SkyScreamer: Extreme swings thrill and terrify
The SkyScreamer extreme swing ride just opened at Six Flags St. Louis. Try screaming into a 43 mph wind as you fly around 236 feet up in the air.
I would like to install a swing set in my backyard. And I want it to be the SkyScreamer. At 236-feet in height, it may run afoul of my local zoning laws, but I don't care. I want to feel the 43 mph wind in my face as I rocket through the air.
Most extreme amusement park rides wrap you up in a cocoon of carts with cushioned safety accessories for an encapsulated experience. The just-opened SkyScreamer at Six Flags St. Louis strips a lot of that away and just dangles you out there with the clouds and birds. It's like a ski lift with a lot more adrenaline.
This is what you have been training for since those early days on the playground with your momma pushing you on a swing. It makes the swing ride at the state fair blush and tuck itself back into its trailer. It would have completely changed the feel of Hitchcock's "Vertigo," had it been around in 1958.
SkyScreamer's manufacturer, Australia-based Funtime Group, already claims the title for the world's tallest tower swing ride, the 384-foot StarFlyer in Vienna, Austria. The Six Flags version may be shorter, but it is still high enough up to scare the pants off of you. Just remember, you must be at least 48-inches tall to ride.