Six Flags St. Louis 7/18 - 7/19: Blown Away in the Show-Me State
I have returned from Six Flags St. Louis excited, happy, and thirsty for more. Allow me to entertain you with tales from a wonderful weekend.
I arrived at the park on Saturday afternoon after having spent the morning and a few early afternoon hours in lovely downtown St. Louis. I found the city to be one of the nicer ones I've visited and I highly recommend checking it out sometime. Anyways, Saturday proved to be a heavily crowded day at the park, with waits exceeding a half hour for every coaster save Ninja (there's a shocker, lol). I spent roughly five hours in the park on my first visit of the day (I would return in the evening) and only snagged four rides.
I opted to lead off on Screamin' Eagle being as I was in the general area after processing my season pass and the line was too long for the Boss and Tony Hawk. I waited a half hour, ending up with the front row. The ride op at controls was exceptional, asking how riders enjoyed the ride and really getting guests amped up for the experience. Kudos to him and the crew for a great job.
The ride itself could best be described as graceful. Airtime was present, but not really noteworthy. The location was quite nice, with the ride sitting at the highest elevation in the park and going for a long run through the woods along the back of the park's perimeter. It was quite enjoyable if not particularly intense. Definitely worth the lap and I hope to get a back row ride on it sometime. This, however, would be my only lap on the ride over the weekend.
Seeing that the Boss and Tony Hawk were still pulling lengthy waits, I opted to head off in the direction of Batman. Along the way I stopped at Ninja, which didn't really have much of a wait. It ended up at around fifty minutes, though, due to my desire to ride in the front row which became occupied with Flashpass riders. I was bit surprised to see it happen so often, as it greatly increased the wait time up front. I was also surprised to see it as common practice at most of the other coasters as well.
Anyway, after waiting patiently and witnessing what nearly ended up in a fistfight, I climbed into the front row where I had the best view of the upcoming pain. Surprisingly, the ride was not particularly bad, though still much rougher in the front row than a ride like that should be. It wasn't the worst Arrow looper I've ridden, but it wasn't the best either. Anyways, better to get the mediocre rides out of the way first so the good ones seem that much better.
My spin on Ninja completed, I finally arrived at the bottom of the hill for one of the rides I came for: Batman - The Ride. I've ridden three other Batmen as well as Goliath at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, but this ride still manages to blow me away. My wait for the front row actually hit a whopping hour, but it was SO worth it. I was able to while away the time in line enjoying what I consider the nicest Gotham City park I've yet seen, but I was a bit disappointed when, after passing behind the decorative construction wall, I found the line would remain outdoors until right before cresting the stairs into the station. However, the stairs up to the station were not lit up brightly like I've seen on other Batmen, with this one possessing red lights only, giving an ominous overtone to the final part of the wait. It really helped the ride appear that much more sinister, a sensation which was only heightened upon arriving in the station.
The station also proved to be the best of the four I've experienced, coming off a bit darker and more intimidating. Kudos to Six Flags for really going for the gold on this one. It may not have had the extensive queue of some of the others, but the final aspects of the line, as well as the Gotham City park (the biggest one I recall seeing, and easily the most attractive) made it a rather pleasurable wait.
As for the ride, it simply blew me away. As I said in another thread, I now consider Batman - The Ride to be my absolute favorite roller coaster, with the front row being unparalleled in its ability to deliver mind-blowing thrills and gut-busting intensity. The ride is simply epic, and it's hard to believe it was the first inverted coaster. Well done, B&M.
I then made my way along the front of the park over to Evel Knievel in all its twisted glory. This wait ended up at around fifty minutes, again ending in a front row seat. The crew of this ride was just as exceptional as the Screamin' Eagle crew, and probably even more so. More kudos to Six Flags St. Louis, as great crews were par for the course here, besting most any other regional park I've visited.
The ride itself is absolutely wonderful, and easily the best GCII I've ridden. Airtime was more than abundant, and it wasn't any of the floaty stuff. This was pure ejector airtime, often coming during a turn which made for some killer side-slamming. Nothing painful, but not at all mild. The highlight moment for the front row was probably the set of three miniscule bunny hops taken at high speed, which resulted in one of my absolute favorite moments of any ride. I was laughing throughout, thoroughly enjoying myself on this wooden wonder. It was a fine addition to Six Flags St. Louis, who possesses the best collection of wooden coasters at probably any park I've yet visited.
Evel Knievel would close out my first session at the park, though I wouldn't be gone long. My dad picked me up and we went out for some quality St. Louis BBQ, but after filling my stomach, I quickly returned to the park where I would stick it out until closing time.
Upon my return, I took a few photos while my food digested, and then checked out a few of the lines. Most rides were still a little busy, though not to the degree they were earlier. However, I happened to notice that Mr. Freeze had not been running since my return. I opted to head over to it to check things out. Sure enough, it was closed.
Just what I was hoping.
People were pouring out of the line, so what did I do? I got in line. That was probably my best decision of the day. People kept telling me as I walked past that it was closed, to which I simply replied, "OK," and kept on going. By the time I stopped walking, I was in the station waiting for the front seat. I arrived to see them cycling trains in the station, followed briefly by test runs.
