People on this board need to understand that customers do not care what excuse the park has for a ride that is not working or for something that is in disrepair. They just paid there hard earn money to come to the park. They are not employees but Guest and need to be treated that way. People on this board who tell people not to come are really not helping the park. You are just telling people that if you do not like it then leave. If any business was like that they will be out of business.
Also, People expect more then you think, Especially Families. If you are going to try to attract families you have to go beyond what SFGAM is doing now. Wiggles World is a great start but there is still a lot of work to be done.
As for employees on opening day, I did not find any rude employees. Everyone was happy and doing there job. It appeared to me the park was well staffed on opening day.
When you read people’s comments here you have understand that these are Guests opinions and everyone has a right to express what they want to say about the park. It does not mater what is really going on behind the seen. It maters what the Guest think that is going on.
I agree with Carlo, the employees that I encountered were great, especially the ride ops for Demon and American Eagle! Oh, and for having to hear the "Mashed Banana" song as often as they do, the Wiggles World staff was VERY pleasant!
RIP: Trailblazer and Deja Vu...heck, even Alien Encounter
I really don't think anyone is saying opening day was bad. We're simply pointing out things that we thought would have been better on opening day. The podcasts have really hyped up the park to a new level, and I think a lot of us were expecting that new level, which we didn't get. That level will probably be reached later in summer, but it's not there yet.
As for families and members of the GP not noticing the little nit-picky things that we complain about - I don't think they (the GP) can list 10 things that need to be better, but I assure you that if you ask each one of them, which is a higher quality park and best value for your money - Disney or Six Flags, 9.8/10 will say Disney. They may not know exactly why they choose Disney, but subconsciously it's a combination of the park's cleanliness, upkeep, employees, security, rides, etc... This list could go on forever and it includes all of the things we are being picky about. If Six Flags wants to improve, they too must be as picky as Disney if they truly want to impress families.
(note: I am not trying to start a Disney vs. Six Flags debate here, we all know where that goes, I'm just saying at 54.99 many families expect Disney)
Revy has not operated practically all season last year
That was NOT a park decision...that decision was directly from Huss, and problems that were encountered on overseas ride models. It took a while for inspection and it just happened to get it fixed and opened by last few weekends of FF. They could have not opened it at all...
Giant Drop broke down and also did not get fixed for a long time. STT broke end of August I believe and is still broken.
There is no "magical" machinery. Somethings take longer than others to fix. To be honest, the ride machinery is just like something that would be in your cars. Sometimes the problem is simple, sometimes more complex.
As for STT, how can you get mad at GAm if Intamin no longer supplies the part??? It isn't like the park just gave up. They have to try to duplicate the part themselves, and that's probably not an easy task considering other maintenance obstacles pop up all the time.
Giant Drop "crapped" out....so what? It was open for part of FF (at least when I went) but it didn't have the theming...once again...who cares?? and it's open now. What happened last season happened...so move on.
The park is just doing their job closing the rides down. You saw what happened in japan when they delayed the inspection of a coaster a couple of weeks to have the ride be open for the celebration at the park. If SFGAm did this so rides can be open for opening day people can get hurt. The parks top priority is your safety. You should appreciate that not critisize them.
Aaron, I understand that you aren't trying to start a Disney v.s. SF debate, but realistically, Disney is in such a better situation right now. Disney has less parks, and they really don't need the parks to stay in buisness, because, as you know, they are in the film industry.
Giant Drop was at least still running the three cars it had at the end of last year. But I guess that dosen't mean that the park was at least trying to please some people. Nope, not at all.
As UWW wrote, the Revolution situation was not the parks fault. The main problem is, a lot of companies are based overseas. Thank god this is no longer a problem with Deja Vu.
STT is basically as old as the park. Technology advances, so the parts that go in to making the rides do. As stated Intamin no longer makes this part.
I keep saying this over and over, The park did their best to have everything up and running for opening day. Some of the attention was over to Raging Bull. It had a mishap before opening day, and a lot of time was spent trying to get the parks main attraction up for us. But we still have the worst matinence crews ever right?
Some rides are a lot more important than others.
Cedar Point is delaying the opening of Maverick to make the ride safer for the trains and the guests. But I don't see you guys complaining about that.
Are you willing to sacrifice a ride on Raging Bull for some flowers?
I didn't think so.
