Six Flags South Dakota

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Six Flags South Dakota is a theme park in Faith, South Dakota that first opened in June 1981.

Opening
In August of 1978, a businessman named Hugo Stonewall sold around 200 acres of land to the Six Flags corporation after his factory relocated out of the area. In 1979, ground broke on Six Flags South Dakota, the chain's seventh park. The grand opening was June 15th, 1981.

Initially, the park had 6 sections; South Dakota Street, Cherry Tree Lane (known as Storybook Land during development stages and was later known as Apple Tree Park starting 1987), Starlight Bay (known as Buckaroo Trail during development stages), Waterworld, Town Square, and Kidtropolis. Marketing for the park was done by a company out of Wisconsin Dells known as Dells Animation: that company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1988. Along with the ones for Wayside School, animated figures based on Peter Rabbit, Catfish Bend, and Seven Little Monsters were also built, but were never used as Six Flags dropped all their book licenses except for Wayside School prior to the park's opening. They were all left abandoned and eventually put up for auction several years later, albeit in somewhat good condition.

The park's opening day lineup was as follows (includes major stores or restaurants):

In 1982, a few new updates and additions occurred; Sideways Stories in Wayside School was overhauled with new animated figures by Dells Animation and a new ride was added, known as "The South Dakota Rainbow." The Jet was also removed for no apparent reason, and a scene that'd been put in Rushmore River Boat Adventures was removed. The scene featured a boat filled with politically-incorrect-looking Native Americans and dead-ish animals, and was removed completely due to Six Flags fearing that Native Americans and animal activists would protest against the ride as a result. The scene would be replaced with a new one entirely, featuring possums who were saving their home.

Thrill expansion
In 1983, a new ride was added. "Forbidden Temple" sent riders on their backs down a large drop....in the dark! That same year, Wild Mouse closed and was moved to a park in France, and Buckaroo Burgers was demolished after a stove caught on fire and burned the restaurant down, resulting in two fatalities. The Lake Beaumont Water Show also debuted with 2 stages in Starlight Bay and South Dakota Street.

In May 1984, the Bebe figure in the finale scene of Sideways Stories in Wayside School caught fire. While it caused minor damage to the platform and part of the fake grass, it didn't spread to the props or other figures. Later that year, an angered patron threw a molotov cocktail at a cow animatronic at Starlight Barn. The attraction was closed for the rest of the season. A year later, Sideways Stories was refurbished with the characters redressed to match the Julie Brinckloe illustrations that were new-at-the-time. The Starlight Barn also returned, with new security features to prevent similar incidents to the one in 1984, and a petting zoo called The Stable opened nearby. Bumbders closed at the end of the season, as well as the original BlackWidow unit after an accident in August damaged it beyond repair. 1986 saw a new Arrow Dynamics looping coaster - Upsy-Dawn! The ride features a 150 foot lift hill into a 145 foot drop, where the train then goes through 2 vertical loops, a batwing and a corkscrew. A new Triple Tree Wheel was also brought in and given the same paint and name as its predecessor. Super Cat closed at the end of the year for the next season's new attraction.

In 1987, a new roller coaster named Pipe Up was introduced. The coaster was a Bailey Rides Auto Sled. Cherry Tree Lane was renamed to "Apple Tree Park", due to Mary Poppins using the old name. The Monster ride was renamed to Millie the Monster, and a new theater called "Apple Tree Theater" was added. Toy and Candy Barn was renamed to simply "Toy Barn" that same year. Rushmore River Boat Adventures was also renamed The South Dakota River Trip. As the coup de grace of the new changes that year, Wheelie, a Schwarzkopf Enterprise, opened in South Dakota Street. A year later, a dolphin show known as "The Wonder-Mazin' Dolphins" opened.

The changes roll on in
In 1989, The South Dakota River Trip closed for good. It was replaced in 1990 with Missouri River Raft Adventure, the mother of all Intamin river rapids rides. It reused a section of the ride track and most of the show scenes from the River Trip, including the possum scene. It's defining feature was it's cutting-edge, 160 foot tall drop that was provided with the help of elevator lifts lifting riders...well, 160 feet in the air. It is still considered to this day to be one of the most intense, thrilling and exciting river rapids rides ever built.

