The Dying Business of Roller Coasters

[@ModernMBA]

💚 If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor BetterHelp. Click betterhelp.com/mba for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy with a licensed professional specific to your needs. Your click supports Modern MBA and thanks to BetterHelp for supporting the channel. 0:00 The Thrill is Calling 12:18 Roller Coaster Tycoon 23:09 Post-Bankruptcy Stress Disorder 34:10 Don't Look Down

[@joekat6451]

Minor editing error 28:19

[@graveyardcook1607]

Please do your take on pekemon. PLEASE!!

[@Tod53848]

Chart at 6:57 makes no sense. Can’t tell what column 4 and 5 are with the mixed messaging

[@PrinceRoyceFan667]

Mark Zuckerberg owns BetterHelp

[@Kbeats2020]

What about the Sea World parks?

[@FaceofEvil6]

I salute the man who used Six Flags season passes to get free lunch and dinner. Bargain hunter legend.

[@lucasm7177]

There was a ton of people doing that. I get it that people want to get the most out of their money but the food back then was way worse than even now and I still don't like eating at the parks.

[@2beJT]

I did that the summer after Covid and the Summer after. I didn't realize how much money I was saving until I looked at how low my spending was during those months. It was so fun! We rode all the rides so much, got some meals and bottomless soda. It was a couple of the best summers ever.

[@holliefitzzz]

negative investment when you consider the health costs of eating burgers every day though 🤣

[@2beJT]

They have salads and stir fry veggies though so.. like you could just eat that. And most people are eating junk anyway, just look at what sells every year outside of any Six Flags served stuff. How many billions of hamburgers is Ronald McDonald up to now? That's not inside a Six Flags. @@holliefitzzz

[@vgrepairs]

​@@2beJT m y g u y ditch the soda!!! Nasty

[@amanduhh]

I actually worked at Six Flags for the last 5 years as a summer job and the problems at the parks that can be felt by guests are felt 10x more on the employee side. Low staffing, increased prices, and slow operations means the guests are more pissed then ever, and there’s nothing we can do to appease them. Weve been on a downward spiral ever since covid due to seasonal employees and leadership, park management, and an overall lean towards cutting corners

[@iHasCaek]

i live way closer to disneyland than i do to a six flags. i would prefer to go to six flags if the would just maintain the park better and offer better services and not price gouge on food. i love six flags rides faaaar more than disneyland's rides, but six flags have to compete where they can. they dont have to go all out on the themes and branded characters. they have to beat disneyland where they can.

[@coastergirl98]

I'd kind of like to see Six Flags get bought out by Cedar Fair. Cedar Fair does an amazing job running their parks. My only reservation would be what Cedar Fair would do with such a large piece of the regional amusement park pie. Naïve me would like to believe that it would make the amusement park industry much more enjoyable for american coater enthusiasts, but realistic me fears they might pull some ticketmaster/live nation bullshit.

[@thistalltoride]

My home park is Six Flags Over Georgia, and it is so obvious it is a management issue. If the new CEO was serious about making a premium experience, those are the things that would be easy, fast and family inexpensive to fix first, but he's yet to make a single move in that direction.

[@bserpas]

​@@coastergirl98You must not know of the tale of Geagu Lake

[@Robbedem]

Six Flags has a predatory unsustainable business strategy. They are doomed to fail if they don't change their ways soon (= cost cutting at every possibility and only investing in big vanity projects instead of fixing underlying issues). One of my local parks deteriorated every year under six flags. When it was sold to another company more than a decade ago, it slowly became better again, year after year. It allowed them to survived covid and a devestating flood.

[@singbike5832]

This video didn't seem to be about the dying business of roller coasters. It seemed to be mostly about Six Flags' poor business decisions.

[@kennyadvocat]

are coasters dead or not?

[@interstellarrock9713]

​@@kennyadvocatnope, because Six Flags isn't the only comapny that makes theme parks

[@Coastographyy]

@@kennyadvocat no

[@MegaBenjamin]

@@kennyadvocatno, cedar point is doing great right now and it has the best selection of coasters of any park in my opinion

[@an0therdimensi0n99]

called click bait

[@GyroCannon]

The guy who got every meal at Six Flags for 7 years for the price of a few season passes is god tier in my book. The brilliance, I can't fathom.

[@ginwilliams4202]

The problem is he ate nothing of any nutritional value. The types of food sold at amusement parks is sloppy joes, greasy pizza and fries, unhealthy junk foods that he ate for his daily meal.

[@GyroCannon]

@@ginwilliams4202 I'm hoping that it was possible for him to grab a salad or something there, at least occasionally lol

[@marcusyu2655]

It's crazy that buying season passes at Six Flags was even cheaper than going to Costco.

[@trackmaster152002]

I feel like an easy fix would be require that you not live within 30 miles of a Six Flags park (verified by proof of residency like Disney and Universal do for in state discounts) to qualify for an all year dining plan. A 45 minute drive would push out the people who want to use the plan as a substitute for grocery shopping, and put it in the hands of people that it would make sense for.

[@Wheelman2004]

@@ginwilliams4202 Sounds amazing!

[@lilyng6673]

To me it's simple: Six Flags is very capital intensive because they need to maintain and always introduce new rides, but their products only attract "casual" customers who are not there to spend top dollars like those Universal and Disney theme parks.

[@drdewott9154]

And the products they spend so much capital on are often subpar investments. They're low quality, quantity over quality. This combined with profit maximization like with the overcharging on commodities like food, along with lack of cleanliness means its just not very good value to go to Six Flags. If they wanna get out of this rod, they need to be willing to spend on quality and probably less so on IP. Build immersive themed lands in the parks and incorporate the rides into those for example. This is something the Busch Gardens parks did really well until they became a stock market company in the last decade.

[@PandorasFolly]

I would love to see three stats on earning per capita on visitors to the different parks over the last 40 years. I have a feeling cedar and six flags are seeing drop offs in revenue because their demographic the lower to middle class just don't have any spare cash to spend going to six flags. But Disney's chief demographic the middle to upper class has plenty of cash to go to disney and doesn't have the spare time to go to six flags as well, choose one or the other and they spend more money.

[@gtonyxkid2012]

Amusement parks are alive and well. There isn’t all kinds of new ones opening but those that have established themselves like Dollywood, Kings Island, Cedar Point etc are thriving and still adding new coasters and attractions yearly. I love amusement parks and travel to many each year and they’re just as busy as they have ever been with new things coming in constantly

[@michaelbaxter6146]

Ya are forgetting debt for those amusement park chains....

[@davemccage7918]

Not related, but that was the CLUNKIEST segue into an ad read for “Better Help”.

[@werewolflover8636]

Dollywood doesn’t have IP’s yet it’s still a very popular park and was recently named the best park in the world by Golden Ticket (and it’s not the first time either). They simply gain their popularity by offering incredible service, a clean, safe, and beautiful park, good food at affordable prices and not charging as nearly as much as the likes of Disney! They continue to grow and expand each and every year and I for one couldn’t be more happier for them.

