Mid America Adventure on arvau

Wikipedia / Mid America Adventure

Mid America Adventure, formerly known as Six Flags Over Mid-America and Six Flags St. Louis, is an amusement park in Eureka, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1971 by Six Flags, the park was purchased in 2026 by EPR Properties, which hired Enchanted Parks to operate it.

The park was conceived in the 1960s by Six Flags founder Angus G. Wynne. Unlike his company's first two parks, it was not designed by architect Randall Duell, who was busy designing AstroWorld, but by the company itself. The park opened on June 5, 1971. It has undergone many changes, including a 1990s revamp that added two new areas and replaced or renamed all six of the park's original ones.

Mid America Adventure operates from April to November. In the fall, the park hosts the Halloween-themed event Fright Fest.

History

Plans for a Six Flags park in the St. Louis area—dubbed Six Flags Over Mid-America—were announced on July 16, 1969. The park opened on June 5, 1971, the third and last of the three "true" Six Flags parks envisioned by Angus G. Wynne. The park was divided into six themed sections, each under one of the "Six Flags":

Missouri (now 1904 World's Fair), the main entry of the park, themed after the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.
U.S.A. (replaced by Time Warner Studios in 1995), in the southeast of the park, themed after the United States.
France (now Chouteau's Market), to the east next to U.S.A., themed after a colonial French trading post.
Spain (replaced by DC Comics Plaza in 1997), in the southwest of the park, featuring Spanish-themed architecture and restaurants.
England (now Britannia), in the northwest of the park, originally themed after colonial British influence. Later themed to a village in medieval England.
Illinois, in the north section of the park, originally themed to the state of the same name. Later partially replaced by Bugs Bunny National Park, with the Old Chicago sub-section beyond the train loop becoming the entirety of the area.

The Mall of Mid-Americas dedication plaque says that

The park's name was changed to Six Flags St. Louis for the 1997 season. On June 5, 1999, the 12-acre Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park opened next to the main park, a $17 million expansion that was the largest in the park's history.

In 2014, Six Flags sold 180 acres of unused land to the east of the park to developer McBride & Sons, reducing its property area to 323 acres: including 40 acres of undeveloped land.

In January 2020, a renovation to the entry plaza removed the original ticket booths. That March, Six Flags St. Louis announced that the opening of their 2020 season would be delayed by to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yearly attendance figures have not been released.

2026 sale and renaming to Mid America Adventure

On March 5, 2026, the park's owner, Six Flags (which had merged with Cedar Fair in 2024), announced that it would sell Six Flags St. Louis and six other park properties to EPR Properties. The sale was completed on April 6, 2026. EPR hired Enchanted Parks to operate the park. The park was originally intended to retain the Six Flags branding through the 2026 season, however it would be officially renamed to Mid America Adventure on August 27, 2026 with the Six Flags St. Louis signs to be retained until 2027 and is expected that the DC Comics and Looney Tunes IP licenses will be removed and replaced to a different IP licenses.

Areas and attractions

Mid America Adventure is divided into eight themed sections, all of which were added after the park's opening or renamed. The park is laid out in a "Duell loop", a design concept that was often used by park designer Randall Duell.

1904 World's Fair

1904 World's Fair is the main area of the park, named after the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, which ran from April 30 to December 1, 1904. The area features the "Mall of the Mid-Americas", a shopping mall that features foods introduced or served at the fair, as well as early-1900s-themed buildings. The area was named "Missouri" until 1994.

Gateway to the West

Gateway to the West is themed after the old colonial times of the state of Missouri, and alludes to locales and people that have lived in the state. The area opened in 1993, taking over a part of what was formerly the Illinois section of the park.

Chouteau's Market

Chouteau's Market is themed after a French market along the Mississippi River. It is named after Auguste Chouteau, the founder of the city of St. Louis. The area opened in 1993, replacing France. In 2014, the area was expanded to take over a piece of what had formerly been the back of Studio Backlot.

Studio Backlot

Studio Backlot is themed to the backlot of a movie studio in Hollywood. The area originally opened in 1995 as "Time Warner Studios", but was renamed "Warner Bros. Backlot" the following year.

In the first couple years, the area featured five interactive movie set experiences based on various Warner Bros. films, including Bonnie and Clyde, Little Shop of Horrors and Maverick, all of which were retired after the 1997 season. The area's name was changed again to its current name in 2002, though it mostly retains its previous theme.

DC Comics Plaza

DC Comics Plaza celebrates the worlds of DC Entertainment, with several attractions based on various DC characters and properties. The area opened in 1997, replacing the former Spain section of the park. One of DC Comics Plaza's most iconic features is DC Circle, a section of the ground that is designed after DC's longtime "DC Bullet" logo. The visual centerpiece of the Plaza is the Hall of Justice, which serves as the facade and entrance for Justice League: Battle for Metropolis. Directly to the opposite side is the large, snowman-themed facade of the "Snowy's Ice Cream Factory Tours", which is the entrance to Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast.

Britannia

Britannia is based on the country of Great Britain as it was in its medieval period, including elements from Arthurian legend. The area was named "England" from 1971 to 1992, then "Great Britain" in 1993, and it was given its current name in 1994.

Illinois

Illinois is loosely themed to the city of Chicago. The area was formerly known as "Old Chicago" from 1971 to 1993.

Bugs Bunny National Park

Bugs Bunny National Park is a kiddie area based on the Looney Tunes franchise. It opened in 2006 as the successor to Looney Tunes Town. It replaced some former land that the Gateway to the West section used to occupy.

Roller Coasters

Hurricane Harbor

Hurricane Harbor is a water park that is connected to the southeast portion of Mid America Adventure and is adjacent to Studio Backlot, but is not part of the main park.

Entertainment venues

Mid America Adventure has several theaters that host daily shows during its operating season. With the exception of the summer concert series, all shows are free to attend.

Annual events

Fright Fest

Fright Fest was introduced in 1988 as "Fright Nights", which ran until Fright Nights V in 1992. In 1993, the event became Fright Fest under the ownership of Time Warner, who wanted each Six Flags park's Halloween event to use the same name for branding purposes. The event runs from mid to late September through Halloween and typically features several haunted attractions and scare zones, as well as live entertainment. Fright Fest celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018.

Fright Fest was replaced with Hallowfest in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Park capacity was reduced to 25% of its normal capacity and all haunted houses, scare zones, and shows were replaced with outdoor, socially distanced alternatives.