Kevin Long
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Posts posted by Kevin Long
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You won't find jack shit for Six Flags billboards in Memphis. You'll find Holiday World billboards in Nashville, however.
Source: I'm a St. Louis native who moved to Memphis six years ago.
And to call Memphis the closest city is stretching it when KC is 50 mins closer and Chicago is only an additional 10 mins further than Memphis.
well I wasn't going to include Chicago area because if your home park is Great America - would you travel to SFSL or Holiday World if you could only pick one?
I presumed KC and Worlds of Fun was comparable to SFSL in population draw even with the smaller regional population
my point was I don't feel like HW is hitting on SFSL market exclusively.
Kevin
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I think holiday world inroads and advertising in this area (ST LOUIS) is not directed against Six Flags but rather SDC -
Think about it, HW is trying to get the "Branson longer distance vacationers" certainly not the day trippers who might go to Six Flags.
Sure there will be some spill over either way but SFSL is less of a competitor to HW than SDC is in Branson.
I think they are looking for that bigger family vacation dollar from those that might consider Branson each year - travel time either way is pretty close and costs must be competitive.
I am sure SDC advertises in other cities farther away too. The nearest big city to STL is KC or Memphis and I bet you can find a Six Flags SL billboard in those city's - Bill boards are pretty cheap overall.
Kevin
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I think its so you don't go all afternoon with a drowned person on the bottom of your wave pool........ hard to see the bottom clearly if the pool is full......
I did see the fact it would be closed every hour posted somewhere, can't remember where..
Kevin
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A water park addition wouldn't shock me, but I can also see why it wouldn't happen. This area has no real local competition to Hurricane Harbor. There are a few local places with a couple slide complexes, but that's about it.
very good points - but I gotta say the view from the train into hurricane harbor does not inspire a lot of trust. Rust of the towers and slides and faded old looking fiberglass, flume leaks and general rooftop decay of the buildings. It seems the area could at least use some serious TLC. I guess if you're on the train you are already past HH,but it just doesn't look inviting on the pass by.
Kevin
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We won't get anything unique or large scale. As discussed before, it doesn't make good business sense. I am now of the mindset that a S&S Free Fly would be a perfect fit for our park. I think we should consider ourselves lucky if that becomes a reality.
One thing is for sure, you won't be getting an RMC conversion. Otherwise the park would have already announced the ride closure like SFOG with Georgia Cyclone. An S&S 4D would indeed be the most likely scenario. There's also the possibility of a water coaster like SFFT's Thunder Rapids. Either way, you would be getting something great for the park.
well two years in a row with new rides in the amusement section, I suspect the water park might get a new attraction next year. my two cents
Kevin
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LOL! I'm old enough to remember the haunted house! And for you young'uns, we're talking about a haunted house without any scareactors. Nothing like what they have at frightfest today.
well I am even older and we did have scare actors in it every day - 4 people usually. Worked ride ops pool one summer (82). I had the privilege of sitting in those 4 old trailers with no ac for a few days while covering someone on vacation - fun but hot. good theming, including red blood fountains -No masks, we wore blackface type scare makeup - (think kiss) and hooded robes. They had big chains attached to old diamond plate steel squares and you would smack the chain on the steel when people walked by (LOUD)-
thanks for the memory Kim
old man drift off over
kevin
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that tidal wave corner is a tough corner for any attraction as it is out of the way and not a throughway to anywhere
- way back in my day they had the old haunted house there and the road to hurricane harbor was not there - it was a corner attraction on the way up the hill to the eagle and bumper cars. (#oldmanrant). they could move it to a new location in the park and put something bigger there. its not a super huge space hog....
Kevin
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here is a video of the mardi-gras parade for those of you whom haven't' seen it.
A for effort - reminded me of nothing so much as a high school homecoming parade.
I really appreciate the attempts at entertainment, but this and the regular shows (Palace/Miss Kitty's) all seem to come off as very amateurish. Not what you would expect from a larger entertainment venue - NOTE the Fright fest palace show last year was an huge exception. Very well done, so I know it can happen.
side note - very pathetic to see grown adults scrambling for beads ahead of children...
