teacherkim

Bins would be easiest. I totally forgot about the plastic bins on Ninja, not having ridden it in a while since I dislike concussions

They were not using them on SV at CP last summer but that is the only "pouch ride" I was on.

Exactly. There has never been a statewide mask mandate in MO (although there has been one in STL county) and SFSTL has required and enforced them for everyone. They absolutely were still checking reservations at SFSTL in October and December, I was there.

I am just waiting to see if they are going to let people leave their stuff on the ride platform. That might turn into a serious headache for the ride ops.

Lol, thanks, so far it only seems to affect plans to Texas. Note to the Universe - that is NOT a challenge

Glad you had a fun day and that you chose to honor my request to not be tortured by pictures of beignets. I am still butt hurt that I missed out on those. But, seriously, shhhhhh........do not tell the Universe we are trying for a fourth time. You will make it angry. Two of our cancelled trip happened less than 24 hours before we were to get on the plane. Hopefully, 4th time is a charm and the boy won't have any trouble getting off work that weekend. I think it will be fine SFSTL is pretty good about that as long as you put in the request early enough and it isn't a holiday.

We MIGHT be in the area May 16th -18th. If you like to hike then definitely stay in Gatlinburg, still a short drive into Pigeon Forge and near several trailheads for hiking.

SW has extended our tickets (that were purchased almost a year ago now) until the end of 2021, then of course if I want to upgrade to passes at the park I am free to do so. More than fair in my opinion so score one for good customer service.

Don't wear yourself out Bert! IF we actually make it down on April 10 for the "big event" I expect you to be there Glad you had a fun day.

So, since we have had to reschedule Texas coaster trips for covid. And snowstorms. And then park closures/power outages/water problems. We are going to do something kind of crazy when the park is open during the week of March 15th. On that Tuesday the 16th we are going to hop an early flight, go right from the airport to the park, do the day, crash at a hotel and get up early the next morning to fly home and take the boy right to school. Any suggestions on a unique local breakfast joint between Love Field and the park? If not any old I-Hop or Waffle House will do but though I would ask.

Apparently, at the moment, they are not planning on requiring lockers at the rides that previously required them; they are available but not required. No idea if they will allow people to leave stuff other than drinks on the platforms around the drink holders. IF this goes forward I suspect it is mostly because of cost cutting/reducing staff (or maybe worried about having enough staff) as it would eliminate the need for a ride op at the ride entrance, but the reason is just speculation on my part. I am curious if this is just a SFSTL thing or chain wide.

Just so you all know and for future reference. Customer service responded in a couple days to my email and immediately refunded my quick queues. Since the tickets that I bought a year ago are about to expire, but under the current weird circumstances, and because we will probably visit sometime in April or May as well as I now know we will be in FL in Dec and go to SWO and BGT; I asked if there was any way to upgrade to season passes without actually being in the park. I was asked to email copies of my tickets and they are "looking into it" So......part 2 to be continued.

I feel like there is some distant memory way back in my head, but I cannot come up with it. Maybe I am getting too old or maybe I am imagining what I don't really know, lol.

For sure! I get frustrated too. The point I (and I think Bert) were trying to make is that the park shouldn't be judged solely on new additions. Or more correctly, lack thereof.

But most average people aren't going to travel far and wide just to go to an amusement park outside of the Orlando (and maybe CP) bubble. They go to parks if they are there and doing something else and it's convenient. I cannot tell you how many times I mention a park we've visited to a co worker and they had no idea it even existed.

And to support what Bert is saying, I am not sure if everyone realizes the commitment the park has made to the refurbishing of the carousel. We saw the whole process at the ACE event back in September. They are so proud of what they are doing; not just to save a ride but one of true historical importance that they dragged out 3 of the horses in progress for a group of maybe 30 - 40 people and went through an extensive demonstration of how the refurb will work. No it's not a revolutionary new ride or a new coaster but it is a commitment to the future of the park and the amusement park industry as a whole. The cheapest and easiest thing would have been to scrap it. Also, they are educating the public about the history involved. We would all love lots of shiny new rides and to have had some massive new stuff to celebrate the 50th anniversary. If what I was told about the original plan for this year would have been able to come to fruition you all would have lost your minds. But.. The virus happened, the parks lost money and what resources they have are of course going to go to the higher profile parks with better attendance. It will take a few years to recoup the losses. Geographically, we just aren't a destination type place. As far as HW competition. There is no denying that HW is a great park , particularly when you throw in the waterpark. However, comparing the two is apples and oranges. SFSTL has a large metro area to draw from. It relies on season pass holders and residents within an hour or so making repeat trips throughout the year for the bulk of the attendance. HW is in the middle of a corn field. They have a different demographic. They need to draw people from a much broader area that find it worth while to drive there just for the park. Most people in St Louis are not getting season passes to HW when it is a 6 hour round trip, they just aren't, it's a once a year trip if that.

