SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => General Silver Dollar City Talk => Topic started by: Coaster on March 15, 2017, 01:44:38 PM
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Happy Opening Day 2017! A new year of fun brings a new year of trip reports. Please share your SDC experiences/pictures for the entire 2017 season here.
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Well I am here now. Got a good look at the construction. It's hard to miss at this point. About the only rides open is FM, TNT, fith, and the train. Very few people here but lines are long. Currently in line at TNT then may hit the train then leave. FM is looking great and has that new paint smell
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Well I am here now. Got a good look at the construction. It's hard to miss at this point. About the only rides open is FM, TNT, fith, and the train. Very few people here but lines are long. Currently in line at TNT then may hit the train then leave. FM is looking great and has that new paint smell
They finally put those inmates to work in the FM this off-season...lol
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This "inmate" appreciates any and all feedback :)
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Good to hear about FM, Anxious to see it next week.!! Keep the reports coming.!
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We were back today, got there right after opening and rode a few rides. By 1 the lines
We're getting way too long and we figured we would find something to eat but the lines were crazy to all
The eating places so we left a little before 2.
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Here is our photo trip report from Spring Ride Days
https://midwestinfoguide.blogspot.com/2017/03/spring-ride-days-sdc.html
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Good pics,
anxious to see things this weekend..
the tree is gone, new views of new project, new eating joint, Flooded mine, and see more new stuff, we will only be there until noon or so. (unless crowd get real bad in a hurry ;)).
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Went through the cave today for the first time in years. Easy to forget how amazing it is. We got there at opening and went straight to TNT to see the new construction. The size of this project in person is overwhelming, the pictures don't do it justice. The park got busy fast today the weather is perfect. We got rides in on TNT,outlaw run, wildfire,flooded mine and fire in the hole before we did the cave tour. We will be back Friday Saturday and Sunday. I'm excited at the attention fm got this offseason. Great start to the season. Oh and won a free t shirt at opening ceremony lol
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Word in the park today is there was over 19,000 people here yesterday.
(edit- made my voice to chat into comprehensible English. lol)
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Enjoyed a nice morning and early afternoon in the park today. Basically had a very nice stroll playing with my new camera and shooting pictures like I've wanted to do for quite a while in the park. Watched their new welcome show. It was nice that they gave out free t-shirts as part of it, but I miss the flag raising and the veterans' procession that they used to do. I don't miss some of the cheese, a bit sad that the street troupe isn't part of the opening anymore. In fact, I didn't see any of the street troupe at all. Just Terry Sanders and Whoopsi Daisy. I hope that's not a trend for the whole season.
As I posted earlier, they had over 19,000 Thursday, which is a ridiculously busy day anytime. Today was much more modest and was actually nice crowd wise. But there were signs that they weren't ready even for what they had. Powder Keg opened with only one train running and a full queue and the line going all the way down the hill. No clue if they got one running later or not.
After wandering a bit I heaed up and took a ride on the train, where they were doing one of the old routines I used to do (Yankees with the "fight um" routine) but no Ma on a 30 minute schedule. They guys out there had been there a while and they did a decent job, getting some good laughs.
I then took a ride on the Flooded Mine which has obviously gotten a lot of love, TLC and freshing up for it's 50th. (Steve, I told you there, but I'll say it again- you and your help did an incredible job! And it was great to see you) Fresh paint, new lighting, old effects and stunts working again that haven't in a while, and so much more. I'm actually regretting not taking a second ride. I can't encourage you enough to take some rounds on it this year. And skip the new guns for at least one ride and just enjoy looking.
Did some more walking around and shooting photos around the park. There are many places showing signs of fresh paint and investment in the off season and I tried to get photos of as much of it as possible.
Ate lunch at the new Percy's eatery- my review is on the thread for it- and just had a great time seeing the park, shooting photos, and saying Hi to people. I headed out at 1pm, before the rain came in, but it was a great half day. Hoping all goes well and I can make it out on the 1st to see some friends playing out there, and looking forward to a great season.
Photos (all 400+ of them) are available to see, if you'd like on my photo pages at Smugmug. Direct link to them is: https://sirwillow.smugmug.com/Amusement-Parks-Roller/Mid-USA-TX-MO-OK-etc/Silver-Dollar-City-March-24-2017 (there's still about 100 photos left to upload as I write this)
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What??? No more flag raising and Veteran recognition? Is it just temporarily gone for Spring Break, or forever?
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What??? No more flag raising and Veteran recognition? Is it just temporarily gone for Spring Break, or forever?
If this is like last year this is only temporary. The regular veteran recognition and opening ceremonies with the street troupe will start with the first festival.
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Yes, I read somewhere that the street troupe starts in April and im sure the regular opening will start then as well.
Sir willow love the pics(my family was in red tshirts giving lucky high fives in your pic at opening ceremony)
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Rode pk this morning they said the issue is they have a new monitoring system on the restraints and they are getting the bugs worked out of it. That's why they've been running one train
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Yes, I read somewhere that the street troupe starts in April and im sure the regular opening will start then as well.
Sir willow love the pics(my family was in red tshirts giving lucky high fives in your pic at opening ceremony)
I hope so. I was actually really surprised since they promote the patriotism so much. It really caught me by surprise that they didn't have the flag raising ceremony.
Funny that I caught you in my pictures. If I'd known it was you I would have said Hi. :-)
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Rode pk this morning they said the issue is they have a new monitoring system on the restraints and they are getting the bugs worked out of it. That's why they've been running one train
Weird. They were running 2 opening weekend.
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Yeah they started with2 this morning and after they got everyone on the first train one restraint wouldn't recognize that it was latched so they had to get everyone off that train and take into the maintenance shed and then brought the other one in and only ran one. That's when they told us about the new restraint system
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I hope so. I was actually really surprised since they promote the patriotism so much. It really caught me by surprise that they didn't have the flag raising ceremony.
Funny that I caught you in my pictures. If I'd known it was you I would have said Hi. :-)
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Yeah, my kids got a kick out of it and if you see us again be sure to say hi lol. Yeah last year surprised me too on the spring ride days with the way they did the opening. But it was back to the same old opening when we went back in may.
