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[CaptainTom]

Six Flags opens this Friday for the 2015 season. We live only minutes away and have been season pass holders for years. We are planning on attending on Friday and on Easter Sunday morning since we don't have family obligations until late afternoon.

Anyone else here passholders? Anyone planning on going anytime soon? Let us know on here!

[Junior, too!]

When I was a tiny lad in the late 1960s, school picnics were held each year at Chain of Rocks park. About 1972, Six Flags opened, and Chain of Rocks died slowly over the next few years. Six Flags was great! It became my second favorite park, behind SDC. There was Jessie James Territory at Sullivan at that time, too. Six Flags killed it as well. I lived in Hazelwood back then, when that suburb was brand new. Our family was the second one to move into a house on our block. Times have changed, but Six Flags remains my second favorite park. 

[CaptainTom]

Very familiar with Hazelwood, I worked up that way for many years before I retired. We live in Wildwood, MO which is only minutes from Six Flags and have had passes for years, except for a short period in the late 2000's because the park was REALLY going downhill. But ever since they corrected those problems....it has been great again. Not a fan of the water park, but my girls love it.

[Camarofan]

I agree that SFSTL was a bit rough around the edges in the 2006-2010 years, but overall I've been pretty pleased with the direction of the park over the last few years. They've really put in some much needed aesthetic work and Fright Fest continues to get better every year. While I will admit to remaining annoyed by the addition of the 'Brand New' Boomerang in 2013, the New Justice Leage: Battle For Metropolis more than makes up for it. I finally got out to the park and used my pass for the first time this season last weekend, and really enjoyed the ride! A particular sequence involving a car chase does an amazing job of making you feel like you're flying at fast speeds. Flooded Mine is still my personal favorite (nostalgia and childhood memories are powerful), but JL is a very solid dark ride. Did you get to ride it yet, Captain Tom? I'm planning on getting out there again very soon, just have to renew my scopalamine script. Maybe I'll see you there.

[Swoosh]

You know, I have a Six Flags pass and have already been to 4 SF parks (SFOT, SFFT, SFGAM, SFOG) this season and none of them were named SFSTL.  Crazy how I just have no desire to go to this park. I'm sure I'll get there eventually this summer.

It's not just SFSTL though.  I've only been to WOF once but went to Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Kings Island earlier this month.

[chittlins]

You know, I have a Six Flags pass and have already been to 4 SF parks (SFOT, SFFT, SFGAM, SFOG) this season and none of them were named SFSTL.  Crazy how I just have no desire to go to this park. I'm sure I'll get there eventually this summer.

It's not just SFSTL though.  I've only been to WOF once but went to Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Kings Island earlier this month.

That pass that allows you to go to all the parks is a sweet deal if can plan it out right. 

[shavethewhales]

I was pleasantly surprised by SFStL this year too. They've made tremendous strides with both trees and visual improvements around the park. The wooden coasters are a tremendous trio of three different schools of design, and of course the Batman and Freeze clones are always good. It's still Six Flags, and there's still a ton of tacky stuff around that simply doesn't need to be as tacky as it is, but overall it all works well if you are just there to ride rides.

You'll hear a lot of criticism on this board for SFStL, but you have to understand a lot of the people here aren't coaster enthusiasts and are looking for more in a park. The vast majority of parks these days offer virtually the same experiences, just with different rides. The driving force behind this board is that SDC is different to various degrees, and there's a lot of fan resistance towards being more like other parks (SFStL usually being the prime example). SFStL is great for what it is, but you have to be willing to put up with what comes with the SF experience.

What drives most people on here nuts about it is that there are a lot of little things SF could do differently that would make the experience much more enjoyable, but that would cut into their profits without much ROI, so they'll never do them. They're overtly focused on wringing money out of people's pockets while keeping expenses as low as possible, just like most theme parks. It gets tiring after awhile - at least SDC is much less overt about it. It's like a resort vs. carnival mentality.

Could the Justice League ride be a sign of SF stepping up their game though? So many of their parks have gotten huge, to the point where they could easily become sustaining resort properties, but SF has kept their model consistent no matter what. Focusing on higher quality rides would be a first step towards that though.

[chittlins]

I was pleasantly surprised by SFStL this year too. They've made tremendous strides with both trees and visual improvements around the park. The wooden coasters are a tremendous trio of three different schools of design, and of course the Batman and Freeze clones are always good. It's still Six Flags, and there's still a ton of tacky stuff around that simply doesn't need to be as tacky as it is, but overall it all works well if you are just there to ride rides.

You'll hear a lot of criticism on this board for SFStL, but you have to understand a lot of the people here aren't coaster enthusiasts and are looking for more in a park. The vast majority of parks these days offer virtually the same experiences, just with different rides. The driving force behind this board is that SDC is different to various degrees, and there's a lot of fan resistance towards being more like other parks (SFStL usually being the prime example). SFStL is great for what it is, but you have to be willing to put up with what comes with the SF experience.

What drives most people on here nuts about it is that there are a lot of little things SF could do differently that would make the experience much more enjoyable, but that would cut into their profits without much ROI, so they'll never do them. They're overtly focused on wringing money out of people's pockets while keeping expenses as low as possible, just like most theme parks. It gets tiring after awhile - at least SDC is much less overt about it. It's like a resort vs. carnival mentality.

Could the Justice League ride be a sign of SF stepping up their game though? So many of their parks have gotten huge, to the point where they could easily become sustaining resort properties, but SF has kept their model consistent no matter what. Focusing on higher quality rides would be a first step towards that though.

I' sure this is an oversimplification but there's four main types of parks in my opinion.

Cat 1) amusement park examples include places like Fun Spot in Orlando, Miracle Strip in Panama City, Indiana Beach, Magic Springs and so on.

Cat 2) lower tier Theme Park, this is your Six Flags and Cedar Fairs. They put   some effort into theming and have rights to some IP's that's used for that

Cat 3) High End Theme, here's where you find SDC and your Busch Gardens. I'd even put the Legolands in here because they concentrate of a single overall theme.

Cat 4)Ultimate Theme Parks, this is you Disney and Uni's of the world. Countless IP's to exploit along with massive budgets to pull it off.

[History Buff]

Six Flags in the 1970s had a theme and stuck to it.  The theme was - wait for it - Six Flags.  Each "land" represented a nation, and each land stuck to its unique theme.  EPCOT was not the original multi-national park.  When SF abandoned its theme and opted for more commercialism, that's when it dropped to the lower tier.  It was on par with SDC, and it never should be in the same tier as Frontier City.

[chittlins]

, and it never should be in the same tier as Frontier City.

Frontier City is a  Cat 1.

All can be fun.