Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[RKO]

I agree, something needs to be done to address the dining issues. A 15 minute wait for a sofa refill is unacceptable. Waiting almost an hour for food is unacceptable. It's almost like they should have seen this coming and been proactive not reactive.

[Mad Hatter]

I agree, something needs to be done to address the dining issues. A 15 minute wait for a sofa refill is unacceptable. Waiting almost an hour for food is unacceptable. It's almost like they should have seen this coming and been proactive not reactive.

 

If it's going to take over an hour to get one's food then they may want to extend the lunch/dinner times. At this point you should just be able to get two meals between the hours of 11:30 and 7:30. There is no need to take that one hour break from 3:30 - 4:30.

 

Or they should have every available terminal open to take orders. They were only using one at JB's then realized "oops". They still had a third terminal that was sitting there unused.

[SFOG1991]

SFOG has the same issues with food service. It may be a company wide issue because they have managed to increase attendance and significantly increase the number of people dining in the parks, but they have not done anything to handle that increase of people.

 

I had to wait over an hour for food multiple times since I got my dining pass. Additionally, the only reason drink refills are immediate is because I have the blue cup and go to the 3 Coke Freestyle locations in the park. I just walk up, get my drink, and leave. Does St. Louis have Freestyle?

[SFOG1991]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

[Baelfael]

Yeah, food service continues to be a bit of a bad joke at the park. I feel like they still haven't come close to reckoning with the fact that they've given massive numbers of visitors infinite supplies of soda. The only thing I noticed was that the PoS on the far right at Funnel Cakes was dedicated to soda refills (the only such station I noticed), and had a line of no more than 2-3 people the times I walked by it. And because it was a dedicated line, it turned over nice and quick. This is the model that should be mimicked at stations throughout the park, and they need to be clearly marked. If memory serves, I think one other station like this is set up in HH. They could also just bring in more self-service/Coke freestyle stations. They'd be messier, but they would dodge the marginal costs associated with extra line workers. None of this is to say nothing of the problems using actual dining credits thanks to massive lines. It took the person taking my order several minutes to figure out how to process the use of a snack credit. That should absolutely be faster than a cash transaction. Workers being left alone in a concession stand lead to very elongated waits for everything. Two workers would lead to tremendous gains in efficiency, and yet, I saw massive lines at small stands across the park. I guess I can't reckon with behind-the-scenes accounting, but...boy, waiting in line 20 minutes at that Pretzel stand hurts.

 

Has anyone heard anything about Batman running one train for a chunk of Saturday? Stuff like BfM being buggy, I can sorta get; that's a ride system that's never experienced an off season. But Batman is a ~20 year old ride with 7 installations across the chain, with a manufacturer that's still around to buy parts and support from. There's probably about 80 collective years of experience of how this ride acts on opening day. So what's going on?

 

I tend to be fairly apologetic for our little park, and the things that were running were doing so smoothly from what I could tell, but man, stuff like this leaves a bad taste. Waits for attractions that are running smoothly are fine and completely unavoidable in a successful park. But unforced errors like these are, to me, inexcusable when Six Flags so aggressively primes the pump with ticket promotions. A normal/dry-run/soft open weekend to iron out kinks before running a big promotional weekend with heavily discounted tickets might help.

[TNT]

Deleted 

[ZeroGravity55]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

 

The Raven at HW and Eagle are the two coasters getting the Ace plaques this year.

[SFOG1991]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

 

The Raven at HW and Eagle are the two coasters getting the Ace plaques this year.

Thanks! Didn't realize The Raven was getting one.

 

Still seems odd GASM isn't getting one and doesn't already have one since Screamin' Eagle is. I wonder what the decision process is there.

[PhantomPoster32]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

 

The Raven at HW and Eagle are the two coasters getting the Ace plaques this year.

Thanks! Didn't realize The Raven was getting one.

 

Still seems odd GASM isn't getting one and doesn't already have one since Screamin' Eagle is. I wonder what the decision process is there.

 

Well... the park would have to host a Con to get one.

[RollerManic]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

 

The Raven at HW and Eagle are the two coasters getting the Ace plaques this year.

Thanks! Didn't realize The Raven was getting one.

 

Still seems odd GASM isn't getting one and doesn't already have one since Screamin' Eagle is. I wonder what the decision process is there.

 

Well... the park would have to host a Con to get one.

I was thinking the same thing about the Classic v. Landmark status.

 

SFOG hosted CC in 2008. GASM has headrests and is not eligible for Classic Status and doesn't have the innovative importance of a Landmark status.

 

God. This plaque reminds me of how much I love our little gem. By the way, is anyone planning on attending this event? I dont care what you think of ACE.

[CoasterGuy06]

^Mindbender received a plaque during the 2008 CC.

[Baelfael]

First, Batman ran one train all weekend. The second train is still undergoing rehab.

