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Six Flags St. Louis (SFStL) Discussion Thread


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This all wasn't because of anyone here looking for something to get excited about, the situation was it looked so much like someone was exposed in a way they may not want to be for all the world to see online, imagine if it was your wife or significant other in the photo and actually had a wardrobe malfunction and the park that asked to feature you on social media doesn't realize something's off and posts it anyway. It was all out of sympathy for the people involved because if it really happened I'm sure none of you would want to be part of it.

 

 

I think you are exaggerating the seriousness just a bit. I mean I'm almost 50, a woman, go out in public in a swimsuit, sometimes at SF water park where I regularly run into my middle school students......why would a nipslip be that much worse, it's just a body part that we all have. See plenty of guys with their butt cracks out and they don't seem to care.

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Just got back from my first visit to SFSL in about two years. Wondering why we decided to buy season passes again.

 

Here's a few of my highlights:

Justice League CLOSED(only ride the wife really wanted to ride)

Two hour window to use dining pass for Dinner and Snack. That's a lot of food to consume in two hours, let alone wait in line for.

Love at First Fright-Worst I've seen in forever. Singing is awful, new songs are awful, and LAFF is usually a highlight of a Fright Fest visit for us.

Skyscreamer-best lighting package in the whole park, NO LIGHTS!!

Took a train ride, sat in the station for almost 20 minutes.

Not too mention all the typical hoosiers and roaming teenagers.

 

I guess I'm just becoming an old grouch. Kinda wished I would have saved money on season and dining passes just for a weekend at SDC.

 

 

^^^^ this is my plan for next year

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Not to change the topic but...

 

I visited the park Friday, and honestly Fright Fest is a mess this year.

-Camp Killamore and Slaughter House seemed a lot shorter than in the past. Killamore had no real theming other than in the showerhouse. The rest was just walking down large open pathways filled with fog and lighting. Slaughter House got rid of one of its best parts (the corn maze) and now the entire outside area smells like pig sh*t because there are now actual live pigs just sitting in the middle of the maze?

-Night Terrors had the most scare actors and effects of the mazes we went through but the overall theme (not that most people care) didn't seem to make sense. There were snakes, hands, clowns, chain link fences, a doctor. Not sure what it was supposed to be, but at least it was somewhat scary.

-Blackout is a waste of space and scare actors.

-Clown area had no scare actors when we went through at 10. It's also in a location this year that is even worse than last years (sandwiched in between Big Spin and Xcalibur).

-No hayride this year really makes it ridiculous to charge $30 for admission to 5 houses. The worker running the line for Killamore heard my friend complaining about the VIP line and ranted to us about how she thinks the $30 for the houses is way too much, let alone the $40 for express.

 

A new maze would be nice next year, as well as an emphasis on more theming in the mazes. Not sure how Blind Fury is this year, we didn't go in.

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Not to change the topic but...

 

I visited the park Friday, and honestly Fright Fest is a mess this year.

-Camp Killamore and Slaughter House seemed a lot shorter than in the past. Killamore had no real theming other than in the showerhouse. The rest was just walking down large open pathways filled with fog and lighting. Slaughter House got rid of one of its best parts (the corn maze) and now the entire outside area smells like pig sh*t because there are now actual live pigs just sitting in the middle of the maze?

-Night Terrors had the most scare actors and effects of the mazes we went through but the overall theme (not that most people care) didn't seem to make sense. There were snakes, hands, clowns, chain link fences, a doctor. Not sure what it was supposed to be, but at least it was somewhat scary.

-Blackout is a waste of space and scare actors.

-Clown area had no scare actors when we went through at 10. It's also in a location this year that is even worse than last years (sandwiched in between Big Spin and Xcalibur).

-No hayride this year really makes it ridiculous to charge $30 for admission to 5 houses. The worker running the line for Killamore heard my friend complaining about the VIP line and ranted to us about how she thinks the $30 for the houses is way too much, let alone the $40 for express.

 

A new maze would be nice next year, as well as an emphasis on more theming in the mazes. Not sure how Blind Fury is this year, we didn't go in.

 

Been to two fright fests, but havent done any haunted houses, as I like riding the rides in the dark a lot more. Creepyworld and The Darkness are much better for the money.

