HWFan

SFZIP: Honestly can't disagree with your fright fest point. Was that "sign" pun intended? Camp Killamore should be a spectacular addition to Fright Fest this year. I'm glad they found some more creatures/spirits/psychos that seem to be harboring dark feelings. Looking at Fright Fest 2012 and comparing it to 2013, it was an incredible improvement. Then 2013 to 2014 was another noticeable improvement. 2014 to 2015...you guessed it, bigger, better, scarier. It'll be a fantastic time! I've started writing a response to your post about a dozen times. I just can't find the proper way to respond without jumping into a five paragraph essay. I wish you worked with the park's management team so that you could see all of the details and work going on. The park's management is devastated (that isn't a dramatic overstatement), and they have been working insanely hard on a lot of things this season. You would be surprised to see the causes of the issues, and statements like the above are a bit of a slap in the face to a lot of people. I didn't mean to say anything offensive in my post... I know there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. You yourself (I believe) said that Oceaneering is working overnights to make tweaks to the attraction. All I said was that I hope Six Flags doesn't clone the ride until it's fully able to operate at both parks it's currently at. I don't see how that's a "slap in the face" to the park? I never said that the ride wasn't awesome, I'm just saying that it certainly has had issues. Are you saying that by saying that I am being rude to the park's management? The main issue, which I have seen multiple times by multiple users, is statements like, "Oceaneering and Sally aren't going to have time to keep adjusting ours." When anyone phrases things like that as a fact, people do put some stock in that statement. However, that statement is utterly untrue. First off, with these attractions being planned approximately two years in advance, it's not like Six Flags can just pull out from any planned rides. Second, along those same lines, even if JLBM was closed literally 90% of the first year, you need to look at the long term. With Six Flags & Sally Corp's relationship, it is extremely strong and will last years. I am very excited for the park's future & the things Sally/SF will create. I just need you to trust me here, because I can't post anything specific. Overall, you have been a very positive/constructive poster on this forum, and I have enjoyed reading your posts in the past. It's just that type of statement.

Camp Killamore should be a spectacular addition to Fright Fest this year. I'm glad they found some more creatures/spirits/psychos that seem to be harboring dark feelings. Looking at Fright Fest 2012 and comparing it to 2013, it was an incredible improvement. Then 2013 to 2014 was another noticeable improvement. 2014 to 2015...you guessed it, bigger, better, scarier. It'll be a fantastic time! I've started writing a response to your post about a dozen times. I just can't find the proper way to respond without jumping into a five paragraph essay. I wish you worked with the park's management team so that you could see all of the details and work going on. The park's management is devastated (that isn't a dramatic overstatement), and they have been working insanely hard on a lot of things this season. You would be surprised to see the causes of the issues, and statements like the above are a bit of a slap in the face to a lot of people.

As I mentioned Sunday, make sure you check out the park's website to see which rides are closed before visiting this week. That can be found here: Rides at SFSL Currently JLBM, SkyScreamer, Superman, and Marvin the Martian's Camp Invasion are listed as temporarily closed. While the park obviously doesn't want the intimate mechanical/tech details posted online, I will say that there is absolutely nothing the park or any manufacturer could have done to avoid the Superman/SkyScreamer downtime. I would definitely check the website again tomorrow though. STP-RH-BBNP-JLBM-RH-SS-KCSFKK-RH-FF/GR-HH ^Trust me, don't spend too much time on figuring out what those letters mean, as the doctors say I'm slowly going insane. Seriously, I promise it isn't worth your time.

After only a couple days, the roof/canopy of the next-to-be-renovated car is already fully gray with primer. With the speed that they're chugging along at, I wouldn't be surprised if it's all finished by Fright Fest. I know that recently downtime may look like the park is regressing or is cutting back. However, I can sincerely say that the park management cares so much about the park and making it look it's best. As pretentious as this sounds, there is a lot of information & happenings behind the scenes that I can't talk about. However, as I've been lucky enough to learn it, itreally paint a great picture in terms of the park's future. I keep kicking myself (not literally) for all of my posts regarding the expected reliability for JLBM before it was open. I base anything I post on what information is available at the time. If you plan on visiting the park this week, please check the planned ride closures, which are usually posted on the park's Twitter account. I really hope TNT, our fantastic unofficial rides liaison, can help us keep on top of that information, especially when I can't. Also, heard that the Sharknado dive in movie was a hit! I can't wait to see the park being used as a venue to host more and more events. We'll see if more couples take a chance and get married there next season. The marketing director loved it, and he's a pretty zany guy sometimes. Remember that old JLBM photo op that was made up of a bench with a facade in front that looks like the front of a ride vehicle? He now has it set up in front of his desk. With next year...I enjoy the musings of hyperactive imaginations. Next year is gonna be awesome, even if we didn't get any ride at all. The park director's passion for their work extends to the little things that make the experience better. It's not a secret that Dave Roemer will be retiring sometime in the coming years after starting at the park in 1972. He steered the park through the darkest times the company has gone through (bankruptcy), so now that the company is stronger than ever, don't you think he will do absolutely anything to improve the park? I see it as his legacy. Can you imagine working 60hour / 7 day weeks all the way up to retirement in your 60's?

at that Screamscape post. It seems like Lance is hanging at a high school slumber party playing "Two Truths and a Lie".