 

Second, roller coasters are a lot more complex then you seem to be thinking. Machines in general are effected by temperature and moisture. When there is a drastic temperature change the rides will have issues until they get dialed in. Rehabing a train can also cause the ride to have issues. A person making repairs or inspecting the ride can bump a sensor just a couple of mm causing issues until the sensor is moved back. Trust me I work as a maintenance mechanic at a bottling plant, it doesn't take much to cause a machine to fault out.

 

"The train is getting rehabbed" probably answers my question.

 

I get that these things are deceptively complex machines but weather, repairs, and maintenance are all stuff that the park deals with all season. I don't really recall trains going offline for weekends at a time last year, but it's certainly possible I just missed it. At any rate, a rehab is a larger job that doesn't particularly scale well. Thanks for the answer!

[SFOG1991]

Screamin' Eagle will be getting an ACE plaque this year:

 

http://coastercon.com/html/2016_schedule.html

 

I didn't think it could as it is not eligible for ACE landmark status.

It is eligible for ACE Landmark plaque, just not the ACE Coaster Classic plaque, right?

 

Coaster Classic is mostly for historic wooden coasters utilizing buzz bars basically. Landmark just means it has innovative significance I believe.

 

If Screamin' Eagle is getting a plaque, I wonder if Great American Scream Machine will as well. It too opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster before Screamin' Eagle came to be and is both older and still utilizing buzz bars instead of the awful ratchet bars (I wish I got a chance to ride Screamin' Eagle with buzz bars).

 

The Raven at HW and Eagle are the two coasters getting the Ace plaques this year.

Thanks! Didn't realize The Raven was getting one.

 

Still seems odd GASM isn't getting one and doesn't already have one since Screamin' Eagle is. I wonder what the decision process is there.

 

Well... the park would have to host a Con to get one.

I was thinking the same thing about the Classic v. Landmark status.

 

SFOG hosted CC in 2008. GASM has headrests and is not eligible for Classic Status and doesn't have the innovative importance of a Landmark status.

 

God. This plaque reminds me of how much I love our little gem. By the way, is anyone planning on attending this event? I dont care what you think of ACE.

Why would Screamin' Eagle be eligible for Landmark but GASM isn't? Am I missing something? They held the same title except GASM did it a few years prior and still has buzz bars. I know neither of them are Classic eligible but I would assume if Screamin' Eagle is Landmark eligible GASM would only be even more eligible. True they would have to host a con though I guess. I wasn't aware of that part.

[prozach626]

I don't think our park is the only park that has an issue with dining. KI was a nightmare last season. We don't usually waste money on park food, but during our couple visits I can say that it took 20-30 minutes just to get a beer at times. The Haunt was especially bad, with every booth running out of beer and most of the stands didn't have half of the menu items. I'm sure a good portion of this has something to do with the trending dining passes. Maybe we're just spoiled, since we always opt for fast lane passes and aren't used to waiting in line.

 

- The park has virtually a brand-new power grid. It's almost unbelievable how much utility work was done.

Foreshadowing?

[SteveStL]

 

- The park has virtually a brand-new power grid. It's almost unbelievable how much utility work was done.

Foreshadowing?

 

Fireball requires a lot of energy. It goes around and Around And Around AND AROUND - Forwards and Backwards too! which does limit re-branding the Ride later. Hmmm, Six Flags put themselves in a hole on this one

[TNT]

Deleted 

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

Why would Screamin' Eagle be eligible for Landmark but GASM isn't? Am I missing something? They held the same title except GASM did it a few years prior and still has buzz bars. I know neither of them are Classic eligible but I would assume if Screamin' Eagle is Landmark eligible GASM would only be even more eligible. True they would have to host a con though I guess. I wasn't aware of that part.

 

That would be a question for ACE, but I do have two theories. First one is that this being John Allen's last coaster they feel it deserves a plaque. Second (this is based on an article I read online somewhere and my own assumption) Screamin' Eagle was apparently the first coaster to break the Coney Island Cyclone's speed record (60mph). When GASM was built Cyclone wasnt operating (according to Wikipedia Cyclone began running again in 1975) so GASM received the record for fast operating wooden roller coaster (57mph). I think my first theory is the most likely, the second one is more interesting than anything. But at the end of the day its a question best asked to either a memeber or a high ranking official.

 

I agree. Screamin' Eagle is a better coaster for ACE than GASM

[Mad Hatter]

I don't think our park is the only park that has an issue with dining. KI was a nightmare last season. We don't usually waste money on park food, but during our couple visits I can say that it took 20-30 minutes just to get a beer at times. The Haunt was especially bad, with every booth running out of beer and most of the stands didn't have half of the menu items. I'm sure a good portion of this has something to do with the trending dining passes. Maybe we're just spoiled, since we always opt for fast lane passes and aren't used to waiting in line.

