#255: Six Flags St. Louis

One of the happiest, funnest (and farthest) places to be in St. Louis is Six Flags! And has been, for 43 years and counting. I would usually make it out there once a year, or maybe every other year since I was about 10. There's never a dull moment there, unless you're like me and getting older, riding those thrill rides seems to suck your energy and wear you out! Nah, not trying to be a downer. But its the closest to Disneyland any St. Louisan can be, and there's always some sort of happy spirit in the air for all ages. It also took me long to get this cake, and had to wait nearly the last minute (see explanation below).

It was the third Six Flags theme park, and it opened near Eureka in 1971. This was the ultimate getaway for any family who wanted to spend the day at the amusement park. It was not, however, the first to be in St. Louis. There are a few smaller amusement parks that once existed before (and now long-defunct). One notable park is the old Chain of Rocks Park which existed for 50 years (1927 to 1977) which provided a carnival-like experience with its own thrill rides, just along the Riverview bluffs. Not surprisingly, Six Flags put them out of business. But Six Flags continues to thrive, year after year, adding (and sometimes subtracting) rides and attractions in the process. There were a few bumps in the road, however, one of them being the Sky-Way ride accident (3 people were killed and 1 was seriously injured when their car fell off the now-defunct ride).

I wish I can describe the full history of the theme park on here, but Wikipedia does it just greatly. Some of the years when certain rides opened surprised me on how long they've been there. I can't believe its been 25 years since the Ninja has been there! And I still can't believe they took away Tom's Twister! Everyone probably has their own memories of riding the rides over the years. I know I sure do. For the record, every time I'm there I always make it a priority to ride the Batman and Mr. Freeze rides at least 3 times both! And yes, I do enjoy going upside-down and going fast and high on those rides. Plus, those two rides usually have the shortest lines, at least when I'm there.

Hurricane Harbor is also a fun part of Six Flags, which was a water park added in 2000. Lots of good food are in sight, including those turkey legs and those 1904 World's Fair-style ice cream cones! You'll also see the shameless plugs of all the Warner Brothers-owned brands and characters. First, you got the Looney Tunes characters, then all the Detective Comics team (hopefully you know who I'm talking about!). In fact, it has already been announced there will be a special Justice League ride for 2015, possibly to coincide with the new movie that will come out at the same time.

The Six Flags company as a whole was founded in 1962 in Texas. The six flags represent the six nations that have governed the state of Texas: Spain, the United States, France, the republic of Texas, Mexico and the Confederate States of America. Today there are Six Flags theme parks all over America, from Chicago to New England, from California to Maryland. Six Flags St. Louis was known as Six Flags Mid-America from 1971 to 1996.

Batman riders are about to go down (what I call) the death spiral drop!

I tried to get as much as I could in the background, not just the fountain. You can see the Colossus there for a bit

This was the third time I attempted to get this cake. Unfortunately on my part, I skipped out on going inside the park this year, as I was trying to limit my budget all year. But I'll be back next year. Anyway, I tried getting the cake twice back in August, after they closed during the week. The guards would not let me in, even to see the cake. I thought it was very shady on their part, as I've heard others have had success stories about getting in while they were closed. So I finally made it all the way out there in late October, during Fright Fest season.

The sides of the cake, which have an animal/zoo-like celebration theme:

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Top of the cake

Left side of the cake

For some cool, vintage photos of Six Flags circa the 70s/80s, I highly recommend checking out this page!

Six Flags St. Louis on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

NOW: Currently being fostered to take part in a future 'Cakewalk'!

4900 Six Flags St. Louis Railroad, EUREKA, MO, 63069
Cake artist: Don Strohmeyer