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More flags! More Fun! Posted at 02:26 PM - 06/02/09 in General by Dennis

My last visit to Six Flags was in 2004.  We visited both St. Louis (closest to where we live), and Great America (Chicago).  After that, I became a certified Six Flags Hater.  The parks were trashed (St. Louis more than Chicago), rides/buildings needed painted, weeds everywhere, and the gum!  If there was a place available, there was gum stuck to it, or graffiti written on it.  Sometimes, both!  But, over the past few years, Six Flags has been trying to clean up it's act.  And since we're planning on heading to visit my brother this summer, I bought passes again hoping that they really were cleaning things up.

We picked an almost perfect day to go.  It was cool, and overcast with a bit of rain (not enough to spoil the day!)  We didn't wait in line more than 10 minutes for anything (always a bonus).  They've added two coasters since '04, the  Evel Knievel, and Tony Hawk's Big Spin.  Both were great (Batman is still the king), and since I have a season pass, I'm going back to ride them again.  That brings the total to 7 coasters in St. Louis.  So, since the rides were never really the problem, how did the park fare as a whole?

The park overall was kind of like my kid's bedrooms.  When they're told to clean up, everything gets shoved just out of sight to make it look better.  There are more recycling bins, and trash cans than there used to be.  They've also replaced a significant number of light bulbs with CFLs, so maybe they're trying to be more green.  The Colossus, for instance, needs a coat of paint and a serious dousing of Round-Up.  There were vines climbing up the supports, around hydraulic lines, etc.  The Screaming Eagle is in abismal shape, they moved the entrance, hiding inside one of the gaming areas, and let the old entrance grow up in weeds.  The Joker's Revenge (Bucaneer to the old-timers like me) is in serious need of some paint.  Most of the rides, and buildings look like they could use a little TLC.  Despite all of that, the signs were there that they are trying to turn things around, and I did have an enjoyable time.

The question is, will it be enough, and will it be in time.  The articles I've read suggest that Six Flags will be filing for Chapter 11 this year, and may have to sell off several parks to reduce debt.  If that happens, I can't imagine that St. Louis will stay off of the chopping block, even though it was one of the original Six Flag Parks.  I guess time will tell.