Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[ChrisGraslie]

I got sent and took a SFSL survey this evening that asked over and over again whether I preferred a Justice League or Wonder Woman theming for a new roller coaster in 2018, and a bunch of questions as to why either or. I know the park sends stuff like this out all the time, but specificity did get the old brain a churning that a Wonder Woman themed coaster would be really cool to see versus another Joker. If it's a 4D freespin the whole Lasso of Truth thing would fit it thematically well...and we all know how much Six Flags like to give identical names for rides that are completely different between parks

 

I would love it if was themed after Wonder Woman, and I think it's easy for them to just reuse the Lasso of Truth name that's already been used twice, plus we already have a Joker ride, eliminating the chance of it being named 'The Joker'. I also think that yellow track with a red white and blue train would look pretty great.

[SteveStL]

Yeah... I can see us getting a 4D Coaster next year. Wish it were a custom B&M though

[eugjackson]

I got sent and took a SFSL survey this evening that asked over and over again whether I preferred a Justice League or Wonder Woman theming for a new roller coaster in 2018, and a bunch of questions as to why either or. I know the park sends stuff like this out all the time, but specificity did get the old brain a churning that a Wonder Woman themed coaster would be really cool to see versus another Joker. If it's a 4D freespin the whole Lasso of Truth thing would fit it thematically well...and we all know how much Six Flags like to give identical names for rides that are completely different between parks

 

I would love it if was themed after Wonder Woman, and I think it's easy for them to just reuse the Lasso of Truth name that's already been used twice, plus we already have a Joker ride, eliminating the chance of it being named 'The Joker'. I also think that yellow track with a red white and blue train would look pretty great.

 

A Wonder Woman theme doesn't really fit with a 4D, besides the fact 4D's are blah. Stl people should be praying SF by some inspiration go with the new Mack Xtreme spin coaster. That would fit with WW theme more and the Lasso of Truth. The Skywarp would be a great WW Lasso theme with the pretzel, but the same genre of Superloops, which Stl has. My hope is the survey on WW theme coasters is maybe the Skywarps going to parks that don't have superloops.

[TrippinBillie]

Oh great....a flippy-dippy 20 second 4D. Way to dig deep, SF

[eugjackson]

Oh great....a flippy-dippy 20 second 4D. Way to dig deep, SF

 

Exactly!

[Philrad71]

Oh great....a flippy-dippy 20 second 4D. Way to dig deep, SF

 

Hey it could be worse...you could be getting a Larson Loop.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait...

[Sportsdude360]

FWIW, the survey is chain-wide. All SF parks goers got asked the same question about a new coaster next year.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

My wish for 2018:

A makeover of Ninja with new paint, soft straps and a rename (Probably Joker)

And a Thunder Rapids ride.

[Tuly]

Oh great....a flippy-dippy 20 second 4D. Way to dig deep, SF

 

Hey it could be worse...you could be getting a Larson Loop.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait...

 

[prozach626]

Stl people should be praying SF by some inspiration go with the new Mack Xtreme spin coaster.

With all do respect, sir, we're all prayed out. This dog has been beaten down so badly that we're just trying to make do with what we have.

 

via Imgflip Meme Generator

[TrippinBillie]

Oh great....a flippy-dippy 20 second 4D. Way to dig deep, SF

 

Hey it could be worse...you could be getting a Larson Loop.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait...

 

HA, exactly! Or, a 30 year old Boomerang.....and market it new and now we're the coaster capital of MO

[prozach626]

^True. The Larson Loop didn't really upset me. I saw it coming and I think they made the best use out of it as they could, considering the new location. Boomerang, however... SFSTL could have placed it on a cloud with 24 karat gold paint and I still would have despised it. Took me a couple years to get over that one.

 

Side note: Emily said the other night that she wants to have a few beers and go on Thunder River this summer. This is bizarre for us, since we don't 'do' rapids rides. She must have been in a rare mood, because the only time we have ever ridden a rapids ride within the past few years was at King's Island and we had to take plenty of time to sober up before making the drive back to our hotel. Hell, it took me years to convince her that Log Flumes don't give you soggy feet or chafing.

[Superbatboy]

SFStl getting a 4D is actually pretty decent considering the park doesnt pull the same numbers as SFMM, SFGradv, SFGAM, SFOT etc; Heck I think SFNE, SFFT, and SFDK, SGOG, get higher numbers as well.

 

Considering SF's flagship parks are getting Jokers and Justice Leagues, not sure what logic would lead anyone to believe St Louis is entitled to big $20 million B&Ms and Intamins.

[TrippinBillie]

SFStl getting a 4D is actually pretty decent considering the park doesnt pull the same numbers as SFMM, SFGradv, SFGAM, SFOT etc; Heck I think SFNE, SFFT, and SFDK, SGOG, get higher numbers as well.

 

Considering SF's flagship parks are getting Jokers and Justice Leagues, not sure what logic would lead anyone to believe St Louis is entitled to big $20 million B&Ms and Intamins.

