HWFan

As you know, rides can go down for any number of reasons, but I haven't heard of any plans for The Boss to be closed next Sunday. Obviously any ride is subject to unforeseen downtime, but other posters aren't wrong when they talk about the dedication of the park's excellent maintenance staff.

^Thanks! Even though it ended up not being a great fit for this forum, the fact that you cared enough and took the time to post something like that is great.

Can't say I appreciate the video one bit considering how many times he had his camera out on the ride.... Same. And to reply to RKO: It doesn't matter if it is a GoPro. This rider is putting himself, fellow Guests, and park employees in danger. I would highly suggest Sportsdude to take the video out of his post, as this kind of blatant disregard for safety & park policies should not be rewarded by more YouTube views due to exposure given on this site. People don't realize just how dangerous filming (or having any loose items out) on a ride can be. I don't care if you have a GoPro. Your GoPro wasn't designed for coasters specifically and no matter how good you think you have it secured, there's always a chance. This is my biggest pet peeve. But moving on, if anyone is at the park on Good Friday the 14th, Superman will finally be open for the season! Plus, on the 14th (in addition to school-group only dates on some Wednesdays & Fridays this Spring), yours truly might be operating the main panel.

^Unfortunately I haven't been able to spend much time in the park. Basically going from Shazam to the Flash Pass office area and back. I know that there are plenty of renovations and updates (many of which are still ongoing). It'll be interesting to ride the train this year with a lot of trees being taken out between the Batman overpass and Spinsanity. It's crazy how much more open it feels.

Another tip for the diabetes question: If necessary, you can bring some snacks with you into the park if it makes you feel more comfortable. Just let know the kind folks down at metal detection that it's for a medical issue (oh, and it'd be best not to use a hard plastic cooler for insulin or anything). Finally, I want to mention that First Aid is located by the exit of the log flume... ...speaking of the Log Flume, nobody has mentioned it's great new paint job. It's been a decade since it has received a complete top-to-bottom repaint. Every time I go down into the park, it still amazes me how fantastic the flukes look weaving through the trees as seen from the employee entrance walkway. It's very bright and was a great investment in my opinion. #ThanksPete

Besides having to leave work early after getting sick, it was a pretty good day. I opened my car door and heard the great sound of Mr. Freeze doing "short shots" (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's what they call them), sending the train up the top hat without going over. Then, as I left I could hear Batman and was able to see a train going up the lift from I-44. Tomorrow the dispatch buttons will be getting a workout for training. However, there are still positions open in Rides (plus many other roles) at the park, and you (or someone you know) can apply at www.sixflagsjobs.com. And thus ends another shameless job plug by HWFan.

Those facades were taken down as one of the first stages of construction.

Besides the photo posted below, I'm not sure when they'll release more pics of the ride. All in good time I'm sure. I won't post any pictures of the construction, because I think that the park should have the opportunity to share what they want when they want. They're the one's spending the money on it. I will say that they were busy today. You could see a crane in the park from the highway.

Yes, and if I remember correctly, it takes you into the Flash Pass line. Yup, Flash Pass and wheelchairs now enter through the exit. While Spinsanity may not be the hypercoaster that everyone would love, it's really starting to look great! In its location, you can really appreciate its size. I can't wait to see it when they finish! Long story short, SFSL is really using the ride and location to its full potential, which really says a lot about the park. With TS across the midway, it's like the washer and the dryer.

I have ridden both and thought they were very similar, not much difference at all Likewise, then again all effects were working. In fact all my rides at the SFOT have had issues, non at STL. I also think the screen order is better as well... Dark rides like JLBM have scripts written for them that are fairly similar to TV/movie scripts (which makes sense when you think about it). The JLBM rides in SFSL, SFOT, SFM, SFGAm, SFOG, & SFGAdv are all working from what is more or less the same script. Besides a couple tweaks, the only difference in the rides is pretty much dictated by the building in which they're built. One thing that I think is great about SFSL's version is that 45-60min of the queue is inside with A/C vs just a few minutes at other parks. I also really like the facade. I'm just especially looking forward to seeing the JLBM at SFMM; it has a ton of potential.

This is probably the only post from the last few pages that I want to reply to, so I'll tell you that Spinsanity construction started back in January. I'm actually excited to see that area when it opens! Even with Tsunami Soaker, that area felt a bit dead, so now two high capacity, family-friendly flats right across from each other, will really be stellar. Especially with Tsunami soaker having great interactive features (like the water cannons for Guests watching the ride, the way Spinsanity will sit in that area will be a lot of fun watching it go back and forth right there close to Guests walking by. The park is getting better and better every year. Realizing that 2017 is already my fifth season at the park, I was reflecting on how much the park has changed since 2013. The rides that have been added (especially JLBM, which is definitely a "large scale" attraction) have all really had big impacts on the park. While the additions haven't always been huge, the park has really made the best of them! No more Hannibarrels and the (in my opinion due to its elevation) best looking Larson Super Loop in the chain are actually really great things when not viewed in a "...but we should've gotten _____" mindset. Additionally, the park has done a lot of large and small scale maintenance projects. Projects and replacements that haven't happened since 1971 were completed. Six Flags continues to top their previous year/quarter financial results, setting up the company very nicely for the future. It's easy to get discouraged sometimes, but that applies to literally everything in life. If you want to bring up Holiday World, I shared a bathroom with the woman who made HW the cleanest & friendliest park while living with the man who brought HW to its most successful year ever. I've worked in management at a Koch park that had some incredible people (I can't stress that enough), so I know how they operate and their differences from Six Flags. After seeing the inner workings of two very different parks, I came back from Alabama prouder than ever to work for Six Flags. (Although I still think about & miss ASA almost every day.) I think that says a lot about the quality of Six Flags as a park and as a company. This isn't meant to validate anyone's posts or to combat them; just take this as a standalone opinion.

