ytterbiumanalyst

Interesting development. With the reports recently of the park's underwhelming quality, it seems this acquisition could only be good for it.

I got to several new rides this season: 1. Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Six Flags St. Louis 2. Thunderbird, Holiday World 3. Firefall, Silver Dollar City 4. Air Race, Beech Bend 5. Brain Drain, Frontier City

Shirts, shorts, and shoes are only required in Holiday World. In Splashin' Safari, it's fine to wear a decent swimsuit or swim trunks.

^ Exactly. Welcome to the Ozarks! Silver Dollar City is the sort of place that doesn't need a new ride every single year to stay in business. The years they do, it's awesome, and the years they don't, it's awesome. They just do all the little things right, and it really makes a difference. At other parks, the new ride becomes the star. At SDC, the new ride blends into the park itself. The best theme parks do that. So enjoy the best roller coaster in the Midwest, the cinnamon bread, and the cave tour. Don't miss any of those three.

Interesting. Sounds like that would be a step forward for the city if it can happen. Wait for it.... Just like Kentucky Kingdom's return is a great step forward for the city. I've been holding out for the rides to be fully re-opened, but I am definitely looking forward to getting out there, if not next year then 2017. If Storm Chaser turns out as well as anticipated, it and Lightning Run will be quite the headlining pair.

If you don't like beer, then when you get older don't drink it. No reason to rain on everyone else's parade. People like you are why people like me drink beer.

^ Seems such an odd requirement. I know MLS has standards for how the stadia are to be built, but I can't imagine why they would impose a location requirement. They don't with other teams; heck, Sporting KC's stadium is out by Schlitterbahn!

^ I'll second both of those two. Excellent rides! To add my own suggestion as well, Whizzer at Six Flags Great America. Not nearly the tallest or fastest, but I thought it was very fun. It really gets close to the trees, which makes it seem much faster than it really is.

Agreed. Best floorless I've been on, period. Last time I was at Fiesta Texas was before the Iron Rattler conversion, and at the time Superman was the best ride in the park.

^ You do realize rigging a carnival game is illegal, right? Pretty sure Cedar Fair isn't involved in any illegal operations.

The Wacky Worm isn't new either. It's been there longer than Cedar Fair.

Magic Springs is the worst I've been to, by a wide margin.

Week 3: Kiddie Park Bartlesville The Bartlesville trip was delayed due to illness, but we finally got to it this past weekend. We spent most of the day at Woolaroc, which is a very worthwhile non-theme park attraction for those of you who like to do more on vacation than just ride coasters. It's a wildlife preserve and museum on the site of oil tycoon Frank Phillips' ranch. Once Woolaroc closed around 5, we headed out to Dink's for some barbecue (Special thanks to Shavethewhales for the recommendation!). It was very good, and there was far too much. We were able to box it up and it was dinner the next night as well. The ribs are amazing, and the brisket was quite good as well. Then on to Kiddie Park, which is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings from 7-10pm. Really odd hours for a park catering to small children, but it was packed! It was really an awesome sight to see how well it was doing. Parks like this don't really exist anymore in a lot of places, but Bartlesville really treasures theirs. There's only one roller coaster, a Herschell oval, but they have a bunch of flat rides that cater to young children. Some are very old, but Adventure and Pirate Ship looked new-ish. There's no admission fee, and all the rides are 50 cents each. Adults do pay if they accompany a child on a ride, and there are about 3-4 rides that adults can ride with their children, including the roller coaster. The roller coaster actually has 3 names, "Roller Coaster," "Little Dipper," and "Little Fire Ball." Call it what you like; I like Little Fire Ball the best, since it's at least somewhat unique. My son and I rode it 3 times. No, I didn't just go out into the middle of nowhere for a kiddie coaster; this one is special. My dad rode this one when he was a kid, and I went on it when I was little. So taking my son on this coaster is a pilgrimage, if you will. There aren't a whole lot of coasters out there that have stuck around long enough to see 3 generations. On to the photos! Rocket blast rocket rocket! Train station. Some guests on the train were commenting that this is an actual Santa Fe station relocated from a town that no longer has passenger service. I don't have any idea if there's any truth to that. Sorry about the quality; it's really far outside the park, and I had to take this at a pretty intense zoom. Bartlesville skyline in the background Intense theming. Turtles. I've never seen a ride like it. Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies.... Aquarius--another ride I've never seen before. I don't do spinning rides, but my wife and kids loved it. I thought it was a really good value. Midway More midway "Despite all my rage, I am still just a clown in a cage." Call it what you like. It's not self-conscious like SOME coasters we know. The fact that this is sponsored by a collision repair shop encourages me greatly. Three hours was not enough. We had a great time!

