Six Flags - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again

Six Flags has gone through some ups and downs over the years. Tough times recently of course but for this video I chose to focus on their rise and decent into bankruptcy back in 2009. Undoubtedly the lowest point in their history.
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[@MoguMogu818]

"Sir, we need to pay our debt" "OK buy another amusement park"

[@JRRusseau]

Purchasing new parks was the only way that they had to increase attendance and revenue. Even after declaring bankruptcy acquisition is still their primary plan.

[@campkira]

when you debt game.. and too big to fall.. they can do anything...

[@Raskolnikov70]

haha bond printer go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@grobble8954]

Debt really only matters in terns of EBIDTA, Revenue, Profit, and other financials such as cash on hand.....A bunch of companies that have high dollar amount of debt doesn't matter b/c they make money or can get money loaned at such low interest rates, it would unwise to use their own cash. Apple has 110B in debt which is a big number, but considering they have 208B in cash on hand, they could in theory pay their debt off anytime they want & still have almost 100B in cash left. SF's debt has been worrisome thru the decades b/c they don't have solid other financials so the debt is a "weight" on their balance sheet.

[@0JayDoubleU]

@@grobble8954 thanks for explaining that. He never got into that part so i still didn't understand the rise again part till now

[@naruciakk]

>The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again Sounds appropriate for the company that runs (among all) roller coasters

[@karlgeli9285]

lol. true

[@Fewchore]

Took me a moment 😂

[@Alex_DC413]

I was wondering who'd get to that comment first lol

[@Menaceblue3]

Ok... that's a good one!🤣

[@skyden24195]

Just shaking my head.... really? I mean, REALLY?!?!?!? lol!!!

[@gayretard7855]

He’s gonna be able to make so many rise and falls after this quarantine

[@kolocon]

Awl 123 true! Hahahaha

[@lol-bw5vd]

cinemark 😳😳😳

[@bagofgroceries]

Yep, I’m waiting for the Rise, fall, rise again, and fall again, of Chuck E. Cheese’s.

[@bobdylan1968]

I mean, probably not. Theyd all be the same. "Were doing well, then covid, the end"

[@miguelzavaleta1911]

That's if there's anything left after Amazon and other huge multinationals buy everything.

[@TheAtroxious]

"Stop buying theme parks, you've bought enough!" -- Company Man 2020

[@esarts6744]

Yes and I have hear the want to buy over make a new park or water park at Fresno California. Six Flags over Fresno.... I do see another Bankruptcy in their future

[@russianboss0378]

This is the closest I'm gonna get to going to Six Flags in 2020

[@salem2450]

jokes on you, six flags is gonna be open where im at

[@johnmidwest5650]

Smart

[@AreteG]

I ain't felt this way in a long time...

[@gennik7966]

Its already open in Ohklahoma and about to open in Texas

[@DOC_951]

It's actually going to open in june/july slowly just for members first and then via advanced reservation...

[@SilverScarletSpider]

It’s actually really cool to see all the older Warner Brothers, Looney Tunes, and Hannah-Barbara attractions because it’s like a time capsules to time when Cartoon Network and Boomerang were on top of the world. In the 1990's, Warner Brothers were unstoppable. The DC Comics rides are still fun for adults and teens, while the Looney Tunes areas are great places to unwind.

[@zacharymiddleton9530]

Dreamy yeah, aside from my parents taking me to fright fest and me being traumatized as a kid, six flags is great, the looney toon kids areas are fun and so is Gotham, all the DC rides are pretty creative, and it's cool to just walk under a bridge and suddenly you're in a place filled with dc stuff, it was as a kid anyway, I had fond memories but I went recently and it isn't the same, just not really fun

[@understandingfun1260]

@@zacharymiddleton9530 *looney tunes i have no idea why it has tunes instead of toons but tunes is actually how its spelled

[@agirlwhosimpsformakotonaeg7786]

Mhm!!

[@OriginalWarwood]

@@understandingfun1260 The original purpose of the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons was music exposure to advertise and sell recordings and sheet music that Warner Brothers owned.

[@Merdicano]

Indeed! It's sort of like the equivalent of Disneyland for WB, but different from the ones that they do own with their Warner Bros. Movie World brand in Australia, Abu Dhabi and Spain

[@lewatoaofair2522]

The song that Mr. Six is dancing to is called “We Like to Party” by the Eurodance group Vengaboys, for those wondering.

[@BMoney8600]

Thank you

[@dajokerjr]

Mr. Six was in this is 40 and get him to the Greek

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

I saw that ad during the morning news that my parents liked to watch as a kid.

[@andrewn8002]

I knew this at some point, but then I forgot. xD Thank you. Six Flags commercials bring back so many memories.

[@Mysterwright]

I think Tweety once sang a parody of that on Kids WB in the 90's.

[@danielpowell482]

They tore down Astroworld because of the debt and I’ll never forgive them.

[@izziestevens5835]

Same here Daniel Same here

[@Stephenp503]

They didn't just abandon it. They tore it down. They abandoned Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, and it reopened years later in 2014 under new management.

[@marcusinfinity9386]

Wait was that the one in Houston?

[@Midnightblew23]

Atleast Travis Scott brought it back

[@isaacsaunders6843]

Travis Scott was inspired by Astroworld to make the record

[@mrtestarossa]

"can we have more money to pay our debt?" "to pay your debt?" "yeees" *actually ends up buying more theme parks*

[@markvolpe2305]

They were also adding more and more rides and attractions in each park (while ignoring some completely) each year, like the year they added 4 rollercoasters at Geauga Lake in one season.