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I've always enjoyed Frightfest more for the park decorations and Halloween ambiance as yeah, it can't compete with standalone attractions like the Darkness or Creepyworld. Creepyworld is so spread out that it's sort of "eh" to me on the whole, but I LOVE the Darkness as the visual effects and set decoration are fun to look at.

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

it certainly would not hurt in my opinion. I am of the very firm belief that 90% of the dining pass delay problems are related to attempting to control labor costs.

 

by restricting times of eating and limiting the establishments that are open at any given time, you don't need to be fully staffed at any food booth - 90% of the people eating at the park now are passholders. I mean face it you don't eat at the park for the fine dining experience, without the pass most people would not be buying stale chicken strips and lukewarm burgers for 15.00 a pop.I almost never see anyone pay cash for food anymore in the park -

 

I avoid most busy times at the park and delays I saw and experienced were directly related to 2 things. Being understaffed at the dinner times and a lack of work knowledge or interest in serving customers (efficiency and or speed of job completion). In the end its a crappy food service job and those doing it don't seem to be into it very much, hence a definite lack of enthusiasm.

 

Not sure of the fix for any of this, but more operational coke freestyle machines around the park might help a bit with drink lines.

 

my two cents

 

Kevin

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I've had a food idea I've been ruminating on for a while now. One that possibly allows for increased throughput without needing extra staff.

 

Take a page out of a what Amazon and UPS are doing - create a 1ocker pickup service, and you place orders on their app. There are already multiple food items prepared in central locations, and there are already people moving food supplies around basically all the time. Some of the infrastructure is basically already there. You just need a 1ocker design and to design the pickup system (I'd recommend using the app and geofencing and/or Bluetooth LE). Pick your food, pick your location. The app gives you a time and you pay in the app.

 

You could also look at vending machines that cook the food on the spot but employees may not like it. It also creates a single point of interaction that can still clog up.

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I've had a food idea I've been ruminating on for a while now. One that possibly allows for increased throughput without needing extra staff.

 

Take a page out of a what Amazon and UPS are doing - create a 1ocker pickup service, and you place orders on their app. There are already multiple food items prepared in central locations, and there are already people moving food supplies around basically all the time. Some of the infrastructure is basically already there. You just need a 1ocker design and to design the pickup system (I'd recommend using the app and geofencing and/or Bluetooth LE). Pick your food, pick your location. The app gives you a time and you pay in the app.

 

You could also look at vending machines that cook the food on the spot but employees may not like it. It also creates a single point of interaction that can still clog up.

I'm not trying to knock your idea, but that sounds like a nightmare. You'd be dealing with a lot sanitation issues with the lockers. Would they be heated? What would you do for cold items or drinks? You're also going to have to staff more people when the lockers inevitably have problems or the users are confused. What if someone gets stuck in a long line and their food sits there for an hour? Entitled people will blame the batman crew for their stale food and demand a refund.

 

Amazon is a well oiled machine with a lot of time and thought put into the process. Their employees are also expected to work their asses off, which is unrealistic to expect from millennial teens. Adding food and FDA standards to the mix will make the process much more complicated. I see where you were going with it, but I think it might turn into a mess.

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Does it really cost that much money to make the ferries wheel a pumpkin again ????

 

I have no clue, all the people I've contacted haven't gotten back to me as if they're trying to make people forget there used to be a pumpkin on Colossus, it's sad because it's been on it since 1988 but I guess it has a possibility to return if enough people talk about it

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

 

I have always thought this and put it on every survey. I mean you paid for a certain quantity of meals/snacks; why can't you use them whenever you want? And like you I think it would help lines. Particularly at events like FF when everyone is trying to eat all at once (after dinner starts and before the haunts open).

 

I kind of assume the reason they don't do this is so you don't use it for friends. For example, if we come to FF at 4 in the afternoon because we mostly want to experience the park in the dark, we are not going to have 2 meals and a snack. If we could use those meals anytime, it would be easy to treat a friend that doesn't have a DP. The question is: Are they really losing that much money? Would someone mooching off a friend spend the money if they didn't have that opportunity or would they just stuff their face at Steak n Shake before/after a visit? I mean if they were willing to bring in food trucks it shows some willingness to give up profit for happy visitors.

