Kevin Long
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Posts posted by Kevin Long
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I don't mean to be a downer, but I'm frustrated with SFStL and SF Corporate:
SF had an exclusive deal with RMC FIRST. After NTAG and Iron Rattler, it was a proven amazing upgrade to wooden, troubled, coasters. The Boss SCREAMS daily "please renovate me, I continue to destroy visitors' vertebra by the every ride". SF re-did a TON of coasters all over their chain that didn't need improvements near as bad as the Boss. And not only that, they SAW the crazy appeal for RMC in SDC, SF parks all over the country (and Mexico), had an exclusive contract with them at their "entry rate". Yet, they didn't address the need to RMC the Boss? WHY? I know it was a money thing at first (after RMC's supply/demand proved high). But now it's a pipe dream that'll never ever happen. RMC is arguably the new B&M. Everyone wants one in their park. SFStL won't buck up for it....even though everyone wants it and could cut down maintenance PLUS market as a new coaster. Just watching the hype of Mean RMC in the Cedar Point thread and it's given me another BIG reason to go there. I just wish we could get SOMETHING to get us back on the map. I feel RMC Boss would do it. Not to mention, SDC is in the middle of ANOTHER gigantic attraction....with another Beamer on deck in a year or 2. **sad face**
I don't mean to be negative. Just wondering why SF won't buck up for the Iron Boss. And I know that nobody really knows....but they better get their A$$ in gear for a coaster (and not a spinny looper crap 3 story flippidy do-da) as SDC and closer parks are passing them up with AMAZING attractions year in and out....
Happy February
my two cents -
is it possible SFSL gets passed by because we are NOT a destination park? SDC is in a destination City (BRANSON) and many other SF parks have a larger population base to draw from. I suspect RMC can write their own tickets nowadays and maybe a conversion is way out of the parks budget. SFSL is the baby brother in the chain and gets the hand me downs.
Updating a coaster is great, but if they can't properly maintain a carousel or even paint the St Louis train station, or wipe the dust from the fans there, maybe there are other reasons the park isn't' more popular and able to justify the Coaster upgrades. Sometimes the little things are what people remember.
Kevin
ceiling and ceiling fan in St Louis train Station - taken mid season 2016
Carousel horse - taken 8.16.16 - pretty ghetto
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Have a couple questions that I was hoping some of you that frequent the park more than myself could answer.
How do crowds tend to be on the park's opening day? Is FlashPass needed to ride all of the coasters?
Any good close-by affordable hotel recommendations?
Close by - haven't stayed there in 25 years... so how good ?? about 100 yards from the park property and has a shuttle
check this out too
http://www.hisixflags.com/packages/benefits-package/
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It's a new year again, so I wanted to make sure everyone knows that the park is currently hiring for a plethora of positions! You can apply by going to http://www.sixflagsjobs.com and choose Six Flags St. Louis. If you have any family members or friends that are interested, make sure to let them know...maybe they'll give you some of their free tickets as a thank you.
You know, the Marketing Supervisor job looks pretty interesting, since Six Flags St Louis's marketing needs a pretty major overhaul, but it'd have to pay at least $80k a year to convince me to switch jobs. And what in the heck does "Ensure that all team members within assigned areas are properly selected, trained, and scheduled to perform their job responsibilities" have to do with marketing, anyway?
well definitions vary - marketing in some places can mean direct selling as you know - my guess is ( and I know nothing) that as a "marketing supervisor" for six flags st Louis you would be in the "marketing dept" and your duties would be over seeing a section of the parks shops and stands that sell things and make sure that they are properly staffed and inventoried and trained etc.
I do not think there is much in the way of "marketing" six flags itself in that particular job. My guess is it is NOT a 80k a year job maybe 15-20K?
good luck
Kevin
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Anyone know if there will be a season pass sale before it opens?
look here
there is a valentines sale
https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/store/season-passes
good luck
Kevin
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Those kind of rides don't really need a whole lot of prep work. If the goal is the standard Memorial Day weekend, I wouldn't imagine seeing any sort of progress for at least a month. It will probably go up pretty quickly once work begins.
I really agree with this,,, as a traveling carny in my youth, we routinely erected rides of relatively huge size with 3-4 man crews in less than 1-2 days. Sf has a much larger crew available to them( maybe even factory supplied ) and they are not going to be working high up. my guess is the site prep work ( queue line, station, leveling etc) will take much longer than the actual set up and completion of the ride itself.
Kevin
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Does anyone know what a food service worker makes at the park? I say it might not be enough to motivate them to expend even minimal effort. Even to stay warm.
I took my nephew out to the park on wed to get his 2017 pass processed and pick up his drink bottle.
