Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

I guess I mainly posted it because a lot of people have been saying several of the same things and I wanted to echo that I agree with what others are saying.

Echoing some of the batshit crazy stuff that has been posted here is probably not the best recommendation, to be honest. If you've read through most of this thread, you'll see that a lot of the people radically complaining about stuff are also the ones being made fun of, and rightly so. I'm not sure I would consider having to wait for long lines at Season Pass Processing on a holiday weekend when they are having a sale and writing to the park to let them know about the lack of onions on your hot dog is the most "sane" approach either.

 

If those are the things that have contributed to making this your "worst visit ever in 25 years" I say the park should continue doing whatever it is they are doing, because that sounds AWESOME!!!

Edited September 5, 2016 by robbalvey

[airtime100]

 

Sorry, but I feel the need to chime in here for a couple of reasons:

 

1. I don't feel that a "complaint letter" that was sent to Six Flags Guest Relations is the best "first post" for someone on our forums. Just sounds like you're trying to air some dirty laundry and use our forums to get a support group to rally behind you. Sorry, that's not really how we operate.

 

2. Yesterday was a holiday weekend, one of the busiest times for all parks in the US, and in addition to that they are doing a HUGE push for season passes, did you really not expect the park to be unusually busy and probably not up to par with your other visits? I have seen countless amounts of times where people will go to a park on an insanely busy day, where they knew it the back of their mind it would be packed, but will lash out at the park and complain about everything they can to compensate for their poor judgement of visiting on a typically crowded day.

 

3. If you've been a long time customer of Six Flags St. Louis for 25 years and you've finally had a "bad day" don't they at least deserve some credit for the other 24 years they've done well? Do you also sent them compliment letters for each time things are great with your visit?

 

4. I gotta be honest. It really sounds like you're mostly complaining about a couple of long lines due to some mis-communication with the season pass activation and not having the correct cheese or onions for your hot dog. Really??? These are your complaints that make it the "worst theme park visit you've had in 25 years????" Not having onions?!??! Seriously??? What you posted sounds like mostly minor issues that I think the majority of us here would shrug off to just being a busy holiday weekend day and not let it ruin our time at a park. If I was at the receiving end of your letter at Six Flags, I would be rolling my eyes at some of the things you're bringing up as issues.

 

5. I'd like to think that we are a group of "theme park experts" and anyone who has been visiting theme parks for most of their lives will know that not every visit is a home run. Just like not ever visit we have to a restaurant might be the best we've ever had. Every business on the planet has good days and bad days. I like to encourage people to think about the balance and also take into consideration factors that might change someone's experience. I'm not excusing a bad performance by a park or any other business for that matter, but at least try to have some understanding. It really just sounded like you were here to complain instead of being an active member of our community.

 

That being said, I'd like to welcome you to the forums and hope you'd be an active member here. But I really feel like this post wasn't the best choice for your initial offering to our community. Hopefully your future contributions will be more constructive and look at things from a different perspective before laying down minor complaints as a reason to make posts on the forum.

 

Thanks for your understanding.

 

While this person's first post might be a complaint, it does have merit. Misinformation given to guests is an ongoing problem at this park. I've had it happen to me on many, many instances throughout my almost 30 years visiting the park, including this year. Food service has been a huge problem this season for some reason. I've had problems on almost every one of my 20+ visits this year. This person's post continues to re-affirm what so many park guests have been experiencing. Hopefully, park management is seeing these posts and is taking action. Having been to the park hundreds of times over the past 30 years, and visiting many other parks, I've seen how things should be done. Unfortunately, it's not just a crowded holiday weekend that these things are happening. It's been on a daily basis. This is my home park, and I go because I love theme parks and roller coasters. I go with little expectations, and I am thrilled when I have a good experience. I am willing to take the bad with the good because I can't always travel to other parks. Because of this, I let guest relations know when I see a problem. I also let them know when I see something the park is doing well. I also complete my park surveys every time I get them.

 

I know there is a lot of park bashing going on here. Yes, we locals want that big coaster and feel neglected every time we see one of the "golden" parks in the chain get and get, year after year. We all know that's not going to happen if we don't have the attendance. But we are not going to have the attendance if the park doesn't fix all the things that are ruining guest experience. I hope that if management does see these posts, they recognized the difference between a bunch of unhappy coaster enthusiasts, and truly look at the actual reports of problems experienced, and the numerous reoccurring issues.

[robbalvey]

Hopefully, park management is seeing these posts and is taking action.

