Photo TR: A Jiggidy Mid-America Adventure

[PKI Jizzman]

Something I saw and HAD to comment on right away...the attraction rating..

 

CEDAR FAIR rated Prowler a FOUR.

Adventure Express is a FIVE, nearly everything is a five....so if Prowler is rated a four, then it's probably not like it's GCI brotherin, haha.

 

 

 

 

I completely take your word that it's very family friendly, Erik!

Why doesn't KI have these at: Firehawk, Son of Beast, Vortex, Invertigo, and Beast?!??!

[Erik Johnson]

OK, onto the next park: Six Flags St. Louis.

 

This turned out to be one of the nicest Six Flags I have been to yet. It certainly has the best ride operations I have ever seen in a Six Flags park the day we went. All the trains were running on all the coasters and they were able to get people through the lines fast. I thought the coaster collection was above average and the general atmosphere of the park was quite good. I dunno, for some reason I thought the park was pretty much in the middle of a field (sort of like SFA) rather than snuggled up against some really old mountains/hills. It really is a nice setting. Anyways, let us head on into the park:

This would be the, "Oh no!" part of the ride.

While it is still a great ride, it did not seem as fast or intense as the one in Texas.

Vooosh!

I was really impressed how fast they got people through this line. Much faster than the one in Texas.

Nope, he has not moved a muscle.

This Mr. Freeze looks dead. (He no longer moves).

This one is a mirror of the other one.

It was neat to pick up both Mr. Freeze credits in the same week.

Across the way is the other Mr. Freeze coaster in the country. The other one is at Six Flags Over Texas.

What makes this one different is that you are in boats instead of cars.

There is one thing that sets this apart from all the other ones.

I may have just about ridden all the shooting Scooby Doo rides in the country. This one would be my favorite.

And we leave you with a photo of the red train.

Have a good ride?

Yet another photo.

We see you in the back row.

This would be the blue train.

GCI goodness.

Ouch!

Random facts.

The entire history of Evel Knievel can be found in the queue.

While it is not my favorite GCI, it is still a lot of fun.

Its another GCI coaster, in case if you did not know.

Another look at the sign.

We decided to hit Evel Knievel first.

Since it was a Saturday, we made sure to get to the park before opening.

We got to hang out with the Baileys for the day. I wonder what coaster has been in the news recently?

We shall go ride that one later.

They really do have a quaint front entrance.

First things first, we have to go park our car.

We see you Six Flags St. Louis.

Before we got to the park, we had to cross the mighty Missouri river.

[Erik Johnson]

This would be the S&S tower. Notice something a little strange?

 

I was actually gonna say I've never seen a dual S&S tower; I've only ever seen them with 1, 3 or 4.

 

Isn't the one at Islands of Adventure a dual one? I seem to remember you have been there before.

[PKI Jizzman]

The St.L Freeze looks like it doesn't make a full U turn when exiting the top hat. It looks like it lets the train curve out to the left a bit...hm, maybe a wierd angle.

[andyuk200523]

This would be the S&S tower. Notice something a little strange?

 

I was actually gonna say I've never seen a dual S&S tower; I've only ever seen them with 1, 3 or 4.

 

Isn't the one at Islands of Adventure a dual one? I seem to remember you have been there before.

 

 

Dr. Dooms is a Dual Tower, however, it does not have the joining structure at the top of the tower, so essentially it is just 2 space shots which happen to be next to each other.

[dandaman]

Isn't the one at Islands of Adventure a dual one? I seem to remember you have been there before.

 

Aah, yes. Maybe it was the structure at the top of the WoF one that threw me off.

[Erik Johnson]

Six Flags St. Louis (Part 2)

This line was just too long to ride it today.

This would be the drop tower.

The cubbies were at least color coded.

The coaster was not too bad. Though there was a lot of extra shuffling on the turn arounds.

We would first have to conquer the M&M stairway.

Next would be the classic wooden coaster in the park.

I thought the coaster was a lot of fun (lots of extensive trackwork done during the off-season). Though the G-Trains do hurt the ride.

