Not to mention the fact that the top brass probably haven't seen much of a cut in their pay  

7 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

...or in my dreams, HFE. 

I hope it doesn't come to it, but I wouldn't be opposed to a number of the parks spinning off and re-forming KECO if it meant overall improvement to those parks. (The name slaps and it's nostalgic for some.) Six Flags may be too big right now, but we'll have to check back in after Six Flags America and California's Great America close. Then maybe again after one or more parks are possibly sold to other chains. I don't want the situation to come to that though. The HFE parks are all wonderful, but they now own at least 22 amusement/water parks (not including other attractions such as zoos, aquariums, theaters. etc.) compared to Six Flags' current 41. They don't seem to have much room to expand for a little while. 

28 minutes ago, MysticTimberwolf said:

Attendance is mandatory for Gold Pass holders. BYO calculator.

A new Prestige Pass perk: two free* absences from Spreadsheets of Terror! 

2 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Not to mention the fact that the top brass probably haven't seen much of a cut in their pay  

I hope it doesn't come to it, but I wouldn't be opposed to a number of the parks spinning off and re-forming KECO if it meant overall improvement to those parks. (The name slaps and it's nostalgic for some.) Six Flags may be too big right now, but we'll have to check back in after Six Flags America and California's Great America close. Then maybe again after one or more parks are possibly sold to other chains. I don't want the situation to come to that though. The HFE parks are all wonderful, but they now own at least 22 amusement/water parks (not including other attractions such as zoos, aquariums, theaters. etc.) compared to Six Flags' current 41. They don't seem to have much room to expand for a little while. 

A new Prestige Pass perk: two free* absences from Spreadsheets of Terror! 

I’m a wee bit worried about HFE and all they’ve taken on. I think we will definitely see spin/sell off. They aren’t averse to selling/closing things that aren’t performing (CelebrationCity) They simply can’t afford to loose the reputation on their marquee parks. Just the headlines alone about “Dollywood “owner” buys Kennywood” show that. No story DIDNT mention Dollywood or 3x best theme park winner SDC in favor of HFE. They MUST have the reputation of their key properties to drive the “luster” to their new acquisitions. Plus Dolly alone won’t let the operation of a partner sully the reputation of her namesake in her hometown. 

On 6/1/2025 at 4:55 PM, Orion-XL200 said:

On top of that, make the merch affordable to increase in park spending. Why would I spend almost $50 on a shirt. But if I could buy 2 for that price, I’d be more likely to buy (not really some people would). 

The company’s entire pricing strategy is a failure to drive in park spending.  
 

They give away food to season passholders with the meal plans.    A lot of people use these meal plans to the maximum and they cannot be that profitable.

Then  they overcharge for everything else which discourages all spending. 

5 hours ago, super7 said:

The company’s entire pricing strategy is a failure to drive I’m park spending.  
 

They give away food to season passholders with the meal plans.    A lot of people use these meal plans to the maximum and they cannot be that profitable.

Then  they overcharge for everything else which discourages all spending. 

I've found that with the quality of the food I'm spending more at the park now than I ever have.  I used to stop by outside the park before/after or leave in the middle of the day.  Now with the meal plan I eat at the park and will sometimes add a side for extra.  Also with knowing the quality of the food I'm more likely to pay for things like food & wine like my wife and I did last Saturday.  There is also the word of mouth when it comes to the food.  I imagine KI makes more profit off of their own offerings over Graders, LaRosas, Skyline, etc. 

I've also fallen victim to the "The dining plan is such a great value that I can afford to spend extra on Blue Ice Cream, fudge, extra sides, etc".  We've seen prices go up on gold passes yet not much on the drink/food plan.  If they were loosing money on the dining plan they would have upped the price on it as well.  "giving away the gate" is one thing but giving away food is another.  Trust me if there is one thing we have learned recently it's that the company at this time is driven more by profit than ever.  I'm sure the dining plan, no matter how used, is profitable.  

Finally there is the perception of the lines for the food.  People who don't visit the park often and don't have a season pass or dining plan look and go "wow, that place must be good with a line like that" not realizing how many people are in line with the plan.   From what I've noticed about 30-40% of the people are pulling out a credit card as opposed to a season pass during the busy days.