HWFan

More pictures now! Here's a look at the updated park map (Note: 'You Are Here' marker may not be fully accurate based on where you and your computer are right now). If you are on this thread a lot, you've certainly heard the name, Dave Roemer (or just Dave for short), mentioned a lot. In case you haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, here's a picture of our down-to-earth, extremely kind, Park President who worked his was up from the mail room in 1973. (He doesn't read this forum, so I am being completely genuine with my description.) The attitude, that I would compare to Pat Koch, he brings to the park is why a lot of fun little things or minor updates that can really enhance Guest experience make it to reality. In the picture above, he is sitting in front of the new, greatly expanded patio that will be really nice to have, especially during the busier days of the summer. Here are two full-time employees who were kind enough to pose for a pictures while preparing the new store to open in less than a week. Now, due to my limited time, I'm just going to post a lot of picture of park updates (LOTS of paint) with limited commentary:

One smaller addition/change for the park this summer is the complete renovation (as in tearing everything that isn't necessary to structurally support the building) of the small shop that Shazam! has used as an exit. While it may not be the most exciting thing, the new heroes vs. villains shop concept looks really good, both in the quality of the shop itself as well as the diversity of the new merchandise it offers. Shazam! and JLBM with both exit through the shop now. The back of the store, through which Guests will enter on their way out of the two rides, is really well done with a nice awning & what seems like really nice thematic value. Here is a view of the refurbished shop with JLBM on the left. They were really putting Shazam! through its paces Sunday, and with the way that the construction area is set up, I would really anticipate it to be open on Friday. Unfortunately a lot of the pictures I took of some things up close in the area were corrupted somehow, so I apologize that this is the best I have to show you. While making my way back down the hill to the park again Sunday afternoon, it sounded like the park was open with American Thunder, the Log Flume, Shazam!, Xcalibur, and lot of other rides all testing simultaneously. It was refreshing. I had a great pic of Xcalibur that was amazing, but unfortunately its file was corrupted. I was able to get a better picture of the front of the Palace Theater at least. It will be looking pristine by Friday, as the very last part to be finished.

As we continue on our tour of the park, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information with you regarding the facade of the ride. First of, based off the pictures I've seen from Texas, the facade of the ride at SFSL is gonna look 100 times better, which is great as the Texas facade is looking great! Here's how I came to this opinion though: In Texas, the forced perspective, thematic value, and overall impact that the facade has is partially diminished by the giant, 40 foot, sheet-metal-sided building that rises behind the majestic piece of Americana that is the Hall of Justice. In SFSL, besides being able to see the building from all over the park (however, that is partially due to the non-leaf-covered trees at the moment, the facade is built in a way that makes it the center of attention and really just larger-than-life. You could see the metal supports that were up in the last picture, making the building seem taller than it really is. The woman in the picture below also told me that our facade is actually bigger & better than its lone-star counterpart anyway, proving that not everything is bigger in Texas... This is Donna. She is the Vice President of Project Management at Sally Dark Rides. The main reason I wanted to feature her first in this post was due to her overwhelming hospitality & patience while I asked what seemed like a billion questions. She and Rich Hill, Sally's top dog, are extremely close, so whenever Sally has a big, complex project, Donna is going to be there! She has been staying at the Holiday Inn across from the park between occasional trips to Texas, Europe, or Florida to quickly check in on another of Sally's numerous world-class dark ride projects. She was fascinating to talk to, and some of you may have met her before. She told me that both she and Rich give tours to enthusiast groups now and then when they visit Sally's HQ down south. Even when things put the ride's construction behind schedule, she is the one responsible for making up for whatever issue it may have been from whichever of the numerous contractors involved, so no matter when the ride does open exactly, you can know that Donna made sure it was the earliest day possible! After the huge mess that was the DC Comics area just a few days and weeks ago, the area is almost cleared out in anticipation of welcoming Guests on Friday! I have a picture of the newly expanded patio for JB's Smokehouse in the next post. Just remember who did Frozen first... The existing Justice League gift shop. Looking back towards the newly-renovated Palace Theater.

