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Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread


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That's cool they have spruced up the Palace Theater. My question is are they actually using it again? I have only been to the park a couple times in the last few years but it seems the Palace has just been sitting there doing nothing for years. Back in the 80's and 90's they had local shows and international shows all the time in there. Sometime around the 2000 era they just quit. Going to see a show at the Palace as always one of my favorite things and I was bummed out when they went away.

 

So what are they doing with all the old boats that were used on Scooby Doo? Are they destined to join the dump like the rest of the former props from that ride? I sure hope not. They should auction them off under the understanding they are collectors items only and not guaranteed to float or be usable for anything other then that. I would kill a puppy to get the opportunity to own one.

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That's cool they have spruced up the Palace Theater. My question is are they actually using it again? I have only been to the park a couple times in the last few years but it seems the Palace has just been sitting there doing nothing for years. Back in the 80's and 90's they had local shows and international shows all the time in there. Sometime around the 2000 era they just quit. Going to see a show at the Palace as always one of my favorite things and I was bummed out when they went away.

 

So what are they doing with all the old boats that were used on Scooby Doo? Are they destined to join the dump like the rest of the former props from that ride? I sure hope not. They should auction them off under the understanding they are collectors items only and not guaranteed to float or be usable for anything other then that. I would kill a puppy to get the opportunity to own one.

There is always a summer show in the Palace, I believe this year its called Evolutions. During Fright Fest, they do "Love at First Fright", which is starting to get a bit old.

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There is always a summer show in the Palace, I believe this year its called Evolutions. During Fright Fest, they do "Love at First Fright", which is starting to get a bit old.

 

Well it must just have been bad timing on my part because they weren't running when I was there. I'm pretty sure I seen Love at First Fright about 7 years ago though. Do they do they same one every year?

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There is always a summer show in the Palace, I believe this year its called Evolutions. During Fright Fest, they do "Love at First Fright", which is starting to get a bit old.

 

Well it must just have been bad timing on my part because they weren't running when I was there. I'm pretty sure I seen Love at First Fright about 7 years ago though. Do they do they same one every year?

Maybe the shows weren't running on the days you were there. This year, they don't start until May 18, and some don't even start until the first week of June. It all has to do with the when the theater kids get off school and have time to rehearse. Last season, I dropped by to see Evolutions while on my break, and I was pleasantly surprised. Also, I know that the country shows at Miss Kitty's Saloon tend to get a lot of compliments at Guest Relations.

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So what are they doing with all the old boats that were used on Scooby Doo? Are they destined to join the dump like the rest of the former props from that ride? I sure hope not. They should auction them off under the understanding they are collectors items only and not guaranteed to float or be usable for anything other then that. I would kill a puppy to get the opportunity to own one.

The remaining boats are currently in the employee parking lot. Right now, I just locked five of them down to be re-purposed in different ways at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I think that auctioning a few off would be really cool, especially if done for charity. I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

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Oceaneering's entertainment division has an office in Orlando in addition to the main office in Maryland.

Thanks for that insight. It just surprised me that they would be sent through different places, but I'm sure there's a reason.

 

Maybe this question has already been asked, but is there any room to the left of the building where the old Scooby outdoor queue used to be, or has the structure expanded to cover that area? If it's still there, what's going to fill that area?

I'll post a picture later tonight that I took, but it is where the larger garage door for the vehicles is on that side, and that side is also being used for the overflow queue if needed. Even without the anticipation for the ride, hopefully you'll get to ride it once. Luckily it makes Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knott's look like absolutely crap, to use technical terms.

 

Thanks for the update. Is there any particular reason for the tropical landscaping near the Palace and hot dog restaurant? I'm not trying to arm chair quarter back every move, but it seems kind of out of place.

Honestly, I think that if I hadn't used the word tropical, you wouldn't have noticed it. When you see all of the landscaping in person, it looks fantastic, not really tropical. But let's remember, there are a lot of things in the park that would seem out of place more than the landscaping (i.e. Pandemonium in the middle of the English section of the park).

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(snip) But let's remember, there are a lot of things in the park that would seem out of place more than the landscaping (i.e. Pandemonium in the middle of the English section of the park).