 

 

I disagree. We have APs to both Universal Orlando and WDW so I am used to standing in lines. They see more people in one day than our SF sees in a week. I've never waited in lines for food at those places like I have at our SF. I think they oversold the Dining Passes and are now playing catch up. It doesn't seem like the right approach to me.

[CustomMadeGJ]

It's not all dining pass. I think it's mostly a bad capable worker to guest ratio. I waited an hour at Panda Express Friday for a meal and they don't accept the dining pass. Problem was they had two people working and one was a manager who looked like he was running on E and no longer cared

[parkjunkie]

There are numerous factors for the wait times at the restaurants, even before dining passes, lines and wait times were known to get quite out of hand. A few years back, you may, or may not, have noticed green lines on the ground about 15 feet away from the counters at restaurants. These were put in place so that if the line would pass these green lines, any worker with a radio could call the food service dept. for a "code green" and they would take workers from a slower location to help at the busier one, problem was that when you did so, the place you took the workers from would then have the same issue. I hate saying this, but the primary reason for the slow service at the food stands and restaurants is the quality of workers. It is no secret that food service workers in the amusement park or entertainment industry aren't usually your top notch workers, they unfortunately tend to be the ones who don't qualify for much else. And as much as I disagree with all the nation wide uproar to pay food service workers $15 an hour, the quality of workers is pretty low when the pay is low. Food service, not only at many of the SF parks, but other places as well, have tried incentive programs, award programs, and so on to try to boost the speed and quality of workers but usually to no avail. Overall, IMO, it's a mixture of understaffing, high turnover, low quality workers, low priced dining passes that has allowed way too many to be bought, and inexperienced/ don't care attitudes, and the biggest part IMO is bad management....

[HWFan]

^A dialogue regarding people's experience with the park's food service is one thing. However, your over generalization of the food service workers in such a negative way is just uncalled for. They have one of the hardest jobs at the park and a lot of them are some of the hardest workers I've seen. Seriously.

[SFOG1991]

Why would Screamin' Eagle be eligible for Landmark but GASM isn't? Am I missing something? They held the same title except GASM did it a few years prior and still has buzz bars. I know neither of them are Classic eligible but I would assume if Screamin' Eagle is Landmark eligible GASM would only be even more eligible. True they would have to host a con though I guess. I wasn't aware of that part.

 

That would be a question for ACE, but I do have two theories. First one is that this being John Allen's last coaster they feel it deserves a plaque. Second (this is based on an article I read online somewhere and my own assumption) Screamin' Eagle was apparently the first coaster to break the Coney Island Cyclone's speed record (60mph). When GASM was built Cyclone wasnt operating (according to Wikipedia Cyclone began running again in 1975) so GASM received the record for fast operating wooden roller coaster (57mph). I think my first theory is the most likely, the second one is more interesting than anything. But at the end of the day its a question best asked to either a memeber or a high ranking official.

 

I agree. Screamin' Eagle is a better coaster for ACE than GASM

Hopefully GASM will get one too, not that it really matters. GASM and Screamin' Eagle are both excellent and massive classic woodies, however I have to say GASM has the better airtime and rides better. Probably has a lot to do with the buzz bars. It's sad seeing buzz bars disappear from the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks.

 

Thanks for the insight. Those were my thoughts as the possibilities too.

[TrippinBillie]

I don't think our park is the only park that has an issue with dining. KI was a nightmare last season. We don't usually waste money on park food, but during our couple visits I can say that it took 20-30 minutes just to get a beer at times. The Haunt was especially bad, with every booth running out of beer and most of the stands didn't have half of the menu items. I'm sure a good portion of this has something to do with the trending dining passes. Maybe we're just spoiled, since we always opt for fast lane passes and aren't used to waiting in line.

 

- The park has virtually a brand-new power grid. It's almost unbelievable how much utility work was done.

Foreshadowing?

 

 

Good call? Holiday World did a huge revamp of their power grid for the prep of Thunderbird. But who knows....

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

^When I read that last post at the bottom, I thought "RMC BOSS!" But, what are the odds?

[ZeroGravity55]

I don't think our park is the only park that has an issue with dining. KI was a nightmare last season. We don't usually waste money on park food, but during our couple visits I can say that it took 20-30 minutes just to get a beer at times. The Haunt was especially bad, with every booth running out of beer and most of the stands didn't have half of the menu items. I'm sure a good portion of this has something to do with the trending dining passes. Maybe we're just spoiled, since we always opt for fast lane passes and aren't used to waiting in line.

 

- The park has virtually a brand-new power grid. It's almost unbelievable how much utility work was done.

Foreshadowing?

 

 

Good call? Holiday World did a huge revamp of their power grid for the prep of Thunderbird. But who knows....

 

HW their own substation. They didn't do a complete revamp of the power grid. If I remember correctly, SFStL has been forced to close several times over the last several years due to power problems, so that's probably why there was a complete revamp of the power grid.