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Great Pics Sir Willow, thanks for sharing
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I've read and enjoyed this site for several years now and finally decided to register and post from time to time. I'm from Northwest Arkansas and have been visiting SDC since the late 80's as a kid. I've been taking my three kids 3 to 4 times a year since 2011.
We made our first 2017 trip Thursday (3/23) and it was the busiest day I remember in the past few years. Encountered our first traffic standstill at 10:55 and didn't make it into the park until 12:45. After 20 minutes of waiting in the preferred parking line, was told they were all full and needed to head to lot 5. We made our way to the park entrance to find only 3 employees scanning tickets/passes. Waited another 20 minutes as our line had an issue and the employee had to step away for 5 or 10 minutes. I looked back and the three lines were nearly to the restrooms by the ticket office.
Once we finally made it in, it was an outstanding day with my wife and daughter. Weather was perfect. Outlaw Run line moved well all 3 times. Thunderation was closed when we went by. My daughter loves Wildfire and the line was the longest we've encountered. We actually went upstairs above the gift shop at 2 pm. By 5, the lines had subsided and it was back to 20 minutes or so. The small concession lines were 15 to 20 people deep and even longer at Lumber Jack and other eateries. The frozen lemonade was well worth the 25 minute wait!!!!
I had a sausage skillet and it seemed to have more seasoning and an all around improved flavor from last year! I'm looking forward to trying the new Tex-mex place when we go back for vacation in June. All in all, it felt like they were struggling to handle the crowd and honestly it was a poor, frustrating customer experience getting into the park. I'm sure they aren't on their A game this early in the season and we still enjoyed the day.
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Howdy, SirWillow! Spectacular photos you took in the park! Thank you for sharing them with us! Is it okay if I share the link to them on my Facebook? I have several friends I think would love to see them.
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I can't wait to go! Until then, I'll live vicariously through all of your reviews!
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Howdy, SirWillow! Spectacular photos you took in the park! Thank you for sharing them with us! Is it okay if I share the link to them on my Facebook? I have several friends I think would love to see them.
Absolutely
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You caught me in the firehouse, just behind the wagon, lol
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I should have taken one when we were standing there talking. lol
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Anyone go to the opening day of the new festival yesterday? I am going Sunday... would like to know what to expect
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me too.. will be there next weekend.. Easter Weekend....
remember, SDC is closed Easter Sunday....
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I will be there Sunday and should have our updates online by Monday night.
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We will be at the city tomorrow afternoon and Sunday morning/early afternoon. We plan on seeing the echo hollow show tomorrow night.
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Hubs and I went this afternoon and had a great time! Honestly, didn't pay much attention to the construction...sorry! The plan was to see William Close, Earth Harp dude, and leave, but the weather was perfect so we hung around. And William Close?? Wow! That was beyond awesome! Don't miss that show! Also, the couple from France playing the harp and hang drum at the Gazebo was great! We plan to go again next week and spend the day. And, yes, they are still selling sarsaparilla!
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Well, I would love to say we saw a show today. But with three kids who wanted to do nothing besides ride, we didn't. I was worried it would be super crowded, but it wasn't. The longest wait we had was an almost 30 minute wait for TNT. Most we only waited one or two rounds to get on. It was an absolutely beautiful day! We saw the show tonight. Tracey heaston is back on the piano this season down there. They really did a great job! I've attached a photo of Anna and some of the women that perform in the show. She loved their "sparkle dresses".
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The one on the right is Rachel Wallace, who has also done the saloon show in the past (not sure if she's doing it this year) as well as the Ghost of Christmas Present in Dickens, beating on her husband who plays Scrooge. Great lady. Unfortunately I don't recognize the other 2 offhand.
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Went today. Started with the balancing act show. It is essentially a pared down version of the cirque zuma zuma or whatever was in the Red Gold Hall the last couple years. Was still good and quite impressive. Went to the Flamenco Kings next. It started out REALLY slow but got much better. Many of the times it seemed like they were not playing the instruments or making all the noise with the dancing, but it was still very enjoyable.
Then lunch. My friend had the strawberry flatbread which she enjoyed a lot. I had the pork belly fries which were excellent.
After lunch we hit up the earth harp... not sure I believe his explanation of how the thing actually works (Seems that the notes would be much lower pitch than standard A440 tuning if it worked how he said...), but it was a very good show. Never thought I would hear Pink Floyd at SDC. It is very much a performance art piece. If you cannot appreciate that, the show isn't for you.
Then to see Ecuador manta or whatever. Have seen them many times... I was not bored with them this time so that is a plus. I actually enjoyed it
The people in the shows were much more lively than I remember them being in years. It was very loud at every show. Kind of surprising.
We had a beautiful day. Not too crowded.
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Went this morning myself, mainly to attend the 10 AM church service. There was standing room only, and barely that. Pastor Kevin Day is fantastic! I feel totally renewed and spirits lifted after listening to his messages. Afterwards, checked out the food barn. Got bacon-wrapped chicken, and I wasn't the least bit impressed with it. Should have stuck with something tried and true. Walked around a bit. Crowd was moderate in the afternoon. Beautiful day out to enjoy the park.
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Looks like a busy weekend for all. good weather and all... thanks for the reports..
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Here is our coverage of the Festival of Wonder
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/04/festival-of-wonder-sdc.html
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We spent two days at the park..:so here's Sunday's report.
The measuring station was open! Yay! When you have a kid that is 42 inches on the dot, the measuring station saves you, and those waiting behind you, a lot of time. We didn't see any shows today. The only thing we waited in line for the entire day was tnt. Everything else was a walk on...even firefall. I'm not sure their marketing for this festival is going well. As we were walking out, One of the kids looked at me and said "look mom! The festival of wonder! When is that happening and can we go to it?!" we explained that this is the festival of wonder. He said "I didn't see anything too wonderful about it."
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we explained that this is the festival of wonder. He said "I didn't see anything too wonderful about it."
LOL. Out of the mouths of babes.... :)
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we explained that this is the festival of wonder. He said "I didn't see anything too wonderful about it."
LOL. Out of the mouths of babes.... :)
Yeah, the consensus from most people I've talked to is that the name of the festival is extremely weak. I'm not sure what they should change it to, but it should be changed. Honestly, not sure why we are not still having World Fest as the same acts are still here just not under the guise of being "from somewhere else"
Serious - we have...
