More flags, more fun - Six Flags!

Over the memorial Day weekend we went to Six Flags St Louis. This is an amusement park located in Eureka & includes a 12-acre waterpark & rollercoaster/ride park. It originally opened in 1971 & was the third park in the Six Flags chain.

The weather was great, with temperatures in the nineties & continual sunshine so we headed straight for Hurricane Harbour (the waterpark). This is approximately 12-acres in size & includes a 560,000-gallon, 30,000 square foot wave pool (which also has an 80-feet tall 'steaming' volcano!) & numerous water rides. After a brief swim in the Hurricane Bay wave pool, the first 'ride' we went on was 'Gulley Washer creek' which is an 1,100-feet long lazy river that you float down on an inflatable ring. Beth really enjoyed this so we ended up riding it twice. Next stop was the 'Tube slides' which comprise four 400-feet long, five-storey high waterslides. The last ride we went on in the waterpark was 'The Big Kahuna' which is a six storey high waterslide that you slide down on an oversized inflatable that seats five.

Food is quite pricey at the park so we brought a picnic which we ate in the car (with the air-con on high since the temperature & humidity was increasing). We had planned to eat lunch under a nearby tree, but by the time we got back to the car every last spot of shade was already in use by other families also eating their lunch outside the park!

We spent the afternoon entirely in the rollercoaster/ride park. The Evel Knievel rollercoaster had just opened & so this was a 'must do', but firstly we went on the Log Flume. This has two different six-storey high tracks & the 'hollowed log' boats for each course leave together so you race each other. There are a number of small drops on the ride & some sharp twists & turns & then a final huge drop that gives everyone a good soaking. Next stop was Evel Knievel. This is Six Flags latest ride & is a high-speed wooden rollercoaster. To celebrate the opening of the rollercoaster, Robbie Knievel (Evel's son) broke his own record & jumped over 25 Dodge Chargers on a motorbike in the Six Flags parking lot a couple of days before we went (the jump ramp was still in the parking lot). We then slowed things down & went on the 'Scooby-Doo: Mystery of the Scary Swamp' ride. This is a float ride & each person is provided with a 'laser gun'. The ride is in a tunnel & as you float along there are numerous targets that you get points for shooting. 'Tony Hawk’s Big Spin' was next. The carriages rotate through 360 degrees & the track is designed to ensure that they spin as much as possible whist moving along the track. Most rollercoasters have a location where your photo is taken, but the Big Spin takes it one step further & videos you for the entire ride. The videos are then available for purchase on DVD at the end of the ride. The next ride (for Beth) was the 'Highland Fling'. This is a horizontal wheel that spins the carriages out so that they are also horizontal & then the entire wheel lifts up into a vertical position! We then went on the 'Screamin’ Eagle' which is a three-quarter-mile long wooden roller coaster that once held a Guinness World record for the top speed of 62 mph. We made our way to the 'Tidal Wave' but en-route we took a detour to ride the park's first ever rollercoaster, the 'River King Mine Train'. The 'Tidal Wave' is a log flume on steroids. The boats each seat 20-people & the drop is five storeys high into a 300,000 gallon pool which not only soaks everyone on the ride but also sends a massive wave of water over the exit bridge where insane people (like Beth) stand to get wet! We ended our day at the park with a sedate ride on 'Colossus' which is an 18-story tall Ferris wheel.