The crowd was reasonable at pass processing and everything went pretty quickly. Then we got in line to get his drink bottle and time literally stopped. It is my hope that this employee was very new because I cannot understand how anyone who had even a few hours work into it could appear so confused and unsure of what they were doing. it is no exaggeration that it took her more than 5 minutes to wait on each person. This was to get a cup of soda with no cash exchanged. It seems technology to speed service is not quite up to the level it needs to be.
Not one transaction I saw was a paid one, all were using season passes. Its not like she had to be careful making change.
25 minutes to serve 10 people drinks and a couple of pretzels seems a bit excessive to me. maybe a pay increase would help.
Rant over - sorry
Kevin
Hhhmm, refilling a cup should take like 30 seconds. For 10 people for drinks and food...Not even five minutes.
in her defense she was actually assembling the cups as she went in some cases , but even with them coming in four parts you would think she could get the hang of it a bit quicker
Kevin
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Do you get a sports bottle when you get season passes anymore? We were never offered one so I just figured they stopped doing it
I think that depends on your pass type and if you paid for one as part of it....
Kevin
It was during that sale a couple months ago where it was the free upgrade to gold. I didn't do a dinning pass.
I got this from the season pass page FAQ -
Unlimited soft drinks is a feature of the Premium Season Dining Pass or Premium Membership Dining Pass. Season Dining Passes allow you to eat lunch, dinner and a snack every time you visit the park all season long (depending on which Dining Pass package you choose). If you visit the park 4 or more times it is an incredible value. For more information, visit the Season Dining Pass page.
So you might be beat out --- sorry ( I am no expert --- I would check with guest relations anyway they have so many bonuses and specials on the passes at different times, you might actually have it in there somewhere) good luck
Kevin
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Do you get a sports bottle when you get season passes anymore? We were never offered one so I just figured they stopped doing it
I think that depends on your pass type and if you paid for one as part of it....
Kevin
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Does anyone know what a food service worker makes at the park? I say it might not be enough to motivate them to expend even minimal effort. Even to stay warm.
I took my nephew out to the park on wed to get his 2017 pass processed and pick up his drink bottle.
The crowd was reasonable at pass processing and everything went pretty quickly. Then we got in line to get his drink bottle and time literally stopped. It is my hope that this employee was very new because I cannot understand how anyone who had even a few hours work into it could appear so confused and unsure of what they were doing. it is no exaggeration that it took her more than 5 minutes to wait on each person. This was to get a cup of soda with no cash exchanged. It seems technology to speed service is not quite up to the level it needs to be.
Not one transaction I saw was a paid one, all were using season passes. Its not like she had to be careful making change.
25 minutes to serve 10 people drinks and a couple of pretzels seems a bit excessive to me. maybe a pay increase would help.
Rant over - sorry
Kevin
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Can anyone post the dining plan times for HiTP?
was just there today -
as best I remember -
Lunch 2:30 - 4:30
Dinner 5:00 - 8:00
snack 2:30 - 8:00
don't quote me but that is what I thought I remembered - it should be close
Kevin
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As for if it has been a success financially I have no idea, on the finance people will know that. All I know is they must be making a fortune on merchandise. I have never seen so many people buying stuff at the park. Attendance numbers seem to be decent. More than anticipated some days, less on others. The crowds didn't seem too worried about the temps last weekend, but the rain on Sunday did keep the park a bit quiet, but not much different than a rain day in June or July. As for working the event, it has been incredibly fun. It seems like a lot of the employees are enjoying it as they still get a paycheck in December, and after working there you get to become great friends with your coworkers so its nice not leaving them after FF ends.
good to know - I do know about friends made working there as I was a team member back in the long gone days. I also know it can be boring and miserable when it is slow - and if you add the cold --- BBRRRR not much if any of that construction was designed for year round use.
I wish the event success because it all contributes to increases in the bottom line and that means bigger new attractions over time..
Kevin
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The park will be closed on Sunday. As of now park will be open tomorrow
Aaaand now it's closed today.
Obviously the park would have really liked to be open today, as it's rough to be closed for a whole weekend. Today wasn't supposed to be too bad, but now the expected temp at 2:00 is 32, and the expected temp at 9:00 is 21 with snow. Besides the temperature, having to keep the entire park, parking lots, and surrounding roads from getting icy will be hard.
When I was in school, I remember how much joy I got from getting a recorded call from the principle saying that school was closed for snow. Now that I'm an adult, it's the complete opposite.
I know this will sound disparaging and that is not my intent, but is holiday in the park even financially viable? -
I know silver dollar city does it and many other parks, in far more northern area's as well, but are the St Louis crowds going to file out with temps this low? While snow early in the season has not even been a problem for the last few years, this years cold has had to have a negative effect on attendance. I know some income is better than no income, but cold weather takes its toll on equipment as well. Are the crowds there at all?
I confess I am not a christmas person so it would take a lot more than lights and a few shows to get me out there in this cold.
how has attendance been? is it worth it if you work there? I am just curious.