Cirque Zuma Zuma (lite)
Ecuador Manta
Flamenco Kings
Harp and Hang Drums (from France)
The only difference is that we have a Painter (which could have gone during Summer Fest) and a guy who plays the glasses.
this is still World Fest.
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I made it there last weekend, if you couldn't tell by the FB photo updates. All in all, it's a nice little festival, but I agree that it is missing some piece of pizzaz that would let it live up to it's name. Not sure what else I'd want them to do though, between the nice weather, interesting food, and neat shows I had a good enough time.
After running around to catch up on all the changes to the park, I saw the balancing show in the riverfront playhouse. It's a nice show with a crazy ending that had me cringing (in a good way) until it was over. Then I saw the Flamenco Kings, which was a decent spectacle, but like Swoosh says, pretty repetative. I also wonder how "real" it is... I'm about 95% sure their shoes hardly make any noise and the whole tap-dancing effect is faked. Obviously they have some neat choreography and musical skills though. Plus they are eye candy for the ladies.
The show I really liked was the Earth Harp. That is quite a performance and spectacle, and all the musicians involved are very talented. That's the thing to see if you are going to this festival.
As for the food that they are making a big deal about... some of it is good, some of it is so-so. I had an alligator kebab which was very tasty... for what little morsel they gave me. It was served on a bed of what I suspect was Uncle Ben's rice. Nothing else, and only one small kebab, unlike what is shown on the menu when you order... for $12.50. It was a nice delicacy though.
I also had the apple cinnamon bacon grilled cheese thing which was nice. Terry recommended the milk shake concoctions that are in the festival barn. Apparently they blend brownies and ice cream and other things into a shake and serve it in a mason jar. I stuck with some ice cream though - it was pointed out to me that the ice cream stand across from Red Gold serves a really nice blueberry soft serve so I had to try that out.
Outlaw Run is running smooth and quiet on it's new poly wheels. Hope they don't wear down and get rough though.. OR is not a ride that can tolerate much roughness with how aggressive it is already.
Flooded Mine is looking great. Still some gun issues here and there, but overall it has been thoroughly cleaned and lots of effects are working that haven't in awhile. It was pointed out to me that when you want to push the PTB into working on FM, you don't want to make a complaint, as they will simply see it as the ride being a problem - whereas if you praise the ride and encourage them to work on it they will see it in a different light. They aren't going to invest in a ride that causes complaints when they can just rip it out and replace it with something new, if you get my drift.
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We had a VERY enjoyable day in the City today! The Flooded Mine looks fantastic all fixed like it is! I made a point of complimenting it to the ride controller as we were leaving. I didn't even use my gun. I just looked at how good everything was!
We made the first Earth Harp show. I've seen the YouTube videos of it, but they really don't do it justice. Seeing it live and in person was amazing! Just watching her play the thing was a lot of fun. It was a packed house too. I don't think there was but one empty seat. I loved the show!
We had breakfast at Molly's Mill before the park opened, and everything was really really good. I was stuffed when we left.
On the Fire In The Hole, I was surprised that on the hill with the train whistle and light, that the light did not come on. The train whistle sounded, no light, and down we go! I don't know if that was on purpose, or the light is just not working.
On the way out, I picked up a new SDC ball cap and tried to find my 2017 Season Pass Holder trading pin, but was informed that they aren't going to do those any longer. I'm sad about that. Those were always my favorite pins. I did pick up the new "Festival Of Wonder" pin though. The rest, I already have. When I asked the cashier about them, she said they aren't going to trade anymore either. :(
The weather was beautiful, and the park was pretty crowded. Still, we had a really good time! We'll be there again on Friday and I can't wait to do it all again!
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We were at the park yesterday for the new festival. Like everyone else has stated, our favorite show was definitely the Earth Harp Collective. Every single performer in the show is extremely talented. If we hadn't of attended the last show of the day then I honestly feel we would have watched the show twice. The other show we really enjoyed was Dan Dunn's speed painting. Very impressive and I love how I don't completely know what the creation is until the very end.
The park looks very fresh and clean for the new season. Construction was ongoing all day on the 2018 project. Some foods we tried were the monster fry bread sandwich, shrimp and mango flatbread, and a fried Oreo funnel cake. The flatbread was definitely so-so and probably not worth the price. The other two were enjoyable but definitely share with someone else. The sandwich is HUGE and I don't even want to know how many calories I consumed.
Looking forward to the next trip, hopefully Bluegrass and BBQ.
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We went on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday we caught the last Earth Harp show of the day and was able to hear the creator, William Close, play the earth harp and some other instruments he created. He was also the emcee. We thoroughly enjoyed the show and decided we would go back on Thursday. On Thursday we went to the early afternoon show and a blond woman played the earth harp; William Close was not there. Was basically the same show but the woman, who also served as the emcee that day, had some more detailed explanations and she played the harp a little differently (just as any musician will play the same song slightly differently).
On Wednesday we also saw part of the Harp and Hanging Drum show (think it would have been better in a theater instead of the gazebo) and part of the Paint Jam speed painting show (think that would have been better at the gazebo).
Thursday morning we saw the Homestead Pickers, the Glass Armonica at the gazebo (could barely hear, should have been in a theater where the sound could be controlled better). We also saw the Flamenco Kings and enjoyed the show. Most of the audience seemed to really enjoy it. We also went to the Balancing Wonders show. The juggler dropped a lot of pins during his act but his finale act of balancing was very good. We thought the band was good but the background music they played was very repetitive.
We looked at the festival food but didn't buy anything. People seemed to be buying from the stands inside the barn but there didn't seem to be any business at the outdoor stands near Red Gold. We did buy Chester's Chips on Thursday, and were pleased as usual. Had a frozen strawberry on Wednesday and a lemonade shave ice on Thursday (supposed to be lemonade but had the texture of shaved ice -- looked the same on Wednesday). Both days we purchased from the stand across from the kettle corn. The stand by the saloon was not open either day.
Discovered on this trip that the culinary school has a shop inside with free samples; reminded me of Mulberry Mill at Grand Village. We spent some time sitting in rockers on the back porch; good place to watch the construction going on.
Wednesday and Thursday were beautiful days but not overly crowded. Wednesday's crowd seemed larger but that may have been due to more school groups. When we left Branson Friday morning traffic was backed up past the Highroad headed toward the park.