[@TheGrifhinx]

Also it's Dolly Parton. Not sure for the super typical cis white male, but for just about anyone else, knowing she is the one behind the whole idea of the park has weight.

[@wedwardscat]

​@@TheGrifhinx the park is co owned by dolly and is actually owned by herchend family entertainment which also owns Kentucky Kingdom, Silver Dollar City, and some other park in Kansas I think. Themeparks aren't a dying breed

[@TrueLies23]

You're not wrong about the majority of what you said. But we know how Golden Ticket Awards are handed out. They were best park because they hosted, most likely. SDC is probably a better park under the same ownership.

[@staramas1733]

Dude absolutely true, I just visited Dollywood this past year and it was probably one of my favorite theme parks I’ve been to. It was so nice looking and everything was well maintained it was incredible

[@hamelconsultancyllc]

Literally has the IP of Dolly… what are you talking about

[@C_M_R]

As a Six Flags stockholder and as someone with a legacy membership, the changes that Selim Bassoul made to the park to make it feel more premium was a big mistake. They are trying to abandon that strategy and now spending more money on new rides and better prices annual passes to win back the customers they alienated.

[@Amelia-vk4jt]

Seems like a bad stock for your portfolio

[@GyroCannon]

Did he try to make it more premium without any substance or something like that? I thought the problem was that their customers were low spenders who took up a lot of capacity, so they had to get rid of those customers for people willing to pay up in the park

[@Spike-sk7ql]

​@@GyroCannonthat's EXACTLY what he did. And then everyone reminded him that it's six flags. They are the Walmart of amusement parks. There's nothing wrong with that either. There is a demand for it. Now he seems to be convinced. They are starting to pretty up Great Adventure though starting next year. Maybe he's just gonna use the revenue from these years to make it into a premium park.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@maddox121 no, I get it. Problem was that he did things in the reverse order. I do understand that you need money to upgrade the parks, but you're gonna anger people when you raise prices and don't do any upgrades like they did last year or the year before, I forget. I agree that he's doing good things now, but everyone kind of agreed that what he did wasn't the good call. Even if it was the right call. I don't know, do you get what I'm saying?

[@cooldoggo3172]

@@Amelia-vk4jt🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[@tvguts]

This was super interesting! I was a teen in the 2010s, living (as you said) 20 minutes from Six Flags Over Georgia... and every summer, my family got season passes. It seemed so luxurious at the time, but in retrospect they must have gotten a pretty good deal! The part about season pass holders leaving the park to eat made me laugh-- sure enough, we packed a lunch and had a picnic in the parking lot every single time we went. Better than waiting in line for 30 minutes to get a $20 burger and fries!!!

[@ThisJustin_87]

I lived about 10 minutes from SFOG and I used to get season passes as a teen (90s/early 00's) and yeah we used to get our hands stamped left the park to go to Wendy's or Waffle House up the street and came back about 30 minutes later LOL

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

Parks can fix this by actually putting effort into their food so people actually want to eat it. Dollywood and Silver Dollar City do a good job at this and as a result I eat in the park and they get my money

[@johnchambers8528]

The best parks are the smaller regional parks that feature local food and non branded food and beverage connected to movie or TV people. one of the best parks in my area is Kenobles in mid state Pa. Free admission, free parking, and good food and beverages at reasonable prices. Even getting on rides you usually have the choice of either tickets or all day ride passes. This park has a good selection of both roller coasters and other thrill and family rides. They even still have a dedicated kiddie ride section in the park. Compared to Disney, Six Flags or other major parks a larger regional park beats them hands down.

[@goldenovaries]

Same!! Good memories going to six flags every spring break

[@marcusyu2655]

Does six flags not allow people to bring food into the park?

[@foobarFR]

You should look for Europa Park in Germany. It began as a simple demonstration park for the Mack Rides company and it slowly but consistently grew to become the third park in Europe. Not only did they survive covid but they are slowly creating a whole leisure hub with hotels and an aquatic park (Rulantica). They're not well known, but they're considered one of the most enjoyable theme park in the world. They are independant, that location is their only park but it's still a giant showroom for the Mack Rides company (90% of their rides are built by the company).

[@drdewott9154]

Yeah. And the park features very little IP yet they're at a scale both in terms of resort size and visitor numbers where they're a real competitor to Disneyland Paris, despite not having any superheroes or cartoon characters to bring people in. They just made a really sound business with good customer experience and grew in a slowly healthy way. I mean heck the park initially only had what, 5 or 6 rides and was initially just for locals, yet look at it now.

[@MaximilianZ96]

What do you mean with the third park in Europe?

[@drdewott9154]

@@MaximilianZ96 Third most visited on the continent. The top 2 are Disneyland Paris and it's sisterpark Walt Disney Studios which is right next door to Disneyland Paris.

[@MaximilianZ96]

@@drdewott9154 oh ok thank you for the clarification. I am surprised that studios is above Europapark. It’s really shit in comparison.

[@drdewott9154]

@@MaximilianZ96 Yeah but its probably not too surprising. The DIsneyland Paris resort has advertisements across all of Europe, I regularly see Disneyland Paris ads on TV, on Train stations, and street ad fixtures all over Denmark, which is very far from France. I've never seen ads for Europa park here. Disney spends all of this money on advertising to attract way more people from all corners of the continent, and it makes sense then that they get many buying combo tickets for both the parks there.

[@nixielee]

With 1 video a week, the video editing and overall graphics are fantastic. Quality production.

[@Posirep]

As a coaster enthusiast...Give me Six Flags, Cedar Fair, or Sea World parks over Disney ANY DAY.

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

I haven’t been to Disney World in Florida since the early 2000’s and I don’t feel like going back anytime soon

[@clinton5623]

Absolutely.

[@Chaoshero5567]

universal is also fine

[@Posirep]

@@ThrillsofColdplay Same, I was 14 last time I was at Disney...im 42 now. haha

[@Posirep]

@Chaoshero5567 Yeah, its fun. Epic Universe looks awesome too.

[@themarquis336]

I have a friend who used to work right in front of Six Flags in Mexico City. He liked to catch Pokemons on Pokemon Go and there were tons of them at Six Flags so he got his year-pass. This, of course, was back in the day, before covid, when Six Flags year-passes still included many free food coupons and great discounts. This guy, no lie, would go to Six Flags every day during his lunch hour and eat for free, catch a few Pokemons and go back to work. Genius.

