News Six Flags Brings Park Presidents Back to 10 Parks

[AmyUD06]

I definitely feel like the lineup of parks not listed is mighty fishy and we maybe should be fielding the possibility that there's an explanation beyond performance for their exclusions...

Maybe it's the other way around than what we're thinking - maybe they're reinstating Park Presidents at the parks that need some extra hands-on guidance and effort put into them, and the ones that are not on the list are doing just fine with the current management model? Just another piece of wild speculation amongst the rest.

 

[warfelg]

 

[northdetective]

Maybe it's the other way around than what we're thinking - maybe they're reinstating Park Presidents at the parks that need some extra hands-on guidance and effort put into them, and the ones that are not on the list are doing just fine with the current management model? Just another piece of wild speculation amongst the rest.

northdetective-level incompetence accusations

 

[harry580]

northdetective-level incompetence accusations

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[amperedragon]

The big news just had to drop on a day I was out all day.

Anyway, we previously heard Six Flags talking about a "core 15" parks, and now that the chain is downsizing I wouldn't be surprised if the parks getting presidents are the new "core 10" parks. I don't think this necessarily means that all the parks not getting presidents are suddenly at risk, but I more think it means those properties don't have as much growth potential and thus Six Flags is focusing on the locations they consider most likely to be able to expand their passholder base. If you sell off the lower tier, those that were previously the middle tier are going to become the lower tier, and I don't think any of the excluded parks were ever considered a top performer for either legacy chain.

 

[Mushroom]

Small but interesting tidbit that I noticed. I believe this is the first time the former Cedar Fair parks have used the title “Park President.” Under Cedar Fair, the title was always Vice President & General Manager. I know the former Paramount parks used the VP & GM title during (and even before) the Paramount era too.

The title change seems to standardize all the parks under legacy Six Flags’ “president” nomenclature, which seems much more common in the industry. I always thought the Vice President & General Manager title felt clunky and didn’t really reflect the position’s hierarchy. This seems to nominally reflect CEO John Reilly’s strategy of shifting decision-making authority to park-level leadership.

 

[warfelg]

I always thought the Vice President & General Manager title felt clunky and didn’t really reflect the position’s hierarchy.

Random clunky - my wife is a VP GM, who's job is the exact same as a GM, but still under SVP, who reports to a EVP. All that's different is salary and bonus structure.

Seems like a very clunky way to have more leadership roles.

 

[Thriller]

Kings Dominion received a LOT of love and care over the recent years with Bridgette Bywater in charge of the park and able to make changes and decisions. The park looks the best that it has looked since the Taft days…. it’s actually probably the best themed and cohesive that it has ever been with one big exception (stunt coaster).

It will be a shame if there isn’t somebody in the same kind of position there to keep improving the park.

 

[TheSquirrel]

Kings Dominion received a LOT of love and care over the recent years with Bridgette Bywater in charge of the park and able to make changes and decisions. The park looks the best that it has looked since the Taft days…. it’s actually probably the best themed and cohesive that it has ever been with one big exception (stunt coaster).

It will be a shame if there isn’t somebody in the same kind of position there to keep improving the park.

Well everyone on ParkFans wants Kings Domiion to join Dorney Park & Fiesta Texas as those 2 have been rumoured as potentially being sold to Herschend

 

[AmyUD06]

Well everyone on ParkFans wants Kings Domiion to join Dorney Park & Fiesta Texas as those 2 have been rumoured as potentially being sold to Herschend

Did you forget that this is ParkFans?

And yes, between being closed outright and being sold to Herschend, its obvious which is the better outcome for all of those parks.

 

[TheSquirrel]

Did you forget that this is ParkFans?

And yes, between being closed outright and being sold to Herschend, its obvious which is the better outcome for all of those parks.

I meant everyone here on ParkFans

 

[shodowhater]

FWIW... from Texas Thrill Seekers, comments on this post:

word is the Park Manager of Fiesta will become the Park President there. All 10 parks listed are having people moved into the President Role. Fiesta will not have a moved in person so that was why it was not listed.

 

[Zachary]

That doesn't sound right to me, but , maybe? Will have been a disastrously poorly worded/presented announcement if that is what Six Flags meant, but I wouldn't be the first time Six Flags' communication team has face planted spectacularly.

 

[TheSquirrel]

FWIW... from Texas Thrill Seekers, comments on this post:

I don’t believe that Fiesta Texas wasn’t mentioned just because they didn’t move someone into that role, I think they are trying to hide the fact that they are in talks with Herschend about selling Fiesta Texas and Dorney, and maybe others

 

[JohnKell]

"word is the Park Manager of Fiesta will become the Park President there. All 10 parks listed are having people moved into the President Role. Fiesta will not have a moved in person so that was why it was not listed." If this is true, maybe hope for Kings Dominion.

 

[mtorange]

"word is the Park Manager of Fiesta will become the Park President there. All 10 parks listed are having people moved into the President Role. Fiesta will not have a moved in person so that was why it was not listed." If this is true, maybe hope for Kings Dominion.

This wouldn’t apply to KD, since they fired KD’s park president last year.

 

[Jazma]

Am I the only one who appreciates KD more than KI? I attended both last year. There's nothing quite like being at their Camp Wilderness and feeling you are in the country yet so close to the interstate and so close to both DC and Richmond. It is a gorgeous park with so many more trees than KI.

 

[CoasterBroCam]

Am I the only one who appreciates KD more than KI? I attended both last year. There's nothing quite like being at their Camp Wilderness and feeling you are in the country yet so close to the interstate and so close to both DC and Richmond. It is a gorgeous park with so many more trees than KI.

Haven't been to KI but KD is currently my favorite park ever so I wouldn't be surprised if I preferred KD over it too.

 

[Mushroom]

FWIW... from Texas Thrill Seekers, comments on this post:

I'm almost certain that this is untrue. Mike Fehnel (SFGAdv) and Tony Carovillano (KI) are the new presidents of their respective parks and they were previously the park manager there.