Six Flags Plans More Park Closures — Here’s Why It Makes Sense

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From our studios in Los Angeles and Tampa. This is

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green Tag Theme Parking thirty. I'm Philip and I'm joined

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as always by my co host Scott Swinson of Scott

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Swinton Creativelopment.

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On green Tag, we look at.

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The top news each week and we try to explain

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why it matters to business professionals in the themed entertainment space.

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And this week we are recapping some of the earnings calls,

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starting with six Flags moving into United Parks, and then

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we'll just see how far we get.

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We're so good at planning. We really don't know that.

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I know we're going to get to at least these

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two stories. And but you know, we have to cover

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the six flags thing because you know, anytime we make

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a video that doesn't involve six Flags, nobody watches it.

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So that's true. I think that's true.

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So this is six flags, six Flags, six Flags. We'll

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just throw that out there right at the beginning.

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We got to get the SEO in, you know, we

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can make sure it's sprinkled throughout the content.

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You mentioned six flags. Is this a story about six flags?

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Philip, let's talk, yes, talk about it more so, basically,

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I think what everyone is just talking about with six

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Flags this week is on the earnings call, they basically

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said that closing or selling more parks is a priority

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for them. So the uh Brian, the CFO and VP

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of six Flags, expressed that getting the portfolio smaller and

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more nimble is a priority. He's discussed that during the

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ernings call, which was on November seven, twenty five. I'm

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I'm just going to read parts of what he said here.

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He says, as we look ahead, our roadmap for the

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underperforming parks centers on two pathways, migrating those parks toward

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the performance profile of our best parks in the portfolio,

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are classifying them as non core and divesting them where

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it made strategic and financial sense in a bigger company,

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where we're trying to narrow our focus and shrink our

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capital needs as well as risk as well as reduce

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our risk liability exposure. Getting the portfolio smaller and more

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nimble is a priority. So we're going to look at

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the parks where our returns are the greatest with the

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opportunities for growth of the highest, and we're going to

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focus on those parks and the other parks will look

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to monetize and use to produce to reduce debt. Basically,

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he talked about how the DC property in Santa Clara

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property were good examples of this. So of course these

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are the ones that we've talked about at nauseum that

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are closing or just closed this past season. He said,

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we will continue to look for more opportunities like that

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where we have excess land, but most of that low

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hanging fruit has already been plucked. It's a weird thing

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to say. There are always assets in the portfolio that

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we get inbounds from that are core, critical, top performing,

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and etcetera, et cetera. So I know this this made

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a lot of waves in a lot of places, but

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to me, I don't know. I should think this makes

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perfect sense. And you know, when six Flags completed the merger,

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they have a lot of properties, and I think it's

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pretty clear from the discussions we've had so many discussions

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we had a Six Flags that the quality. Basically, what

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it seems like what everybody in our comments and everybody

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and all the other previous videos has said is essentially

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everyone wanted the Six Flags part to be brought to

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the level of the Theedar parks. Okay, but this is

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a merger, so it really was never clear to me

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where the money was going to come from, just the

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complete merger to take those parks and bring them up

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to the quality. And I think that this makes perfect sense.

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I also think it's just too many parks to manage.

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Most of them were six Flags parks, and so you're

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trying to convert the majority over to running like the

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Cedar Fair parks, and then with a focus on entertainment

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and quality and good food and all of these things.

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It just the math was not mathing in just my take,

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which has been this entire time. So I think them

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laying it out clearly on this call makes perfect sense.

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In fact, I think, I actually think, I know there

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are going to be people who were upset because if

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you're biased park and that one perform.

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Part, they don't even have to be a smaller park.

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They can be a pretty decent sized park. But if

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they're underperforming, then they're even more of an anchor around

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the neck of the what is now six Flags.

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That's right, that's right, and I know that's again going

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to upset people. But again, it seems like what everybody

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wants is for them to bring the quality of the park,

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the Six Flags parks up to Cedar Fair and for

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the Cedar Fair to maintain quality. That seems to be

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what the consensus of across all the fans is. And

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so how do you do that without money? And also

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when you have too many parks to manage? And I

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think this is the answer.

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So it's it's interesting because you know, I think we

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talked about this pre merger, We've we've talked about this

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during the merger process, and now we're talking about it

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post merger. No park, no park during a merger is

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going to come out and say we can hardly wait

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to get our hands on these parks so we can

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sell them. That is not a good marketing stance. So

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no one is going to say that. No company is

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going to say that. I think that you know, in

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this particular case, they kind of well to a certain extent,

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they I don't want to say, bought the competition, but

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they merged with the competition and now they can weed

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out what they don't want. And this is this is

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the way mergers work. You know. Now, from a fan

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base side, everybody wants everything all the time, and unfortunately

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that's just not good business sense. So unless things are

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a charity and being run or being run by, you know,

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a government that pays for everything in taxes or whatever.