[@MrMajani]

Not all churn is bad. This is a lesson I've learnt the hard way over the years. Some people just don't have the money in their pocket to pay for a product, and no amount of freebies and discounts will change that

[@ThisJustin_87]

I'll never forget someone said that Six Flags is the Walmart of amusement parks while Cedar Fair was Target and Disney/Universal was Nordstrom and Saks 🤣🤣🤣 But it's a fair point. Six Flags has always been a cheap thrill as opposed to Disney which you have to plan like you're on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Perhaps the chain has become a victim of its own success because how can you turn what was/is a well known inexpensive experience into something that is premium and other-worldly? Great video.

[@TheCycloneHunter]

Cedar Fair is more like Best Buy. You’re gonna walk in there, get exactly what you want, you most likely aren’t gonna see anything stupid, and the employees are gonna be just friendly enough. At least that’s how it is at most cedar fair parks

[@BRoop89]

I think you hit the nail on the head at the end. Six Flags turned into the low budget park option. I grew up in Northern Virginia where we had multiple options. People become generational attendees when their favorite park can keep in touch with the community and heritage. The Six Flags in Maryland had to put a chaperone policy in place because teenagers were vandalizing and disrupting the park. I don’t think it’s fair to size these parks up to Disney/Universal. Orlando is the Mecca of theme park destinations with tons of pilgrimages, but most theme parks are strictly regional. It would be more accurate, I think, to compare them to other regional players.

[@MattMcIrvin]

As a fan of roller coasters and amusement parks, I feel this. In some ways it feels like the traditional amusement park has been slowly fading away for half a century--there was a period of consolidation as the big chain theme parks appeared and most local independent parks died, and now even most of the chains are losing out to the international destination theme parks like Disney and Universal... and Disney's been having some trouble themselves. There are lots of ways for people to entertain themselves today and you're competing with a lot.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

They also feel overpriced in so many ways.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Dude... not every park is in trouble. There are actually thriving independent parks, and some are even expanding. Parks like Knobels in PA, and Waldameer, Indiana Beach, Holiday World. These small parks are thriving. Fun Spot parks are doing well enough to add a huge coaster by RMC in Atlanta. Trust me.... those parks have their customer base. People who can't afford to do multiple trips to Florida, or California, let alone out of the country. Then the chains like Cedar Fair, and Herschend are doing good.

[@jettrooper101]

@@Spike-sk7ql I don't know. I went to Indiana beach this summer. I was not impressed at all and would not say its thriving. It may be less run down than it used to be, but its still run down and does not seem clean by any means. I only went because it was a free work outing. I won't go again, felt like I experienced all that I could, and similar to six flags, the food is over priced for what it is.

[@coastergirl98]

@@Spike-sk7ql Don't forget Beech Bend! Kentucky Rumbler is an amazing wooden coaster. Also, Holiday World is more than just thriving, they're basically a premiere park. There were a fuck ton of people at Holiwood Nights this year and I've heard that it's been much bigger in years they didn't cap ticket sales.

[@coastergirl98]

@@jettrooper101 Indiana Beach is an amazing little park. Cornball Express is a fucking fantastic coaster. The park is like a combination of a traditional amusement park and a boardwalk all in one. Obviously you do not know how to enjoy an amusement park.

[@RPKraul]

We’ve gotten to the point where the amusement parks with a lot of cash to spend-Cedar Point and Hershey being two examples-no longer have a lot of available land. Cedar Point management has even indicated that they’re going to invest in more family attractions. People spoiled by the coaster wars of the past may disappointed by the reality we’re going to see in upcoming decades. Six Flags isn’t a chain typically comfortable dumping a large amount of money into a single attraction, at least not in recent years. Plus, when you have to distribute funds to that many parks, things get very challenging. Add COVID and an economy that absolutely stinks, and you see a lot of parks hurting. Parks can’t print their own money, and we’ve already seen season passes increase in price dramatically. Lack of land for money properties, bad economics-big investments are already slowing down.

[@coastergirl98]

Technically, Cedar Point has land to expand. They'd just have to dredge it up from Lake Erie first. Would it make sense to do? Probably not. Hell, I doubt they would even consider it, but damn, would it be cool if they did!

[@ThoosieJP]

The thing is the Coaster War was cool but it did impact the park. You can only go so high and so fast and then it starts getting gimmicky. (Worlds Tallest Dive Coaster) I got to check out Forbidden Frontier and Snake River Expedition and they were awesome attractions, families loved Snake River Expedition (Jungle Cruise style boat ride) but the issue with Forbidden Frontier is that it was hidden. Nobody knew it was their until it was gone, and they nerfed Snake River Expedition when they cut the budget to Live Entertainment. Now they are pushing back to more thrill with Top Thrill 2, and now you have all this land where Forbidden Frontier is. But Cedar Point has massive gaps in the lineup like a Dark Ride, or a thrilling Flat ride that goes upside down.

[@Demopans5990]

@coastergirl98 Parks are late to the expansion party. the cities took it all first

[@FAFO4wisdom]

Then there's the spike in corporate taxes. Political parties matter ..... Some tax more than others. Wink wink.

[@MidwestBoom]

Cedar Point could easily expand if they want, though. Turn the whole parking lot area in do a new area for amusement park and move the parking lot across the bridge. And then just use a bus to bring you to the park. Which a lot of parks already do.

[@rixrobin]

This video is remarkably well done, and I hope that more people come to see it. I grew up going to six flags and it holds a special place in my heart. While initially hesitant, I like where the new leadership is taking the company. Even if I end up having to pay more for the pass, I’ve noticed that the park appears cleaner and with shorter lines. I just hope that this doesn’t result in a decrease in the addition of thrilling rides, but it seems like we are good for now.

[@JamesR1986]

I grew up in the town next to Darien Lake Amusement Park in New York. I used to work there as a summer job during high school and ended up working there after I graduated from college...in 2009 (Yikes!). The park went through new ownership seemingly every other year, and no one ever wanted to invest in the the unsexy infrastructure. Preferring instead to spend on new rides to maintain crowds. When I went to the park a few years ago, it showed, the park felt run down and crummy. Since then, Six Flags has taken over operation of the park (for a second time). Since the park become a Six Flags again, it has cut hours, closes the park on Tuesdays all summer long, and jacked season ticket prices. This park was open more during the depths of the Great Recession. Another problem is that, even under the best of circumstances, a park like Darien Lake only really appeals to children to young adults. That's a lot of money to spend on such a narrowing (and shrinking demographic)

[@doink_v]

I think the secret to having a good theme park is to make a guest's experience as efficient and plannable as possible. Going to Disney World is a completely different universe. You never need your car, and you're always booking appointments for food, rides, and constantly skipping lines. Your time is money, and wasting it sucks. Couple that with having resorts that connect to the park, it's a killer combo. There's a bus coming and going every few minutes. Six Flags could partner with a Hotel chain and provide some sort of friction-less vacation experience that achieves a premium customer. With high octane rides, it could differentiate from Disney, which tend to offer less thrilling attractions in favor of special effects and branded virtual adventures.