 

Nobody is asking/entitled to have a $20 mil B&M or Intamin. Ever. But when we've been screwed over on a REAL rollercoaster time and time again when other parks like Chicago and Georgia are getting very nice, steel, investments - it becomes very hard to justify going and enjoying the place. 2008 we got another wood coaster.....since then, nothing. Sure, a 26 year old transferred Boomerang and a Larson Super Loop (yay) was added....but that's not a real investment. Then, to flip a stupid 4D Flyer Spinny Loopy Do-Da and say "here's your steel coaster" is pretty low. It wouldn't be tough to get a Lightning Run type coaster, or be a flagship "chance" at a T-Rex by RMC, or RMC the Boss, or even a G-ler. It's just becoming old is all. And nobody is saying we're OWED a B&M or Intamin (although we had one planned that went to GA instead). But, oh well....I'll go back in Dec to look at pretty lights

[TNT]

Deleted 

[sirloindude]

Part of me wants to copy and paste my post from the Darien Lake thread, but as this is an actual Six Flags park, I feel like it calls for a slightly different explanation.

 

TrippinBillie, you're exactly right: you haven't gotten the steel monstrosities that other Six Flags parks have received. To start, you also aren't in a market comparable to those in which some of those other parks reside. St. Louis is not Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, or Dallas, to pick just a few markets where parks with more impressive coaster collections reside. It's highly probable that St. Louis simply doesn't need some steel monstrosity the way other parks in the chain might need them. If the park is pulling in guests and generating plenty of revenue and can continue to do so without spending excess cash on some ride that is overkill for the needs of the park, good for them! If flat rides and relocated Boomerangs get the job done, that's a win for the finance department. Quite honestly, I'd say that Six Flags St. Louis is probably a contender for the best-managed Six Flags park when it comes to coaster installations as it doesn't suffer from the overbuilding that plagues many of the other parks, a chunk of which aren't getting anything noteworthy these days either (I'd hardly consider the free spins noteworthy, considering the first ride of that general nature, X2, is basically 10x the ride any of those little things will ever be).

 

Also, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Six Flags St. Louis actually has an above-average coaster collection. You have a Batman - The Ride, something that really only the flagship parks ever got. You have a Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast, something only SFOT got as well. You have what is probably the best overall wooden coaster collection of any Six Flags park with three rides that range from good to great. All of these are absolutely, in every sense of the term, "real" roller coasters. Don't look at the collection of coasters you have, compare them only to the small handful of parks in the US that pack in massive coaster collections (which are really only a small handful of CF and SF parks as well as Hersheypark), and complain that St. Louis is lacking. If you're going to compare it to other parks (which a majority of its guests will never do themselves, and why should they?), look at it in the proper context and realize that you're tied for the 14th largest coaster collection in the country. If that means Six Flags St. Louis is somehow getting the shaft, you and I have a very different definition of the term "shaft."

[Superbatboy]

SFStl getting a 4D is actually pretty decent considering the park doesnt pull the same numbers as SFMM, SFGradv, SFGAM, SFOT etc; Heck I think SFNE, SFFT, and SFDK, SGOG, get higher numbers as well.

 

Considering SF's flagship parks are getting Jokers and Justice Leagues, not sure what logic would lead anyone to believe St Louis is entitled to big $20 million B&Ms and Intamins.

 

Nobody is asking/entitled to have a $20 mil B&M or Intamin. Ever.

 

Just the other day someone was begging for a Wing coaster. Scroll a few pages up, there's nothing but belly aching in this thread.

 

But when we've been screwed over on a REAL rollercoaster time and time again when other parks like Chicago and Georgia are getting very nice, steel, investments - it becomes very hard to justify going and enjoying the place. 2008 we got another wood coaster.....since then, nothing. Sure, a 26 year old transferred Boomerang and a Larson Super Loop (yay) was added....but that's not a real investment. Then, to flip a stupid 4D Flyer Spinny Loopy Do-Da and say "here's your steel coaster" is pretty low. It wouldn't be tough to get a Lightning Run type coaster, or be a flagship "chance" at a T-Rex by RMC, or RMC the Boss, or even a G-ler. It's just becoming old is all. And nobody is saying we're OWED a B&M or Intamin (although we had one planned that went to GA instead). But, oh well....I'll go back in Dec to look at pretty lights

 

First GA hasnt gotten a "nice steel" investment since Goliath over 11 years ago. DDD is another low capacity, low cost ride like Joker. And will people please let the whole Goliath was for St Louis thing go?? Is there any proof other than speculation that this was supposed to happen?? When I visited SFOG, Goliath looks like it was tailor made for OG. It weaves in and out of the park etc;

 

And if anyone has been screwed over the past decade or so, it's been Gradv. They have the 2nd highest attended park in the chain yet they havent gotten a "nice steel" investment since KK. They also got a used coaster, super loop, JL, and 4D. Pretty much on par with St Louis, yet they probably bring in 3x the guests/$$$

[TrippinBillie]

Nobody is asking/entitled to have a $20 mil B&M or Intamin. Ever. But when we've been screwed over on a REAL rollercoaster time and time again when other parks like Chicago and Georgia are getting very nice, steel, investments - it becomes very hard to justify going and enjoying the place. 2008 we got another wood coaster.....since then, nothing. Sure, a 26 year old transferred Boomerang and a Larson Super Loop (yay) was added....but that's not a real investment. Then, to flip a stupid 4D Flyer Spinny Loopy Do-Da and say "here's your steel coaster" is pretty low. It wouldn't be tough to get a Lightning Run type coaster, or be a flagship "chance" at a T-Rex by RMC, or RMC the Boss, or even a G-ler. It's just becoming old is all. And nobody is saying we're OWED a B&M or Intamin (although we had one planned that went to GA instead). But, oh well....I'll go back in Dec to look at pretty lights

 

You do realize this post doesn't help your case at all. It does the exact opposite.

