SFStL - 5.1.04

ARRIVED: 2:30ish

LEFT: 6:30ish

PARK APPEARANCE/ATMOSPHERE: The day was rainy and obviously overcast. It never poured while we were there, but made a coat necessary.

RIDE QUEUE TIMES: The park would have been empty if it wasn't for some school band day/contest. I think the number of buses outnumbered that of cars. The lines were great even with the abundance of B.O. & hormones. The longest wait was probably The Boss at around 20 minutes. SE & Batman was next (15 minutes). Everything else was practically a walk on, with the exception of Scooby (10-15 minutes).

BEST EXPERIENCE: Freeze in the front! I hadn't ever ridden 'him' in the front, but decided to wait a couple of extra trains for it. Beth & I felt like there wasn't a car in front of us. I have rode FoF in the front, but wasn't able to see much (you figure it out).

WORST EXPERIENCE: I would have to put SE in this spot. It wasn't the ride so much, but Beth forgot that she doesn't like SE. Hasn't ever liked it. She is determined that the train is going to fly off that darn track. She starts panicking during the ride. I was just being a good guy and made sure she was OK. I think a new paint job would ease her fear of the 'old' ride.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: *sigh* The Boss... It isn't a bad ride, but I can think of many other woodies I would rather ride instead of it. My main complaint is the shuffling of the train. Perhaps my brain can't just accept a G-train. All I know is that it could be better. (I think anyway!)

COASTER RANKINGS

REALLY QUITE GOOD: (Less than perfect, but fun) Mr. Freeze & Batman

COLD FRIES BAD (Like cold fries, quite the annoyance but not without its benefits--like your burger and soda) The Boss & SE

MAJOR NON-COASTER ACTIVITIES: (What else did you do? Enjoy a meal? Hit the waterpark?) The main goal of the day was to get Beth's season pass. She already had a voucher. This helped her get out of there in less than five minutes. FIVE MINUTES! One thing that SF has down is their season pass processing.

BEST NON-COASTER RIDE: This is a tough call. Xcalibur was a first for Beth and her brother. Scooby was also a first for them. In the end Scooby came out ahead. I think it was my 50,500 score that did it. Scooby also had a lot going on. On the mid-course lift, an employee jumped out and yelled at us. It was a 'fun' touch, but the youngest in our boat was 12. Apparently, the boat of young children ahead of us did not like it. I overheard that pretty pissed mother near the exit. Oh well... Our boat also got stuck ‘in’ the transfer. It took a push from the front and back our boat, using our feet, to get us back on track. Good times...

OTHER COMMENTS:

Overall the park was looking good. Everything wasn't open, but I didn't expect it to be.

I have the same wishes as always. I wish I didn't see any employees with sticks up their butts, but I guess you get that everywhere. Kudos goes out to the guy at Xcalibur who used a mic to talk to the riders while we were 1/2 way through the cycle. It was a cool touch. I can't remember if it was done last year or not. I’m thinking it was.

I think the park may want to train their ticket takers a little better. Nothing bad happened, but the employee just looked as us funny when we handed her my SP, my bro's online ticket, and Beth's voucher. Thank god SF has a bar code system. She just shrugged her shoulders and scanned them.

I never realized how 'themed' the park was until Saturday. There are so many western looking buildings. I would like to see them open the old restaurant up by SE and put something where the Hannibarrels was/is.

It gives me something to look forward to.

I don't plan to return to SFSTL till at least next year, but it sounds like it will be another solid year for the park. Having nothing new this year was dissapointing, so I'll be spending my time at SFGAM, Adventureland, and Valleyfair! (which I have never been to Valleyfair before).

For the record, my girlfriend hs a strange hatred for SE too, she can't stand that coaster, but I suppose it has seatbelts this year, which is a slight improvement.

I wish I coulda been there working Neuski, but I had Prom that night, so I didn't work....