[@dickgrayson4237]

That's not what six flags stands for. Their consumer base has always been value oriented/middle class/students. Their rides and attractions are made for them in mind They have to completely change their business model and massively increase their scale if they want to attract high end tourists

[@rickvenuto8944]

Same in California you book everything in advance you book your dining experience, your book your trip. OMG the Montecristo that they serve over in New Orleans square is by far the best sandwich I've ever eaten in my life. I have to say, as far as the park itself I'm a little jealous of Florida however, as far as the weather not one little bit. LOL. Do they still have the carousel of progress in Florida? I really miss that ride.

[@Paulmagic8ball365]

Hotels with sixflags they do have that

[@trackmaster152002]

This post almost sounds sarcastic. The biggest complaint about Disney World is all of the pre-planning that guests have to do. Or the disaster a vacation becomes when planning is skipped or they didn't know about it ahead of time. I'm a planner myself (really I don't have to plan for Disney, since I'm a local and I know it so well), but I don't think I've ever heard anybody praise the planning process before.

[@leightonpetty4817]

I strongly strongly disagree. What matters so much more than “plannability” is _convenience_ - rather than having to decide 3 months early which rides I want to ride, people want a park where they can simply decide the ride and… ride it.

[@moth.monster]

Am I the only person who cares more about rides than stupid characters? I don't want to spend 100 bucks on a Star Wars boondoggle, I want to get strapped to a machine that'll make my brain think I'm about to die and release funny chemicals.

[@drdewott9154]

You're not alone. Heck its probably the biggest misconception in the whole video. That IP's are somehow the main draw to Disney, when really its the quality of theming and immersion. Its escapism and you don't need IP for that. Several theme parks in Europe prove that all the time, whether they're transporting you to a Steampunk city, a Magical Fantasy kingdom, a Secret government facility of unspeakable terrors, or a land of Dinosaurs. Maybe the Wild west, or a bay of Pirates, or something completely original that someone has never thought up before. They don't need IP's for all of this, and they're still succesful, incorporating the rides into these themed lands. If you've never heard of Phantasialand in Germany then by all means look it up, they're a masterclass example in this kind of stuff. Their newest roller coaster is in a brand new Steampunk city area where you lay down and it's themed to flying on Jetpacks around the city.

[@lighthawk3720]

You are most definitely NOT the only one but you're definitely not the majority either. At least given the information from the video, the money bringers are the fans of characters and the unique worlds.

[@drdewott9154]

@@lighthawk3720 I think that's still very debatable. For one it could just be that many guests seek some kind of escapism to be immersed into a different world. The problem then is that themed experiences at theme parks outside of Disney and Universal studios is practically unheard of in the North American market. The only ones to have tried it at a large scale are the Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa Florida and Williamsburg Virginia, but with a corporate shakeup and a capital fund now owning a majority stake, they've pivoted away from this to Six flags style investments while neglecting what set their parks apart, deteriorating the brand and their profits while doing so. One of the only other cases in North America of a largely themed park outside of Disney and Universal is Knotts Berry Farm in the LA region, not too far from the original Disneyland. Knotts is famous for its themed areas, especially thr Ghost town which keeps people coming back. It gets the guests immersed without requiring any IP. This kind if stuff is the exception in the US, but the norm in Europe which has a thriving and very competitive theme park industry, with many parks inventing their own stories and characters to fit into fictional lands they create which they immerse guests into.

[@FranNyan]

I feel like it's all about advertising. Media franchises as saturated with it and everything they put out reinforces the brand. And I know quite a lot of Disney park lovers who are pissed that the classic rides keep being replaced with crappy character inserts. (Talk to anyone who loved Epcot and bring popcorn, it's a hell of a thing to see them rant.)

[@C0astinG4mer]

Six flags and cedar fair are your go to’s, that’s just the main 2 though

[@magecat14]

I miss Jazzland, bought out by Six Flags to become Six Flags Over New Orleans. The company wasn't interested in the capital investment to repair anything after the park was damaged in Hurricane Katrina, and the site has been closed and decaying ever since. If you live within a hundred miles of New Orleans and want to go to an amusement park, it takes about as long to drive to Disney World or Universal as to any Six Flags park, so you might as well invest more money for the higher class experience.

[@porqpai7082]

I actually miss ponchartrain beach! Jazzland didn’t have enough shades or functioning rides before Katrina and there weren’t enough locals after to keep it alive.

[@c.d.9508]

Unfortunately Jazzland was destined to fail. Just a poor location.

[@stingray1irwin0]

Canada's Wonderland is an interesting outlier. Very little IP, and is still the most highly attended seasonal park in north america

[@sethanix3969]

This was a VERY US view about amusement parks... Man, am I glad that I live in central Europe, where there are still good parks that put the entertainment value over brand recognition and customer milking. Europapark, Phantasialand and Trippsdrill are daytrips for me, Efteling is only one border away and many more better than average parks are in a 500 km radius. All mostly unbranded or using park owned brands with only one bad apple among them: Disneyland Paris....

[@killervirgo]

Great video. Six Flags have bigger rides but what separates it from park like Disney and Universal are things like theming and customer service. On the customer service side, Six Flags will never go above and beyond to make the experience better when Disney or Universal would. IMO, I think this has to do with poor training and hiring younger workers because they can pay them less.

[@StarlightPrism]

I worked at a Six Flags in college and they'd always complain about the high employee turnover, but they never paid more than minimum wage for the entry level positions. I don't think the promoted positions paid much either.

[@fenn27]

There is a large theme park being built in Northeast Okalahoma called American Heartland with an estimated cost of $2B. It might be something to keep an eye on in the long term.

[@TheWolfXCIX]

0 chance it ever opens, completely stupid idea unfortunately

[@fenn27]

@@TheWolfXCIX I normally would agree but did a deep dive into the funding stream for the overall project and the funding is there with the initial supporting projects already moving forward at the local and state level. I think the project will not meet the published completion date of 2026 but with the amount of funding behind the project who knows?

[@TheWolfXCIX]

​@@fenn27fair enough, but if it does I can't imagine why and I'd assume the park would be closed within a few years. We've just seen Lost Island attempt the same thing and the only reason that place is still open a year later is because it's attached to a successful water park

[@tonyreyna1067]

It's gonna happen

[@drdewott9154]

Well they do have the funds and they will set themselves apart due to being more theming focused but we'll see. There are occassional new theme parks around the US too, just last year a new park in Iowa opened up called Lost Island with a budget of I think around 500 million dollars. They're also heavily themed unlike most American parks, but a lot of their rides are second hand, their 2 big roller coasters were bought from parks in Sweden and South Africa respectively, and given some TLC before being rebuilt in Iowa. Their main problem right now is that their entry gate ticket price isn't super reflective of their product, being quite overcharged, which means fewer people are visiting than what otherwise would be the case. Though the owners also own a nearby waterpark which is offsetting the slight loss on the theme park at the moment, though integration between the 2 really should be better.

