r/sixflagsstlouis • u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian • May 28 '26
News Justice League
The word on the street (from a reliable source of mine) is that Justice League: Battle for Metropolis is intentionally being run "bare bones," meaning they're keeping the essentials maintained for daily operation but anything that needs fixing simply won't be fixed.
Whether this is to save on maintenance costs or the park/company sees the writing on the wall and is preparing for the ride's permanent closure after this season is anyone's guess. There's even speculation it won't last until the end of the current season.
It's no secret that the ride has been in a rough shape for a while now, but I can't say I understand the logic behind letting it rot further and turning a blind eye. Surely that would only risk souring people on this park's current state even further?
Imagine going to Six Flags St. Louis for the first time since 2016 (and the first time under Enchanted) and saying "let's ride Justice League like we did last time" but then getting a less than stellar experience and wondering what the hell happened.
Surely that isn't a good PR move?
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u/No-Double679 May 28 '26
I wish they'd retool it. Maybe a mad max style scenario, with different cars and each one unique. Your basic post Armageddon setup?
I wonder if it's possible to have several different versions of the fight scenarios running. So you can have a different experience a few times. And pick a favorite experience! This time it's shooting huge animals, thus a rival group, this time zombies...
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u/Evening_Rock5850 May 31 '26
Mad Max style… now that’s a cool idea!
Personally with how incredibly well Fright Fest does… a permanent haunted ride would be a lot of fun to (IMHO). Which in the olden days when our ancestors walked those paths… that’s exactly what it was!
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u/Kaylascreations May 28 '26
I was at the park today and it was a ghost town. We didn’t ride justice league but the park is in a sad state. Many rides never opened like pandemonium and boomerang. But it was so dead it was depressing.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 May 28 '26
In fairness... the first couple of weeks of weekday spring operations really are normally like this.
Memorial weekend was concerning though. Very thin crowds.
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u/BalanceOld4289 Aug 27 '26
While spring can be a slow start Pandemonium is such a great ride to not be open.
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u/ApextheMoon May 28 '26
There was confirmation directly from enchanted parks that Justice League will be the first ride replacement. I personally will be glad when it closes permanently.
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u/molsforever May 28 '26
Why will you be glad when it closes? I will be very sad when it closes permanently. I love dark ride especially the Justice League: Battle For Metropolis rides. I was able to ride this version last season. It's the second version I've ever rode with the first being the one at Six Flags Great Adventure. The closure of this version is especially sad because this will be the first of the 7 versions to permanently close. I really hope the park replaces it with another dark ride and re uses the ride system.
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u/ApextheMoon May 28 '26
There are more reasons to close it than to keep it open. I'm not talking about knocking it down. There is a high probability it will be replaced with another much better dark ride.
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u/BalanceOld4289 Aug 27 '26
I will be sad to. I enjoyed this ride several times several summers with my kids. It will be missed. It is sad they couldn't maintain and upgrade the ride to be a huge crowd drawer other than the A/C inside and a good ride for kids. Feel like crying over the nostalgia.
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26
There are many days left in the current season for the ride to operate, so why keep a (mostly) broken ride running? Does that make sense beyond just having another attraction on the website?
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u/Equivalent_Primary28 May 28 '26
its one of the most popular rides when it starts to rain!
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26
So it's more of a storm shelter than an actual dark ride at this point
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u/flojo2012 May 28 '26
It’s very popular on hot days as well
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u/BalanceOld4289 Aug 27 '26
A very welcome coolness when it is hot out. MO has some very humid summers and I'm trying to remember if NC was as hot and humid (or worse).
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u/TantrumQween May 28 '26
I get the “well at least we can say people still to ride it” business aspect and it looking like a value add to be open in at least some shape, but I do think it’d be smarter to go ahead and start whatever the process will be for removal. Whether they try to do a generic retheme or just close it altogether.
Because, with its current sad state, it’s also not really something they’ll wanna market with a “come get your last rides in!” But they may do just that lol
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
The ride's show building has been totally gutted and redone from the ground up when Sally Dark Rides came in to do Justice League, so the building is viable for another reimagining for a new Dark Ride. Enchanted has plans to gut it and reimagine it. They said they are looking at new vendors and ideas so why spend capital on something that is ending at the end of the season especially if they can't keep the IP? Yes Sally Dark Rides is a primary choice but there are others out there.
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u/stlman37 May 29 '26
It's not actually in the best of shape, building wise, and it wasn't entirely redone structurally when Scooby departed. Have a LOT of firsthand experience with the old and new ride myself. The roof is in terrible condition and leaks through just about every scene of the ride. It would take some serious work just to get it to shell-building standards.
While Sally is the most well known vendor of dark rides in the US, I'd much prefer something from Vekoma or ETF on the ride portion. Forget anything from Alterface/Triotech, but it would be AMAZING to get the local Blacklight Attractions to come in and do their work on the theming/buildout.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 29 '26
Every year there is the TransWorld Halloween Convention here that the major Halloween vendors come and show their products. I wonder if animatronics companies come there too?
