teacherkim

I don't care that much one way or another about a gaming lounge but I do wish the arcades were actual arcades again instead of just a collection of claw machines with one guitar hero and one air hockey table thrown in. I miss pinball. I think you are correct. There's never been an issue with any of our benefits and apparently lots of people that should have gotten this email did not.

I think you are correct. There's never been an issue with any of our benefits and apparently lots of people that should have gotten this email did not.

Hmmmm. Interesting. I did not get an email. Went in once again and updated my email address, which I have done multiple times including in person once at the park. Let's see if it takes this time since my original email was eliminated almost two years ago when I retired from teaching. Also, when poking around on the portal it did not list lunch/dinner/snack as a benefit, only unlimited drinks. I know there was some talk last year about the dining changing but at least as late as October we still had it. Did something change or is that just a mistake on the benefits page............because it's not like I would have seen an email or anything since I never get them anymore

I really wish they would move the Turkey leg smackdown, even when the masses are behaving themselves the line almost always cuts across the midway and people walking in and out of the area have to go through the line. Terrible setup.

Just as an fyi to those that aren't aware or didn't already see. According to the ACE summary of No Coaster Con in January, the following was confirmed, by Katy Enrique regional marketing director for SFOG, SFSTL, and SFGAm and John Krajnak park president: John Krajnak will indeed be the Park President for BOTH SFGAm and SFSTL. Will be interesting to see how that works out and how much time he spends in each park The SFSTL Grand Carousel refurb will be finished this year with the intent to open by National Carousel Day, July 25, 2023 There will be a new attraction for 2023 in the former go-kart area, it will be for families with small kids. No other details but updates will be coming. Discuss or not at your leisure.

This. The park did NOT want it to end this way after the intense refurb. They tried their best but it just wasn't to be in the end. I have never ridden Excalibur because unfortunately neither covering my entire body in scopolamine patches and/or swallowing a case of dramamine would allow me to experience this without disasterous "Sandlot" level effects to myself and those around me; however I do recognize the historic rarity of this type of ride and sorry for all the fans of it, and would be fans who wanted to ride but never got the chance.

I know I'm late here but just been catching up. You always impress me with how thorough your trip reports are, I'm way too lazy to devote the time and effort I know goes into these. I am truly hoping it's been therapeutic to work on this. While I haven't ridden Ride to Happiness yet, if it was one of your favorites you really have to meet Joel and I at SDC sometime to ride Time Traveler. While it's my understanding that RtH is more intense they are the exact same ride vehicles and steampunk theme. TT doesn't have the slow roll out of the station but the station exit is pretty awesome in a different way! Also, small point of geography order. That was the North Sea you were enjoying on the coast of Belgium not the Atlantic Ocean. Sorry. It's the former teacher in me. I. Cannot. Control. It. You know I love you beyond words!!

Well it confirmed what we have basically known for a year, but now we will have to deal with a whole new round of "they're ruining the park/my childhood/things should never change" a la Splash Mountain, even though the decision is made. It's already starting on FB and I'm sure the change.org petition is coming soon. I can't take it, lol! If the new mystery building is FITH 2.0 I wish they would announce that asap in an attempt to quiet some of the inevitable ruckus. That being said we will use our free tickets from Coaster Christmas to stop by one day this season and say an official good bye. I wonder how long until Flooded Mine follows? It's probably in worse shape than FITH, although not as iconic.

No idea about VD, sorry, I would agree unlikely due to Mardi Gras. I will tell you to utilize single rider for Hagrid's (although that cuts out the pre-show) because there are no row requests anyway, but it isn't really helpful for VC. Have fun!

Gotcha. I was just curious.

Do you just hate pre-shows or that one in particular? And if it's just that one, why? No argument, I'm just curious.