[@davidkonevky7372]

god I miss that meme format

[@Shenaldrac]

"The rise and fall and rise again" >spends none of the video talking about them rising again, ends after covering the big fall Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

[@6z0]

uhh he dosent need to. when they fell they just re did what they did the first time they rised

[@Zuko-]

Seriously lol

[@BlackCatBritt]

I was thinking this too. Especially since I live in Upstate NY, near Darien Lake. It was a Six Flags property my whole youth, then in '09, was dumped by the SF brand & just became "Darien Lake Amusement Park" for a few years....which sucked, bc it meant the season pass no longer worked at other SF locations. A couple years ago (I want to say 2014/15-ish?) SF bought the park back & it's now back under the SF branding- and they've been adding new rides every year since. I'd love to know all the finances and details behind it all, especially since Time Warner recently got acquired by Charter Communications.

[@tz8785]

And with their long-term debt climbing again, there might be another fall on the horizon.

[@BRi180000]

Seriously thought i missed a whole 3rd of the video

[@therobotdevil2284]

That 2005 commercial was a blast from the past, make no mistake

[@xyzscorpion2449]

*in 1961* "Okay honey, we're here at the brand new Six Flags theme park. What do you want to do?" "Mom, I want to go to *confederacy* land"

[@RetardicA]

-said no black family ever

[@nubymizer]

i worked for six flags as security and documented some of the last remnants of "the confederacy" in the park

[@reptilianapplesalesman5479]

@@RetardicA Six Flags over Texas disagrees. I'm not going to get into the Confederacy debate but plenty of black families go to that park every year so it seems they don't mind it too much. The Mexico section of the park is pretty outdated and borderline racist too.

[@Euorgos]

Well, one of the six flags in the name actually is the Confederate flag.

[@ungusbungus2486]

@@nubymizer if you documented them you should put it on your KZbin

[@FingeringThings]

How many theme parks do you want? Premier: *Yes*

[@jonathano503]

Do people still find these comments funny?

[@Creativename650]

@@jonathano503 Yes

[@Raskolnikov70]

haha corporate bond printer go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@procommentr]

@@Creativename650 How funny? ALL: Yes

[@niharthakkar3792]

Should have included more info about how exactly they rose again after 2009

[@AxxLAfriku]

Do you have any idea who is replying to your comment right now? It's me, the FUNNIEST MAN ALIVE! My videos are so extremely funny, if you don't cry tears of laughter, you are allowed to DISLIKE my EXTREMELY FUNNY videos! Do you think my videos are funny, dear nihar

[@timolson515]

@@AxxLAfriku uuuuummmmmmmm...... 🤔🤔🤔 Thanks! You too.

[@tay2944]

AxxL are you on drugs

[@Trd2020]

Exactly u was waiting to see the rise and he never explained it?

[@splitsee2526]

@@AxxLAfriku Your videos are uhmm... 😨😲😨🤢😱🤮

[@DomtheDemonSlayer]

When I was a kid I lived in New Jersey and went to Great Adventure a few times in Jackson. I have fond memories of those Mr. Six commercials, loved that dude!

[@RamanN00B]

The song is we like to party by the vengaboys. They have other fun songs and somehow are still making music.

[@bmay8818]

I remember them back in my rave days in the very early 2000s. I can't believe they're still going!

[@jusbaize]

Boom boom boom boom

[@Ezekiel-pc4ef]

Justin Baize yeah i wanted her in my room ....

[@judakimberly6551]

I hate this song with my entire soul... I love Six Flags though!

[@pantherplatform]

Is it impossible to make music these days? What happened?

[@ShmooZeroOmega]

Premier:Someone who’s good at budgeting, please help, my family is starving. Anyone: Stop buying theme parks. Premier: No.

[@Raskolnikov70]

21st Century financial thinking in a nutshell right there. "Help me, I don't have any food!" - posted from my $2000 iPhone

[@smittywerbenjagermanjenson1408]

@Blackpilled Saint Netflix, Starbucks, fast food, doordash, GrubHub, ubereats, renting instead of owning, buying $10k+ cars when making

[@sk-sg1dd]

@Blackpilled Saint I bet this guy has. $100,000 sociology degree.

[@BlueTigerIncStudios]

Everyone: Knows every bad decision Six Flags made Me: Never even went to Six Flags

[@musicmeister1313]

lmao fax

[@zwebackshyper9307]

wait you've never been to six flags?

[@klearlyclouds]

I live near the one In Arlington, my aunt lives across the street from it and I’ve been like no more than 5 times

[@haleeyyyyyy]

Same

[@ir3akh4v0c]

I worked at Great Adventure in 2010.

[@tvgubber]

I grew up in Houston, 90s kid, my big family-cousins/aunts/uncle‘s- every summer we’d all get season passes and go every week to Astroworld/Waterworld 🥰 sometimes we’d make the trip to Fiesta Texas. Man I miss the good ol’days. I road my first big coaster there - the Texas Cyclone. I was so sad when they closed it down... I was in 8th grade and looking forward to going back for a class trip.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

How to promote a theme park: have an eldery guy in a tuxedo dance to a very catchy song Mr Six is the most iconic thing about Six Flags

[@digdougx]

The bus is still at Magic Mountain! You can see it in the back lot.

[@ashkitt7719]

Weird sells

[@ashkitt7719]

@@digdougx Not the Venga Bus but still good.

[@Christopher-N]

Because of the WB licensing, I always thought he was a live action version of Elmer Fudd.

[@CZsWorld]

That stock price was dropping like the drop on Goliath! You didn't talk a whole lot about the "rise again". I think it has a lot to do with SF embracing their role as the discount chain and becoming early adopters of the now popular Rocky Mountain Construction to reinvent their old coaster structures for relatively cheap. They also experimented with relocating rides to other parks instead of buying new ones.