I think the park did an awsome job for opening day.
Like stated before, the landscaping was not Six Flags' fault. It's that weird spring we had.
I give the maintnence (sp?) crew so much credit. It's been so hectic.
Wiggle's World is a great idea and it turned out way better than I thought.
Why does everyone keep complaining about the American Eagle queue? It's not that long.
Security did a great job. There were so many line jumping incidents and they caught as many as they could.
Between getting Wiggle's World completed ontime, to planting brand new flowers because the preplanted ones died, to fixing Déjà Vu, the park had a lot on their hands and they did a great job getting completed what they needed to.
It's green. It's blue. It's all over you! Enjoy your ride on Déjà Vu
For all you that care, it is possible that DejaVu could open this weekend. It got a complete rehab this year and was supposed to open last weekend. But as you have read above, it was naughty and set the mechanics back a few days… Cross your fingers and I’ll update you later in the week!
Aaron, I understand that you aren't trying to start a Disney v.s. SF debate, but realistically, Disney is in such a better situation right now. Disney has less parks, and they really don't need the parks to stay in buisness, because, as you know, they are in the film industry.
Giant Drop was at least still running the three cars it had at the end of last year. But I guess that dosen't mean that the park was at least trying to please some people. Nope, not at all.
As UWW wrote, the Revolution situation was not the parks fault. The main problem is, a lot of companies are based overseas. Thank god this is no longer a problem with Deja Vu.
STT is basically as old as the park. Technology advances, so the parts that go in to making the rides do. As stated Intamin no longer makes this part.
I keep saying this over and over, The park did their best to have everything up and running for opening day. Some of the attention was over to Raging Bull. It had a mishap before opening day, and a lot of time was spent trying to get the parks main attraction up for us. But we still have the worst matinence crews ever right?
Some rides are a lot more important than others.
Cedar Point is delaying the opening of Maverick to make the ride safer for the trains and the guests. But I don't see you guys complaining about that.
Are you willing to sacrifice a ride on Raging Bull for some flowers? I didn't think so.
Well spoken and great points!
RIP: Trailblazer and Deja Vu...heck, even Alien Encounter
Have you ever worked at SFGAm? Have you ever met the maintenance guys? ( sp? ) Well they are one of the nicest crew members, well some of them. And they are one of the most hard workers in the park. You can never please anybody. In fact they are one of the last people to leave the park. Can you open a handbook and try to fix a ride and make it safe for the general public? They are trained to help fix rides so leave them alone they know what they are doing. Being an ex SFGAm crew member for two years I got to meet some of the maintenance guys and I know what they are going through. Last year I worked at STT and I was there when it went down. They kept testing it over and over again trying to figure it out the problem and couldnt figure out was wrong with it. ( I dont know if they found out the problem or not )
As for the scenery, some parts are nice but frankly throughout the year I always think they could do a better job. No offense, I mean they are doing the best they can. In fact the landscapers are there a couple hours before the park opens. I just think that whenever they plant something they need to water it as much as it needs so it wont die. Last year I saw fresh plants in the Hometown park. In two weeks they were all dead because they didnt water them. I remember my teacher telling me in the Marriott days that whenever they would see a dead plant the would dig it up and plant a new one. I know SF isnt Marriott but they need to remember, they want to attract families, well moms enjoy looking at the scenery while waiting in line for their kids to ride.
As mentioned earlier, look at other SF parks and you would be happy that you have SFGAm here. To the general public they might not notice the tiny things we do. They notice how long the lines are, and SF tries to fix that with flash pass. They notice how hot it is, so they fix that with the misters.
SF is trying the best they can for families with the money they got and frankly I think that they are doing pretty good. Look at the parade last year, working at STT EVERYONE LOVED seeing the fireworks, and they LOVED watching the parade and running to it as soon as they got off the STT. So if you ask a random park guest of what they think of the park, I guarantee they would like the changes, except for the common complaints of how hot and crowded the park is.
No matter how hard it is...Never EVER give up. The real failure is those who dont try.
