SANDUSKY, Ohio – A new roller coaster won’t fix what’s ailing Six Flags. Neither will a last-minute plan to charge extra for haunted houses at HalloWeekends.

“The whole company needs to be reimagined,” said Dennis Speigel, a consultant who has studied the amusement park industry for decades.

Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, said he was alarmed by what he saw earlier this month from Six Flags, in the company’s second-quarter earnings report : An attendance drop of 9%, season pass sales off 8%, revenue down $100 million and $500 million in debt.

“We have not felt the aftershocks from this,” said Speigel, who predicts more difficult decisions ahead for the company, which is the parent of Cedar Point, Kings Island and dozens of other amusement and wat

See Full Page