[@campkira]

people just want to relex and had fun.. and they just want to sell stock price..

[@mikemarks6136]

Heyyy it's nice to see you here!

[@Coolsomeone234]

Which Goliath?

[@Rolling_Coasters]

Someone 234 the one at Six Flags... obviously.

[@ryan_n05]

Which Goliath? There’s seven of them.

[@Royaltyfamily85]

*Awesome video. I live in Atlanta and learned something new about our old Six Flags. Thanks for the content!!*

[@amberschroer3637]

The season pass was well worth it every year - as a school teacher - I spent many a sunny day at the Hurricane Bay!

[@ebonimccain6988]

Company Man: I'm guessing you never heard of Premier Person who watches Defunct Land: Oh i've heard of them

[@schris3]

And who on Earth except you watches Defunct Land?

[@ebonimccain6988]

@@schris3 According to his page 735,000 people including the 24 that like this comment and the 4 people involved in a SEPERATE Defunctland comment on the video.

[@bigmuskieman]

I watch it and I know a number of people who do too

[@lynntaylor9681]

@@schris3 I do. It's a great YT channel.

[@joshuajoe1419]

Christnappa4 I got a feeling that your are a troll

[@vexis58]

Video: Leveraged buyout Me and my husband after watching a bunch of other videos on this channel: Oh nooooo don't do that!

[@therichroom4681]

Leveraged Buyout is like a curse word or a supernatural presence that must be avoided at all costs.

[@CollinMacQuarrie]

Lebo leigh Leigh Yes indeed! Also, you take out a significant amount of money for the loan.

[@ryan_n05]

Leveraged buyouts are the only thing that Six Flags does. When they want to add another park to the chain, they almost always go with a leveraged buyout.

[@Sorcerers_Apprentice]

It's the big business version of a sub-prime mortgage.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@Sorcerers_Apprentice More like the business version of a Mafia bust-out. Take over a struggling business and completely squeeze it dry while you can, then discard the shriveled husk once it's bankrupt. Only difference (besides levereged buyouts being legal, that is) is that the Mafia can only pull this trick on a business once, while the venture capitalists can force them into bankruptcy, clear the debt, then start the looting all over again.

[@lifevest1]

Summer 2015 I was the intern buyer for the food warehouse at Great America and served as a supervisor in the catering section. Best internship ever, what an outstandingly fun place to work! (though I can certainly tell some of the in park jobs were very stressful). Thank you for this vid!

[@whobutwbmarci5200]

Another important thing to note from the Premier parks era, around the turn of the century, the Coaster War was coming towards the close, which caused Premier to inject millions into each of their parks to give them multiple coasters from 2000-2006. We saw Premier spend $12 million on one of the best hyper coasters (at the time) in the world on Superman: the ride at Six Flags New England in 2000, basically right after it got rebranded, this continued on with funneling of money to basically every other park. This eventually climaxed when Six Flags basically committed suicide when they were fighting with Cedar Point for the tallest and fastest strata coaster (a coaster 400 ft or taller). In 2003, Cedar Point spent $25 million on Top Thrill Dragster, which maxed out at 420 feet tall and 120 miles per hour, and then in true Six Flags fashion, they got to work to buy the same model, but 36 feet taller and eight miles per hour faster in Kingda Ka, which cost the park $25 million in 2005, three years before the economic crash and their first bankruptcy.

[@hansvongruber3214]

Who remembers Six Flags New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina flooded the park?

[@vincelamb4063]

Expedition Theme Park has an entire video about that and Bright Sun Films just made a complete documentary on the subject, "Closed for Storm."

[@tacosmooth]

I live three minutes away from it.

[@necrosegamingreaction]

I don't remember six flags I have heard of them but never went

[@joshuajoe1419]

I heard of it from Bright Sun Films

[@Hunk3yMunk3y]

I loved it, went there several times as a kid. I was really down, when I heard it closed for good. I loved how it had jazz, swamp, and voodoo themed rides (I know it was a tourist trap version of those, but I still found it fun that they took inspiration from New Orleans)

[@spaghetts]

I always forget that six flags isn't everywhere. Living 20 minutes down the road from 6 flags in Arlington has burned me out from going to six flags too much

[@digdougx]

I mean, they have parks in most of the country's major metro areas.

[@Almighty_Mage]

I was burned out after going once

[@garycollins7750]

I worked there for exactly three weeks, and one full week before they shutdown in March.

[@mathewfierros]

I live about 20 minutes from Magic Mountain in California. Haven't been there in 14 years. It's a cool sight from the I-5 though

[@tomoluis_01]

Haven’t been to Discovery Kingdom since 2016. Live at least an hour and a half away from where I live. All I could say is that I should have been on more rides instead of one or two.

[@ggaboveaveragegamer]

The Mexico six flags actually had some interesting history, it was actually the fort theme park that had a licensed Nintendo ride too bad they never pursued it after the acquisition. I actually made a video about it because I was able to visit it when I was younger

[@heliotropeskies5918]

SFOG is like a huge nostalgia place for me and i hope it stays around after this pandemic. theyve done better than pretty much all other six flags parks thus far in dealing with the pandemic, running a hot wheels event that was profitable and doing better on their construction of new rides than any other six flags park this past year so i hope that indicates that they have time remaining to improve their coaster and flat ride repertoire

[@Ward1706]

Company Man: "Six Flags: The Happiest Place On Earth" _Walt Disney Corporation has entered the chat_

[@wafflelord8497]

Six Flags also installed around 22 coasters in 1 year so that caused even more financial instability

[@Emerardo]

Me like roller coaster. Me want build more roller coaster. Me no care about pay me want more *c o a s t e r*

[@ryan_n05]

Six Flags seemed to think that coasters were cocaine that year. Also they did the same thing the next year, sooooooo........

