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The way I look at it is since I've hadd Platinum/All-Park/Prestige I've been to Cedar Point (I go every year and always stay at Breaksers, eat at Bay Harbor and Tomos, etc. so I'm spending money to SIX)  Carowinds, Knotts and Six Flags Over Texas. Each time I visited the other parks besides CP I've spent money on magnets, shirts, etc.  I believe others would do the same, because KI (and to a point CP) are my home parks I don't tend to spend at them.  I would think that people who go to other parks also get some kind of keepsake that otherwise they wouldn't get.  "I didn't spend anything to get into this park so might as well get something to remember the trip by." kind of thinking.

I agree with your points but theres one issue.  Renewals for season passes are STILL $99.  They didn't up the prices.  IMO the renewal should have been $120-140 and the non-renewals $20 more to help the "giving away the gate" situation.  Season long dining plan at 399 is a bit steep.  I could see this price coming down to 299 by christmas once they see how they are selling. (I would pay 299, but find it hard to justify at 399).  Evreything else is prices well (if they raised prestige cost why didn't they raise gold???)  Prestige went from $200 to $279 however looking closer it now includes the drink plan ($40 plus renewal gets a bring a freind pass (don't need) and a $20 credit (MUST BE USED BY 9/7/2026!).  so I look at it as a $19 increase.  Looking further you can upgrade the drink plan to the drink plan plus (icees, coffee and hot chocolate) for an additional $15 so looks like I'll be in at the Prestige at 294 all in.  This season I've never not found a VIP parking spot nor have I seen the VIP lounge full.  Granted I tend not to go on days when it will be extremly crowded but by them pricing Prestige for an additional $100 last year they did convert me and I find it to be a great value.

I think it's generally an unwise business practice, though I also have a feeling that the company does not lose out on that much money all things considered. The type of people who are likely to visit parks in more than two regions are also probably the type who are willing to spend more in the parks. As with the rest of the season pass/membership sales I think seeing the numbers would help us understand a lot.  The current leadership team probably does see the looming hand of bankruptcy coming down at some point and could be working to lead the company away from it. John Reilly especially is trying to at least improve the guest experience with what he has. If that leads to Six Flags declaring bankruptcy even after the quality upgrades then that's what will happen. We'll see corporate reorganization, parks sold off, and maybe even some parks closed. In that case I just hope Kings Island can be part of a new company instead of being handed over to Herschend. They're too big for what they need to be IMO. Their hands are in too many pots for them to hold any more big ones. If Six Flags ends up selling more parks, I don't think it would be until 2028. Unless they want a repeat of 2026 with the sale of 7 parks it just doesn't seem like a good idea if they can help it. All of this said, my field is creative arts and planning so I'm also not the most in-the-know about good business practices. I just call it as I see it.

I’m a teacher, so in terms of large scale corporate business practices I’m probably lesser compared to the rest of you… but I just wonder how bad of an idea the whole “buy a pass and get in anywhere across the country” was for the company as a whole?    I mean, I’m sure it was great for those who had the passes, but wouldn’t this type of model cause parks to lose potential revenue via missed general tickets? I imagine with so many guests coming into without needing general entry that had to add up over time…

Honestly, the perks and other differences between the passes have confused me so much that I've just written off even trying to know the differences. The lack of clarity and consistency all the way around has turned me off as a consumer. Could I figure it out? Yeah, but I shouldn't need to dig and investigate for something like this.