Kevin
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I'm excited for the Mardi Gras parade, but I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around why corporate thought it was a good idea to send out a parade to two seperate parks right after the other, except multiple months after the actual holiday it's named after.
It's really bizzare to me, to me it's like having Holiday in the Park in the middle of March. I think it's especially not great for the general public, I don't think it's a great idea to lead people to believe that Mardi Gras is just a broad holiday that can be celebrated whenever instead of celebrating on the actual historical date and preserving it's meaning.
I mean whatever, at the end of the day this is the first parade at the park in nearly a decade so at least we actually have one that we can look forward to. I just feel like this was in a little bit of poor taste in respect to the actual timing of the holiday and preserving it's meaning for people that do celebrate the holiday for its religious aspect, especially for a park that seems to be very engaged with it's Christian guests with the Christian Family Days concerts and private events and such.
its too cold to be open in February - and I think its more of a festival and celebration in general nowdays than the observance of a actual religious holiday in most places.
I think its strange considering the park USED to be THEMED with a New Orleans Area. and now not so much.
Kevin
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I hope someone can help...... is this clock gone forever or is it ( hopefully) being refurbished?
noticed it was gone during a recent visit.... any info would be appreciated
thanks
Kevin
Missing In action
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I had some business out in the Eureka area, so I decided to make a 1/2 day of it and visit the park.
well just got back from the park and I must say it was an awesome day - weather was exceptional, very light crowds. Since I will complain about food lines when bad I must say the food lines today were quite under control. I ate at "fowl ball" about 1 pm and it was a walk up no line situation. very nice. In fact most of the food stands, I saw had very minimal waits. I prefer to think its a sign that things have turned the corner, but it may just have been a lucky day. I caught the two new Miss Kitty's shows. Not bad productions, its still early in the season so a few headset microphone errors are easily forgiven. The content was standard and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Both shows seemed a bit shorter to me than usual... not even 20 min (or barely).
I did see one thing that either gives me hope or fills me with loss - That is that the copper clad park clock that was directly in front of the St Louis train station IS MISSING. my hope is that it is being repaired/refinished OR if it is gone forever I feel loss - I really liked that clock. It was working last season so I hope it is just getting some TLC and will be back soon. if anyone knows, I would appreciate any info on it....
great day at the park....
Kevin
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if you are a family and can only choose one place for a family vacation ( whole family multiple nights) you would more than likely choose somewhere other than SFSL.
Six Flags isn't marketing to people who are planning a family vacation and looking for a theme park to visit where they're going to spend multiple nights at a hotel. Six Flags is marketing to people who live near St. Louis and are looking for something fun to do on a random Saturday.
SFSL is a nice local amusement/water park not much more.Great because that's exactly what they want to be. I fail to see your point.
my point really wasn't to disagree with you, just stating my view on how I see the park and speculate on what family might consider for their big family vacations each year.
if you are having a "staycation" six flags is as good as anywhere to spend it...
kevin
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All of the above is true enough, BUT
if you are a family and can only choose one place for a family vacation ( whole family multiple nights) you would more than likely choose somewhere other than SFSL.
Even living close I would not choose STL and SF over Branson and SDC. SFSL is a nice local amusement/water park not much more.
you can tell when you visit. My guess is 90+% are locals out for a few hours to kill an afternoon.
There is a difference between a THEME park and an Amusement park. SFSL lost its "THEME" park status IMO a while ago now.
its more like visiting a Mall now
I don't consider corporate branding a "theme" myself.. so don't throw WB Properties naming rights out as theming. all the batman and bugs bunny stuff are more mascots than a theme. Sure the rides may have specific theming, but the park not so much.
SDC now that's a theme - they own it and it shows.
Kevin
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I hear that the area received some heavy flooding. Did this effect the park at all?
nope the park is on a hill and above the flood plain - all open and business as usual..
Kevin
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I had a question maybe someone could answer - I saw that they added a option to dine in a buffet in the worlds fair grove with the dining pass this year - is This new? I think it is, I can't remember seeing it before. If so How does this work? Can someone advise or describe the plan behind it.. if well stocked and kept full during meal hours this could go a long way to relieving the lines in some areas of the park for dinners... anyone ?