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You can't get everything you want all the time. So yes,

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I would love to see and I knew this was

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going to happen. I would love to see all of

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the parks in the current six Flags portfolio be elevated

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to the level. But as you said, Philip, where's the

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money coming from? Where does the money come from here?

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So if they can take, you know, if they can

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take the two behemoths of companies that is now one

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bigger behemoth of companies, it's really too big to manage,

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I think. And I think it's especially because it's just

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all of a sudden happened. You know. It's not like

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they grew slowly over time. It was like boom, Now

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we're a giant company, and now they have to go

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through and sort out. It's it's sort of like it's

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sort of like when you go to a state sale

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and you say, I'm going to buy everything in the house,

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and you decide, okay, I'm going to keep this piece.

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I'm going to keep this piece. I'm going to keep

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this piece. Everything else I'm going to sell to help

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pay for the fact that I just bought this entire

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lot of crap. So I'm not saying that six Legs

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is a lot of crap. Don't misunderstand me. But I

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think that it's important to kind of sort through your

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assets now, figure out what is performing, how can you

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make the best And my guess is this was the

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plan all along. But they're never going to lead with this.

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You know, they're never going to say, yes, we're going

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to merge these two so we can sell off some

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of these parks and make the other ones great. You know,

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they're not going to be transparent about that, nor should

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they really, that's horrible marketing. You know, hey, improve this

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sales so we can get rid of the park that's

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in your hometown. That's right, that's not gonna happen.

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Well, and if you look at the trajectory, I think

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you're right.

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They were never going to say that, But it does

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make a lot of sense because they got all that

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great press about the merger, being able to cite the

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huge amount of parks they have now, so they got

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all the benefit of having the numbers and all that,

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and then they got to do that huge sale trying

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to sell access to all these you know, unprecedented number

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of parks all throughout the country, and now they can say, okay,

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and now they had another Halloween season, so they got

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to look at, you know, where Halloween was performing well

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at what parks, And now they're going to Christmas seasons,

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they can look at how well seasonal events are performing

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at the different parks, and then they can trim them

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because I think they are going to need to and

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I don't know. To me, the only clear things here

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is that there are some clear parks I think they're

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going to keep, and I think in our comments from

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the previous weeks, I think everybody who has said in

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our shows that they have noticed that their parks are

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looking better, those are probably going to be the ones

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they get. Like six Flags over Texas, they're probably going

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to keep that. They're the places they put the conjuring

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that six in.

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America, six Flags Great America is looking better than it's

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ever looked before.

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Yep, you know, we were just we were just.

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There not too long ago. And uh so it's and

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to be to be completely transparent, I wouldn't I wouldn't

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be too surprised if this was a ploy by the

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company to get the individual parks to get in line

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and get their pooped together, because it's time to you know,

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it's time to put up or shut up. So if

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the just simply by saying some of these parks are

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not going to be around next year, the first thing

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the local administration for these parks is going to do is, well,

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we can't be one of the ones that's cut. We've

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got to make sure that we're doing everything we can

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to a fit within the company guidelines, the new company

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guidelines if it was a Cedar Fair Park, or the

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new company guidelines, even if it was a six Flags park,

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because things have changed on both sides, and you know,

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so they got to make sure that they make their numbers.

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And I think that, you know, it's just it's just

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good business people. They can I think, and I don't

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I don't have the stats to back this up, but

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I would venture to say that they can do a

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little bit more culling, they can get a little bit

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more capital funding by selling off some parks. They can

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you know, and still have more individual locations than any

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other operator in the US.

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Yeah, I think they can do a lot of calling.

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In I was having a conversation about this with somebody else,

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another journalist, and then when the when this first came

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out on this you know, the call in, I was like,

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I was like, I think there's like fifteen. I think

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they can I'm a down to like fifteen. They leave

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me like I'm crazy, and I'm like, well.

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But I mean, if you think about it, you take

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I don't know how many parks they have currently after

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the most recent closures, but you know, you reduce if

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you reduce the number of parks you have by fifteen percent, yep,

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twenty percent, and you take that money, you use it

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to pay off debt, You use it to move forward

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with capital investment in the remaining parks. Yes, some of

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the local parks get a little bit lost in the shuffle,

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but what it will do is elevate the other eighty

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to ninety percent of the parks that are in the portfolio.

