Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

RandallDuell · June 13, 2014

Huzzah!

slickpoetry · June 16, 2014

TRIP REPORT

Thanks everyone who gave me advice on which rides were "safe" post-hernia surgery a while back. I took my first trip to SFSL this past Friday (the 13th) and I was exactly 6 weeks post-surgery. My recovery had gone very well and I felt comfortable enough to not limit myself to any particular rides after all.

We live in Chicago and have been to SFGA dozens of times. The last couple years I've tried to branch out to other nearby parks more--Indiana Beach, Silver Dollar City, and now SFSL.

Friday had glorious weather and relatively low crowds. It being my first trip to SFSL, I did some research beforehand and picked a route to tour the park with, hitting our target rides along the way. This turned out to be useless, as most of the big rides did not start operating until lunchtime or later. i don't know what's up with that. The touring plan went out the window and we just went all over the place after that. I went with my wife, her sister and her husband, our four year old, and our 1 year old so we mixed in a lot of kiddy rides along with the big rides.

We arrived at opening, and started by going to the antique cars, so all of us could get on a ride right away, including the baby. I was disappointed by how short the layout was--I've been on similar rides that are at least 2-3 times as long. The log flume, shazam, and scooby were next. All were fine, for what they are, and had very short lines. I wanted to go on Mr. Freeze then--it was not open. Walked past Thunder River, Pandemonium, and The Boss---all were closed. As we rode the carousel, I saw The Boss had opened up so that was my first coaster of the day. I know you guys say it is too rough, but I loved that coaster! One of the longest rides I've ever been on, and the drops were fantastic fun. Since it had just opened, the line was non-existent.

My wife took the kids into Bugs Bunny National Park then. This is one of the best kiddie areas I have seen in a park, except for the separation between the two areas caused by the railroad. It made it a little hard to find some of the rides--and I'd really hate having to locate a lost child in there. During this time I rode Screaming Eagle, which was fun, and another short line. We then did Joker Inc, Tidal Wave, and Tsunami Soaker. They all had almost no lines. I was surprised Tsunami Soaker was a walk on, because by then it was the hottest part of the day (about 3 PM) and the ride is brand new. It was fun. I went on Ninja, which had no line at all. I was not impressed by that ride.

After a trip on the train, we saw that Thunder River had opened, so we decided to go on that. Big mistake! The line was long, and scorching hot (they really need to do something to shade that que). The ride is about the same as the one at Great America. We barely got wet at all. It was our longest line of the day, at about 30 minutes. While in line I could see that Mr. Freeze was running, so I headed there next. It was close to 6 PM at that time so that was going to be my last ride of the day. Line was about 20 minutes. I loved the ride--it was very exhilarating and exciting enough that I was able to forgive its short running time.

I never saw anything moving on Boomerang at all that day. I did not go near the Batman coaster since we have that at SFGA, so there was no point visiting it. I regret skipping American Thunder, but The Boss, Screaming Eagle, and Mr. Freeze are all top notch coasters, and I really enjoyed the rest of the park too.

theymitbgi · June 16, 2014

Heading to the park tomorrow, will definitely bring the camera and finally get some pictures of Tsunami Soaker and area on here for those asking. Any other requests?

HARLEYGUYJB · June 16, 2014

You definitely missed a good coaster. American Thunder may be a smaller coaster but it still packs a punch!

diggerg56 · June 16, 2014

TRIP REPORT
(snipped)

I never saw anything moving on Boomerang at all that day. I did not go near the Batman coaster since we have that at SFGA, so there was no point visiting it. I regret skipping American Thunder, but The Boss, Screaming Eagle, and Mr. Freeze are all top notch coasters, and I really enjoyed the rest of the park too.

Actually, while SFGAm had the first Batman it is still fun to ride them all. They do ride a bit differently and if I remember right the turn to the first drop on the one at SFStL is opposite of SFGAm.

Great trip report....Thanks!

Woodie Warrior · June 16, 2014

TRIP REPORT
(snipped)

I never saw anything moving on Boomerang at all that day. I did not go near the Batman coaster since we have that at SFGA, so there was no point visiting it. I regret skipping American Thunder, but The Boss, Screaming Eagle, and Mr. Freeze are all top notch coasters, and I really enjoyed the rest of the park too.

Actually, while SFGAm had the first Batman it is still fun to ride them all. They do ride a bit differently and if I remember right the turn to the first drop on the one at SFStL is opposite of SFGAm.

Great trip report....Thanks!

Yep, the Batman at SFSTL is a mirrored clone of the original at SFGAM.

Bobby2889 · June 16, 2014

Heading to SFStL and Silver Dollar City in July. Will be in Branson July 10th and St. Louis July 11th. Any advice on hotels and travel routes?

slickpoetry · June 16, 2014

You definitely missed a good coaster. American Thunder may be a smaller coaster but it still packs a punch!

I know.

