TOP 10 WOODEN COASTERS - #4
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The Boss will see you now.
Holy christ on a cracker, I can't remember the last time I've ridden a coaster that was this out-of-control. It's large, in charge, and nicely tucked away at the back of the park. I don't think it's unreasonable to state that The Boss is Six Flags St Louis' flagship coaster.
This is Customer Coaster International's longest woodie (teehee) to date, measuring at over 5,000 feet long. The estimated ride time is right around a full 3 minutes, which is quite a while for a single-circuit roller coaster. Due to the changes in elevation of the terrain, the lift hill takes you up 122ft, but the first drop bears an impressive statistic of 150ft, as the coaster is built on a hillside.
One of the best features of this coaster is the long straightaway following the first drop, at the end of which lies another short, banked dip to the right where The Boss reaches its top speed of 67mph. For a true-blue wooden coaster (not those steel rail hybrids like Goliath @ SFGAm), 67mph is CRAZY fast. The other notable feature is the ending 570° helix, which pulls an insane amount of both lateral and positive G's. The layout is loaded with pockets of negative G's, too.
As with any roller coaster, the front row offers the best view, the back row yields the best airtime, and the middle of the train delivers the roughest ride. On The Boss, 'rough' translates to 'borderline intolerable', so you'd be wise to stick to the front or back of the train. Even still, this coaster is very much ill-advised for the elderly and anyone with the slightest amount of neck or back pain, because one ride will amplify that discomfort tenfold.
That being said.........I bruised a rib on this beast of a coaster. I'm not even kidding, during one insane ride towards the grand finale, the train slammed me so hard to the side that my ribcage got pummeled and it's taken me a week to fully recover. Painful, yes, but it hurts so good. Does that make me a masochist?
The Boss might micro manage you, perhaps even *macro* manage you, and if nothing else will definitely manage to scare the living crap out of you. For the extra daring, try a night ride in the front or back rows when visibility drops to nearly zero, but have a chiropractor on speed dial just in case.
Not for sissies. read more