MikeC65

Yes you must have the pass with you. However, you can input your pass number into the Six Flags mobile app, and then you no longer need the physical pass if you show it on your phone.

Where is the new chicken restaurant? Two park employees told a friend of mine yesterday that it didn't exist.

No, it's not. Plus, a 6 hour round trip requires a weekend to make it worthwhile. SFStL is a local thing; we can go on the spur of the moment and just stay a little while. HW is a planned trip, isn't worth it for a one day trip, and is a significant expense if you do a sat/sun trip because hotels in the area are pretty expensive. No $40 a night Red Roof Inns there. That's insane. We live 3 hours from SDC. We NEVER have to stay overnight. We get to the park by 10am and usually close the park. I guess if you are used to settling for an inferior product then it's no big deal. So you're leaving at 7am (which means you're getting up at what, 6am?) and staying 'til the end, then driving another 3 hours and getting home at what, 1am or 2am? If that works for you, great, but that's, what's the word you used? Insane. I don't think Six Flags needs to consider that kind of trip anything most people would do regularly.

No, it's not. Plus, a 6 hour round trip requires a weekend to make it worthwhile. SFStL is a local thing; we can go on the spur of the moment and just stay a little while. HW is a planned trip, isn't worth it for a one day trip, and is a significant expense if you do a sat/sun trip because hotels in the area are pretty expensive. No $40 a night Red Roof Inns there.

And in more exciting SFStL news, the TV's in the JLBfM queue were back on as of Wednesday.

They were on last week except for the one in the first queue room (it's not really needed since it will loop a minimum of two times in the second room). Maintenance might have forgotten to enable them in the morning as the are separate from Cyborg's audio and movement and the main screens and audio in the loading area. They were also off on Saturday.

We did that Mother's day weekend on Sunday. Problem was, the food had obviously been sitting out so long that it wasn't very fresh.

Not at all. Hypercoasters make much more sense at regional theme parks. But, they still attract only a subset of the general public, and I think JL is attracting more new guests than a hypercoaster would have. Having said that, I was really responding to the discussion above where, again to heavily paraphrase, some people were wishing that rides like JL or the VR re-theming of Ninja, would just go away.

While it's an interesting discussion, the talk about VR and simulator rides, and how (to paraphrase) they aren't really rides compared to roller coasters, shows exactly how disconnected from the reality of running a theme park enthusiasts are, whether it's a regional park like Six Flags or a monster like Universal Orlando. The fact that JLBfM always has huge lines compared to anything else in the park (yes, I'm sure they'd be a bit shorter if the loading process was more efficiently implemented, but still, it's obvious that the ride is a huge hit), even with all the problems with the ride and the fact that the ride is in its second year, shows what it is that the general public is interested in. And while waiting in line for it I frequently overhear people talking about how great it is that Six Flags has a family-friendly new ride like JL instead of another one of those huge roller coasters that the kids can't ride and the adults are afraid of. Yes, I have overheard variations on this conversation many many times while in line. Now, by no means am I saying that giant thrill rides are a bad idea as many people like them too. But the idea that high tech rides that use simulation technology instead of, for want of a better phrase, practical effects are to be put down and hoped to go away is utterly divorced from the real world. The non-enthusiast, general public LOVES these kinds of rides. They aren't going anyplace, nor should they. The fact that the monster parks like Disney and Universal are relying on them more and more shows what non-enthusiasts want. These parks are in business to get maximum attendance, they have monster budgets, and they will use them to build what they think will attract the maximum number of people. How many giant roller coasters does WDW have? Well, I certainly wouldn't call the Rock'n Roller Coaster anything particularly dramatic, and it's the biggest one there. And what kind of coaster did Disney recently build when they wanted to expand? A hypercoaster on a DIsney budget? Nope. The "7 Dwarves Mine Train". That's right, they figured they'd get maximum attendance from a large-scale kiddie coaster. Universal, which markets itself as edgier than Disney, has a whopping four large coasters, none of which are hypercoasters and two of which are larger versions of B&M's Batman. The fact is, a large percentage of the general public is frightened by large coasters and doesn't consider them a reason to go to a theme park at all. VR, simulator, 3-D glasses, etc. provides a unique experience that can be infinitely customized and, more importantly, doesn't frighten people. I'd love love love to see a hypercoaster at SFStL but I'm not deluding myself into thinking that building JLBfM was not a much smarter investment of a large amount of funds.

Not sure what food line you were on but we got to JB's at about 6pm. The line was relatively short and we got our food in a timely manner. No problems. The lines for rides were definitely long but that's because the park was crowded. Nothing struck me as unusual.

Installing fans for hot days: good. Not turning them on: bad. Fans at Fireball queue

Software upgrade, hardware upgrade, or both?

They should be feeling the heat, HW just added the world's first launched wing coaster (which I hear is awesome), and SDC is supposed to be getting a major B&M next year. SFSTL really needs a new steel coaster to keep up with the competition. Problem is, HW and SDC are willing to drop 20+ million for a single attraction while Six Flags is not. It'll be interesting what they decide to install because I dont think an S&S 4D will be enough to compete with Thunderbird and/or whatever B&M SDC has in store. This was discussed in detail a while ago. Six Flags draws mostly a local crowd. I and my family go out there because it's fun, close, we have paid for admission passes, and having paid for meal passes, we get a whole day's food at no additional charge. Sure, I might have in the back of my mind, "boy, I wish SFStL had that wing coaster that Holiday World has!" But you know what? I'm definitely NOT thinking "well, if I drove 400 miles round trip instead of 60 miles round trip, and then coughed up admission for four, I could ride a better coaster!" I don't have the time or money to do that. So Six Flags it is. The other parks are too far away and too much additional money for more than once a year, if even that. There isn't as much competition as you think.