[@somedude1901]

Seems like there’s a ripe opportunity for someone to reinvent the theme park experience, to make it more convenient and comfortable than ever.

[@resa574]

Doesn’t sound like much of an opportunity imo

[@oigres200]

Love the Rollercoaster Tycoon references, it's my favorite videogame of all time. When I was a kid I wanted to be a theme park manager because of that game lol. Love the video.

[@MenkoDany]

TTD taught me to play with trains and destroy people in multiplayer* RCT taught me how to be a MAN * disclaimer: this is a lie and people destroyed _me_ in multiplayer

[@disgruntledtaxpayr]

Great and insightful video. We hate to see the BetterHelp ad though. The data selling and lack of credential checks is so shady.

[@iamsioth]

I was a member of one of thoes familes, that would pack lunch in a cooler in the car, and just go out to the car to eat lunch. The prices for food is just too damn ridiculous

[@ladyblackstar4260]

As someone who lives closer to the six flags water park than to six flags itself: We bought the season tickets for what is now six flags hurricane harbor over Rockford I believe water park at the end of the summer for the next summer pre acquisition and it was heavily discounted like 25$ per ticket when they were normally 45 and we ended up getting six flags season passes for Uber cheap it was honestly awesome that summer because six flags wasn’t that much further

[@RaiderNation84]

Fact Check: Lost Island is a brand new theme park in Iowa that opened last year

[@CoasterObsessed]

I’d still take a cedar fair, six flags,(ig those are about to be the same) Or any independent park over Disney.

[@Nohandleentered]

I’d love to see a video about the business of business lending. It seems like debt is so frequently part of the failure stories I’d love to know more about who the players are on the lending side, how they think about risk, and what they do when things go wrong; and of course if/how profitable of a business business-lending is

[@teseus6416]

People love theme parks. I couldn't care less about well known characters as long as you create beautiful scenery around your rides. Phantasialand isn't great because it has well known IPs (it has none), it just packs a lot of insanely good rides in a lot of top notch scenery. You don't need to know anything about any character and you'll still enjoy Parc Asterix because it's stunning. The main issues of Six Flags is that it feels like they've done the bare minimum when it comes to theming. My cousins won't ride a roller coaster to save their lives and they still love going to Europa Park for its vibe and some of their tame flat rides.

[@UGAthecat]

I've been saying for about 15 years that dying malls could and should be the new home of regional theme parks and the feasibility of this just keeps getting better over time. I have quite a few ideas on how to make it work, so anyone in the right position to make something like this happen can reach out, I'm cheap to hire I mostly just want to see it happen. It is already starting to happen with the return of arcades and other small amusement locations like Aquariums and Lego stores with a couple carnival rides and/or big play areas for hosting parties, but there is so much room for improvement. This doesn't even require buying out the entire mall, scales very well, and can more easily take advantage of revenue streams stand alone theme parks are struggling to figure out.

[@OyamaBinLovin]

I'd love to see you do a piece on the economics of the call center industry and/or content moderation industry. They're both about the same model and both kinda' brutal on lots of people.

[@wrestlingandamusementparkl7789]

Parks like Dollywood or silver dollar is the in between. They may not have a Harry Potter or Mickey Mouse. But they do focus on family time.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

They are more of the exception than the rule. The only reason they work is because they are locsted near other big tourist attractions (Great Smoky Mountains and the Ozarks)

[@werewolflover8636]

Dollywood was named the best park in the world once again this year by Golden Ticket. It’s well deserved recognition for them as Dollywood is a fantastic park that’s not only beautiful but a good deal with things to do for everyone!

[@werewolflover8636]

@@AdamSmith-gs2dvI’m from the area and Dollywood wasn’t always the huge success it is today, so no it’s not “because it’s next to national park”. Growing up Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge were pretty much places that only southern people from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, etc frequented because we could all reach this area within a few hours. I spent many Christmas vacations in Gatlinburg and it’s one of my favorite memories! Today this area is hugely popular with people traveling here from around the country snd the world but I certainly wasn’t like this thirty years ago! Dollywood back then was more shows than rides but I still enjoyed it as a child. It wasn’t till later on that a huge amount of money was invested into Dollywood that they started seeing such huge numbers. And they’ve also kept high standards throughout the years offering families a safe, clean, and affordable place to stay and enjoy their vacation! It’s a faction of the cost of a Disney vacation and you have both Gatlinburg and Pigeon to explore along with the great Smokey Mountain National Park (the most beautiful place on earth) and Cherokee NC right next door which is the capital of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and a federally recognized sovereign nation that you can visit! It also doesn’t hurt that Dollywood has won the ‘Golden Ticket for Best Christmas Event’ for over a decade and running, ‘Best Food’, ‘Best Value’, ‘Most Friendly’, ‘Best Food’, ‘Clearest Park’ and recently ’Best Children’s area’ and most importantly ‘Worlds Best Theme Park’! Something it’s won more than once! Its location has nothing whatsoever to do with this, it’s 100% their quality and putting people before profits! It’s well deserved and I wish them nothing but the best for a bigger and even brighter future!

[@wrestlingandamusementparkl7789]

@@werewolflover8636 yep I love Dollywood

[@danandtab7463]

This kind of reminds me how there was some commentary around 10 years ago how simple entertainment is being shunned and people now have to have everything be some big spectacle or production, or nothing at all. Disney/Universal is a juggernaut of marketing for those who need that instagram worthy experience. On an unrelated note, but whenever I play Rollercoaster Tycoon type games, I usually just do the Knoebbel's model of free admission and just charge for everything on the inside. Usually when I do that, I have the most success somehow.

[@good-tn9sr]

makes sense. overcharge on everything, the customers are already there

[@TuxedoTalk]

Six flags should partner with AAA video game developers and have the ultimate VR experience rides. God of War, Skyrim, call of duty and countless of video game IPs would attract people.

[@Zepp914]

The new CEO raised prices and a lot of the discount focused customers left. They had such terrible quarters that the memberships are back. The real lesson if that you can't increase prices without increasing quality/experience.

[@bonniemcmaken3966]

Six Flags set themselves up as a budget brand. Even between Cedar Fair and Six Flags, Cedar Fair has always seemed like less of a "cheap" park.

[@TheCoasterSerpent]

I don't think the person who made this video visits amusement parks very often and has really seen how Six Flags have got left in the dust over the past decade. Cedar Fair is their main competitor. We should only be looking at regional amusement park operators like Cedar Fair, Busch Gardens, and maybe Palace even though they are smaller. Cedar Fair also has been consistently adding bigger and better coasters and making sure their parks are well rounded experiences with expansive family and themed areas. Six Flags parks don't have 300 ft gigas and complete family areas with intermediary rides in their parks, they are very lopsided towards only the coasters. I feel too much emphasis was put on criticizing the low prices and value of things like season meal plans, however, as someone who regularly attends Cedar Fair parks, we have these things too. The difference is that the food at Cedar Point is very good and will keep guests coming back. The merch there is also high quality and not cheap ratty crap that six flags charges for. Also, some of the writing choices were very suspect from the beginning. What park is advertising "The steepest drop tower"? A drop tower always has a straight 90 degree drop to the bottom. Cedar Fair is also not called Cedar Park and Michigans Adventure is nowhere near Detroit.