Ugh. Thanks for your patience recently. Without further ado, here we go (again)! I'm just going to do the five-pics-per-post thing to be safe, plus it creates more pages on this forum...we're coming for you Raven Maven!!!!! (eh, or not....) Either way, let me know what you think! Thanks again! Under the trestle and through the park, to JLBM we go! Like the real city of Metropolis, IL, this seems to be a small town, but don't get too comfortable, as you might just get drafted! On the right side, where you can see the small snack/drink location that is on the side of the Hall of Justice gift shop, you'll notice the nice red awning. Get ready to get your Coke Freestyle cravings quenched (or, if you don't have cravings for it, the other members in your group will finally stop saying things like "OMG it's SOOOO amazing I like can't believe you haven't tried it!!!11!!1!"). Like the replacement stand in the front mall I showed you, this will increase serving capacity for when it's needed. I am starting to wonder if the red, plastic-looking awnings for the Coke stands have to do with a request from Coca-Cola, as they really seem to be popping up all over. But anyway, on the left, you can see the show building for JLBM. Make sure to check out the bit of new concrete that you can kinda see in that pic. A quick look at the new, enlarged snack/drink stand. The asphalt was actually poured this weekend and is just an example of a what seemed like at least a dozen dump trucks full of fresh asphalt that created some nice, fresh pavement around the park. As someone in a wheelchair who has to pay attention to every little bump (I fell out of my chair twice last season alone haha), it is a This area is the least touched it seems like, but as it is something that can be done very quickly at the last minute, it's not a big deal if there is some left-over Scooby swamp stuff. While I will explain a bit about the queue in my big ride write-up later tonight or tomorrow, just to make sure it is prepared for the crowds, there will be some outdoor overflow queue available. While you'll see more of that in the next picture, what is good to take note of is how the asphalt meets with the concrete very smoothly. The side of the building will be like the ride's garage. The garage is the place where the switch track can move ride vehicles on or off the main circuit. Having a nice big opening and area that a truck can get close to will make delivering the vehicles & any future equipment moving easier. Here you can really get a good look at the big door to the garage. On the right of the big opening is a smaller one that will be the portal through which Guests continue through the queue, should the outdoor, (hopefully) covered, overflow queue will be. Luckily the GIANT a/c unit is fully installed in the garage & holy cow is it a monster. It's absolutely massive & will be able to easily keep you cool during your indoor wait & adventure. Stay tuned for more coming up soon... hopefully

After spending hours and hours trying to upload pictures, type captions that include plenty of park information in terms of what is being done/has been done, and moving the now 75+ pictures from my phone to google drive to my computer and organizing them to post in a way that makes the most sense, I need to take a break before I seriously throw my computer. I spent 90 minutes typing up part one and doing everything else with it to post, and now besides the pictures not posting, all of the captions are gone for good as well. I will try again tomorrow maybe, but I'm too frustrated to mess with it right now. Sorry everyone. I got some really awesome pictures and info that I'll try to get posted. I'm just way too burnt out (partially because I'm still not fully recovered from being sick), and either way, I'll answer your questions and everything tomorrow. I apologize and promise that I'm not stupid. I followed the rules with file sizes and number of pictures, but it just didn't work. Peace out.

After being sick most of the weekend due to accidentally poisoning myself when I overused some Raid bug spray, luckily the anti-bugs spray didn't apply to Bugs Bunny. I was able to organize the pictures and get some more, so here is part one of three parts to finish up the off season tour. While there are still no pictures allowed inside JLBM, I'll give you a written update on the mind-blowing attraction. Now, I felt that it would be best to start with a picture of the guy who made it all possible. If you're on this thread a lot, you've heard the name Dave Roemer (mostly referred to as just Dave for short), who is the fantastic Park President of Six Flags St. Louis. Starting in the mail room when the park was just a year or two old, he has worked his way up to the top without losing his kind, friendly, and loving attitude. He loves talking with Guests & enthusiasts, and he chuckled when I mentioned to him that a lot of enthusiasts liked the fact that when they would ask him about things like Iron Boss, he doesn't sugar-coat it or leave them with some vague answer. Outside of my family, he may be my favorite person in the world (he doesn't read these forums, so no, I'm not sucking up) just based on his attitude. A great way to describe his in-park attitude would be like Pat Koch at Holiday World, always with his broom & dustpan at his side. But anyway, it's picture time: EDIT: Crap on a crap stick! When I pressed submit, it said that I didn't have access to this file & also deleted all of my long, explanatory captions for each picture. I'm on my computer so not sure what happened. Anyone from TPR that could tell me what I'm doing wrong. I had 24 great pictures in that... EDIT 2: I promise to get to all of the questions/comments once I get these pictures up, so I promise I'm not ignoring you by any means. I'm just about to throw my computer out the window though.

