parkjunkie

A little useless fact about Batman's opening day... Work was a tad behind and construction crews and maintenance crews worked around the clock the last 24 hours before it opened.... The asphalt in the area was poured and steamrolled just hours before the park opened

That flood was over a month ago.... and no, not even close

If I remember right, a remodel of the entrance plaza was planned a couple of seasons ago when Dave was still Park President. Not so sure anymore, but I would think it still is, at least somewhat. I think it was talked about in this thread at some point. Back around 2009, 2010, 2011, there was a BIG plan. Starting with metal detection getting a permanent pavilion type structure. Then a new building to house season pass processing with its own entrance to the park, then upgraded Guest Relations, Ticket Booths and Front Gate. They also would have repaved all asphalt and concrete from Metal Detection all the way up through the front mall... if memory serves correct, i think a small sliver of catering grove would have needed a little modification to accommodate for the season pass processing building. The only thing I can't remember was if the large fountain by metal detection was to stay, go, or get modified. I know there was serious talk about it at that time, I'm just not sure if it even ever made it on blue prints. The idea has floated around some more in recent years, but again, not quite sure how deep into thought it has gone

Here is a cropped photo of how well it would fit across from the Palace near the Train Station

I've been saying for years to move the Carousel in front of the Palace closer to the train station. There'd still be room on both sides for landscaping and decorating for the seasonal events... I even brought it up to corporate years ago when they were in town for a town hall meeting. I was told that was a good idea to be looked in to... I guess in one ear and out the other since it's been 8 or 9 years since I asked.

Six Flags will NEVER buy Mt. Olympus nor would Mt. Olympus sell to them

Ive been to the Dells over 30 times since 1986... it is NOTHING like it used to be. Don't get me wrong, there's still a few decent attractions left... The Original Ducks, The Upper and Lower Boat Tours, the Wisconsin River and Lake Delton, Tommy Bartlett, Pirate's Cove, Noah's Ark, and some of the Down Town area. The problem that has drug the Dells downward so much, and I don't mean to sound politically incorrect in any way, but the amount of foreigners who have set up camp and opened the repeating crap shops, restaurants, and attractions... the biggest one of all, the Laskaris family who owns Mt. Olympus. Then instead of investing money into the park, the company, safety, and customer service, they have been spending every penny they make in to buying up every hotel and now some restaurants on the strip. The quality of service at these locations thus went in to a downward spiral. Then, the good wholesome American tradition of a vacation spot went down the sh!tter, thus leaving them to have to lower the prices to keep business coming. When you lower prices, you invite a less pleasant clientele... then basically the whole area goes to sh!t. Its such a damn shame too, the Dells was where I spent every summer family vacation, and its no longer anything like it used to be. Don't get me wrong, we still go from time to time, but only for 2-3 days, thats all we can handle anymore. Places like Wilderness, Great Wolf, and Kalahari still have a large higher end clientele, but that is because these resorts have enough to offer that you never have to leave into the madness in the rest of the Dells if you dont want to. Thanks Laskaris family, you have destroyed the Dells

Expect slow ride ops which results in long wait times... luckily you're going in the middle of the week which should help a little, but not much... and also, expect A TON OF LINE JUMPING

Disney really hit a home run with this show, incredible

When I heard about the Mardi Gras stuff coming a few eeks ago, I thought, "Sh!t, now I have to go back on TPR and say how I put my foot in my mouth".... never thought they'd do it... but to be fair, they are 4 to 5 months late with it, I truthfully don't get it, especially during the time of year they are holding it, right around the 4th of July.... IMO, sooo stuuupid

And we'll be waiting another 50 years and 1000 pages just to get ANY type of non-clone steel

The following parks I've gone to as a loner... SFSTL, Holiday World, Mt. Olympus, SFGAm, SDC, and WoF. IMO, there's pros and cons to it. The pros - you can do what you want, when you want, and at your own pace. Single riders have less wait times. You get to mingle and meet new people... And as an enthusiast you can get a chance to just sit back and take in the atmosphere without worrying about wasting other people's time. The cons is it can sometimes get a little lonely, getting paired up on rides with annoying people, and have no one to split the parking fee with lol. Overall, I don't mind going to a park alone, as long as it's a park I've already been to with someone else.

Can't say I appreciate the video one bit considering how many times he had his camera out on the ride....

When going through metal detection inform them that you have insulin with you. Bring it in a small lunch cooler/ container with an ice pack or collie in it. Then, go to First Aid where you can keep it there and go back if and when you need it throughout the day.