 

Park operators don't care about wood to steel ratios and what park is lacking a signiture steel coaster or wood coaster. That is only an enthusiast thing. In fact I hope the park adds another woody, just so I can watch people such as yourself have a melt down over the lack of a signiture steel coaster. The park is adding only what it needs, not what enthusiasts want.

 

I'd love another wooden coaster. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer a steel one to round out the collection....and you're right, I agree nobody gives a shit what the enthusiasts want. I just mean they had us in mind (corporate) for Goliath back in the day. I wish they'd do the best of both worlds and RMC the Boss. I'd have no meltdown for any REAL coaster. A flippy shit 4D and a 29 year old Boomerang and Larson Loop makes me not too happy, admittedly (assuming corporate follows suit and doe 4D in STL next year). But who am I? A nobody....which is why I'm on a forum

[sirloindude]

There's nothing wrong with wishing your park had a ride it doesn't. It's the belief that the park is somehow getting shafted that leaves people scratching their heads.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I feel like enthusiasts need to be reminded of this fron time to time: No one is going to Six Flags St. Louis and complaining that there aren't more roller coasters. They have plenty. I like that they've been fixing and/or replacing broken things and adding more flat rides recently. I think even with Spinsanity that they don't have enough flats, and I would encourage them to add more in the coming years. The park has been too heavily focused on coasters, especially in the 90s, and is rightfully pursuing a course to balance that.

[ChrisGraslie]

I feel like enthusiasts need to be reminded of this fron time to time: No one is going to Six Flags St. Louis and complaining that there aren't more roller coasters. They have plenty. I like that they've been fixing and/or replacing broken things and adding more flat rides recently. I think even with Spinsanity that they don't have enough flats, and I would encourage them to add more in the coming years. The park has been too heavily focused on coasters, especially in the 90s, and is rightfully pursuing a course to balance that.

 

Yeah, and I've heard from a friend who works at the park that 2017 is going to be the most expensive season in terms of refurbishment in decades, things are going to be a whole lot different by the end of the year.

[DavidB]

I'm all for the refurbishment and upkeep of the park. I agree with the sentiments here that SFSTL has a good coaster collection. Batman is probably my favorite invert and I'm a big fan of good wooden coasters. Ninja does need to move along to a new home, and Boomerang should probably be sold for scrap. Would I be happy to get a big, new steel coaster? Of course, but not having one doesn't make me not want to visit the park.

 

I am glad to see the incremental investments being made, and don't have a problem with the addition of a Larson Loop. But I REALLY wish it hadn't come at the expense of Rush Street Flyer. I wish they would have refurbished it and kept it here. I think it is a vastly superior ride to Fireball, not to mention pretty unique. I can't be the only one who feels this way...

[prozach626]

Yeah, I probably would have rather kept rush, but it is what it is. It's hard to market a refurbished ride. Seeing as how they were going to send it off to get it refurbished anyway, they might as well have sent it somewhere else when it was finished, essentially killing two birds with one stone: Keeping an old ride in chain, while sending it somewhere else and marketing it as a new ride for a fraction of the cost. Meanwhile, slap a new addition in its place at SFSTL, where it can be marketed as a new addition, and you have both parks getting a new attractions for less money. That, and you don't have to worry about additional staffing needs at STL, since replacing Rush with the Larson Loop is a wash. It sucks for nostalgia, but it makes sense and it's a win for both parks and the chain.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Yeah, totally. Rush was awesome especially because of the location. You could see for miles from the top of it. And yes, Ninja and Boomerang are duds, but there are seven other coasters there that range from average (Mine Train) to incredible (Batman). And yes, Batman is still a headliner for a lot of people. Except for enthusiasts, no one cares whether a ride is a clone. They just know the ride is awesome, and that's enough.

 

The refurbishment is sorely needed, and if they really are blowing the bank account on that, they know what's up. I've heard from a lot of people--not enthusiasts, I have family and friends in St. Louis--that the park just looks run down all the time. Making it livelier, cleaner, popping with that vibe that fun is happening here--that's the stuff people want.

[prozach626]

I'm looking forward to seeing what the park looks like this summer. I was very pleasantly surprised with what I saw during my first trip in five years. The idea of seeing more upkeep and improvements is encouraging.

 

As far as Batman goes, I'm always down. It's a great ride, no matter where it is. Ours has always struck me as one of the more intense variants, too.