I know Flight of Fear gets a lot of flak these days and many people call it jerky/uncomfortable/rough (and yeah, it’s definitely not the smoothest ride in the park). But honestly, I still think it’s one of the most frightening and thrilling coasters at KI right now.

First off, lest we forget: it’s one of the only ride in the park that launches you (and launches you right out of the station, at that). Sure there’s Backlot -I mean, Queen City Stunt Coaster, but that’s more of a family / starter ride. And that moment before the launch is still one of my biggest butterflies-in-my-stomach feelings I get can at the park. Watching the train ahead catapult into darkness and hearing the screams echo and fade away, then sitting there in silence waiting for your turn is unmatched suspense imo. These days I don’t really get nervous before most rides anymore, but FoF still manages to stir that little spark of fear and anticipation for me.

Where most people agree (at least I think) is that it has some of the best theming in the park. The hangar/UFO and pre-ride video (albeit cheesy) are eerie in a way that nothing else at KI really pulls off.

And sure, it’s a cloned layout, but it’s still our clone lol. And it’s the only non-inverted coaster at KI that goes upside down! I feel many people don’t think about the fact that it holds this title. Other than Banshee & Invertigo, both inverted coasters, there’s no sit-down coasters in the park that deliver inversions, which makes me cherish it even more.

The ride itself is pure disorientation. It’s claustrophobic, unpredictable, and wild. Orion and Diamondback deliver speed and airtime, but FoF gives you chaos and inversions in the dark.

So while it may not be the smoothest ride in the park, for me that just makes it feel more unhinged, like it’s barely under control. That’s part of what keeps it scary after all these years.

Long live Flight of Fear 👽🛸

Millennium Force is one of those rides that takes you everywhere. Beyond stretching through a large portion of the park, each airtime hill also faces you in a different direction so you get a diverse set of views. Steaming through the zoo area is my personal favorite because you get a whiff of that distinct smell and it feels like you're somewhere completely different than you were before.

The Voyage strings together massive 90ft hills that take you progressively further from the park. You're taken high and blasted through numerous tunnels that feel wildly remote. Coming back to the station feels like you're returning from a visit to a national park.

The Beast is more like charting through a metro park. Following the first drop, it feels like you're sprinting through a serious of nature trails. You know you're traveling somewhere at that speed, but it's all just wooded track with zero large airtime hills to get a view of where you're headed. You use terrain to get places and eventually you come across a chain lift in the middle of the woods and you can finally get a view of where you are, just to be dropped into the giga helix mini-adventure. Riding at night amplifies all that to an extreme, especially because the track isn't lit at night.

Before I arrived to Six Flags in St. Louis, Missouri I was led to believe this was a bottom tier Six Flags park on par with America or Discovery Kingdom, and while I have yet to experience the latter, this place was anything but! The operations were fantastic, everything I wanted to get on was open and running fast enough I could do it all before I had to leave, and they had some real gems hiding in the rough.

To get it right out of the way in fear it might get crowded I made a mad dash over to Mr. Freeze. This was of course the coaster I was most excited to experience. I have done quite a few Premier Launch Coasters at this point. Both the Flight of Fear clones, Joker’s Jinx, and all three Stunt Coasters; but those rides were nothing compared to Mr. Freeze. A smooth and intense coaster experience that throws you around before taking you up this massive spike. Just as I was promised, the LIM up the spike after slowing down was a weird experience that is quite impossible to describe. It’s like gravity quits on you for a few seconds before you fall back down. I experienced it both in the front and back row and while I found the front row to be more pleasant to my body, the back row found itself to be a religious experience I won’t soon forget.

After a quick restroom break it was time for American Thunder. Six Flags St. Louis boasts three wooden coasters each from a different manufacturer and this was their GCI. I had been on a bit of a GCI kick lately spurred on by my enjoyment of Mystic Timbers. I had done Mystic, Lightning Racer, Roar, Renegade, InvadR, and Prowler so I was excited to see what this cloned layout could bring and it did not disappoint! A fun time from beginning to end that absolutely hauls in the back. It was just the right amount of roughness that you want out of a wooden coaster to provide one with that out-of-control sensation.

At this point a huge chunk of attractions I needed to hit were all near each other in the back so I began my trek towards that part of the park already really satisfied with my day and loving the layout and shocking amount of Greenery.