[@awildfurret]

Normal day in Rollercoaster Tycoon

[@sirarthur353]

I remember when the installed 2 coasters in the same park in the same year.

[@fatimamoncada6026]

So sad back into the 90s, all the kids we couldn't wait for the weekend , I used to have such a wonderful time, now is just part of our past ☹️😞😭

[@maybaylline5187]

Six Flags St.louis was one of my favorite places to go as a kid during the summer, and really still is. I find every single ride there to be fun, and honestly the older rides like screaming eagle, and the boss are always worth long waits.

[@KuKn10dbao]

I think something you left out is how the rise of Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) through New Texas Giant gave Six Flags a new wind in the 2010's, attracting new guests with Hybrids, Topper tracks, and Raptors. Also, the rise of the S&S 4-D Freespin helped (both of which were cheap, easy attractions that could be given to even the parks that did not make much money). The immense debt of the company can also be partially blame it on the "coaster wars", which pushed park companies to pump money into their parks in order to get coasters with high stats or records, and the general atmosphere of building more more expensive coasters

[@spaceistheplace2293]

I love RMC coasters, but I don’t think they were entirely responsible for saving six flags. If they didn’t have RMC they would’ve just added more Gerstlaurs and S&S Coasters. It has more to do with the emphasis on season pass sales and in park spending, and maintaining sustainable growth.

[@ACoolKidsProduction]

Yeah, if you ever get the chance, check out the fate of Geauga Lake, AKA Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure. From what I read a while back, it sounded like the coaster wars are a big part of what killed it. It's like someone said "You know what this struggling park in a struggling market (deep into the Cleveland suburbs) needs? MOAR AND BIGGER ROLLERCOASTERS AT ANY COST!" It's a bunch of houses and stuff now.

[@ssuzuki1774]

One thing that wasn't included, was Six Flags competition against Cedar Fair, the owner of parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Cedar Point. Their business models right now are completely different in terms of attractions - Six Flags gives a "attraction" (not necessarily a roller coaster) to each of their parks annually, while Cedar Fair gives a Roller coaster (or other large attraction) to each park every couple years. Because of this, many enthusiasts don't go to Six Flags because a 3 flat rides usually aren't as exciting as a giant roller coaster. It's a quantity vs. Quality kinda deal and I think Six Flags was losing and is still to this day, despite them being out of bankruptcy. Also, the cleanliness of the park and the friendliness of the employees lags behind that of Cedar Fair. Also with this model, many clones of rides are put in different parks, save for a few flagship rides. As a result, while on vacation, some people tend to choose Cedar Fair parks over Six Flags as their home Six Flags park has some of the same rides as the other ones, like this ride at 11:33 - that ride is at most of the Six Flags parks, just with a different paint job and name at each. Along with that, the prices for food, skip-the-line passes, and merchandise at Six Flags is exorbitant, even more so than Disney's prices, and the quality of the products aren't exactly the best. Just some things I thought I'd add on why they were and still are struggling.

[@Emerardo]

You know when you are walking then you trip over something and have to get back up? I hate when that happens

[@Likeomgitznich]

Six flags business model actually drastically changed. They are starting to push the subscription model, a small monthly fee that gives you access to everything six flags. For $8.49 a month you can access every six flags park with parking included. This turns six flags from a destination to a just a place you can go whenever.

[@liamryan7239]

That’s kinda a narrative a bunch of coasters people made up. Truth be told most people don’t care what park has better rides, because the vast majority of areas only have one park.

[@digdougx]

@@liamryan7239 True! But when Cedar Fair adds a ride, the locals come out in droves. When SF does it, meh. The only exception has been their RMC's. SF has even admitted they may need to shart to do larger but fewer projects in the future. You need hype, and SF doesn't get it. By contrast, people talk when Cedar Fair opens a "massive super coaster at a park in Ohio." (Orion at King's Island). Oh, and Cedar Point absolutely targets coaster geeks, although it may be the only park that gives such a strong focus to them. Maybe SF Magic Mountain.

[@liamryan7239]

digdougx Yeah you’re right

[@JKAV_76]

I respect and appreciate Disney, but im a looney tune kind of guy so I loved six flags as a kid in CA.

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

Disney is evil (except for Star Wars and Marvel), and I like WB better. I loved getting my superhero capes from GAdv as a kid. I still have my old Superman cape from like 2007.

[@alvaro209209]

When six flags bought Marine world Africa USA it was so bad ass for us in Nor cal Six flags Marine world was my spot

[@sithlordalex]

I prefer six flags. I love roller coasters

[@spaceistheplace2293]

From around 1999-2002 six flags wasn’t just buying tons of new parks, they were going crazy with additions in their parks at the same time. They were adding 20+ brand new large scale coasters per season chain wide. For perspective post bankruptcy they add about 4-5 small to medium scale coasters per year chain wide. While the early 2000s were great for coaster fans going to their parks, that type of expansion just isn’t sustainable for a theme park. Also this video didn’t really explain how they were able to rise again, basically post bankruptcy they slowed down on expansion and focused on season pass sales and in park spending. They have been giving each one of their parks one new attraction every year. And the attractions they add are usually cloned between parks to save on cost. The unique rides they do add tend to be cheaper while still very thrilling. And they have been taking advantage of the dc license more than ever

[@EinhanderPilotSantos]

“Imagine going to a theme park without a cool old guy dancing!” -This post was made by the Six Flags Gang.

