Trip Report: Six Flags St. Louis (sorry, no pics :cry: )

[smells_like_team_disney]

First of all, I had every intention for this TR to be loaded with photos, but the doofus that I am forgot my camera! I would have bought another one but I was under a tight budget as it is and couldn’t afford one. With that said, a couple of friends and I decided to take the four-hour drive north to Six Flags St. Louis this past Saturday. I will make this TR short and sweet, listing the rides we rode in no particular order and concluding with my overall impressions of the park. Enjoy!

 

Ninja

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this so-called Vekoma death machine. Considering the reputation this coaster has, I was expecting a lot of head-banging, but didn’t receive much at all. We rode in the back and highly enjoyed this coaster. It did lag on the lift hill (thought the train was going to roll back!) but kept up speed pretty good throughout. Loved the head chopper right after the second inversion, and the helix was a great conclusion. We ended up riding twice in the back. 7/10.

 

Batman

One can never go wrong with a Batman clone, and this mirrored-image was no exception. I have to admit, it was a bit disorienting since I’m so used to the original layout, but a strong, classic B&M invert, nonetheless. 9/10.

 

Evel Knievel

This was the favorite coaster of the group and my first ride on a GCI woodie. To put it simply, this ride was amazing. From the first drop it never stalled and seemed to go faster towards the end. It vaguely reminded me of the awesomeness that was Ghostrider in its inaugural year. Let’s hope this coaster can pass the test of time. 9.5/10.

 

Log Flume

Having ridden longer and more elaborate flume rides, this one felt short and dated. There was some novelty to the two different intertwining flumes, but there was only one drop, which was at best 30 feet. I guess it does the trick if you want to ride a log flume, but I would strongly consider updating this part of the park with a longer, more drop-conscious flume. 6/10.

 

Mr. Freeze

This was my schizophrenic coaster experience of the trip. The launch was impressive and the climb up the vertical tower was nothing short of amazing. I loved the freedom of having lap bars instead of OTSR. Still, after getting off I had no desire whatsoever to experience this ride again. The coaster did lag some along the top hat and overbanked turn, but nothing to severely slow its pacing. A strong ride, but like I said, one that I didn’t care to ride again. 7/10.

 

Scooby Doo Ghostblasters

This was definitely the surprise ride of the trip. A great interactive shooting dark ride done extremely well, not just for a Six Flags but for any theme/amusement park. My friends and I got a marathon going towards the end of the day to see who can beat each other’s score. 9/10.

 

Screaming Eagle

This 32-year-old woodie had “classic” written all over it; classic color scheme, classic ride, classic setting. This coaster knew what it was and didn’t try to be anything else. It was a great, leisure ride across the park’s heavily-wooded back area with a few pops of air. Not too rough but rickety enough to know that your on a classic woodie. A satisfying ride experience. 8/10.

 

The Boss

Plain and simple, this coaster was rough and painful. The first drop held promise, but shortly after I just clung on to dear life. The helix of doom was one of the worst riding experiences I’ve had on any coaster. I really wanted to like this ride. Besides Mr. Freeze, it’s the one ride that dominates its area of the park. From the custom layout across the landscape to the 150 ft. drop, this coaster really looked promising. Not quite as rough as what Ghostrider has become, but sadly a close second. 5/10.

 

Tony Hawk’s Big Spin

Second favorite coaster of the trip. The sudden drops and tight turns really enhanced the spinning and made for a unique riding experience. And I was surprised how smooth the ride was. My only complaint is that it was over before we knew it. Still, another solid ride. 8.5/10.

 

River King Mine Train

This ride was your common Arrow mine ride, nothing utterly amazing but a pleasant ride. I would put it a notch or two below Gold Rusher at SFMM. I did enjoy the sudden drop into the dark tunnel towards the end. 7/10.

 

Park Impressions

Having been to SFGAm and growing up with SFMM, and also knowing what other Six Flags were within a day’s drive (SFOT, SFOG, etc.), I wasn’t expecting too much from Six Flags St. Louis. I’ve passed it on my way to Chicago a number of times and the skyline has always seemed lacking. So basically, I was expecting the armpit of the Six Flags chain. Needless to say, I was beyond surprised to find a park that was clean, intimate, and full of charm. The employees we encountered were all very friendly. I never once saw a ride op or vendor on his/her cell phone. The one thing that I really appreciated is that whenever the steam train circled the park, all the employees would take the time to wave at the passing guests. And every time a coaster train came back into the station, the ride ops would enthusiastically ask if everyone had a great time. There was some basic wear-and-tear and minor maintenance issues. Some chipped paint and exposed wood rot on some older facades was visible, but nothing major enough to deter from the overall experience. The theme could have been more consistent in some areas, but what Six Flags park doesn’t suffer from theme inconsistencies? The crowds were also very manageable for a Saturday and filled with families. There were also a lot of teen groups, but surprisingly they never got obnoxious enough for me to feel the need to strangle any of them. The guests were all very well-behaved. Overall, Six Flags St. Louis may not be the biggest or have the most rides, but it offers a great, clean and safe park experience, one I would definitely come back to.

[spaceace12]

About Boss, where did you ride? I rode in the front seat on opening day, it wasn't bad. They did retracked it and it was a lot better. I haven't been back since opening day, but will be back on the 13th to ride EK.

 

As for the name change, someone said it was around 1996. I personally love this park. It used to be tied for first between Indy Beach and Holiday world for the my favorite, but Indy Beach dropped out of that.