Yes, I'm really hoping the park management is seeing these posts and getting RIGHT ON that issue with the incorrect onions on those hot dogs!!!

[robbalvey]

On a more serious note: Food Service.

 

Let's be honest, is it *REALLY* great at any park??? Seriously, even if you went to Cosmic Ray's at 12:40 on a busy holiday weekend at Magic Kingdom, one of the most efficient well run parks in the world, it's going to be annoying and you're going to wait a very long time in line for burgers and fries.

 

But you know what I expect out of the people on this forum? I expect them to be theme park EXPERTS not theme park IDIOTS!

 

We all know there is a peak busy time and a non-peak time at every single food location at every single park. We also should know about how long it takes to get food based on looking at a line or based on how long it's taking within the first couple of minutes of standing in a line. I have experienced this at *EVERY* *SINGLE* *PARK* I have ever been to, ever.

 

If you're going to *CHOOSE* to stand in a line that is taking forever, or if you are going to *CHOOSE* to go to a food location during a peak period, then you are not a theme park expert you are a....

 

THEME PARK IDIOT!!!

 

All I'm saying here is... "be smarter than the GP." That's what we do at Theme Park Review, isn't it? We should all know the best times to avoid busy periods, avoid standing in long lines, and make the MOST out of our day at a park.

 

And don't try to tell me that the SECOND a food location opens at Six Flags St Louis that there is automatically a 90 minute wait. I know you're lying and just trying to cover up the fact that you're a theme park idiot instead of a theme park expert.

 

Those of you who ARE actual theme park experts absolutely 100% know I'm completely right.

 

/mic drop.

Edited September 6, 2016 by robbalvey

[PhantomPoster32]

I think that you have to take into consideration that if you use the Dining Meal Plan at Six Flags you are only allowed to go at certain times during the day. For lunch it is 11:30am -3:30pm and for Dinner 4:30pm - 7:30pm.

 

I am hoping that Sunday was just an extreme bad day for the park. I got in line for food at Mooseburger at 1pm and did not get my meal until after 2pm. Usually that would be considered "off peak time" - also in my defense, I passed several restaurants on the way to Mooseburger that had lines just as long as what Mooseburger did. Dinner was slightly better at Colonnade's but I only ended up there after my first, second and third picks were already "closed" for the day.

 

I think the most frustrating aspect of the day was that there was not enough adequate places open to refill beverage bottles. The lines at all of the stands never died down the entire day.

 

I get that it was a holiday weekend - but this was not the first rodeo for the park. You would think that they would have been properly staffed to serve the influx of guests that a holiday weekend (with ideal weather) would bring in.

[josephcissell]

On a more serious note: Food Service.

 

Let's be honest, is it *REALLY* great at any park??? Seriously, even if you went to Cosmic Ray's at 12:40 on a busy holiday weekend at Magic Kingdom, one of the most efficient well run parks in the world, it's going to be annoying and you're going to wait a very long time in line for burgers and fries.

 

But you know what I expect out of the people on this forum? I expect them to be theme park EXPERTS not theme park IDIOTS!

 

We all know there is a peak busy time and a non-peak time at every single food location at every single park. We also should know about how long it takes to get food based on looking at a line or based on how long it's taking within the first couple of minutes of standing in a line. I have experienced this at *EVERY* *SINGLE* *PARK* I have ever been to, ever.

 

If you're going to *CHOOSE* to stand in a line that is taking forever, or if you are going to *CHOOSE* to go to a food location during a peak period, then you are not a theme park expert you are a....

 

THEME PARK IDIOT!!!

 

All I'm saying here is... "be smarter than the GP." That's what we do at Theme Park Review, isn't it? We should all know the best times to avoid busy periods, avoid standing in long lines, and make the MOST out of our day at a park.

 

And don't try to tell me that the SECOND a food location opens at Six Flags St Louis that there is automatically a 90 minute wait. I know you're lying and just trying to cover up the fact that you're a theme park idiot instead of a theme park expert.

 

Those of you who ARE actual theme park experts absolutely 100% know I'm completely right.

 

/mic drop.

This is quite true. Thanks for making this thread readable again Robb!

[Woodie Warrior]

Labor Day weekend is a TERRIBLE weekend to visit SFSTL. It always has been, and it will continue to be for a long time.

 

After summer break is over, the park loses a significant bunch of its employees (who go back to school), and many of the employees that remain just don't show up to work on Labor Day weekend. The park just isn't able to fully staff its restaurants with such a small amount of employees, even if they try and use all of their available workers.