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And to me, that is good not only for business,

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but also for the theme park goer.

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You know what I'm saying, Yeah, well, I think it's

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good for them because in a way, it's not sustainable

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in the way that it is now, Like I think

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it's it. I think maybe some of the locations are sustainable,

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but like having this many all operating trying to do this,

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it's just not sustainable. And I think I think that's

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part of it too. And so we've got a lot

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of comments to a last in the last six flags

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one about the state of the economy and that kind

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of thing.

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I think that's part of this too.

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It's like, you know, you you, it's a weird thing

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to say, but it's like, if they're able to invest

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in the parks, that mean that means the parks are

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a better value, which means it actually is worth it

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when a family purchases the tickets to attend to them,

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because it's it's a better overall value. And I think

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that's there. I think that that's that's a pretty strong argument.

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And but but maybe we should tie in the next

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story here. So this economic uncertainty is something that also

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came up in some of the other earnings reports, including

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from United Parks and Resorts. So this they had their

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earnings call on November sixth, and during that call, they

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reported a twenty five percent drop in Q three profit,

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with the tendance down three point four percent to six

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point eight million visitors. CEO Mark Swanson observed that we

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are obviously not happy with.

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The results we did in the Okay, thanks Mark, so

242
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so right.

243
00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.080
I find that refreshing though, because all these yeah, all

244
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too often these CEOs will come out and say, yes,

245
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our profits are our profit margin is down twenty five percent,

246
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.720
but everything's fine. Yeah, oh my wow, is that possible?

247
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.600
You know? And meanwhile, meanwhile the stockholders are going, what

248
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the hell's going on here?

249
00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:42.399
Let me call somebody, uh, you know. Yeah.

250
00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:47.200
And of course they cited bad weather as a factor,

251
00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.360
which is like, we really do need a sting for that.

252
00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.480
Whenever a company cites bad weather, but for blames weather.

253
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So they blamed a bad weather on Fourth of July

254
00:12:57.240 --> 00:12:59.399
and Labor Day holidays, as well as a decline in

255
00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:03.799
the international visitors by ninety thousand guests as reasons for

256
00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.360
lower attendance. They said that the hallis scream at SeaWorld

257
00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:11.639
Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego had record attendants, though, as

258
00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:16.720
well as Discovery cove It's Orlando Day Resort Park. And

259
00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:19.799
another quote here from Mark says the consumer environment in

260
00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:23.840
the US appears to be inconsistent and has been outlined

261
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.799
by a number of other leisure and hospitality businesses. Nonetheless,

262
00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.799
we can expect to do better. We can and expect

263
00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.600
to do better. We've got to continue to break through

264
00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:37.919
on the awareness and why you should have a ticket

265
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or a pass to our park. So basically they're saying

266
00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:45.879
it's a marketing problem, which I'm not sure it is

267
00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.799
a marketing problem, but that's what there's That's kind of

268
00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.919
what his plan is just just we just need to

269
00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:55.360
better communicate our value. I don't know, it's interesting that

270
00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:58.200
how Scream did well, but notice it's only in Orlando

271
00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:02.519
and San Diego markets, and SeaWorld San Diego is small,

272
00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:06.120
and so they like, that's one of those tricks, right,

273
00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:08.960
that's one of those those tricks, the perception trips tricks

274
00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.679
right where they're like SeaWorld San Diego had had a

275
00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.559
great year. You're like, well, that's also a tiny park

276
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.360
that has take World San Diego.

277
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.480
I don't this is this is completely anecdotal, but a

278
00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.240
great year for Hollow Scream at SeaWorld San Diego is

279
00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:27.399
probably a fine year for SeaWorld in Tampa. But not

280
00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.039
so because again it's such a much larger event. Now

281
00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.120
I will say, you know again, I always have to

282
00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.679
say it full transparency. Worked for the company for twenty

283
00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:38.879
one years. I am not sharing any information because the

284
00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.519
whole company has changed completely since I was there. I

285
00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:48.200
do still do some freelance work with the SeaWorld parks.

286
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:49.960
I have in the past and hope to again in

287
00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.840
the future. But I will say that, you know, when

288
00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:58.360
they talk about Hollow Scream in Orlando and in San Diego,

289
00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:01.399
I think part of the reason that they bring those

290
00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:05.399
to the surface is because those are very key markets

291
00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:11.399
for them, and Williamsburg News, San Antonio, Sorry, and new

292
00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.519
events to the Serral. San Diego and Orlando are relatively

293
00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.399
new for the Halliscream brand. Yes, yes, but they're all

294
00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:21.279
But like I said, they're also very high profile markets.

