After five years of repairs, Six Flags St. Louis’ Grand Ole Carousel is open to the public again. In honor of National Carousel Day on July 25, the Eureka amusement park announced on social media that the carousel would reopen at noon the following day.
Elizabeth Gotway, the amusement park’s admissions/guest relations and special projects manager, said the repairs were made to address feedback guests had left about the condition of the ride.
“The carousel was in rough shape before, and we had a lot of guests saying, ‘When are you going to rehab it? When are you going to paint it?’” she said. “We made the decision to fully rehab the carousel in 2020 with an expectation for completion in 2023. Unfortunately, COVID happened in 2020, and rehab would not get underway until 2021.”
Gotway said the process involved taking every horse down to its bare bones, which revealed additional work needed to get them back to their former glory.
“Five years later, the horses are done … beautiful, pristine and each one unique, telling its own story,” she said.
Built in 1915 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Co., the Grand Ole Carousel originally was installed at Luna Park in Cleveland. The carousel made several moves to Ohio theme parks in the following decades and finally opening at Six Flags St. Louis in 1972. The carousel features 68 total horses, with 58 jumpers and 10 stationary ones.
Gotway said that no two horses are alike, and most have a distinct name. However, two horses are intentionally unnamed, and parkgoers may submit name ideas by scanning a QR code near the ride as part of a name contest.
‘Heart and soul of the park’
Paul Drabek, regional representative for the American Coaster Enthusiasts, describes the carousel as the “heart and soul of the park.”
Having been privy to behind-the-scenes work on the carousel, Drabek said he jumped at the chance to get a sneak preview of the finished product in person on July 25 and drove to the park from his home in Illinois.
“When they say, ‘Hey do you want to come and see this,’ it’s hard not to just get in the car and go,” he said. “I woke up way too early and hit the road.”
Drabek praised the park and its employees for taking their time doing an “amazing job” on the restoration.
“I’ve been on some of the best carousels out there,” he said. “Honestly I think this is the best-looking carousel in the world.”
The process
Except for the paint stripping, most of the restoration work on the carousel was done in-house, Gotway said.
Megan Rhoades, a sign shop technician in the park’s maintenance department, said she and two other employees worked as a team on the project.
Rhoades said the designs for certain horses on the carousel were inspired by U.S. history and Native American and Roman cultures.
Rhoades said she tried to restore the 110-year-old carousel horses to be as close to the original as possible.
“They may be a little more ornate,” she said. “It’s going to have some of our styles in it when you’re sculpting or when you’re woodcarving.”
Rhoades said she also has a personal history with the carousel and the park because her parents met while they were both working there.
“I exist because of Six Flags St. Louis,” she said. “I grew up riding (the carousel) because my sister is a horse person and she always made us ride it.”
Rhoades ultimately feels that the state of the carousel is tied to the state of the park.
“Having a healthy carousel makes it feel like we have a healthy park,” she said.
While phase one of the restoration process is complete, Gotway said there is still more work to be done on phase two – the carousel’s four chariot horses.
“They’re huge and need a lot of carving, and painting will take quite a while on those,” she added.
Gotway anticipates the chariots will be completed when the park reopens for the 2026 season.
Two Leader staffers – Sarah Lerch and Carrson McDaniel – got the chance on July 25 to view and ride the carousel before it officially reopened.
Along for the ride
Leader staffers Sarah Lerch and Carrson McDaniel viewed and rode the carousel on July 25. The following are their takeaways from the experience.
Lerch
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the newly refurbished Grand Ole Carousel in the Six Flags park. I haven’t been to the park in a few years, so I was unaware the carousel was still out of commission.
Though I am now in my 20s, seeing the newly restored horses made me feel like an excited, little kid again. The best part about the carousel was not the ride itself, but to hear how passionate the Six Flags staff were about the project. Some even described the carousel as the “heart and soul of the park.”
The finished project will surely please any guests and staff who were missing the magic of the ride.
McDaniel
I’ve been going to Six Flags since I was 9 years old, and while the Grand Ole Carousel wasn’t exactly a fixture of my childhood, compared to other rides in the park, I’ve always admired it from afar. In looking at this new restoration, I could tell the people who worked on it truly love this attraction.
Aside from its beautiful aesthetic, there’s always been a sense of nostalgia when it comes to carousels. It may not be the adrenaline rush of American Thunder or Mr. Freeze, but those two minutes on the saddle of a wooden horse reminded me of a simpler and slower time in life.