Kevin
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-as I said I am not worried about him behaving or anything I just don't want them to stop him at the gate and ask about parents or guardians if he happens to be out there with a friend or two and no adults in the party.
I appreciate all the input - I was going to get him the meal plan as well then he really can go without a lot of cash.
has anyone here actually left kids all day with no supervision? if so any problems or concerns?
thanks all for the info
Kevin
I've dropped off my son and friends when they were as young as 12 and no one ever questioned them. He even had to go to guest relations once due to a problem with his pass so it was obvious to those in authority that they were unsupervised. The meal plan is a very good idea because then they really don't need to carry any money.
thanks you that is very helpful
Kevin
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-as I said I am not worried about him behaving or anything I just don't want them to stop him at the gate and ask about parents or guardians if he happens to be out there with a friend or two and no adults in the party.
I appreciate all the input - I was going to get him the meal plan as well then he really can go without a lot of cash.
has anyone here actually left kids all day with no supervision? if so any problems or concerns?
thanks all for the info
Kevin
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14? Hell, I remember running the park alone with friends when we were 11 or 12 and checking in with our parents occasionally. I'm sure he'll be fine as long as he is behaved, which doesn't sound like an issue.
sad part is I used to work at the park ages ago and I can't remember the policy.
Kevin -
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My nephew is going to be 14 in early summer - thinking of getting him a pass -
What is the park policy for kids being dropped off at the park?
He is not a sh*t head and I am not worried about him causing problems or acting a fool, but I don't want to get him a gift he can't enjoy. Mom and Dad work so he would go with friends or be dropped off by parents. I can't take him and stay with him all the time either and would need to drop him off.
I just don't want him to get hassled on a technicality so if there is park official position it would be nice to know. I hate to just roll the dice and hope he can go and have fun with his friends or if he will require an adult accompanying him all the time.
any help quickly would be much appreciated. any parents drop their kids off? experiences?
much thanks
Kevin
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We went Saturday, my son, nephew and myself. We didn't get the Haunted House passes but did enjoy the atmosphere. I haven't been to our park in 4 years probably, we had a great time. Eagle ran wonderfully, as well as American Thunder. The Boss hasn't changed, rough as hell and not very enjoyable. We did the extra wait and did the VR thing on the Ninja... it was okay, once is enough. Mr. Freeze was awesome too. The new rides over the past few years have filled out many of the dead spots around the park. In my opinion the park is in great shape.
We were there on Sat nite as well. No matter what year it is the ridiculous food and drink lines make me laugh. Folks with the dining pass willl throw away fun time just so they can squeeze every dollar they can from it.
We opened and closed City Museum yesterday, I sat there on the roof just imagining what they could do with an old wild mouse or junior coaster up there.
The 207m variant of a Vekoma might be a decent compromise - seems to fit. Layout probably works with the stuff already on the roof. And no need to manage the logistics of lifting any chains up there.
They'd have to deal with the safety rules and maintenance schedule though.
with the untimely death of the creator, I feel as though expansion on that level is not likely... is the ELI Ferris wheel still up there though?
Klong
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Well, ok...noon instead of 10:30...but same question...
Wish it was 10:30 though.
here was my experience about 2 weeks ago
I printed out my voucher took it with me - I offered both ( my current pass and the voucher) at the toll plaza - they used my current pass-
I took both again to the ticket line - they asked if I wanted a new pass or to add my 2017 stuff to my current pass - I opted to keep the same pass just have the benefits for 2017 added. - they scanned both voucher and pass did some keying of something on their end said "all set" and let me go through.
I was skeptical at the ease of this procedure- so for my own piece of mind I went to the processing center by Excalibur - waited in about a 5 min line - I asked the attendant to verify everything on my pass they did and showed it all to me on the computer screen. Current and future pass info was there and visible to me.( including parking which worried me since they did not scan at the toll plaza)
it was mostly painless - in fact the worst part of all of it was getting my new drink cup - now that was a 25 minute wait as the attendant was either very new or mentally challenged. I never get why it is so hard to fill a drink cup and return it to a customer when there is no money being exchanged. seems each one took nearly 2-3 minutes - I used to work food service in several fast food and regular restaurants and I could do multiple drinks at once. oh well
good luck hope yours goes as smoothly as mine did
Kevin
PS I am single and have no friends so you may have different needs
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For anyone coming to the park for FF, the hours of the dining passes have changed a little to fit within the different park hours
Snacks are from 12:30-8:30 (one hour later shift from regular season)
Lunch is 12:30-4:30, no lunch available on Fridays
Dinner is 5:00-8:30 giving you an additional 30 minutes than during regular season.