In 1991, the park celebrated its 10th anniversary and added a new live stage theater. It was known as "The Decade Theater" and was placed on South Dakota Street. A year later, in 1992, both Starlight Barn and the nearby petting zoo, The Stable, closed down. Both attractions would be replaced in 1993 with "WildFlower", a Troika ride relocated from Adventure Acres, a theme park near Billings, Montana, and a stage show named Belle LaSalle's Foot Tappin' Revue. In 1993, the park also recieved a new logo to match the logo the other Six Flags parks had at the time. The same year, Pipe Up was removed. in 1994, Musik Express was removed and replaced in 1995 with WaveFlyer 2000, and Splashdown closed for a multi-year makeover.

In 1996 the park introduced TWO new coasters. The first one, Mount Rush-More, opened in Town Square. An Arrow racing coaster, it has both a 75 mph launch and two lift hills, along with four inversions on both sides. The right side is 8,188 feet long, while the left is an even longer 8,322, making them the second longest and longest roller coasters at the time respectively, although both would be surpassed by Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land (a bit longer in this universe). The second coaster was constructed in Apple Tree Park, replacing a relaxation area (basically a plaza with lots of benches) and the Scrambler, which moved into Starlight Bay. BedBanger, a massive multi-looping coaster with custom spinning cars built in-house - considered to be one of the most intense, extreme and thrilling coasters ever built - opened as the sole roller coaster in Apple Tree Park. Not only was it the very first modern day spinning coaster ever built, but it is also the very first spinning coaster to feature inversions. The coaster itself was relocated from the German fair circuit, featuring four large vertical loops. The coaster opened to rave reviews from coaster fanatics and thrillseekers, albeit received some criticism, not only because of how intense and ridiculously loud it was, but also because of its name. BedBanger got its name from the brand of vodka of the same name that sponsored the ride, but some people believed that the name sounded too inappropriate for the park. In 1997, the coaster promptly got a rename to The Fast Star and received a new sponsorship from Goodyear, and a new log flume named Shoot the River opened in Starlight Bay. Splashdown also reopened, now an indoor coaster known as Exploration of the Inner Core. Just a year later, the park received its next coaster - SkyWing, a B&M inverted coaster that was a clone of Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

The Flagging
In 1999, rumors began to swirl that Six Flags was about to introduce their licenses to the South Dakota park. The park, since opening, had been largely independent, using it's own branding - it was essentially a Six Flags park in name only. In 2000, guests walked through the front gates to find a very different Six Flags South Dakota. Looney Tunes characters were now out and about on the paths, every building was repainted, and several ride names were changed. In addition, a new roller coaster, the Salt Lake Bobsleds, opened, as well as a shooting dark ride named Rainy Day Shooters and, most importantly, a new hyper coaster named Goliath. The Salt Lake Bobsleds were built right over where the WildFlower ride was, with the latter being removed from the park as a result; it would be sent back to the park it came from, Adventure Acres.

But in due time, patrons would learn some sad news. BlackWidow and Forbidden Temple would both close at the end of the season.......but soon afterwards, teasing for a "Triple Threat" started appearing....And on November 25th, it was announced. 3 new coasters were to be added for 2001. Deja Vu, a Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang, Colossus, a massive Intamin looping wooden coaster (it was a Son of Beast clone), and V2: Vertical Velocity, an Intamin Impulse. These rides opened to smashing success. 2001 also saw South Dakota Street split into South Dakota Street (the immediate entrance area, the Cosmosis area and Missouri River Raft Adventure) and Thrillseeker's Summit (the rest of the area, also encompassing the former Town Square area). The Decade Theater shut down this year as well. In 2002, Space Shuttle Exploration, a Looping Starship ride from Great America, opened, along with a record breaking Intamin Mega Splash named Wile E. Coyote's Canyon Blaster replacing the Decade Theater, and The South Dakota Rainbow closed down and was put into storage.

2003 brought three major rides. Superman: Ultimate Flight a B&M Flying Coaster, was built near Colossus. The coaster brings riders 180 feet in the air and drops then down through 4 inversions at speeds up to 80 miles per hour! The South Dakota Rainbow's spot was taken up by Twister, a HUSS Top Spin. Finally, an absolutely massive Intamin drop tower named Acrophobia opened in Thrillseeker's Summit, right next to Twister. A whopping 430 feet tall (hence its slogan, "43 stories of DOOM!"), it is by far the tallest structure in South Dakota not counting stuff like radio masts. It features a "rise to the top and drop" mode and also an observation mode, allowing one to choose how high up they want to go and then gently bringing them down. Cosmosis closed at the end of the season; a speculated reason being that the ride was outdated, as its motto of "Journey to the 21st Century!" no longer held water. Sideways Stories in Wayside School was refurbished yet again that year, featuring a new set of clothes for the figures based on Adam McCauley's illustrations that were new at the time.