 

Actually, this is my biggest gripe about SFStL: the park theming, such as it is, ranges from inconsistent to random to totally nonexistent, and it really detracts from the experience. I know that it's because it's an old park that grew organically and without any long range planning, and with no budget available to renovate and make things consistent from place to place in the park, but it still bugs me. I went to Universal Orlando two months ago and while the rides are way more big budget than SFStL, the thing that really made the experience was the overall theming. Wherever you went, the part of the park you were in made sense with regard to the ride, store, or restaurant in front of you. None of that "Pandemonium in the middle of the English section of the park" (and really, what makes that part of the park "English"? The wooden buildings?) Six Flags has individually themed rides, but nothing about the placement of anything is done to create a cohesive experience. For instance, you've got Ninja right across from the two Batman-themed rides, along with a Chinese restaurant, a hamburger place (Johnny Rockets) and a giant basketball game. Absolutely none of these things have anything to do with each other. And then there's that mysterious "Studio Backlot" sign on the train bridge leading to the aforementioned area, even though there is no "Movie Studio" theming whatsoever to be seen anywhere other than that one sign and two stores that have "studio" in the name. Why is that sign even there? At least with JLBFM opening, there will be two rides across from each other that bear some relationship to each other, since before, Mr. Freeze and Scooby Doo certainly didn't. This doesn't mean that the rides are any less fun, but there is absolutely nothing about SFStL that says "here I am at a theme park!" This is because there is no theme. It's mostly a random collection of rides, and I'm not knocking the rides, because they actually are lots of fun for a lower-budget park, and I am certainly hoping that JLBFM will live up to Six Flags' selling it as a Universal/Disney quality ride (I still find it hard to believe that Six Flags spent the money to live up to what I saw at Universal Orlando, but I'm definitely willing to reserve judgment.) But even with this hopefully fantastic new ride, it's just one more individual experience that is not part of a cohesive whole. And frankly, I don't know how this problem could be fixed.

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I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

I am sure that would go over well with the locals in Eureka but NO just NO, dont do it. The last thing this park needs is to be trashed up with old junk planters.

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(snip) But let's remember, there are a lot of things in the park that would seem out of place more than the landscaping (i.e. Pandemonium in the middle of the English section of the park).

 

Actually, this is my biggest gripe about SFStL: the park theming, such as it is, ranges from inconsistent to random to totally nonexistent, and it really detracts from the experience. I know that it's because it's an old park that grew organically and without any long range planning, and with no budget available to renovate and make things consistent from place to place in the park, but it still bugs me. I went to Universal Orlando two months ago and while the rides are way more big budget than SFStL, the thing that really made the experience was the overall theming. Wherever you went, the part of the park you were in made sense with regard to the ride, store, or restaurant in front of you. None of that "Pandemonium in the middle of the English section of the park" (and really, what makes that part of the park "English"? The wooden buildings?) Six Flags has individually themed rides, but nothing about the placement of anything is done to create a cohesive experience. For instance, you've got Ninja right across from the two Batman-themed rides, along with a Chinese restaurant, a hamburger place (Johnny Rockets) and a giant basketball game. Absolutely none of these things have anything to do with each other. And then there's that mysterious "Studio Backlot" sign on the train bridge leading to the aforementioned area, even though there is no "Movie Studio" theming whatsoever to be seen anywhere other than that one sign and two stores that have "studio" in the name. Why is that sign even there? At least with JLBFM opening, there will be two rides across from each other that bear some relationship to each other, since before, Mr. Freeze and Scooby Doo certainly didn't. This doesn't mean that the rides are any less fun, but there is absolutely nothing about SFStL that says "here I am at a theme park!" This is because there is no theme. It's mostly a random collection of rides, and I'm not knocking the rides, because they actually are lots of fun for a lower-budget park, and I am certainly hoping that JLBFM will live up to Six Flags' selling it as a Universal/Disney quality ride (I still find it hard to believe that Six Flags spent the money to live up to what I saw at Universal Orlando, but I'm definitely willing to reserve judgment.) But even with this hopefully fantastic new ride, it's just one more individual experience that is not part of a cohesive whole. And frankly, I don't know how this problem could be fixed.

 

Well I mean, the same could be said for any other part of the park except for DC Comics Plaza. I think DC Comics Plaza will now be the highlight area of the park, and probably the best themed too. Just think about what's in there now.