Pandemonium was next which, I was surprised to see was one of, if not, the only Six Flags Pandemonium clone to still have it’s colour and a lot of it’s theming leftover from it’s Tony Hawk Big Spin days. This was give or take. Of the three Pandemoniums I’ve done, and of the four Gertslauer spinners I’ve experience I felt it was the weakest. Still a lot of fun but it was missing that OOMPH.

Roller Coasters was not all I was here to experience. Six Flags St Louis’ flat ride lineup is also pretty impressive and I knew I wanted to stop and check out Supergirl Skyflyer and Catwoman’s whip. First was Supergirl which thoroughly surprised me. I had done many an Enterprise in my day and viewed these as what I expected to just be the next generation of that. Boy was I wrong. The fact that you aren’t enclosed in a gondola and fully exposed completely changes the experience. As your feet dangles your body feels forces akin to that of a helix on a B&M invert. My legs received that same tear-off sensation that the helix finale of Raptor provides and then when it fully reached going upside down I was just smiling from ear to ear. Catwoman’s Whip was equally impressive. It’s a tall, long, whippy ride that provides sensations to your body completely unique and wholly impossible to describe. At one point we inverted so slowly on this thing and the hangtime was so great that it didn’t even feel like we were upside it was so graceful. The world was just on my ceiling. Completely insane.

Something about me is that Roller Coasters are not my only hobby. I also really enjoy Motorsports, especially F1. Learning that the newest coaster and Vekoma family coaster was themed to open-wheel-racing had me genuinely excited to ride a family coaster. Social awkwardness has me occasionally missing the family and kiddy coasters when I go to parks alone, I had made an effort to experience the new ones like good gravy and all the new snoopy coasters hitting the cedar fair chain, but this family coaster was one I was genuinely excited to ride. This did NOT disappoint. Probably my favourite junior family coaster experience of the year, and yes this is with incredible bias. Very fun, smooth, and a decent length. I loved all the video and audio on the queue and off it, listening to fake motorsports interviews like we are a rookie taking home the first place trophy. Very fun.

Next up, right next door was Boss and this was unfortunately the first real dud of the park for me. I am actually a thoosie that loves speed and intensity— a huge part of why thunderhead is a really high up coaster for me and that I sometimes prefer front-row is because of that level of intensity and speed they bring. On paper, Boss should be the perfect layout for me, and I can recognize that this should be an elite layout that could easily reach top 50 or top 20 in my rankings; big however, it was simply too rough. I did not want to wait for front row as it was really long, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to experience everything I wanted, and row 2 was a walk-on, maybe this was a mistake. We started off on the right foot, the turn off the lift hill was quick and set up for a great experience and that drop was intense. After is a bit of straight track as The Boss showed off it’s speed before dropping down even further. Great start, fantastic start. Then came the first turnaround and everything fell apart. From that point, the coaster was a jack hammer-y mess through to the brake run. Aggressive, smacking my legs into the seat, rattling my brain. It wasn’t rough in a classic wooden coaster style, but in its own unique way that unfortunately just had me wanting to get off. This was such a shame as I was really looking forward to this coaster. I hope GG can come in and give it some better wood because I would 100% go back to St. Louis just to experience The Boss smooth.

Next up was Boomerang. Now listen, I’m a thoosie, I’ve been on my fair share of Boomerangs, I know that they have ridiculous lines and after skipping the last three boomerang coaster opportunities I refused to let myself skip another so I used my season pass one Flash Pass use on the Boomerang. I’ve never had the opportunity to take front row on a Boomerang before so finally I did. This is definitely one of the more smoother boomerangs out there but I do have to say. Not a big fan of the front row. If you love hangtime, front row is perfect. I personally do not and I felt it to be a bit… boring honestly. Not a dud, boomerang clones can be enjoyable especially when you know what to expect, but I definitely know now I prefer the back.

Screaming Eagle was just up the hill and was my final of the three woodies left to experience. The Log app I use said to go for second to last row for the best experience so that’s where I parked myself. My coaster trips this year taught me that I’m a big fan of PTC, especially when they are properly maintained, and this was no exception. A solid woodie that kept it’s pace and was just a lot of fun. Nothing blew me away but there are no critiques either. I found it to be my favourite of the three woodies in the park. American Thunder is a close second but nothing beats a classic PTC for me.

