[LAMetroGuy]

Magic Mountain to Remain Park

By ALLEN P. ROBERTS Jr.

Magic Mountain in Valencia will remain an amusement park and will not be converted into a housing development or retail complex under a new strategy outlined by owner Six Flags Inc.

Earlier this summer, the New York-based amusement park operator floated the idea of selling some of its 30 amusement parks to developers in order to curtail its spiraling $2.2 billion debt.

"Magic Mountain is open for business and will stay open for business," said Six Flags Inc. Chief Executive Mark Shapiro during a Tuesday conference call with analysts.

Shapiro also said that the company was pushing forward with several initiatives to reverse the ongoing trend of declining attendance and decreasing revenue.

He said that the company will focus on drawing more families to the park and increasing revenue by going after character licensing deals with Thomas the Tank Engine and Australian children's entertainers the Wiggles, adding steep discounts on season passes and forming corporate alliances with retail outlets such as Cold Stone Creamery.

Shapiro said that momentum from these initiatives is already being felt with about 110,000 season passes being sold so far this year, compared only 52,000 during the same period last year.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Good to hear. Its Southern California's best amusement park for roller coasters.

[Ronin]

YESSSSSS!!! This is the best news I've heard in awhile. Time to renew my season pass!

[dragonsky]

this is really a good news. appreciate.

[dragonsky]

Magic Mountain thrills to stay
Six Flags may sell theme park by year's end, but it won't close down
BY ALEX DOBUZINSKIS, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:12/12/2006 08:37:25 PM PST


VALENCIA - Magic Mountain isn't going away anytime soon, but a sale of the theme park from Six Flags to another operator could be announced before the end of the year.

With attendance at the thrill park down 25 percent since the potential sale was announced in June, company Chief Executive Officer Mark Shapiro made it a point Tuesday during a conference call with investors to emphasize that the park will not be paved over.

"We had inquiries and bids for parties to come in and close down Magic Mountain and operate it as a real estate venture," Shapiro said in an interview after the conference call.

"But we are dismissing those and solidly staying on a track that has this park open for 2007 and beyond," he said.

Six Flags Inc. looked to sell Magic Mountain, adjacent Hurricane Harbor and seven other theme parks across the country to reduce some $2 billion in debt.

The New York-based corporation had hoped to sell all the theme parks together as a package. But Shapiro told investors that approach could change, with Six Flags keeping some parks and selling others.

The company dismissed bids for Magic Mountain because it's worth more as a theme park than what was offered to redevelop it, Shapiro said. It's just a matter of whether Six Flags or another company will run the park.
"I can't underscore this enough," Shapiro told investors. "Magic Mountain will be open for business in 2007 and will stay open for the foreseeable future, no matter who owns it."

In the company's mid-quarter report, Shapiro told investors to expect an announcement on what will happen with the nine parks for sale by or soon after the end of the year.

Six Flags, which operates 30 amusement and water parks, is trying to attract more families, instead of the teen crowd that spends little on food and souvenirs.

The goal may fit awkwardly with the "thrill park" reputation of the 17-roller coaster Magic Mountain. But the property is still a big money generator for Six Flags, with about 3 million visitors last year.

"The housing slowdown has taken the steam out of the idea of selling it off and converting it to residential, because you have a situation now (elsewhere) where developers have put down nonrefundable deposits and they're walking away," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Shapiro blamed Magic Mountain's 25 percent drop in attendance since June on uncertainty about a possible sale. But analysts said it has been a competitive year for Southern California theme parks, with Disneyland celebrating its 50th anniversary and other parks slashing prices.

Magic Mountain will have its own discount. Every season pass sold through the end of February will come with a free children's season pass.

"They're clearly targeting the family market there by doing that, but it's a smart move," said Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com. "As any parent knows, the real expense in the theme park market is your kid. ... They want the food. They want the drinks. They want the souvenirs."

[jessie_sanchez]

Where else would i get my fix of adrenaline...Disneyland? :haha:

[glowrock]

Glad to hear Magic Mountain will continue! I have many fond memories of that place, as I used to go there all the time when I used to live in Simi Valley! :)

Aaron (Glowrock)

[LAsam]

Fingers crossed that Cedar Fair buys this park! They own Cedar Point in Ohio and it is fantastic. They've also been acquiring parks as of late.

[JJC50]

awesome

[Buckeye Native 001]

Fingers crossed that Cedar Fair buys this park! They own Cedar Point in Ohio and it is fantastic. They've also been acquiring parks as of late.

Cedar Fair owns Knotts Berry Farm as well.

[Scruffy]

still nothing it seems. ´does anyone have news

[glowrock]

Cedar Fair owns Knotts Berry Farm as well.

Seriously??? Wow, I never knew that!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[shrek05]

glad to see they arent idiots, it was by far the most famous and imo best 6 flags and according to wikipedia most profitable (who knows how reliable that is).

glad to see its staying around :D

[jamesinclair]

I was there last Wednesday and bought a season pass. I actually hope attendance remains low. Being able to go on a roller coaster twice in a row is great, just standing up, finding a row with no people, and boarding again.

Longest line was 18 minutes for Goliath, which was a shame. It felt like an eternity compared with the 2nd longest line, 10 minutes at Deja Vu (which was delayed because of a mechanical issue)

[dcmcgov]

^^^^

That's great, but the average Southern Californian can't go to Six Flags on a Wednesday. Have you gone on a Saturday? If 18 minutes for Goliath felt like an eternity...

In September I waited 2 1/2 hours in 110 degree heat with a brutal, beating sun to ride X. Then we waited another 2 hours to ride Deja Vu. We spent half the day (4 1/2 hours) waiting in line to ride 4 minutes worth of coaster.

And they are looking for ways to INCREASE attendence?

They should be looking for ways to increase customer satisfaction. IE shorter lines that offer shade, better food at a reasonable price so thousands of people don't leave the park for lunch.

My .02