Today, in an ongoing effort to record all of the roller coasters I have ridden, we delve into three more theme parks - one in Oklahoma City and two on opposite sides of Missouri.
Frontier City
Closer to home, I took my first looping ride on the Silver Bullet. Frontier City always seemed to be Silver Dollar City Light (or Lite) to me in the same way that Dollar General is compared to WalMart, and they never could pull it off. Silver Bullet is a short ride that goes through a single loop, and it's not a terrible experience.
The other coasters at the time included the Diamond Back which was a smaller version of Six Flags' Flashback. The Nightmare Mine was definitely a carnival coaster with a building constructed around it. When I looked at the track in the loading station and noticed it had been held together with duct tape, I decided to only ride it once. Surely I didn't see what I thought I saw.
The Wildcat was the last coaster that was added when I was there, and it was a decent wooden coaster. It was purchased from another park and shipped to Oklahoma City to add to the collection at Frontier City. I biggest thing I noticed was that the exit led guests right through the gift shop of cheap souvenirs. I remember thinking that was a pretty cheap shot to customers, but at the same time, I realized the genius behind the move. It's a pretty standard practice in parks all over the place now.
Closer to home, I took my first looping ride on the Silver Bullet. Frontier City always seemed to be Silver Dollar City Light (or Lite) to me in the same way that Dollar General is compared to WalMart, and they never could pull it off. Silver Bullet is a short ride that goes through a single loop, and it's not a terrible experience.
The other coasters at the time included the Diamond Back which was a smaller version of Six Flags' Flashback. The Nightmare Mine was definitely a carnival coaster with a building constructed around it. When I looked at the track in the loading station and noticed it had been held together with duct tape, I decided to only ride it once. Surely I didn't see what I thought I saw.
The Wildcat was the last coaster that was added when I was there, and it was a decent wooden coaster. It was purchased from another park and shipped to Oklahoma City to add to the collection at Frontier City. I biggest thing I noticed was that the exit led guests right through the gift shop of cheap souvenirs. I remember thinking that was a pretty cheap shot to customers, but at the same time, I realized the genius behind the move. It's a pretty standard practice in parks all over the place now.
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Six Flags St. Louis
When we moved to Missouri, we were closer to Six Flags St. Louis and Worlds of Fun near Kansas City. That was when I rode my first suspended coaster, Batman: the Ride. I really enjoyed the smoothness of the ride and appreciated not having a track below me. The result was an experience that felt more like flying.
This was also the first time I rode something like Mr. Freeze, which I hardly attribute as a roller coaster. This is a track that is simply shot out of the station, up into the sky, and back. I hated this experience. It is ejected from the station so fast that riders are told to keep their heads back against the headrest to keep from receiving neck damage, whiplash, or concussion.
The third coaster was called Screamin' Eagle, which I also did not enjoy due to the rough track. I'm sure there were more coasters on this trip, but I honestly don't remember them.
Can we talk about how Six Flags has changed its theme through the years? When I first went to Six Flags over Texas, even as a youngster, I appreciated the six separate lands each of which appeared to be a different nation of the world, represented by the six actual flags that flew outside the front gate of the park. It was a theme that worked. Disney even successfully put that same theme into effect at EPCOT. But not Six Flags. Not any more. Now it's whatever sells tickets: superheroes and cartoons. Overdone tripe.
Worlds of Fun
So let's go to Worlds of Fun. I wasn't attracted to Worlds of Fun until I figured out its theme: Around the World in 80 Days. Yes, here was a park that was also presenting an international theme. Of course, when we arrived, the theme was never really apparent unless the visitor looked for it. I rode Boomerang, a cool reversing coaster, and Mamba, a too-fast ride that spirals uncomfortably but which does have some nice, straight hops.
Worlds of Fun also has a nifty suspended coaster called Patriot. Sitting in the USA area of the park, patriot is not bad, but it's also not really special. It really doesn't compete well with Batman on the other side of the state. In the Asia section was Spinning Dragons with a car that uniquely rotates as it travels the track. Done correctly, this could be a sweet ride, but my argument about theming more than just the name of the track would do more for the park than simply using an Asian-looking font on the entrance sign. These parks lose their themes as soon as visitors board the ride vehicles.
When we moved to Missouri, we were closer to Six Flags St. Louis and Worlds of Fun near Kansas City. That was when I rode my first suspended coaster, Batman: the Ride. I really enjoyed the smoothness of the ride and appreciated not having a track below me. The result was an experience that felt more like flying.
This was also the first time I rode something like Mr. Freeze, which I hardly attribute as a roller coaster. This is a track that is simply shot out of the station, up into the sky, and back. I hated this experience. It is ejected from the station so fast that riders are told to keep their heads back against the headrest to keep from receiving neck damage, whiplash, or concussion.
The third coaster was called Screamin' Eagle, which I also did not enjoy due to the rough track. I'm sure there were more coasters on this trip, but I honestly don't remember them.
Can we talk about how Six Flags has changed its theme through the years? When I first went to Six Flags over Texas, even as a youngster, I appreciated the six separate lands each of which appeared to be a different nation of the world, represented by the six actual flags that flew outside the front gate of the park. It was a theme that worked. Disney even successfully put that same theme into effect at EPCOT. But not Six Flags. Not any more. Now it's whatever sells tickets: superheroes and cartoons. Overdone tripe.
Worlds of Fun
So let's go to Worlds of Fun. I wasn't attracted to Worlds of Fun until I figured out its theme: Around the World in 80 Days. Yes, here was a park that was also presenting an international theme. Of course, when we arrived, the theme was never really apparent unless the visitor looked for it. I rode Boomerang, a cool reversing coaster, and Mamba, a too-fast ride that spirals uncomfortably but which does have some nice, straight hops.
Worlds of Fun also has a nifty suspended coaster called Patriot. Sitting in the USA area of the park, patriot is not bad, but it's also not really special. It really doesn't compete well with Batman on the other side of the state. In the Asia section was Spinning Dragons with a car that uniquely rotates as it travels the track. Done correctly, this could be a sweet ride, but my argument about theming more than just the name of the track would do more for the park than simply using an Asian-looking font on the entrance sign. These parks lose their themes as soon as visitors board the ride vehicles.
We're just getting started in the record of the coasters I have ridden. I'll get the rest posted in the near future.