295
00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:26.519
So they don't talk about Texas, they don't talk about Tampa,

296
00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:30.600
and that's that hasn't really changed. I actually do think

297
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:36.480
it's a marketing challenge. I think that the park itself

298
00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:46.360
is curiously, curiously lacking in clear brand and the reason

299
00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:50.360
that they can cite things like Hallowscream, which of course

300
00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.840
I'm very biased towards. The reason they can cite things

301
00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:57.360
like Hello Scream as success is because Hallowscream has a

302
00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:03.360
very clear brand message and the day parks, the daytime

303
00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:07.759
products are a little wishy washy. You know, are you

304
00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.480
going for are you going for roller coasters? Are you

305
00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:12.600
going for animal encounters? Are you going? You know?

306
00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:13.440
What is it that?

307
00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:15.720
What is it that makes the park? What is it

308
00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.759
that makes the brand? And this is something that I

309
00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.039
know Bush Gardens. I know for fact, Bush Gardens has

310
00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.519
been fighting with for many, many years to figure out

311
00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.960
exactly what the brand is. And just keeping in mind,

312
00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.039
brand is not what they say they are. Brand is

313
00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:33.639
what the guests say they are. So we've even gone

314
00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.480
through things as ridiculous at Busch Gardens. We went through

315
00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:38.440
things and this is all old news, so I'm not

316
00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.240
telling tales out of school. We even went through challenges

317
00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.480
of well, it's just a gardens. There's there's nothing to

318
00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.240
do other than look at plants. So even the name

319
00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.360
is a dilemma for some for some guests. But that

320
00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:56.720
proves that the marketing is not clear. You know, it's

321
00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.120
not clear to let guests know what these parks have

322
00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:02.480
to offer. And I will be completely transparent. I had

323
00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.799
not gone back. I have not gone back to Hallowscream

324
00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.359
on a regular basis since since I left the parks

325
00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.799
because I could only see what wasn't there. I couldn't

326
00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.039
see what was and I think that's an unfair evaluation

327
00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:17.839
of the product. But I went back this year and

328
00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:22.480
the quality in Tampa was elevated significantly, and that team

329
00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.680
has really worked their butts off to make it happen.

330
00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.960
So I think that when they mentioned these Hallow Scream

331
00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.160
success stories, whether they mentioned the specific park, you know,

332
00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:37.640
specifically the Tampa park or not, these Halloween success stories

333
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.759
show that Halloween has a clear brand, Hallowscream. You know

334
00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:46.799
what you're getting. Guests react to that, respond to that,

335
00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:50.640
and spend money on it. So, you know, going back

336
00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:54.400
to the days when Hallowscream was the redheaded stepchild of

337
00:17:54.519 --> 00:18:00.519
the of the Bush Gardens company across the board, and

338
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:02.640
now it is the thing that they are leading with.

339
00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:06.519
It's the point of the arrow to their success to me,

340
00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:13.359
shows that the Day brand has some challenges and they

341
00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:17.279
can expect we should all expect them to do better.

342
00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.599
As the quote says, as far as clarifying what that

343
00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:23.319
brand messages and what guests can experience in the parks,

344
00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.079
because to be honest, the parks are great. The parks

345
00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:31.200
have a lot of Great Bones, there's some operational challenges.

346
00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:36.160
I think that's reactionary to the twenty five percent drop

347
00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:38.559
that we're talking about here. You know, they're going, oh

348
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.039
my gosh, we've got to close half the roller coasters,

349
00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:45.880
you know, So that's that's an issue.

350
00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:50.680
I think your point might be also bolstered by the

351
00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:53.279
other thing they mentioned here, which was the Discovery Cove,

352
00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.839
if only in that Discovery Cove also has a stronger brand.

353
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.559
It's like, you're going to Discovery Cove for not Halloween

354
00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.799
and for not roller coasters, Like it's more on that

355
00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:08.839
Discovery side of things. I guess the only and I

356
00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:11.519
don't know enough about about these. You know, you've worked there.

357
00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:14.359
I don't, and I don't even go to these at all.

358
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.240
I guess my only question, and having followed all this

359
00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.039
since we've been recording the show, is just like, is

360
00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.440
this a marketing problem or is it a leadership problem?