[@dankosityreborn]

"Imagine going to a theme park made by a large media company." This post was made by Cedarfair Gang.

[@actuaiiyyou]

“Six flags is the only amusement park around me and it’s still like an hour away but I still enjoy the experience” - This post was made by Atlanta, Georgia Gang

[@reedbrooks3887]

My parents dressed me as Mr. Six for my first Halloween and I still haven't recovered.

[@ki5aok]

Sorry, man.

[@shailangston4389]

Wow 😂

[@KendrickHarrisKenfinity]

Here it is! It's awesome to find out how our unique and fun theme park has become so well known and notorious for their thrilling rides. Especially after having fun at Six Flags Over Texas and remembering glimpses of Astro World. Keep it up!

[@bearb1asting]

Always love it when you release new content.

[@DutchVanDerLinde-sx1ox]

I've always been a huge fan of Six Flags. I live in the DFW area near Arlington where the park is. Me and my family try to go every year. Usually during the summer. Sometimes we'll spend a night at a hotel and go to a Rangers game either the day before or after The Six Flags trip. We've always had a good experience, aside from the couple times it rained during the trip.

[@MasterMalrubius]

We have Paramount Kings Island near Cincinnati now. I haven't been in decades but it has always been a major attraction. When I grew up we only had Americana or Fantasy Farm, LOL. Basically a cut-rate park with rides where a petting zoo was the main attraction. Though we always did have fun going.

[@Omar-em7rl]

my hometown park is Six Flags Fiesta Texas, i used to go every other weekend, mostly for the exercise since there's something there to motivate me to walk for miles. i've been to the Arlington park back in January before this coronavirus stuff, great park you got! alittle on the older side though, the Titan i blacked out on for a few seconds, pretty frightening, both are amazing parks.

[@bigrod359]

All my family lives in DFW area so whenever i go visit i go to that six flags

[@ryan_n05]

Andrew Boehmer Now it’s just called Kings Island. They are adding a coaster with a 300 ft drop this year.

[@ryan_n05]

Omar T You’re lucky. You live in a town with two amazing amusement parks. SeaWorld San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas are some of the best parks in the nation.

[@frapeyou]

really enjoyed the video, showed the whole picture

[@brandonbensen6870]

Flashbacks from my early years working at six flags great America love the video thank you!

[@mrslvw]

Interesting and keep the finance stuff coming as that's very insightful. I just went to Six Flags first time ever. I don't like roller coasters and grew up on Disney but I freaking loved Six Flags! I actually avoided the nearest Cedar Point park bc it basically has just huge coasters and then some toddler rides. Same with another amusement park.

[@danielstallings1593]

Dude I live close to six flags over Georgia and it was my childhood.

[@danielstallings1593]

It does stink that you did not mention one thing. At least where I lived six flags partners with coca-cola and during the summer months they come out with cans that would have a five dollar reduction to tickets. That was during the time they were in the red, but I think they still do it.

[@chrisrpach6082]

Daniel Stallings yea they do still do that we did it last year before getting season passes

[@danielstallings1593]

QuiQue Ramirez I figured they did just was not 100% sure.

[@eulesssucks]

Same here but six flags over Texas.

[@painfish208]

When I was 20, I had the season membership with a meal pass. I was still single at the time and only had one or two friends (boy, have I come a long way since then), so I basically lived there and got bored of it. Didn’t even get to using a second year for the membership.

[@coasterfan1017]

As a coaster enthusiast, six flags is known to be the budget park, not very well kept and full of unoriginal and lackluster attractions, but I think a lot of their modern dept after 2010 comes from them constantly investing into every park every year. They have this business model where they invest in a new ride at every park every year when they should just be investing in the quality of the smaller park's atmosphere and saving the larger investments for the more profitable parks. This has been seen to work, as Cedar Fair, the second largest amusement park chain in North America, rakes up way less debt and has greater profits on this business model.

[@hanger3415]

I like six flags. It has big and fun rides.

[@ryan_n05]

MagiColorful Moon Just think, if Cedar Fair owned Great Adventure, you’d probably be getting a 300+ ft B&M Masterpiece instead of a RMC Raptor. RMC Raptors are fun, but ultimately, a Giga is better.

[@ErikWestcot]

Love your videos (as always)!! Just a two things to point out: The first tubular steel coaster was actually Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland and Astroworld was actually opened in 1968 by a Texas businessman and later acquired by Six Flags in 1975.

[@krystal9044]

Loved seeing that frontier city mention! That place was my childhood.

[@TopRanky]

So that’s why you watch looney tunes cartoons in the waiting lines...

[@concert_etiquette]

Your content is very informational and has some nice comedy in it. And that's why I love your channel

[@companyman114]

Really appreciate that.

[@leol1243]

I like your videos bro. I noticed you don't put out as many. I tune in when you do. Keep going you do a good job👍

[@justkibby5959]

Whoa, I've been obsessed with roller coaster videos and BAM one from company man. Sweeeet

[@JuanWayTrips]

It seemed like when they were adding on more debt, they were also heavily involved in the Coaster Wars, competing against Cedar Point and other parks. I know you focused more on the financial side of things, but I would have assumed that Six Flags hit their peak in 2006/07 when they were at the peak of adding roller coasters, but in reality they were adding even more debt. While financially they've started to recover, it's hard to say if they've been successful lately compared to other parks (Cedar Fair parks, Disney, Universal, etc.). They now seem like an after thought. Also, surprised you didn't mention how they just abandoned their park in New Orleans after Katrina. I wonder if their debt and low attendance led them to just writing off the park rather than trying to save it.

[@Emerardo]

Ever stand up really fast then get super dizzy and light headed?