Hmmmm, interesting. We rode it for the first time last Friday. Got two rides in with two different songs and I had just the opposite experience, fine on Ratatouille and F of P but bothered a bit both times by Cosmic Rewind. Frankly we were a bit underwhelmed but that may have been just due to it being overhyped. I like Guardians of the Galaxy and it was well themed but as far as the story I enjoyed Misssion Breakout at DCA much much more.

The park is starting to hire for the season. Potential hires can sign up on line or there will be a job fair this Saturday...........as you all know they were understaffed all of last year. They will hire as young as 15, although ride ops have to be 16....................so if you have teen family members or neighbors get the word out. Properly staffing the park is in my opinion the number one most important thing they can do right now to improve the guest experience. Training should begin in March.

Went to the OI meetup last weekend. The description is pretty self explanatory, basically had everything open other than the couple things down for refurb, the water rides in toon lagoon (which it was too cold for anyway) and some of the bigger shows. The tickets do get you in at 5, so 3-4 hours before park close. There was a crazy amount of food included and my son took it as a personal challenge to see how much free butterbeer he could drink over the two night event, plus each participant got a $15 food voucher card for each night to use in the parks or citywalk before the start of the included food which began an hour after close. Everything was a walk on during the entirety of the event with the exception of Pteranodon Flyers which was done by a lottery virtual queue so no guarantee on that for those of you without kids trying to get that credit and Hagrid's which ran about a 20-30 min wait. They were running the preshow for Hagrid's which is the first time in approximately 10 days worth of visits since it opened that we have ever seen it. I asked several team members why it didn't normally run and got a different answer every time, some contradictory of each other, so my conclusion is ......no one really knows, lol. Happy to answer questions if anyone has any.

Not rough but way colder than normal the first couple days. Although we did run into some rough seas for small craft in Roatan that messed with the fishing/snorkeling excursions. Royal Caribbean built a brand new terminal there that is pretty efficient, nice, and high tech. It was fine. Not going every year but we did spend New Years weekend there. It was socked in with fog much of the weekend but we got Iron Shark and Boardwalk Bullet while we were there, don't need to make a special trip for either of those again either although Bullet was by far the better of the two; ate at some great seafood places, toured a couple of really nice old homes, had some nice walks on the beach. I mean it wasn't the most amazing place I've ever been but it didn't suck for a few days. Still warmer than it was here.

Thanks! We did. Although took us two days cruising south out of Galveston before we found the warm weather

Well these two posts are kind of the whole point. Zach is absolutely correct that at the moment the park is pleasing enough people to not have to make big additions. Billie also has a point and that situation could change at some future point if they have evidence there would be a good enough roi......................time will tell. As I have stated before, I have it on very good authority that the RMC conversion was in the books until the virus that shall not be named hit. I still think they would get the most bang for their buck in guest satisfaction for the short term if they could improve staffing issues. I will be interested to see what if anything the new park President, whoever that poor sod is, does once they get the mantle of command. Anyway we are out of here to warmer climates tomorrow for about 10 days. Plane due to leave at 10 am so we will literally be getting out in the nick of time, fingers crossed. Enjoy arguing and speculating while I'm gone and I hope everyone has a Happy whatever holiday you do or don't celebrate!

We were there Dec 18-22 last year. It was packed. While I appreciate anyone living within their means, truly not being snarky, IF there is anyway you can swing express for even a day it will make for a much better experience. However, if you just can't do it then like others stated prioritize your top 5 or so rides. I would rope drop VC if you need that credit, most people will run to Hagrids first and then if you do Hagrids later, use single rider. There are no row requests on it anyway. If you haven't seen the Bourne Stuntacular show go, even if you aren't a show person. Express not really needed there anyway. And I would be prepared to go balls to the wall from open until close with minimal breaks.