361
00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.359
In that they did not lead, Like they didn't set

362
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.880
a north star, like this is what the parks are

363
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.000
going to be, and this is how we're going to

364
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.359
differentiate them. And then they followed the capital that follows

365
00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.319
according to that plan, and it's like, I can't help.

366
00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:40.960
But wonder if you had done that then would the

367
00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.160
would that have solved the marketing problem because it would

368
00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:44.920
be clear what the park is for.

369
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.039
I don't know. That's just my only observation.

370
00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:48.880
No, that's and that's a very clear that's a very

371
00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.559
good observation. I'm I can't answer that question one way

372
00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:53.640
or the other because I don't really I don't really

373
00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:58.640
know for sure. I think it is I think and

374
00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.519
I may be saying the same thing here. Yeah, I

375
00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.880
would say that they have a brand problem. Yeah, I

376
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.680
don't know whether it's a leadership problem or a marketing problem.

377
00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:10.680
To me, it's a brand problem when you think of

378
00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:15.599
when you think of Universal, you have some very specific

379
00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:17.880
action words that come to mind immediately. When you think

380
00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.400
of Disney, you have some very clear action words that

381
00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:22.759
come to mind immediately. When you think of Bush Gardens

382
00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:26.599
or SeaWorld, you either think of Shamou, which they're pulling

383
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:32.319
away from now, or Bush Gardens. People don't quite know

384
00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:35.319
what to think and Bush Gardens Williamsburg versus Bush Gardens

385
00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:42.559
Tampa very different. So I think that there needs to

386
00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:47.559
be a clarification of brand messaging. That would be my suggestion.

387
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.519
And again, you know, I'm playing armchair quarterback here, but

388
00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:55.680
it sounds to me as though they're having trouble actually,

389
00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:58.359
and it's nothing new. The parks have done this for years,

390
00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:02.000
having trouble communication exactly why you should come to their

391
00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:03.720
park and what they have to offer that nobody else

392
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.759
has to offer. What is the point of differentiation in

393
00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.200
the market. And it used to be in Tampa, it

394
00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:11.519
used to be that it was, you know, theme parks

395
00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.960
and animals, but that's not a differentiation in the market anymore.

396
00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.599
There are other parks that do that, So it's one

397
00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.799
of those why should I go there? Yeah, And I

398
00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:24.079
don't think they've answered that question yet.

399
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:24.400
That's right.

400
00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.880
I think we are saying almost the same thing. I

401
00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:30.160
think I would just say, I'm thinking of it more

402
00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:34.480
as like where you allocate your capital and your resources

403
00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:39.359
should follow that, you know. I guess reading the stuff

404
00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:42.519
about the call, it felt like he was saying, all

405
00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:46.640
we're going to do is just change our marketing, like

406
00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:49.640
change our copy right, our website copy. And I'm like,

407
00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:52.720
but if you don't do what you just said, if

408
00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:57.240
you don't set your brand, set your differentiation, set your strategy,

409
00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.599
set your north star and then have your capital and

410
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.839
your team and your leadership and everything follow that. Then

411
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.720
it just changing the copy is not going to matter

412
00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:08.400
because you're gonna change a copy and the guests are

413
00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:10.640
going to show up and they're not gonna it's still

414
00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.279
not gonna work because they're they're gonna be like, Okay,

415
00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:14.960
well they're gonna end you.

416
00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:17.279
And I don't want people to think that that these

417
00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:20.319
parks are not worth attending. They are worth attending. There's

418
00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.680
some great elements to these parks, and there is some

419
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.039
very there are some very good reasons to go to them.

420
00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:29.400
I just don't think that that's being communicated well, and

421
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:33.440
I don't think it's being communicated in a simple way. So,

422
00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:35.880
you know, I agree with you in the fact that

423
00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:39.039
the best, the best marketing for a park is a

424
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:43.480
good park, you know. So I think there is some

425
00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:45.599
there is some clean up that can be done there,

426
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.279
but I also think that the park has some really

427
00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:52.960
cool And again, I know Tampa better than the other parks,

428
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:55.680
but that's probably not true. I know, I've I've worked

429
00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.279
at all the Sea worlds, but I think that you know,

430
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.680
they've all got elements that are that are really appealing.

431
00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:04.519
They've got you know, it's like when you're it's like

432
00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.440
when you're buying a house.

433
00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:06.440
It's got good bones.

434
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:09.319
They've got a lot of good elements that could be

435
00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:11.799
something very special. I just don't think they've figured out

436
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.119
a way to communicate with guests in a simple and

437
00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:19.480
direct way. Here's why you should come to our parks.

