Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread

[HWFan]

The fact that you all liked our park so much makes me really, really happy. I can't put into words how much I care for it, and when people enjoy it, it's like Christmas morning for me. I especially like the guests who stop me in the park who normally go to SFGAm. They are blown away by how much cozier it feels, how the water park is free, and how nice everyone is. Seeing TPR enjoy it and getting to stamp Robb's hand on his way out just makes me want to go to work in the morning.

[ernierocker]

The fact that you all liked our park so much makes me really, really happy. I can't put into words how much I care for it, and when people enjoy it, it's like Christmas morning for me. I especially like the guests who stop me in the park who normally go to SFGAm. They are blown away by how much cozier it feels, how the water park is free, and how nice everyone is. Seeing TPR enjoy it and getting to stamp Robb's hand on his way out just makes me want to go to work in the morning.

 

[deathbydinn]

I especially like the guests who stop me in the park who normally go to SFGAm. They are blown away by how much cozier it feels, how the water park is free, and how nice everyone is.

 

SFGAms water park is free too, but I agree that SFSTl does have a cozier feeling. It's still obvious that it's a corporate park, but it's not thrown in your face every five seconds like at some of the other parks in the chain. I would like to see SF step up their investment in the park as some areas did seem a bit worn down, but hopefully that doesn't come at the expense of Takis ads and Smurfs commercials.

[TNT]

Deleted 

[Woodie Warrior]

The way he talked it didn't sound like corperate would invest in a full conversion without a huge section of the ride removed, because the cost of a full conversion cost more then the ride did when it was built.

 

That's weird considering Texas Giant originally cost $5.5 million and the conversion cost $10 million.

[ernierocker]

I don't see what the original cost would have to do with the new conversion. Given the cost of inflation and the fact this would be a brand new ride they can market, this project would be independent of the original coaster's construction costs.

[Woodie Warrior]

That's what I was trying to say when replying to the post.

 

Either way, I think the earliest we will see Iron Boss is 2015. I think Six Flags would have announced the last day to ride Boss by now if it was coming in 2014.

 

So what are we getting next year?

 

I think three possibilities are new dark ride (least likely to happen IMO), a kiddie coaster, or an Aqua Blaster thingy.

[prozach626]

Aqua twist for next year. The poor man's splash battle.

[StlSS]

I like the boss but its obvious majority considers it rough that being said I would rather wait and bring in new steel sit out the hybrid coaster game. I know...I dream.

[ernierocker]

that being said I would rather wait and bring in new steel sit out the hybrid coaster game. I know...I dream.

 

This makes absolutely no sense...

[Vonni]

^ he is saying he would rather see a new steel coaster in the park rather than a Boss transformation

[ernierocker]

^Like I said, that made absolutely no sense.

[HWFan]

Either way, I think the earliest we will see Iron Boss is 2015.

 

Speaking of 2015, there's a special anniversary that year which may play into what happens that year...

 

That's all I'm gonna say.

[Woodie Warrior]

The park opened in 1971, which would make 2015 the 44th year of operation, which isn't a big deal like 2016 would be.

 

Is it the 15th anniversary of the Boss?

Or maybe the 20th anniversary of Batman?

[StLCPfan]

Do you mean the 20th anniversary of Six Flags being retarded and thinking "Six Flags Over Mid-America is too confusing. Let's rename it Six Flags St. Louis because people will not be able to find Eureka on highway 44. It's just too confusing."?

 

Oops, that will be 2016 for the 20th anniversary of Six Flags going retarded on us. Sorry.

[StlSS]

The boss is not THAT rough, unbearable is a drama queen statement. The ninja bashes your skull in ,that's rough. I'm saying I don't think a conversion is the answer. Chopping a ride and dumping money in it. Use a new ride and gain park expansion and be able to advertise something "big and new" (not boomerang new) and not "oh hey guys we added big turns and it's fast now"

[ZeroGravity55]

The boss is not THAT rough, unbearable is a drama queen statement. The ninja bashes your skull in ,that's rough. I'm saying I don't think a conversion is the answer. Chopping a ride and dumping money in it. Use a new ride and gain park expansion and be able to advertise something "big and new" (not boomerang new) and not "oh hey guys we added big turns and it's fast now"

 

Are you crazy!? Have you not seen what RMC has done to Texas Giant and Iron Rattler? Texas Giant is a top 3 steel coaster in the Mitch Hawker and top 5 in the Golden Tickets. I'm sure Iron Rattler is going to be in the top 10 too. If RMC does the conversion, it would become a whole brand new ride, and the park could market the ride as a whole brand new ride and not even have to lie (ex. Mt. Olympus and Hades 360). RMC has said that Texas Giant and Iron Rattler is barely pushing the limits of what they can do with their track. So I'm assuming with each design that they do, it's only going to get crazier. The park has more to gain with a conversion of the Boss than leaving the coaster as it currently stands. Plus, It doesn't look like corporate as a whole lot of interest in expanding Six Flags St. Louis beyond the current boundaries. Remember, Boomerang took the place of the Bumper Cars.