Oh! I forgot to mention that the new Palace Theater facade colors are part of our new Frozen Fantasy Faire: The Sing-Along-tastic-pair, Anna & Elsa, Team Up With Bugs Bunny to Save America Adventure! The reason I to mention it is that it doesn't exist. So, while you roll your eyes after that not-funny joke, I am gonna skip ahead to a Justice League picture, as this will be my last update before heading to the park. I'll post the rest later tonight. I gotta run...err roll..but here is your humble (or not so) correspondent as Clark Kent in front of some stuff. I'll post a few dozen more pics tonight, so in the mean time, if you have any questions/comments, don't hesitate to post 'em!

Now I know you're thinking, "Josh (HWFan), the order of these pictures make no sense at all." You are correct. After trekking all over the park, this is just the order they were taken. Unfortunately, there was an up charge for 'logical photo arrangement' that I didn't want to pay for as I had my money locked up in the one-time-use $1 lockers. First Cone is another example of a facade that received some TLC (and no, not like Honey Boo Boo) over the winter. The great thing is that a lot of the buildings honestly didn't need it. However, the park wanted to go above and beyond, which is refreshing to see. First Cone is another example of a facade that received some TLC (and no, not like Honey Boo Boo) over the winter. The great thing is that a lot of the buildings honestly didn't need it. However, the park wanted to go above and beyond, which is refreshing to see. First Cone is another example of a facade that received some TLC (and no, not like Honey Boo Boo) over the winter. The great thing is that a lot of the buildings honestly didn't need it. However, the park wanted to go above and beyond, which is refreshing to see. First Cone is another example of a facade that received some TLC (and no, not like Honey Boo Boo) over the winter. The great thing is that a lot of the buildings honestly didn't need it. However, the park wanted to go above and beyond, which is refreshing to see. First Cone is another example of a facade that received some TLC (and no, not like Honey Boo Boo) over the winter. The great thing is that a lot of the buildings honestly didn't need it. However, the park wanted to go above and beyond, which is refreshing to see. The view as you quickly WALK (lol yea right...) to JLBM at rope drop. While it still isn't 100% finished, those who remember the rotting mess that was there the previous couple years will really be impressed. The new trim is actually made of vinyl rather than wood, so it will look great for years to come! One cool thing about the project is the addition of some color to the previous beige & white facade. The light blue looks great! It really makes the theater 'pop' (I think...idk I heard that word used on HGTV or something). This pic turned out bad, but the front of the Palace Theater is the current focus of the large (by size and price tag) renovation of the theater that will include a new roof, new windows, refurbished fixtures, trim replacements, etc.

Well, let's go ahead and check out some of the work that has been going on at SFSL this offseason. Unfortunately due to phone, wifi, and computer issues, I have to post five pictures at a time. (It's the best I can do after an hour of having other problems.) I have about 50 photos to share, so if you want to wait until I get them all uploaded before posting a response, that would keep them all together, although you're under no obligation to refrain from posting. Hopefully when I get back to my dorm tonight after 8:00, I'll be able to really add a lot of details regarding the work & other projects. But I have to leave at 2:45 to meet Dave Roemer to just check out this little addition called Justice League: Battle for Metropolis. But in the mean time, as I would say in the park announcements, "take a break from the heat, kick up your boots, and enjoy one of our great shows!" End of March Park Update starts now on Theme Park Review! One thing that is the subject of most of these pics is the "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Painting Crew" amount of paint that has gone into the park this year. It looks great! One thing that is the subject of most of these pics is the "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Painting Crew" amount of paint that has gone into the park this year. It looks great! One thing that is the subject of most of these pics is the "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Painting Crew" amount of paint that has gone into the park this year. It looks great! One thing that is the subject of most of these pics is the "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Painting Crew" amount of paint that has gone into the park this year. It looks great! One thing that is the subject of most of these pics is the "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Painting Crew" amount of paint that has gone into the park this year. It looks great! Yup. Mine train. Moving on... With the new scanners at the front gate, the park entry team members weren't covered by the awning very well. Especially as a lot of these team members are older, the park built a large extension to keep them dry/out of the sun. It looks great! As an Admissions lead in 2013, I was always exposed to the elements more due to my wheelchair's location while working the gate. This addition is small but shows that the park cares and takes employee suggestions seriously. The small turkey leg stand that was on the Guest Relations side of the front mall was removed in order to add a larger stand. Especially around closing time, both stands could get long lines, so this upgrade will help with that. This is the existing food location that sold drinks and snacks on the Batman side of the front mall.