 

Speaking of......I didn't see any food trucks this year when we were there on the 7th. Did they decide not to do it this year? And if not, is it because it cut into the bottom line too much? The answer to that may be why they have the designated times?

 

Or they are just being kinda douchey and hoping lots of people won't ever use all of the meals designated to them, thus increasing their profit on each dp.

 

Or some combo of the above.

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

 

I have always thought this and put it on every survey. I mean you paid for a certain quantity of meals/snacks; why can't you use them whenever you want? And like you I think it would help lines. Particularly at events like FF when everyone is trying to eat all at once (after dinner starts and before the haunts open).

 

I kind of assume the reason they don't do this is so you don't use it for friends. For example, if we come to FF at 4 in the afternoon because we mostly want to experience the park in the dark, we are not going to have 2 meals and a snack. If we could use those meals anytime, it would be easy to treat a friend that doesn't have a DP. The question is: Are they really losing that much money? Would someone mooching off a friend spend the money if they didn't have that opportunity or would they just stuff their face at Steak n Shake before/after a visit? I mean if they were willing to bring in food trucks it shows some willingness to give up profit for happy visitors.

 

Speaking of......I didn't see any food trucks this year when we were there on the 7th. Did they decide not to do it this year? And if not, is it because it cut into the bottom line too much? The answer to that may be why they have the designated times?

 

Or they are just being kinda douchey and hoping lots of people won't ever use all of the meals designated to them, thus increasing their profit on each dp.

 

Or some combo of the above.

 

You need to know something about bulk food prices and the profitability of the food service industry to even begin to decode their reasons. What they are charging for a hamburger fries and drink most likely costs them in bulk, as they buy it, about $2 to $3 max per meal. They charge $12-$15. I have eaten out there on nearly every visit this year (about 8) and I have maybe cost them $25-$30 in food and drinks in about 10 meals. (Deluxe dining pass $85) I like the convenience of not having to have any cash or money on me when I visit and can stop in whenever and not worry about paying for anything.

 

I cannot even fathom the actual cost of bringing your family of 4 to the park without passes and dining in park for a full day. Gotta be close to $500. Can't imagine a lot of the crowd is of this variety. I mean $20 to park your car, that is truly a rip off, and that's with no parking lot shuttle to at least bring you to the gate.

 

Season and dining passes are their bread and butter,and controlling costs and cutting them is how they keep their margins high enough to stay open.

 

another 2 cents

Kevin

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Kim, I would think SFSTL gets some kind of profit from the food trucks. Great America is bringing in food and beer vendors for their fall festival and I would imagine that would be the same. I'd be very surprised if the park didn't take a healthy cut of the vendor's profits, which is fair since they're proving them with the venue. Seems mutually beneficial.

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Does it really cost that much money to make the ferries wheel a pumpkin again ????

 

I have no clue, all the people I've contacted haven't gotten back to me as if they're trying to make people forget there used to be a pumpkin on Colossus, it's sad because it's been on it since 1988 but I guess it has a possibility to return if enough people talk about it

 

Pretty funny as all their marketing pictures have it up with the pumpkin

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

 

I have always thought this and put it on every survey. I mean you paid for a certain quantity of meals/snacks; why can't you use them whenever you want? And like you I think it would help lines. Particularly at events like FF when everyone is trying to eat all at once (after dinner starts and before the haunts open).

 

I kind of assume the reason they don't do this is so you don't use it for friends. For example, if we come to FF at 4 in the afternoon because we mostly want to experience the park in the dark, we are not going to have 2 meals and a snack. If we could use those meals anytime, it would be easy to treat a friend that doesn't have a DP. The question is: Are they really losing that much money? Would someone mooching off a friend spend the money if they didn't have that opportunity or would they just stuff their face at Steak n Shake before/after a visit? I mean if they were willing to bring in food trucks it shows some willingness to give up profit for happy visitors.

.