It is in fact going to be a new building, in training they said it is being built in the grassy area between the tiki bar and the main food court. I'm stunned. It's almost like they're serious about improving food service. something like that.... thats all I'll say

Of course Goliath's layout was designed for specifically for SFoG, that's common sense. In 2004, SF Corporate had plans drawn up for SFSTL's own layout of Goliath at that park. As plans were moving forward, corporate last minute in 2004 had plans drawn up for SFoG Goliath concept as well and went that route... The way St Louis locals talk about this, they make it sound like the track was already on its way to St Louis and they re-routed the truck to Georgia. Plans change all the time, we're just not aware of them. If anything SF made the right decision as SFOG is the more profitable park. That's not exactly a true statement. Yes SFoG may have more attendance, but more times than not, SFSTL is more profitable than SFoG... actually, many times more than 2/3 of the other SF parks.... not always, but more. Attendance and profit are 2 different monsters. Just because a park has 100s of thousands more visitors than another, does not make it more profitable, if anything, larger parks have a greater chance of having a non profitable season than a smaller park. But I see where confusion can come in, I used to think the same way until I saw numbers year after year.

Of course Goliath's layout was designed for specifically for SFoG, that's common sense. In 2004, SF Corporate had plans drawn up for SFSTL's own layout of Goliath at that park. As plans were moving forward, corporate last minute in 2004 had plans drawn up for SFoG Goliath concept as well and went that route... On to other news, hiring is still ongoing, positions to be filled, departments always looking for help. Its never too late to apply, so if you or anyone you know wants some extra cash working 40+ hours a week or even part time, apply today. Park is looking good and with a few trees already blooming, its starting to feel like the park is ready to go. Spinsanity is looking good and moving quickly.

And I can't argue with that either coasterbill. That's just it, a gimmick, and with St. Louis offering the 2nd biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the U.S., prozach's argument just sums it up to a T.

While it is a stretch, everyone said Holiday in the Park wouldn't happen in colder regions either... until it happened. Then they said they wouldn't run the coasters... until they did. This argument doesn't hold up. Personally I don't see them opening in February in the near future but that "cold weather" argument means nothing at this point. I completely understand your thought process and where you are coming from. HITP was always an option and was just a matter of time before it came to our park... truthfully, I thought it would have been way sooner, rumors were that it was supposed to be years ago that SFSTL got it and anyone who thought SFSTL would never get HITP is just a damn fool. But Mardi Gras is different, it's nowhere near the size of an event like Christmas, and its a week or 2 long event where HITP is during the holiday season which is about 6 weeks long. Trust me when I say it won't happen here, at least not for a LOOONG while. In order for it to happen her, at least during the actual Mardi Gras time period, the other parks would have to show that its beyond huge and profitable.

I think the Mardi Gras concept is a neat idea, but I don't ever see it happening for SFSTL, like earlier stated, the park would have to open in February... that just won't happen, and that goes for the other parks in the colder regions. Six Flags does ever other ideas up their sleeves for other events, most of them are sub par and cheesy ideas, but it shows that they are starting to think outside the box a little bit more.

This is the location and placement. The back end of the ride actually goes in to the employee back area a little bit and the angle cuts off where that entire path cuts through, so I don't see that path being accessible

Spinsanity is in place on its pad already and looks good!!!! They moved quick. Now lets see how long everything else takes.....

Knoebels. As usual, the answer is Knoebels. Other parks in the U.S. have good food (Busch Gardens Tampa / Dollywood / Silver Dollar City / Universal / Epcot) but if you want food that's both good and affordable then Knoebels is pretty much in a class of it's own. I can't agree more. I rarely eat at parks, but when at the Orlando parks, you dont have much of an option. Usually, the food is pretty good at Disney, not so much this time... Truthfully, I saw and experienced quite a few things at Disney this time around that I was disappointed about. I encountered rude, even pushy employees, numerous areas that were in desperate need of trash cleanup, employees that were congregated and not working (just like Six Flags employees), rides not running at capacity, rides/ attractions that did not open until an hour after the rest of the park, lack of characters, subpar food.... It just seems like Disney is starting to cut corners because they know they can because they know people will come and visit regardless.

Yes, it was a bit of a disappointment to not have 80* weather all 3 days. Luckily the cooler weather was only the first day and was mainly in the morning. By the time we left later in the week, temps were in the upper 70's. Either way, I was able to break out shorts and t-shirts for some of the trip, so overall I was happy.

All I know is my weather app said when we got up that day at 7am is that it was 39*... was that the official temp, probably not, but it definitely was cold... for Florida standards