Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[JG-77]

There has been no announcement for any parks as far as I know. If any SF parks are adding something new for 2021 other than their 2020 project, they have not announced it yet, and if they do announce something, parks will do individual announcements.

[prozach626]

They aren't doing that this year.

[SharkTums]

So we're actually trying to figure out a couple of parks we can maybe hit that are not Florida or SoCal by the end of the year and with Holiday in the Park St. Louis is a possibility. Can any of the locals let me know what rides usually run (or if it's easier don't run) during the winter event?

[kenban]

Not a local but when I was there for Holiday in the park in 2018 they ran basically everything. All of the coasters and major thrill rides were running. I had a great time, the lines were short and the food was better during the holidays then the regular season.

[TNT]

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[SharkTums]

^&^^ Thanks for the info!

[JimH2K]

I did see that there is now a completed refurbished carousel horse in the new building next to the carousel. I will say that the horse looks awesome! I wonder how long it takes to refurbish each one? They have the new horse enclosed in glass, on a spinning pedestal near the entrance to the carousel/Super Girl. Once all are completed... That carousel will look amazing! Hopefully people will treat these well, and they can stay looking sharp for years to come!

[TNT]

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[SixFlagsAstroworld]

That restored horse looks amazing! I'm glad to see the carousel getting the love it needs!

[bert425]

^ ditto!

 

[gnucksjr]

Here are a couple more shots of the restored horse. The pics don’t do it justice... enameled paint, jewels, detailed carvings... it’s too bad there is no room by the Palace to relocate the whole thing in a new house. It will be beautiful!

[teacherkim]

You guys beat me to the punch! I also have pics of the new horse, but no better than what you put up. He looks absolutely amazing in person. Super super detailed and everyone I saw pass by stopped and examined him. We were actually there for a special event and during lunch in the picnic grove; we got to witness horses in various stages and one of the artists detailed the process for us. One horse had just been stripped of all old paint and sanded down, one horse had been painted with primer, and the third had a base coat color applied. Then after each of those steps they paint the detail like the finished horse, named "Abel"; each one is given a name.

[teacherkim]

Unfortunately, they don't expect to get it done until sometime in 2022 and we had to work to get that date out or her. That is a current best guess; it could end up being a little sooner or a little later depending on how much damage, and therefore how much restoration each horse needs.

 

But it is historic and I hope the ride and the park staff is given recognition when they complete it. Over 100 years old and built by PTC. There are very few of these left.

 

Bert go have a party! I know you were super bummed at the condition of these guys.

[teacherkim]

It just occurred to me that I got so sidetracked talking about the horses that I didn't mention anything else about the park that day.

 

It was moderately busy but nothing compared to what it would be on a normal Saturday with perfect weather. Still some of the arcade games closed but all the rides running, including Boomerang and Fireball. In fact I think the only ride that was down was JL which of course was always going to be down, and TR and TS which I assume are done for the season. Batman did have a train get stuck very temporarily on the lift hill, we were stuck out on the break run due to it. But maintenance showed up and got them going within about 5 min. If it went down for longer after they unloaded both trains I have no idea how long. We didn't get back over to that part of the park until about 6 to eat at JR.

 

Two trains running on every coaster!

 

There are decorations going up for the Halloween event and the entertainment crew was rehearsing on the Palace porch for the the Halloween show there (can't think of the name at the moment) There were multiple outdoor stages going up so I think they are really trying to make the best of the situation. I will definitely hit that one night to check it all out. Besides I still have my "Golden ticket" as compensation for the lockdown, so my husband who doesn't go often enough to have a pass can come with me one night.

 

They do have walls up in front of the Tidal Wave sight. I have absolutely no idea if that is because they are going to start working on something or they just wanted to cover up a dumpy looking site or they wanted to make extra sure people don't try to wander around in there.

 

Mask use was pretty good. A few with them below nose and/or chin but definitely a small percentage. Social distancing in the lines, not so much and in places where the queues were out of site of ride ops, like the stairwell of Freeze, way more masks pulled down.

[prozach626]

Did they ever start selling beer?

[teacherkim]

Did they ever start selling beer?