[@moonjelly5]

Saying Michigan Adventure is in Detroit is like saying Disney World is in Miami.

[@anpeck464]

RIP. Great America in Santa Clara. Soon to be missed, a clear example of how the land the park was on was worth so much more than the park made, that selling the land and closing the park was far more profitable. 😥

[@marcusyu2655]

Discovery Kingdom is so much further for people in the South Bay. I'm going to miss Great America, and it'll be sad that I won't be able to bring my future children there. Nevertheless, as an adult without children I maybe go to Great America once or twice a year, so it's not like I'm a current customer.

[@johnchambers8528]

Amusement parks are not the only industry to have this happen. I am a horse race fan and many old horse race tracks, some that even had casinos attached have closed in recent years. Usually because the land they sit on has increased in value so much it’s hard to justify a business the only operates a few days a week and seasonally. Pompono Park in Florida is the latest example. The company that owned that race track decided it was more valuable to develop the land for a larger casino and other retail, food and entertainment facilities on that land. So if you have an old amusement park on land that has increased in value over the years it could be in danger of closing due to the limited profit a seasonal amusement park can generate compared to other uses.

[@noname8791]

I wish you'd stop comparing Six Flags with Universal and Disney. Six Flags doesn't even consider them as direct competition even if they are in the same industry. It would be a lot more accurate to compare Cedar Fair, Seaworld, and Merlin Entertainment to Six Flags.

[@arnoldpalmer3748]

Bro said “Disneyland Orlando”

[@3geeksthatswim]

Great video as always, I think an addendum video about Seaworld Parks and Entertainment would be interesting as well. I'm not a fan of their practices in animal treatment, but I'd be curious to know how they comparitively perform as a hybrid rollercoaster/zoo or aquarium attraction.

[@3geeksthatswim]

Busch Gardens in Tampa and the adjoining water park seems to have struck a chord with locals and tourists alike. Similar story with SeaWorld Orlando - the cost is far less than the Disney and Universal competition. In some ways I think their business is more sustainable long term than Six Flags.

[@TheWolfXCIX]

They're a lot better on the animal treatment now, blackfish basically forced them to hard reset the way they operated and they are now defined by rollercoasters more than animals

[@deadlylightningspirit4295]

@@3geeksthatswimthe sea world chain does spend too much on attractions. In the past few years they bought multiple high profile attractions consistently. They’re lucky they didn’t go bankrupt after Covid but they seemed to slow down a little bit

[@MattMcIrvin]

SeaWorld decided to make a new identity as a chain of giant coaster parks (well, the Busch Gardens parks always were), and they've been spending like mad on that at a time when most of the big chains aren't investing so much. It feels almost like Six Flags in the 2000s.

[@StarlightPrism]

@@deadlylightningspirit4295 In a post-Blackfish world, the animal attractions probably just aren't very profitable. Just saying, I don't think they ended their orca breeding program because they saw the error of their ways. Even if people are okay with the non-orca animals being in captivity and shows, lots of places (ESPECIALLY in Florida) have those species so it's probably not enough of a draw on its own. Personally I've wondered if SeaWorld could pull off the whole "immersive theme park world" thing. Give up on the pretense of education, for the most part, and go full fantasy with nautical and ocean inspired worlds. I'd go for it, but without IPs I guess it wouldn't bring in the numbers to be profitable.

[@cr8593]

great video .... i have a few notes: 2:08 - Ride featured is not Space Mountain but Rip Ride Rocket at Universal Studios Orlando 12:06 - the narration implies that Sidewinder Safari and Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger are not a new rides but previously existing rides that were re-themed. 12:38 - The Lost Island Amusement Park in Iowa is a new regional park that opened in 2022 which serves the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids regions. 28:21 - The narration abruptly cuts mid-sentence 31:54 - Cedar Fair is referred to as Cedar Park

[@ninjagirl226]

There’s a lot of mistakes in this video. Like even implying that Six Flags is doing well. Like wtf. Six Flags doesn’t know what it’s doing.

[@ModernMBA]

Thank you for the notes. It’s not implied anytime during this episode that Six Flags is doing well. The new Lost Island park referenced had a poor opening and it’s uncertain how much longer the owners will keep it running while losing money. The point at 12:38 is explicit that there has not been a single successful regional amusement park in the past 4 decades with “successful” being the key word. wcfcourier.com/news/local/business/lost-island-themepark-nearly-doubles-attendance/article_e9ccd5e8-3add-11ee-80a4-3f66edf9aec3.html

[@slumpdogyt]

@@ModernMBA lost island owners are planning to keep going for many years. They doubled their attendance this year. They are still the newest park even if they might go under. Also I don't see Dollywood on your map which is a hugely successful park.

[@marklopez7775]

@@ModernMBA Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. Thank you so very much for the video. Roller coasters are too scary for me to go to.

[@DJ-fk6zi]

Many have criticized the over IPification of Disney. It is a theme park, not just an IP park, so had attractions beyond IP brands. Many Disney features were based on Grimm fairy tales which have more staying power i would argue than Toy Story. Epcot was mostly not based on IP, which I think made the parks better, rather than like going to a rehash of an existing story, they were their own thing you could only see at the park, rather than a rehash of something you already saw, and also helped parks avoid being too overly blatant attempts to monetize brands.

[@taylorverrall118]

Fundamentally it comes down to immersive experiences. Disney did a great job of creating immersive parks, even before IPs came to dominate them. The problem with Six Flags and Cedar Fair is that they *feel* cheap. They're going all in on the wrong parts of the entertainment.

[@wedwardscat]

Cedar Fair isn't cheap. As of 2024, Cedar Point and Cedar Fair spent like 30 million dollars on completely redoing Top Thrill Dragster and the area around it. They also spent tons of money on renovating an outdated area of the park into The Boardwalk. If anything, Six Flags Is the cheap company.

[@inlinechris]

Is this AI? “how steep a drop tower is” bro they’re all the same. Straight down lol

[@grobble8954]

My contention with your analysis comes from the comparisons of Six Flags with a week & tired IP compared to Universal & Disney with robust, beloved IP'S. Also, the title of the endangered amusement park ...Six Flags has been a poorly run regional chain for decades, compared to a well run chain like Cedar Fair. That has even been more apparent since 2017/2018 when SF could no no longer produce organic growth & also there floundering post pandemic while other regional chains were producing record results in in 2022

[@trackmaster152002]

He's not entirely wrong that Marvel is more popular than DC now, but Six Flags never really capitalized on DC even before the MCU boom. DC could be an incredible IP, but Six Flags just uses it to slap the name on a completely unthemed coaster, instead of actually making something immersive and real.

