Six Flags Addict

My phone is being weird and won't allow me to post the picture, but I passed by a section of track going North on 44 near Rolla (about an hour and a half from the park) yesterday. I don't see why it won't open till June with track arriving already.

Even with Outlaw Run nearby, I think that The Boss getting the Iron Horse treatment would be a great idea! I just hope they would re-work the layout. The mid course breaks happen way too soon. I know the city had issues with the original layout - maybe they could approve it this time. Also, does anyone know if Batman is going to be repainted this year? It seriously is starting to look ghetto.

All of the GP I've told so far are pretty dissapointed by the ride. Word on the street is it will get the same color scheme as Pandemonium. I like the colors, but ( and not that six flags cares) Boomerang won't exactly go with the "Illinois" theme. Best way they could of had an IL theme? "618 - The Ride" Guests will enter 618-The ride's queue line with two John Deer tractors on both sides of the entrance. Then, in typical SFSTL fashion, guests will embarke on a mile and a half journey through the queue line, surrounded by corn the entire way. Along the way they'll see barns, bonfires, and even be able to pick some apples in the mini orchards... but as guests approach the station, things begin to change. They've now entered East St. Louis. They'll see large spotlights drawing them closer to the station, which is themed to a crackhouse. Paid actors will be in the station to mug random people in line, keeping guests entertained until they get on to the one-of-a-kind trains. Featuring lap-bar only restraints, the new trains will be the first ever to have 24 inch spinning rims mounted on the side. As riders leave the station, "Mercy" by Kanye West bares out of the in-car speakers. All is well until riders reach the top of the second lift hill, where a drug deal goes bad and gunshots ring out over the speaker system, causing riders to flee in reverse back to the crackhouse. As riders exit the station, they will be handed welfare checks. 618 - The ride will represent the single largest capital investment made at SFSTL in this century - costing 20 million dollars!

Tidal Wave and maybe the bumper cars are on their way out. I just hope that we maybe get a waterslide or flat in addition to it.

Flashback is coming

Had my first visit of the year to the park yesterday. Only had five rides (American Thunder, Batman, Mine Train, Eagle, and Freeze) because me and my friend had already worked all day and we were just going out there to get our passes and a few rides in. We got there a little after five and the parking lot was pretty full and there were at 10-15 buses on the lot, but luckily lots of people were beginning to exit so lines weren't terrible. I'll go ahead and get the bad out of the way: * For the love of Mr. Six, would it kill Six Flags to spend a little money on air conditioning for Batman and Mr. Freeze?! Even just a few, well-placed fans would do the trick. It was a very pleasant evening to be walking around outside, but inside Freeze's building was a different story. Me, my friend, and everyone else around us were complaining about how dang hot it was! If I'm sweating bullets now, I can't imagine what July and August will be like... I'm serious when I say I would rather have fans put in the lines/stations for Batman and Mr. Freeze than get a dueling B&M hyper. Make it happen, Six Flags. * When compared to other rides ops in the park, Batman's crew could have been friendlier/interact with people more and been faster at dispatching trains. * Eagle did have some good moments of airtime, but it did throw me around quite a bit on the back half. * American Thunder has advertising on one of the trains. And for the good: * Everyone at the park seemed to be having a really good time * The park seemed to be handling the crowds well. * Even at 5:30, there was still a line for season pass processing, but it was only a 20 minute wait - they were getting them through fast. I can't comment on the season pass dinning though - I know some people were having issues with it. I decided against it because I don't think I would use it that often (Most of my trips will be 3-4 hours after work and I will have already eaten). * American Thunder got new cushions in the trains (old ones were tan - these are black) * The new Mr. Freeze is AWESOME! I wasn't too sure if turning the cars around would make a big impact, but trust me, it did! Some things that have been added besides turning the cars around: the front entrance has been repainted and looks really good, the sides of the cars have a new decal, there is strobe light that has a snowflake pattern that goes around the station when the cars aren't being launched - when they are it turns into a spotlight of alternating colors and a siren plays over the sound system (very cool and builds anticipation, and in-station music now alternates from its usual Batman-ish music to some 80's cop movie sounding music - which I actually quite enjoy and made sweating to death less sucky. The fog and tunnel lights were not running I rode in the front of the back car (which is the new front). Whiplash was not a problem. You jerk forward a little, but not nearly enough to cause any pain. While I do miss being able to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" in the launch, not knowing when you're going to exit the tunnel adds an element of surprise. Entering the top hat-backwards from this direction is also surprising - you just keep going and end up higher than you expect and is it more exciting than entering it backwards from the other direction (I think it has to do with the fact your brain is still in "I'm out of the tunnel?!" mode still.) The banked curve is same as ever - fun, but with a new twist. The back spike... OMG!!! Just when you think you've reached the top, you hit the LIMs that take you even higher. Looking straight at the ground is insane! I HIGHLY recommend riding toward the back so you go as high as possible. The GP is eating it up too - if you watch from the ground, there is a lot more screaming now. Especially on the back spike, when the train hit the LIMs everyone freaks out! I heard a ton of people talking positively about it - the only negative I heard was some girl in line saying, "Oh my Gahhhd what if my weave flies off?!?!?" So I say good job, Six Flags! They took an already good ride and made it even better! Let's hope they keep it like this for a long time. I did manage to get a few random pics throughout the park, but unfortunately my image resizer is not working properly. I'll post them later if it works.

