Sunday, February 12, 2006

Shapiro Starts Ordering People Around At Knott's Berry Farm, Stop & Shop

New Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro has received press coverage all around the country as he visits each of the chain's parks to evaluate their status. The 35-year-old barks out orders at each park, ordering Six Flags Elitch Gardens, for example, to consider placing Bugs Bunny atop the park's observation tower. In recent days, Shapiro has been seen going a bit farther.

In a recent visit to Knott's Berry Farm (owned by competitor Cedar Fair), Shapiro directed the park to "immediately re-open" the long-closed Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, ordered a price reduction on the park's famous fried chicken, and demanded an explanation as to why Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers characters were not greeting guests throughout the park.

Similarly, while grocery shopping near Six Flags New England, Shapiro loudly criticized the produce displays. "Hey! I came up with [ESPN talk show] Pardon the Interruption, and I'm here to tell you those bananas should be up higher and we should put a huge Batman logo in the tile floor next to the papayas." Shapiro then fired the produce manager who refused to carve a squash in the shape of Mr. Freeze.