ytterbiumanalyst

^ That ride is evil.

Maybe they learned their lesson with Rattler? Six Flags didn't build Rattler; Fiesta Texas did. Six Flags acquired the property in 1998.

65 is pretty dark. You'll be there for the night rides, and SDC usually stays open until 10 at that time. They only have night rides for two weeks in the summer, and during Christmas if it's warm, so a lot of people stay until closing. You'll likely be leaving in a fair bit of traffic. I'd suggest a hotel along 65 in Springfield. You can get up early, drive 3 hours, and be at Six Flags by opening next morning.

Well a Saturday in August is a super busy day in most parks. How bad is *bad* at SDC? Weekends in July and the first part of August with good weather will get about 20,000-25,000 in the park. Unlike all other times of the year, the focus in the summer really is on the rides. Longest line in the park is always the Lost River, and it's frequently over an hour in the summer. Longest coaster line will be Powder Keg, as it's the most thrilling ride for the 42"-48" kids. The entrance (where the test seat is) is right at an hour, and in the summer I've often seen the line go all the way down to Fire in the Hole. Local schools go back in session about mid-August, and that's when SDC ceases daily operation. From that point on, lines are far more manageable. As a season pass holder, I tend to get my coaster rides in spring and fall, and during the summer, I pick just one coaster to ride on each visit. If you're going to go on a Saturday in August, and this will be your only visit to the park for a while, I'd invest in a Trailblazer Pass. Lower level will get you eight rides total; higher level is unlimited rides. The pass includes all coasters except Grand Expo Coaster, plus Lost River, American Plunge, Giant Barn Swing, and Firefall (you are limited to one ride on Firefall).

I would also hope that they would make a new Pokemon themed ride then that area could be more than water rides, I just don't know how you make a pokemon ride? Plus, I don't know about Donkey Kong being right across from King Kong... A Pokémon ride is easy. All manner of flat rides could have cars designed in the shape of a Pokémon, or even several different ones. Imagine a Dumbo ride with 16 different Pokémon. There are a lot of possibilities.

This word, Northwest, you keep using it...I do not think it means what you think it means.

2016...is 20 years after the 1980s. Journalism.

There are two trains. The problem with this is that the launch fins are not centred on the track. So to launch forward, they would have to be moved. That process takes many hours of work, and the ride has to be closed. So no, it's either both forward or both reverse. Honestly I kind of like the reverse launch. Staring down at the track on the spike is so much more intimidating than staring up into the sky.

I've heard some chatter to that extent. Which is fine. Scrapping them all would be foolhardy. Also selling them might not be wise either. Cedar Fair inadvertently created their competition in Kansas City when they decided to start Geagua's water park from scratch. I saw you posted this in the Universal Orlando thread, but since my question is off topic for that thread, I thought it would be more appropriate to ask it here. Please explain this to me--how did the Geauga Lake waterpark lead to Schlitterbahn's creation?

Yeah. Lived here 30 years. I actually remember when 65 was 2 lanes. Also, I started my analysis at Springfield, because the route will be identical up to that point. Also, also, you wouldn't take 55 and 40 to Little Rock, as it's 50 miles longer. Even with the faster speed limit on the Interstate, the much more direct Route 67 is faster overall.

Yeah, you're going to need a Flash Pass. I went last year on a Monday and Tuesday the end of July, and the pass was very much worth it. On Monday I did all the rides that weren't on the Flash Pass, and on Tuesday I got the Platinum Flash Pass and rode the rides that were included all day. You can ride everything except for Goliath and Vertical Velocity twice in a row with the Platinum. Vertical Velocity you can reserve as many times as you want, but only one ride per reservation. Goliath you get two reservations per day and only one ride per reservation.

Santa's Lodge has a good breakfast buffet, but it's not included. I ate there both mornings of Holiwood Nights, and it cost me about $10 each day. It's honestly an expensive hotel, but it's within walking distance of the park, and I actually did walk to the park. If you consider that it's more or less like staying on site, even though it's not on park property, it's a really good deal. You'll pay a lot more for on site hotels at other parks.

