Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis - 8/22 and 23

[gad198]

Overview:

My brother and I decided to take a very last minute weekend trip out to Kansas City and St. Louis. We drove out to Columbia, MO Friday evening, hit up Worlds of Fun Saturday and then Six Flags St. Louis on Sunday. The weather was absolutely perfect both days as the temperature stayed around 80 for high temps, so we expected there might be some crowds. Much to our surprise, however, crowds were very light both days and this allowed us, particularly on Saturday at WOF, to do some additional things in town.

Worlds of Fun:

A quick note: the Platinum Pass allows you entrance into the park 10 minutes early to go wait in whatever line you desire. It wasn't a big perk on our visit but if you go when there might be heavier crowds this may make a difference in your day.

Patriot (one train wait to the back row): the parks B&M inverted. I can't remember with 100% accuracy but this seems like a Talon clone, the exception being a zero-g roll that goes to the right instead of to the left. Patriot is an amazingly smooth coaster with a terrific first drop, and I'll go so far as to say that it might be the first drop on any inverted I've ridden. I actually liked this a shade more than Talon, as this seemed to have a little more speed through the course. I'd rank the B&M inverted I've ridden as follows: Montu, Afterburn, Dueling Dragons (Ice/Fire, in that order), Raptor, Batman clones, Patriot, Talon. Grade: B-

Prowler (walk-on to the third to last row): the parks newest ride, a GCI. It's been mentioned here that you can't see a lot of the ride's layout from the queue or from the rest of the park, and that is absolutely true. The trees really frame the ride well, as you can really only see the lift and some of the "back" portion of this out and back layout. This ride is simply out and out fun. The first drop is basically Thunderhead's first drop but going to the left instead, providing a neat sensation as you're falling back to earth. The layout is an out and back, but it twists and turns the whole way, so you're changing directions constantly. I'm sure night rides on this would be fantastic! Prowler is just outside my top 5 wood and is by far the best coaster in the park. We rode five times in succession (in various rows, from the front to the back...we found the best rides in the back), so extra points are awarded for re-rideability (love those Millennium Flyer trains!). A very, very good wooden coaster. Grade: A-

Mamba (one train wait to the second row): the parks Morgan hyper. I don't know what to say about this ride other than it was simply a little better than average. You do get some float on the first hill (although, to its credit, the first drop is WAY better in the back) and a little float on the bunny hills coming back, but I expected a little more to the ride than what we got. The helix is very cool, but that and the first drop in the back are the only real redeeming qualities. This ride was smoother than Magnum, but I'd take Magnum every time because it has more to offer in just about every other area. Grade: C+

Worlds of Fun is a nice park. There's plenty of shade in most areas and it wasn't incredibly difficult walking around trying to find things. I do wish they had a few more signs indicating the best way to get to some rides, but that's a minor complaint. Ride operations here were really good; not quite Cedar Point good but still way better than most other parks. I don't know that I'll be rushing back here anytime soon, though, as there's not quite enough noteworthy stuff (outside of Prowler) for us. We wanted to spend more time here checking out their flats, but we had BBQ to enjoy. Overall grade: C+

Oklahoma Joe's BBQ:

This joint was listed in a recent magazine article (can't remember which one off the top of my head) as one of the "13 Places You Should Eat Before You Die". Good enough!

The place is in Kansas just across the river from downtown Kansas City. We were told that the restaurant itself actually shares space with a gas/convenient store, so it was a little weird to be looking for a gas station when trying to find a BBQ joint! We knew we can to the right place when we saw the line forming outside the door. We hopped in line and waited an hour to order (not a misprint). The food has won a lot of awards, and it's easy to see why. The brisket, smoked sausage were both good. The ribs and chicken were very good (and spareribs, no less. I'd always rather have baby backs but these were the best prepared spareribs I've had). The french fries, billed as Kansas City's best, were awesome. There were two standout items, though. The baked beans are by far the best I've ever had, and I would go back just for these if I could. The other standout item was the sauce itself. I am convinced that this is the perfect BBQ sauce. You can even buy it online and try it for yourself if you don't believe me! Oklahoma Joe's BBQ Site. A great place to eat with very reasonable prices. You won't walk away hungry after a meal here. Overall grade: A-

Six Flags St. Louis:

Evel Knievel (walk-on to second to last row): this little GCI really packs a lot into a tight footprint! Customary GCI twisting first drop leading into a customary GCI twisting layout. The lift can't be more than 90 feet tall, but the ride keeps much of the speed until it hits the brakes. The double dip leading to the last drop was brilliant. This wasn't as good as Prowler, but it would still be better than every wood coaster at KI except for The Beast. Grade: B

Mr. Freeze (walk-on to the second to front row): I can't say that I was incredibly impressed with this one. The backwards part, particularly going back over the tophat, was cool, but I don't know if I would have been happy getting off of this after having waited 30 minutes. I must say that the dual loading stations was neat, though. Grade: C

Scooby Doo dark ride (20 minutes): this was, by far, the longest line in the park today. I remember seeing some people comment on this so we decided to check it out. Glad we did! My brother and I are always skeptical about going on these types of rides due to the lack of thrill, but we both thoroughly enjoyed this. He beat me 107,000 to 44,000, so I can't say that I'm a very good player, but I loved the fact that it was interactive, fun for the whole family, and long enough to get some value out of it. I can see where the love comes from! Do not miss this ride! Grade: A

The Boss (walk-on to front row): this was an interesting experience. I've heard this ride was rough and that the front seat would be the best to try and avoid some of the rough spots. This is definitely an speed filled intense wooden coaster, make no mistake. I don't know if I'd really enjoy this ride nearly as much in the back (rougher), but I thought the front wasn't nearly as rough as I expected. I enjoyed the ride, I liked the layout and I liked the speed it carried all the way through. It's not re-ride for an hour fun but it definitely is a must hit. Grade: B-

Screamin' Eagle (walk-on to second to last row): The Racer on steroids! Definitely the surprise coaster of the trip. The ride doesn't look like it would run well from off the ride, but the ride tracked well and had some surprisingly good air. The wooden setting was also a nice bonus. If I were to ride any of the three wooden coasters here I'd probably take this just barely over Evel Knievel. Surprisingly good! Grade: B+

Tony Hawk's Big Spin: a fun little spinning wild mouse style coaster. The spinning really does make a difference. All the kids who rode came off and immediately wanted a re-ride, so this obviously filled a gap in the family ride department. While fun, this ride is WAY too short, which in turns keeps me from rating this higher. As is, though...Grade: C+

Batman the Ride (walk-on to last row): someone here (I believe it was the Interpreter) mentioned that they thought this was the best of the Batman clones. This was my fourth of the bunch, and I have to say that I didn't notice a significant difference in the ride experience (although, the left turning zero-g roll is awesome in an outside seat), but I will say that the footchoppers on this ride did add spice! There are a couple of those moments and I will say that this was the best ride I've had on a Batman clone thus far, but only due to the footchoppers. Great force as always and I wish that some of the newer B&M inverteds could have had that same intensity. Grade: B+

Six Flags St. Louis is a quaint park, even for as big as it is. It's definitely no Magic Mountain or Great Adventure, but it has a nice charm to it that a lot of the bigger parks don't have. The wooden collection there is really tasty, the Scooby Doo dark ride was very nice and I'll definitely be back, hopefully when they add an Intamin Mega-Lite, as the park really needs a signature steel coaster. Overall grade: B-

Thanks for reading!