[@digdougx]

I believe they just took the insurance payout from SFNO and called it a wash.

[@grobble8954]

Cedar Fair did not go into massive debt during the supposed coaster wars, SF did . Cedar Fair's debt was under 200M till they bought the Paramount Parks for 1.4B After debt went to 1.6B it stayed at that level till they borrowed 500M for the CGA land, Schlitterbahn, Sawmill Creek in 2019.

[@Raskolnikov70]

With the way they were running their business, it was probably a huge benefit to them to close the park permanently, take the insurance check and run, using it to service their debt and trying to pump up their stock price. Kind of like when someone with a dozen maxxed-out credit cards gets their tax return and thinks "great, now I have money again!!!!" and keeps making poor choices.

[@SueBobChicVid]

Six Flags bought (put their name on) several amusement parks I grew up going to as a child in upstate NY and Massachusetts. At first the parks seemed nicer because they added some new rides. But at some point the charm of the old parks was left to deteriorate. It was all about the WB characters and the big splashy rides. The parks had lost their charm. Maybe that all happened alongside me getting older and seeing the simple attractions of the old parks (as well as my childhood memories) unmaintained or torn out gave me a less than positive feeling towards Six Flags.

[@nicholas5831]

SueBobChicVid you’re 1st

[@robertwillsea3338]

You're here early

[@addiosnia]

How the hell did you reply to this a day before the video was uploaded

[@embercoral]

I mean, they did kinda rectify the damage done at Great Escape...kinda... They brought back some of the old stuff from StoryTown USA, including the pink whale. They also de-branded the Looney Tunes area (that used to be Jungleland), and now it's some generic forest friends theme. Like you, I'm too old for all of that, but it was nice to be able to walk inside the whale again during my most recent visit.

[@Omar-em7rl]

@@addiosnia Patreon.

[@manoftheearth576]

Some of my favorite childhood memories come from Astroworld. We still miss it here in Houston.

[@jabarihasan1515]

I really enjoy your content!

[@freundlichermensch7540]

You are a theme park enthusiast when you eminently see that this 8:23 is Hair Raiser in Ocean Park in Hong Kong

[@JoeyMarsbar]

Ohhh yes

[@zacri9434]

"More Drive-thru's, more money!" - Mr. Krabs

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Premier: I'm in debt! Dollywood: Hold my ta tas.

[@Creamstar14]

I have lived all my life in Texas and honestly never knew Six Flags was hurting. Then again, I was younger. My mother always talked about Astro World with such love and still wishes that I could have gone at an age where I would remember because of how much she loved it.

[@edgelord8337]

Six flags is quite the place. I just find it very ironic how you are talking about out door activities yet we are all still quarantined lol.

[@vincelamb4063]

It's more ironic if you watch all of the theme park channels. It's amazing how much old content they still had not used yet or were recycling.

[@Kaliraptor]

I watch videos about cruising ,all the time hehe

[@oldducky2796]

How are u everywhere

[@mykaruest6257]

@Mason Bee I'm still quarantined because I'm suspetiable and can die if I got it.

[@susanhainan188]

I love losing my kids at six flags and not looking back

[@VideoGamesIncorporated]

Isn't that the plot of Shazam

[@dannysdailys]

As usual, very nice video: One big reason for their fall is they let teenaged riff raff take over their parks and even encouraged it. Vandalism and crimes against park goers became quite commonplace as did teenaged gangs and ran the families right out. And of course, the families were the only people with any money. This became quite well known and a curse to 6 Flags. They started with doing this to their biggest park in California and spread it throughout their entire chain. Families stopped going and they went bankrupt. Not family friendly? Never good for revenue or stock prices, especially for an amusement park of all things. Another reason for their decline is they bought local parks with local flair, corporatized them and threw all the local vendors out with no warning. When that model blew up in their face due to local backlash, they tried to recruit the local vendors back who would now have no part of them. I know of at least four parks they did this to. Never good for revenues or stock prices either. 6 Flags is one of those companies who are in business despite themselves, not because of themselves. They should have gone down to bankruptcy forever. The country as a whole would be much better for it. They screwed over a hell of a lot of people. Including here, in my locale. They bankrupted a theme park that had been here in business for over 50 years. In exactly the ways I explained. They wound up selling it back to the original owners for pennies on the dollar. You don't ever want to mention 6 Flags around here. Keep up the good work. Danny J

[@robertandrews6915]

Dude!! Your getting a Dell! I remember that song and even today for some odd reason I think of it and it gets stuck in my head. I couldn’t remember what it was for but the toon I’ll never forget

[@hansvongruber3214]

I remembered we had a Six Flags in the Houston area called Astroworld till it close in 2005.

[@hansvongruber3214]

Now we have Six Flags: Hurricane Harbor in Spring, TX that was recently bought by Six Flags in 2019.

[@ImaSpace_Cadet]

Like the travis scott album

[@awesomebeast7509]

@@ImaSpace_Cadet Travis Scott named his album after that amusement park🙃 He said he went there a lot as a kid before it closed down

[@vincelamb4063]

You want a good cry if you love theme parks in general and Astroworld in particular? Watch Defunctland's video on Astroworld.

[@Clay3613]

Fuck Six Flags, they closed one of their best parks for no reason. Should've shuttered Fiesta and St. Louis.

[@Hillers62]

Growing up in Dallas, I went to Six Flags Over Texas every year from 1967 (when I was 5) until 1981 (when I joined the USAF)...It was a place (along with the Texas State Fair in October) that I looked forward to all year...things would change slightly, but most was kept intact, which I loved...It was an experience that would stay with me for months...until I started to look forward to the next year...

