Steep drop
Six Flags parks have some of the most terrifying drop towers in the states, but it’s the plummeting park attendance figures that will have the company's execs concerned, with visitors to the parks down 26% in 2022.
Waning attendance is a big issue for the coaster company — which owns and operates some 27 theme and water parks across North America — one it excused because of higher ticket prices, fewer operational days, and its decision to scrap free and heavily-discounted entry deals.
Rollercoaster Tycoons
The company’s first location, Six Flags Over Texas (a reference to the six nations that governed the state in its history), opened in 1961, and the company’s amusement and water parks have attracted millions of families and thrill-seekers for over 60 years since. Despite that success, the company’s CEO is keen for Six Flags to reinvent itself and target a different set of (higher-paying) customers, having worried that the parks “became a day-care center for teenagers”.
Though only 20.4m people passed through the Six Flags turnstiles last year, down some 7.3m on 2021, park admission still constituted the bulk of the company’s sales — worth $735m last year. Of course, attendees aren’t done once they’ve handed over the entry cash either, with guests spending on average a further $27.93 once inside the park. That was 18% more per-person than 2021, helping to partially offset the dropping visitor numbers.