Good morning everyone! First, I want to apologize that I didn't get to put the pictures up last night. After getting home at 8:00 and being unable to sleep the previous night, I ended up falling asleep (with my finger on the 'a' key) typing a post saying that I'll get it up for you Sunday. Because I didn't get it up yet, I'm going to take a few more pics of the things I missed and post it all together tonight. I got some awesome pics of the facade from a few angles and a total of 50+ pics overall. I'm also going to get a chance to check out the inside of the ride today, so while I can't take pictures of that (per the Warner Bros contract), I'll be able to give a pretty good update. (Also, if I do get a chance to put the pictures so far up sooner, I will!)

^ Unfortunately, my sleep deprived state made some of my wordings a bit confusing. I'm not the official liaison, but last summer, it started to seem that way. I do not speak for the park officially as the only Dave Roemer and Elizabeth Gotway can really do that. Besides the palace theater, there are two others: the one by Batman that is used for shows and the one by TS that is only used for Total Darkness/Voided Vision and maybe storage. It would not mean the loss of any actively used theater. The park's management throws around hundreds of ideas every year with less than five percent actually happening in the way they were originally conceived. Those were just a few concepts that I personally have pitched or put a lot of research into. Out of the probably five dozen ideas I suggested in 2013 and 2014, one or two actually came to fruition and another was actively discussed at the corporate level. I just wanted to get some opinions on those ideas. ------------ Well, I'm gonna finish my free lunch here in the catering grove before I'm back on the clock at 1:00. I have a ton of pics so far! Can't wait to show you all later this afternoon! (The palace looks incredible btw!)