Saturday morning I had an email survey asking me about my visit to the Festival of Wonder.
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Discovered on this trip that the culinary school has a shop inside with free samples; reminded me of Mulberry Mill at Grand Village. We spent some time sitting in rockers on the back porch; good place to watch the construction going on.
This is the first year they've had the expanded shop in there, I think. Definitely a nice change, and a good way to get people to actually go in there. I don't think they've ever had much success with the school...
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Discovered on this trip that the culinary school has a shop inside with free samples; reminded me of Mulberry Mill at Grand Village. We spent some time sitting in rockers on the back porch; good place to watch the construction going on.
This is the first year they've had the expanded shop in there, I think. Definitely a nice change, and a good way to get people to actually go in there. I don't think they've ever had much success with the school...
There were 4 people (2 couples) sitting in the front porch rockers waiting for a class to start. They said they had been there before. My husband would enjoy the class, I would enjoy eating but we don't think it is worth an additional $20.
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My Wife, 2 year old Daughter, Parents, and myself were at The City Friday, April 28, and Sunday, April 30. We skipped Saturday due to the monsoon and visited IMAX Complex, Grand Village, and Tanger Outlets.
Lots of work being done all along the 76 Strip. Sidewalks being torn-up and redone most, if not all, all the strip. You can already tell it will be much more pedestrian friendly once finished.
Meals:
Friday lunch: SDC Fri-bread
Friday dinner: Outback
Saturday lunch: Mel's Hardluck Diner
Saturday dinner: Pasghetti's
Sunday lunch: SDC Succotash
Sunday dinner: Saltgrass Steakhouse
Rides:
Flooded Mine (3 times)
Thunderation (2 times)
Train (once)
Outlaw Run (once)
Hugo & Mary's Carousel (Multiple)
Lucky's Dizzy Dogs (Multiple Times) daughters favorite
Happy Frogs (Multiple)
Butterfly something or other (Multiple)
Grandfather's Mansion
Half Dollar Hollar
Shows:
Flamenco Kings
Earth Harp (saw the very last show of the Festival)
Was overall impressed by the entire park. Flooded mine was in great working order, all effects and lighting worked great. New plantings throughout the park, fresh paint, friendly citizens, great food, etc.
Friday was cloudy with sprinkles, Friday night and all day Saturday was a downpour, Sunday and Monday was beautiful.
TimeTraveler is going to he HUGE! I've been watching the progress on here, but seeing it in person is a whole new ballgame.
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We made it into the park on Saturday morning (5/6/17) right after they started serving breakfast in Molly's Mill.
The weather was gorgeous and I knew the park was going to be jam packed. It was. We ate breakfast, and then began our visual tour. We heard the first train coming into the station (#76), so I went to check it out. I love those old steam engines and their whistles! The engineer saw me standing by the sign that describes each of the engines and came over. We got to talking about the two new engines that were recently purchased. He told me they had just gotten the new boiler for the one they've received inpark, that day! He said they hope to have the new engine in service by fall this year! The other is in Pennsylvania at this time undergoing some work there.
It was standing room only at Red Gold Hall for the barbecue! In fact, we had to use one of the tall tables in the back by the soda machines to eat. There was no place we could see to sit. The brisket was underwhelming to both of us. It was like they forgot to add something while they were smoking it. Neither of us could put our finger on it. Getting through the crowd and out again was an adventure in itself!
In Carrie's Candles we went looking for the Leather scent. It's our favorite of all of the scents they make. There was none to be had. They told us they had had many people asking for it, but they were out, and he was "just going to HAVE to order some more, and soon!"
Of course when you get near the candle shop, you start to smell the cinnamon bread at Sullivan's Mill, and you just HAVE to go in there! It's a standard stop for us anyway.
By one o'clock, it was jammed all over the park. I didn't make it into the Fire In The Hole to check to see if they had the light fixed in the train crossing drop, so I can't report findings on that issue. Were any of you through Fire In The Hole yesterday who knows?
We enjoyed the trip as we always do. Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
I hope not- we'll be there Saturday and Sunday. :-\
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
I hope not- we'll be there Saturday and Sunday. :-\
Get there early on Saturday, grab the kids and hold on!!!!
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
I hope not- we'll be there Saturday and Sunday. :-\
I just double checked, Duelist. Confirmed. Saturday the 13th is Mercy Day. The lady at Carrie's Candles told me yesterday that last year they had 23,000 people in the park that day!
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
I hope not- we'll be there Saturday and Sunday. :-\
I just double checked, Duelist. Confirmed. Saturday the 13th is Mercy Day. The lady at Carrie's Candles told me yesterday that last year they had 23,000 people in the park that day!
Thanks for the warning- guess we'll just have to do the best we can :)
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As I mentioned in another thread today PK broke down for about 20 mins while I was on it. Sensor/Restraint issues again apparently. Also something neat I learned today is that any Cinnamon bread that is not sold an hour before closing is marked down 75 percent. I got mine for a whole $1.88. LOL ;D
(https://scontent-dft4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p280x280/18274998_10155268577957232_5911467135269571032_n.jpg?oh=a538ae1e9dcffafd027d9668d1ce2f7e&oe=59BCED98)
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As I mentioned in another thread today PK broke down for about 20 mins while I was on it. Sensor/Restraint issues again apparently. Also something neat I learned today is that any Cinnamon bread that is not sold an hour before closing is marked down 75 percent. I got mine for a whole $1.88. LOL ;D
Now that is some of the best info I have heard about in a long time... nice!
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I was there Saturday 5/6/17 as well. I got a late start and parked in lot 6. The school buses had the place jam packed. I tried to eat lunch 3 times an hour apart before finally having to succumb to waiting in line just before 3PM.
I was there for the bluegrass shows which mostly weren't all that crowded. I stay away on Saturdays but Flatt Lonesome were only there until Saturday so I had to make the trip. I enjoyed all of their shows.
One thing I missed this year is the VERY pared down BBQ sauce sampling. I always ended up buying 2-3 sauces during the past years. This year it was relegated to the barn and there were only about 20 BBQ sauces and half of those were SDC labeled ones.