Mine train coasters can be real hit-or-miss for me, I recognize I am not their intended audience and always try to come in with that knowledge but there are that select few that reach above the rest. Thunderation just the day before, and Adventure Express specifically comes to mind. River King Mine train was a distant third, but third nonetheless. I never hear anyone bring up this coaster when discussing Six Flags St. Louis so I didn’t fully know what to expect from this unassuming Mine Train. However once we left the lift hill I was shocked. As the coaster begins to turn around, something in the profiling causes the coaster to start absolutely whipping. Everytime we left the lift hill, which was three times on this long Mine Train, it slammed my elbow against the car; normally this would be a bad thing but it was surprising enjoyable in a, “Whoa! I did NOT expect that!” Kind-of-way. The final drop in a tunnel was also a lot of fun. It reminded me a lot of how I recall my first time on Dahlonega feeling— A rose tinted mine train experience but actually occuring.

Next was the only other dud in the park, Ninja. I had heard not great things about this coaster but wanted to come in with an open mind. Sometimes Arrow loopers can really surprise me and I had experienced it’s name counterpart in Georgia before it became Blue Hawk and… didn’t Hate it? But this was NOTHING like that Ninja. Ninja at Six Flags over Georgia was more akin to a Viper, or tenessee Tornado. Tall, sprawling experience that was fast and had a ton of inversions; This Ninja was more similar to Viper at Darien Lake than anything else. The coaster is built in three tiers which unfortunately causes you to never get the full experience of that 100 foot height the coaster boasts in the queue. I wouldn’t say Ninja was bad per se, and it wasn’t as rough as people proclaimed; what it was however, was boring. The coaster just kinda meandered through its layout with the one moment of intensity also sharing as the one real moment of pain, the sidewinder. This was also the highlight of the ride. An intense oasis in a desert of somewhat bland moments, and the headchopper under the lift hill was just as good as folks said it was. But this is honestly on the lower end of Arrow loopers for me. Still surpasses most if not all of the Corkscrew styles, but bottom of the unique loopers just barely surpassing Viper at Darien Lake.

The last coaster left was Batman. At this point I have been on almost every Batman clone in the US. I just have I believe, two left which I will be completing when I travel to Texas. These are a great layout, but having my hometown park be the one with the OG, and experiencing the best one in Georgia several times, I have become a bit burnt out of Batman. OR SO I THOUGHT! This was the only coaster of the day that had assigned seating, and when it looked like I was about to get the back row I was sent row 5, the downside of being a single rider. I was coming into this ride with the worst of circumstances to me. It was not going to be front or back, this was also the first time I’ve never done front or back on a Batman clone. I was getting tired of Batman clones, and it was the last thing left to do in the day so Coaster fatigue was starting to hit. Once we left the lift hill it felt like all my concerns had come to fruition. I just wasn’t feeling much. I cemented these feelings on a forceless first loop. Then came the Zero-G roll and MY ABSOLUTE BAD, BATMAN AT SIX FLAGS ST. LOUIS, I WAS TOTALLY UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR GAME. As soon as we begin to invert all the forces came rushing. From that point forward was an intense, leg-ripping, vision blurring experience that was NOT expecting from a fifth row batman experience. For me there were two standout Batman clones, Georgia as the best and most intense, Great America as the original and my hometown. After those two the rest felt incredibly same-y to me with minimal distinction. Six Flags St. Louis was the first new standout Batman clone for me! Easily cementing itself as the third best of the Batman clones I have been on now!

After getting off Batman I knew I wanted to end the day with one more experience on Mr. Freeze and found my way to the back row before going home. All in all, Six Flags St. Louis is in my opinion a top mid-tier or Bottom Top-tier park in the legacy Six Flags chain. Maybe middle mid-tier within the new Six Flags chain. I had great operations, great ride experiences, and a very satisfied and fulfilling day. It has been a while since a legacy Six Flags park made me feel as happy and content as this one did. I beg, URGE you to not sleep on this park, and come in with an open mind.

My trip to Missouri was an unforgettable one that cements it as the fifth best state for coasters. More enthusiasts should talk about it I feel, I even thought Worlds of Fun was a really enjoyable Legacy Cedar fair park at the top of the bottom-tier, or bottom of mid-tier. Mamba blew my mind, Prowler is a serviceable GCI, Zambezi if they continue to work on it could be a fantastic ride.

