Every year it is the same dilemma of what to do with the Jack-o lantern after Halloween. This Saturday, Six Flags is offering guests an opportunity to smash their old Jack-o-lanterns and receive admission to the park for $19.99! One pumpkin is good for up to four discounted admission tickets. Pumpkin Smashing will take place at 3:30 p.m. in Hometown Square where guests will have an opportunity to win a prize based on where their pumpkin's guts smash on the target. Smashing Pumpkins cover band - Blackbox - will perform on Hometown Square stage at 2 and 5 p.m.
Fright Fest This is the last weekend to experience Six Flags Great America morphed into a shadow-land of ghosts and ghouls where roller coasters become monstrosities in motion. There's something for the whole family to enjoy from two spine-tingling haunted houses - to shows and parades - to a cauldron of be-witching children's activities including two scare-free children's areas and a free Character Candy Trail.
I've been hearing they will aim for late April again. It all depends though. Obviously, they want to re-open as soon as possible. It has to be good for business, however. This year they opened in April and the first few weeks had poor weather conditions and shortened hours. Remember Mother's Day? The calendar is always revealed late like way after 2009 arrives I think. it's still so far off. I'm not even planning on going more than twice.
I made a comment on this in my TR, but I'll post a reply to the question above about Opening Day 2009. I spoke to a lot of Rides Supervisors and Full time management at the park, and asked them that exact question. One of them (who will remain nameless..in fact, they all will) did come out and say Saturday, April 4, 2009. The rest I spoke to said that the park is looking to move opening day to be earlier then it has ever been in the past. When asked about the April 4th date that was told to me, they did not have any comment except to say that they were looking to move the date to earlier in April.
While nothing is official until the operation dates are posted on the site, all I will say is to keep all the weekends in April open. We may be riding Eagle, Viper, or Bull sooner then we have ever done in years past in 2009.
I think that having the park open more weekends instead of more hours would increase profit. Look at this year, we had the least amount of operating hours in a long time yet we had the most operating weekends. It must be working if there considering opening early.
If they can get enough people to buy admission and one meal it is worth it. But if lets say they stay open till 7:00pm and a lot of people leave by 4 or 5, they would start loosing money. So if they open early in April, although they might only be open until 4 or 5, it would give them profit. I think if they start cutting more hours, including County Fair opening at 11:00am, yet be open for more weekends I think it would be very beneficial to them.
Opening County Fair an hour later did seem to drive more traffic to rides like Eagle later on when people who want to go on it found out they have to wait an hour so they made sure to go right when it opened to avoid lines. I was lucky at first but then it was about a 25 minute wait every time. For Eagle, not exactly worth it if you went on it already that season.