 

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis - Speaks for itself, massively themed DC Comics extravaganza featuring characters like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Cyborg, The Flash, Aquaman, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and the Joker and probably even more

 

Justice League HQ - Entirely Justice League themed store, not much more to be said

 

Mr Freeze Reverse Blast - Mr Freeze has some neat theming with Snowy's Ice Cream being a real place within the DC Comics Universe as well as all the entire interior being pretty nicely themed with all the fake frost and freezing chemical canisters and all that

 

Shazam - Just your typical scrambler ride but is themed after the DC Comics superhero of the same name and now exits through the same shop as JL:BFM

 

Superheroes V Villains - Store entirely themed to DC Comics stuff, is the exit to both Shazam and JL:BFM

 

From that, there's not a single thing that breaks the theme besides the BBQ restaurant which doesn't take too much away anyways (used to be Villains HQ which I don't get why they changed it but whatever I suppose)

 

SFSTL is pretty good at theming in that area, I don't see why they can't make an increased effort to do the same in the other sections of the park

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JB's BBQ might not match the DC Comics theme but it is FAR better than the Villain's Cafe ever was. It would've made more sense in the abandoned Western restaurant, but I'm also sort of glad it's near Mr. Freeze and JLBFM because now I can ride those two and eat at my favorite restaurant without walking all over the park.

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I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

I am sure that would go over well with the locals in Eureka but NO just NO, dont do it. The last thing this park needs is to be trashed up with old junk planters.

While I think that if placed in a couple larger pre-existing flower beds so that the boats were buried a few inches and completely surrounded by flowers, it could look really nice. But fortunately for you, there isn't any evidence to show that anyone who has the power to turn them into actual planters at the park has had a similar idea as myself. I think it'd be cool, but to each his own.

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So what are they doing with all the old boats that were used on Scooby Doo? Are they destined to join the dump like the rest of the former props from that ride? I sure hope not. They should auction them off under the understanding they are collectors items only and not guaranteed to float or be usable for anything other then that. I would kill a puppy to get the opportunity to own one.

The remaining boats are currently in the employee parking lot. Right now, I just locked five of them down to be re-purposed in different ways at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I think that auctioning a few off would be really cool, especially if done for charity. I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

 

Thanks HWfan for the information. If at all possible could you keep us in the loop in regards to the boats? Perhaps you could even mention to the higher ups you know some fans of the original ride that would love to secure some of them as keep sakes. I just don't want to see them in a land fill somewhere. There's to much history in them. Other then a couple years they have stayed in use since the park opened. There's not a whole lot of things that have lasted for 44 years other then the buildings, Moon Cars and train.

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I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

I am sure that would go over well with the locals in Eureka but NO just NO, dont do it. The last thing this park needs is to be trashed up with old junk planters.

While I think that if placed in a couple larger pre-existing flower beds so that the boats were buried a few inches and completely surrounded by flowers, it could look really nice. But fortunately for you, there isn't any evidence to show that anyone who has the power to turn them into actual planters at the park has had a similar idea as myself. I think it'd be cool, but to each his own.

 

Actually I think this is an awesome idea. They could have one out with some good landscaping and perhaps with some signage telling the history of the boat and the ride. I wish the park embraced its past instead of forgetting it.

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JB's BBQ might not match the DC Comics theme but it is FAR better than the Villain's Cafe ever was. It would've made more sense in the abandoned Western restaurant, but I'm also sort of glad it's near Mr. Freeze and JLBFM because now I can ride those two and eat at my favorite restaurant without walking all over the park.

 

I love JB'S BBQ too (we eat there every time we go), but I just don't get why they themed it to something having nothing to do with anything else around it. With Scooby Doo replaced by a DC-themed ride, that area of the park is now one of only two with consistent theming (the other being Bugs Bunny National Park) and then they have to go and spoil the consistency by making the restaurant something entirely out of place. If they didn't like Heros vs. Villains as a restaurant and wanted to use that theme for a store instead, why not try to tie the restaurant into the remainder of the theme somehow, instead of making it something entirely different from what's around it? I guess they just don't care about overall theming, and I think that's a big mistake.

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Actually, this is my biggest gripe about SFStL: the park theming, such as it is, ranges from inconsistent to random to totally nonexistent, and it really detracts from the experience...and I am certainly hoping that JLBFM will live up to Six Flags' selling it as a Universal/Disney quality ride (I still find it hard to believe that Six Flags spent the money to live up to what I saw at Universal Orlando, but I'm definitely willing to reserve judgment.) But even with this hopefully fantastic new ride, it's just one more individual experience that is not part of a cohesive whole. And frankly, I don't know how this problem could be fixed.

One thing that you have to keep in mind is the purpose of Universal vs. Six Flags. SFSL is a great place to visit to ride a decent amount of coasters (SFSL has pretty much as many coasters as each of the Universal parks has rides, not including their little kid spinners). Universal is much more expensive, and you are in part paying for that level of immersive theming. One thing that I personally never thought about until it was mentioned to me was the way in which the park's operating schedule & climate play into the level of theming. First off, with Universal/Disney being located in more tropical areas, it is much easier to maintain the outdoor theming. Going through the annual extremes of freezing/sweltering really takes its toll of most of the materials used for outdoor theming materials. Also, being open and profiting year-round is a big advantage that Universal/Disney have.

