Cameron Posted June 23, 2007 Author Share Posted June 23, 2007 ^ Funny you should ask about SFStl, I was just about to add those photos. I must admit that I didn't have super-high hopes for SFStl when I got there on Monday afternoon. I'm pretty down on SFGAm near me, and SFStl really doesn't look all that great from the expressway. However I got quite a present surprise when I actually walked through the gates. I arrived on Monday evening (around 7pm - two hours before the park closed), and the park was quite dead. The two things I was most looking forward to here was Batman The Ride (mirror image), and Mr. Freeze. I know I've ridden Batman a gazilion times, but it's such an awesome ride; and riding the mirror image is like riding it for the first time again! I also discovered that there was a new Gerstlauer spinning coaster for 2007. Since I had previously ridden (and enjoyed) one of these at the Mall Of America, I was l looking forward to trying this one. Now I will go on record and say that I hate the whole Tony Hawk marketing machine .. I genuinely have nothing against skating (just the opposite, I think it's really freaking cool), but Tony Hawk seems to have turned the whole thing into such a cliche. The irony is that a week later I found myself at SFGAm with my friends kid (+ a friend), watching the Towy Hawk machine in action! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Big Spin, but I did enjoy it. They have the video camera mounted in each car, so people can buy DVDs with a copy of them in the ride. Are these actual DVDs (with a menu and such), or just an AVI slapped on a disc? Interesting idea from a technology standpoint, but not a product that really appeals to me. Since I was by myself, I ended up riding with a mum and two kids - the younger one was very scared to ride. I was a little nervous for this kid (maybe 9 or 10), and he cried up the lift for for the first few turns; however soon he broke out into a big grin and really loved the ride. I only ride once, but I ran into the mum at the hotel the next morning and she told me they rode about 5 more times - so I guess the kid got over his fear! Anyway, the park itself is really nice. It reminded me a lot of SFGAm before "they" paved over everything. I mean sure it's not a hillside of trees, shade and loveliness; but the landscaping is nice, and it doesn't feel like a concrete jungle. The ops all seemed very good, and even on Tuesday (when it was much busier) I never waited more than about 15 minutes (for Mr. Freeze). Overall it was a really fun visit, and SFStl is a surprisingly great park. OK .. travelog pictures time... On the Chicago Batman this final turn takes place over water. I like how they have dug a trench here, a nice foot-chopper. How many photos of a Batman are really needed? It's such a photogenic coaster, and really is one of my favorites. Zeeeerrrrrooooo Gggggggeeeeee! No-wonder loops make Derek horny, they are gorgeous! Batman is a mirror image from the one we all know and love. Something that must not be forgotten is that the queue is too! Oh yes .. The train is launched out of the station. I was totally enjoying the transfer-track action (I'm an engineer, remember!). Would be awesome to watch two trains dancing around in there. Do the lights in the station dim intentionally, or does the launch really draw that much current?? Taken from the ferris wheel - I really don't know why it looks so photo-shopped. This is of course, the end of the track. The train is given a nudge further up the spike just before it stalls out. Now that I've finally ridden Mr. Freeze, I finally understand Bootlegged Cheeseburger! The dense structure of the top-hat makes it difficult to take a good photo, however it certainly adds to the onride experience. I couldn't count the number of head-choppers. Of course I also need to jump-for-joy at the fact that there's only lap-bars! MMmm .. Mr. Freeze. I think I might be a shuttle fan-boy, being that I really enjoy the Schwarzkopf's, V2, Tower Of Terror in Australia, and now Mr. Freeze. I'm really not a big shooting-dark-ride person, so I probably would have skipped this; however several people recommended it. It was fun, I will recommend it to others. Ugh .. In dealing with TPR I have heard many references to Vekoma Death Machines - none of the ones I've ridden have ever lived up to the name, until Ninja .. WOW .. this was impressively bad. I had several major kicks to the head before the train even engaged the lift.. [ shudder ] An example of some of the nice landscaping. Little things like this dotted around parks really make a big difference. A really not all that fun Arrow mine train .. not painful at all, just extra-meh. That's the Boss, I did it. Actually I was pleasantly surprised by this thing. Sure it was rough, but I didn't find it painful. It's a good layout, and excellent location. I got several rides in a row, in the back seat, before the park closed on Monday evening. The awesome Superman drop tower. It's an interesting theme for a giant drop, since I don't recall Superman ever plummeting to the ground. I found it interesting that the cars drop one at a time (rather than all together) - something I've always thought would greatly enhance these rides. Screamin' Eagle: A fun older wooden coaster. Now normally I'm a sucker for these old rides, but everything that makes an old wooden coaster fun had been updated on Eagle. The result was a slightly rough and not terribly thrilling out-n-back. Not bad as such, but a little less than I was hoping. And this is a swinging ship! Fun to think that they're on the way to some fair where they will entertain all these people. I wonder if these have logs, so their progress can be tracked. Would be interesting to see how far these rides travel. On the drive down I passed by three carnival rides .. this is one of them. Possibly a falling star, or inverter type of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Maybe it's the angle of the picture but that last picture of BTR really looks like a rider's foot could hit those plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riccoaster Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Nice Photo TR this really helps me for my missouri trip in 2008! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted June 23, 2007 Author Share Posted June 23, 2007 In closing I just want to add that this was an excellent trip. I was genuinely surprised by how great it was, all three parks, and all of the rides (even the bad ones .. I mean Ninja is bad!). Many people commented that they're thinking of heading to Branson, to them I say "get off your arses and get down there!". Seriously, it's worth the trip. As for the question of SDC or Dollywood, I think I will give the nod to SDC. Partly because I think SDC is more complete, but mostly because it's just a little embarrassing telling people you're going to Dollywood! So thanks for sticking with this more-than-a-little dry trip report - I have enjoyed reading all your comments. Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoosh Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Maybe it's the angle of the picture but that last picture of BTR really looks like a rider's foot could hit those plants. No you can kick the plants -- I have done it before here and after the second corkscrew. Told the employees about it and it didn't even phase them. However they were busy talking about their party last night and not paying attention the stacking trains so I do not think they were too interested in anything that a "paying" customer had to say. (actually I got in free with my SP) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Great TR Cameron! Really glad you did the cave tour! That makes the whole park! (Along with some of the food!) Ask me about the vertical stairway in there sometime!! I'm also not surprised that you liked the OzCat! It's my #3 wooden coaster! I love it!! And... Welcome to Ninja - The Black Eye of coasters!!! JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axman Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 I'm happy to see that SFStL is a nice park. I alway thought of it as discouraged and run-down. I heard bad things about Screamin' Eagle, horrable things about Ninja (which, if it's anything like SFOG's, is totaly justified), and moderately-bad things about the Boss. If I were to go there before reading this TR, I would have only been looking forward to Batman, Mr. Freeze, S:TOP, and Excalibur. Also, I noticed the wonderful themeing on the River King Mine Train. Did anyone else notice the mini mine cars near the top of the picture? Now I can add this park to my extremely-long list of parks I need to visit! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob O Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Excellent report!!!!! I'm going to SDC and Celebration City the end of July so seeing your report just makes it seem that we will have a great time, I loved Dollywood last year so I cant wait for this visit!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Wonderful TR! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your time in Missouri. We do have some great places to visit here. I agree with you on SDC, it's one of the best parks that there is. I go there more every year than I do SFStL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzCatter Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 I'm serious though, Boss would be about 10 times better nowadays if they would just replace the trains! Good to see my home parks though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shesaidboom Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Great TR Cameron! I never really paid much attention to SDC, but WOW it looks like an amazing park. I love all the attention to detail in the themeing. Besides great rides of course, that really makes a park for me. Because of your TR, Silver Dollar City is now on the top of my 'parks I must go to NOWWWW!!!' list. Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoosh Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Pretty pictures!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailBlazer Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Cameron did you visit Celebration City while you were there? Take a look at the first page of the trip report for your answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoosh Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 ^I'm blind I found what I was looking for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennywood!007 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Awesome Photo TR! The pictures are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotts04 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 To put it in simple terms this was an amazing Photo Tr. Thanks for Sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewheeled999 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Nice job. Like people have said, now I want to go to all those parks out in the northeast. Too bad I live in California, and my parents wouldn't go across the country for an amusement park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xxhershey818xX Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 2 words. Simply Amazing! Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vekoma Fan Boy Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 however real steam engines are just amazing. Never has a more true statement been said. Great TR! I wanna get out there now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chadley Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Great TR Cameron! Two parks that I really never get to see much of normally. Now, I want to get down there even more than ever. Thanks especially for the cave tour and CC coaster pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 great way to finish the report up dude that was awesome, Missouri is definitely on my wishlist because of this report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Ooh that Batman must've been odd to ride. Everything was opposite. Silver Dollar City looks amazing - I hope I can go there sometime soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealTinkerbell Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Great TR!! How I wish the roller coaster I worked on had the sign about obscene gestures. Today alone, I had to kick out 4 kids for flipping off the camera. I guess some parks are just smarter than others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownStreak Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Am I the only person that thinks that looks like a big condom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théo the little french Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 A little stupid question: Celebracion and Silver Dollard City are two different parks or they are one park? Great picks! I love the trains of Wild Fire, they are very beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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