While I know you're probably tired of me posting by now, I wanted to ask, share, and just comment on a few things as we are only one week away from opening day! 1. First off, I wanted to give you a couple details regarding the boring old Guest Relations and related issues. One great thing is that in addition to entirely new computers & tech infrastructure, which is enough to make any team member or Guest who worked in/waited for GR last year to cry tears of joy (no? oh okay, just me then). Further, the building itself has been modified to add another window and interior reorganization to allow the team members that work in that tiny building (which was not built to handle even half of what it does today) to keep the line moving more quickly. Also, some of the programs used by the park, especially the main one that holds records of every single interaction you have with GR (going years and years back, the program is quite impressive, allowing staff at multiple parks to work on an issue, if necessary), are having their protocols changed. Once we get in the groove of things during the first few weeks of April, the longest it should take to receive a reply on any issue is 48 hours. The program has a backup that every extra day your issue stands without being addressed, it is bumped up the management ladder until day four, when you will receive personal correspondence from Dave Roemer. Hopefully this helps prevent the posts/jokes surrounding the slowness of GR from last season. Speaking of that, on a personal note, after that issue, I kinda became the unofficial GR liaison for TPR. Unfortunately, due to upgraded security & enforcement of justified policies, I will not be able to help you out as much this season from home. I will no longer be able to access the programs remotely and the 'loop-hole' has been closed that I used last year to spend a total of 4+ hours in August alone working on issues. While I genuinely enjoyed helping out and actually like answering questions, for any specific issue or detailed questions that are personal to your passes/account should be directed to Guest Relations where I may be the one helping you anyway. I, my boss, and my boss's boss could all get in a lot of trouble for having an employee technically working without being paid. However, if it is a general question or big problem that GR has not gotten back to you about yet, please feel free to post it or shoot me a PM (including your contact info if relevant) as I can at least jot it down and take care of it while I am on the clock. 2. Okay, so now onto the less boring stuff, I will be at the park for ten hours tomorrow and ten on Sunday, so if anyone has any particular areas (besides DC Comics plaza obviously) that they'd like pictures of, PM me and I'll try to get as many as possible. Also, would anyone be interested in a TPR forum meetup at the park? While I can't promise anything, if enough are interested, I'll see if Dave Roemer is up for a Q&A/Meet & Greet type deal at some point back in the catering grove (sans food) or something. If enough people are interested, I'll make one of those Google surveys so that everyone can say what dates work for them, their type of park admission (we could always do it on a SP bring-a-friend free day or something), and what they would like to see in a non-formal, free-of-charge, coaster meetup. We could even do something once a month during the season just for whoever can make it. (Again, this is completely non-formal or park-sanctioned at this point and just me doing some wishful thinking.) 3. One thing that was made clear to me is that this year, the park management is focused on adding or bringing back more and more little things that may not effect a huge population of our Guests but are special & can really enhance the visits of some Guests. I can't wait to bring you more information on those ideas as soon as they are implemented into the park, if you have any feedback regarding the following list of ideas, which are as of now not currently in full development for the park, or if you have any other ideas, I'm all ears! [*]The eventual inclusion of a model or two from the new Games-U-Ride product line by Skyline Attractions in the DC Comics/Metropolis area. They're so unique, and I think they could really be a cool addition in that area to complement the new ride. [*]Turning the empire theater into an air condition facility with a small little-kid playground (i.e. along the lines of what you might see in shopping malls), some clowns or other person making balloon animals, or any other kind of amenity that would give parents & their little ones a chance to get a break from the heat. [*]Large (approx. 15x7ft) billboard-type installments around the park that would each be a unique, themed to that specific area, 'Where's Waldo?' reminiscent game. Just something to entertain those who are waiting for the other members of their party to exit whatever ride. [*]'Play Money' wristband kiosks located around the park, similar to what Holiday World has. Most people don't know that they can get a wristband with whatever amount of money they'd like saved on it, allowing them to go cash-free in the park at Guest Relations but only at Guest Relations. [*]Improv-trained ambiance actors. These are common at places like Universal, but a coupe of examples would be actors hanging out of the windows above First Cone, especially in the morning before rope drop where large crowds tend to build. They would be dressed for and stay in character as though they were living in 1904 and going to the World's Fair in St. Louis. They could interact with the Guests and just add a touch of 'magic' to the day, while helping entertain those who are waiting to get going on the rides. They could also roam the DC Comics Plaza area and interact with Guests as though they are citizens of Metropolis. [*]Some type of game, like they are putting into a couple of the Disney parks, where you would collect clues, stamps, trinkets, or other little things as you made your way around the park. Ideally, it would be easy for the park to keep updating and changing, giving more reasons to keep coming back for multiple visits in a season. It would be mainly geared towards children 12 and under as a way to make sure the whole family could stick together as much as possible while all still having something to do. 4. Finally, those of you from the St. Louis area may be familiar with Heidi Glaus & her fun/silly/random segments and antics from segments such as Hey Heidi on News Channel 5 (KSDK), if all goes as planned, I'll have the honor of giving her a tour of some of the park's newest additions while also talking about the annual St. Louis Children's Hospital Day at Six Flags, which raises around $500,000 for the hospital every year. It's a very special event and the only event that Dave Roemer personally oversees each detail of as the sole contact between the SLCH Foundation & the park (his son is an outstanding nurse at the hospital as well). While the event is a bit pricey, it includes a catered meal, and over three hours of Exclusive Park Time where all games as well as drinks & snacks are free, besides the fact that there are no lines and you get 40% off of retail purchases. It's an event that I am proud to support and work on, so if you're interested, you can find more information herehttps://www.stlouischildrens.org/classes-events/st-louis-children-s-hospital-day-six-flags. 5. Just because you read this far, I wanted to share just a couple extra things that you'll notice when you visit the park. First, some of the giant planters at the front gate were removed over the off season, which will amaze you (or maybe not) by how much they really open up the front mall to help prevent confusion. Second, now this is super-duper-crazy-omg-'icanteven'-Fury325 level exciting, the official Six Flags logo has undergone a change that has resulted in one of the flags being a different color (I know, I know, Calm down. I know it's exciting). Moving on, the JLBM, in order to clear up any confusion, will have a final ride time of approximately 3 minutes and 25 seconds; this will be great as even if I have to wait a long time for a ride, if the ride has a good length and quality, you're less likely to be disappointed. Also, the exit of JLBM will go through, you guessed it, a gift shop! The gift shop that Shazam! has exited through for years has been stripped down to the bone and completely remodeled into one of the coolest gift shops you've ever seen. It has a great Heroes vs. Villains theme, and after seeing the concept art and hearing about how it looks, I think that weather you stay to shop or just pass through, it will be a nice store that's a fitting end of the experience. (The current Hall of Justice shop will also remain, and I hope you're ready to get your Coke Freestyle on as the park will be ready for you with more machines there to serve your soda-needs.) Well, that's enough excitement for me for a Friday night! Seriously though, I am really excited for this season & what it has in store for everyone, as there will be plenty of new stuff introduced as the season goes on that I'm sure you'll enjoy. I you happen to see me around the park (I'm the only wheelchair-bound....or handi-capable as I like to say...team member, especially with a name tag that reads Josh), make sure to stop me and say hi (I mean, only if you want to) as I was able to meet a couple of you last season. Also, if you see Dave, our Director of Operations (a middle-aged, on the shorter-side, whitish-haired, guy with a name tag that says Chris), or any other employee that looks to be part of our full-time management staff, feel free to say hi, let them know how your day is going, or ask them any questions, as I know that everyone I've talked to really likes hearing from the Guests. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of your final week before opening day! PM me or reply with any comments, questions, 'MOTHER OF PEARL PLEASE DON'T EVER MAKE A POST THIS LONG AGAIN' message, or whatever else you want to say 'cuz tha-tha-tha-tha-tha-tha-that's all folks!