This is really good news. I actually was looking at some of the smaller US parks the other day and thought that Cliff's should get a Euro-fighter or something in the near future. I think that this will be a good, solid coaster addition. I'll definitely have to hit up the park if I end up in the area.

I think the best part now is going to be the spike - looking 200 feet down is pretty sick. I'll be out there the second this semester is over and I'll see if it's worth all of the hype. Here is another media day video: http://fox2now.com/2012/04/26/48721/#ooid=lsbXdqNDo8wc6AhG9z7f0dCpDprIQj9i

I really like the way the ride is turning out. Can't wait to see it in person (and hopefully get some pics) on Sunday. I think SFSTL will have a hit with this. Everyone I've talked to about it seems really excited and can't wait to ride it. Ha don't get me started But speaking of the skyline, supposedly if anyone wants to ride Screamin Eagle anytime soon, this weekend will be the weekend to do it. After that, they're going to shut it down and repaint it (ALL of it - not just the first 1/3 of the ride like they did in 2006) and it will be back open in early June for the 40th anniversary celebration. Screamin Eagle looked GREAT when they repainted the 1/3 of it, so with SkyScreamer and an Eagle repaint, the back of the park will be looking great.

Six flags has posted animation to their facebook

Actually, it was confirmed on the park's facebook that the ride is permanent and not going anywhere. It will be placed where the current swings are at (across from Tidal wave). While the ride will be the tallest one at the park, STOP will still seem taller because it is up the hill... I'm very happy with this ride! It's definitely being put in a good location... The area in front of Tidal wave/The Swings is always dead. This will definitely help to bring foot traffic to the area, which could help convince corporate to expand into some of the massive amount of land the park owns east of the park, that you can only easily access from that spot (pretty much accurate outline of park boudaries http://sfstl.net/forums/index.php?topic=1703.msg24537#msg24537) I can't wait to see this thing in action (especially at night when it is all lit up)...

Yes, STOP was running but not all of the cars (it was not necessary because of the small crowds). And I would plan on going Saturday. I think it is going to rain on Sunday.

Eagle was running ok... It seemed a little rough compared to last year, but I rode in the middle and I usually ride in the front or back so that probably could have made it rough. It did seems to go through the course with good speed though. And yes, from what I saw Mr. Freeze was running all day. I don't think there were any break downs. I'm pretty sure the Boss was shut down because of all the rain we got over the weekend. I think Six Flags got an inch or more of snow Sunday too so that may have had something to do with it. Hope you have a great time!

Originally, I had planned to go out to Six Flags yesterday with my mom just to get our passes and some concert tickets and go on home, but the park ended up closing at noon due to the rain so we ended up going today. Since it was cold and I didn't have anyone to ride the rides with I didn't do a lot. EK-1 Batman-1 Screamin' Eagle-1 Collosus-1 Overall there were not a lot of people at the park so lines were about a one train wait. On to the photos..... Thanks for reading! Better view of Wahoo Racer. Wahoo Racer. Looks like Hurricane Bay needs to be cleaned.... The Boss was shut down today. Tony Hawk... They removed the cop car! The fire hydrant had so much water coming out of it, it was covering the que and they had a security guard standin there telling people to hop over the rain to get around. One of my favorite parts of the ride. Coming around the bend.... Looks like they've gotten serious about jumping fences since last summer's accident at SFOG. Evel Knievel Eagle about to take its largest drop.... While I was on the Eagle, I saw a baby dear standing next to the track! It was kind of neat because it was just standing there watching the ride. Eagle towering over everything in the distance. It might just be me, but I don't remember this sign being here last year... I think they removed it a while ago and rehabed it... it looks good. I personally love Freeze's new paint job. Freeze flying by.... The line for season pass processing was killer. I can't wait to see what the new lighting package looks like. Mandatory Batman from the plaza shot. This is new this year and I think it is a really good idea. Being able to buy another parking pass for only $15 instead of having to pay an additional $45 is a great idea for people that have more than one person who drives to Six Flags in their family/group. Is that... Yes it is! Mr. Six! All of the characters and staff were doing the Casper Slide Part 2.... It was really cool to see everyone getting envolved. This is how it looked all day. There was maybe 100 cars in the parking lot when we got there.... All the rain that made Six Flags close yesterday finaly moved away from St. Louis... When I first woke up to get ready for church, there was snow on the ground....luckily it melted fast.

Wahoo Racer is finally starting to come together! The employee web site put some pics up of the construction and Mr. Freeze's awesome new paint job. Link to pics