 

As someone who has learned almost every little detail of the park and notices when even these smallest stand gets repainted, I can say that Pandemonium's placement has honestly never really bothered me. Would it be nice if it fit the original theme of that area when the park opened? Sure. But it looks nice and is a lot of fun for me and a lot of the Guests who visit the park.

 

Parts of Cedar Point have very good theming with others having no theming at all. Even Holiday World, which really promotes and prides itself on being the first theme park, has less theming than SFSL. The amount of vinyl siding at that park could cover all the houses surrounding a few dozen cul-de-sacs in your average middle-class suburb. While it isn't a big deal to me personally, have you seen their Thanksgiving section (from the Voyage through Gobble Getaway)? After displaying some really impressive themed concept art for the area, the Voyage's massive statement is just a huge blue box that shares the functionality-comes-first mantra of a lot of the park's buildings. Again, with such rapid expansion, the budget for theming just wasn't there, and it is great that they are going back and really starting to increase theming. SFSL has some really cool & well-themed buildings (especially western ones) that cost a lot to maintain compared to vinyl siding (imagine how people would react if Batman or Mr. Freeze's station looked like the Voyage's station).

 

Just take the park for what it is and enjoy it! There are a lot of really fun rides and we at least get a new ride of some type every year. Also, with JLBM, the lighting designer did the lighting design for the Disney castles & every ride that opened with USF & IOA. Each aspect of the ride was designed by the best in the business, and even if it isn't on as large of a scale as Universal, those designers wouldn't put their name on something that wasn't high quality. Comparing the JLBM budget to the Transformers budget, the scale and some of the aspects of the ride (such as four of the most high tech and largest elevators ever built) are largely responsible for the astronomical budget of the latter. I can't wait for you to ride JLBM, as I'm sure you'll really, really like it.

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I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

I am sure that would go over well with the locals in Eureka but NO just NO, dont do it. The last thing this park needs is to be trashed up with old junk planters.

While I think that if placed in a couple larger pre-existing flower beds so that the boats were buried a few inches and completely surrounded by flowers, it could look really nice. But fortunately for you, there isn't any evidence to show that anyone who has the power to turn them into actual planters at the park has had a similar idea as myself. I think it'd be cool, but to each his own.

 

Actually I think this is an awesome idea. They could have one out with some good landscaping and perhaps with some signage telling the history of the boat and the ride. I wish the park embraced its past instead of forgetting it.

One cool thing that you may not have seen is that the park took a bunch of the old Hannibarrels and turned them into nice padded places to sit down near Tsunami Soaker & the train station. There is even a huge sign with lots of information & pictures of the attraction above the barrels by TS. I would expect the park to work on finding use for them before considering trashing them. The bumper cars sat for two years before they were just recently picked up by the Shriners to turn into go karts.

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I also think that a couple could possibly be re-purposed as cool landscaping planters around the park.

I am sure that would go over well with the locals in Eureka but NO just NO, dont do it. The last thing this park needs is to be trashed up with old junk planters.

While I think that if placed in a couple larger pre-existing flower beds so that the boats were buried a few inches and completely surrounded by flowers, it could look really nice. But fortunately for you, there isn't any evidence to show that anyone who has the power to turn them into actual planters at the park has had a similar idea as myself. I think it'd be cool, but to each his own.

 

Actually I think this is an awesome idea. They could have one out with some good landscaping and perhaps with some signage telling the history of the boat and the ride. I wish the park embraced its past instead of forgetting it.

One cool thing that you may not have seen is that the park took a bunch of the old Hannibarrels and turned them into nice padded places to sit down near Tsunami Soaker & the train station. There is even a huge sign with lots of information & pictures of the attraction above the barrels by TS. I would expect the park to work on finding use for them before considering trashing them. The bumper cars sat for two years before they were just recently picked up by the Shriners to turn into go karts.

 

I have not seen the Hannibarrels but that is exactly what I was talking about. That is great they re-purposed some of them for history sakes. Awesome! They should do more of that kind of stuff.

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I understand the complaint about the inconsistent themeing, but like HWfan says, I don't think it should ruin anyone's time as long as they have realistic expectations for the park. I'm sure it could really bother you... if you let it.