I do wish they would have people keeping people moving right after the ticket scanning... People go through that and just stop. Not waiting for strollers or anything... just stopped. It is so hard for me not to just yell at them for their stupidity. On days when it is packed, it just creates a log jam. There have been times I have seen someone making sure people keep moving through the hospitality house. Someone doing the same at the entrance where tickets are scanned would make a world of difference
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I do wish they would have people keeping people moving right after the ticket scanning... People go through that and just stop. Not waiting for strollers or anything... just stopped. It is so hard for me not to just yell at them for their stupidity. On days when it is packed, it just creates a log jam. There have been times I have seen someone making sure people keep moving through the hospitality house. Someone doing the same at the entrance where tickets are scanned would make a world of difference
I dont know why people do that, 3 steps in, stop, count heads, put away tickets, check the kids, check the baggage, check the purses, argrue about whats next...... and then proceed on the way.... LOL.. ::) ::) ::)
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Next Saturday is Mercy Day, so we'll avoid the City next week. Have a great week, everybody! :D
you mean "No Mercy" day, dont you? ;D
I hope not- we'll be there Saturday and Sunday. :-\
I just double checked, Duelist. Confirmed. Saturday the 13th is Mercy Day. The lady at Carrie's Candles told me yesterday that last year they had 23,000 people in the park that day!
Thanks for the warning- guess we'll just have to do the best we can :)
So what is Mercy day? I had thought about coming up this coming weekend but maybe not. How do you think Friday or Sunday will be?
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I was there Saturday 5/6/17 as well. I got a late start and parked in lot 6. The school buses had the place jam packed. I tried to eat lunch 3 times an hour apart before finally having to succumb to waiting in line just before 3PM.
I was there for the bluegrass shows which mostly weren't all that crowded. I stay away on Saturdays but Flatt Lonesome were only there until Saturday so I had to make the trip. I enjoyed all of their shows.
One thing I missed this year is the VERY pared down BBQ sauce sampling. I always ended up buying 2-3 sauces during the past years. This year it was relegated to the barn and there were only about 20 BBQ sauces and half of those were SDC labeled ones.
I do wish they would have people keeping people moving right after the ticket scanning... People go through that and just stop. Not waiting for strollers or anything... just stopped. It is so hard for me not to just yell at them for their stupidity. On days when it is packed, it just creates a log jam. There have been times I have seen someone making sure people keep moving through the hospitality house. Someone doing the same at the entrance where tickets are scanned would make a world of difference
That bugs the crap out of me also, its a major traffic jam just after the gate up the hill to HH. People just stand there talking in their groups. I try to be nice, it is just frustrating.
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So what is Mercy day? I had thought about coming up this coming weekend but maybe not. How do you think Friday or Sunday will be?
Mercy Day is when Mercy hospital employees and their families come out in force. They get big discounts on the tickets and have a couple of special events just for them. It is one of the biggest attendance crowds of the year from the sheer number of their employees that come out.
Cox when they occasionally have events like that can be just as crowded.
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So what is Mercy day? I had thought about coming up this coming weekend but maybe not. How do you think Friday or Sunday will be?
Mercy Day is when Mercy hospital employees and their families come out in force. They get big discounts on the tickets and have a couple of special events just for them. It is one of the biggest attendance crowds of the year from the sheer number of their employees that come out.
Cox when they occasionally have events like that can be just as crowded.
Ok got ya. I am thinking I was there on Mercy day last year. I do remember there being a hospital group of some sort and they had the BBQ place down by the river blocked off just for them.
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As I mentioned in another thread today PK broke down for about 20 mins while I was on it. Sensor/Restraint issues again apparently. Also something neat I learned today is that any Cinnamon bread that is not sold an hour before closing is marked down 75 percent. I got mine for a whole $1.88. LOL ;D
(https://scontent-dft4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p280x280/18274998_10155268577957232_5911467135269571032_n.jpg?oh=a538ae1e9dcffafd027d9668d1ce2f7e&oe=59BCED98)
Excellent news to know for future reference -- wish I had known it when I was there this Tuesday!
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FWIW -- while we were at the park Tuesday we saw Brad Thomas and 4 guys in suits plus some other folks walking through the park together. Didn't recognize any of the men in suits. Most of the times I saw Joel Manby walking around SDC, he wasn't wearing a suit.
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Got down there on Sunday. TnT running rougher than I've ever experienced, especially through the tunnel.
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^I have actually kinda noticed that on my last visit. And oddly enough it feels like its running faster too.
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We were at the City on May 13th and 14th. It was crowded on Saturday but not the nightmare scenario I pictured for Mercy Health Day. They did have extended park hours from 7pm to 11pm for the Mercy guests so maybe some of them were waiting for later in the day to visit. Water ride lines got long later in the day but most of the coasters were short lines (we walked right on to Outlaw Run). Powder Keg was down most of the day according to the ride wait times on the app. Fire in the Hole seemed to have the longest lines- around 30 minutes. Also, because of the picture-taking fiasco the Train had very long lines. We avoided it on Saturday and rode the 1st train Sunday before the photographers got there 8). We saw Carson Peters and Iron Mountain perform on Saturday, then watched that show again and the Petersons on Sunday. Both were very entertaining! Talked to Ms. Sharon at the school house and she's leaving to take another job next month. Did not take any pictures of construction but that thing really looks like it's barn-shaped to me- which might make it in line with the Buffalo Bill concept? As has been stated before the Flooded Mine looked great. The animated talking head in the queue line was new and they did a really good job on it but like with the older simulation I wish they'd turn the volume up a little more. It's hard to hear what he's saying.
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The animated talking head in the queue line was new and they did a really good job on it but like with the older simulation I wish they'd turn the volume up a little more. It's hard to hear what he's saying.
I will have to check that next weekend, sounds like you had a good visit... see you next time..
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Talked to Ms. Sharon at the school house and she's leaving to take another job next month.
Sharon's leaving as well? I wondered since her husband retired how long she'd be there. Sad in many ways how many are leaving the park through retirement, other jobs, etc. A lot of the people I'm used to being there aren't there anymore.
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Got down there on Sunday. TnT running rougher than I've ever experienced, especially through the tunnel.
Have to agree... One big jolt in the tunnel. Otherwise pretty smooth sailing.
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We shared the park with a moderate crowd, Friday. The longest line, as usual, was for LR. We practically walked on to all the coasters.