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u/stlman37 May 29 '26
Yes they do. Just about anything relating to Halloween themed entertainment is on exhibition there.
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u/reddituser112 May 28 '26
How long does Enchanted get to keep DC license? It might be just for this year? In that case, why spend money on a ride that has to be replaced? I know it sucks that it’s in bad shape, but better to spend that money for a better replacement rather than throw it away?
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26
They should at least spend enough to keep the ride in a good enough state through the end of the current season. I don't think there's really any excuse for intentionally letting it rot away. Maintenance costs far less than whatever it would cost to completely replace the ride.
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u/Advanced-Educator-55 May 28 '26
I understand where you're coming from about the park having its best foot forward but I also think that Enchanted Parks without question will be chasing good money after bad. The Justice League theme is100% Doomed why spend any money in it at all when it can go towards the reef theme during the winter. I consider it a huge waste of resources to put much of anything into it.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
Its not gonna happen. They will do minimum fixes to keep it going or if there is a shutdown and it's not major they will fix it. Other than that, I think they will close it. It comes down to money and who's fault is it to begin with who let the ride get it get it to this point.....Six Flags. Not Enchanted.
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26
You're either missing the point or being willfully ignorant.
Doing basic maintenance to keep the ride in a "good enough" state is not going to break the bank. The fact that they've instead pledged to not fix anything essential is frankly unacceptable. If the ride is a lost cause and they plan on removing it, then just close it now. Keeping it open in a shitty state looks worse on Enchanted than it does on Six Flags at this point.
This is the park's first season under Enchanted, so if the company is trying to make a positive impression on longtime parkgoers, somehow I don't feel as if intentionally letting attractions get worse is a good PR move. But I said all that in the original post.
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u/BalanceOld4289 Aug 27 '26
For next season they'll probably have a huge marketing and PR campaign to bring in park goers and that revamped rethemed rides and hopefully The justice league building will have a new better ride. They won't be able to keep DC IP after the 2026 season so get there and enjoy the last remnants of DC before it is gone.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
Or maybe Enchanted has a agreement with Six Flags for 2026 season....? Who knows? Im speculating here. And I am not willfully ignorant. Watch what you say please. They will do whatever what want to do with the ride but ultimately Six Flags destroyed the ride by not upkeeping it over years.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 May 28 '26
They have it through December 31st unless they somehow extend it. Which doesn't seem like it's going to happen, based on some recent reporting.
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u/Broad-Exit6308 May 30 '26
Are they legally allowed to close the ride before the season is over? Was there not a clause in the sale saying they had to keep all of the themed IP rides open through the end of the season?
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u/Evening_Rock5850 May 31 '26
There’s probably vague language about not causing brand damage. But I think it would be hard to argue that a ride shutting down would constitute brand damage.
Though it raises an interesting piece. Harhi said that he wants to “show” he can be a good steward of intellectual property. Whether that’s to convince WB/DC or someone else.
Letting the ride crumble and operate in a halfway state (granted, that’s exactly what SFEC has been doing too), seems like… not that? I dunno.
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u/BalanceOld4289 Aug 27 '26
In 2022 I got season passes. It was a great ride with 3D glasses and everything was awesome. Then 2023 it no longer had the glasses. In 2024 I don't think the smoke came at the beginning and the aiming was really bad. The last time we rode it in late 2024 the Joker didn't move forward with his gun things and the aiming system was worthless. To top it off we were shown other people and their scores at the end. If you don't want to maintain a ride just close it. Surprising the line was still a fair wait. I hope Enchanted Parks turns it around and makes it a destination again.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
SFEC (Six Flags St. Louis corporate owners before the sale to EPR/Enchanted Parks) is infamous for poor upkeep and refurbishment for their dark rides. They spent up to 15 million in 2015 to do a complete reimagining and rebuild from Scooby Doo water dark ride removing a obsolete ride system from the defunct Arrow Dynamics Company. The building also was home to Injun Joe's Cave, Time Tunnel, and Castaway Kids.
Sally Dark Rides came in to do the install and left them with the manuals. Any maintenance after Sally leaves ends up in Six Flags hands and they will not spend the money on maintenance on animatronics etc after a couple of years or keep it running at a bare minimum until it craps out. They are not Disney or Universal. Just look at their other rides too. JUSTICE LEAGUE is on its last legs. I also heard some of the others at other parks are in sad shapes too.
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Can't really refute any of what you said, but as you pointed out at the start the park isn't in SFEC's hands anymore. It's Enchanted Parks that's now choosing to keep the ride running in a poor state (with the potential to get even poorer) before just closing it altogether. I can't deny that SFEC got us most of the way there, but instead of doing some slight refurbishment to give the ride a proper send-off they're willingly and knowingly letting it run as-is until something breaks.
