Another eventful season is in the books at Six Flags St. Louis. Being that this is my home park, I was able to make several visits in 2018. Overall, my experiences were mostly positive even though there were several hiccups at the park throughout the season. A majority of flat rides were closed for much of the year. Typhoon Twister the parks new water slide experienced a lot of downtime due to legal issues when one of the riders fell out of their tube. But even through all of those issues, the parks various events did not disappoint this season. So let’s take a look at Six Flags St. Louis in 2018.
Boss Re-Profiling
The Boss received some major changes to it’s finale in 2018. The head rattling double helix was replaced with a 180-degree banked turn. Because section of the track was taken out they had to bring the train to a near complete stop at the mid course brake run. Although this seemed to slow down the middle portion of the ride, the ending still provided a high thrill and the double up ending delivered more floater airtime than in the previous layout. Regardless, I believe the changes had minimal impact to the overall ride as a majority of the track is still rough and the most thrilling parts of this wooden giant happen before the mid course brake run. Because of this, the Boss remains as one of my favorite coasters in the park.
Typhoon Twister
Hurricane Harbor opened a new water slide in 2018 which personally, I was very excited for. But an unfortunate incident occurred shortly where a guest fell out of the raft receiving minor injuries. This cause the new slide to be closed for the beginning of the summer. Eventually Typhoon Twister opened back up but I was unfortunately unable to be able to head down to Six Flags St. Louis to catch a ride. Either way, I think it is a great fit for Six Flags St. Louis as the waterpark is one of the main draws during the hot summer months. I looked forward to getting a chance to ride this slide in 2019.
Downtime
One unfortunate thing that happened in the 2018 season was the amount of downtime the park’s many flat rides experienced.
Shazam, Superman, Colossus and Fireball were down for a good portion of the year. Xcalibur was closed for the entire season and Highland Fling was removed to prepare for Supergirl coming in 2019. As a pass holder, I mainly visit this park for the roller coasters but I could see this being a major negative for those who bought one day tickets. Hopefully these renovations and repairs payoff for seasons to come.
Events
This year I made it out for several of the parks events such as the 4th of July Celebration, Frightfest, Winterfest and even the annual American Coaster Enthusiasts event Dare Devil Daze. The 4th of July celebration was a nice addition in 2018 which included an impressive fireworks display. I have seen several 4th of July fireworks shows during the holiday week and the one at Six Flags St. Louis would rival the big time show at the Arch riverfront. Every time it appeared we were approaching the finale, more fireworks would fire up in the sky. I really hope this celebration returns this season.
Next there was Frightfest which is one of my favorite times to visit Six Flags. Not so much for the haunted attraction but more for the night rides on the parks terrain wooden roller coasters. I was able to check out the haunts this year but unfortunately the houses didn’t seem to have the same amount of scare actors as the previous year. I am unsure if staffing was an issue throughout the season or if this was just isolated to the evening we attended. Regardless, I was more entertained by the night rides you get on Boss and Screamin’ Eagle. This alone makes the event worth coming out to.
During Frightfest was the American Coaster Enthusiasts annual event Dare Devil Daze. The park provided morning exclusive ride time on The Boss and Screamin’ Eagle, a delicious dinner with prize giveaways and free admission into the haunted houses. The weather was exceptionally hot for October which led to some thunderstorms during the afternoon that cleared out just in time for the evening. This was perfect timing to allow for some evening coaster riding. The night rides on Screamin’ Eagle and The Boss were exceptional and possibly some of the most intense rides i’ve experienced on them. If you coaster enthusiast St. Louis area, Dare Devil Daze is a must!
Winterfest the park’s Christmas event was filled with Holiday spirit this year. Unfortunately it was very cold throughout November and December, but I managed to visit on New Years Day which was a crisp 40 degrees in the afternoon. One great thing about Winterfest is that a majority of the roller coasters are still scheduled to run (This excludes Boss and Screamin Eagle) and on this day, the roller coasters scheduled to open remained open throughout the day even when the temperatures got down into the mid 30’s. There was a fair amount of Christmas lights around the park although nothing close to the display at Silver Dollar City. I would like to see Six Flags St. Louis add a bit more to this celebration in 2019. A parade especially would add to the overall Christmas vibe.
Final Thoughts:
Even though Six Flags St. Louis had it’s bumps in 2018, I do see some effort to fix up some of the broken areas of the park. It was very nice to see new lighting on Shazam and Fireball. Plus the track work on the finale of the boss did seem to make that section smoother. I do hope to see more of these improvements in 2019. I would especially like to see some progress in the dining areas. I did not eat much at the park in 2018 due to past experiences and pricing. Though the food provided during Dare Devil Daze was very tasty, the service at some of the restaurants are often slow and chaotic.
The events in 2018 encouraged pass holders to return to the park throughout the year. I hope they build upon and even add more of these events in 2019. These events tend to bring a vibrant and new atmosphere in the park especially Frightfest and Winterfest.
Finally, the roller coasters were all running great! As a coaster enthusiast you can never be made to have such a variety of thrill rides 20 minutes down the road. Although we may not have the craziest and newest roller coasters, I am still excited every time I walk through those turnstiles. I have already bought my pass for 2019 and am very excited to visit Six Flags St. Louis once again on opening day.
Let me know your thoughts on Six Flags St. Louis in 2018!
