Leaderboard

I went to the park with my daughter Friday. We rode Ice Breaker x2, Mako x2, and Kraken x1 and all were walk-on or a station wait. When we arrived at Manta they were advertising a 60 minute wait. I hadn't purchased QQ in advance and really didn't want to shell $30 x 2 to save time on Manta. I decided to ask about pricing at the nearest spot selling QQ. The cashier said it was $14.99 and that it was unlimited but didn't include icebreaker. When I paid, she asked if I had a membership. She scanned my pass and the total for two unlimited QQs was $14.99 + tax. Never hurts to ask. When we got to Manta, they were only sending people with QQ to one side of the station. So it was easy to get several rides in. Later in the day as it got a little busier they were using both sides of the station for non-QQ. The coaster itself is awesome. Probably my favorite flyer, even over Tatsu. We ended up riding Ice Breaker again (10 minute wait maybe), and many rides on Manta and Mako.

We had a fantastic day at BGT last Thursday. We got Iron Gwazi x2, Cheetah Hunt x2, and Montu x2 before the deluge that lasted two hours. When the rain cleared the park was dead. I think we rode Iron Gwazi a total of ten times. While not as intense as Steel Vengeance, or as relentless as some of the smaller RMCs, this is one damn fine coaster. The number and mixture of elements is crazy. I think the downward barrel roll was my favorite. The rain started back up around 4:30 and they announced they were closing at 5. We got on every coaster running that day except Scorpion which was down a couple of times during the day and we had bad timing. The queue for IG all day:

"Let's Continue On, From Where We Left Off..." Backing up to The Show we saw, at the Coliseum. Being paired with SUPER DOGS!!!, were the Peking Acrobats Show. Something for everyone. We'd seen the dogs' show a number of times. Lots of fun. But it's usually the second 'act' that appears in conjunction with The Dogs, we're really interested in. One year, they did a convoluted touring show of "Peter Pan." Back in 2019, it was a Hypnotists Act. But they cleverly gave 1/3 of the end of the stadium rink, for the show, the back of the stage being the stage front for the Dogs, and the rest of the floor for the Dogs. This time however, they put the performance stage for Peking waaaaaaaay over on the other side of the floor. Which looked really strange once their show started up. It's like all the expensive seats decided not to show up. And PNE staff were there to shoo away anyone walking up to the stage, closer on the Dogs' show mat, etc. Even kids that wanted to get closer were gently turned away, too. It was all wierd. The show was great, by the way. Just far, faaaaaar away, lol. After the show we went thru the livestock buildings with nothing really new to see, since last year. Then we ended up in Revel District where we got our two kinds of ribs, and sides. And a couple of beers for me. Then we finished our visit, by walking up through Playland, stopping for one last beer at the Side Car Bar (or whatever it's called). Paid our respects to SkyBender (didn't work for the whole two week fair!), then exited out the Playland Gate, to catch a bus home. We decided not to stay late, even though they were doing (again) this great night time show with fire, drones, and fireworks. But we were one-and-done by late afternoon. Maybe next year's visit, longer? We'll see. Here's the rest of the photos... OMGOMGOMG! We're back where we left off! Anyway .... Pardon in advance for the photos I took. I wasn't used to such long distance shots. How far we actually were, from the stage. with the SUPERDOGS!!! mat in between. Before the show, I had bought this new case for my camera at an outdoor stall. She was good at what she was doing up there. Good old spinning plates act. This guy was fun. Playing it very 'casual' on the wire... Then, he'd go and do something like this. The Finale starting up. A 5 - 6 - 7 - 8! Wire guy comes back for his bows. And they all wave to us waaaaaay across the floor. Good show. The PNE "House Band" performing out front of the Coliseum. Took a look in here at the livestock/horse competitions. Unfortunately, nothing was happening there. Heavy horse? ....... okaaaaay. Like I said, nothing happening "at this time". Trivia: my dad took me to see the Moscow Circus here. Back then. The Livestock Buildings. Nothing new, but some good shade as it was a pretty warm day, that day. #One BBQ spot. #Two BBQ spot. We tried ribs and sides from both. Always get a kick out of the Gator BBQ Menu. Yum. We got too much corn bread, though. And we forgot slaw, too. Next year, better prepared with notes! Getting one more beer, and a last look at a non-running SkyBender. <sighs> Haven't ridden Coaster yet, with <ugh> the seat belts. Maybe next year when they open for the season in June.

all too soon, it was time to head back to the airport and back to Texas. but not before I snapped a few final pics of the Smoky mountains and our view from the decks. Dollywood isn't open during the week, so the "smoke" in these pics are really why these mountains got their name. in the car on the way back, we passed by this factory with the HUGE smokestacks. I've never seen any that tall, so snapped a pic. the flight was uneventful, and tho the evening after getting home was a complete and total Cluster (won't get into it, but it involved notifications received about charges to my deceased Spouse's credit cards received when I took the phone out of airplane mode - that I had to deal with immediately. Will just say that by the time I was done dealing with things, the food I had picked up on the way home was way cold, and I didn't get to throw in laundry or even unpack anything until well after midnight - with getting to bed at 3am - after landing at 7pm). anyways. . swag bought. I didn't get the Dolly face Tshirt, as I liked these better (this one for the color) Front: back: this one for color and design: and this one for the design: bought this magnet from the giftshop at DreamMore another magnet I loved a magnet that matched the design on one of the shirts that I liked and those magnets that I tried for 2 days to get, but finally did. . and the saleswoman had pulled one for each color for me. I gave two as gifts and kept 2 all in all? it was a trip I'm glad I took, and hope to go back at some point in the future - tho maybe not in the wintertime

