Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[Sf-Dad]

Nobody, INCLUDING OFF DUTY POLICE OFFICERS, are NOT allowed to carry in the SFSTL. Any off duty that comes into the park MUST CHECK THEIR WEAPON IN with security. There are secured safes in an undislosed location where the officers will lock their weapons up, and they are the only ones with a key to that safe. If any off duty officer wants to carry into Six Flags, they will have a special little meeting with Security Management and will have strict rules set towards them telling them they can not participate in any attractions while carrying. ALL out of state off duty officers are not allowed to carry in the park at any time, no ifs, ands, or buts.

 

Hey Mr. Caps Lock, no one ever said anything about off duty officers carrying weapons into SFSTL or any other amusement park, but thanks for pointing out the obvious. You can relax, now.

 

I never said anyone did. I was just putting it out there. Things get misinterpreted so easily on here very easily and I was just clarifying that after you said how easy it is is to get in places with your weapon that have checkpoints... thats all.

 

Understood. You went a little crazy on the caps, so it made you sound like you were upset or something. Either way, thanks for the information and sorry about the misunderstanding. I'm sure there have been more than a few badged fools who thought riding a roller coaster and carrying pistol was perfectly fine.

 

You would be surprised, well maybe not you particularly, of how many of them think they can do whatever they and then act like they are God and think Security must bow down to them. Lets just put it this way, "rumor" has it one lost his job for some antics he pulled at metal detection while coming as a guest with his weapon.... yes he had some other issues his department was dealing with with him already, but it was the fiasco he started at metal detection that was the final straw for him which lost him his commission

 

What about the Phone Cops? Surely they are exempt.

[HWFan]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

What is the animatronic? Superman, Joker, etc.?

I believe it's the Joker. There's also going to be one in the queue to inform guests how to use the guns, but I don't remember the name of the superhero.

The animatronic in the queue is an original character. He will be some form of cyborg, but that's all I know.

[pkgdel5]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

Edited November 10, 2014 by pkgdel5

[pkgdel5]

There was another picture on Facebook that was posted. The black wall on the right that runs parallel to the trough was the location of the lift. You can see some paint on the walls, and the little alcove is where the attendant sat. (Number 13 on the layout below)

 

So I'm guessing JLBFM is going to follow this exact same layout??

No. It will not. It will be more compact in its own layout, and it is expected to be ready for opening days, unless you had heard something I hadn't.

 

Ok...cool on the layout. No, I haven't heard anything, just a guess since most "new" rides haven't been ready come opening day. I really hope it is open come April!

The park closed Scooby early to make sure they would have plenty of time. Of course, there's the possibility that something could come up, delaying the opening. I was told that most of the vehicles, track, and set pieces are already completed and just waiting to be shipped and installed. I also think that the companies involved with the ride and their experience with demanding clients like Universal can only help in terms of insuring an on time opening.

 

 

Awesome!!!

[pkgdel5]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

 

Sorry...interview is with Rich Hill not John Woods. He didn't say how many animatronics but did say half media and half physical props/scenes.

[theymitbgi]

Props/scenes do not mean animatronics. Still looking forward to the ride and still very worried about capacity.

 

Also I think they could have the ride finished by February and still wait until June to open it, unless they have another minor thing to add this year to bring guests back. Namtab anyone? I don' t think they've announced it for any park yet and thought the chassis was going to rotate parks.

[HWFan]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

 

Sorry...interview is with Rich Hill not John Woods. He didn't say how many animatronics but did say half media and half physical props/scenes.

I was told that there will be one in the ride and one in the queue. When you have a lot of different screens (the largest being 30x14) with top notch 3D scenes, the animatronics are a lot less important.

[pkgdel5]

Props/scenes do not mean animatronics. Still looking forward to the ride and still very worried about capacity.

 

Also I think they could have the ride finished by February and still wait until June to open it, unless they have another minor thing to add this year to bring guests back. Namtab anyone? I don' t think they've announced it for any park yet and thought the chassis was going to rotate parks.

 

Yeah, I know props doesn't mean animatronics. I do know there will be Cyborg in the queue line. I hope they don't wait until June to open.

[pkgdel5]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

 

Sorry...interview is with Rich Hill not John Woods. He didn't say how many animatronics but did say half media and half physical props/scenes.

I was told that there will be one in the ride and one in the queue. When you have a lot of different screens (the largest being 30x14) with top notch 3D scenes, the animatronics are a lot less important.

 

 

Agreed! Sally is now announcing....if you will...the ride as 4-D instead of 3-D. Kinda figured it was going to be 4-D from the interview....

