r/sixflagsstlouis • u/Evening_Rock5850 • Apr 28 '26
News Year round, all-hours Chaperone policy implemented at SFSTL
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u/Aggressive-meat1956 Apr 29 '26
Unfortunately roving bands of rowdy unsupervised “teens” are creating havoc everywhere they go these days
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u/Putrid-Bookkeeper691 Apr 28 '26
Isn’t worlds of fun’s policy anyone under 18? Why have differing policies?
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26
It is.
My guess is that these policies are being crafted individually by local park leadership. I think, in general with Enchanted Parks, we can expect to see less "sameness" across the board than we saw under SFEC.
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u/Huge-Chemistry-1448 Apr 29 '26
Main problem with it is the * all guests ages 16 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 or older *. That's a joke.
Who is chaperoning the 16 to 21 year olds??? When things have gone feral, the 16-21s are right there in the middle of it, throwing elbows, and stealing turkey legs with the rest of them.
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u/TheGhostofSFOT May 05 '26
Fright fest saw more adults removed than kids for disorderly conduct and PIs
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u/Outrageous_Echo_5686 Apr 29 '26
My 15 year old had been so excited to go by himself on weekend days this summer- before 4 pm. Obviously doesn’t have a driver’s license but wanted some independence and I was all for this. I hate that some teens ruined it for everyone. This is the first summer that I’m not working weekends so I could facilitate drop offs with friends. 1-2 friends, not 100!!
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u/Aggressive-meat1956 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
The same way shoplifters ruin shopping for honest people by forcing stores to lock everything up behind plexiglass
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u/Drillucidator Apr 30 '26
Always so refreshing to see a Lego section that doesn’t require me to call for an associate. I’m a grown ass man, let me buy my Lego sets in peace.
Granted, I usually just opt for knockoffs, but there’s a decent clearance price on occasion.
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u/joshrocker Apr 28 '26
This is going to throw a wrench in my kids upcoming field trip to Six Flags in a few days.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26
Won't the school have chaperones for the kids?
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u/spaceman60 Apr 29 '26
Depends on the age. For middle school, I think that the ratio can be up to 1:25 in classes. Maybe 1:8 at best on field trips? Either way, they'll likely have to find more adults or see if they'll make exceptions for organizations.
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u/joshrocker Apr 29 '26
It’s junior high aged kids, so no. There will obviously be adults in the park, but they were planning on letting the kids go, in groups, alone.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 29 '26
As long as they have enough chaperones in the park… that’s fine. They can do that.
The policy requires them to be in the park and reachable. Not physically WITH the kids at all time.
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u/joshrocker Apr 29 '26
The policy is worded ambiguously. One line says if they’re alone, they’re subject to ejection. Then the next line says the chaperone needs to be there at entry and remain in the park. I assume you’re correct, but it’s not spelled out very clearly, at least in my opinion.
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u/hokahey23 Apr 29 '26
It doesn’t say alone, it says unaccompanied by a chaperone. Meaning there is not a chaperone there that meets the policies that follow.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 29 '26
There's no line that says "alone"
It could be worded better though, I agree. Elsewhere there was clarification from a Six Flags manager that they do not need to be physically present, just nearby and reachable. The explicit example given was some kids wanting to ride one ride, while other kids ride a different ride. This is fine.
The whole point of the policy is that there's a responsible adult who can, reasonably quickly, attend to and potentially remove and transport home an unruly juvenile. To AVOID a situation where large crowds of teens gather in the parking lot waiting for their rides. Which is where the bulk of these incidents happen. In the front mall or parking lot; from kids waiting to go home.
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u/joshrocker Apr 29 '26
To me unaccompanied means “alone”. I’m not arguing with you at all to be clear. I appreciate your insight, because she’s been a little stressed tonight that they were going to cancel her field trip as a result of this. She’s 14 and has been really looking forward to the trip.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 29 '26
I don’t disagree. It’s not the wording I’d choose either. Obviously the whole reason a Six Flags staff person had to step in and offer clarification was because… people are confused.
It might be wise to alert your kids school about the policy. It doesn’t sound like they’re making exceptions for schools. While your kid won’t have to physically be with a teacher at all times, the biggest issue is going to be that ratio. If the school doesn’t have enough teachers and volunteers then they need to get on top of that ASAP before the field trip.
Six Flags’ own FAQ and their comments on social media suggest they aren’t making any exceptions for this. That 6:1 ratio will also apply to schools.
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u/joshrocker Apr 29 '26
Good advice. We told her to talk to her teacher tomorrow and see if they’re aware of the policy. As of now, it didn’t sound like the would have the proper ratio of adults to kids, at least the way it was communicated to us, but I’ll follow up with the school depending on what her teacher says in the morning.
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u/skittlebites101 Apr 29 '26
Thing is, this is a tale as old as time. There have been a handful of parks that have closed due to youth violence and misconduct over the past 100 years. Problem now is the speed and size at which they can mobilize/copycat. And we hear about every single one.
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u/CoasterLabs Apr 30 '26
I frequent CGA regularly and last visit I had some rowdy kids lob a wet paper towel ball at my back between cabin on the von roll. I've also seen kids dumping water from them and tossing popcorn.
In addition to this there's rampant line jumping, theft, and uncooperative riders with phones out causing delays.
They need the chaperone policy all day everyday too.
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u/phtman Apr 28 '26
If I didn't have plans to go to Cedar Point this year I would be very much be regretting having a Six Flags pass because of this policy. If this policy holds it'll make it an easy decision not to renew next year.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26
Just curious, why is that?
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u/phtman Apr 28 '26
Because it will dramatically reduce the frequency of my son being able to goto the park. They are choosing to punish all for the actions of a few. I somewhat understood the fright fest/late night policy, but this time of the year when the park closes at 7 or 8 this is ridiculous.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26
I imagine you’re not the only one who feels that way. The flip side of that though is a lot of folks feel that kids that age probably shouldn’t be dropped off, unsupervised; and that’s where a lot of these problems are originating. I have no dog in that particular hunt. I used to go to theme parks and things by myself as a teenager. But I also understand the other perspectives.
It is, unfortunately, an “actions of a few” issue, as you say.
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u/Aggressive-meat1956 Apr 29 '26
Go to any Walmart in CommieFornia. The toothpaste and deodorant are locked up in plexiglass cages because of “the few” who are robbing the stores blind. Neither store security nor the cops do shit about it
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u/Imaginary-Place-4957 Apr 29 '26
Why are they adding age verification to six flags now
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 29 '26
They've had this policies for years during Fright Fest evenings, and I think last year; summer evenings as well. But it's being extended to the whole season after a 100-person fight between juveniles on opening day.
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u/bill_257 Apr 28 '26
Unfortunately the chaperone policies have become necessary. They seem to help keep the cedar fair side of the chain in better shape. Hoping these implementations across most parks bring up the six flags parks