Even though I'm home sick today, your post inspired me to he out of bed for five minutes to take a picture. 1. Dave was the one who actually gave me this sheet full of corny and punny jokes. 2. Some people will think, he wouldn't go through that much effort to not give us a clue. 3. Some people (^) obviously don't know me very well to think that. That ticket shaped card is actually a business card. I always thought it was a cool idea to have them shaped like that.

^ sorry, I had meant to make you feel fresh and renewed, although it probably feels like I did so using Drano on your brain. But anyway, just pass me by and go enjoythis fresh day! I really hope the mods won't mind that the rest of this post is a bit off topic, but I'm very proud of my newfound skills as a fisherman. I wanted to share a pic of one of the fish I caught. However, I first wanted to point out that after baiting the hook well enough to catch some fish, out of the three fish I caught, only one was of the rare variety pictured below.

Colder Colder Colder Warmer Colder Warmer Warmer You're almost on fire You're burning!....please stop!...you're burning my funnel cake! Oh, sorry about that. Seems like my phone's voice-to-text feature was activated while I was watching the poor culinary service girl make me a snack while trying to stick to my strict/crazy temperature expectations. Anyway, it's fun to watch you kiddos have fun, so I'll let you get back to it.

Thanks! Easy to get back and forth from the theme park to waterpark? It's pretty easy. There's a nice shaded and honestly really nice path between the theme park and water park. If I were you, I'd go to the water park for Bonzai Pipelines (which has had a couple issues lately with one of the two slides down every once in a while), but I would save your water park stamina for HW and focus on the coasters at SF. If you're looking to cool off and get soaked, check out Tsunami Soaker. It will get you really really wet, and it's a fun and unique experience without lines.

SFZIP: I'm happy but surprised you haven't found anything to leak. Good for the park, but you'll probably be back on your game soon. Still haven't gotten an answer but just sent another email today to someone else. I try to get all the information I can, but I can't always get everything or post information. With up to 58 hour weeks, it doesn't always leave me with much time. Not all of the vehicles were working though. They at least wanted to get half/most of the ride open. Personally, I would much rather have an S&S Double Shot tower like HW's Liberty Launch. Superman is the only ride that has ever gotten to me psychologically. Two times were enough for me. The park had absolutely no idea that they would be opening a ride that didn't have the utmost reliability. Also, it's important to remember how the ride actually ran beautifully (overall) for the first two weeks. The only issue at that time was the single vehicle that needed a bit more work in terms of programming. At this point, you really can't blame the park for "opening it before it was ready", as the park purchased a product without knowing complications would occur.

Just waiting for a part from Intamin from what I've heard The part is at the park, and the installation process has already begun. It just takes a while due to the limited work daylight hours and location of the part.

^The version at SFMM is very different from the version at SFFT. At MM, the ride was manufactured by Intamin and seems to get iffy or negative reviews from enthusiasts. The ride at SFFT is an S&S/RMC product, which has received a lot of praise. By the way, MODOT installed a new sign for the Six Flags exit on 44 West. I'm not sure exactly how it will be used, but it has two electronic "MIN" signs. With it being installed Monday morning, I have not seen the electronic parts in use yet. Sorry for the bad quality.

Not sure. It has worked on some of my rides and then not on others. I think it is one of the two or three effects that is being worked on.

Spent a couple hours Thursday night in the park. Even with every coaster being a walk on, JLBM still had a 75min line. They also closed the queue before the park closed. Just keep that in mind, as I had never seen that before but it makes sense. There was still a decent line right before close. Also got a couple pics from my favorite vantage point as well as a pic of the newer mural that was added to the photo counter by the exit.

Awww, how cute! Please tell her we're looking forward to her next visit! Can't say as I blame her. Splashin' Safari is worth it just for Wildebeest and Mammoth. It's worth it just for the free drinks! But seriously, I wonder if people who haven't been to any water parks besides SS think that most water parks have big water coasters. I propose a large new sign/slogan to be added between Wildebeest & Mammoth that says, "FYI, they don't have this at other water parks. Have fun!"

^Just sayin', that survey was for SFGAdv. "The general tone around the park was" that 99.9% of the people working at the park have no clue what the park is adding for next year and the ones who do aren't blabbermouths. That was pretty funny though, but was it worth creating an account for? That's the question...