I have technically been here once about 15 years ago. The only credits I needed were Iron Menace and Thunderhawk. I remember it being relatively uncrowded, but the nonexistence of crowds on this Labor Day was not expected. Would love to hear from people who frequent this park: do the coasters ever get lines? Other than the Wild Mouse due to low capacity and possibly Talon due to being at the front of the park?

Anyway, I got to the gate probably 30-45 minutes before opening and was once again one of the first to enter the park, and headed over to my first new credit, Iron Menace. The first train was just me and one other guy in the front, and we were able to stay on for a second ride, which I rode the back.

Iron Menace x2 This ride is great! It immediately became my #1 dive coaster, out of 5. I love the incline loop, and grayed out in the back row on this element. The theming in this area looks fantastic, too. Honestly I think was a perfect addition to the park.

Possessed x4 Next, my guilty pleasure ride, the Intamin Impulse. Wicked Twister is one of my all time favorites, and this is nearly as good! I rode four times total, with the second ride being a zen ride in the front row. The back spike offers a bizarre sense of airtime I have never felt on another coaster. It's a different sensation than a normal back spike (TT2, Pantheon), and also felt different than Wicked Twister and Flash (GAdv). Flash was noticeably rougher, but this was as smooth as WT if not more so.

I walked by Revolution and gave it a spin. This was my first of this model and I was a little underwhelmed. Very short ride cycle. On the bright side, the family of 3 seated across from me looked like Planet Coaster avatars, both in appearance and mannerisms, which was funny.

Steel Force x2 Top ride in the park, but it doesn't touch Magnum. Yes, it's much smoother, and I do enjoy the helix a lot, probably the best part of the ride. It just doesn't have that bite that Magnum provides. The airtime is not as relentless on the return run, and the second drop is nowhere as good as Magnums, how it yeets you down into that tunnel. Still, great ride! I can see the GP preferring this to Magnum just because of how smooth it is.

Thunderhawk It was only running one train, making this literally the only line I waited in the whole day (10 minutes max). As I was waiting in line, I was preparing an eloquent speech about how it's so beautiful that my grandmother, who would be 125 if she was alive, could have ridden this on opening day as a young adult, and now I'm riding it all these years later- blah, blah, blah. Well, that was the absolute worst roller coaster I have ever ridden. Full stop. It killed my back and neck all while providing minimal forces. I needed something to lift my spirits...

Demon Drop x3 This is an absolute masterpiece of a contraption. I love everything about this ride, including the gunshot to the head ending that is strong enough to get the taste of a regrettable one night stand out of your mouth from the previous night. It's an injustice that it is sitting at this dead end. #freedemondrop It would fit perfectly over by Iron Menace and Possessed. Perfectly. The industrial look, with the other dark themed rides. That would be incredible, but I doubt SF will take care of this ride much longer. Hope I'm wrong, because this is a iconic ride. Not a coaster credit, though. I wish to be buried in one of these ride vehicles when I die.

Tilt a whirl x1 I've actually never ridden a tilt-a-whirl due to various reasons, so decided to give this one a go. It was actually pretty fun, and I was surprised with how random the spinning seemed. It was also a decently long ride cycle.

Hydra x2 This park contains my favorite dive coaster, and my favorite floorless. The inversion out of my the station is pure fun, and the layout is varied and enjoyable. Back row was smooth as butter, and the front row offered a small amount of headbanging towards the end. Fantastic ride with a great sign and logo.

Talon x2 Got a back row and front row ride. Pretty good and no hang banging. The layout is fine, I prefer a course with no MCBR. Definitely one of the weaker inverts I've been on, but still a solid ride.

Enterprise x1 Ah, these are so much better than the new Zamperla Endeavor rides, which seem to be the modern take. The enterprises are a blast and provide some good g's.

Whip x1 This whip was a little disappointing after my last two whips. A short ride cycle, and the cars don't rock back and forth on the straight portions, which is part of the fun. Also the actually whipping motions seemed less intense than the other two for some reason.

Dorney Park is great to get some quick coasters in. Also, they have really good coaster merch.

I highly recommend starting In the Steelyard and heading around the park clockwise-the hill going from steelyard to the front gate is no joke!

In-Park Rankings

1. Steel Force (#32)
2. Hydra (#38)
3. Iron Menace (#39)
4. Possessed (#42)
5. Talon (#81)
6. Wild Mouse (#143)
7. Thunderhawk (#159)

Thanks for reading!

Would love to hear your thoughts on Dorney!