[Iron Wolf 90-11]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

 

Sorry...interview is with Rich Hill not John Woods. He didn't say how many animatronics but did say half media and half physical props/scenes.

I was told that there will be one in the ride and one in the queue. When you have a lot of different screens (the largest being 30x14) with top notch 3D scenes, the animatronics are a lot less important.

How do all of you know all of this information?

[pkgdel5]

The main thing I'm worried about is that there will only be 1 animatronic during the ride. Then again, Spider-Man at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time and it has none.

 

From my understanding, I thought there will be a few/couple more throughout the ride. I'm pretty sure John Woods stated the ride would be half media and half props/animatronics. Will try to find interview and listen again.

 

Sorry...interview is with Rich Hill not John Woods. He didn't say how many animatronics but did say half media and half physical props/scenes.

I was told that there will be one in the ride and one in the queue. When you have a lot of different screens (the largest being 30x14) with top notch 3D scenes, the animatronics are a lot less important.

How do all of you know all of this information?

 

www.coastercrew.net/2014/09/the-one-with-rich-from-sally-dark-rides/

 

You may have to copy and paste into a new window instead of trying to click on it....

[HWFan]

Check out these great links about the park and JLBM.

1. There is a great article on Theme Park Insider with some concept sketches from the ride as well as a picture of one of the large props, which instantly made me think of the close Mystery Machine encounter from Scooby. It's from September, but since I missed it at least, I figured I'd post it for others as well: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201409/4206/

 

2. Paul Drabek over at Negative-G posted a great Daredevil Days TR that includes some great pics of Scooby including a special walk back inside the building after the ride closed. He also talks about some of the maintenance reasons of why Scooby's closure was almost inevitable:

http://www.negative-g.com/six-flags-stlouis/2014/daredevil-daze/six-flags-st-louis-daredevil-daze-2014-12.htm

 

3. You can check out a pic of TPR user TNT, who gives us a lot of great ride operations insight and info, in the Negative-G trip report at the bottom of the page here:

http://www.negative-g.com/six-flags-stlouis/2014/daredevil-daze/six-flags-st-louis-daredevil-daze-2014-10.htm

 

I also wanted to address some concerns about JLBM and the park that I've seen posted.

1. I don't think that the capacity will be as bad as some fear. I believe that lines will be very long because it is a great ride and a new ride. There are a couple things that should help capacity, but we'll really have to wait until early next year to know for sure, but I'll keep you updated. Either way, with the queue being inside, it's already way better than sweating in a lot of the coaster's outdoor queues.

 

2. Looking at its track record, especially the very recent Scooby ride, a lot of people are worried about the ride not getting the maintenance it needs to keep the ride in great shape. With the large budget that Six Flags is spending for this ride, they are going to make sure it gets the proper upkeep budget to keep their investment from being wasted. One great thing about the ride is that with only two animatronics, there is a lot less to keep up compared to all of the little moving things in Scooby that needed constant attention. The rest is just changing projector bulbs, lights, etc. The ride system itself is designed to be very hardy compared to Scooby, thanks to Universal's high operations standards.

 

3. I've seen posts about people or their kids not really being interested in the Justice League. Transformers at Universal is one of my favorite rides of all time, but I've never seen or plan to see a Transformers movie. When there is a great ride, you don't necessarily have to be a fan of the IP it's based on to enjoy it. I think the ride will only become more relevant as the approximately half-dozen DC comics movies and released in the coming years.

 

4. There are some great and much needed refurbishment and renovation type projects going on this off season. Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll visit the park to get some pictures, take your suggestions to Dave Roemer, and see if there is any other information about the park and JLBM that I can post here. Even since August, there have been some projects that have been completely changed, moved, etc, so I don't want to post too much until plans are concrete in addition to respecting Dave Roemer's wishes with certain information.

[prozach626]

Good article. Some of the comments below are pretty discouraging, though. It puts a perspective on how people view this park and Six Flags, in general.

[HWFan]

Good article. Some of the comments below are pretty discouraging, though. It puts a perspective on how people view this park and Six Flags, in general.

I thought the same thing. I think the issue is that the overall theme park, more than just coaster, enthusiast community would rarely make it to SFSL if it wasn't their home park. 2004 was really when Six Flags knew that they were in huge trouble and started selling off parks. From at least that point on, park investment across the board pretty much had a sole focus of bringing Guests into the park and less of a budget for general upkeep and refurb. Yada yada yada yada recession, bankruptcy, reorganization, slow but strong growth to today. Even though there are a lot of projects going on to refresh the park, a lot of which consist of infrastructure that goes unnoticed, the park is getting a lot better. With all of these commenters who haven't been to the park or haven't been in years, it makes sense. It's a reputation that the park will have to improve slowly over the next ten years as long as things keep going down this path. Plus that site has a large population of harder-to-impress Mouseketeers.

