As announced last week, this year we’re featuring 20 roller coasters that opened 20 years ago in 2000 (that’s a lot of 20s). The year 2000 was arguably one of the most exciting for the roller coaster community, with iconic roller coasters like Millennium Force at Cedar Point and some notorious entries like the former Son of Beast at Kings Island.
The first installment of our “20 in 2020” series takes us to Eureka, Missouri, outside of St. Louis for:
The Boss at Six Flags St. Louis
Google Maps describes it is an “unusual 150-ft. wooden roller coaster” — that might not be the best description, but The Boss is undoubtedly unconventional and takes full advantage of the hilly terrain that surrounds Six Flags St. Louis.
Photos © Six Flags St. Louis
Six Flags St. Louis announced plans for and released a rendering of The Boss in February 2000, less than three months before the coaster’s opening:
The massive new roller coaster structure is an engineering phenomenon with an unprecedented 15-story double-down-double-drop first hill and sweeping twists, turns and banks used in combination to create a one-of-a-kind wooden roller coaster.
A late announcement like this was fairly typical in the time before the rise of social media and the wide availability of internet access. Parks were able to keep plans under wraps much easier. And given The Boss’ secluded location in a park set relatively far away from public roads, the park could build the ride in near-secrecy.
The Boss’ iconic entrance. Photo © Six Flags St. Louis
The Boss debuted to the public on April 29, 2000. It was manufactured by the now-defunct Custom Coasters International (CCI), which at the time was a leader in the wooden coaster industry.
Upon its opening, The Boss stretched over 5,000 feet in length — keep reading to learn why that’s no longer the case.
Though the coaster stands only 122 feet above the ground, its use of the park’s hilly terrain allows for a 150-foot drop.
The coaster reaches a top speed of 66 mph along its sprawling course.
The Boss was designed by Lawrence “Larry” Bill, whose portfolio includes over 60 wooden coasters in nine coasters. He’s now an engineer and principal at The Gravity Group.
Over the years, The Boss has been the recipient of trains from shuttered roller coasters at former Six Flags parks.
These include Six Flags New Orleans’ MegaZeph and Kentucky Kingdom’s Twisted Twins, the latter of which is now known as the Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) steel hybrid coaster, Storm Chaser.
During a 2014 trip to the park, the former Mega Zeph trains could be seen under the Batman: The Ride station.
In 2018, the coaster’s notoriously jarring final helix was removed, which shortened the layout by about 420 feet to its current length of 4,631 feet.
The Boss’ helix prior to its removal in 2018
The train now makes a 180-degree turn and continues on toward the home-stretch of the layout:
The end of The Boss’ helix, which was replaced by a 180-degree turn in 2018.
This modification has resulted in a noticeably smoother finale to the ride.
You can take a virtual ride on The Boss (sans helix) in the video below:
Below is a video from 2014 with the helix still intact:
The Boss has always been an outlier in the Six Flags family, as many of the chain’s other aging wooden coasters have been transformed into RMC steel hybrid coasters, including the former CCI coaster Medusa at Six Flags Mexico — now known as Medusa Steel Coaster. While it’s fun to imagine what RMC would be able to do with a giant coaster like The Boss, it seems that the wooden coaster is destined to remain as such for the forseeable future, at least. And in a world where so many have received the “RMC treatment,” it’s nice to have a classic stick around.
Have you ridden Boss at Six Flags St. Louis? Share your thoughts about the coaster in the comments section below.
Thanks for joining us in this first “20 in 2020” feature — stay tuned for the next coaster!
Rode it once. That was enough for me. It was not exciting enough to overcome the excessive roughness. Six Flags needs to RMC it NOW!!!