By Jason He

Gargoyle staff reporter

Posted Sunday, April 22, 2007, The OG, features

I JUST GOT back from the sophomores' Six Flags class trip, and it was quite really fun. Hats off to class president Isaac Chambers for organizing this event, and also to the faculty and parents who helped make this trip possible.

Let me get this out of the way first: Really the only thing that wasn't so good about this trip was that I didn't get any good pictures. I just didn't feel like taking pictures as much as I usually do; maybe it was because it was inconvenient in the park for me to have to take out my camera, turn it on, and everything. Anyway, as a result of this, I don't have very many pictures to share.

It took a little over three hours just to get to Eureka, Mo., where Six Flags St. Louis is located. Luckily, the 30 or so of us traveled in Turtle Top vehicles, which are equipped with DVD players so that we could watch movies like “The Devil Wears Prada” (which, contrary to what some people have told me, isn't that bad of a film).

Once we were inside the park and Assistant Director Sue Kovacs did roll call, we split into groups and were basically on our own for the rest of the day.

The first thing I went on was “Batman: The Ride,” a rather intense one for someone like me who had never been on a roller coaster (but I had been on equivalently thrilling rides, so I guess I didn't miss out too much before today).

(After this picture, I sorta just tucked my camera away for most of the day, so you won't be seeing any more pictures in this post.)

I waited in the somewhat longer line for the first car, hoping to film the ride with my digital camera's movie mode. Unfortunately, I later discovered that cameras aren't allowed on the ride — but how did this guy get his footage, then? I thought to myself.

After the ride, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't feel nauseous, disoriented, or physically uncomfortable at all, and I proceeded to “The Ninja” with little hesitation. It was much less physically demanding, but still quite thrilling (and, of course, fun) nevertheless.

The last roller coaster I dared to experience before lunch was “The Boss,” which didn't feature any inversions but compensated for the intensity loss with sharp turns and steep drops. The ride lasted approximately two and a half minutes, which was noticeably longer than the previous ones.

After lunch (which took more than an hour due to tremendously long lines), I went on the “Screamin' Eagle,” the least intense roller coaster of all the ones I rode. The reduced intensity is evident in the fact that riders only need to be at least 42 inches tall to ride the Eagle, whereas the three previous ones required riders to be at least 48 inches tall.

The last roller coaster of the day for me was “Mr. Freeze,” my pick for the park's most intense one. The entire ride lasts only about half a minute (and I waited nearly an hour in line for it!), but it features 180-degree inversions and a maximum speed of 70 miles an hour.

Fortunately, even with the Sprite I was drinking just before the ride, it didn't make me feel nauseous or anything. (And keep in mind that this is from a guy who never experienced a roller coaster before today ….)

After that, a 90-minute wait finally got me on “Superman: Tower of Power,” a 230-foot free-fall. Then came dinner, and finally, a short wait led to “Thunder River,” a river-rafting ride where my clothes basically got completely soaked … and if it weren't for the extra room in my camera case, my cell phone would've gotten drenched as well. A guy sitting next to me also had a cell phone, but not in a protective case — fortunately for him, it still worked. He joked that if it didn't, he would sue Six Flags.

At 6:45, all of us met up at the entrance, and we left shortly afterward. Despite listening to music at a reasonably loud volume on my MP3 player, I fell asleep for about a half-hour on the way back home — woken up by the stop to the rest area, where I wanted to get something to eat but wasn't able to since the vending machines wouldn't take my water-soaked dollar bills.

Luckily, there was stuff that I could eat back at home.

In short, this Six Flags trip was truly awesome — everyone in our class should've come, not just half the class. The waiting in line for rides, however, wasn't all that exciting, especially when it's hot out (as it was for most of the day).

If there's one tip I can offer for future Six Flags visitors, it's this: Get a “Flash Pass” to bypass long lines at certain rides. Unless you want to spend literally half your day at the park waiting in a queue with essentially nothing to do, a Flash Pass is definitely worth it.

I leave you with these videos of the aforementioned roller coaster rides.

• Batman: The Ride
• The Ninja
• The Boss
• Screamin' Eagle
• Mr. Freeze

[Note: An earlier version of this article was posted in the Gargoyle staff blog.]