438
00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:22.440
And part of the challenge is that the bush Gardens,

439
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.400
Parks Sesame Place, the SeaWorld Parks, the water parks all

440
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:32.279
have such vastly different branding messages that they can't tie

441
00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:35.960
them all together. And even Bush Gardens Tampa, bush Gardens

442
00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:39.200
Williamsburg completely different experiences, even though they share even some

443
00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:40.119
of the same rides.

444
00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.279
Yep, yep.

445
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.680
So I think they need to find a way just

446
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:47.920
kind of building off of their statements. If it is

447
00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:52.119
true that they're that their marketing is not letting people

448
00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.200
know what to expect or giving them anything that they

449
00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:57.599
have to see, then they have to find a way

450
00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:04.160
to unify and and get everybody enthusiastic about the overall

451
00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:08.000
brand again kind of what kind of I mean This

452
00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:11.200
ties to the six Flag story too, that's true, getting

453
00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.079
under the six Flags banner as opposed to Cedar Fair

454
00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:16.799
which people didn't really know. The average guests did not

455
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.039
know what Cedar Fair was. They had heard of Cedar Point,

456
00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:25.160
but they didn't know that Cedar Fair owned all these parks.

457
00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.079
Getting under the six Flags banner made total sense from

458
00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:34.240
a long term marketing strategy plan standpoint. I think, so

459
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:41.599
the the the what's it called now, Universal Parks and Entertainment,

460
00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:45.880
United Parks Entertainment, Sorry, not Universal United Parks and Entertainment.

461
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.960
They need to figure out what is that, what is

462
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.039
that banner? And how can they all rally behind the

463
00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:52.480
same one.

464
00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:53.480
That's true.

465
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:55.759
It's an interesting thought exercise to think about it that way,

466
00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:58.920
where you think, like if you shuffled it all around, right,

467
00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:01.839
like if you were to just oh, into a bush

468
00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:09.079
Gardens or a SeaWorld or yeah, I mean would you know, right, yeah,

469
00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:11.119
if you were a consumer that's not like us who

470
00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:13.839
doesn't have any idea because there are still plenty of

471
00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:15.880
people who have no idea that nots is owned by

472
00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:18.480
six Flags. Right, there's still I mean there still don't have.

473
00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:20.759
That no idea that which Gardens and SeaWorld are owned

474
00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:21.640
by the same company.

475
00:25:21.880 --> 00:25:23.079
That's right, That's right. Yeah.

476
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:25.799
So it's interesting because you're like if you if you

477
00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:29.000
were to just completely wipe your perceptions and think, like,

478
00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.279
you know, how would how would you know if this

479
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:35.640
park were owned by which chain?

480
00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.279
Yeah, that that's an interesting thought experiment.

481
00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:39.640
You know where, like what what could you really point

482
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:41.599
to that would say, well, this is how you would

483
00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:41.960
prove it?

484
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.079
Because I think to.

485
00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:45.680
Your point, you you always recognize a Disney Park, and

486
00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:48.720
you pretty much always recognize Universal Park, but the rest

487
00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:52.279
of them could be whatever. Mm hmm, I mean really yeah, yeah,

488
00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:55.599
that's interesting. Well let's see what else here. We also

489
00:25:55.720 --> 00:26:01.680
have going down the same theme I think is Disneyland

490
00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:05.359
is laying off one hundred of their full time cast members,

491
00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:09.519
and in a statement they said to Deadline that with

492
00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:13.359
our business in a period of steady sustained operation, we

493
00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:16.640
are recalibrating our organization to ensure we continue to deliver

494
00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:20.039
exceptional experiences for our guests while positioning dieselanders Ort for

495
00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.079
the future. As part of this week, made the difficult

496
00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:24.720
decision to eliminate a number of salaried positions. We are

497
00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.640
deeply grateful for the contributions and we're going to support them,

498
00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:30.119
et cetera, et cetera. I know some of these cuts.

499
00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:32.039
They weren't specific, but we know a lot of them

500
00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:34.400
did come from entertainment, because at least I've in my

501
00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:39.279
space have been seeing they entertainers about it afterwards. It's

502
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:42.640
interesting this does kind of dovetail with what United Parks

503
00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:47.119
said in THEIRS. You know about that although Disney spun

504
00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:49.839
it to be more like right sizing than the United

505
00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:52.359
Parks one, which spun it to be more like economic

506
00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:53.559
uncertainty to.