I should note that they were running 3 trains. This would be the first time I had seen stacking in the park. Though this only lasted a few seconds.

Someone wanted to show off their excitement with the artform known as gum.

They do not look too beaten up.

I would have to agree with Tyler that this would be a good thing.

Another sign.

This was then I noticed that they run G-Trains on this thing. Oh no!!

Its really has a huge layout.

I really did not know anything about this coaster. Though it looks like it might be fun.

You do have a long walk before you actually reach the coaster. It is really set on the far back end of the park.

See, The Boss!

The second wooden coaster of the day would be The Boss.

Look, lots of trees.

I really like the setting of this coaster. It is well shaded by all these trees.

Here would be the coaster doing it's thing.

We had about a 20 minute wait to ride the coaster, so we got to leearn all about Tony Hawk's career.

Though the pre-station death spin did not seem as bad on this one.

This would be the third Tony Hawk coaster I have ridden in a week.

Ok, let us head on over to this area.

We now leave you with a photo of The Boss.

You can see a little bit of Tony Hawk, Scraming Eagle, as well as the Superman drop tower.

Mr. Freeze.

Oh dear, I forgot we would be riding Ninja later that day.

Would this be the only mirror clone actually still called Batman?

This would be Evel Knievel.

Let us go up high on the big wheel and take a look at the park from above.

[Erik Johnson]

Six Flags St. Louis (Final Part)

We still had some time to do things. Let us head on into the city.

6 Flags.

Thank you, we will.

I now have visited all three of the original Six Flags parks. All in the same year. One of us accomplished that in a little over a week.

It ended up being my favorite coaster in the park. Though Mr. Freeze was really good as well.

We took one final ride on E.K. before heading on out of the park.

Log flume! Though we did not ride.

Its like a combination of an Enterprise and a slow moving Frisbee.

We did not ride the insane looking flat ride.

So what kind of things go on in this place?

I did not see the team from Fresno. For shame.

I now have every Batman coaster/clone credit in the United States.

This would be Gotham City.

Is it the Bat logo, or does it look like someone's strange mouth?

Awww, we forgot to ride the train.

Weeee!

No matter, it still rides the same.

Though this one goes in the opposite direction of the other ones. Should this one really be called Namtab: The Ride?

These coasters always deliver.

Yes, it would be time to hit up the last coaster in the park.

No Six Flags park would be complete without one of these.

I can now say I have ridden all three Ninja coasters. The one at SFMM is certainly the best one to ride.

Hooray for Vekoma.

Random mine train photo!

Ninja through the fence.

This would be the way I remembered it. Expo '86 in Vancouver Canada. It was called Scream Machine back then. (Photo from RCDB)

This would be my second encounter with this ride. Though I did not ride coasters like this in 1986.

Oh dear, it would be Ninja time.

There used to be two tracks for this coaster. You now have to go to Magic Springs to ride the other one.

Look! Mine train track.

After lunch we headed on over to the mine train.

[Erik Johnson]

While we were finished with theme parks for the trip, we decided to head on into St. Louis to do a couple of activities. The first one would be to visit the world famous Gateway Arch. The other one, which should also be world famous, would be the most insane museum you have ever seen, The City Museum. Our friend Dave (Djsnow) did a Photo: TR last year of the museum. So we had to make sure to go visit the place ourselves.

Whew! We made it down at last.

Time to head on down.

One final shot of the courthouse.

Gulp! We really are high up here.

Getting dark now.

This is what the trap door of doom looks like.

This is what the windows look like.

Busch Stadium. Maybe they can relocate Big Bad Wolf there.

Gretchen Wilson would be down there. I first thought it was Heart when I heard her amazing rendition of Barracuda.

This would be me touching the highest point.

Its cool that you can actually make out the feet of the arch from up here.

It is about 200 feet taller than Kingda Ka, in case if you wanted to know.

The ride is really a marvel in engineering. Especially how the train of pods adjusts itself on the way to the top.

"Yeah, Arch ride credit!"

You expect all of us to sit in that thing?