Snacks and Dinner end at 8:00 on Sundays
Hope this helps!
yes much appreciated planning is everything
Kevin
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^ I've been thinking a lot about VR coasters, especially with Ninja. My research has led me to only one logical conclusion:
1. Six Flags needs to get the second track of River King Mine Train back from Herschend. Herschend seems way too wholesome and perfect to be true. With SF looking to have parks in Asia/China, get help from Chinese cyber espionage teams to find dirt on Herschend. Then blackmail them to putting the coaster for sale on Amazon with Amazon Prime eligibility so that SFSL gets free shipping.
2. Move Ninja to China. I mean, c'mon, an older but real Vekoma/Arrow can't be any worse than the cheap (and potentially dangerous) knock offs that litter the continent.
3. Put second Mine Train back in its original position. Herschend bought newer and a little more comfortable trains for it. Lol at their lost investment now that SFSL has it back. This will make it perfect to become a VR-only coaster. Plus, an elongated station with a load & unload area would increase efficiency (plus no OTSR). If Mine Train's theoretical hourly capacity with three trains can even beat Batman's, VR slowing dispatch times won't hurt capacity as much (if you consider it as a percentage of capacity lost per hour) as it does Ninja.
4. The penultimate step is just making sure everything operates well and things like the haunted attraction currently housed there is moved carefully for the future seasons.
5. The last step is probably the simplest. Basically, make a lot of small changes, including but not limited to: Replace TR with the Mississippi River Cruise. Replace Boomerang with bumper cars. Replace Fireball with a Chance Shooting Star. Replace Superman with a smoking area. Replace SkyScreamer with a Huss Condor. Replace JLBM with a fun and not-100%-politically-correct boat adventure into a cave named something like Washington Redskin's Cavern. And finally, turn the trains on Mr. Freeze back around so we don't have to listen to anyone complain about how it "ruined" one of someone's favorite rides .
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions?
careful if you do a lot of that and you might get a theme park instead of an amusement park -
Kevin
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as a former pro photographer I would suggest using a small sandbag (hand size for your camera) and any of the fenceposts/railings/trash cans as makeshift pods. I once shot fireworks in Chicago using this method with a 8-10 second time exposure with very exceptional results. it is easiest and best? no - but it can work. keep it small so your not lugging a brick all night but they should let it pass through security. I would think.
or try this
http://www.deadtreephotography.com/blog/2010/04/using-a-sandbag-as-a-tripod-alternative/
http://terrywhite.com/great-tripod-for-those-times-when-you-cant-use-a-tripod/
http://www.instructables.com/id/String-Tripod/
just a thought. good luck
Kevin
Thanks for the suggestion! Way better than breaking policy.
After spending a week at WDW, I think one of the big things I was amused by was the difference in park policies. Riding a roller coaster? Just throw your bag at your feet and give your restraint a little tug, we'll be happy to send the train. Tripods? Sure, go nuts. Try to wear a purse during Star Tours? NO. THAT IS NOT ALLOWED.
Meanwhile, at SDC, they demanded you empty your pockets entirely before they'd dispatch a train. Having a dozen cell phones per train sitting at the station feels like a recipe for disaster but I guess in family friendly Branson Missouri nothing bad ever happens?
glad I could help - just take your time and shoot a lot and you should get some good stuff. I am just wondering what they will do if we get any serious snows in Nov/Dec this year.
kevin
PS I despise christmas, So my attendance will probably not occur anyway.
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That being said, the tripod I'm looking to bring is tiny - big enough to fit in a coat pocket -
Really though, it wouldn't be hard to set a policy like, "tripods with extended heights of 12" or more are not allowed," and it would probably solve every concern the park has about them.
as a former pro photographer I would suggest using a small sandbag (hand size for your camera) and any of the fenceposts/railings/trash cans as makeshift pods. I once shot fireworks in Chicago using this method with a 8-10 second time exposure with very exceptional results. it is easiest and best? no - but it can work. keep it small so your not lugging a brick all night but they should let it pass through security. I would think.
or try this
http://www.deadtreephotography.com/blog/2010/04/using-a-sandbag-as-a-tripod-alternative/
http://terrywhite.com/great-tripod-for-those-times-when-you-cant-use-a-tripod/
http://www.instructables.com/id/String-Tripod/
just a thought. good luck
Kevin
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I meant to say SATURDAYS the busier not Sundays.
thanks for the info - i presumed it would be relatively slower on Sunday. but it was really pretty crowded - I saw cars in every available lot and they were all looking really full. I'll just go early next Sat.
as far i as I would have had to walk it would have been quite annoying
Kevin
Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
well they seem to be marketing themselves as a destination park too now - I see billboards for them in this area I wonder if you see SFSL billboards in Santa Clause IN. or Evansville I bet not. I do not think they are part of a chain either ( might be wrong) but no or fewer share holders means less corporate decisions that limit possibilities.
I mean it may be possible that SFSL is the profit black hole of the company and they use it as a tax write off for the rest of the corporation.
Kevin