507
00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.480
Save our butts. Yeah, right, but I don't know, it

508
00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:59.359
wasn't down twenty five percent either, so you know that's true.

509
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:01.079
And so that's a exactly what I was thinking that

510
00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:04.519
when I read this, I was like, well, despite that,

511
00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:07.519
you know, the Disney parks are doing the best by far,51200:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.359



as we talked about with the last report, like they're51300:27:10.400 --> 00:27:13.359



doing the best of anybody by by leaps and bounds, right,51400:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.920



And yes, the North America ones aren't doing.51500:27:15.799 --> 00:27:16.960



As well, but.51600:27:18.400 --> 00:27:21.519



They're still doing you know, compared to everybody else. They're51700:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.079



doing fine. And the demand is still there. I mean,51800:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.519



you go to parks and they're packed. So I think51900:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.480



the question is is that if Disney is doing so52000:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.240



well and they're still cutting one hundred people, what is52100:27:33.279 --> 00:27:35.400



it going to look like for United Parks and for52200:27:35.519 --> 00:27:39.039



six Flags what they are not doing nearly as well52300:27:39.039 --> 00:27:42.000



as Disney, And how are they going to navigate? And52400:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.759



so I guess Six Flags answers, We're going to close52500:27:43.759 --> 00:27:45.599



a bunch of parks and maybe use that money to52600:27:45.920 --> 00:27:48.000



redistribute it. But what is the United Parks going to52700:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.480



do well?52800:27:49.519 --> 00:27:51.920



And let's put this, let's put this into perspective here.52900:27:52.559 --> 00:27:55.400



When Disneyland Resort says they're going to lay off one53000:27:55.519 --> 00:28:02.079



hundred in their organizational staff, YEP, Disney has always been53100:28:04.640 --> 00:28:08.920



cast member heavy, YEP to provide the level of service53200:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.359



and the level the quality of service that Disney has53300:28:11.400 --> 00:28:15.799



always has always claimed that they wanted to provide. So53400:28:17.079 --> 00:28:19.839



if you were to cut one hundred salaried staff members53500:28:20.440 --> 00:28:26.920



from some of the United Parks parks, there would be53600:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.359



no salaried staff members. So you have to put this53700:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.759



into perspective. Disney Disney is I think they truly are53800:28:33.839 --> 00:28:37.160



right sizing. Quite honestly, I think they truly are looking53900:28:37.240 --> 00:28:41.119



at it going Okay, here's because you know, the pendulum54000:28:41.160 --> 00:28:43.200



is always going to swing back and forth. It's got54100:28:43.240 --> 00:28:46.039



to be reactive to the economy. It's got to be54200:28:46.079 --> 00:28:50.400



reactive to how the parks are doing financially. It's it's54300:28:50.400 --> 00:28:52.680



a there is no here's how we're going to run business,54400:28:52.680 --> 00:28:54.519



and we're always going to do it exactly the same way,54500:28:54.759 --> 00:28:59.000



because that's how businesses end up closing. So they have54600:28:59.079 --> 00:29:02.599



to be reactive in some way. Going back to you54700:29:02.680 --> 00:29:04.160



know what we were talking about the closing of the54800:29:04.519 --> 00:29:09.039



Six Flags parks, they they wouldn't you know, they wouldn't54900:29:09.079 --> 00:29:11.680



necessarily have to close parks if they were if they55000:29:11.680 --> 00:29:15.119



could reduce their entire labor force by twenty five percent. Yeah,55100:29:15.680 --> 00:29:18.720



you know that's not gonna work because a park's gonna55200:29:19.039 --> 00:29:20.799



suck when you when you go to it.55300:29:20.839 --> 00:29:24.039



So they already did ten percent reductions, right, and so yeah,55400:29:24.359 --> 00:29:26.720



even with the ten percent reductions, you're still it's still55500:29:27.160 --> 00:29:28.880



it's still a lot, I guess, I guess.55600:29:28.960 --> 00:29:29.160



Yeah.55700:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.119



It's just interesting to look at the different approaches because55800:29:31.119 --> 00:29:34.720



Six Flags, at least to your point, they're saying like, hey,55900:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.319



where you know we're cutting these like, I mean, at56000:29:37.359 --> 00:29:41.400



least they're pint painting it. United Parks is owning up56100:29:41.440 --> 00:29:45.440



to it. But where's the plan, Like, are they going56200:29:45.519 --> 00:29:47.240



to close the park? Are they going to sell something56300:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.279



or are they going to I mean, Halloween's over, so56400:29:50.359 --> 00:29:53.319



what Okay, Glad House Scream did well, but it's not56500:29:53.400 --> 00:29:56.319



going to help you in the rest of the quarters,56600:29:56.440 --> 00:30:00.000



or especially the hard quarter, which is Q one, right,56700:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.839