 

 

Sorry. I have no idea. Couldn't drink because I had my seasick patch on so I could ride a bunch. And I just don't have a memory of whether the bar at JB's was open or not, even though I walked by it more than once.

[TNT]

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[prozach626]

Damn. The temptation to go have a few beers and ride a few rides this October is strong, but I'll only be three months post shoulder surgery. Still... hmmmmm... Time will tell.

[Vonni]

Yes the bar was open. I had a beer.

[TNT]

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[prozach626]

I had no idea refurbishing the horses is such a large undertaking.

[teacherkim]

Yeah that was our presentation during lunch. It was really quite interesting. Interesting enough that all the coaster nuts were asking questions and paying attention.

[Danrarbc]

I had no idea refurbishing the horses is such a large undertaking.

Yeah you can see why it's the kind of thing Six Flags doesn't do often. A ton of labor involved. Makes you appreciate places that do it way more often. Then again it wouldn't be near as intensive if you did it before they fall apart.

[Danrarbc]

Visited Hallowfest 10/11. The third reservation 'sell out'. Most of the lines were very reasonable - Eagle is back to two train ops. But Mr Freeze had the limited capacity sign out - and indeed seemed to be one running one train. Disappointing - two switchbacks were in use so that wait had to have been hell.

The new LED lighting in the entry plaza and in the DC Comics area has color overlays installed.

The park is continuing to pour new concrete around the entrance. This in front of the Flash Pass stand (the old path was in really bad shape right here).

 

The scare actors are in the zones all day. They're all set up like this to be a bit more like a set rather than a place for them to hide and jump out as you walk through.

 

Bone Jovi

 

The troll area is a family-friendly walkthrough now. They slide a treat down a tube for kids at the end.

 

The spider web area has been moved to the two tunnels since Blind Fury isn't there. Really like this.

 

This is what they've done with the area where spiders used to be.

 

Oh Yeah. Justice League is open. The queue feeds in through the emergency exit at the end of the long corridor right now.

 

Even with fewer scare zones set up there's a good amount of fog being thrown throughout the park. Just a bit less than usual back by Boss and the Illinois section.

 

The Scareacha wings are included on the meal pass - no upcharge. Spicier than I expected too. And if you want the skull mug the non-alcoholic grape drink is the only way to get it - though for families that want it this is probably better than making an alcoholic beverage the only way to get it. It'd probably just be better to make it an upcharge for any beverage though,.

[teacherkim]

I was at the park on the 10th with a co-worker/friend. Two ladies in their 50's blowing off steam after having students back in our rooms for the first time in almost 7 months. To add to what  Dan posted:

I think they did a great job figuring out a way to do JL with the line and only one party per car, each person asked to use hand sanitizer right before the ride. 

The scare zones were kind of lame. More like scare shows, but as a teacher I give the park an absolute A for effort and attempting to keep some of that  Halloween atmosphere. I think they did the best they could under the circumstances. They alternated shows on the Palace porch so they happened pretty frequently.

Pretty much all rides were open except the obvious, water rides and carousel. A couple things like Superman and Colossus opened a couple hours after park open and Bugs closed at 8, a couple hours early. The only ride that stayed closed the whole time that shouldn't have been was Excalibur. We got awesome night rides on all 3 woodies. Screaming Eagle still running great after all these years. She is the grand dame of the park. About 40 min each from line entry to exit on Eagle and Thunder.  Boss would have been easily an hour , but I had two skip the line passes and we used them there. Freeze on one train this night as well and I didn't hike up there to check but the line must have been atrocious. Mine train had an hour wait at one point but as soon as Bugs closed and the people with smaller kids left it dropped down to about 20 min. We didn't mind the crowds and wait times because we were just hanging out with no agenda and didn't really care about missing rides. Just enjoying NOT being in front of a computer.

Used the mobile app to order food at JB's and it worked great! Would be happy to keep that feature after the virus that shall not be named. Also, instead of having set times for lunch and dinner they simply had it set that you had to wait 3 hours between the two meals, with snacks being available anytime. Finally! I have been waiting for them to do something like this with the food hours and have never understood why it isn't like this all the time. It totally helps spread out the food crowds instead of having rushes at certain times. Hope they keep this as well.