[@MrBobtheCatThing]

This is so trippy seeing this It does like an opposite version of nostalgia for me Makes me not wanna die 😖😭

[@madelyndee4518]

I work at Frontier City and definitely was not expecting it to be mentioned! Made me smile

[@endcensorship874]

So, each "flag" over Texas had it's theme? I bet "Confederacy" land was a hoot.

[@thuggathuggababy]

John Stephenson no it’s all looney tunes and dc themed for the most part. last Time I went though I do think there’s a confederacy of Texas flag if I’m not mistaken

[@noralewis5390]

The flags didn't necessarily tie to a theme. It wasn't like they had "france world" or anything. Fun fact though, I believe the first few parks all had their own Six Flags. Like the Six Flags in St. Louis represented unique flags too. After the first few they built they stopped (probably too much hassle).

[@WilliamMohamad-uv5fi]

@@thuggathuggababy no i went a year ago and they took the flags down and replaced them with blank color flags

[@WilliamMohamad-uv5fi]

@@noralewis5390 they did have a france section, it was the restroom area.

[@WilliamMohamad-uv5fi]

Yes they had a confederacy area that was deep south themed.

[@StaleMedia]

The timing on this video is kinda weird, cause look at how they did in 2019. Six Flags stock plummeted in 2019 after the acquiring of a bunch of parks arguably caused it. Earlier in 2020, they said they would announce their future plan in May, effectively telling us they had no idea how to recover. The pandemic probably hasn’t helped a whole lot either.

[@Emerardo]

Whats your favorite brand of cereal? Mine is Lucky Charms

[@justinc.5591]

I mean, the pandemic is hurting every theme park company (and most other companies as well).

[@Omar-em7rl]

@@Emerardo i like fruity pebbles, or fruit loops, both are great.

[@digdougx]

They only aquired 2 low value parks, Darien Lake and Frontier City (the one in the video). And I think those are only management agreements for the time being and not wholly owned. Those are actually pretty good deals for the company. Their problem is the pandemic and lack of savings. They also still have some debt issues. Contrast this to Cedar Fair which has no issues with debt, has savings, and has played things super smart for years. Plus they don't have the reputation issue SF gained during the Snyder years.

[@Emerardo]

@@Omar-em7rl *nice* 👌

[@addieb1314]

Me: *sees video* Also me reacting involuntarily: HEY NOW HEY NOW HEAR WHAT I SAY NOW

[@WorldinRooView]

The day you put this video up and their stock has one of the biggest dips of the day. You jinxed it sir!

[@altaccout]

I clicked this thinking it was Defunctland

[@vincelamb4063]

HAHAHAHA!

[@josephstone547]

Lmao

[@Menaceblue3]

Collab with defunctland soon?

[@ebonimccain6988]

Yes! 😂

[@Jim-so3zm]

You know, given the current situation and how all the days are merging into one at the moment I completely forgot that it was a Wednesday. So this was a nice surprise.

[@thatclintguy]

DO A THREE PART SERIES ON PENN CENTRAL!!! It is considered one of the best case studies of how NOT to run a publicly-traded company, let alone a railroad. The Wreck of the Penn Central will give you a good starting point for an absolutely salacious story!

[@patw.6567]

Thanks for another one

[@zabivaka2954]

5:04 Correction: Six Flags acquired Astroworld. Astroworld opened several years prior.

[@mikesyls]

Zabivaka same applies to great adventure. Originally opened in 1974. Acquired in 1978.

[@garycollins7750]

I went there once in July 1996.

[@campkira]

so can i just get rare sneaker at six flag then... it would making the trip worth it...,

[@stephenholloway6893]

Only 3 Six Flags parks were only originally built. Texas, Georgia, and Mid America (aka Saint Louis). The rest were later bought.

[@colinroberts2060]

@@mikesyls It also applies to the now-abandoned Six Flags New Orleans, which was originally an unaffiliated park known as "Jazzland" in 2000.

[@ColdFuse96]

1:50 Hey thats where I live 😃 It's funny. I've lived in FW/Arlington my whole life, and I never realized just how monumental my particular Six Flags is. I drive past it basically every week, and I always thought of it as just my town's theme park. My family didn't have allot of money to be spending on theme parks, but I have been there a couple of times throughout my life, and its always a great experience. Looney Toons characters and merchandise is everywhere, which really stuck nostalgia with me since I always preferred WB cartoons over Disney when I was little. I havent been there in a couple of years, but I always hear the screams of people on the rollercoasters, so its gotta be doing good. I would find out that there's only a handful of parks in existence, but I never realized mine was the first one 😂

[@kiowastew]

Wife and I hit up Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, and a Rangers game in one freaking day. One of the best dates we've ever had. Never realized Arlington was the original either. I grew up east of Houston. Always thought that was the original.

[@garycollins7750]

The Arlington one is the oldest but also the smallest as it’s land locked by three highways.

[@ObsessedCollector]

At Great Adventure in Jackson, there were a few major things that nearly killed off the park. One was the Haunted House fire, and the other was the HORRIBLE fights and stabbings that occurred in the 1990s to the early 00s. Thankfully the park was cleaned up and many GREAT things added to Great Adventure.

[@ronbzoom8531]

Well thanks a lot for playing that Mr. Sixx theme music. Now I'll never get it out of my head! Da da da da da dada! Make it stop!

[@danielchou9802]

A suggestion for a future video: Penn Central Corporation but more prominently, the Penn Central Railroad. This railroad was involved in the biggest bankruptcy of its time in 1971, and it forever changed the scene of American railroads with new companies, mass abandonments of companies and a rush of mergers between companies. Also, I love your content!