Edited August 8, 2013 by ZeroGravity55

[Vonni]

^ Id love an RMC make over of The Boss, but I'd also like to see our coaster count increase too. Thats just the enthusiast in me, and the love of my home park.

[ZeroGravity55]

^I would love to see the parks coaster count go up too, just as long as it isn't a Boomerang that brings it up! I was trying to make the point that the RMC I-Box conversion would make the Boss a brand new coaster. Given RMC's success on Texas Giant, and Iron Rattler, the conversion could give SFStl the signature steel coaster some people say they lack. Of course, most of those people are probably coaster enthusiasts. The GP probably views Batman as a signature steel coaster and doesn't realize the ride's design is cloned throughout most Six Flags parks and other parks throughout the world.

[SFZIP]

It looks like the Sound Stage No. 2 is being gutted, so is it being gutted for removal? or possibly to be used for Fright Fest, the park is getting Total Darkness (which it looks like all the Six Flags parks may get), so it would need to go in a building somewhere, could they even use the Sound Stage for a haunted house?

 

In other news, Colonel Cobbs had a small fire overnight, so it will be closed for awhile and the park is lucky it wasn't much worse.

[StlSS]

^^^

Great info zip as always.

 

On the fire that could of been disastrous

[Zcev5454]

^^ Saw a poster for Total Darkness while at the park today. These blackout mazes are really intense and provide some pretty good illusions if done right. It looks as if the park is up to 4 mazes this year( saw the posters for the other three haunts)! I was definitely a fan of Blind Fury last year, being pretty long for a new attraction.

[Arrow Dynamics fan]

The boss is not THAT rough, unbearable is a drama queen statement. The ninja bashes your skull in ,that's rough. I'm saying I don't think a conversion is the answer. Chopping a ride and dumping money in it. Use a new ride and gain park expansion and be able to advertise something "big and new" (not boomerang new) and not "oh hey guys we added big turns and it's fast now"

 

Are you crazy!? Have you not seen what RMC has done to Texas Giant and Iron Rattler? Texas Giant is a top 3 steel coaster in the Mitch Hawker and top 5 in the Golden Tickets. I'm sure Iron Rattler is going to be in the top 10 too. If RMC does the conversion, it would become a whole brand new ride, and the park could market the ride as a whole brand new ride and not even have to lie (ex. Mt. Olympus and Hades 360). RMC has said that Texas Giant and Iron Rattler is barely pushing the limits of what they can do with their track. So I'm assuming with each design that they do, it's only going to get crazier. The park has more to gain with a conversion of the Boss than leaving the coaster as it currently stands. Plus, It doesn't look like corporate as a whole lot of interest in expanding Six Flags St. Louis beyond the current boundaries. Remember, Boomerang took the place of the Bumper Cars.

have ridden the NTAG. I was not impressed. The experience was too smooth and lacked force. While I acknowledge that for now it does well in rankings, coasters at the top do not always stay at the top (see Timber Wolf).

 

The Rattler didn't take much to top it. That was hands down the worst rollercoaster experience of my life. The Boss is nothing like the Rattler. The Boss vibrates and you feel it because the padding is very hard on the trains, the restraints have too much exposed metal, and has you sit in an uncomfortable crouching position. That is most of the Boss's problem. The Rattler kept slamming you from side to side violently against the PTC bolsters the whole time bruising your rib cage and the vibrations were worse on top of that. The Boss's layout is good overall, has a good balance of turns and hills. The Rattler was primarily turns with a few hills. The Iron Horse was pretty much the only fix for the Rattler and there are other coasters that would benefit from it that have bad layouts (Mean Streak), but the Boss isn't one of these. It needs better trains and maybe some Topper Track.

 

While I agree that the Boss is rough, the fact of the matter is it already draws one of the longest, if not the longest line in the park. Upgrading something that is successful is one thing but fundamentally transforming something that was already successful as it is, especially if it shortens it, could back fire. It is also important to take into account that the effectiveness of such a move might have been greatly lost due to the recent addition of the Outlaw Run. I doubt the budget SFSTL has will be enough to make the Boss top the Outlaw Run. It would be a better strategy to counter this by offering something that SDC and WoF either do not have or one up them some place else.