But this way it'll give me an excuse to go again next year....

slickpoetry · June 16, 2014

Heading to SFStL and Silver Dollar City in July. Will be in Branson July 10th and St. Louis July 11th. Any advice on hotels and travel routes?

For this past weekend's trip to st. louis, we stayed at Springhill Suites in Chesterfield. It is about 25 minutes north of the park but really easy to travel back and forth. I found it cheaper than the closer locations ($129 plus tax), and because the rooms had two queens and a fold-out couch, we were able to sleep six people in a single room. They have a small indoor pool and serve a really good free breakfast.

When we went to Branson last year, we rented a condo through Branson Vacation Rentals. (http://www.bransonvacationcabins.com) and had a great experience. We had the "Legacy Luxury Condo" at Thousand Hills and loved it. Nice and quiet, pleasant golf course views, and across the street from a really nice indoor pool. Two blocks from Branson's main drag, about 20 minutes from SDC.

HARLEYGUYJB · June 17, 2014

Heading to SFStL and Silver Dollar City in July. Will be in Branson July 10th and St. Louis July 11th. Any advice on hotels and travel routes?

Eureka has a few hotels but nothing too fancy. The Holiday Inn is probably the nicest hotel and it is right next to Six Flags St. Louis and they offer a shuttle to the park which will drop you very close to the security and ticketing gates. Fenton, Mo which is about 15 min or so east of SFSTL has a Drury Inn and a Hampton Inn. It's right off I-44.

Geauga Dog · June 17, 2014

When I went in 2010 I stayed at the Super 8 that was practically right next door to SFStL that was decent.

prozach626 · June 17, 2014

I did not go near the Batman coaster since we have that at SFGA, so there was no point visiting it. I regret skipping American Thunder, but The Boss, Screaming Eagle, and Mr. Freeze are all top notch coasters, and I really enjoyed the rest of the park too.

You should always go on Batman for two reasons:

1) It's just a great ride with a powerful layout.

2) You can see how they are all a little bit different. Some seem smoother and faster than others. Ours is pretty good and possibly my favorite, out of the 6 or 7 I've ridden. Last time I went to SFGam, their Batman was getting a little rough.

ZeroGravity55 · June 17, 2014

This is a total pipe dream, but I was thinking about how SFStL could use a revitalized entrance, and I keep picturing something similar to Cedar Points new entrance with Gatekeeper. Well I was thinking why couldn't you do the same thing with an element like the zero-G stall on Goliath and have that as an entrance to a park. Then my next thought was well since this is Six Flags "St. Louis" why not build a replica of the arch at the entrance and attach the zero-G stall to the side of that. I have no idea if that could be done from an engineering standpoint, but I think it would be one of the best looking entrances to a theme park in the world. I've had this idea in my head for the last two days and felt the need to share it.

ytterbiumanalyst · June 17, 2014

This is a total pipe dream, but I was thinking about how SFStL could use a revitalized entrance, and I keep picturing something similar to Cedar Points new entrance with Gatekeeper. Well I was thinking why couldn't you do the same thing with an element like the zero-G stall on Goliath and have that as an entrance to a park. Then my next thought was well since this is Six Flags "St. Louis" why not build a replica of the arch at the entrance and attach the zero-G stall to the side of that. I have no idea if that could be done from an engineering standpoint, but I think it would be one of the best looking entrances to a theme park in the world. I've had this idea in my head for the last two days and felt the need to share it.

Well, considering that Batman is just to the right of the entrance and American Thunder just to the left, there's not a whole lot of room there for a coaster--and they are absolutely not removing either of those any time soon. Now your arch idea I like a lot. I know SFStL is interested in redoing the entrance and is in the process of removing ticket booths. Having an arch over the whole area would be really cool indeed, and pretty tall as well. Arches are always equal in height to the distance between the two bases. I'd guess the entrance plaza is at least 150 feet across, maybe more than that, so the arch would be pretty tall. Actually, why not make it a ride? The real arch has a gondola inside--this could be a miniature version of that. Capacity might be an issue, but it'd be the coolest observation tower.

Rollercoaster Rider · June 17, 2014

The only way it "might work" is if you remove Ninja, Put the station there, Go in the area between the train tracks and waterpark and turn past the picnic grove.

Or just remove Ninja and built a coaster there.

SteveStL · June 17, 2014

I am fairly certain Atlanta's Hyper, when originally slated for us, was to go over the Parking Lot Booths and into the grassy park area between the Entrance Lanes and the Parking Lot itself. That would have been very very cool.

SteveStL · June 17, 2014

Have you all seen SF Mexico's RMC Medusa POV?? The ride looks outta control and awesome fun. If the Boss could ever turn into that, then Yes! I would come back and visit our park again.

rcjp · June 17, 2014

^It does look totally awesome (better than Goliath, in my opinion, but then I haven't ridden them)

There are dozens of rides which would benefit from a RMC visit. I mean, they transform mediocre/bad rides into must do ones!

