Six Flags not Flush with Cash

It's been a couple of years since the new regime of Chairman Dan Snyder and CEO Mark Shapiro unfurled its plan to save the debt-ridden Six Flags chain of amusement parks. The duo has had some successes (attracting more young families, developing a slew of corporate partnership deals, improving guest satisfaction ratings), but the bottom line has barely moved. The company has continued to lose money, and it has posted disappointing attendance numbers. Predictably, Six Flags just announced that it plans to trim its expenses up to $60 million this year. About half of the savings will come at the expense of its marketing budget (although, in a brilliant--IMHO--strategic decision, the chain says it will move more advertising dollars to the Web). The chain says that it may unload more of its parks; surprisingly, it also says that it is considering new parks throughout Asia. Acknowledging that it needs to reinvest and reinvent itself to keep its existing parks fresh, Six Flags does have a number of new coasters and other attractions opening this season. The latest announcement is from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, where the Splashwater Kingdom water park will debut Mega Wedgie, a bowl ride. The water slide will send riders aboard tubes down a tunnel and into a bowl where they will swish around a few times before getting flushed out the bottom into a splashdown pool.

• Six Flags Ride Guide 2008 See what else is new this season at Six Flags parks.
• Dragon's Den at Splish Splash Bowl Ride Review Want to learn more about water park bowl rides? Read this review.
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