Sammy* Posted June 19, 2013 Posted June 19, 2013 Boomerang made ABC's list for the top new coasters of 2013: http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/slideshow/summer-2013s-coolest-coasters-19395494 I have no words for that. Did not think it was possible for a 25 year old Boomerang to get so much shine. I thought the St Louis arch thing was just too much. I don't think even back in 87 when it originally opened, it never received so much press. Roller coasters are officially dead.
Vonni Posted June 19, 2013 Posted June 19, 2013 Well, at least SFStL got noticed. That could mean positive things.........
SteveStL Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Cool, thanks for the info. I like all those ideas, not sure why length is an issue for The Boss regarding the Iron Horse treatment. If you know what that means, maybe you can clarify that? ...sorta disappointed that there was no mention of a Kiddie Coaster. SFSTL could really use a cool coaster for the kiddo's ...and not one of those carnival coasters like we used to have, but something permanent like Snoopy Flying Ariel Ace at Kings Island.
ernierocker Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Um, the original Rattler was longer than the Boss and the original Texas Giant was only 100 feet or so shorter. They managed to keep NTAG similar in length and drastically shorten Rattler while making both rides drastically better. That comment about Boss being too long makes absolutely no sense...
SFZIP Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Whatever any of the Six Flags park presidents have planned for their parks, does not always happen (they do have more influence today than before), but the final decision is still SF coporate's. I really doubt the park planned on getting Boomerang 2 or 3 years ago, it was decideded to be given to the park by corporate sometime last year, to I assume counter Outlaw Run in what was probably supposed to be an "off" year for the park, so the park got a cheap used addition. I would assume that the cost of remodeling the close of mile long track of The Boss and the time needed to do the conversion would be the reasons to cut down the track length (same thing about The Rattler).
Vonni Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 If The Boss were shortened, I would assume the only part that would be completely removed would be the helix
Joe Cool Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 I think I might be the only one that doesn't think The Boss needs to get Iron Horse treatment. I just rode The Boss today and it's running amazing. The last few years have been some of the best rides I have ever had on it.
prozach626 Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 From the mouth of Dave Roemer:2. Iron Boss: The length of the Boss is the real problem here. If they wanted to do it this year or next year, they would probably be forced to cut out parts of the ride to shorten it. That's enough to make me think it may never happen. 3. The park is up to where they want to be in terms of thrills. Now they want to fill in the gaps with family rides. Good to know boomerang finally put the icing on the cake, as far as our thrills go............. 4. The park boundaries will not be expanding anytime soon. He wants to focus on perfecting the park they have before expanding it. I like this. They managed to keep NTAG similar in length and drastically shorten Rattler while making both rides drastically better. That comment about Boss being too long makes absolutely no sense... Makes a lot of sense. See below. I would assume that the cost of remodeling the close of mile long track of The Boss and the time needed to do the conversion would be the reasons to cut down the track length (same thing about The Rattler). Exactly.
HWFan Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 With the Boss, they just aren't given enough money to do the whole length. They don't want to shorten it because the intensity and length are kind of its trademarks. With painting the rides, they did Rush Street Flyer this year, and are going to move onto other rides once they finish the facade. Apparently the Hannibarrels have been in the 5-year plan that Dave and his team have submitted every year to corporate since it closed. Luckily with a new flat in the future, the Hannibarrels should soon be gone.
ernierocker Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) With the Boss, they just aren't given enough money to do the whole length. They don't want to shorten it because the intensity and length are kind of its trademarks. Well see, that makes more sense. All of that information was not in the original post which caused my confusion. If the decision was based purely on the length and costs, RMC has proven they have a solution for that with Iron Rattler. As far as this trademark thing, I would dare say the original Rattler had a few more "memorable" moments than the Boss does, but that is of course a matter an opinion. Edited June 20, 2013 by ernierocker
MisterP Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 The Hannibarrels have been SBNO for almost 20 years now. I don't understand how hard it could be to dismantle it over one offseason. And its dead weight right in the middle-front of the park; its not like its tucked into a corner somewhere were no one really see it. Its practically part of the main plaza. That's never made any sense to me...
