This year’s been a roller coaster… and Six Flags is starting to feel queasy. Yesterday, shares of the theme-park giant plunged 18% after the biz reported a 22% drop in attendance last quarter compared to last year. While Six Flags’ attendance is 35% below prepandemic levels, Disney’s US theme-park visitors have rebounded.
- Off theme: Unlike Six Flags, Disney, SeaWorld, and Cedar Fair all posted record theme-park sales last quarter, thanks to rising prices and eagerly returning visitors.
- A big drop: Six Flags’ quarterly sales fell 5% from last year, though spending per visitor jumped. Meanwhile, Disney’s parks reported a whopping 72% increase.
More like Five Flags… Actually, Six Flags got what it wanted: fewer visitors. It had recently hiked prices to reduce the number of people in its parks and improve the “guest experience.” Read: fewer visitors, but ones who spend more. The strategy seems to have worked too well:
- Higher rollers: Six Flags wants to boost sales while limiting visitors. Fewer people = happier visitors + lower costs.
- They wanted a drop… but not that big a drop. The Flags’ CEO said attendance numbers were 10%+ lower than targeted.
- The ride’s not over: Six Flags visitor spending jumped 23% last quarter, and it's up 50% from prepandemic levels (think: pricier tix + more merch and food sales).
You can’t crank the dial too fast… Six Flags may have “premium-ized” too aggressively during a tough economic time. It successfully pushed customers to spend more at its parks. But it hiked prices so fast that it caused its attendance levels to nosedive faster than a roller coaster. Still, the CEO says he’s confident the company will see a “long-term benefit” from its premium-ization strategy.