Our daughter (13) rode OR for the first time; I thought she would hate it, but she went back for a second time through. As for me, they clamped the restraint down so hard I couldn't even enjoy the ride. I didn't notice a smoother ride from the back, but we did notice the braking was a million times quieter than last season. Next time, we're looking to get her to ride WF.
Our son (7) rode three new rides - TGS, Electrospin, and Firefall. He loved each of them, which is exciting for us, because he may have finally graduated from the kiddie rides, and we won't have to spend as much time in those areas. Next time, we hope to get him onto OR.
The saloon show is great, with David and Rachel in terrific form. I had just remarked that the other male lead looks a little like Lynn-Manuel Miranda, when the "Tilly" and the girls started singing "Helpless" from Hamilton. We love the music from Hamilton (which it totally uncharacteristic of our normal faire), so this was a nice surprise...and it did not detract from the show or even seem out of place. I wonder how many people recognize such a hip, modern influence.
There was an issue on RB that caused a shutdown of the ride while the kids were on it. A couple of workers rode a raft through the channel, looking into the water. It sounds as if a mother had reported a missing child and claimed she never saw the child exit the area after riding. It seems, in that case, that the workers were looking for the missing child, in case she had fallen overboard. I didn't see that as what happened, but I guess such a report will be publicized if it turns out to be the result.
I look for details and changes, so here's a short list:
1. The picture outside the saloon - the one that rotates a face to make it appear with a different expression when inverted - is no longer there. Maybe I'm not up to date on this removal.
2. The wheel of fortune behind the bar in the saloon was set on the number 26, which happens to be today's date. Is that just a coincidence, or does someone change it to the current date every day? If you're in there, I'd love to know if it's always set to the date or if it's just always on 26.
3. The new Keep it moving face in the FM didn't win me over at all. While I'm pleased that they kept the feature, the face is jerky and weird (and clearly computer-enhanced). Of course, I'm nostalgic for the old guy, but just having the face in a frame doesn't have the same appeal as the face that appeared to be more three-dimensional.
4. I totally shot over 900,000 points on FM, rolled the display, and shot another 727,000 before the end of the ride - which is why I hate the shootout aspect. The gun just racked up points every time the trigger was pulled, whether aimed at a target or not. The scores are obviously irrelevant when the guns malfunction, which I suppose is quite often.
My daughter dropped the lid of one of our cups over the rail on the back of the Culinary School into Echo Hollow. She had to get permission to enter EH and retrieve it. We took two of the cups that we found in a flea market for $1 each. It was a great purchase, since they are Buzzsaw Falls mugs with only $1 refills.
My wife lost her phone on TnT, thought she lost it on FM, returned to FM to find it. The phone was discovered on TnT, but of course we couldn't call her to tell her. Big fiasco. Elevated stress levels.
When we got home, my daughter couldn't find her own phone, iPod, and two other items. Most of the items turned up in the middle of a nearby street, with the iPod completely destroyed by a car running over it. Devastation. Total melt-down. Not a great ending to the day.
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^ I'm glad most of your trip turned out ok. Sorry about the electronics trouble. Amazing how much we get attached to those devices.
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Has the Huff Gallery moved from its forever location, or has it left completely?
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The artist passed away, awhile back, and his family decided to close shop.
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Here is our Photo Trip Report from this weekend
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/05/bluegrass-bbq-sdc.html
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The Family had a great day on Thursday, May 26. My oldest daughter is now riding TNT after years of persuasion and LOVES it! It does seem much more rough than in the past like someone else mentioned, but I figure it is because all of the attention is devoted to the coaster next door. I wish I could have gotten her to ride it before all of the trees were bulldozed, but still fun. My youngest boy age 6 loves it as well, but my other daughter age 7 rode it last trip and loved it...but passed out. I hadn't ever witnessed someone pass out on a ride before so it kind of took me by surprise. She passed out and then jumped right back into laughing when she regained consciousness. I am holding her out of bigger rides for my sake for a year or two. :)
On a sour note the Powderkeg was broken down yet again. Something definitely must be up with this ride in the maintenance end because it has been down every trip we have made for the last five trips in a row. This is my 11 year old boys favorite ride and mine as well. He always jokes about making another failed attempt to get on every time we are there lately and boy he is right every time. I hope this doesn't mean it is becoming to hard to maintain to justify the ride. You gotta love that launch! :)
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You must just be having crap luck as PK gas been open all 3 of our visits. In fact we got 5 rides on it Sunday
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Yeah must just be bad luck, we were there sunday, Monday and Tuesday and we got several rides on it each day
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Got down there on Sunday. TnT running rougher than I've ever experienced, especially through the tunnel.
Yes, I have ridden TNT more than any other ride and know it pretty well and it sure seemed rough last time I was on it especially in the tunnel as you mention. I could only imagine how rough it would be riding in the back.
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We shared the park with a moderate crowd, Friday. The longest line, as usual, was for LR. We practically walked on to all the coasters.
Our daughter (13) rode OR for the first time; I thought she would hate it, but she went back for a second time through. As for me, they clamped the restraint down so hard I couldn't even enjoy the ride. I didn't notice a smoother ride from the back, but we did notice the braking was a million times quieter than last season. Next time, we're looking to get her to ride WF.
Our son (7) rode three new rides - TGS, Electrospin, and Firefall. He loved each of them, which is exciting for us, because he may have finally graduated from the kiddie rides, and we won't have to spend as much time in those areas. Next time, we hope to get him onto OR.
The saloon show is great, with David and Rachel in terrific form. I had just remarked that the other male lead looks a little like Lynn-Manuel Miranda, when the "Tilly" and the girls started singing "Helpless" from Hamilton. We love the music from Hamilton (which it totally uncharacteristic of our normal faire), so this was a nice surprise...and it did not detract from the show or even seem out of place. I wonder how many people recognize such a hip, modern influence.
There was an issue on RB that caused a shutdown of the ride while the kids were on it. A couple of workers rode a raft through the channel, looking into the water. It sounds as if a mother had reported a missing child and claimed she never saw the child exit the area after riding. It seems, in that case, that the workers were looking for the missing child, in case she had fallen overboard. I didn't see that as what happened, but I guess such a report will be publicized if it turns out to be the result.
I look for details and changes, so here's a short list:
1. The picture outside the saloon - the one that rotates a face to make it appear with a different expression when inverted - is no longer there. Maybe I'm not up to date on this removal.