In 2004, the Missouri River Raft Adventure became the "Xiaolin River Raft Adventure" and was rethemed to Xiaolin Showdown, albeit very poorly. A few cheap cut-outs were placed along the course of the ride, and a cheap preshow was added, but other than that the ride was virtually unchanged. Psyclone closed midway through the season and was removed, ultimately being relocated to a mom-and-pop amusement park named Family Funland in Ripley, Tennessee. And finally, Kids WB on Stage opened in place of the former Cosmosis.

The Modern Era
2005 brought a new flat ride to the park. Rattler replaced the Scrambler attraction in Starlight Bay. The ride, a Mondial Supernova relocated from Alton Towers, is basically Twister but more extreme. In July 2005, a fire broke out caused by the apples in Sideways Stories in Wayside School which spread to a scene featuring The Three Erics capturing Todd in a sack. And midway through the season, the park dropped a bombshell. ' Sideways Stories in Wayside School would be closing permanently on the final day of Fright Fest 2005. ' Small riots by hardcore fans of the ride broke out over the news, but they were quickly stopped. Sideways Stories closed on Halloween 2005, with a final celebration marking it's closure.

2006 saw Sideways Stories' replacement: Beaver Country. Reusing the track, cars and lightning effects of the old Wayside ride, Beaver Country sends riders on a relaxing journey through the titular Beaver Country. At the end of the season, the Salt Lake Bobsleds coaster sadly closed for good. However, guests who were saddened at this news would later be cheered up again when they found out what would be replacing the coaster - Viper, an Intamin multi-inversion coaster. A clone of Colossus at Thorpe Park, the coaster's most well-known feature was that it had not 1, not 2, but TEN inversions. Needless to say, when Viper opened in 2007 it received great acclaim from riders and coaster critics alike.

Also in 2007, Kids WB on Stage closed down in favor of the new Code Lyoko Sector Base area which opened in 2008. The new area consisted of Ulrich's X.A.N.A. Hunt (like Diesel Drivers at Kennywood, but with a different theme), Aelita's Tower (a drop tower); and a mini stage show featuring animatronics of Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita. Sadly, at the end of the 2007 season, the Ottowheel ride was removed from the park and was replaced with a small fountain section. The next year, Waterworld became Hurricane Harbor with the dry rides side of the area becoming DC Universe, Flashback, an Intamin Space Diver relocated from Magic Mountain opened, and Objective Lyoko, a new obstacle course that was a clone to Objectif Lyoko at Futuroscope in France, opened in the Code Lyoko Sector Base area replacing South Dakota: The Journey.

Sector Base itself, of course, was not to last. In 2010, the area closed down and was razed. The animatronics that'd been used for the mini stage show were saved and put up for auction, ultimately being bought by a girl named Candy Moneybags who currently uses them as decorations on the roof of her apartment. 2011 brought SWAT, an S&S Sky Swat relocated from Six Flags Astroworld, to the park. Xiaolin River Raft Adventure also lost the (very, VERY little) Xiaolin Showdown theming that it had and was reverted back into Missouri River Raft Adventure at the same time. 2012 saw Sector Base replaced with Titan, a Premier Sky Rocket II coaster, and was also, sadly, the final year for Shipwreck Falls, as it would be demolished for 2013's addition.

That new addition would be a S&S Sky Sling named erUPtion. The ride, relocated from Six Flags Magic Mountain, immediately became notorious for almost never being open. It got to the point where a maintenance guy was literally asked to ALWAYS be at the ride. Also in 2013, Greezed Lightnin' from Kentucky Kingdom was relocated to Six Flags South Dakota under the name Sonic Boom. 2014 saw a new flat ride. Submission, a Chance Rides Double Inverter relocated from Alton Towers, was rather lazily added into Psyclone's old ride pad, without so much as a name change or repaint.

After years and years of new investments, 2015 was an off year. However, 2016 brought Total Mayhem, an S&S Free Spin, to the park. Total Mayhem was set to be named The Joker, but that changed as a new plan for 2018 was brought to light. erUPtion and Rainy Day Shooters closed the same year and Rainy Day Shooters was replaced in 2017 with Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, a clone of the other rides of the same name.

In 2018, the park made way for one of it's biggest additions yet - Joker's HighJinx (yes, that's the ride's actual name), a B&M giga coaster, was built in the DC Universe area of the park. It is rumored that this coaster was the giga coaster that was originally planned for Six Flags Great Adventure several years ago. Currently the only giga coaster ever built so far in the Six Flags chain, it is also currently the tallest and fastest coaster in the park, featuring a 350 foot tall lift hill with a 345 foot tall first drop, reaching maximum speeds of 98 MPH. It is considered one of the best steel coasters in the world, and one of the park's top attractions.