Any idea how the inside is looking and doing? I'm excited & hopeful that when we get to the first week of April, everything is still on track. Edit: But when I was there two weeks ago, all of the drywall, primer, ceiling/roof, projection screens, projector hookup/mounting equipment, and about half of the show lights were already installed and ready to go, with all of the bigger props in the building, waiting to be installed. So with that in mind, they're at least a pretty good amount farther with that. Although the station/queue area was enclosed but still just steel and completely unfinished as it will be easier.

This brings me the most happiness lol, the bashing SFSTL was taking for Amerens bad transport plant on social media was crazy. I guess people truly believed six flags generates its own grid. I completely agree with you. Luckily I was on my way to CoasterMania at CP when the first one happened, but I was working double shifts for the other ones, including the small surge that caused Freeze to valley (I was on the SP deck watching it when it happened). Unfortunately, even if the power failure is not caused by the park, SF still has a lot of disappointed Guests who drove from all over to come to the park. We did our best, but I can definitely empathize with the frustration.

In my opinion, it is really a good thing. Let's really simplify it and just consider the ride's video that will appear on the different screens throughout the ride. Creating top notch, custom, 3D video by contracting the top companies in the industry is extremely(!) expensive. Here is a paraphrasing of what Dave Roemer told me regarding the subject: "First off, when you look at the demographics of the people who visit our park, the vast, vast majority of them have never and will never visit Six Flags Over Texas. Most have never even experienced any of the Universal parks. Six Flags St. Louis is their vehicle by which to experience the world of theme parks. While some people don't like the [cloning of rides in the SF chain], if you have an attraction that is very popular in a certain region, you can then make the most of your [new ride budget] by purchasing multiple units of a ride to install in different regions, especially where the ride is unique to that region. Also, you don't have to wait and hope for a good response to the ride. The ride has proven its popularity already, so [it's basically a very safe bet that your Guests will love it]. With JLBM, the total cost of producing the 3D film alone is [you would be surprised at just how much of the ride's budget consists of this movie]. By opening the ride at two parks, both in different regions, in the same year, SFSL and SFOT are able to 'split' the cost of producing the film. While the actual layout of the attraction itself will be a bit different at each park, just due to the physical building that houses it, the story will be the same." Now this next statement is completely, 100%, non-insider-information-based and is just me thinking-out-loud as a coaster enthusiast. Given the information above, even if SFOT opened today, 99.99% of SFSL park Guests wouldn't really have anything spoiled for them. Besides, you really want to create a ride that even if you have a crystal-clear POV video, it should still make you want to actually experience the attraction first hand for yourself. Now because some of the 'surprises' that I know of at least are first's and technologically advanced/experimental, if one of the effects ends up not working or needs some more work before it can really be implemented successfully, it's better to not mention the specific surprises in advance. Just my two cents. And finally, I just wanted to say, I hated the Transformers movies. I only made it halfway through the first movie (I must say that watching it in a very loud MRI machine made the fight scenes extra intense) before I just didn't feel like watching anymore. That being said, the Transformers rides are frickin' amazing! A good ride that uses an existing IP is designed so that you don't have to care about that IP whatsoever beforehand. It's all about putting you in the middle of the action in an exciting way that is simple enough so that anyone riding knows whats going on, just with the basic background info explained in the queue/pre-show or beginning of the ride.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but summer doesn't technically start until June 21st. I always thought it was interesting how parks (especially Disney and Universal) would always say that certain things were going to be offered starting in the late spring, which most people consider summer as starting Memorial Day weekend, but then whatever it was wouldn't start until almost the end of June. While opening by that memorial weekend is probably still the goal, saying 'Late Spring' is great terminology for covering for any kind of unexpected delay.