2. The wheel of fortune behind the bar in the saloon was set on the number 26, which happens to be today's date. Is that just a coincidence, or does someone change it to the current date every day? If you're in there, I'd love to know if it's always set to the date or if it's just always on 26.
3. The new Keep it moving face in the FM didn't win me over at all. While I'm pleased that they kept the feature, the face is jerky and weird (and clearly computer-enhanced). Of course, I'm nostalgic for the old guy, but just having the face in a frame doesn't have the same appeal as the face that appeared to be more three-dimensional.
4. I totally shot over 900,000 points on FM, rolled the display, and shot another 727,000 before the end of the ride - which is why I hate the shootout aspect. The gun just racked up points every time the trigger was pulled, whether aimed at a target or not. The scores are obviously irrelevant when the guns malfunction, which I suppose is quite often.
My daughter dropped the lid of one of our cups over the rail on the back of the Culinary School into Echo Hollow. She had to get permission to enter EH and retrieve it. We took two of the cups that we found in a flea market for $1 each. It was a great purchase, since they are Buzzsaw Falls mugs with only $1 refills.
My wife lost her phone on TnT, thought she lost it on FM, returned to FM to find it. The phone was discovered on TnT, but of course we couldn't call her to tell her. Big fiasco. Elevated stress levels.
When we got home, my daughter couldn't find her own phone, iPod, and two other items. Most of the items turned up in the middle of a nearby street, with the iPod completely destroyed by a car running over it. Devastation. Total melt-down. Not a great ending to the day.
If she rode OR WF is a piece of cake. I will usually ride OR at least once a year but it is not my favorite. I rode it our last trip and the tops of my legs hurt from the restraints in the inversions. Probably just me though but WF is much smoother.
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The Family had a great day on Thursday, May 26. My oldest daughter is now riding TNT after years of persuasion and LOVES it! It does seem much more rough than in the past like someone else mentioned, but I figure it is because all of the attention is devoted to the coaster next door. I wish I could have gotten her to ride it before all of the trees were bulldozed, but still fun. My youngest boy age 6 loves it as well, but my other daughter age 7 rode it last trip and loved it...but passed out. I hadn't ever witnessed someone pass out on a ride before so it kind of took me by surprise. She passed out and then jumped right back into laughing when she regained consciousness. I am holding her out of bigger rides for my sake for a year or two. :)
On a sour note the Powderkeg was broken down yet again. Something definitely must be up with this ride in the maintenance end because it has been down every trip we have made for the last five trips in a row. This is my 11 year old boys favorite ride and mine as well. He always jokes about making another failed attempt to get on every time we are there lately and boy he is right every time. I hope this doesn't mean it is becoming to hard to maintain to justify the ride. You gotta love that launch! :)
Everytime we have been there this year, and many times last year it has been down part of the day. On our last trip we actually got to ride it QUITE a bit. On one of the times we were on it, there was something up with the restraints as they had to keep opening and closing them, like it was not detecting one or more were closed. We finally went then a little while later it was broke down again.
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2 visits in 7 days?! Say what! We went down Sunday to sdc and Monday to white water. TNT was our first stop. They walked right on. Next the expo and getting the kids measured. Why is that measuring station located there?! It is so inconvenient. It needs to be moved to the top of the hill. We split up to take kids around the expo and spent about 2 1/2 hours in that area. Wait was no more than 10 minutes for any ride except electrospin and the coaster. We had no idea where all of the people were. But we found them at the bottom of the hill at the landing! The kids played on the splash pad then we headed toward fith and powder keg. The boys wanted to ride powder keg but it was closed...again. So they settled for fith twice. Cinnamon bread and we were out!
White water was looking fairly good! Anna loved the new toddler area but she is quickly outgrowing that. We waited no more than 10 minutes for any slide. Most we rode 2-3 times. Chair hogs are frustrating but what can be done about that? High tide Hannah's was a mess. It took us 30 minutes to get food and pay. They had that grossly under staffed. On opening weekend, one pop machine not working and only one person checking people out is unacceptable. But food lines were long everywhere. Crazy that they have that many options but their lines are so bad.
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Next the expo and getting the kids measured. Why is that measuring station located there?!
I think it's located there because that's where the majority of the family rides are located. For future reference, there's an additional measuring station in the Wilson's Farm area near the Giant Swing.
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Chair hogs are frustrating but what can be done about that?
People hogging chairs with nothing on them? How many where they hogging? Why?
People need to put their towel and drink somewhere for when they come back and need a break. Plus, it is hard to find a chair at times. That is why I try to get there early, under the free cabanas in front of Waikiki Wave. That is the best view! For me, it is too boring looking at Splashaway Cay, Wave Pool, or Coconut Cove. I like to see action on a water slide or the Lazy River, but they only have paid cabanas there.
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Chair hogs are frustrating but what can be done about that?
People hogging chairs with nothing on them? How many where they hogging? Why?
People need to put their towel and drink somewhere for when they come back and need a break. Plus, it is hard to find a chair at times. That is why I try to get there early, under the free cabanas in front of Waikiki Wave. That is the best view! For me, it is too boring looking at Splashaway Cay, Wave Pool, or Coconut Cove. I like to see action on a water slide or the Lazy River, but they only have paid cabanas there.
Let's be clear. I have no issue with people using a chair. We pick one, out of the way, put everyone's towels and shoes on it. And by every ones I mean...we had 2 adults and 6 kids and used one chair. But when there is one person sitting next to 8 chairs that are stacked up, it's out of control. That's what we saw so much of on Monday. Also, your 2 year old doesn't need their own chair so they can relax and put their feet in the water in the kiddie area.
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Chair hogs are frustrating but what can be done about that?
People hogging chairs with nothing on them? How many where they hogging? Why?
People need to put their towel and drink somewhere for when they come back and need a break. Plus, it is hard to find a chair at times. That is why I try to get there early, under the free cabanas in front of Waikiki Wave. That is the best view! For me, it is too boring looking at Splashaway Cay, Wave Pool, or Coconut Cove. I like to see action on a water slide or the Lazy River, but they only have paid cabanas there.