But first, we had to endure a preshow. All that was missing was Gary Sinise.

I wonder what is behind door #2.

More intense please.

It would be time to head to our ride to the top.

Lewis, Paul, and Clark.

We first watched the movie about the building of the arch before we went to the top.

Beaver!

"Hi there! This is a much better gig than the Hall of Presidents."

This would totally count as an Elissa Bingo square.

We had to check out the museum as well.

It would look like this, but more on that later.

You may wonder what kind form of transportation was required to reach the top.

There were several packages to choose from.

You buys tickets here.

Let us head on into the vistor's center underneath the arch.

Ok, just one more.

I also had to pet the thing.

Yes, I present you with yet another photo of the Gateway arch.

Gateway Arch without trees.

Gateway Arch with trees.

I had visited before, but was sometime in the mid 1980's. In the wintertime to boot.

I bet you never seen it from this angle before.

It is big and made of metal.

For some reason I craved french fries after seeing this.

[Erik Johnson]

Seriously the City Museum is simply insane. It is difficult to explain it to people who have never been there before. It does have 3 floors of some of the most random collections you have ever seen. The big plus is that there are some of the craziest (Jungle Gyms??) in the museum. Really, there are about 1001 different ways that you can kill yourself here. On weekends it is open until 1:00am with a full service bar inside. So you can imagine of all the craziness in the place. There is even a place you rent for special gatherings/dinners/whatever in case if you wanted to bring a larger group of people with you. I do not have a ton of photos from the place since we were there at night, and its quite dark at night. Plus I simply was afraid I would break my camera if I had it out too much.

 

The City Museum:

Wait do I see a ferris wheel on the roof?

Wow, this building is actually famous.

Cool stuff to buy.

"Yeah! I am going to die!"

This would be the roller slide of death.

Though at night, they turn off pretty much most of all the lights. And yes, they have more crazy things to climb on.

Back inside the museum we find this area.

Basically a ball pit and dodge ball rolled into one.

If you get tired, you get stuck or fall to your impending doom.

You guys are crazy.

There was no way I would do that one.

Hi Paul!

"Are you sure this place was built for adults?"

This gives you a better perspective how high up it is.

It also hangs over the edge of the building.

We eventually ended up in the cockpit of some plane.

I should state that we were about 4 or 5 stories above the ground when we did this. No there is not a net.

I am supposed to climb through that?

At least they have a band out here to play your Game Over theme song.

This sign should say. 4,265 new ways to kill yourself located out here.

Just random to be random.

Please don't die.

Slide!

Paul taking the plunge.

This would be the entrance to the 3 story tall slide.

Andrew did quite well in not killing himself on all this stuff.

These used to be all over the country a long time ago.

No idea. But I think its cool.

Inside the museum there are a ton of stuff to look at.

You would never see anything like this at a themepark in the United States. Just museums.

They really mean it. This place really is insane.

For $5 more you can go to the very top, The Roof. We ended up skipping out on it though.

Its 10:00PM. The place stays open until 1:00AM on Saturdays.

Look Dave! We made it!

The worst thing about these trips is saying goodbye. Everyone say Good-Bye to Cameron.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok Time to rate the coasters:

 

Frontier City:

 

1. Steel Lasso: (Suspended Family Coaster) Most certainly the very best Vekoma SFC I have ridden so far. While the track layout is not something too original, the new trains really help these models out. Replace them all...NOW! (7 out of 10)

 

2. Silver Bullet: (Schwarzkopf/Looping Star) I love Schwarzkopf, but I can not say I loved this ride. While solid it quite did not have the same speed and intensity when compared to others I have ridden. It does have a few strange parts in the ride. (7 out of 10)

 

3. Wildcat: (Wooden Coaster) It is more of a family wooden coaster which is perfect for this park. Nice setting, not too fast or intense. It would be the perfect wooden coaster for those who have never ridden one before. (7 out of 10)

 

4. Diamond Back: (Arrow Launched/Shuttle Loop) I had never ridden one of these before. While not tall or superfast it is intense. It was especially intense during our return trip backwards. (7 out of 10)