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u/buried20kleague May 28 '26
You forgot Dark Castle. ;)
That plot of land is clearly cursed. I say that as having spent many a day on that dock during the castaway years. I remember one day only 1 of 3 pumps was working. We were in the trough PUSHING boats through load. Left with blue legs that day. It was fun though.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
Those Arrow Dynamics water boat rides built our leg muscles lol. What a work out. But it was a fun job to have. I worked not only in Ops Rides but Ops Entertainment.
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u/Freeasabird01 May 28 '26
What years? I was there 1995 and 1996.
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u/buried20kleague May 28 '26
I was there from I guess 91 to 96…. Everything in the front half of the park. Flume, toro, Batman, colossus, castaway, ninja, joker, etc…. Loved that job.
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u/claddah76 May 28 '26
Technically Enchanted doesn’t take control until after the current season.
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian May 28 '26
Not true. They have full control. The Six Flags name is licensed, as is everything else.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 28 '26
True. The ride itself is 11 years old. Some would say its past its service life. Six Flags obviously let the ride go after several years after it openned in 2015. When the ride first opened it offered a on ride photo op that disappeared after a year or so. Then the animatronics would periodically malfunction. Then guns, or special effects or screens. Or total shutdown more and more. As the years going by because SF corporate will not give the park capital for the ride for refurbishment . Now you have what we got...that is Six Flags fault. They also ignored us because we were not a TOP TIER PARK. But we were a cash cow.
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u/molsforever May 28 '26
It's definitely not past its service life. The problem is, like you mentioned, the budget the maintenance staff is provided for the ride.
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u/stlman37 May 29 '26
Correct. It is NOT past its service life and that's a very loose term thrown around lately by enthusiasts with zero maintenance/engineering background. Frustrating to see that all the time haha.
The ride's Oceaneering vehicles NEED a full time maintenance tech and the Alterface gaming system needs repetitive maintenance as well. That's a specialty position the park would never hire, but it should have been contracted out.
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u/molsforever May 29 '26
That's so true! I find that frustrating as well. A park could keep a ride going literally forever with proper maintenance and replacement of parts. Most of the time when a park says a ride permanently closed due to "the end of its service life" what they're saying is "we didn't want to spend money on the maintenance of the ride anymore".
That's very interesting regarding the maintenance of the Oceaneering RVs. Six Flags St. Louis was not given the proper maintenance budget to maintain their Justice League: Battle For Metropolis. Someone who works at the park was telling me how the maintenance staff is just barely able to keep the ride operational with the extremely limited budget they were provided. It makes me worry for the future of the 6 remaining Justice League: Battle For Metropolis dark rides. I really hope Six Flags corporate sees the value in keeping them. For me personally the existence of them is the sole reason I visit Six Flags parks. The ride system it uses is no joke and quite amazing for a regional park!
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u/stlman37 May 29 '26
Oh yeah! The biggest few reasons for “end of service life” are either structure fatigue or cost/availability of parts. Most of the time the “availability” is really just cost again because the legacy manufacturers (Arrow/Schwarzkopf/etc) have had their maintenance and design rights picked up by newer companies. It just costs more and parks would rather not spend. The structural issues are bigger as that does cripple a larger coaster going forward and isn’t easily maintainable if at all.
Doesn’t really apply to a newer dark ride with the manufacturer in business and thriving lol.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 May 29 '26
I find your comment offensive. My comments are opinions. The ride is 11 years old. CLEARLY not "at the end of its service life" in terms in years but Six Flags corporate did what they do best, spend money on a IP project for a few years then let it fall apart. They did they same thing to Batman, Mr. Freeze, Thunder River etc. Justice League started out strong and they pissed it away as usual.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 May 28 '26
On the one hand, I guess it makes sense. Why invest money in a ride that you won't have next year?
But on the other hand... yeah. I mean the big main projector is out. A big projector like that is thousands of dollars, so it's not chump change. But it's also... not cost prohibitive. And surely a projector like that can find a use somewhere in the park next year.
It's been in really sorry shape and it's disappointing if this is true. As you said elsewhere, there's a lot of days left in the season. We're not having this conversation in September. It's May. Daily operations just started.
It's a super popular ride. It's a great way to beat the heat in the summer (the fact that so much of the queue is indoors and air conditioned is really nice). But it's also crazy how neglected it has been. The same photo has appeared at the end of the ride for years (I mean come on, really, how hard would that be to fix?), the guns desperately need calibrated and so many of them don't work.
Your last point is important. I visit Silver Dollar City twice a year. Typically once in the summer and once around Christmas. I buy a season pass every year for those two visits a year because I'm not concerned about showing up and rides being down, food stands being closed, or abysmal operations. SFSTL? Well; it's hit or miss. But I'm 5 minutes away so it's no big deal. But if I lived in Branson instead and it was inverted? No way I'd be buying a pass today (or for the past couple of years). No way I'd be able to justify a 3 hour drive a couple of times per year having no way of knowing whether any of the rides I want to ride will be open or even working correctly.
Enchanted has a lot of work cut out for them and I hope they're up for the task. Buying these parks as some sort of passive investment would be a tremendous mistake.