The Boss (roller coaster)
| The Boss | |
|---|---|
 The Boss at Six Flags St. Louis | |
| Six Flags St. Louis | |
| Location | Six Flags St. Louis |
| Park section | Britannia |
| Coordinates | 38°30′58″N 90°40′44″W / 38.51611°N 90.67889°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | April 29, 2000 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Manufacturer | Custom Coasters International |
| Designer | Dennis McNulty Larry Bill |
| Track layout | Terrain |
| Height | 122 ft (37 m) |
| Drop | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Length | 4,631 ft (1,412 m) |
| Speed | 66.3 mph (106.7 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Max vertical angle | 52° |
| Capacity | 1400[1] riders per hour |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Trains | 3 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
 Flash Pass Available | |
| The Boss at RCDB | |
The Boss is a wooden roller coaster located in the Britannia section of Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri. It opened on April 29, 2000, and was manufactured by Custom Coasters International. It features a lift hill height of 122 feet (37 m) and a first drop of 150 feet (46 m). Prior to the 2018 season, it also featured a 570-degree helix.
History
[edit]In September 1999, Six Flags St. Louis announced that they would be adding a new wooden roller coaster for the 2000 season. Built by Custom Coasters International, it would be located towards the back of the park in the Britannia section. The park presented the city of Eureka with the new coaster blueprints.[2]
On February 3, 2000, the park revealed more details about their upcoming attraction. The new ride would be named The Boss and be a large terrain wooden roller coaster, very similar to The Beast at Kings Island. It would cover 12 acres (4.9 ha) of land on the northwest edge of the property, crossing over itself six times and ending with a 560-degree helix.[3]
The Boss was originally set to open on April 21, 2000, but the coaster's opening was delayed to April 29.[4] It has been acclaimed for its "terrain twister" style, dipping up and down with the terrain beneath it.
In 2009, the coaster got spare Gerstlauer trains from Twisted Twins at Kentucky Kingdom after the coasters wing of the park was closed. It had previously received other spare trains from Mega Zeph at Six Flags New Orleans.
During the ride's winter rehab prior to the start of the 2018 season, the 570° helix was removed and replaced with a 180 degree banked turn, shortening the coaster by 420 feet (130 m). The coaster used to be 5,021 feet of track.[1][5]
Ride experience
[edit]Out of the station, the track passes through the transfer track, and makes a slight left turn before making a right hand turn to climb the 122 feet (37 m) lift hill. At the top of the lift hill, the track makes a left turn and dives down a 150 feet (46 m) drop into a ravine, leveling out as it zooms through the structure of the third hill and rises into an elevated turnaround. It then dives down a 112 feet (34 m) drop back into the ravine, and rises up a third hill. At the top of the hill, the track makes a level right hand turn into the midcourse brakes. The track then takes a 103 feet (31 m) dive off the midcourse brakes, followed by a 72 feet (22 m) tall turnaround. Following this, the track makes a right turn, passes under the lift hill, and over a pair of smaller airtime hills with slight right turns, before making a 180 degree banked turnaround (570 degree double helix prior to 2018), leading into a bunny hop and the final brake run. This is concluded with a left hand turn to return to the station.
Characteristics
[edit]Formerly the eighth longest wooden coaster in the world prior to the 2018 removal of the helix.[6]
Awards
[edit]| Year | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 15[7] | 17[8] | 17[9] | 22[10] | 36[11] | 33[12] | 32[13] | 46[14] | 33[15] | 31[16] | 42[17] | 42 (tie)[18] | 48[19] | 42[20] | 31[21] | 28[22] | 43[23] | 36[24] | 42[25] | 43[26] | 39[27] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Boss." Six Flags St. Louis. Six Flags Incorporated.
- ^ Mihalopoulos, Dan (September 16, 1999). "Six Flags is planning new roller coaster, to Eureka's dismay". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Post-Dispatch Staff. Retrieved October 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Toroian, Daine (February 3, 2000). "The Boss is built for "screaming, crying, laughter"". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Post-Dispatch Staff. Retrieved October 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'The Boss' rules at Six Flags St. Louis". St. Joseph News-Press. April 2, 2000. Retrieved October 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Boss Facts." Roller Coaster Database.
- ^ "Roller Coaster Search Results: wood, operating, sorted by length". rcdb.com. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "2023 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Amusement Today. 27 (6.2): 71–72. September 2023. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2016.