teacherkim Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 10 hours ago, SF3582 said: TeacherKim... I am old but I will never forget my first ride on the Eagle- I was lucky enough to ride actual Train # 2 with people on it. Mostly construction workers. It was the most unbelievable ride on the Eagle ever. I also got the see the look on Mr. Allen and Mr. Cobb's face when the first train came back in the trims and ready block.... some things you never forget. Also, it was not a warm day so... They had "very" light grease in the bearings because of the cold- it really flew around the track. On the original back "dog leg" you felt like the Train was going to fly off the track. The paint on Eagle has held up- but needs a new coat. The original pieces were "dipped" in a paint trough and allowed to dry before being assembled. I believe that it has lasted longer than most and kept the wood in good shape. The summer of the build was awesome. We got to see it being assembled. It was bigger than anyone had ever seen in 1975. The first 5 or 10 bents for the drop went up first. Walking up the hill toward the mine train from the USA section you are right in line with those bents. People would stand there for 30 minutes looking at that with mouth agape. Some would ask what it was and the word around the park from employees would be "it's the braces for the world's largest drive-in movie". That was an awesome summer to work in the Park. BTW, Steve Reed - the guy that is refurbing the Horses on the Carousel- started 2 years after I did. I was so surprised to learn that he is still there. The winter we painted the Horses- my winter work was sanding the Horses to get ready to receive paint. Sanding the flowers and intricate work on those Horses was very hard work. You really developed an appreciation for how detailed those pieces of art really are....I also sanded trash cans to be repainted before Park open in April- a different time to be sure. When we toured PTC last summer, Tom Rebbie the CEO, talked to us about having to come to SFSTL and help them with the testing and issues they were having. I certainly remember the insane amount of media coverage on Eagle when it opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 7 hours ago, JonR said: Another in the 1966 birth year club. Don't think I'll ever tire of riding coasters. Worked at the park for 4 summers. Now call America in DC home, so don't have any sympathies for SFStL woes. You have the best collection of wooden coasters in the chain. But, I can ride up I95 to Great Adventure for my elite fix. Along with a whole set of other parks. I think the whole chain is kind of lost. After the total fail in Season pass sales last fall following giving away the gate for one year and now a list of options that confuses the most seasoned park goer. Coming out of the pandemic last fall they had the opportunity to have a clear strategy and totally re-invent where they wanted to go. They missed it and now they are trying to figure it out. Can't believe they can't keep the water park open all week in the summer. That is a huge PR hit and loss of revenue opportunity. Need a national movement to get all the high school/college students in summer jobs to help bring back the economy. I have so many valuable lessons and stories from working in the park. Oh, well I guess I really am old talking about the good old days! I did ride the Eagle opening year, remember the sky ride and Casa Meramac the original Mexican restaurant. Time to figure out which park to hit next! The water park issue is purely a shortage of life guards, all the pools around here are having massive issues as well. But high school/college kids just don't work those traditional summer jobs as much anymore. Many are busy taking summer classes or internships to pad their college resumes, to their detriment in my opinion. And that's from a former teacher. There are skills you just don't learn anywhere else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrippinBillie Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Anyone know if they'd consider turning the Eagle trains around for FF? Or 50th? That's something that would be great to see return! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 no 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF3582 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 TeacherKim... It was very "cool" and breezy that day. They loaded the test trains with sandbags. We had cranes and wench's ready in case it valleyed. The first train went up and around and then whoosh- all the way around at an awesome speed. Everyone on the platformed was in awe. The construction crew cheered for 10 minutes. The concern was cresting that second hill. It was 'scary" back then because of it's size. Now - to me- it is just awesome fun. Somewhere along the way My Dad was given an Eagle Head- used on the sides of the trains. I still have it... it's pretty cool still. The other day I found old name tags- my Six Flags watch and my Eagle Belt Buckle for 1976. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 On 6/15/2022 at 8:22 AM, SF3582 said: BTW, Steve Reed - the guy that is refurbing the Horses on the Carousel- started 2 years after I did. I was so surprised to learn that he is still there. How can we be so sure he's still there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danrarbc Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 Mr Freeze valleyed Friday 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF3582 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 ProZach- We have a mutual friend that confirmed that he is .. indeed.. still there and working on the Horses, Did I not connect with the joke? Anyway- have a great day and late Happy Father's day! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 Word is both trains were running on Freeze yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danrarbc Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 13 hours ago, tndank said: Word is both trains were running on Freeze yesterday. Not as good timing as if there were ready for that by Memorial Day, but still good ahead of July 4th weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 Waiting for the reports back in two weeks through the end of the season: "Only one train was running on Freeze." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stlouisguy Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 I was recently at Hurricane Harbor and when I passed by Bonzai Pipelines it appeared to be permanently closed. It was featured on the map located inside of hurricane harbor, which confused me. It is not listed either on the six flags app or it’s website which most likely confirms that it’s defunct. I am not necessarily disappointed in this closing as I was never a big fan of it. I hated being in the closed tube, one time they asked if I wanted a countdown, I was obviously scared, so of course I agreed. I thought the countdown was a nice gesture by the operator, I got in and during the count down i was getting ready. To my surprise on the count of 3 they pulled a Mr. Freeze and Dropped me. I was not ready and when I dropped I hit my head. I didn’t really process what was going on since the water was spraying everywhere in my face. I got out and felt violated. That story is kinda funny now though. I do hope the replace it with a good fit, I could possibly see them put a water coaster in place of it. They have plenty of space to expand into the parking lots and it would seem reasonable to them. It would let them say they got another coaster and it would be popular. I wouldn’t mind the addition. Though that is just my speculation. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Yeah. Your guess of a coaster of any kind is probably a safe bet at SFSTL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 ^^ I'm not fond of enclosed slides either. I'm a bit claustrophobic, and I dont like water spraying my face. A new slide complex would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 I don't mind the enclosed slide but not a fan of the trap door thing. Although they seem to be popular at most waterparks so interested to hear this may be done. If I remember correctly it was not an original HH ride so not that old. Is that correct or am I remembering that wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 It's not original. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danrarbc Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 43 minutes ago, prozach626 said: It's not original. Didn't they remove one of the sets of stairs to the wave pool to make room for the queue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP_RULES Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 21 hours ago, teacherkim said: If I remember correctly it was not an original HH ride so not that old. Is that correct or am I remembering that wrong? Bonzai was added 10 years ago in 2012. It is younger than Boomerang added a year later in 2013 (SFOT relocation). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 I don't know if it's the kind of materials used or what, but its looks decerped. I think vaccines should be mandatory before riding it... tetanus vaccines, that is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC65 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 On 6/12/2022 at 8:21 PM, SteveStL said: I prefer well-seasoned... 55 and still riding coasters. 57 here and definitely still riding coasters as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsOMA80 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 I remember someone saying they broke the pumpkin program on the Ferris Wheel a while back - did they also break the Clock Program lighting package that was only just recently fixed a few seasons back? Any one know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyUD06 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 16 minutes ago, SixFlagsOMA80 said: I remember someone saying they broke the pumpkin program on the Ferris Wheel a while back - did they also break the Clock Program lighting package that was only just recently fixed a few seasons back? Any one know? Not sure about either of those, but given that it's SFStL, you can count on a few years to "refurbish" it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Yes. The lights are currently being refurbished by one in-house maintenance guy with a folding ladder and some 70 watt high efficiency warm-light bulbs. The project started in 2016. Should be done any year now. They are also closing the ride temporarily for a few seasons, because they have to sand and stain the queue deck. The park works slowly with woodwork, but it will be perfect for a month when it's finished. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiselphane Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Those hand crafted, artisanal bulbs really do make all the difference. Glass sourced from genuine Sahara Desert sand, Filaments formed by an obscure order of monks who spend most of their days staring at the sun, worshiping light itself. You can really feel the craftsmanship when the smiley face portion of the routine comes up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danrarbc Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 On 7/11/2022 at 2:31 PM, SixFlagsOMA80 said: I remember someone saying they broke the pumpkin program on the Ferris Wheel a while back - did they also break the Clock Program lighting package that was only just recently fixed a few seasons back? Any one know? Not sure about the clock - but the pumpkin wasn't a program. It was literally just additional strings of lights that they only plugged in for Fright Fest. The story is a worker clipped the wires working on something else (maybe fixing the primary light package?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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