Just an fyi - customer service did respond to my email and were more than happy to allow me to use my quick queues on the new date, which would have been great. Unfortunately we had to cancel the trip because SFFT is closed, our event cancelled, and even the Alamo closed down. Was actually assuming yesterday that SW would close as well but apparently the band is playing on there. So, I responded to the response, explained the situation and asked if there was any other recourse (the tickets I bought last March are about to expire as well) I also inquired if I could upgrade to season passes now that I know I will probably be at SWO and BGT in Dec. I'll let you know what they say. Figured it couldn't hurt to ask:

You are all making too much sense about why the parks closed. I think it is actually a personal vendetta the universe has against me as a history teacher to never make it to the Alamo. I was cruelly denied entry 42 years ago by my parents and now each attempt I have made to go back has resulted in denial in the form of things like pandemics and 100 year snowstorms and such. See I got an email saying the Alamo was closing as well. That's what it's really about and no one will convince me other wise. Parks closing, pffft.....fake news! Remember it's all about the Alamo. In all seriousness I am super bummed that we have to postpone this trip yet again. I have cancelled or changed flights so many times with SW that's it ridiculous. Bert! We tried to get down there, will figure out a new plan once I am done pouting. At least I was able to get refunds or credit on most everything. (Not sure I am going to recoup my SW tickets that expire in a couple weeks but will sure try) And I even got my nails done in purple for Mardi Gras #deniedbeignets

No new rides confirmed at employee orientation. Park's 50th not mentioned, I am guessing that is just extremely bad timing with the virus. I think IF they had done some marketing the public would have taken notice even if it was a temporary bump. Sigh, too bad. I don't suppose there is any chance they will simply postpone some of those plans a year, like CP did with their 150th?

I know you are getting freakish weather for your neighborhood and I hopefully they don't mess with your power!! ...........BUT you have sun, haven't seen that for ages. The high in the Lou today was 5, with a wind chill of -14. We are getting about 7 inches of snow as well, right now as I look out the window it is snowing sideways. And we are getting more snow on Wednesday, but good news it is looking good for us to get out of here Friday morning and the current forecast for Saturday in San Antonio is almost 55 degrees warmer than it is here right now. Day 10 of below freezing weather.

Exactly. I am 5' 1" and sit so far below the restraints that I was jammed up into them with my shoulders. Being so short I have had the head banging issue on several different rides. Thankfully I have a hard head.

I will but not too worried. They were open today but I checked the website and several rides were closed and then park closed rest of the weekend, so I'm thinking even if I don't get hold of them they will honor the QQ's.

I'm curious. Did they say anything about the restraints on MM changing? They alluded that was a possibility when we had the Q & A there back in November. And I think I still have bruises on my shoulders.

So I tried calling multiple times and multiple numbers and could not get anyone to answer or even be able to leave a message. Just a recording at the main published number that wait times were really long and please email. I am guessing with all the weather woes they are completely inundated. I did send an email with all the info and inquiry if we could transfer quick queue or get a refund and repurchase for the correct date. Will let you guys know if I get an answer. If I do not, then will just go straight to guest services when I get there and see if they will help me out, and just for s**ts and grins I will ask what the cost to upgrade to a pass would be since we now think it is likely we will be in FL in Dec to hit SWO and BGT. Thankfully my ticket and parking were not date specific and cancelling and rebooking the reservation took like 5 minutes.

Yep. This is the view from my bedroom window. And we will be under a wind chill advisory starting 6 pm tonight - Monday morning with snow Sunday night and more on Wednesday. Right after I took this I went out into the frozen tundra and unfroze the water in the bird bath and refilled the feeders and I had flocks of grateful birds all over the place. I cannot tell you what the thought of 60 or 70 degrees feels like. Not supposed to get above freezing here for another week.