No. There would be SO many people there it could make ERT (Exclusive Ride Time) EWT (Exclusive Wait Time). You don't see Kings Island opening Coasterstock to Platinum passholders or Cedar Point opening Coastermania to Platinum Passholders. I don't think that comparing the "premier" HW season pass to a Cedar Fair platinum pass is entirely fair. First off, the platinum passes biggest benefit is that it offers the holder complimentary admission and parking to every Cedar Fair property for $204. Holiday World doesn't have that option as they are the only park in their brand. With that said, their season pass is $139.99, which is a very fair price for what HW offers, but significantly more expensive than Cedar Fair and Six Flags season passes and does not include any other parks. Second, I was at Holiwood Nights this year, and my understanding was that it was the most attended HWN yet. With that said, I had no problems getting a large amount of rides in during every ERT, including about 45 rides on Thunderbird during the two nights. I doubt that offering access to HWN premium season pass would increase attendance so significantly that it would greatly impact the "exclusivity" of the ERT. Note, they would still have to pay the $33 fee that a coaster club member with a regular season pass would have payed previously. Lastly, it really isn't that hard to gain access to HWN as long as you know about it. It's not some major secret that only a select few enthusiasts know about. You either have to belong to a coaster club or go with someone who is a member. If someone really wants to go to HWN and don't know a enthusiast, they just have to pay around $35 to any club of their choice and they are in. Keep in mind that this is $35 that HW never sees, but with access to HWN being a part of a premium pass, it could make HWN more profitable for them if people purchase the premium pass for that access. To differentiate a regular season pass and a premium season pass, the park has to offer something worthwhile to justify the additional cost. Most parks/chains do that by offering free parking (HW already does that) or offering admission to other parks (HW has no other parks), so HW has to be a bit more creative to justify that extra expense and I think that offering access to HWN is a great option for them. The only way that HW would put all of the time/money/effort into creating a new type of SP is if they were going to sell thousands of them. The enthusiast event is an event for enthusiasts. It's tailored to them. For Six Flags St. Louis, here is what a Gold Season Pass adds, minus the parking: - Every day 10 minute early entry to the theme park or water park, allowing you to be first in line for your favorite attraction. - Two special bring-a-friend free days for the season - Free tickets to any of the park's concerts that can be picked up at any time, best available seating. That seems pretty feasible for Holiday World. The hardest one would probably be the rock-the-world free tickets. The pricing will be interesting to see though. What would be pretty easy to organize would be exclusive ride time events for pass holders. All you do is 1) set up a table/tent around the front mall to distribute wristbands to pass holders throughout the day, 2) schedule 2-3 rides in a concentrated section of the park to stay open an extra 90 minutes, and 3) only let people with the wristbands ride or have access to the area.

Even though I'm a bit late here, I wanted to add something regarding the HW vs SFSL comparisons. When you look at the water parks, you have to think about each park's different operating calendars. SFSL opens approximately a month before HW and runs through the last weekend of October (or first weekend of November). Fright Fest is one of the busiest times of the year at SFSL, so it makes sense for them to focus on attractions that can run during their entire season. It seems like HW has its busiest times during the summer, which is why a bigger water park works well for the park. However, I think it is impossible to definitively state one park is better than the other, as it depends on the person. HW used to be a full two day park for me, but now that I'm in a wheelchair, Wildebeest and Mammoth are the only things I have in the water park. Plus, it also depends if you want to visit for a day or get a season pass. Days tickets are cheaper overall for HW while the season passes for SFSL are around half of what they are at HW. I think trying to rank the parks side by side can be interesting, but it shouldn't be taken too seriously. I love both parks! I love JLBM and Gobble Getaway.

Just to clarify, Thunderbird at PowerPark. It is not, sadly(?), a launched wing coaster. EDIT: Btw everyone, after checking out the HW forum, it seems that any complaints people have with the park (especially with over crowding) are being called "growing pains". Please use the same euphemism if you have any concerns regarding SFSL. Thank you for your cooperation.

^As far as we were told, Thunder River was down all day.

Part for Superman to fix/reopen the ride is onsite. Screamin' Eagle has actually had some morning downtime due to the safe installation of the part. Also, Justice League had a pretty solid day. There was a good amount of 3-6min downtime periods every once in a while, but that really wasn't bad. At 12:30, Six Flags and 92.3 WIL hosted a ceremony to honor Operation Homefront. Besides a $5,000 check and additional ticket sales related donations, three great family's who have been helped by the organization (veterans who needed some help after returning) were treated to complimentary, day-long, VIP tours (in addition to Gold Season Passes, sports bottles, and some other goodies). It was a busy day, but it was a fun day!

Already did early this month. They digressed right around the single rider question. I haven't been able to get a direct answer. Instead of trying to get an answer out of the employees who don't have one, just leave a written complaint. If you phrase it like a question, they will try to answer you to best they can. If you leave a complaint, it gets put straight into the system for the right people to see it.

Just to reiterate, it's ok to post online about it to discus and/or give heads up to others. However, if you really want to make a difference, make sure that you also leave a complaint/suggestion with Guest Relations.

The snack was added to the dining pass thanks to Guests' suggestions, as was the unlimited refill sports bottle. I think I've said it before, but even Dave reads every single compliment, concern, and suggestion.

A lot of the downtime has even been just 5-7 minutes at a time, while they wait for maintenance to come and reset part of the system. I do know that the manufacturers have been in close contact with the park to keep working on the attraction. At least until I left at 6:00, JLBM had at least been open more than it had been closed today. I hope you had a good time besides that. Honestly, today was THE perfect day to visit. No lines. No bad weather. No big ride issues besides JLBM on and off.