[SFSTLMO]

Good article. Some of the comments below are pretty discouraging, though. It puts a perspective on how people view this park and Six Flags, in general.

I thought the same thing. I think the issue is that the overall theme park, more than just coaster, enthusiast community would rarely make it to SFSL if it wasn't their home park.

Yeah, I live in St. Louis, and I only make it up to Six Flags 2, maybe three times a year. It's probably because I can really see and ride everything there worth riding in 3-4 hours. It makes sense that if you're not from here you wouldn't bother coming to SFSL.

[HARLEYGUYJB]

I've met several people who live closer to Six Flags Great America that prefer our park because of the smaller crowds.

[HWFan]

I've met several people who live closer to Six Flags Great America that prefer our park because of the smaller crowds.

I've heard the same from a lot of Guests actually. Besides the crowds, they also like the more old fashioned and intimate design of the park's smaller walkways and abundance of trees.

[pkgdel5]

Good article. Some of the comments below are pretty discouraging, though. It puts a perspective on how people view this park and Six Flags, in general.

I thought the same thing. I think the issue is that the overall theme park, more than just coaster, enthusiast community would rarely make it to SFSL if it wasn't their home park.

Yeah, I live in St. Louis, and I only make it up to Six Flags 2, maybe three times a year. It's probably because I can really see and ride everything there worth riding in 3-4 hours. It makes sense that if you're not from here you wouldn't bother coming to SFSL.

 

We get a lot of folks from Chicago that come here. From what some have told me, they like our Six Flags. To them, the rides/park are different. And I do know many come here to purchase and process season passes...much cheaper if you have a large family. I've also met people from surrounding states (Ok, Ks, Ar, Ia, Tn, In) who love to come here. Some told me they come every year and get thrill passes and vacation for about a week. Totally worth the $$$ verses some other parks/entertainment.

[theymitbgi]

Very few of these people are coming to St. Louis for the park alone. They are coming for what St. Louis offers as a whole-the Cardinals, the Zoo, Forest Park, the Brewery, Botanical Gardens, Grant's Farm, etc, etc. SFSL is just another one of the attractions that make the whole product.

Also look at the cost of visiting St. Louis compared to anywhere else, it's cheaper than many other metro areas and tourist areas to visit, due to the number of FREE activities we offer.

[pkgdel5]

Very few of these people are coming to St. Louis for the park alone. They are coming for what St. Louis offers as a whole-the Cardinals, the Zoo, Forest Park, the Brewery, Botanical Gardens, Grant's Farm, etc, etc. SFSL is just another one of the attractions that make the whole product.

Also look at the cost of visiting St. Louis compared to anywhere else, it's cheaper than many other metro areas and tourist areas to visit, due to the number of FREE activities we offer.

 

 

Oh, I agree. We have the most free attractions next to Wash. DC! And we are "centrally" located from so many cities.

[pkgdel5]

Question about JLBFM.....

When I spoke with Dave about this ride back in early October (I believe it was), he mentioned there were some "cool" things they were wanting to add but wasn't quiet sure if it were possible. I've noticed now, especially with Sally Corp, that the "name" has been changed from 3-D to 4-D. Perhaps, these were the "things" Dave was speaking of in our conversation??

 

Any thoughts???

[Woodie Warrior]

^Apparently the ride will feature targets projected onto fog screens which apparently has never been done before. Don't know if that's what you're talking about, though.

[pkgdel5]

^^^ That sounds great but I'm not sure what Dave was speaking of. He didn't give details. I've just noticed the ride was originally advertised as 3-D and now it's being advertised as 4-D. Just curious......

[Grant45]

Just posted on Six Flags St. Louis Facebook page.

[SFZIP]

That photo shows what it looked like about 10 days ago, now there is nothing left of what was the que/facade building except the concrete which was the original que area for the ride. There are also 4 large holes cut in the front of the ride (two of which you can see in the photo, where you used to enter the building) and there are two more cut in the front corners of the building, plus there are two large holes where equipment was driven in for interior demolition on the right side of the building.

 

A lot of details about the ride will probably be released tomorrow from IAAPA, where there is a special press event about the ride (and the one at SFOT).