 

I thought about some of the other parks I enjoy, including one of my favorite parks, King's Island. Adventure Express (mine train) isn't in any kind of themed area. Banshee is plopped right in the middle of "Action Zone", as is the Bat. Even in the Bat queue, you can still see old military insignia for Top Gun. Back Lot Stunt coaster is just randomly plopped right in the middle of the park. The Beast Area runs into the Log Flume area, which runs into Diamondback, which are all within a stone's throw of the Planet Snoopy Area, with a sports bar thrown right in the middle.

 

I suppose my point is, it doesn't take away from the experience for most people, unless themeing is the experience you're going for. Personally, as far as themeing goes I'm a 'less is more' kind of person, anyway. Or maybe I grew out of the whole 'pretending I'm in the old west' or 'I feel like I'm in the middle of a DC comic book' thing long ago... actually I never remember thinking that anyway. I think for most of us ride experience comes first and themeing comes second. Take one of my favorites such as Diamondback. It has little 'Western' bits here and there, the Trains and logo area pretty cool, but I don't need the train to enter through a rattle snake's mouth fly out of it's asshole for me to appreciate the ride any more.

 

And on a side personal... Disney, Universal, and all of those other 'hey let's pretend we're in another world' parks are plain worthless to me. I think they're lame. I'd rather spend my day at SFSTL than fantasy land. (<- that's a statement coming from me) There's no escape from the real world, unfortunately. These parks are my pet peeves and as an adult I just can't understand why anyone would want to go there without kids. Some of the videos/pictures I've seen with grown men getting excited to see Micky or Buzz light year make me feel some... type.. of way... It's just weird.

 

/end rant

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The Hannibarrels worked. The old pickup bed my neighbors decided would make a nice planter in their front yard did not. Nor do the wagon wheels and old plows as decoration work. I know to each his own but planting flowers in old crap is just Whisky Tango.

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The Hannibarrels worked. The old pickup bed my neighbors decided would make a nice planter in their front yard did not. Nor do the wagon wheels and old plows as decoration work. I know to each his own but planting flowers in old crap is just Whisky Tango.

 

I don't know about using one of the boats as a planter but to setup a display explaning it's history in the park would be cool. They could even put it on the path to Hurricane Harbor. They already have old boats and stuff in there. It would fit right into the theming.

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Thanks to my sons' soccer tournament being cancelled this weekend, we were able to make only our second trip of the season to the park. I'm not going to give a full report, but just run through some highlights.

 

We Arrived about noon and headed to the burrito stand that had no wait! First time I've ever seen that. We then took the loop past moon cars, log flume, and towards JL:BFM. All I can say is WOW! Like stated in a couple previous posts this really ties this entire area together and will present for a really immersive experience. Maybe we will see some of the real-life characters in that area of the park again when the ride opens and would add another layer of realism to the area. Like said though the recently remodeled JB's sticks out like a sore thumb. Also to answer previous question about the old outdoor queue left from Scooby, it is still there except for a few sections that had to be removed to put the large door in the side of the building to get materials/equipment in and out. They have it primed and ready to paint a new color rather the swamp green color it was. Assuming there is a large queue area inside, I hope the outside queue never gets full.

 

With the on and off again rain most the morning that kept the crowds rather light until about 3pm or so when the park seemed pretty full, but ride waits still stayed rather short. We caught the show at Miss Kitty's Saloon, it was just okay. The male performers seemed to really carry the show. The singing was okay and the comedy aspects were very good. I noticed that had put up walls on either end of the theater where the bars used to be located. I don't remember if this was like that for fright fest and not taken down or if it was done for this season.

 

We also caught the Looney Toons character show at the Empire theater. This was the same "we Got The Beat" show as the past couple of years. The younger kids seemed to enjoy it and I love the 80's tunes, so it wasn't awful. One thing I did notice was that they had all six costumed characters hanging around outside the theater before the show to help bring people in to the theater and it seemed to work pretty well. Don't ever remember seeing six characters together at once in the park. All were outside for at least 15 minutes prior to the show for photo ops. Biggest question is: Do kids under 10 even know who Bugs, Daffy and Tweety are?

 

They had a baton twirling competition at the park today too. They put on a show at 6pm which was pretty cool to watch.

 

Tsunami Soaker was dead all day long, kinda sad too see for a second year ride. Although it never seemed to have lines last year either.

 

My bag of cotton candy I got today as a snack seemed about half the size I got on my first visit, but noticed they added First Cone to the snack options. Only complaint would be that snack needs to be used before 7:30 pm. Seems like the snack time should be allowed until park close.

 

Other than that It really was a great Six Flags Day!

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