[@known1443]

Its not IP, its merchandise that is driving a change in theme park demand. Disney/Universal/etc are doing well as they know how to sell merch. However Cedar/SixFlags have an entirely different business model built around capturing those who want cheaper experiences. I think you're assuming that Disney/Universal are targeting the same audience as CedarFair/SixFlags, simply put they aren't. Cedar Fair can spend $30M on a new roller coaster and pull in a lot of people. Disney/Universal need to spend $1B on a new land. Those are very different markets and are very seperate to each other. The can even be complementary, attracting someone to a new Harry Potter ride will make them look around at other parks to supplement the trip.

[@brava_centauri]

yep. *theme* parks and *amusement* parks are totally different things. disney and universal are built for more than just roller coasters. amusement parks run off of big thrilling roller coasters. it pisses me off when people complain about disney not being thrilling enough when thats not the point at all for the parks🤷‍♀️

[@Nether2342]

I don’t think it’s that consumers generally prefer paying more at Disney for the IP rather that it’s a similar issue Hersheys faced with chocolate - a shrinking middle class. Hersheys has had problems for years now with the stated reason being wealthy consumers buy the very expensive premium chocolate, poor consumers don’t buy chocolate and instead buy other cheaper candy altogether, and middle class consumers buy chocolates like hersheys. But the dwindling of the middle class has directly has cut out their core consumer by reducing their buying power.

[@davidsimpson9771]

This is such a GP video. Coaster enthusiasts are watching this like "dude wtf are you talking about, we jusy go to where thr best coasters are"

[@davidsimpson9771]

Oh and since I'm sure you didn't know, GP stands for general public or amusement park casuals lol

[@williamford9564]

14:40: Interesting about the weather. It is September 25th and there is an article in the Wall Street Journal today saying all theme parks in the US, including Six Flags, have been negatively impacted by weather this past spring and summer. Nationwide conditions of a cold, wet spring and then heat wave conditions in the summer dropped park attendance well below expectations and attendance levels still have not gotten back to those of pre pandemic. The companies are now placing their hopes on a big Halloween season. Six Flags specifically has spent money on adding new fall attractions, including haunted houses, and is using the season to offer large disounts on 2024 season tickets.

[@jonathanedewaard]

Lost Island Theme Park is a new regional theme park that just opened last year!

[@natekemp2627]

The timing of this video was perfect, considering how Six Flags and Cedar Fair are merging.

[@chloejohnson6861]

I feel like the DC superheroes, Looney Tunes, and Hanna-Barbera characters are a pretty decent stable of IPs, although not as popular as they were a few decades ago. I wonder what would happen if Six Flags mixed more themed rides and character encounters in with the thrill rides. Fiesta Texas has some pretty good themed queue lines, but they don't seem to go the extra mile and actually put theming on the rides. Six Flags also has more thrilling rides than Disney parks (not sure about Universal), so that could give them an edge with some families if they marketed it right I think.

[@marcusyu2655]

Honestly, I don't think the characters Six Flags licensed were that much more of a discount as Modern MBA is suggesting. Universal and Disney make their IP immersive. Six Flags just slaps popular names on coasters.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@marcusyu2655 Warner bros also has Warner bros movie world in Queensland. I went there!

[@aegisofhonor]

Dollywood and Silver Dollar City is doing just fine, it was packed when I was at SDC earlier this year.

[@werewolflover8636]

Dollywood was also named the Best Park in the wold by Golden Ticket recently (among multiple other awards) and this isn’t the first time they won it! Well deserved recognition I’d say! Dollywood is fantastic!

[@11_credits]

Ok.. but have you seen european parks? Phantasialand, Europa Park, Port Aventura, no ips yet

[@JohhnyBoyNu]

Love how you talk about something i never knew id be interested to hear the economics of.

[@appalachianenthusiast9499]

There are still plenty of untapped or undertapped markets in the United States. These include Nashville, Memphis, Houston, Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, New Orleans Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Portland, and Seattle, among others.

[@jacksonseyl1063]

To be honest, I think these local amusement parks are doing well. They're much cheaper than going to Disney and the rides are much more thrilling.

[@terr281]

As someone who has, for decades, been visiting Six Flags Over Georgia and, now, am trying to give that same thrill to a new generation: 1. Like it or not, the park has gone down hill significantly. Low staffing, fewer trains running on open roller coasters, in-park prices skyrocketing, complete lack of any of the IP based characters and shows (the opening of the Gotham area and the Batman show was wonderful many years ago), ride maintenance (closed rides every visit), ... the list is long. 2. No matter the cause, the warming weather over the past decades has caused another issue for the park. Due to them closing the Coca Cola "cooling stations" and free Six Flags bottle refills at the Coca Cola refill stations, the last time my family and I visited in the SUMMER was years ago. You don't go to a theme park to walk on black tarmac all day, wait in lines to refill drink bottles (at the few concession places that are open with functional drink dispensers), ... all while dealing with the 100% humidity and heat. 3. If my family and I want to go to a water park, we'll plan to go to a water park all day (White Water). We don't care that you have built a small water park attached to the Six Flags THEME park. (Especially when, to do both, you have to rent the lockers, etc.) And, ironically enough, you closed the long loved Log Flumes (both tubes) and Whitewater drop boat (with bridge) that allowed theme park visitors to lightly enjoy water rides (if they wanted) and have the opportunity for a bit of cooling (see point 2). 4. Where are the new roller coasters, which actually brought people to this park? Goliath in 2006 was wonderful, and the RMC'ing of the Georgia Cyclone was beloved by many (but, I actually liked the Georgia Cyclone the way it was). Yet, Six Flags Magic Mountain has had four brand new, adult, coasters since 2013... the other parks, not so much. From what I've heard about the Cedar Fair parks, I'm glad the two have merged and I can hope some of that chain's business (capital) building practices come to the non Six Flags Magic Mountain parks.

[@spoddie]

I had to laugh at their claim about international brand recognition. Never heard of them until this video.

[@AnhWaitForItNgo]

I have been at 6flags 8 times and never been at Disneyland. Even though, I'm living 4 miles away from Disneyland

[@danlove12k]

Six flags is the Walmart of Amusement Parks 😂😂

[@em84c]

I want a cheesecake orb now! I never knew that was a type of food until this video.

