a bit more themed, not disney level, but you shouldn't be able to see the parking lot from the park. Went to busch gardens this summer and just having that immersion ups the experience of being there even when some of the rides were closed and lines long

You did a great job with analyzing this. Truly a great video.

I wish this video would have mentioned more about food quality as part of the experience impact. This is another big reason why people love Disney.

Ive always loved six flags, its so sad to see this happen. Why can’t rich people just let poor people have things? Six flags is a great amusement park, and there isnt anything wrong with being marketed towards people who can’t afford disneyland, I’ve been a loyal attendee of six flags since I was 6 lol, but I can’t afford to go anymore and I used to try to go a couple times a year. I went to six flags for my 8th grade field trip, for many birthdays and friends birthdays, and many other celebrations. I love roller coasters, so really, if six flags isnt the affordable option with an exhilarating experience anymore, I’ll go somewhere else. It seems like everyone else will too.

Was cool seeing some of the great America pics which have not been too in forever. Grew up going to in the 90’s every summer. It’s now closing

Great video and congrats on the views! keep it up!

I went in October and it was horrible. Half the rides were closed, there were like 2 employees and while i didnt have wait times i missed the park being full and lively. I like low ride waits but not at the cost of making the place feel dead

That’s why Hershey park was always magical when I was younger. I lived an hour away and went all the time with my parents and sister. The rides were a main attraction but looking back on it the best part was the amazing park itself, so so many different things to do. As a 21 year old I would 100% still go with friends, it’s a great place.

We grew up having season passes to 6 flags over texas as kids. It was the highlight of our summers to go ride the rides multiple times a week there and at hurricane harbor. It’s been massively disappointing to watch their demise. Many of the rides I was excited to ride again are now consistently broken. And do not appear to ever have repairmen working on them. All of the times I went in the last year, the Joker ride has been broken and closed, among several others. The food/drinks are very expensive. And the park grounds don’t seem to be very well maintained. With a noticeable lack of employees working the park. It’s lost all of its appeal to me. Coming from someone that loves roller coasters, it’s been sad to watch their downfall

We visited a Six Flags on Labor Day weekend and half of the rides, shops, restaurants, and attractions weren’t even open. Most of the employees looked miserable. It was a massive waste of money and time to go. In the past we’ve stayed nearby and visited half the park one day and the rest the next. We didn’t even stay the full day this time. We ran out of things to do and we’re hungry.

I remember Six Flags Astroworld fondly, the only thing that remains standing is the bridge that goes over the 610 loop. Especially since in junior high the entire school used to go once a year. Given it closed in 2005, the only thing that really comes to mind in those last few years is the lack of maintenance and the impression that it became a giant glorified weekend daycare rather than an amusement park.

Sad.. I’ve lived in Arlington my whole life and it’s sad watching a place I spent so much time as a child/teen just completely go to trash. Back in the 90s six flags was everything! Clean up the parks, keep up with the maintenance, and fix the horrible food!!

The main 6 Flags park I went to growing up (Great Escape) wasn’t always run by 6 Flags - it was bought by them when I was like 7 years old in 2001. So maybe it will go back to how it was when I was a little kid.

I went to Six Flags ATL the day before they switched to a weekend only schedule. It was great because there were fewer people, but it was also bad because the place looked abandoned

Guest experience is really what’s killing them as a company. I was a season ticket holder for years but had an experience so bad I don’t feel safe going back. Back in 2018 me and my son went to six flags America and they were having issues checking visitors into the park. We stood outside of the gates for an hour and a half, once we finally got inside they had to shut down the water park. Everyone in the park rushed for the drink stands all at once. My son who was only 3 ended up passing out, I started crying and panicking and no employees helped at all, I had the push him in his stroller all the way across the park to the first aid center.

Just goes to show that the CEO position is becoming more and more useless. Totally out of touch individuals ruining entire companies

Lot of good memories at Six Flags. Feels like a world that doesn't really exist anymore. The theme parks of the future will all be in the virtual space. RIP humanity (unless you escape to the rural space and start kicking ass).

Funny enough, 9 mins in shows the Mr freeze ride at six flags over Texas, last time I rode that the lines were terrible, and when the train went back into the tunnel to go back into the station I could smell a very sugary scent (which I immediately recognized because I have an old car) which is the smell of coolant burning a little too much. Unsurprisingly the ride was closed within the next 10 minutes for overheating maintenance.

Living 30 minutes away from Six Flags Over Texas, it was a STAPLE for my childhood. Birthdays, holidays, basically any excuse my parents could make so we could go. You used to be able to bring coke cans to the park for discounts on tickets, and there were times when I would just stand in the glass making shop for hours just watching them make the little glass figures while my sister would stand in line for rides I didn't like. I haven't gone back in years because of the prices. We drove by a few days ago and I watched as one of the roller coasters went by only carrying 3 or 4 people. It's pretty depressing to see something from my childhood just slowly die like this.