 

Silver Dollar City:

 

1. Powder Keg: A Blast in the Wilderness (S&S Power/Premier) This was my favorite coaster on the trip. Incredible theming as well as an impressive launch. The back row has airtime galore. I would wish that S&S would build a lot more of these coasters. (9 out of 10)

 

2. Fire in The Hole: (Custom Indoor Powered/Dark Ride/Coaster) I am not really sure if you can count this one, but there are a few gravity controlled drops in it. It is much more of a dark ride than coaster. I thought it was a lot of fun. (8 out of 10)

 

3. Wildfire: (B&M Sit-Down) While one of the shorter B&M sitdown coasters out there, this one does have some bite. The first drop was really great. (8 out of 10)

 

4. Thunderation (Arrow Mine Train) This was a lot of fun. It certainly is one of the fastest mine trains I have ever ridden. I was not brave enough to ride one of the backwards cars as I would be afraid of getting sick. (8 out of 10)

 

5. Grand Exposition Coaster (Zamperla Family) This one was made for little kids. (4 out of 10)

 

Worlds of Fun:

 

1. Prowler: (GCI Wooden) Do you wonder how GCI would handle a terrain coaster? That would be Prowler. It is another one of those, perfect coasters for the entire family. It is not quite as intense as many of the other GCI coasters out there, but the ride still delivers. It does run faster later in the day. (8 out of 10)

 

2. Boomerang: (Vekoma Boomerang) I am not much of a fan of Boomerangs, but this one really was not too bad at all. (6 out of 10)

 

3. Timber Wolf: (Dinn Wooden) It did have a few fun sections but the turn-arounds were quite brutal. I undertsand the back car was quite bad for its brutality. Nothing really special. (6 out of 10)

 

4. Spinning Dragons: (Gerstlauer Spinner) I find these to be fun. Nothing extraordinary, but still a lot of fun. I think I do like the Tony Hawk ones better though. (7 out of 10)

 

5. Patriot: (B&M Invert) I did like this one. I found the front row a bit more intense than the back, which is rare for a B&M coaster. (8 out of 10)

 

6. Mamba: (Morgan Hyper) The first couple of drops as well as the head chopping helix were a lot of fun. The rest of it really felt like an oversized mine train. (7 out of 10)

 

Six Flags St. Louis

 

1. Evel Knievel: (GCI Wooden) While it is not my favorite GCI, it is still a very solid ride. It seems to get faster towards the end of the ride. Great addition to the park (8 out of 10)

 

2. Mr. Freeze: (Premier LIM Shuttle Loop coaster) I love these coasters. Very fast and intense. This one seemed a little slower than it mirror/twin at Six Flags Over Texas. (8 out of 10)

 

3. Tony Hawk Big Spin: (Gerstlauer Spinner) This one would be my favorite Tony Hawk simply for its setting. These are a lot of fun, especially for families. (7 out of 10)

 

4. Boss (CCI Wooden) I think this could be a great ride if they simply replaced the trains with pretty much anything other than G-Trains. It recently has had extensive retracking done which, from what I understand, has really improved the ride. (7 out of 10)

 

5. Screaming Eagle (Wooden) Older wooden coaster with a few fun drops and shuffling turn arounds. It does need some work. (6 out of 10)

 

6. River King Mine Train (Arrow Mine Train) This one really was not very good, even for a mine train. It really does not do too much. (5 out of 10).

 

7. Ninja (Steel Vekoma) Worst coaster in the park. Make sure you ride this one carefully. (4 out of 10)

 

8. Batman (B&M Invert) These are always good. Very fast and lots of forces. This would be a mirror image of the other ones. (8 out of 10)

[dandaman]

This entire trip just looks effing amazing. Thanks for sharing the insanity!

[dr.gumbo]

^ I agree, it was a great read. That museum a St.Louis looks insane!

[mike541x]

Great Tr as always Erik. That City Muesum looks crazu. Also the St Louis Arch is different than I imagined.