[@dindog22]

there was also a time in the early 2000's that they added a TON of roller coasters to all the parks. Roller coasters aren't cheap. especially if they're made by B&M

[@drc1985]

Not as an initial investment anyway. B&M is Well worth it in the long run. The general public loves them, there ultra reliable and they have a long opeating lifespan.

[@nthgth]

I guess a $20M coaster is a worthy investment if it singly enables you to charge significantly more for park entrance, or if a lot of people would have been on the fence about going but that one coaster clinched their decision

[@mr.voidout4739]

I live in the neighborhood right around Magic Mountain, used to always get passes as a kid. Now it's sad to see it not running at all for the first time in my life.

[@warriorlink8612]

Spent a lot of my teenage years at Six Flags Great Adventure. That park was a lot of fun. I remember all of the Time Warner stuff, Batman was a huge theme in one part of the park. Never knew about the financials at the time, never cared then. I just wanted my crush to ride a rollercoaster with me. 😁

[@Alex_DC413]

My experience with them was that they took over Geauga Lake near my home. I was kinda hoping that would get discussed but considering the breadth of their acquisitions, I'm not surprised you didn't focus on that one. If anything, it was enlightening to learn how common that was

[@michaezell4607]

Sadly they ruined GL by failing to keep investing in it....once the new rides stopped coming in so did the people.

[@IAmNotAFunguy]

@@michaezell4607 Six Flags ruined Geauga Lake, not Cedar Fair. Six Flags ran it into the ground and Cedar Fair weren't able to repair the business there.

[@Doctors_TARDIS]

@@IAmNotAFunguyI'm going to link a great article, but as someone with deep connections that worked for Cedar Fair, this is pretty spot on. The biggest problem with the park is that while it could have worked as a small local park, and did for years, the overnight expansion into a megapark killed it. Because the park and the area was simply not infrastructurally capable of supporting it. www.themeparktourist.com/features/20140824/28153/lost-geauga-lake-how-worlds-largest-six-flags-disappeared

[@jricedrums]

@@Doctors_TARDIS I grew up with Geauga Lake, old enough to remember the conversion to Six Flags and how awesome I thought it was to get all the new coasters not much else. From my parent's perspective when Six Flags came to town the park became dirty, the customer service went down the drain, and the park upkeep was poor. In their eyes, Six Flags came and ruined the small cheaper alternative to Cedar Point.

[@colbystearns5238]

5:07, Astroworld actually opened in 1968, Six Flags just acquired the pre-existing park from Roy Hofheinz in 1975.

[@angelusa73]

Love it!!!! I love the roller coaster and did not go as many times as I should of because I loved screaming and found was very good way to release tension or anything else not good for thespirit and soul. Went to the one in TexS snd the one in New Jersey thrust is closer to the state where I was living Angela Umbria Italy.🇮🇹

[@BobBridgesbob]

Another great video, but like some of the other comments below, you ended when they filed bankruptcy in 2009, but never explained how they came out of bankruptcy and how they've been able to rise again after that! You teased it very well upfront that something happened, but you never explained it. As a big fan of Six Flags, I'd love to hear the rest of the story!

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

“The happiest place on Earth” Disneyland: Bruh

[@JoeyMarsbar]

Alton Towers : excuse me

[@ashkitt7719]

Isn't the DPRK the Happiest Place on Earth? OR ELSE!

[@ethanvonwald]

Do Cedar Fair- Why They're Successful

[@marinesquirel135]

YES! There also bigger than most people realize too. I've only ever been to cedar point several times in the 2000's, but the park was always pristine. It's also the oldest theme park in the country.

[@joshuajoe1419]

Yes, I’m from Ohio and Kong’s Island and Cedar Point are the only parks are go to.

[@justinc.5591]

Cedar Fair is much more consistently successful than Six Flags.

[@codeymeeks5476]

There was that time that young girl got her legs cut off on the superman ride at six flags Kentucky. They went downhill after that for a while

[@digdougx]

@@marinesquirel135 Second oldest. Lake Compounce has it beat by a few years.

[@phoenixnoire2435]

I noticed, right around the time of their bankruptcy, they began having an unusual amount of in-park accidents. Every year from 2009 until I stopped paying attention saw at least one accident due to putting cost cutting over safety. Some years saw multiple, horrific accidents. That's why 2009 was the last time *I* went to Six Flags and I can't imagine a reason for their fall more likely than most of their customers didn't wanna die.

[@sofia-pc1ij]

I remember going to Six Flags once a week as a kid because of season passes and we lived about 45 mins away from the park. When I was a teenager, we moved to Mexico and oddly enough going to a Six Flags was really assuring.

[@juanballeza1869]

The fact that he said Arlington,Texas I was so happy. Born and raised in Arlington, Texas not the one in Virginia. We are slowly becoming a very well known place in the USA.

[@rickeyclaiborne5521]

Guess so, especially since it’s between Ft. Worth and Dallas. I’m from Ft. Worth btw

[@sexagesimalian]

And yet, the 2018 debt is back to 1998 levels and their interest payments are rising. Add to that the shutdown of 2020. Another bankruptcy is coming.

[@ryan_n05]

Hopefully Cedar Fair takes at least 3 parks from them when they go bankrupt.

[@Jaymat222]

It’s a good analysis on it’s finances, I wish there was more emphasis on the development of the parks

[@radekrydzewski8474]

I live about an hour away from Arlington, and the "six flags over Texas" theme is still there. It was always the talk of the middle school lunch tables when someone in your friend group went on the Mr. Freeze ride over a 3-day weekend. *sighs* those were the times.

[@ishouldhavetried]

"Gonna take the family to Six Flags, buy the fast pass" - Pete Davidson