2019 brought Lone Star Revolution, a Larson Giga Loop (Clone of Mardi Gras Hangover at SFGAm), to the Starlight Bay area. The same year, Tidal Wave, a Mack Power Splash, opened on the former spot of erUPtion and Shipwreck Falls. 2020 saw the park embark on a restoration of the kids area. Bugs Bunny Boomtown was expanded with six new rides, part of a new sub area (Looney Tunes National Park). To do this, Pepe LePew's Peak net climb was removed, as was a ferris wheel named Tweety's Flying Cages. However, due to COVID-19, the entire restoration was moved to 2021. 2021 was also the final year for WaveFlyer 3000.

2022 saw 2 hand-me-down rides and an old flat ride open. South Dakota SkyScreamer, a Funtime Star Flyer, replaced WaveFlyer 3000. The Calamity, a Bayern-Kurve attraction that used to reside at Six Flags Great America, opened on empty space left behind by the loss of Shipwreck Falls, and The South Dakota Rainbow returned, now known as Over the Rainbow. A new Chop Six location also opened on the former site of the OttoWheel, joining locations in Thrillseeker's Summit and South Dakota Street. The same year, the South Dakota Giant also started suffering abrupt closures and downtime, causing it to close halfway through the season. Soon enough, a few people in RMC coats came to the ride for........inspections.

On January 8, 2022, it was finally announced that the South Dakota Giant would not reopen and would be removed for "future development". In August, four rides abruptly closed: Twister, Space Shuttle Exploration, Beaver Country and Over the Rainbow (which had opened earlier that year). On October 4, both Space Shuttle Exploration and Twister were officially announced as defunct. On October 6, Beaver Country was also announced as defunct. On October 8, Industrial Revolution, an RMC conversion of the South Dakota Giant, was announced for a 2023 opening. Industrial Revolution contains 4 inversions and is 185 feet tall, much taller than the Giant's 125 foot height. The ride also includes a backwards wave turn and an element similar to the "gender roll" element on Exodus at Thorpe Park. Also announced were Thunderball, a ABC Tourbillon, Pandemonium, a Chance Freestyle (going on the site of Over the Rainbow, which was relocated to the Twister site for 2023), and perhaps most exciting of all More Sideways Stories in Wayside School - a updated version of the original Sideways Stories attraction replacing Beaver Country, with updated backgrounds, new animatronics, CGI effects and two new scenes! This attraction was also announced to be rolled out to the two parks that still had the original Wayside ride - Six Flags Over Savannah and Six Flags Virginia Escape.

Overall, Six Flags South Dakota has been ranked as one of the best Six Flags parks in the nation. It is unlikely that will ever change.

