Evel Knievel Six Flags St Louis 2008 Construction Thread

[LuvChyld79]

Anyone have any info on what's happening at SFSTL for next year?

[Leo C]

A couple kiddie rides removed, kiddie coaster removed for????

[raser]

Now there is a park Snyder needs to invest some money in. A little cleaning some more family attractions and 1 or 2 major attractions and this park will take some of WOF guests away...

[Wes]

They just got a coaster this year, so I wouldn't expect anything major for next year.

They do need some new flats though. That was one thing I saw last year when I visited.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

I have read that they were getting a coaster. I am thinking its going to be one of the VU's moved to the park. I have read that 8 SF parks were getting new coasters for 08 allthough most are probably the ones currently residing in there parking lots.

[rckrazy06]

Screamscape claims it is gonna be something bigger than Tony Hawk, so we'll see.

[Leo C]

As in Deja VU? A better idea than Batman: The Escape?

[Wes]

I don't see why they don't move Flash Back.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

God forbid, really though if they designed some kind of trains for Flashback it wouldnt be all that bad.
Yes I was meaning DajaVu, with all the rumors floating around about possible removals or rides, I was just speculating. More of the ride rotation program, while good for the locals, I always am up for new designs instead of moving a ride but I also travel so its a litttle different for me.

[raser]

I actually liked Flashback as it was originally at SFGAM. Move it to SFSTL and I can ride it again...YEah

[coasterlove]

I think it would be shame to remove Deja Vu only to put it in another park considering the problmes they've had. The ride, even if it's working fairly well at SFOG or SFMM, thyre likely to have downtime in the future.

I've loved the ride but you could say I've grown disgruntled by it with so much downtime and constant breakdowns.

[Wes]

Do you think it has so many problems in IL because of the climate difference?

Maybe if they send it to a warmer park like maybe SFA then they wouldn't have as many problems.

Course DC gets cold too, but not as bad as IL.

That would also give me an incentive to go back to that park, besides riding Superman again.

[Leo C]

SFA already has a very awesome Vekoma Inverted Boomerang. Sure don't need a Deja there. When Superman and Batman really blew last season it was Wild One and Two Face that rose to the occasion of delivering surprising top rides in the park.

[coasterlove]

Originally Posted by Wes

Do you think it has so many problems in IL because of the climate difference?

Maybe if they send it to a warmer park like maybe SFA then they wouldn't have as many problems.

Course DC gets cold too, but not as bad as IL.

That would also give me an incentive to go back to that park, besides riding Superman again.

Could be a possible reason but I'm not sure. One problem I heard of but not sure of, is that on cold days, the grease on the track doesn't work as well so it can have a problem with rollbacks. I don't know what effect, if any, that can have on the mechanical aspect of it. Of course, the grease thing is just something I heard. I don't know if that's true.

As far as the weather goes, it has plenty of trouble running during the warm summer months too. So who knows what the problem really is.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

Well, looks like a woodie going in themed to Evil Kenivel. Sounds something like a Kentucky Rumbler size.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...6?OpenDocument

Look out thrill seekers. Evel Knievel is coming to an amusement park near you.

The legendary daredevil no longer jumps canyons, but daredevils everywhere may soon be able to still feel his kind of excitement. Six Flags has announced that it is committing $7 million to add an eighth roller coaster dedicated to Evel Knievel's thrill-seeking career.

"The unpredictability and high energy of this coaster makes it the perfect way to pay tribute to the king of adrenaline, Evel Knievel," said David Roemer, president of Six Flags St. Louis.

The ride would be the park's third wooden roller coaster.

Roemer promises that this would be no ride for the weak kneed. The ride will start out with a stomach-churning 80-foot drop as the ride takes a 90-degree left turn and another 55-foot drop. The 2,700-foot ride hits speeds of 50 mph. It has 16 hills and multiple high-banked turns at up to 67-degree angles. The coaster criss crosses 14 times.

Riders will enter into Millennium Flyer cars in the ride's two 24-passenger trains. The cars are specially designed to hang tight in the ride's sharp turns and high banks.

But don't worry riders. Six Flags promises an "exceptionally smooth ride."

For those who don't remember Evel Knievel, he was dubbed America's Legendary Daredevil for his death-defying stunts. He was best known for driving a motorcycle and jumping over things. In 1971, he set a world record in Ontario, Canada when he jumped over 19 cars. But he quickly broke that record in 1973, when he flew over 50 cars in a motorcycle inside the Los Angeles Coliseum.