I get that you weren't making a direct comparison to SFGadv I was just trying to make a point that being further south didn't guarantee better weather and that a number of factors go into making an event worthwhile. I personally think they would be more likely to bring it back to SFAM before St. Louis since A) they have a much bigger population and B) they are much more equipped for the cold, IF it was happening here this year I can assure you based on predicted temps they would NOT be open on Dec 22 & 23. Two days that should be high attendance being right before the holiday and all schools out by then. And while ATL may have unpredictable weather, as does 90% of the country, it still runs a solid 10-15 degrees warmer than STL. Sorry I still don't buy that they will run an event that loses money on the possibility they will make up the difference in pass sales. The GP may care but they were not showing up in huge numbers and/or staying for very long per more than one park employee I have spoken with. I do agree that they are at a crossroads as to what to do regarding more pass holders and better attendance. I can tell you that hours were cut because of lack of staffing. The park cannot get enough workers. I said before, and still believe, that increasing staffing (and therefore being able to offer longer hours, less closed rides, and more dining venues) would be the quickest way to increase guest satisfaction. But like the park itself I am at a loss at the moment as to how to solve the problem.

I'm happy for the Texas folks but yeah that would be nice for St Louis. Sigh. Could easily fit in our stupid derelict paintball field.

Well I would assume a world class operation like Universal will have thought of these things.......but assuming is always dangerous, lol.

I'm super curious to see how much move around room you will have. Like will there be screens on both sides and if you're fast can you go back and forth? And if so how much havoc are the kids that are running around going to wreak on everyone else's stability? I mean you know some stupid teen is going to try and find a spot to get off the walkway and/or try to go backwards and/or stay in there for an indefinite amount of time. I taught middle school for almost 30 years, they're extremely devious, lol.

I assume you're implying that means our weather is more cooperative? You do realize that weather is way more complicated than just how far north or south you are right? Jet stream dips, mountains, humidity, etc all have an affect. For example if you look at the weather forecast for Eureka, MO vs Jackson, NJ for the dates of 12/16,12/17,12/18,12/22, 12/23 (days SFSTL would almost certainly be open if having HITP) you will see that in STL it is predicted highs in the 30's lows in the 20's and the two days before Christmas highs in the 20's and lows around 10. Same dates in NJ are 10-15 degrees warmer. Plus the fact that NJ has the resources to add heaters to warm some of the trains and run more rides (at least that has been my understanding) to mitigate colder temps. I mean they just have more visitors and that makes it worthwhile. Also it's hard to justify running an event that loses money for the possibility that it generates enough pass profit to overcome that deficit AND be profitable beyond that. While it might matter to some people it doesn't factor into my pass buying decisions and I can't believe I'm the only one. Putting money into infrastructure may not get people in the park BUT it does indicate an intention to keep the park in good operating order for years to come. And your statement about them losing money on your legacy diamond elite VIP pass doesn't mean anything. You are one person. For everyone like you there is a legacy diamond elite VIP member like me that has it for convenience and because the perks for other parks make it worth the price to me. I used it maybe 4 or 5 times in the last two seasons at SFSTL, my home park, but visited at least 5 other SF parks in that same time frame so I'm not sure what that has to do with the discussion. THIS! There are a whole lot of people that just consider it a regular local thing to do and never ever go to parks outside the area. I can't tell you how many people in my daily life are just astounded that we take trips just to visit other theme parks, much less an event like CoasterCon. I'm lucky, I love to travel and have the ability at this point in my life to do theme park trips as well as travel to other destinations, but most people can only do a vacation once a year or so and with the exception of maybe the obligatory Disney trip once with their kids just aren't going to spend their limited time and money just going to theme parks, unless one they've heard of is in the location they are going to. To them if you want to go to a park SFSTL is right here.

Why do you think STL would be first in line? Not trying to be argumentative, I'm just curious why you think that. The ride op that lives in my house said that rides were not all that popular most nights and they just didn't appear to be getting the crowds to make a profit.

We legit got lost in the Dollywood parking lot once (we were there for an early entry event and had to park in a specific lot) and I use to teach Geography.............