[smells_like_team_disney]

Yes, an amazing little park indeed. I'm still surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. Not your typical Six Flags, it offers a more leisurely and relaxed pace. We felt no need to rush into anything so we took our time and strolled around a lot.

 

We rode in the very back. We would have given the front a chance, but it had the longest wait in the park, and it kept breaking down throughout the day. We felt lucky enough to have ridden it once. I'm not one to completely disown a coaster from one bad ride experience (heck, I'll still ride Ghostrider), so I'll have to try it out again in the near future.

[almightyfire]

Very thorough trip report. Worded very intelligently. I kinda want to go to this park also. I can't wait to ride The Boss. The pov's look great. I just love coasters longer than 60 secs and go all over the property. I am sure the roughness wouldn't bother me. Hell I don't see anything wrong with Texas Giant and Mean Streak. I found Son of the Beast to be tame roughness wise but very boring.

[smells_like_team_disney]

Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. I'll be heading to SFGAm this weekend, so I'll make sure to post a TR of any comparisons I see. And this time I won't forget my camera.

[VivaLaVibora]

I think the thing that makes it look like there isn't much in the skyline is the fact that you have Batman towards the front of the park, and you just see it's backside. Than, you just see Mr. Freeze, and a Ferris Wheel.

 

However, in the past so years, now you should see Evil Kinevil, and I don't know if you can see Tony Hawk or not. You probably should see the drop tower. Sometimes, stuff is about appearance, and to me this park needed more attention upfront. Now, it has a little bit more than it did.

 

I haven't been to this park in awhile as you can tell because I've been going to SFOT instead. They have Mr. Freeze over there along with a mine train, and an out and back coaster. They also have Tony Hawk now, but I just really like SFOT better than SFStL even though I haven't been on the last two new coasters at SFStL.

 

From coming from SFMM, you are entering a worser park going to SFGAm. I actually think of SFGAm as being better than SFMM, but it's only because of the waterpark that right now is at free with admission. Most coaster enthusiasts won't care to go to the waterpark, and thus I think that for you, SFMM would be better.

 

Remember, that Dark Knight is a mouse coaster in the dark (but you can see the track, and other stuff) at Great America. It has a line, than a preshow, and more of a line even though the second line is much smaller than the first line. For Iron Wolf which is a headbanger in the corkscrew, you should move your head with the way the ride is going so you don't get KO.

 

Tatsu is probably better than Superman Ultimate Flight. Vertical Velocity to me is much more powerful than SFMM's Superman. Goliath to me feels like another Raging Bull. Raging Bull might have a little more air, but to me it's not that much compared to Superman: Ride of Steel or the other Goliath (SFOG).

 

The one thing I want to stress about Great America having that not a lot of other coaster parks have a lot are flats. They have some really good ones that you won't find at Magic Mountain, St. Louis, or Over Texas. They are rides like the Huss Condor, Huss Swing Around, Shrawtkopf Calpyso III, and the Huss Troika (Yeah, Over Texas, and some other parks have one, but Great America has a sweet light package on that ride. - red - green - yellow)

[lissa1986]

I agree with you on how much smoother the ninja is. I didn't have my head rattled at all. I went a couple days ago and only went on a couple rides but the scooby doo ride is very cool.

[MisterP]

I think the thing that makes it look like there isn't much in the skyline is the fact that you have Batman towards the front of the park, and you just see it's backside. Than, you just see Mr. Freeze, and a Ferris Wheel.

However, in the past so years, now you should see Evil Kinevil, and I don't know if you can see Tony Hawk or not. You probably should see the drop tower. Sometimes, stuff is about appearance, and to me this park needed more attention upfront. Now, it has a little bit more than it did.

 

I haven't been to this park in awhile as you can tell because I've been going to SFOT instead. They have Mr. Freeze over there along with a mine train, and an out and back coaster. They also have Tony Hawk now, but I just really like SFOT better than SFStL even though I haven't been on the last two new coasters at SFStL.

 

From coming from SFMM, you are entering a worser park going to SFGAm. I actually think of SFGAm as being better than SFMM, but it's only because of the waterpark that right now is at free with admission. Most coaster enthusiasts won't care to go to the waterpark, and thus I think that for you, SFMM would be better.

 

Remember, that Dark Knight is a mouse coaster in the dark (but you can see the track, and other stuff) at Great America. It has a line, than a preshow, and more of a line even though the second line is much smaller than the first line. For Iron Wolf which is a headbanger in the corkscrew, you should move your head with the way the ride is going so you don't get KO.

 

Tatsu is probably better than Superman Ultimate Flight. Vertical Velocity to me is much more powerful than SFMM's Superman. Goliath to me feels like another Raging Bull. Raging Bull might have a little more air, but to me it's not that much compared to Superman: Ride of Steel or the other Goliath (SFOG).

 

The one thing I want to stress about Great America having that not a lot of other coaster parks have a lot are flats. They have some really good ones that you won't find at Magic Mountain, St. Louis, or Over Texas. They are rides like the Huss Condor, Huss Swing Around, Shrawtkopf Calpyso III, and the Huss Troika (Yeah, Over Texas, and some other parks have one, but Great America has a sweet light package on that ride. - red - green - yellow)

 

WARNING: If you look at their skyline and you DO NOT see The Boss, Screamin Eagle, and Superman, consult your optometrist because you need glasses