Incidents

 * Opening Day: On the day the park first opened (June 15, 1981), the temperature in Faith was 105 degrees, with a heat index of 111 degrees. As a result, a number of the park paths buckled under the heat, resulting in sporadic ride closures and guests being sent through backstage areas or guided onto the South Dakota Express train ride to get around. The damage to the paths was so extensive that the park had to close for the entire rest of the week to fix the damage caused.
 * The Jet: On July 5, 1982, one of the cars on the "The Jet" roller coaster came slightly off the rails just before the lift hill. No one was injured, and the ride reopened later that day. However, it closed near the end of the 1982 season due to it only being a temporary addition to help alleviate opening season crowds.
 * Buckaroo Burgers Fire: On May 4, 1983, a stove was left unattended in the kitchen of the Buckaroo Burgers restaurant in Starlight Bay. The stove caught aflame, and the wooden construction of the building meant the fire spread so fast firefighters could not stop it before the entire building was engulfed. The flames caught 4 year old Chris Dunmore of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and burned him to death, leaving his body "black as charcoal". His father, 32 year old Kyle Dunmore, also of Eagle Butte, was also caught and suffered 4th degree burns over nearly his entire body, dying in the hospital a week later. The fire burned Buckaroo Burgers completely to the ground, but a fire break prevented the fire from spreading to other attractions. The restaurant was replaced with a fortune telling tent that stood until 2009.
 * Sideways Stories in Wayside School Fire 1: The literal next year, on May 19, 1984, the Bebe figure in the finale scene of the Sideways Stories in Wayside School dark ride in Apple Tree Park (then Cherry Tree Lane) caught fire. The fire destroyed the fiberglass wooden crate the figure was standing on and also burned a very small part of the nearby fake grass, but luckily did not burn any other major figures or props in the finale scene. The ride was reopened 4 days later.
 * Starlight Barn Fire: On August 16, 1984, angered patron George McKinley of Dupree, South Dakota, whipped out a molotov cocktail unnoticed by security and threw it at a cow animatronic in the Starlight Barn walkthrough attraction. Though the animatronic did not burn, the oil painting of a farmscape behind it did, and as guests flooded out of the building the fire spread rapidly, gutting roughly half of the structure. The ride was closed for the rest of the 1984 season so it could be rebuilt, and it reopened in 1985 with new security features to prevent a similar incident.
 * Rushmore River Boat Adventures: On July 22, 1985, employee Curtis Bowen of Newell, South Dakota accidentally fell under a departing boat in the station of The South Dakota River Trip (then known as Rushmore River Boat Adventures). Eyewitnesses reported Curtis falling in front of the boat as it left the station, and a second later blood pooled out behind it. Curtis survived but was rendered a paraplegic - he later died in Newell in 1998 of old age.
 * BlackWidow: Later that year, on August 11, a test run of the BlackWidow attraction went awry when one of the arms holding a bucket snapped off, squashing the bucket flat as a pancake. Since it was only a test run, nobody was on the ride at the time and therefore no one was injured. The ride was damaged beyond repair and an identical model was brought in to replace it in 1986.
 * Upsy Dawn: On February 1, 1986, during the construction of Upsy Dawn (now Ninja), construction worker Dan Ferguson from Rapid City, South Dakota fell from the brake run catwalk of the ride and suffered minor injuries.
 * The Gang Incident: On April 11, 1986, a group of members of the notorious "Skywell Gang" charged towards the entrance of Six Flags South Dakota. They burst through the turnstiles, graffitied multiple nearby walls, pepper sprayed a security guard, and were eventually subdued and arrested. It is unknown what their motives were. They were eventually sentenced to varying years in prison for breaking & entering, assault, and vandalism.
 * The Wonder-Mazin' Dolphins: On opening day 1988 (April 2nd), female trainee Kathleen Rumford from French Lick, Indiana was working the first show of the day when wet surfaces resulted in her slipping into the tank, where she then had to flee from Kokomo the Dolphin, one of four different dolphins in the show. She (Kathleen) survived and safety nets were put up to prevent worse incidents.
 * Pipe Up!: On September 23, 1988, a car on the Pipe Up! roller coaster rolled over the brakes without slowing down and rammed into another car in front of it, causing several injuries and the death of 23 year old Masterson Payne, a medical student from Pierre, South Dakota. The attraction was closed for the rest of the year and given a major overhaul. This would be the last major incident until the Sheriff Dakota's Saloon fire in 2001.
 * Sheriff Dakota's Saloon Fire: On August 15, 2001, one day before the 17th anniversary of the Starlight Barn Fire, a minor electrical fire broke out in the Sheriff Dakota's Saloon gift shop. The cause of the fire was later determined to be faulty wiring. It was the park's first notable incident in almost 13 years.
 * Cosmosis: On April 27, 2003, 17 year old Cassie Malkins from Pierre, South Dakota, walked onto Cosmosis. She had a pre-existing heart condition, and ignored the warnings on the ride that said people with heart conditions could not ride. During the ride, she had a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead on the scene. Her family tried to sue the park after her death, but lost the lawsuit due to the fact that she had a preexisting heart condition and violated the rules of the ride by getting on anyways. Cosmosis, in an unrelated event, permanently closed after that season. It was the first death at the park since 1988.
 * Sideways Stories in Wayside School Fire 2: On June 24, 2005, one of the singing apples in the fourth scene of Sideways Stories in Wayside School (the Save Todd scene) burst into flames thanks to a mechanical failure. The flames quickly engulfed the rest of the apples and spread rapidly, and one of the ride vehicles burned as panicked guests fled for their lives down the ride track. The flames torched parts of the fifth scene (where The Three Erics capture Todd in a sack), but was thankfully prevented from spreading further. The ride closed for a week and reopened with a replacement ride vehicle and singing turnips from the finale being moved to the fourth scene as a temporary replacement for the apples, however the ride closed on Halloween 2005. Six Flags stated that damage from the fire was one of the reasons behind the ride closure.
 * Xiaolin River Raft Adventure:

Miscellaneous
Oddities, Cancelled Plans and Other Things