When Six Flags Denies Reentry, Will Some Guests Enter at All?

Let's imagine it's a beautiful summer day later this year. You're on vacation and you've decided to visit a "more family-friendly" Six Flags park. You load up the mini-van and head to the park early in the day to beat the crowds. In the afternoon, you decide to escape the crunch of people in the park and go back to your hotel for some relaxing down time at the pool followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. Your plan is to return in the evening for some more coasters and fun. As you exit Six Flags, however, there's a prominent sign warning you that once you leave the park, you will not be readmitted--unless you're willing to cough up another $60 per person. You think there's NO WAY the sign could be for real. Way. In one of the first official moves by the chain's new regime, all Six Flags parks will have a no same-day reentry policy this season. Coming from the folks who have been promising to turn Six Flags around by offering a more positive guest experience, this seems like a counterintuitive--oh heck, let's just call it harebrained--idea.

UPDATE: Six Flags Rethinks No-Reentry Policy

When news about the no same-day reentry policy began circulating around the Web a few days ago, most people (including me) shrugged it off as a foolish rumor. Wendy Goldberg, Six Flags' new senior VP of communications, says it's no joke, however. If you leave any of the parks this year, don't expect to return that day. And don't let the exit gate hit you in the rear end on the way out.

So what's behind this bizarre move? According to the chain's research, Goldberg says that many guests who ask for hand stamps that would allow them to reenter later in the day never actually return. If Six Flags holds a place for them and the park is near capacity, it might prevent new patrons from entering. And that wouldn't be a positive guest experience, would it?

First of all, theme parks are very rarely at capacity and almost never close their gates. If Six Flags is really conducting research and knows that a percentage of exiting guests with hand stamps never returns, then the parks could use those figures to determine estimated attendance. Instead of establishing a no same-day reentry policy, Six Flags could post signs at the exit warning guests that in the rare event of a packed park, a hand stamp may not guarantee reentry.

Goldberg adds that the policy also takes guests' safety into consideration. "Running back and forth out of parks into busy parking lots could put guests in danger," she notes. "At some Six Flags parks, guests have to cross a highway to reach the front gate." Well, under the new policy, guests will still have to enter and exit the park once per day. Does that mean Six Flags is knowingly placing their patrons in harm's way?

Is it just me, or do these lame excuses reek of desperation? So what's really behind the see-ya-later-just-not-today policy? In a word, money. Kaching. Moolah. By forcing customers to remain inside the park, Six Flags might squeeze a few more dollars out of them at its food stands and retail shops. But at what cost down the line? If it alienates guests, as I suspect it will, many won't return, and they probably won't have kind things to say about their day at the park to others.

New Chairman Daniel Snyder, who also owns the Washington Redskins and successfully orchestrated a reorganization of Six Flags' board, has a no-reentry policy at FedExField. While sports fans might not balk at captive audience rules, they're inside the stadium for a relatively short amount of time. $7 for a warm, crummy beer and $5 for a cold, crummy hot dog? That's just part of the game. Going to a park, however, is a whole-day experience. Many families bring young children and often incorporate a park visit into a vacation. Many parks, Six Flags included, feature water parks and theme parks within one gate for one admission price. And virtually all parks allow same-day reentry--for good reason.

Maybe guests, especially young kids, need a break from the park. Perhaps folks have medication inside cooler chests in their cars. What about patrons who simply forget their sunglasses or Dramamine or sweatshirts or…. Are people who want to use the water park and theme park supposed to tote around their swimming gear all day? Will Six Flags have enough lockers (which, of course, require an extra charge) to accommodate everybody's stuff?

Goldberg does say that the chain will make special considerations for certain parks. For example, since the picnic area at Six Flags Over Texas in Dallas is outside the gates, guests will be allowed to eat their meals and reenter the park. And patrons who have multi-park tickets to the three gates at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey (the theme park, the water park, and the drive-through safari) will be able to come and go among the parks (but guests with single-park tickets will not be allowed to reenter). Season-pass holders to any of the chain's parks will be subject to the same no-reentry restriction as regular-ticket guests.

I'm simply amazed by this brazen move. My prediction: After irate guests jam Six Flags' guest relations windows, email addresses, phone lines, and mail boxes with complaints this spring, the company will back off the ill-conceived policy.

UPDATE: Six Flags Rethinks No-Reentry Policy
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