I mean, and then if there is economic uncertainty, what are.56800:30:03.759 --> 00:30:04.960



You doing about it? So I don't know it.56900:30:05.319 --> 00:30:08.599



Yeah, well, it's it's basically it's three basic approaches that57000:30:08.640 --> 00:30:12.799



we've talked about. You know, we've talked about cutting parks57100:30:12.799 --> 00:30:16.440



from the portfolio, making sure that we can communicate what57200:30:16.480 --> 00:30:18.640



our parks have to offer in a way that is57300:30:18.720 --> 00:30:21.920



resonating with them, or we're going to reduce our staff57400:30:22.359 --> 00:30:25.400



in order to adjust. I don't think that a hundred57500:30:25.519 --> 00:30:27.839



a layff of one hundred people, And again my heart57600:30:27.839 --> 00:30:29.680



goes out to those hundred people, but I don't think57700:30:29.720 --> 00:30:31.880



the layoff of one hundred people at the Disneyland resort57800:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.000



is that drastic a cut.57900:30:35.079 --> 00:30:35.960



I don't know what their.58000:30:35.920 --> 00:30:39.880



Their employees, the number of employees are And when they58100:30:39.880 --> 00:30:42.000



say they're laying off these what are they full time?58200:30:42.200 --> 00:30:44.119



They see full time or salary full time cast?58300:30:44.720 --> 00:30:48.960



Yeah, so then they'll bring them back as part time58400:30:49.279 --> 00:30:50.920



and it's a great It looks great on the books.58500:30:51.039 --> 00:30:53.039



I've seen this happen in parks time and time again.58600:30:53.759 --> 00:30:58.440



So three different approaches, three different basic parks, and all58700:30:58.480 --> 00:31:00.839



of them are kind of react to the same thing.58800:31:00.880 --> 00:31:03.480



And that is what we talked about weeks ago, that58900:31:03.599 --> 00:31:07.559



the giant parks are going to struggle because the pendulum59000:31:07.599 --> 00:31:10.240



is shifting to the pop ups, which is why Hellow59100:31:10.279 --> 00:31:13.799



Scream and the Boutique Park are the ones that are59200:31:13.799 --> 00:31:17.000



still making money for United Parks. And we all know59300:31:17.079 --> 00:31:20.240



that Disney will celebrate anything, so they have all of59400:31:20.240 --> 00:31:23.200



these pop up reasons for people to return, return, return.59500:31:24.240 --> 00:31:27.119



Christmas, So I mean, yeah, yeah, you know.59600:31:27.279 --> 00:31:30.519



So that's it's unique to see how three different companies59700:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.839



are handling the same economic situation in the world. And59800:31:34.119 --> 00:31:38.400



hopefully we can even this out just a little bit,59900:31:38.799 --> 00:31:41.519



you know, we'll see I'm curious. I'm curious because i60000:31:41.559 --> 00:31:46.160



Appa Iappa opens up very shortly, and I'm very curious60100:31:46.240 --> 00:31:48.799



to see what the mood is, what the vibe is60200:31:49.079 --> 00:31:52.039



at Iappa. And of course we will be well, we're60300:31:52.079 --> 00:31:53.799



going to do a pre i Appa show and then60400:31:53.839 --> 00:31:56.039



we will do a post Iappa show as well, so60500:31:56.160 --> 00:31:59.319



we will talk about what we're hearing and then what60600:31:59.359 --> 00:32:02.720



we actually heard. So cool, but we are way over time.60700:32:02.920 --> 00:32:04.799



So on behalf of Philip and myself. This is Green60800:32:04.839 --> 00:32:06.599



Tag Theme Park and thirty. Thank you all so much60900:32:06.640 --> 00:32:10.079



for listening. If you are not a member of the61000:32:10.319 --> 00:32:13.240



Patreon show, please become a part of Unhinged because we're61100:32:13.240 --> 00:32:16.359



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and that way we can kind of throw our gloves off.61300:32:19.480 --> 00:32:22.960



And if you are watching us, please like and subscribe.61400:32:23.039 --> 00:32:24.480



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Please subscribe, but we actually really need subscribers. Yeah, please, Actually,61600:32:30.720 --> 00:32:33.559



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