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On Saturday, we made our second trip of the season to SFSTL. My brother, his fiencie, and their daughter joined us for the day so they could process their season passes. None of them had been to the park before so we took a slow pace and tried to take in everything. We arrived at the park around 11:30am and we stayed until closing at 10:00pm.
The weather forcast was calling for thunderstorms and rain most of the day but we got lucky and didn't get a single drop. It was warm and humid which made it a little uncomfortable during the afternon, but it was absolutely beautiful in the evening.
This was by far the best day I've ever had at this park. It was the first time I've been able to experience SFSTL after dark. Let me tell you, the park is really great during nighttime operation. I had some of the best rides I've ever had on the parks coasters. There were a lot of school busses during the day but they mostly cleared out around 6 or 7 and we had walk-on conditions for the rest of the day.
Throughout the day we rode just about everything at least once. This park doesn't have a very big selection of flat rides but they do have a few and they are pretty fun. My niece Jessica and I rode everything with everyone else picking and choosing what they rode. I won't go into detail about all the flats but I did particularly enjoy the Riverview Racer (Chance Yo-Yo) and Highland Fling (Huss Enterprise ?). Both were run pretty well and offered long ride cycles, especially the swings.
We didn't eat any meals at the park but we did buy a couple of overpriced waffle cones from the place at the front of the park. Despite the high price, they were very delicious. My brother bought t-shirts for his family before we left the park but I didn't buy any souvenirs this time. They did have a couple interesting shirts with sayings like "I did the Boss" and "So you wanna ride a woodie?". Funny, but not really my style.
The park was very clean. Tammy was very impressed by the cleanliness of the women's bathrooms. Apparently, this is something that isn't too great at a lot of parks. All the paths were well taken care of and the rides well maintained. There are a lot of trees and it's just a beautiful park overall. We encountered a few friendly employees throughout the day which made this trip that much better.
River King Mine Train ( 1 lap )
This is a pretty mellow mine ride with three lifts and a "surprise" tunnel to finish it off. I'm a big fan of rides ending with a bang and at least RKMT attempts this. Everyone enjoyed our ride on the parks tamest adult coaster, but one ride was enough.
Ninja ( 1 lap )
Ninja is a Vekoma coaster that has seen much better days. The ride is pretty short and features 4 inversions. There's a really nasty jolt going through the ending helix which made me smack my cheek into the restraint. The head-chopper as you come under the lift is the one and only redeeming part of this entire ride. Almost none of our group cared for this one very much. I hated it even more than I have in the past. Jessica did like it though, so her and Tammy rode it a couple more times but everyone else opted out. Tammy had a head ache afterwards. Ninja ran two trains which was more than enough for the handful of people riding.
Screamin' Eagle ( 3 laps, 1 at night)
I managed to enjoy this ride even though it is one of the shakiest wooden coasters I've ever been on. I noticed the red train was a little better than the blue, but not by much. The airtime is all but gone on this once great ride. I really wish Six Flags would put some effort into restoring this into the ride it used to be. I love the trees that surround the track and seclude a majority of the ride from the rest of the park. It adds an element you don't normally find on out and back woodies. Night rides on the Eagle were a little faster and more enjoyable with hints of airtime but nothing worth mentioning any further.
Mr. Freeze ( 3 launches, 1 at night )
The new & improved Premier shuttle was running two trains (both with lap bars) almost the entire day. I was really impressed with the crew this time. They almost always had the second train ready by the time the first returned to the station. It's amazing but the duel loading station, short ride cycle, and decent crew actually give the ride a really good capacity for a shuttle.
The lap bars make this former head-banger a really great ride. I was impressed with Mr. Freeze when I rode the new configuration for the first time last month, but it was even smoother this time. The top hat is one of my favorite inversions, especially backwards. That and the reverse drop off the spike really make for a wonderful ride experience. My hats off to Premier to giving new life to their launched coasters. This one is also better at night.
Batman: The Ride ( 3 laps, 2 at night )
Namtab, as it's known in the enthusiast community, was running awesome on this day. These were honestly some of the best rides I've ever had on any invert outside of Florida. The ride was very intense as always. The trains were FLYING through the course and were smooth as silk. I love to watch this ride run it's course and the midway outside provides plenty of area to see the entire ride. This may have overtaken the original at SFGAM as my favorite of the B:TR clones.
The Boss ( 4 laps, 3 at night )
The Boss was the only ride other than Batman to generate a long line during the day. When the crowds cleared out at night the line was down to about 10 minutes. The Boss was nothing short of spectacular! The first drop was very smooth and the ride was fast and out of control. There was some minor shaking at the bottom of the second and third drops but the rest of the ride was flawless. The setting of the ride on the hills with the surrounding trees really adds to the excitement. The night rides were the best I've ever had on this coaster. The surprise drops and intense laterals in complete darkness are insane. The coaster really comes alive in the dark and it's now my second favorite night ride behind The Beast.
I'll admit that The Boss isn't the most consistent coaster in the world, but on it's better days, it provides one of the most intense and exciting rides anywhere. The raw power of this ride actually reminds me of The Legend at Holiday World and that's one of the best compliments I could ever give to a wooden coaster. My only complaint is the bunny hills that lead past the station and into the double helix are kind of rampy and don't provide any air. But this coaster is about big drops, power and speed and it achieves those things very well.
SFSTL is really a great park and I encourage everyone to try and visit at least once. It's one of the better Six Flags parks that I've been to.
Thanks for reading.
Kyle
Hi Recess!!,
Great Trip Report!! I couldn't agree with you more. Six Flags St. Louis is a very beautiful park. It is one that I love visiting over and over. The coasters there are great. The River King Mine Ride is a great ride though a bit slow, and I love the Screamin Eagle. Has it been deteorating or something because by the sound of your TR, it makes it sound like the Eagle has become very rough?? I have yet to ride the Boss but I am very excited. Great TR..
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X Looks Awesome! Oh Yea!!
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