Kevin
I had the buffet on Sunday. It was available from 11:30-3:30. So I used my dining pass and ate there. It was nice actually. They had pulled pork, beef hot dogs, chicken strips. beans, chips, and salad. The food was pretty hot and fresh.. If you leave this buffet hungry, it's your own fault. Not sure how often the menu changes. If you are wanting pork, be sure to ask if they are serving it that day. Several signs promoting the buffet did not have pulled pork listed, but they were serving it that day. Also you definitely wait less in line...
thanks for the info - I am not a super picky eater and this will be a great option to just get in, eat and get back to the park.
Not to beat a dead horse on the food lines issue, but even a little planning would go a long way to alleviate some of the congestion. example a place like the colonnades that has a fairly limited menu. ( mostly just burgers and strips) I don't' know why they just don't make 50-100 hamburgers or 25 or so orders of strips starting about 1/2 hour before the meal plans start. They have a pretty good hold time and you know you will need at least that many during the rush. I guess I am mostly curious about the procedures.
Anyway the new area is a welcome addition
Kevin
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I had a question maybe someone could answer - I saw that they added a option to dine in a buffet in the worlds fair grove with the dining pass this year - is This new? I think it is, I can't remember seeing it before. If so How does this work? Can someone advise or describe the plan behind it.. if well stocked and kept full during meal hours this could go a long way to relieving the lines in some areas of the park for dinners... anyone ?
Kevin
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Just saw in the pass holder announcements that VR will be removed from Ninja June 4th. It must really not be working well if they are removing it after announcing the new experience not too long ago.
I do believe you are reading to far into the email. Galactic Attack might be leaving June 4th but, VR on Ninja won't be.
It says at the end "Take one last ride on this exclusive virtual adventure before we take the headsets away and it turns back into regular Ninja". Maybe it's only temporarily leaving? It seems like it's going away at least for awhile though.
well maybe park officials have come to realize that guest throughput and satisfaction have slipped. I remember many a day watching guests sitting in the brake run in the sun waiting for the train in front to finish loading/prepping for the next run. I haven't heard anyone really rave about the experience. Its a novelty at first, but is adding 3-5 minutes (or more) per train dispatch worth it?
Kevin
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Just saw in the pass holder announcements that VR will be removed from Ninja June 4th. It must really not be working well if they are removing it after announcing the new experience not too long ago.
I just saw this too and logged in here to check - could we finally be seeing the beginning of the end for this unneeded, cumbersome and wait time creating nightmare?
Kevin
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well, the area is looking used pretty hard, and an general update might actually increase revenue.
I am pretty sure( though I have no actual Idea) even one of the larger tube slides ( excluding one of these http://www.proslide.com/rides/rocketblast/) would be Much less costly of an investment, than a mega coaster.
Kevin
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or maybe SFSL will get an upgrade to the water park - bypassing all the coaster enthusiasts wishes......
Kevin
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I suspect temperature will regulate crowds more than most anything else -- get a 70 + day in there and it will be a LOT more crowded
Kevin
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The same reason ride photos are removed from every other ride in existence... because they weren't making enough money on Ninja and Batman photos to justify paying to maintain the equipment and paying someone to sit in the booth all day.
I get the novelty of this I guess - but I never thought the photos were very good anyway - I think they are still on the log flume.
Never liked them - personally I don't want my photo taken while on any ride unless for security purposes - I cant' believe they make any money off them, way way over priced considering the actual cost of production nowadays with digital. I guess if your in vacation mode you will spend like that.
Kevin
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well of that 2,700,000 people (at the best case 60% are interested in or would attend the park) you are now down to 1,620,000 and probably an additional 10% can't afford to go. Add into that the fact that for the most part, the majority of attending any given day are pass holders and the actual incoming cash on a daily basis is probably less than you think. it takes a long time to recoup the investment of a 15 million dollar attraction.
St Louis is not a place foremost in peoples minds as a vacation destination. With the exception of the real coaster fans and park enthusiasts a coaster is NOT going to make people come here. Sure they might go to the park if they are in the area anyway, but most families given a choice would select a more premium location for that family trip.
my two cents
Kevin
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Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I'm thinking the carousel might be on the block - after all its very close to disintegration right now..... shame
kevin