A lot of people think that leaving suggestions at Guest Relations or taking a survey at the front of the park is worth their time, but I alone processed a couple dozen Season Dining Pass suggestions that included things like getting a snack or adding an all-season free refillable mug. Similarly, if you leave a compliment for an employee or park attribute at Guest Relations (try to remember the name if possible), Dave Roemer will personally read it. He reads 100% of all compliments and at least 75% of the complaints. Dave also writes nice little thank you notes, which are delivered to those team members, in addition to the list of exemplary team members being posted in HR, the employee cafe, and read over the PA during the morning announcements before the parking lot opens. Even though the computer system gets your comment straight to the desktop of that department's top dog, the comments are frequently looked at by a plethora of people that make up our management team. They even have a daily meeting with all the top people, and going through the comments is actually a big part of the meeting's agenda. So yea....if you don't mind, it'd be cool if you gave us feedback so we can keep getting better. Well make sure to bring your sunscreen, because there'll be more machines again for this year as the park continues to upgrade their dining facilities.

While I unfortunately don't know enough to say for sure in terms of what 3D technic will be used, I know that when they brought Real-D 3D, the top 3D company, on board, they chose to make the quality like that of the Transformers rides. I think that they'll probably need to have that type of distortion or else it would make it really hard to shoot targets on the screen.