 

We went to the park again yesterday as my oldest was in from college for the weekend and my wife and I were discussing the same thing. Wouldn't it be better to have happy/satisfied customers that can eat whenever they want and spread the lines out throughout the day then force the times. We waited in food lines for at least 30-45 minutes for each meal yesterday. Granted this was one of the busiest days I've ever seen the park, but the funny thing is, once dining hours were over at 8:30 the park seemed to clear out slightly. If the hours were extended to one hour before closing, do you think more people would stay in the park and possibly spend more on games,etc. Al though I must admit, not many games were open yesterday, it seemed like they must have put games employees in food service positions, not sure this is even possible with health requirements, but seemed like the only explanation in not having games open. The other thing we've learned is it doesn't seem like the enforce the times too hard when busy as we ordered lunch at about 4:40 and dinner at about 8:45 both after the designated cut offs.

 

As far as arriving at the park after X time, why not just post guests arriving after X will only be allowed one meal and snack. Quite honestly some of the snack options could be a meal for a light eater. The pretzels are huge, I believe a turkey leg is now a snack upgrade, or the half and half at Johnny Rockets could hold someone over.

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Back in the day SFSTL had a month dedicated to Country Fair Days... I want to say that it was on weekends from Labor day leading up to Fright Fest. With the seasonal times (Holiday in the Park, Fright Fest, Mardi Gras) Do you think they ever will bring back the Country Fair days.

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

 

I have always thought this and put it on every survey. I mean you paid for a certain quantity of meals/snacks; why can't you use them whenever you want? And like you I think it would help lines. Particularly at events like FF when everyone is trying to eat all at once (after dinner starts and before the haunts open).

 

I kind of assume the reason they don't do this is so you don't use it for friends. For example, if we come to FF at 4 in the afternoon because we mostly want to experience the park in the dark, we are not going to have 2 meals and a snack. If we could use those meals anytime, it would be easy to treat a friend that doesn't have a DP. The question is: Are they really losing that much money? Would someone mooching off a friend spend the money if they didn't have that opportunity or would they just stuff their face at Steak n Shake before/after a visit? I mean if they were willing to bring in food trucks it shows some willingness to give up profit for happy visitors.

 

Speaking of......I didn't see any food trucks this year when we were there on the 7th. Did they decide not to do it this year? And if not, is it because it cut into the bottom line too much? The answer to that may be why they have the designated times?

 

Or they are just being kinda douchey and hoping lots of people won't ever use all of the meals designated to them, thus increasing their profit on each dp.

 

Or some combo of the above.

 

You need to know something about bulk food prices and the profitability of the food service industry to even begin to decode their reasons. What they are charging for a hamburger fries and drink most likely costs them in bulk, as they buy it, about $2 to $3 max per meal. They charge $12-$15. I have eaten out there on nearly every visit this year (about 8) and I have maybe cost them $25-$30 in food and drinks in about 10 meals. (Deluxe dining pass $85) I like the convenience of not having to have any cash or money on me when I visit and can stop in whenever and not worry about paying for anything.

 

I cannot even fathom the actual cost of bringing your family of 4 to the park without passes and dining in park for a full day. Gotta be close to $500. Can't imagine a lot of the crowd is of this variety. I mean $20 to park your car, that is truly a rip off, and that's with no parking lot shuttle to at least bring you to the gate.

 

Season and dining passes are their bread and butter,and controlling costs and cutting them is how they keep their margins high enough to stay open.

 

another 2 cents

Kevin

 

 

Oh I get that. And I know that bulk soda is extremely cheap because they buy it by the keg. I like the convenience of the dp too. I was just trying to think out if there would be a huge cut for them by eliminating the time restriction. There is no doubt they make a huge profit on food and bev!

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Kim, I would think SFSTL gets some kind of profit from the food trucks. Great America is bringing in food and beer vendors for their fall festival and I would imagine that would be the same. I'd be very surprised if the park didn't take a healthy cut of the vendor's profits, which is fair since they're proving them with the venue. Seems mutually beneficial.

 

 

I'm guessing your are spot on. Wonder if that is why they weren't around this year. Or were food trucks there these last couple of weekends. We were at FF the second weekend so early on but I sure didn't see any trucks then. I thought it was a really nice addition when they have had them.

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If SF changed the dining pass to where people could use it whenever they wanted during the day instead of having designated times, would that take care of the ridiculous food lines?

 

 

I have always thought this and put it on every survey. I mean you paid for a certain quantity of meals/snacks; why can't you use them whenever you want? And like you I think it would help lines. Particularly at events like FF when everyone is trying to eat all at once (after dinner starts and before the haunts open).