 

Don't bother writing an e-mail to the park, there's an even better way to help get the lines down on holiday weekends!

 

Just apply here: https://www.sixflagsjobs.com/job/eureka/food-service-host-hostess/1047/1313457

[DILinator]

Does it make me weird that I read all the negative stuff about the park on here, and it just makes me want to go back to the park more to see if it's possibly that bad, because the last time I went (many moons ago now) I had a really good time???

[Kevin Long]

I gotta agree with rob on the "idiot" angle - I have visited the park at least 15 times this season and every meal I have had has been served in a reasonable amount of time (to me) Could it have been faster? probably. could it have been better food? Maybe

 

I have tried most of the stands at least once this year and each has its dead times and better times to eat. I watch as I walk around and note lines and times and remember those for other visits. if you plan properly you can avoid the pitfalls of those that do not go as often. luckily -my schedule permitted me to attend on off days ( midweek) and I avoided weekends, bring a friend days, concert days and other high volume times. Also I don't hesitate to go when the weather may be less than Ideal, misty rain or cool. use your head and you can make it a better experience for yourself.

 

The longest wait I have had this year for food was about 10 minutes. though must say I really do not understand the 1 hour break between mealtimes - ( you could easily limit people to two meals per card per day) - Drinks are another thing - there should never be a long line for drinks - I would suggest free drink refill ONLY lines - (no sales) that would surely help.

 

that said, if you go often you should learn some of the tricks of the amusement park trade and skip the headaches the General Public must go through.

 

Kevin

[MikeC65]

Well, I just returned from another trip to the shattered rubble of Six Flags St Louis. After driving carefully over the wreckage of the parking lot (fortunately, my wife has an SUV with four-wheel drive), parking on top of a mound of broken blacktop, picking my way carefully through the pile of shattered concrete that serves as the park entrance (although strangely the entry pass system was still functional), and hacking my way through the weeds that grow higher than the roof of First Cone with my gas-powered weed-whacker that I won at the Test of Strength game across from Colonnades, I finally made it to Justice League. Scored 424k, my highest score ever! It was a great ride, but I really wish they'd put some maintenance into the park. It was exactly as everyone describes it in this forum. Exactly.

[PhantomPoster32]

Well, I just returned from another trip to the shattered rubble of Six Flags St Louis. After driving carefully over the wreckage of the parking lot (fortunately, my wife has an SUV with four-wheel drive), parking on top of a mound of broken blacktop, picking my way carefully through the pile of shattered concrete that serves as the park entrance (although strangely the entry pass system was still functional), and hacking my way through the weeds that grow higher than the roof of First Cone with my gas-powered weed-whacker that I won at the Test of Strength game across from Colonnades, I finally made it to Justice League. Scored 424k, my highest score ever! It was a great ride, but I really wish they'd put some maintenance into the park. It was exactly as everyone describes it in this forum. Exactly.

 

During your ride on JL, was the audio with the Joker working? While he was moving (very slowly) he wasn't "saying" anything.

[MikeC65]

Well, I just returned from another trip to the shattered rubble of Six Flags St Louis. After driving carefully over the wreckage of the parking lot (fortunately, my wife has an SUV with four-wheel drive), parking on top of a mound of broken blacktop, picking my way carefully through the pile of shattered concrete that serves as the park entrance (although strangely the entry pass system was still functional), and hacking my way through the weeds that grow higher than the roof of First Cone with my gas-powered weed-whacker that I won at the Test of Strength game across from Colonnades, I finally made it to Justice League. Scored 424k, my highest score ever! It was a great ride, but I really wish they'd put some maintenance into the park. It was exactly as everyone describes it in this forum. Exactly.

 

During your ride on JL, was the audio with the Joker working? While he was moving (very slowly) he wasn't "saying" anything.

 

Yes, the Joker's audio was working. And just to be sure I remembered correctly, I asked my kids the same question, and they also said his audio was working. Actually, everything worked. Even the fire effect, which doesn't work about 1/3 of the time in my experience.

[castaway_kid]

Labor Day weekend is never the best time to go. First like others have said a lot of the staff have gone back to school. This weekend has a larger number of call in than normal. The park anticipates this and staffs up but that doesn't help when they call in too. What bothers me as an employee is that the guests don't see how hard we are trying still. I mean, the Park President, the acting park manager, ops director, and several supervisors from across the operations division were at the front gate for hours each day this weekend, and then they were at different food stands across the park. No we are not perfect, but when you hit around 18,000 guests on a Sunday in September, its a hard task to keep up with.