SFGAM is a wonderfull park. There are many things this park has done that make customers want to come back
I am sure they found out what wrong with STT by now its just a matter of getting back. . maybe its taking them a long time because they are converting it to a drop tower I can picture it now " ladies and gentlemen please raise your arms as your harnesses will be coming down"
LaTiNoObSeSeDSFGAm wrote:Have you ever worked at SFGAm? Have you ever met the maintenance guys? ( sp? ) Well they are one of the nicest crew members, well some of them. And they are one of the most hard workers in the park. You can never please anybody. In fact they are one of the last people to leave the park. Can you open a handbook and try to fix a ride and make it safe for the general public? They are trained to help fix rides so leave them alone they know what they are doing. Being an ex SFGAm crew member for two years I got to meet some of the maintenance guys and I know what they are going through. Last year I worked at STT and I was there when it went down. They kept testing it over and over again trying to figure it out the problem and couldnt figure out was wrong with it. ( I dont know if they found out the problem or not )
I miss telling the guests STT was a free fall ride as soon as it would get to the top. They screamed and were disappointed when I said I was kidding
http://themeparkcritic.com/scripts/profile/ViewProfile.asp?ViewID=2909 A furious storm once roared `cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!
I really didn't think the park was bad during opening day. Sure, there were a few rides down, but I'd rather them be working in proper order than have them working in okay order and possibly getting hurt.
I thought the staff was completely friendly on opening day, with the exception of the assistant manager who trashed woodland as we were trying to get his keys back. I didn't see a lot of people frowning, or acting angry, or anything. They all looked happy.
My only disadvantages about the park on opening day were minor things, like the way that assistant manager acted, and someone tilting their head back and throwing up on eagle red early in the morning, which was a nice shower for anyone on the right side of that train.
joiclarrissa wrote:I just want to know one thing....WHERE ARE THE FOOTSIE WOOTSIES???!!!
I depend on those things!
As of Physics day on 5/10/07, the Footsie Wootsies are back. Also, Deja Vu's train is back on the track. American Eagle's new sign is up, complete with the Eagle from the old entrance.
$54.99 at the gates, Thats getting pretty sad. You cant even ride everything in one day, 54.99 and paying to park. Their customer service isn't worth $54.99, the rides may be but not the customer service. I'm usually a die hard Six Flags fan, but it looks like this year i'm going to stick with Cedar Fair Parks. I cant believe that price man. Wow!.
To all of you who are complaining about opening day,If you don't like the way Six Flags operates DON'T go to the park anymore and if you do go don't come back and complain about your visit,It's simple as that.I think that they did their best and nobody is perfect just give it a chance and wait a while,it will all be worth it.
Whizzer is the best roller coaster in MY WORLD!
Some people take roller coasters as rides,some as passions,I take them as life!
I agree with sixflags4ever, I think they did a great job on opening day. There were only two major customer service problems during the day the security officer about the keys and the rude woman at moose burger lodge. I did go to customer services and complained and they were very apologetic and had me fill out a complaint form and said they would get right on it. I do believe them when they say this because they don't want to lose customers over something so easy to fix. I think that it is inly going to get better when it comes to customer service. I also have to say that the new Wiggles World was amazing especially how fast they got it ready. I also appreciate the fact that they are willing to allow older adults on the rides even if it is only one at a time. Overall, the good outweighed the bad, and hey, I was on the left side of eagle when the person puked so I didn't get hit lol. So I can't complain. Even though it was pretty gross the workers on eagle handled it well. I feel bad that they had to keep cleaning it up, but they were still happy about it, that is what makes good customer service.
SixFlags4ever wrote:To all of you who are complaining about opening day,If you don't like the way Six Flags operates DON'T go to the park anymore and if you do go don't come back and complain about your visit,It's simple as that.I think that they did their best and nobody is perfect just give it a chance and wait a while,it will all be worth it.
Hmmm, isn't this a forum?
People complain because they care. Of course they like other things about the park, but by voicing concern about specific issues they are also expressing hope that these things might get better in the future.
People complain because they care. Of course they like other things about the park, but by voicing concern about specific issues they are also expressing hope that these things might get better in the future.
Thank You! Last time I checked this forum isn't a dictatorship where if you speak anything negative (even constructive) about Great America -they lop off your head. The reason people are voicing their opinion is that they care about the park, and they want to see these changes made beause it will be better for everyone in the future. How lame would this place be if all we did was praise the Great America gods for what they gave us on opening day, and end it there.
I think most of us agree the park did a great job on opening day, they did tbe best they could, and almost every ride was open. I would just like to see them move up to the next level of theme park management.