TexasParkman · June 17, 2014

The entrance to SFOMA- the original name- was supposed to represent Laclede's Landing around 1904 (St. Louis World's Fair). This was designed by Randall Duell to the entrance to a "Theme park". Any of that kind of thought has long sense gone away.

SFZIP · June 17, 2014

Awhile back somebody wanted a concert listing for SFSL throughout the years (since this was something I already wanted to do), I've set out to find as many concerts as possible and there were a lot of concerts during the parks younger years. As a preview/test of what will be coming at sometime in the future, here are the concerts of 1990 and 1991.

Whenever I feel that the list is complete enough it will be posted here and since I have nowhere else to post the full SFSL timeline that I have, I'll post it here as well (full overall timeline, most shows, most concerts/events and most of the Fright Fest history - 46 pages in word and growing).

HARLEYGUYJB · June 17, 2014

Holy crap! There are some good bands and musicians on that list. Especially Garth Brooks

I wish they would bring in some current singers or bands. It seems like over the last several years it has been nothing but Christian concerts. Nothing against Christian music..just not my cup of tea...

Woodie Warrior · June 18, 2014

Holy crap! There are some good bands and musicians on that list. Especially Garth Brooks

I wish they would bring in some current singers or bands. It seems like over the last several years it has been nothing but Christian concerts. Nothing against Christian music..just not my cup of tea...

Sadly, it appears the park has done away with the Summer Concert series. This year they are just doing 3 Christian Concerts and one concert by a pop group I've never heard of.

theymitbgi · June 18, 2014

Wow!! There are some amazing names on that concert list, Willie Nelson twice in a year, REO, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks, many hot pop acts of the days, Stevie B., Technotronic, Tommy Page. I wish they would bring concerts like those in again. I understand the Christian concerts really pack them in, but wouldn't some current acts do the same. Is there a reason they cut the schedule back so much? Any problems in the past?

Also the other concert of the year- Family Force Five is a borderline Christian/pop act, really fits with everything else booked.

I almost forgot entirely about the Country Fair in September. Didn't they have Monster Trucks and demolition derbies? They removed Spring Breakout also, which seemed to keep the park full in the start of the season.

ZeroGravity55 · June 18, 2014

This is a total pipe dream, but I was thinking about how SFStL could use a revitalized entrance, and I keep picturing something similar to Cedar Points new entrance with Gatekeeper. Well I was thinking why couldn't you do the same thing with an element like the zero-G stall on Goliath and have that as an entrance to a park. Then my next thought was well since this is Six Flags "St. Louis" why not build a replica of the arch at the entrance and attach the zero-G stall to the side of that. I have no idea if that could be done from an engineering standpoint, but I think it would be one of the best looking entrances to a theme park in the world. I've had this idea in my head for the last two days and felt the need to share it.

Well, considering that Batman is just to the right of the entrance and American Thunder just to the left, there's not a whole lot of room there for a coaster--and they are absolutely not removing either of those any time soon. Now your arch idea I like a lot. I know SFStL is interested in redoing the entrance and is in the process of removing ticket booths. Having an arch over the whole area would be really cool indeed, and pretty tall as well. Arches are always equal in height to the distance between the two bases. I'd guess the entrance plaza is at least 150 feet across, maybe more than that, so the arch would be pretty tall. Actually, why not make it a ride? The real arch has a gondola inside--this could be a miniature version of that. Capacity might be an issue, but it'd be the coolest observation tower.

I don't know how feasible this sounds, but I had the idea of removing the picnic groves and putting the coaster there. It would have to be the size of Goliath, obviously. After it goes through zero-G there seems like there is enough room to put an overbank in between Batman, the entrance, and the water park. I would then have it come back with a tunnel right under neath entrance then the coaster would do crazy RMC like stuff after that. I started working on what I think this might look like in No Limits. Also, I would remove Ninja and move the picnic groves over there. That's just me if I was in charge. This all is obviously not going to happen, but the park could really use a new entrance. I never really thought of using the my arch idea as an observation deck, but that would also be very neat.

theymitbgi · June 18, 2014

Got back from a great day at the park today, took the camera and got a lot of pictures. 567 to be exact, but I don;t think I will post them all

Many pictures of Tsunami Soaker as has been requested and some other photos that I hope you find interesting or enjoyable. It's really my first time doing this so please feel free to critique. I posted a wordy trip report a couple weeks ago, so not too much too add to that except the photos.

Also I must commend those that do this regularly as it really is hard lugging a camera bag around, switching between lenses, and hoping/waiting for that perfect shot.

Technical info for those that care:

Camera: SONY SLT-A65V

Lenses:SONY SAL 1855-3.5-5.6/18-55 SAM and TAMRON 70-300mm

most shots at frame rate of 10 per second, picking the best shots.

So here goes