Mr. Freeze is waiting for parts. There currently is no ETA for the parts or when Freeze will become operational again. Question: Since there only a few coasters of this design out there, what does the manufacturer do when parts specific to this coaster are needed? Do they fabricate them as required?

I didn't say there was something wrong with trees. I said rides, not trees, are the reason people come to a theme park. I like trees, but the original poster's point was pretty much that the area where Fireball and Boomerang are was better when it had fewer rides. And that's silly.

This post is fantastically silly. Yes, people do, in fact, go to a theme park to ride RIDES. If you'd like to sit under trees with no rides, I'm sure there's a local public park in your area with some benches and trees and no RIDES that can accommodate you nicely, and you'll save the admission fee, too. And by the way, bumper cars is also a carnival ride; they have 'em at most carnivals I've been to.

Depends on your definition of "eyesore". Personally I think it looks great compared to what used to be there. And as for "peaceful," I guess that's true if by "peaceful" you mean "nobody would go there because there's nothing worth riding".

Just arrived at the park. Walked into JB's at 3:15, and were third on line for lunch. Hopefully this is a good sign. On the other hand, the ice ran out on the Freestyle machines just as I walked up to them. Oh well, at least the drinks were working.

Now that we are close to opening day, I'm wondering if HWFan or some other park person in the know can tell me if the volume problem on JLBFM has been corrected. In short, the volume level of the entire ride, especially the Joker animatronic, was way way too low. This problem doesn't exist at the SFOT version, which is much louder and therefore much more effective. A Six Flags exec I ran into in the park last year (I don't know his name but it wasn't Dave) told me that they were well aware of that issue but that it wasn't just a matter of turning up the volume; the soundtrack needed to be rerecorded. I guess I'll see for myself next weekend, but I'm still wondering, any info on this?

He didn't say it was going to be in the same spot. If it was moved, where would they put it, I wonder?

Agree with the dining passes. They've added more places including the funnel cake stand finally. Will be glad when we can use them at all the parks. Defiantly worth the money as much as we go!!! Are you talking about the funnel cakes stand right before the entrance to Studio Backlot? Because funnel cakes have been available for snacks there for months now with the dining pass. Or you can pay $2 extra and get a funnel cake sundae. Six Flags just never updated the PDF listing the available snacks. But it's available -- had many calories as a result!

You know, I know that you only like roller coasters, but a lot of people, including me, don't think that JLBFM was a "buzz killer of an attraction." In fact, there are those who find it "exciting" and not in the least bit "unfortunate". But, I guess some people are just never pleased with anything.

If the ride was reopened in the same semi-functional state it was in when it closed (dim screens, targeting system mostly not working, Joker not working, targeting of the fog screen not working, volume way too low) that would be very disappointing.

Well don't leave us in suspense - - are all the problems fixed?

First off, this is not at all an argument, just a different point of view. Secondly, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Holiday World, so I'm not dissing them at all here. However, I'd have to agree with the notion that HW only has 2 world class coasters - though Raven clearly had its day, and has the hearts of most enthusiasts it seems. Voyage is one of the best coasters in the world - which would be the basis for defining it as world class - and Thunderbird is awesome as well, and easily one of the best, if not THE BEST Wing Coasters in the world. Personally,Raven is just Ok - a fun wooden coaster, but nothing special. I'd say Shivering Timbers is FAR more "world class" than it is! As for Legend... I guess I just don't see the attraction. Most of the people I was at Holiwood Nights with really like it, but I think it's VERY rough, and borders on Mean Streak difficulty when it comes to riding it. And this from somebody who loves the out of control experience that is The Voyage! I think the layout of Legend is fantastic, but the experience of riding it, even in the front seat, left a little to be desired for me. Again, to each their own. Not trying to flame anybody. I just wanted to speak up and acknowledge that not everybody feels The Legend is anywhere remotely near "world class." Still, Holiday World IS a world class park in my book, with many reasons for that! I just don't happen to think those two coasters, particularly The Legend is part of those reasons... Just to BRIEFLY jump in here... 1. I said that Splashin' Safari is a world class water park. It is. It is far better than STStL's HH. 2. As for the rides in HW's "dry" park, ditto what the above poster said, which is the point I was trying to make. 3. I was not at any time dissing HW. I live in St. Louis (well, St. Charles) and I've been to HW twice. I wouldn't have driven all that way if I didn't enjoy going there, and it is a fun park. Nonetheless, my opinion remains that only Voyage and Thunderbird qualify as "world class" (there's that phrase again!) That does not translate to "Raven and Legend suck." I also do not think that the other rides at HW are anything special. Again, that does not translate to "every ride at HW other than Voyage and Thunderbird sucks". They just don't offer anything unique. 4. We are planning another trip to HW next summer (no time to go this year) so that speaks for itself as to whether I think that HW is worth visiting. That is all.