[Godwyn]

It was awesome meeting up with you guys in St. Louis. Thanks for inviting us. Too bad we had to work so early on Sunday morning, and an hour and a half drive home, so we couldn't go to the museum with you. And with our luck, we just happened to be trying to leave with all the concert goers!

 

Edit-- I would so love to have Big Bad Wolf at Busch Stadium!!!

[dj snow]

Yes! City Museum! SDC Cave! Awesome!

 

If TPR doesn't include a stop at City Museum during its next midwest trip, there is no justice in this world.

 

I enjoyed the report; glad you enjoyed the trip!

[Erik Johnson]

It was awesome meeting up with you guys in St. Louis. Thanks for inviting us. Too bad we had to work so early on Sunday morning, and an hour and a half drive home, so we couldn't go to the museum with you. And with our luck, we just happened to be trying to leave with all the concert goers!

 

Edit-- I would so love to have Big Bad Wolf at Busch Stadium!!!

 

Yes, that crowd after that concert was really really insane. Stupid free concerts!

[mr_teisco_delrey]

Erik - What was the height limit, if you still remember, for the family coaster at Frontier City? I am 6' 5" which makes me too tall for the older Vekoma coasters. I hope I can ride this one the next time I go to OKC. Also, what is the fate of Ozark Wildcat at the now defunct Celebration City?

[Erik Johnson]

Erik - What was the height limit, if you still remember, for the family coaster at Frontier City? I am 6' 5" which makes me too tall for the older Vekoma coasters. I hope I can ride this one the next time I go to OKC. Also, what is the fate of Ozark Wildcat at the now defunct Celebration City?

 

I do not think that Steel Lasso has a max height limit. I believe this has to do with the new trains. You should be good. We did not even drive by Ozark Wildcat (A real shame from what I understand). The park has been closed the entire season so far.

[aslinterpreter]

Erik, thanks for posting tons of cool pics frommy area of the country!

 

The wildcat was awesome! When it was here in Kansas City, my parents rode it on their first date!

 

The last pic in KC when you asked about the connection to the sports clubs, were you thinking about when Lamar Hunt owned both the Chiefs and WOF?

 

Your pics were great! Thanks again for sharing!

[coasterking2981]

Well, I gotta ask:

 

Which is overall the better GCI coaster: Evel Knieval, Terminator, or Prowler?

[Erik Johnson]

I have not ridden Terminator yet. I did like Prowler and E.K. quite a bit, but I have to give the edge to Evel. Kentucky Rumbler is my favorite one so far out of the one I have ridden.

 

I have ridden:

 

Lightning Racers

Thunderhead

Prowler

Evel K.

Gwazi

Roar (SFA)

Wildcat (Hershey)

Kentucky Rumbler

[Erik Johnson]

Erik, thanks for posting tons of cool pics frommy area of the country!

 

The wildcat was awesome! When it was here in Kansas City, my parents rode it on their first date!

 

The last pic in KC when you asked about the connection to the sports clubs, were you thinking about when Lamar Hunt owned both the Chiefs and WOF?

 

Your pics were great! Thanks again for sharing!

 

Actually my reference was when the Royals used have Spring Training at Boardwalk and Baseball at Haines City, Florida.

[Electerik]

Great trip report, Erik! Lot's of cool shots from some less-covered parks.

[steel]

Prowler is easily and without any question whatsoever the most intense GCI I have ridden. It's tons and tons more intense than both Evel and Rumbler without trying. I don't know if it was just running badly when you were there, or what, but normally, it absolutely hurtles through the course. This is the first review I've ever seen of Prowler that's even mildly negative. Maybe it actually was running slowly (it has done that before), or maybe you were just expecting the worst, but it is miles and miles and miles better than you described it. (Incidentally, I'm thinking you probably weren't as impressed by Worlds of Fun because you went there right after SDC - that wouldn't surprise me at all).

 

So I was pretty disappointed with the WoF section (mostly because now everyone on this site is going to think that Prowler is lame), but the rest of the TR was great. I agree, SFSL's Freeze is less intense than SFOT's. And SFOT is themed better, even if the color doesn't make sense.