"Tis The Season .... to post Late TRs, ho ho ho! Actually, this report isn't too late. It's the one day (Thurs.Sept.03 which would have been "Out At The Fair" Day for us, as in the past few years). David and I went to the annual PNE, which then includes Playland (and mucho raised ride wristbank/single tix prices). They had expanded the exhibition site from last year's Fair, now including all the buildings at the East end of the park (or front-of-the-Fair, when you look at a map of it all). So the Showcase was back in the Forum Bldg. And the Rollerland bldg. had something different: The PNE Prize Home. Although not exactly The Home itself. They decided to forego having the actual home onsite, allowing walk-thrus by the gp, and instead recreated a couple of it's rooms, and used a lot of media to show off the house itself. So this was a quick one for us. We literally tried not to backtrack anywhere, and headed to the Livestock Bldgs. Nothing new there, so I took no pix. But, we missed the Central "Foodtruck Alley" that others walk thru and figure out what they want to eat. I think we missed a couple of trucks with food we wanted to try. Our loss. We next headed to Revel District where our BBQ was. Two of them, this year. Both good BBQ and sides. We liked both. Couldn't choose between them, lol. After that, it was up through Playland, noting that SkyBender never opened for the Entire - Fair. I got to ride it back in July, but geez ..... Anyway, checked out Coaster and sure enough, set belts were on. Also found out from an older couple nearby, that their grandson "waited up to two hours to ride this thing." I laughed. So we had entered at the Main GAte. And we left the PNE at the Playland Gate. Here we go... the Front Gate Entry. And immediately to one's left, is the MARKETPLACE bldg. Which we immediately entered! This was a cool find. Pre-mixed for veggie/protein/vegan dishes. We bought a few of them. I love these kinds of "greeting cards". Brilliant, really. More of these lovely cards. I didn't buy any, as there is a place downtown I like to support, buying their cards. Still ....really lovely work. A Piece of The Map, on display again. It's from a HUGE plywood creation. The original was wonderful to see. Red line is the Canada-US Border. We're all north of it. We find something we wanted to try: Deep Fried Oreos. We got a 5 piece. How they looked. Not bad. But thy really needed a nice cold glass of milk with them. Lotsa BLING for sale here. Amusing to watch people freak out and fall off these things. This IS "Reality Entertainment"! This was neat to watch. She rolled clay, basically, combining colours, then cutting and melted in the basic oven (!) and .... .... to make these ... or ... ... to make THESE beautiful creations. I bought one of the round tin boxes, like the ones in that bowl there. An exhibit area to show more of what's happening all around our city. Many, many exhibits here. And a lot of stuff for kids to do, too. I'm not too sure if this was mainly for kids, or families or ... ? Didn't stick around to find out. Best. Onsite Food truck. Ever. We really get a lot of food trucks here at the PNE. For a good number of years, now. Awesome! Henri's BBQ was there, too. Always tempting, but we do have a lot of great chicken cuisine, beyond the PNE. One of our finds was this taco truck. with (it's at the bottom there) PHO BEEF BRISKET. We ordered those ones. Not much left of it. But they were good tacos. Big display of motor homes etc. here. Awesome to check some of these $$$$$$$$ out. (o: Pretty. We didn't queue for it. We're fine where we are, thank you very much! And this part of the TR ends, with A Big Chair Photo. (To be continued...)

This thread is hilarious. Two thoughts. A company offering a product should attempt to please a consumer, more than a consumer should attempt to please the company. What I mean is that these bullshit loyalty claims throughout the industry of "supporting the park," with disregard to product satisfaction is really twisted. Giving to a corporation is not giving to a charity. For example, on a Silver Dollar City Facebook group I watched some lady get destroyed by fanboys because she simply said she wasn't going to renew her passes if the train wasn't operational by next season. She said her family enjoys the train the most. She was shamed for not supporting the park. My second thought, on behalf of parks, is that they also don't owe you anything. Parks are simply offering their product as is and leaving it up to the consumer to make their purchasing decision. They should, and only will please you, if it benefits their profits margin. Companies will change their product depending on current market target trends and profit. A company's goal is return on investment, which usually comes from customer satisfaction resulting in purchasing the product. The bottom line is about your money, not your feelings, despite them being typically related. However, the relationship is much less personable than people want it to be. If you're not satisfied with the product being offered, don't renew your passes. Corporate doesn't take this personal. You have a right to be pissed if you want, but there's really no reason to expect anything other than profit driven decisions. Six Flags Saint Louis is currently pleasing enough guests to justify their decisions to not add new attractions. If they're not pleasing you, there's no need to have blind loyalty. Wait for them to offer a product you want to pay for. Don't pay first and expect your desired product as a result of some false loyalty. That's counterintuitive. As for us, I'd love to not renew our passes this year, but Eve crossed the 36" threshold. There may not be anything new for me, but there's plenty new for her. We'll see.

Highly doubtful SF will pull the plug on legacy memberships. The instant they do that, they lose all that guaranteed cash which is coming in month after month. And I seriously doubt a legacy DEVIP member that just got 'dumped' will opt to buy a similar priced pass which offers much less. That's not to say many years down the road when legacy pass numbers have dwindled they may consider ending them at that point. And as for why there is so much traffic on this thread, while I cannot speak for other park threads, the SFoG page gets far less traffic than this one, likely due to the fact that park has its own unofficial Facebook group with LOTS of discussion taking place there.