Update: SIX Flagging

Dan Snyder’s destitutional theme park chain, Six Flags, got a rare boost with the publication of an article in Slate that — get this! — didn’t come right out and say the company was doomed.

It’s about time somebody told that side of the story.

But, alas, in the newspapering business, there’s a fine line between “counter-intuitive” and “O Really?”

And darned if that boundary didn’t get as blurry as breakfast with Amy Winehouse when the Slate piece, in attempting to paint Snyder’s playgrounds as affordable for the common man, alleged: “A typical Six Flags visitor in 2007 spent $36 for the day, including parking, the price of a ticket, and meals.“

The “O Really” factor: The standard adult admission price for most Six Flags parks last year was a lot more than $36. For example, Six Flags America in Largo, our local outpost, had a base charge of $49.99 per person.

To be fair, Slate’s reported average expenditures could be accurate. There are all sorts of online discounts and coupons available to patrons wanting to save some bucks on the general admission.

But for all the entry discounts, this is a chain that bans park-goers from bringing in any sustenance or beverages, and where soft drinks cost $4, and where parking can set you back $15-$30.

And Six Flags also offers premium upgrades where visitors can cut in front of the hoi polloi and hop right on a ride like, say, the Superman Tower of Power — for $249 per person.

That’s just how Dan Snyder rolls. Making that average expenditure even more suspect, the Slate story also claimed that “per capita guest spending [at Six Flags] was up 13 percent” in the last two years.

So, again, these figures might be right. It’d be easier to tell if the piece said where that $36 average came from.

Perhaps: From the same folks who claim to have a season ticket waiting list with “more than 200,000” names on it?

Keep the dial right here for all the breaking news in Snyder’s Six Flags soap opera.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 8:55 am and is filed under Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.