 

The operations division really stepped up this weekend and tried to help but there's only so much we can do with the circumstances. For example, there were rides, entertainment, park services, and security supervisors jumping into food stands and restaurants trying to help speed things up. Again, we are not perfect and in an industry like this no one ever is, but we ARE TRYING to make sure you guys have fun.

[PhantomPoster32]

Well, I just returned from another trip to the shattered rubble of Six Flags St Louis. After driving carefully over the wreckage of the parking lot (fortunately, my wife has an SUV with four-wheel drive), parking on top of a mound of broken blacktop, picking my way carefully through the pile of shattered concrete that serves as the park entrance (although strangely the entry pass system was still functional), and hacking my way through the weeds that grow higher than the roof of First Cone with my gas-powered weed-whacker that I won at the Test of Strength game across from Colonnades, I finally made it to Justice League. Scored 424k, my highest score ever! It was a great ride, but I really wish they'd put some maintenance into the park. It was exactly as everyone describes it in this forum. Exactly.

 

During your ride on JL, was the audio with the Joker working? While he was moving (very slowly) he wasn't "saying" anything.

 

Yes, the Joker's audio was working. And just to be sure I remembered correctly, I asked my kids the same question, and they also said his audio was working. Actually, everything worked. Even the fire effect, which doesn't work about 1/3 of the time in my experience.

 

Yep, the fire effect was working for a change.

[airtime100]

Hopefully, park management is seeing these posts and is taking action.

Yes, I'm really hoping the park management is seeing these posts and getting RIGHT ON that issue with the incorrect onions on those hot dogs!!!

 

Apparently you've missed the point completely. The point was the horrible service, which has been going on all season long, even on slow days. It isn't just a lack of staff. It's that they really aren't trained properly. We are the people who are in this park regularly and experience it, and then share what's been happening. As much as you think you know, you don't because you aren't here. So now you want to start name calling (theme park idiots)? Really? What is this, junior high?

[controlpanelguy]

Well, I just returned from another trip to the shattered rubble of Six Flags St Louis. After driving carefully over the wreckage of the parking lot (fortunately, my wife has an SUV with four-wheel drive), parking on top of a mound of broken blacktop, picking my way carefully through the pile of shattered concrete that serves as the park entrance (although strangely the entry pass system was still functional), and hacking my way through the weeds that grow higher than the roof of First Cone with my gas-powered weed-whacker that I won at the Test of Strength game across from Colonnades, I finally made it to Justice League. Scored 424k, my highest score ever! It was a great ride, but I really wish they'd put some maintenance into the park. It was exactly as everyone describes it in this forum. Exactly.

 

During your ride on JL, was the audio with the Joker working? While he was moving (very slowly) he wasn't "saying" anything.

 

Yes, the Joker's audio was working. And just to be sure I remembered correctly, I asked my kids the same question, and they also said his audio was working. Actually, everything worked. Even the fire effect, which doesn't work about 1/3 of the time in my experience.

 

Yep, the fire effect was working for a change.

Not sure if there is a specific issue with the fire on the past days it has not been working, but usually just inform the operator that the flame was not working and they can reset it. Sometimes they just don't notice it is not firing and needs to be reset.

[MrFurious]

One thing has become increasingly clear...Six Flags kickbacks are a thing.

[robbalvey]

I think that you have to take into consideration that if you use the Dining Meal Plan at Six Flags you are only allowed to go at certain times during the day. For lunch it is 11:30am -3:30pm and for Dinner 4:30pm - 7:30pm.

 

I am hoping that Sunday was just an extreme bad day for the park. I got in line for food at Mooseburger at 1pm

STOP RIGHT THERE!

 

So you KNEW ahead of time that you could get in line as early as 11:30am but you *CHOSE* not to get in line until 1pm. Which is probably the absolute PEAK time for lines during those hours?

 

I'm sorry, but complaining about having to wait 30 minutes for food instead of going at 11:30am when they opened, or waiting until AFTER the peak period ends makes you a

 

THEME PARK IDIOT!

 

Don't be this kind of person any more.

 

Seriously, is there any park on the planet where if you try to get food at the PEAK hour on a busy day that you're NOT going to wait in a long line? Honestly, some of you people sound like you're just bitching to bitch, and it's really annoying as well as plain stupid.

 

Here's an idea: PLAN YOUR DAY BETTER. DON'T BE DUMB!!!!

 

How hard is that? I guess pretty hard for some people.