 

If you are going to invest in fundamentally transforming a ride, why not change the American Thunder? The line is comparatively as long as the Ninjas despite being so new. Or if there was a way to transform the Ninja back into relevance, either of those would potentially be more effective by fixing coasters that are not drawing the crowds nearly as well as the Boss and due to their smaller size, it would require less investment.

 

Giving it better trains (Millennium Flyers), and adding some topper track, I can agree with but Iron Horse I have to disagree with.

 

I will give the park this, aside from the Boomerang, the park looks fantastic this year. The S:TOP looks like new, the Rush Street Flyer looks much better and rides better too, I'm happy to see that the Excalibur is running again. The problem that I see with the park as what ProZach has said they can't seem to figure out what they are. (Bear with me and I will give the park praise in areas where it has earned it). Shortening the Moon Cars, removing the kid's coaster, and the bumper cars each stand out to me as missteps that keep the park from being what it can be.

 

In truth, this park holds a special place in my heart despite the fact that it was NOT my first theme park experience (It was Orpyland USA followed by Frontier City). What the park does well is it a very friendly park. When I was at SFMM I even commented that I wished Dave Roemer and his team could come out and straighten out the attitude problems we encountered from the employees (to their credit, it is probably because they get worn out from some of the rude patrons we saw). The park is considerably cleaner than it has ever been. Of the 4 Six Flags parks I have been to (SFMM, SFOT, SFFT, SFSTL), it is my favorite hands down. The layout is easy to navigate, it is a beautiful park with the landscaping, it has some of my favorite flats (Rush Street Flyer, Excalibur) and my 2nd favorite log flume (SFFT takes the cake). The Boss and Screamin' Eagle are in my top 3 woodies, aside for Boomerang & Pandemonium I like the steel coaster line-up (especially Ninja ). I just hope someday that this park will be what I know it can be with the right investment and giving it the autonomy to have more local culture come through, especially when it comes to the food.

[ZeroGravity55]

^ Just remember, corporate decides what the budget is. If they're sick and tired of paying for The Boss's maintenance costs, they're going to give it the conversion. The conversion will pay for itself in the long run and that's probably how corporate views it as well. Just because the line for Boss is long, doesn't mean the people thoroughly enjoy the ride. The reason American Thunder is much shorter is because it's a much shorter ride and has a more hourly put through. It doesn't make any sense for them to convert American Thunder, since it doesn't cause as much maintenance issues as the Boss. New trains don't solve all of a coasters problems (read Robb's thoughts on Hades 360 in the midwest trip report). The reason Six Flags is doing these conversions is, 1. It cuts almost all maintenance costs, which saves Six Flags money, and 2. It allows them to create a new and better ride, which makes them money. Not to say your not entitled to your opinion, but you seem to be in the minority when it comes to your views on the Boss and The Texas Giant. Oh as for Rattler, RMC seems to have done a hell of a job turning a ride that has a lot of "turns", into a airtime machine.

[coastercrazy216]

The boss is not THAT rough, unbearable is a drama queen statement. The ninja bashes your skull in ,that's rough. I'm saying I don't think a conversion is the answer. Chopping a ride and dumping money in it. Use a new ride and gain park expansion and be able to advertise something "big and new" (not boomerang new) and not "oh hey guys we added big turns and it's fast now"

 

Are you crazy!? Have you not seen what RMC has done to Texas Giant and Iron Rattler? Texas Giant is a top 3 steel coaster in the Mitch Hawker and top 5 in the Golden Tickets. I'm sure Iron Rattler is going to be in the top 10 too. If RMC does the conversion, it would become a whole brand new ride, and the park could market the ride as a whole brand new ride and not even have to lie (ex. Mt. Olympus and Hades 360). RMC has said that Texas Giant and Iron Rattler is barely pushing the limits of what they can do with their track. So I'm assuming with each design that they do, it's only going to get crazier. The park has more to gain with a conversion of the Boss than leaving the coaster as it currently stands. Plus, It doesn't look like corporate as a whole lot of interest in expanding Six Flags St. Louis beyond the current boundaries. Remember, Boomerang took the place of the Bumper Cars.

have ridden the NTAG. I was not impressed. The experience was too smooth and lacked force. While I acknowledge that for now it does well in rankings, coasters at the top do not always stay at the top (see Timber Wolf).

 

Because God forbid a ride be too smooth. NTAG had tons of forces, certainly more than Boss does now. CCI's designs are heavily outdated now and RMC's rides are some of the greatest out there. Just convert Boss and be done with it.