Count me in for Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast.

So they say, and it was oh so thrilling that I do not remember it at all after riding it this summer. I had to look it up online earlier today to confirm it was even on the ride. Were you paying attention? Right before the loop there's an audio cue that announces the loop, just so you don't miss that they have a loop.

Those hours are very normal for the park. They've tried keeping it open later, but when they did, most people still ended up leaving around 6-7. So they close early most days. I wouldn't say Trailblazer Pass would be necessary this weekend. It's late enough in the summer that Branson's died down a bit. You'll still get the Springfield/Harrison families as always, but operations are great here and all the coasters but Powder Keg should be under 30 minutes. It's going to be about 90 degrees tomorow, though, so the water rides will have long lines. Just do American Plunge, Lost River, and Powder Keg first and you'll have a great day.

YES! Hence why I'm apparently the only one happy about this announcement. This addition is aimed straight at people like me (family of 5, kids between 3 and 7, about 3 hours from Worlds of Fun).

Link Never mind, missed it as the most recent posts were wondering if WoF was due for a coaster. Also, I figured it would be posted at 2 like KI's announcement yesterday. This is a really great announcement! The low season pass price (pretty much on par with SDC's prices; WoF is usually a lot higher), plus the season refill cup like Six Flags introduced last year are very good value propositions for families. Flying scooters are a big hit, and the other four new rides are some popular children's rides that SFStL and/or SDC already have. Good move on their part--makes a ton of business sense. Yes, no one's going to drive halfway across the country for this, but for Missouri families, this makes a strong case for going to Worlds of Fun next year.

^ Yeah, for some reason I REALLY don't see them going back to a stand up. Ever.

Great photos! Glad you made it up there; Holiday World is truly special. You didn't miss much with Frightful Falls; it was okay but not fantastic. I loved Gobbler Getaway; I didn't even know it existed before I went. I heard a lot about the four coasters as well as the LIM slides, but going in to it I had no idea they had a dark ride. I'm one to always check out a dark ride, and it really delivers. I rode it more than anything else except Voyage and Thunderbird. A word of warning: Once you come down off the high Holiday World gives you, there will be withdrawal symptoms, chief of which is an obsession with planning your next trip.

^ Obviously you're teasing us; you already know what's going on with Thunderhawk, from your inside sources.

Eureka isn't going to have a lot. It's your typical suburb, so most of it's fast food and about equal in quality to the stuff inside the park (though it does have the benefit of being cheaper). The really good restaurants are in St. Louis, but that's about 30 minutes each way if you don't hit traffic, and you may not want to sacrifice 2 hours of your theme park day. If you want to go somewhere after you leave Six Flags, I'd suggest Delmar Loop. They have some good bars and music clubs. For food, Fitz's. It's a hamburger and root beer place. Think of an A&W, then stop thinking about it because Fitz's is nothing like that. They brew their own root beer in-house, and it's unlimited on tap. If you want a beer in St. Louis, go with Schafly. It's the local mezzobrewery, and they do a variety of craft styles. Just about everybody will have it in bottles, and quite a few places have it on tap. Oh, and Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard. Do not leave town until you've been there.