Edited September 6, 2016 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

Hopefully, park management is seeing these posts and is taking action.

Yes, I'm really hoping the park management is seeing these posts and getting RIGHT ON that issue with the incorrect onions on those hot dogs!!!

 

Apparently you've missed the point completely.

Nope, I didn't. And after your last post now you're banned from our forum completely.

[robbalvey]

One thing has become increasingly clear...Six Flags kickbacks are a thing.

Explain...

[michaellynn4]

I don't understand how this is such a difficult concept to grasp. When I visited Great Adventure this weekend, I purposefully ate dinner around 4:30 in order to avoid the crowds. Doing so enabled me to visit one of the normally busy restaurants and wait only five minutes for food when the wait is normally a half hour. I used my snack on the dining plan later on in the evening when I got hungry again before I left for the day.

[robbalvey]

I don't understand how this is such a difficult concept to grasp. When I visited Great Adventure this weekend, I purposefully ate dinner around 4:30 in order to avoid the crowds. Doing so enabled me to visit one of the normally busy restaurants and wait only five minutes for food when the wait is normally a half hour. I used my snack on the dining plan later on in the evening when I got hungry again before I left for the day.

It's not a hard concept. But many people are JUST. THAT. STUPID. And unfortunately, a lot of them seem to be interested in posting to our forum lately. And I'm putting a stop to that.

 

Case in point...

 

If you follow our Twitter, you probably know by now we go to Epcot at least twice a month for lunch. We go to World Showcase early and we get to whatever restaurant we plan to eat at right when they open (usually most places open at 11:30.) We have never, EVER had a problem getting a table right when they open, even some of the more hard-to-get-in restaurants.

 

I guarantee you if we went at 1pm and tried to get a table, we would get laughed out of the restaurant. But we see people do this ALL THE TIME and then turn to the internet to complain as though somehow they don't even realize how insanely stupid they are to try to get a table at Le Cellier at 1pm with no reservation.

 

And my only response to the people to try to do this is "You're dumb."

Edited September 6, 2016 by robbalvey

[9Armgeddon4]

This is the reason why I always leave my park to eat, that and I don't have a dining pass. But if I did own a dining pass you can bet I would get lunch right at 11:30 and dinner as soon as its available. Now when I visited SFStL last month I googled what restaurants were near the park in advanced so we knew what places we could go to for lunch and dinner.

[DILinator]

Our tack is typically to get something on the way to the park, which puts us eating mid-morning. Then, by the time we're getting hungry at the park again, it's past the Lunch rush. We then typically don't eat dinner at parks either, but do so after we leave. Thus, we save time waiting in food lines, and money as well! Now, I get that if you have a Dining Plan you're going to want to use it, but then just plan to eat lunch mid-afternoon after the lunch rush, and grab dinner late, after the dinner rush. Otherwise, yeah, you're going to have to wait. I remember grabbing some Fries at CP earlier this year in May, during a busy Lunch time, and it was my longest line of the day. But oh well... That's what I get for not following my typical plan of eating before getting to the park!

[prozach626]

OK, the parking lot looks like crap (allegedly), but I think people are a little too focused on it. No one complains about parking on gravel at Holiday World. Is the asphalt chewed up and uncomfortable to drive on? Probably. Are there weeds growing through the roadway surface? Maybe. However, I really don't see how this can completely ruin someone's day at the park unless they plan on skateboarding in the parking lot. Drive slow, park your car, and get over it. Maybe I'm just used to the extremely crappy roads that I have to drive on at work, but I really try not to sweat the small stuff when I go to a park. I guarantee I can drive my STI over the shitty parking lot just fine without damaging my car and it has minimal ground clearance, unforgiving stiff suspension, and low profile tires. You shouldn't be going more than 5-10 mph in a parking lot, anyway.

 

For everyone consistently complaining about food service, the answer is simple. Pack a cooler or leave for lunch. Yes, I know it's not as convenient or possibly as much of a bargain for people who repeatedly visit the park, but if eating in the park is making you that unhappy there are alternatives. On the very rare occasion Emily and I choose to eat inside any park, we know what to expect. I'm not advocating employees with shitty attitudes and work ethic, but on the same hand I can imagine that working food service in the park is pretty damn miserable.

 

I don't doubt that a lot of the complaints are legitimate, especially with how often some of the messages have been repeated. However, the dramatic emphasis with which the some of these complaints are expressed is getting pretty hilarious. I also don't think I have ever been to any park where I could go 30 times in a season and still have a good time.