[@Corkyjay]

I also think the one thing six flags truly struggles with is the food is awful. Like legit one of the biggest turn offs to me when i visit a amusement park is the quality of food i cant starve myself all day its not fun

[@mjg239]

*Given how crazy people were for the Barbie movie I can totally see a Barbieland happening or a Barbie Resort of some kind in the theme park world. It would be a success if Warner bros and or Mattel marketed it right. Could even include a GI Joe Land for the “superhero” crazed type people and a place to put simulators and thrill rides.*

[@em84c]

omg I would be excited for that! But I feel like young guys are a big demographic and they may not want to go to something girly like Barbie? Hopefully Im wrong about that though. I collect dolls and Mattel is a very frustrating company. I don't have much faith in them to make a great theme park 😆 But if they partnered with the right people it could work

[@roseprevost8081]

So why are parks like Knoebels and Hersheypark doing well? Not everybody wants to be drowned in IP, when you know it's all a ripoff anyway.

[@randallpaints2507]

The thumbnail is a Fun Spot ride in Atlanta, they aren’t mentioned once in the video. Granted Fun Spot isn’t a competitor to the big 3 in Orlando, but they have caused Six Flags in Atlanta to change their pricing.

[@peoplelikegames]

Great episode as always. Would love to see your analysis on the economics + rise of gachapon machines and arcades in the US!

[@Matrix609z]

@1:45 when he said it’s a blue color worker sweating buckets under those costumes getting minimum I couldn’t help but laugh then they show Kung Fu Panda dancing 😅😅😅but yea it’s so true salute to them working hard for that dollar😂

[@damianmysciak3264]

When it comes to Amusement Park's I don't agree with beggining that it is dying breed or you need IP to be succesfull. In Europe Poland Energylandia did not have any branded IP attractions, and in last years they grow like hell ( in terms of number attractions and visitors).

[@enemixius]

Yeah, I feel that this video is very US-centric. The market for amusement parks is quite different in Europe.

[@KrimsonStorm]

​@@enemixiusI don't even think it's US centric. It's disney adult centric. I used to be really into marvel movies and a massive star wars fan. Now? I couldn't care less about marvel, and the only way to get me interested in star wars is to make a product (like Ashoka that makes me forget about what Disney did). Give me a theme park all day over branded crap.

[@KPMindfreak13]

I grew up in the town where Discovery Kingdom is. I was also in the commercial for the Daredevil coaster. It’s been interesting seeing how things change at the park correspond to how the company was doing. I worked there 2014-2015 and it was probably the best time with new rides, good income, clean parks, decent food and good value for your dollar. They still got a way to go. The thing that sucks fir my park is it’s built next to wetlands and a highway so they have no room to expand, and the city also won’t let them, so they have no choice but to add smaller rides cuz they can’t physically put new bigger rides and that what our park is missing. Except for So-Cal the west coast doesn’t have much in regional/affordable amusement parks and wish that they were able to expand more.

[@Jimmy-Mc]

Six Flags owns both DC and Looney Toons IPs but has managed to do nothing with them. While I dont think the brand as a whole is dying, they spread too thin by buying and opening parks in smaller cities and giving them huge rides. They'll need to cut the smaller parks at some point.

[@themeparklunatic1996]

Six flags pays for DC and Looney Tunes six flags only gets a percentage of the merchandise sales which is why they haven’t done any immersion lands with DC and Looney Tunes

[@JRay2113]

Before going deep into this. Icks with modern amusement parks: 1. It’s too hot 2. It’s too packed 3. It’s too expensive 4. The experience hasn’t changed

[@coastergirl98]

4 is wrong. The rest are valid

[@XalphaWalpha]

love the video ! including the lazy transition into the sponsor segment 🤣

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. I love the video, too. And I am so excited to hear that roller coasters are going to be dead forever. Roller coasters are way too scary for me to go to.

[@jonny-b4954]

What you mean? Coasters are being built is as high of numbers as ever.

[@lefton4ya]

Cedar Fair though does much better than Six Flags also without IP (besides Peanuts) as they don’t make all the bad decisions Six Flags did like going into debt and being unwilling to raise prices, and they still make new rides every couple of years. CF also make more $ in their 11 parks then Six Flags makes in 15 parks and not having debt to pay off means they make more than twice the profit of 6F

[@coastergirl98]

Cedar Fair parks are fucking amazing. The only issues they have are those created by being a large, publicly traded company in capitalistic america.

[@rgrawb]

You should do an update with the cedar parks merger and what that'll likely cause it would be great.

[@andrewjpalla]

Important lesson that not all customers are your customer.

[@DOMOzCHANNEL]

That luffy's meat on a bone looks fire tho

[@kristiyangerasimov6708]

capital-intensive businesses are always interesting to deep-dive into. Is there a chance you'll look at the automotive industry? I'd really love to see an analysis on Kia. Personally I'm a Benz man, but Kia's history, current standing, challenges and achievements would be very entertaining to watch.

[@ryanb9749]

We like to party. We like, we like to party!

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. I am so glad to hear about your excitement, because this video is about the dying businesses of roller coasters. I am so happy to hear that roller coasters are going away, because they are all too scary for me to go to.

[@enriqueplc]

You should turn these videos into podcasts!! I would love to have these in spotify, today I mostly listen your videos not so much watching. So if you just upload the audio it could increase your audience and reach, with minimal additional work. Also it increases how much you could charge for sponsors!

[@jacksonmatysik8007]

Get youtube premium

[@Blingchachink]

I’m glad I subbed haha roller coaster research very important

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. Hey, thanks for the comment. I do not always love roller coasters, because they are too scary. But, here is the exciting news. All the roller coasters are closing forever! That means, no more riding on scary roller coasters! Yay!

[@jimster1111]

hey man you should do a video on the fall of media rental stores. i miss hastings entertainment so much. i remember it being the only place with a real library of video game rentals. blockbusters was a leech tho.

[@newwavex8665]

Lol i feel like Rollecoaster Tycoon was the main source for this video

[@clinton5623]

Id rather go to a regional park with the best coasters than a place like Disney 👍

[@flakietrends]

i loved watching rollercoaster vids as a kid

[@kingbonezai4925]

A notable absence from this list seems to be Busch Gardens/SeaWorld, wondering where you would put these parks? In my experience they are much nicer than Six flags, but far more affordable than Disney.

[@FigmentJedi]

Lost Island Theme Park just opened in 2022 in Iowa.

[@skurtov]

I will never understand the appeal of theme parks just to somehow pull yourself out of reality enough to believe the surface level immersion.

[@mattsmocs3281]

A exception to this is a little park called Kenobels which has built up its own brand and niche, the rides are enjoyable, prices dirt cheap, the food has continuously held the number 1 spot over disney in the north american park food ratings and is in the top ten of global ratings, and has no paid for admission, you pay be rise using tickets or get a wrist stamp

[@kentrzacherl]

Knoebels sets the standard for the amusement industry. They are nothing like the massive corporate theme parks, and hopefully never will be!

[@JSXSProductions]

Mattel is opening a new theme park in the Phoenix metro area. Which is good for us, because our current newest roller coaster is named after Operation Desert Storm, which was going on at the time of its construction lmao.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Holy crap, that’s cool! I used to be a barbie fan once.