SteveStL Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Does the Boss need the entire IHorse Treatment? imo it doesn't, the Boss' layout is great. Just their adding Topper Track would really help the ride. Maybe adding a Barrel Roll before the Helix would be awesome and the only drastic alteration required.
ernierocker Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) It all comes down to what Six Flags Corporate wants to do really. Do they want to invest in the Iron Horse treatment, essentially getting a "brand new" centerpiece ride for the park, or do they want to preserve the Boss and just make it ride better. You have to remember, outside of the St. Louis area, not many people have the nostalgia for the Boss like the long-time season pass holders do. To me, as an outside observer, there really isn't anything special about the layout of the Boss and thus isn't a ride that would make me drive over 1000 miles to get to. However, an Iron Horse treatment, and you have a ride that would grab my attention. Incidentally, having all three RMC coasters on one TPR trip led me to joining the Texas/Midwest, which will allow me to actually go to SFStl for the first time in over 20 years this summer. It does appear though, that most of you guys do seem to still appreciate the Boss more so than SFOT and SFFT's fans did for their respective woodies that got made over. But I still usually see the Boss pretty low on the Mitch Hawker's woodie poll. I guess I will find out this summer how good/bad of a ride it is and can judge for myself. Edited June 20, 2013 by ernierocker
GrapesLie Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 I seriously hope The Boss gets the Iron Horse Treatment! I understand being nostalgic for a ride, however I rode it a few weeks ago and it was just flat out boring. It has good bones and RMC could really do something amazing with that ride! I rode it when it was brand new and it was fun, it was fast, it was intense. But they have trimmed it to hell and back. Now it is just slow. No The Boss has never been a air time machine but I got pretty much no airtime the last time I rode it!
Zcev5454 Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 I seriously hope The Boss gets the Iron Horse Treatment! I understand being nostalgic for a ride, however I rode it a few weeks ago and it was just flat out boring. It has good bones and RMC could really do something amazing with that ride! I rode it when it was brand new and it was fun, it was fast, it was intense. But they have trimmed it to hell and back. Now it is just slow. No The Boss has never been a air time machine but I got pretty much no airtime the last time I rode it! I remember there used to be more airtime on the drops than what I experience now. It seems like the MCBR slows it down even more, too.
Woodie Warrior Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 SFSTL would know by now if Boss was getting Iron Horse next year. New bumper cars and a Screamin' Swing would be awesome additions to the park in 2014.
HWFan Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 Hey guys, one more thing that I thought was interesting. In Dave's office and conference room, there are giant maps of the park, one from 1999 and the other from about 2010. They are to scale with one inch representing 100 feet. When they want to add something new, a little piece of paper is cut out to the exact size/layout of the ride according to the scale. They then move it around the park to find the best spot for it. If you look in the picture below, you can see some pieces of paper on the right side of the map in the woods. I was told that these are mostly water slides that they are thinking about. Now waterpark expansion isn't their biggest interest though, because it is only open for 88 days of the operating season. If anyone sees me sometime in season pass processing or the front gate, don't hesitate to say hi!
thrillerman1 Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 What's wrong with the Hannibarrels that the ride can't just be fixed and reopened?
Vonni Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 What's wrong with the Hannibarrels that the ride can't just be fixed and reopened? Years ago, it probaly could have been fixed and operational, but it has sat dormant for nearly 20 years now. There is no way it could be funtional again, and even if it were it would cost a LOT of money, more than it is worth. I mentioned in a post a few pages back, it even has weeds and trees growing up through it now. The ride is now a total loss. A new flat really is a better option. Also, I thought of this recently, Boomerang would have fit perfectly into the area, and brought some life back to that area so I dont understand why they took out an operational, and popular ride like the bumper cars instead of the Hannibarrels for Boomerang. But whats done is done.
kafuffle Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Does anyone know what time the early entry for Gold Season Pass holders is?
Woodie Warrior Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Does anyone know what time the early entry for Gold Season Pass holders is? 10 minutes earlier than opening time. In between the ticket booths and the turnstiles, go all the way right and you will see a Gold Early entry line that enters into the park through Hurricane Harbor.
BDFS Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 So I get off work early enough to pick up my 8YO and head over to finally ride Boomerang after 3 previous unsuccessful tries. Roll into the park around 5:45p, find a spot in the second row as the lot is sparse and people are leaving the Harbor. Walk right in with nobody checking at the metal detectors, nobody in line to enter the park, and we grin as we see people are walking onto just about everything as we make our way to the back of the park and our first ride on Boomerang... Only to find a sign reading "Boomerang will be operating from 10:30a - 6p. ...... The 8 YO decided to ride Superman a dozen times in a row instead, (I bowed out after three drops) and then we spend the rest of the night running between all of the OPEN coasters in the park. It's been three years since we took a trip on Thunder River, so we decided we needed a cooling off from the 95+ temps. I don't remember it being that, how do I put it... lame? Oh well. Half of me got wet. On a happy note, the first two cars of the Boss are STILL super smooth no matter what time of day we ride, and I have no brain damage to report. On my favorite note of the night, I'm not sure what was different about American Thunder today, but we were getting ridiculous air time in the back seat. I mean on EVERY ride. So much so that I couldn't keep my hands up in the air no matter how hard I tried. Truly a brilliant ride made even better. This must be one of the most underrated coasters in the Midwest. Love it that we have this gem at SFStL.
prozach626 Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 ^ American Thunder is a great little coaster. I can't believe they are having so many problems with our lame "new " addition.
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