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 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.

Back when it was the first year for their Halloween event, one of the bullet points in the sidebar for the event said, "It's Halloween without the gore (sorry Al & Tipper). It's one of those things that I'm sure almost nobody noticed or understood, but I think it's one of Paula's best puns...with Udderly Blue still being my favorite.

^ Great pic! That area of the park, especially with the multi-colored tree, is one of my favorites. I'd like to see lights like that over the midway during the summer too. It's not a huge addition, but it would add a lot to that area. Thanks for the extremely generous compliment. One thing that I love about the park in the past few years is how, each year, it needs less & less help, as you put it. The senior leadership team at corporate, who are steering the company to make it stronger than it's ever been (record year after record year), really deserve some credit for the great things like HIP. Besides them, there are dozens of passionate people at the park who work hard and have a huge impact on the park & its success.

I don't want to rehash the "argument" that broiled a dozen or so pages back, but I wanted to reiterate that single-train operation isn't because the park doesn't want to run two trains. It has to do with the maintenance schedule for the coasters. With my (and other posters') first thought being, "why don't they just focus on the trains for the closed rides, like Boss & Eagle, first," TNT gave a really stellar explanation of why the park does it the way it does. However, to address the previous post, I didn't see too many bad waits on Thursday, granted I only had the chance to ride one coaster, but that conflicts with reports from other people saying that the lines were very minimal. I think, as always, it sometimes just comes down to dumb luck in terms of lines at rides. That aside, it's always crummy to hear about line jumpers, but hopefully it's not too widespread. I know that the park's management takes a very strong stance against line jumping and actively tries to discourage & stop it. Again, I'm just happy to hear about how much everyone is enjoying the event...now if only Prozach can get his TR done sometime before March.

There were a couple members of upper management from SFGAm & SFNE visiting the park tonight. Prozach & I got to meet them with Pete at the end of the night. However, this is something that has been very typical, especially during HIP. Visiting other parks and exchanging ideas is a great way for all of the Six Flags parks to benefit from each other. And I completely agree with your previous post regarding the American Thunder midway. I was really, really impressed with even more lights & decorations added this week. It's great to see the park not doing things because they have to but because they want to. (A big shoutout especially to the Entertainment team with this event.) It was definitely a fun night, and while I don't want to spoil anything before his TR, I will say that I really look forward to his *updated* sentiments regarding Mr. Freeze. I had the great opportunity to ride American Thunder after clocking out at 8:00, and I gotta say, the view from the top of AT's lift is really incredible. It might be the best vantage point to see the lights period. An important thing to keep in mind is that HIP isn't really a time of year where you need to focus on when the best days to visit are. The park has been handling the crowds extremely well with a big part of that being our operations team (oh, and #ThanksPete). I would tell anyone to just visit on the day that works best with your schedule and has decent weather. Food lines haven't even been an issue. To be completely honest, I was extremely worried about how the event would go, and especially after getting Prozach's feedback, I can confidently say the park has a real winner on its hands.

I feel like this comment is one of the most important to remember. Reading some things about Shanghai has even started to make me feel superior subconsciously before having to take a step back. I always remind myself of my first year working in a park and witnessing a woman push her five year old into a push, telling him to pee. As soon as I saw it, I hurried over and pointed out the bathroom twenty feet away, but she ended up just yelling at me about how I didn't know what it's like to have kids. All that aside, thank you for the great photos of an amazing park (I can't get enough of it), and I'm glad you were able to see past the few frustrating things and not let them ruin your visit. Your Trip Reports "tell it like it is" which is what makes me appreciate them.

I can't wait to see all of the improvements the park is making for 2017. A lot of the time, a more comfortable environment is better than a new ride or slide. Check out the video .

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 wouldn't be at all surprised if they close the park in anticipation of the fact that they'll probably lose money by opening that day. If they open I don't really expect any coasters to run, they push the limits to the max but 15 degrees is pretty extreme. You won't be at all surprised then.

Yup! I think it's awesome that they're doing that, so that should be a choice night to visit!

While the park was originally scheduled to be open through January 1st, it will now be open on January 2nd (2-8pm that day only). So make sure you drop off all of your ten year olds, twelve year olds, and fourteen year olds to rampage through the park.

^I hadn't made it to that part of the park yet, but I know that they have been still adding things and making improvements during the week to make the event as good as possible.

With those questions, I would not listen to anyone else's answers on TPR, even me (and heck, I was even in Guest Relations for a couple years). I know the answers to some of your questions, but they're complicated. Obviously the last thing you would want would be to have confusion when you get to the park to have fun. So, I would do one of two things: 1. You can call and speak with a Guest Relations Team Member seven days a week (Monday through Friday 9:00-5:00 or Saturday & Sunday when the park is open). Their number is 636-938-5300 option 1. 2. If you don't need to know within the next few days, I highly suggest sending a web comment to Guest Relations by following this link. This will allow them to fully answer your question by email when they get a chance, which also saves you from having to possibly wait to speak to them on the phone.

While Dave was still park president, we would have lunch or just meet and talk at least once a week. We talked a few times about what you could do with lighting around the park. My favorite Cedar Fair park lighting area would have to be the gemini midway (see below). However, if I think about it, I'd rather see lighting become a five year plan type thing, which would focus that money for the next few years on other things in the park.