 

I kind of assume the reason they don't do this is so you don't use it for friends. For example, if we come to FF at 4 in the afternoon because we mostly want to experience the park in the dark, we are not going to have 2 meals and a snack. If we could use those meals anytime, it would be easy to treat a friend that doesn't have a DP. The question is: Are they really losing that much money? Would someone mooching off a friend spend the money if they didn't have that opportunity or would they just stuff their face at Steak n Shake before/after a visit? I mean if they were willing to bring in food trucks it shows some willingness to give up profit for happy visitors.

.

 

 

 

We went to the park again yesterday as my oldest was in from college for the weekend and my wife and I were discussing the same thing. Wouldn't it be better to have happy/satisfied customers that can eat whenever they want and spread the lines out throughout the day then force the times. We waited in food lines for at least 30-45 minutes for each meal yesterday. Granted this was one of the busiest days I've ever seen the park, but the funny thing is, once dining hours were over at 8:30 the park seemed to clear out slightly. If the hours were extended to one hour before closing, do you think more people would stay in the park and possibly spend more on games,etc. Al though I must admit, not many games were open yesterday, it seemed like they must have put games employees in food service positions, not sure this is even possible with health requirements, but seemed like the only explanation in not having games open. The other thing we've learned is it doesn't seem like the enforce the times too hard when busy as we ordered lunch at about 4:40 and dinner at about 8:45 both after the designated cut offs.

 

As far as arriving at the park after X time, why not just post guests arriving after X will only be allowed one meal and snack. Quite honestly some of the snack options could be a meal for a light eater. The pretzels are huge, I believe a turkey leg is now a snack upgrade, or the half and half at Johnny Rockets could hold someone over.

 

 

I think they are maybe a little lenient during FF on the times due to the huge crowds. Variation of the ride rule; you know if you are in line by the end time they will let you use it. You can replace a meal with a snack anytime, of course, win/win for the park. As much as I would like to think they want good customer service I'm afraid the reality probably is they are only going to really care about happy/satisfied customers if they think people will not return or not buy the dp's due to wait times and restrictions.

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I keep hearing the same thing echo'd throughout all of the facebook posts and boards for all parks. Lines are too long. Not enough scare actors. It takes forever to get food. I don't get it. Two years ago I visited my first haunt since I was a teen, when we went to King's Island. I adjusted my own expectations, even recalling how crazy these events were.

 

1) We purchased Fast Lane and we wouldn't dare to without it for a Haunt Event. (see flash pass options)

 

2) All seasonal parks clearly have staffing issues. If you want to get scared, go somewhere else that deals exclusively with haunt attractions. If you want to ride a few rides, enjoy a change of atmosphere/scenery, go to FF.

 

3) We packed our own lunch to eat in the car and left for dinner. (as we always do) No issues. No complaints. I didn't even complain when we waited 20 minutes to get a beer, because we expected it with the massive crowds.

 

Since then, we've been to a couple more Haunt Events. It's always the same with the aforementioned problems. We adapt and overcome. We treat ourselves to this madness once per year.

 

I'm really not tying to dig on anyone here. I'm sticking up for all parks here, not just SFSTL. I just think people need adjust their expectations of what they're going to get out of any haunt event at most any seasonal park, where we should all know by now that staffing is a real issue.

 

As far as the employees not caring, I don't believe that's true. I'm sure your managers and full time staff really do care, but you can't expect the teenager at the Dip-N-Dots stand to care, no matter how much you pay them. They're young and hormonal.

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As far as the employees not caring, I don't believe that's true. I'm sure your managers and full time staff really do care, but you can't expect the teenager at the Dip-N-Dots stand to care, no matter how much you pay them. They're young and hormonal.

 

I was not disparaging the overall management team. - but as you state, the bottom rung teenager is the face of the company and make for the experience good or bad.

 

I have had experiences getting food that were exceptional, I got the employee name and made sure to mention them by name in any survey.

 

I don't mind waiting and delays IF the staff at least appears to be doing all they can to expedite service. A food rush is a food rush, and they can be easier for those waiting to handle if they see a bit of hustle behind the counter.

 

Kevin

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