In 10 years when six flags has gone out of business people will watch this series as a retrospective

The prices outpaced the experience, park size, shows and features, rides and amenities by a huge margin starting back in mid 90s. Someone else said it right when they said the number of side shows and park costume characters, took a HUGE dive, then they made a big booboo by wholesaling season passes at a super cheap price causing the lines to be ridiculous. The food prices where as much as the park tickers lol. I personally haven't been to a Six Flags in over 20 years and I live right up the road from them in San Antonio lol

Got free tickets to Six Flags Great America in ‘06. We were put off by the high parking fee. But worse was the astronomical prices for water and subpar food like tepid, cardboard like “pizza.” I cannot imagine what the price and quality of their food is now. And $40 to park?! Forget about it! The kids were not impressed. The kids NEVER asked about Six Flags. It just never came up. When an amusement park can’t impress kids, they’re done.

About a month ago I went to Six Flags and immediately went on a rollercoaster which broke down mid-ride. Naturally, this was an unsettling experience. When I spoke to a manager about my concerns, they were very condescending and unempathetic. They literally said "I can't account for your feelings". I left feeling 3 inches tall. This place is nowhere near where it used to be and I can definitely see it's going down hill.

This CEO looks like the kinda guy that’s never ridden a roller coaster in his life and couldn’t tell the difference between Batman: The Ride and The Joker.

Can confirm. Great adventure has several empty and disheleved food stalls, runs rides with missing elements (skull mountain is literally just a coaster on the dark) food prices are insane and the app is glitchy. You just don't feel the same value for your parking and entry ticket anymore

This is really sad to hear. I used to go to six flags all the time as a kid and always wanted to go back, especially now that I'm a father myself. Oh well, at least we still have cedar point.

I went to Six Flags Over Georgia for the first time in 5 years over the summer and holy hell has that park gone downhill. Almost all of the employees I encountered were rude teenagers who clearly didn't want to be there and didn't give a flying fuck about their jobs. Me and my brother had a hard time getting fastened in for one of the rides and the people riding with us were more helpful than the actual employees. I know what it's like to be young working minimum wage, believe me i know - it sucks absolute ASS, but I don't remember any of the employees being as blatantly rude as they were when I was younger. Not to mention a very good portion of the rides were closed. Such a shame to see how downhill these parks have gone. Edit: Yesterday I saw a headline about how SFOG apparently had at least 5 fights break out in the park on opening day. One of the fights apparently involved huge groups of teenagers going at it. You would've never heard about this happening just 5 years ago.. it literally crushes my heart to think about how far downhill Six Flags has gone. What used to be one of my favorite places to go as a kid that I looked forward to all year long has turned into basically a wasteland.

Six Flags was a staple of my childhood summers. At some point in the last decade I came to the realization that theme parks, with perhaps the exception of Disneyland/world, are not the same anymore. I haven't been to a theme park since 2014 and I don't think I'd ever be able to trust that I wouldn't die on some malfunctioning coaster due to the way corporations run their businesses nowadays cutting corners on costs and no longer valuing or prioritizing safety, despite what they tell the public. I worked at a Macy's in a large city mall for about 4 years before the pandemic, and I was constantly witnessing and experiencing safety hazards just trying to do my job. We had monthly safety meetings and my observations and concerns on things that needed to get fixed or replaced were constantly put on the back burner. They don't care about workers OR customers anymore.

I used to go to Magic Mountain before Six Flags bought it. We felt we were too old for Disneyland, and liked the thrill rides better. The Revolution and Gold Rusher were fun, as well as the ride where you stuck to the wall, plus the log jammer. They need to revitalize. Both parents work nowadays so kids are used to going to amusement parks all the time, not just a few days during the summer.

I grew up going to this park. When they introduced the pass to the front of the line for more $, it really pissed me off and i never went back.

Cedar Fair by far is just better at managing their parks and just overall bringing a better guest experience to their parks. Plus, all their huge parks: Cedar Point, Kings Island, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Knotts' Berry Farm are all profit makers for them, and those parks do exceptionally well. Heck, Knotts' Berry Farm does over 6 million guests annually and Canada's Wonderland is the 2nd most visited at around 3.96 million (2019 figures). So clearly, Cedar Fair is smarter with their business strategies and money, and they are conservative when they need to be. So it's no wonder why their stock price is higher, they're able to gain more income from less parks, and that their attendance numbers are just going up way more.