Right. Especially if you're driving. From Texas to St. Louis you pass through Springfield, MO which is only 45 miles from Branson. Though I'm late, his route is the fastest by far. He can do SDC on the way down to Little Rock so he doesn't have to drive back 45 to the interstate. So his route is 45 minutes faster. Not really; they actually come out even. US-67 goes straight from St. Louis to Little Rock. I haven't driven it, but Google says it's 5 1/2 hours. Springfield to Eureka is right at 3 hours--driven that one many, many times--and Springfield to Little Rock is about 4. Springfield to Branson - 45 min. Branson to Springfield - 45 min. Springfield to Eureka - 3 hr. Eureka to Little Rock - 5 1/2 hr. Total - 10 hr. Springfield to Eureka - 3 hr. Eureka to Springfield - 3 hr. Springfield to Branson - 45 min. Branson to Little Rock - 3 hr. 15 min. Total - 10 hr. Since the time's the same, the edge goes to Voyager6442's plan in that the last leg is shorter coming from Branson than from Eureka. So it sounds counter-intuitive, but actually it's pretty well planned. I really doubt SDC will get anything big next year. The trend these days after a major addition is to take an off year and focus on shows and minor improvements around the park. 2010 - Tom and Huck's River Blast (major) 2011 - Half Dollar Holler (minor) 2012 - off year 2013 - Outlaw Run (major) 2014 - off year 2015 - Fireman's Landing (major) So I'd be looking for a big addition in 2017. Personally, the thing I want the most is an American Plunge update or a new log flume. AP is about 30 years old and a significant number of animatronics are either non-functional or totally removed.

No chain has more than 1 wingrider at this point.

^ Yeah, really. It's not like the last time someone tried to take a mine train and turn it into a stand-up, anyone died or anything.

I can add a couple new states now! Indiana - Voyage (my #2 overall; Goliath drops to #3) Kentucky - Kentucky Rumbler

1. Yes, crowds should be quite moderate; this early in the summer it's not too bad anyway, and rain will help that. Kansas City doesn't see a lot of tourism, so park visitors are mostly locals who can easily choose a different day. 2. Go straight to Spinning Dragons. It easily has the longest lines of any coaster due to low capacity. Patriot should be next, so that the line for the front won't be too long yet, and it really is much better there (that's normally true of inverts, but I find the pacing best in the front as well, especially on the zero-G roll). Then Prowler, Boomerang, and finish with Mamba. Mamba is super high capacity, much higher than any other coaster there, so even though it will see a lot of riders, the line's never bad for it. Last you can do the Wacky Worm if you have children, or if you're a credit whore. 3. Jayke pretty much nailed it in his answer. The maintenance director told me today that the ride should open this weekend. Cool. Well, I've always said ride Timber Wolf last, as its roughness means the lines are short even on a busy day. With the refurb, though, who knows. Depends mostly on how many people are aware of the retracking.

You can totally day trip it from Memphis, but your best value is going to be the after 3 PM ticket. It's about a 5 hour drive, so that'll give you plenty of time to get here and still enjoy the last 4-5 hours of the park, then get up early and get to the park the next day for breakfast at 8:30. Even if you stay until closing, you'll have time to get home by around midnight. There you go. Cheap, quick, easy--come ride the best roller coaster in the Midwest!

1. Yes, crowds should be quite moderate; this early in the summer it's not too bad anyway, and rain will help that. Kansas City doesn't see a lot of tourism, so park visitors are mostly locals who can easily choose a different day. 2. Go straight to Spinning Dragons. It easily has the longest lines of any coaster due to low capacity. Patriot should be next, so that the line for the front won't be too long yet, and it really is much better there (that's normally true of inverts, but I find the pacing best in the front as well, especially on the zero-G roll). Then Prowler, Boomerang, and finish with Mamba. Mamba is super high capacity, much higher than any other coaster there, so even though it will see a lot of riders, the line's never bad for it. Last you can do the Wacky Worm if you have children, or if you're a credit whore. 3. Jayke pretty much nailed it in his answer.

^ We stayed at the Ramada in Waukegan. It was in renovations last year and we got a great deal that you won't get now that the renovations are done. But the location is great, about 10 minutes from the park, and it's easy to go down Washington St. to the back entrance through American Eagle. Good breakfast too, and they change it every day. We were there for a week and each day had something new.

^ Why are you going from Texas to St. Louis and then backtracking to Branson?

^ A LIM slide would be great for SFStL. There are currently none in Missouri at all. I would also welcome something like HW's Hyena Falls complex. Right now SFStL has just the one tube slide complex, so adding a second with some different/more modern elements would help. There's plenty of space for whatever they want.

Next up for us will be Six Flags St. Louis end of this month for Justice League!

Wild Mouse at Beech Bend Park.