In 1974, Evel Knievel jumped 14 greyhound buses in Ohio and months later jumped over Snake River Canyon in Idaho.

Evel Knievel is battling a lung disease. He no longer performs stunts.

[SFGAFan4]

Six Flags is really trying not to spend too much.. 2700 feet? That's not woodie length at all..

[Joseph]

man too bad 2700 feet isn't woodie length at all. Good thing the Coney Island Cyclone is more than 2640' long, I mean, it is THE posterchild for wooden coasters

oh and all three Kennywood woodens, Timber Terror, Avalanche and Cornball Express don't count anymore either. Not that anyone likes any of those rides anyways, they are too short to count.

seriously does anyone think before they post anymore?

[coasterman1234]

Six Flags is really trying not to spend too much.. 2700 feet?

Shapiro. I can't believe he actually topped 60 feet, kiddies are scared of that.

Is it's name really Evel Kineval (sp?)? That's not really a good name...

I guess it will be ok, most of everything I've ridden by GCI has been pretty good. It does seem really short though.

[coasterlove]

I think the coaster looks like it could be a lot of fun, judging from what little I know anyway. I think the theme is a little strange since Evil Knievel isn't very prominent now. So I don't really get that and how it ties in with a wooden coaster of all things. I would think a launch coaster with a big hill would better suit it. Imagine a big camelback style hill over a bunch of old school buses or something. That would be a good theme and make a lot of sense.

The length isn't really that short. The top speed is only 50mph so it should be a reasonable length in time. A lot of wooden coasters with a speed around 50mph tend to be about 2,500 - 3,000 feet in length. The same is also generally true of steel coasters of that speed. Just look at the Batman clones and other B&M's at about 50mph, they're usually about 2,600 - 2,8000ft.

[Redfoot12]

It's been described as a near clone of Thunderbird in Finland which sits at #38 in Mitch Hawker's Wood poll. It looks like the park is getting a winner.

[Leo C]

Six Flags has gone the way of Paramount, Wayne's World, and Hurler. The layout is super tight, like Boardwalk Bullet. I like the new direction but please bring the maintenance along with it.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

Here is a photo and the press release.
http://prn.newscom.com/cgi-bin/pub/s...iew&tr=1&row=1

Press release
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...4671042&EDATE=

[Wes]

Hey at least you guys are getting a GCI which is very cool.

My chances of getting one at Carowinds are about ZERO.

[Leo C]

It's a catchy name that the actual guy established for himself. It's game for a coaster. Evel sounds like Evil so it's good. The All American dare devil.

Is the Paris Hill-ton hyper coaster next? Let's put it in a French section. You'd hope the seats aren't too dirty when you ride it. After six years, NITRO seats got pretty grimy.

[SFGAFan4]

Actually, I was referring to recent woodies. The Cyclone and Kennywood's woodies are not new. Forgot to mention that most new coasters have been much longer, with the exception of a few.

[SheikraTTD]

Looks good but I HATE the name. t makes no sense at all. I would have rather them called Roar.

[Fastdawg07]

^lol. Do you even know who Evel Kneivel was/is? He was the ultimate American dare devil jumping over cars and busses and whatever he could jump over. He even jumped over the fountains at Ceaser's Palace. I believe he actually did a show at King's Island. Anyway, this name makes sense to me, I don't if coaster names are going to go the way of superstars or not...which begs the question...we're not gonna be seein 50 Cent: The Ride are we? lol. I don't know I like the layout and I actually do like the name, its kinda fitting.

[Ryan F]

I think Evel Kinevel is a great name for a roller coaster.
He was the ultimate daredevil, and parks always like to hype up rides by asking riders if they're daring enough to go on their new rides. The name fits pretty good because riders can be "daredevils" by riding it.

[Jerry S]

Evel Kinevel died today. It took him 40 years to get a coaster, and he died before it opened.

[LuvChyld79]

So... there was discussion a couple of months ago that the big difference in layout between E.K. and Thunderbird is that E.K.'s third turnaround would circle clockwise around the first turnaround, as opposed to counterclockwise on Thunderbird. Well... I was lookin at construction pics today, and they have the little anchors for the supports down, and it looks to me like it has the EXACT same foot print as Thunderbird.
http://sixflagsstlouis.net/updates/2.../20071114b.jpg
If you follow the straight line of anchors from the left side and assume that that's the path of the first drop, follow the rest of the course. Does it look that way to anyone else? Am I having a total coaster dork moment cuz I noticed that in the first place?