[2] On July 19, 1963, Forest Park Highlands in St. Louis suffered from a massive fire, but its roller coaster, Comet, remained standing.

The trains continued to have the name "Comet" labeled on the front car during the remaining years of Giant Coaster's operation.

[2] The Giant Coaster closed with Paragon Park in 1984 and was sold to Wild World (now Six Flags America), which acquired the ride in a last minute bid at auction.

[3][4] The financially plagued park owners had difficulties maintaining the coaster, and it quickly developed a reputation for being rough.

[2] In subsequent years the ride has been retracked multiple times with much of the recent work completed by Martin & Vleminckx.