This was more proof that my experiences as a ride op had some value in them. Where most people hear "technical difficulties" and walk away sulking, I view it as an opportunity to score a short wait on a popular ride. Soon after my arrival, I found myself in the front seat on my favorite shuttle coaster, ready to rock on my first night ride of the trip. Blasting down the launch, I was hit square in the face by cold temperatures, somewhat adding to the ambience of the ride and compensating for the inappropriately hot station. The ride was wonderful, as expected, and I look forward to another front row seat on one of the examples of the epic Premier attraction.
I then headed up the hill toward the Boss, the main reason I bothered returning at all on Saturday. The Boss has a great location in the woods like the Screamin' Eagle, and that location would make all the difference in the darkness of night. I waited for the front row, which wasn't a bad wait at all. Three train operation and a great crew, as well as a low amount of Flashpass riders sticking things out saw me planting myself in the train pretty shortly after entering the queue, and pretty soon, I was off into the darkness.
I've read many bad reviews of the Boss, and given the layout of the ride and my past experiences with Gerstlauer wooden trains, it was easy to see why the ride earned its reputation. However, it wasn't particularly bad up front as far as roughness was concerned, so I really got to enjoy what actually proved to be a marvelous ride without getting battered all over the place. The ride was greatly enhanced by the darkness present in the woods where the ride careened with reckless abandon, and it ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the trip.
I then made a beeline for Batman, hoping to squeeze a lap in before close. After working my away around the remnants of the Glow in the Park parade, which was Disney-quality from what I saw (EXCELLENT job, Six Flags!), I hopped into the line for Batman, which was non-existant at this late hour. I got back-to-back laps to close the night out, hooting and hollering the whole way.
A good night's sleep now enjoyed, I made my way back to the park for the third and final time late Sunday morning. I went for Tony Hawk first, figuring it would have the longest wait in the park if I waited any longer. As it turned out, I barely waited at all, and ended up on the spinner in short order. I didn't spin as much as I have in the past on its clones, at least during the majority of the ride. However, I spun my way to the final brakes where we finally reached a stop.
The problem was, after stopping, we didn't start, and we hadn't made it to the friction wheel that straightens the car out and stops the spinning. We spun for probably a good ten minutes before the car finally lost its rotational momentum, and after waiting just a bit longer, they ended up evacuating us right there on the brakes. We spent our time out there with a nice ride op, though, so it was actually pretty pleasant. I got an exit pass out of the deal, so it was well worth it in my book.
Oh, and I'm claiming the credit given that I made it to the final brakes before the evac, lol.
Anyways, I then returned to the Boss for a daylight lap, scoring the front row once again. It was just as fun as the night before, if not as terrifying, and the crew on Sunday proved to be exceptional yet again. Other parks take note: if a customer service lesson is needed, check out Six Flags St. Louis.
I finished up on the Boss, then swung down to the River King Mine Ride, which was yet another walk-on. It was a good middle-of-the-road mine train, not possessing the intensity of the Road Runner Express in San Antonio but not as mild as Cedar Creek Mine Ride and most others in the genre. We got stopped upon engaging the second chain lift as the guy in the front row whipped out his cell phone. Busted! They stopped the ride so they could give security time to arrive without letting the guy get away. Again, slick move. I was impressed, personally. Alas, we began moving shortly and finished the ride.
My second lap of the trip on Evel Knievel would follow, this time experienced in the back row. Sure enough, it was just as good as the front row, sacrificing the view down the first drop for some wicked ejector air over the top. You can't go wrong in any seat on this thing.
Finally, it was time to bust out the exit pass. My original plan was to go for another front row lap on Mr. Freeze, but it was getting towards the time I needed to leave and I didn't want to head further into the park, so I decided to end the visit with another fantastic choice. Walking along the front of the park, I decided to go for a front row lap on Batman to close the trip out in the best way possible. Just as wild as the day before, it would serve as the perfect close to an absolutely incredible trip at an absolutely incredible park.
All in all, the park was extremely beautiful and scenic. The abundance of ads took a little away from the charm, but it wasn't bad enough to make things unpleasant. The park's layout and somewhat narrow midways can get really congested when the place gets crowded, and the packing-in of rides meant that there's not really any part of the park that is particularly sedate. Still, the large amount of rides didn't seem to eliminate the scenic nature of the park, which was quite impressive. Six Flags did a great job keeping the natural beauty of the park intact even with scream machines all over the place.
As for the employees, again, they were top notch, besting any other regional park. They were like laid-back Cedar Point employees, and their spirit was and is to be commended. They seemed to enjoy what they did, and that only makes it more enjoyable for the guests like me.
Six Flags St. Louis may not be the megapark that some of its sister parks are, and it may not possess a real monstrosity of a megacoaster, but I think that works to its advantage. It possesses a nice, diverse selection of rides with something for everyone, and the kiddie area was massive and not lacking in any way, so you can easily spend a full day there. In conclusion, Six Flags has a real treasure with the third-oldest park in the chain and the youngest of the originals, and they really need to be proud of the park.
Sirloindude, avid B&M megastandup fan. I accept any ensuing hit to my credibility for such a statement.