I just returned from a great afternoon spent at the park with Dave Roemer. Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures due to A) some of the props sitting inside the building are licensed by WB and B) when a park spends ungodly amounts of money on new additions, I think that it's best to respect their wishes to release pictures first. However, I have some information that I am allowed to share, without losing my job of course. 1. The amount of painting work that is going on at the park is amazing. A lot of signage, like the big Shazam! sign over the queue entrance, has been completely repainted and looks brand new. The Palace Theater refurbishment is going well, with the molding-type decorative elements being replaced with a vinyl duplicate. You can't tell the difference from the ground, and it'll make sure it looks great for years to come. 2. One thing that is really great is that the upper management has been really focusing on a bunch of 'little' things that can really make a family's visit extra special. While a lot of the details are still being worked out for these things, another way that they are focusing on the details to help with the bigger picture includes little thematic elements. One example is the giant concrete wall towards the end of Thunder River. If they were to put the rock work back on it, the cost would be a few hundred thousand dollars. Instead of doing that, the great painting team came up with this huge industrial-type logo for a fake dam/water company. Then by just adding a rusted-looking pipe at the top spewing water, it will really look like a dam. I honestly think it's cooler than the rock work would be. 3. Okay, I know this is what you really want to hear about: JLBM. Honestly, it blows me away seeing it for myself. The outside has gotten farther since the last posted pics (including the removal of the Scooby-Doo queue sign/elements). The main hall that you enter into is absolutely huge. The concrete ride platform, including ADA approved ramps are all built, but I would say that the main hall has the farthest to go still. However, it is the easiest part to finish. I got to roll through the ride twice, and I can't say enough how amazing it is, in my opinion. I was lucky enough to ride Spiderman at IOA, Transformers at USO, and Transformers at USH three or four times each in 2014, and even though the ride vehicles may be a bit smaller, the scale of the attraction and screens seem to be the same. I also got to meet the lighting designer for the ride, who told me, in the most 'no big deal' way possible, that he was also the head lighting designer for the two Disney castles in the US, all of IOA besides the Harry Potter stuff and same with the USO park. Some of the state of the art LED lighting is already installed and working. The entire ride was stuffed with all kinds of huge crates and wrapped-up set pieces. Once the base level painting is finished here really soon, they will begin putting up the background sets before the arrival of the bigger pieces like the Joker. I was able to see a few unwrapped set-pieces that looked top notch, in terms of quality. As it's been a big thing on here, I made sure to ask Dave the following question: "A lot of the online enthusiast community especially has expressed concerns about the maintenance of this type of ride, after things in the past like parts of the Scooby-Doo ride. What is the plan to keep the ride at top notch quality?" To paraphrase, this ride is such a big flippin' deal for SFSL & SF as a company, there is a heavy commitment to keeping it looking great. Also, with the ride expected to be such a big draw for the park, they have financial reasons to keep it looking great. Finally, the Scooby ride system & components were lucky to have lasted that long as the ride pretty much cannibalized itself slowly, due to it's original design, over 40 years ago. Also, the maintenance of this ride will be more streamlined thanks to the fancy system that self-diagnoses any issues. 4. In conclusion, overall the park is looking at a fantastic season coming up this year with tons of additions like expanded seating at JB's Smokehouse, very much improved admissions systems & front mall, and infrastructure overall. Ameren also replaced their old power line that caused the power outages last season, and even to be extra prepared, the park invested in a huge back-up generator for the water park. This means that in the event of a power outage, the filter/pump houses won't flood, which is why the water park took a lot longer to reopen after an outage compared to the rest of the park. Besides the great park management who has been behind all of this great stuff, Jim Reid-Anderson, the CEO of Six Flags, and his team deserve some credit for their focus on spending to refurbish & improve things in the park. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the park this season, and I can't wait for you to see the new changes/improvements for yourself in just three weeks.

The original schedule called for parts to really start being delivered and going right in at the end of January, which it seems the late shipments are at least a month off of this schedule. Seems like it's probably a manufacturer thing.

I'm glad someone finally was able to make it basic enough for me to understand this subjective issue. I think we need some more good news! (Disclaimer: This definitely makes me wayyyyy happier than it will probably make you.) But anyway, Guest Relations has received all new computers and related systems! Honestly at least 25% of wait times was from the computer speed, so this is great for everyone who will stop by this season. Unfortunately I won't be able to use my, "If only our computers were as fast as our coasters..." joke that I would say to Guests whenever the computer would take a while to load.

The vast majority of the HW thread posts are surrounding the build-up of hints & speculation around Thunderbird and some of the other big rides like Voyage. The hints and way HW announces their additions are the main cause of the page count. So basically, HW marketing > SFStl marketing. HW marketing to the coaster enthusiast base > SFStl marketing to coaster enthusiasts While Holiday World has very good marketing, I don't want to compare overall as none of us have comprehensive data showing the success of each park's marketing strategies. SF is definitely more corporate, but I can't say which is better overall rather than a very, very, very small demographic.

The vast majority of the HW thread posts are surrounding the build-up of hints & speculation around Thunderbird and some of the other big rides like Voyage. The hints and way HW announces their additions are the main cause of the page count.

I second that, thanks HWFan! I'm glad you appreciate the posts as I'm always happy to discuss the sexy subject of season passes and admissions! And about the list of 2015 attractions, the subject of theme park attractions is very subjective. That website it run by a guy who works/loves Disney and prefers dark rides over coasters. If the list was compiled by Robb or voted on by coaster enthusiasts in general, I think it'd be a lot different. I really don't put much stock in those lists, but I just look at them like a list of some great attractions coming to parks in a random order. You know how I feel about SFSL & JLBM, but I'd take Fury over JL any day.

I think the main thing behind the shirts is a reward for the park's team members. It seems like a great morale booster, which will encourage them to hopefully keep getting better. While everyone may have a different experience at the park, SFMM does have very good scores.