Let's be clear. I have no issue with people using a chair. We pick one, out of the way, put everyone's towels and shoes on it. And by every ones I mean...we had 2 adults and 6 kids and used one chair. But when there is one person sitting next to 8 chairs that are stacked up, it's out of control. That's what we saw so much of on Monday. Also, your 2 year old doesn't need their own chair so they can relax and put their feet in the water in the kiddie area.
We always used to get 1 chair per person. Put our personal stuff and towels on it and off we would go. With 2 adults and 2 teenagers I do not see that as unreasonable because we all paid a admission. Sometimes there were 4 of us there and sometimes none or 1. Everyone Was free to come and go or just relax and read. If that's being a chair hog I will wear the title proudly.
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Wow. Talk about a #FirstWorldProblems ::)
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1 person sitting next to 8 chairs stacked up? Then someone please take as many chairs as possible. They arent even being used. Lifeguards stack them every night to save space. Unstack them and feel free to put them wherever you like. Nobody can hog 8 unused chairs with nothing on them. Im sure hes fine with you taking them. If not, let him know, lifeguard, or manager.
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Took the family and my 2 1/2 year old grand daughter to SDC on Tuesday. Several attractions for the little ones and great ride operators who truely care about kids. Looking around the park as a season ticket holder that hasn't been at SDC since 2015, I'm a little concerned on the conditions of the park. Every bathroom I was in didn't have paper towels and had some cleaning issues. A few of the areas need some maintenance work pretty bad. Employees at the restaurants need to be better interacting with guests. They seemed distracted. The new areas where the crowds are looked great ,but older park areas need to be updated. Shows were standing room only. Always a hit. Parking lot driver's excellent. Thought it's interesting that they are paving entrance roads during the busy summer trying to get in the parking lot. Most of the food was good. Two skillet places ran out of food it was a 30 minute wait. Not good for customers. Overall my grand daughter had a great first visit and many memories were made that will last a life time. Her favorite ride was The Flooded Mine and walking through Grandfathers House.
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walking through Grandfathers House.
ALWAYS a BIG hit! with young and old.!
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Super, I have to agree with you on the bathroom issue. I've been there several times this year and haven't seen an attendant. Usually there is one in the bathroom. My biggest gripe AS ALWAYS is that someone is always in the only wheelchair accessible stall with kids, changing clothes, or talking on the phone when there are wheelchairs that can't get in any other stall! The new bathroom at Echo Hollow was awful last week - so bad that standing in the funnel cake line was not fun. You could also smell it from the seating area. I've never had a bad experience with restaurant employees other than a couple kids working one year at the front grill who were more interested in talking and laughing loudly and ignoring the line. That was a one time experience. The shows are excellent this year in my opinion, and yes, the lines are long. Luckily, they move fairly fast once the doors are open. Hubs only gripe is that so many places start closing an hour or more before closing time. If I was a visitor getting there late in the afternoon, I'd be very unhappy to walk around looking for an open food vendor.
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Got to the park about 4 on 6/10, not much was going on, heard part of the sound check for Poco which sounded pretty good. Got in line for the 7 pm Poco concert about 5:15. I think we went in around 5:30 or so. Was no need to get in line so early because EH was very empty Saturday night. Most of the people attending sat in the middle, both upper and lower. Not sure what we heard during the sound check but it was significantly better than what we heard during the concert; we got up and left before it was over as did many others.
Arrived Sunday about 10:30 and noticed it was Coca Cola employees and family day. We went to the first show of the Globetrotters Experience. Red Gold did not fill for that show. Will say that this show was much better than the one we saw the first year of the show. After the show we rode FITH (about a 20 minute wait), Flooded Mine (my gun showed that I earned over a million, ten thousand points -- shock), TNT (first and last time for a ride in the last seat of the train), Lost River (about a 45 minute wait), and the American Plunge (about a 15 minute wait). While in line for AP, someone mentioned that PK had shut down for awhile due to someone being hurt.
After AP we went back to Classic to change clothes and relax for awhile. We went back to the park about 6:30 and went to Sullivan's Mill to check on the markdown on cinnamon bread. We were somewhat rudely told that the only time they marked down baked goods was when the park was going to be closed for the next 2 or 3 days. We apologized for our misunderstanding and left; there were about 5 loaves of cinnamon bread left, no cookies.
We walked into EH and got great seats for the Rare Earth concert. The crowd was a little larger than Saturday night and again most sat in the middle sections. Rare Earth was very good, thoroughly enjoyed it. The group still sings well.
Talked to 2 guys as we left the concert. They said they were at Friday night's Lovin' Spoonful concert and said EH was packed. They said the Lovin' Spoonful did a great job.
Did notice that all of the bathrooms we visited during the 2 days needed attention. Thought it was interesting on Friday night that the EH bathroom already had trash on the floor and I went in a long time before the concert started. I did not see any bathroom attendants during the weekend.
Is there anywhere to get good frozen lemonade and frozen strawberry in the park this year? We have not had good luck on most of our visits when we have purchased at the stand across from the kettle corn. During the spring the stand by the saloon was closed. I did notice it was open on Saturday but the line was really long.
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Lovin Spoonful was good Fri. night - not great, but good, and Echo Hollow was nearly full. Not so full with Spinners and Association, but it was also rainy those nights. Musically, I think all of these groups are fine and haven't lost their musicality; other than few can sing as well as they use to. These guys are so much older, so I didn't expect them to sound the same. What I really enjoyed was that these are the original guys who wrote the music, and they sing their own music. They aren't a tribute band! We enjoyed it, especially hearing them talk about their success 50 years ago, their history, and musical careers. They were fun nights! I hope SDC continues with these concerts next year.
I'm not sure what's up with the bathrooms! They definitely need some attention. I wonder if they are short staffed this year. We got coffee at the first concert. The next night, we tried again and the sales lady yelled at us for asking! Hubs was shocked and thankfully ( ;D) just walked away. Few minutes later, another employee came to our seats asking if we were the ones wanting coffee. She said it was being made and offered to bring it to us. She apologized and said the first lady didn't know how to make it. I can only assume that it was noticed by someone in the know, and they wanted that situation corrected.
Park has really been been crowded the last few visits. Kettle Korn line has really been long. I thought the frozen lemonade stand by the kettle corn was the good one. Has that changed?
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Had good visits to SDC Wednesday, Thursday and Friday despite the hot, muggy conditions. Couldn't imagine being there in the summer without all the trees. Got lucky Friday as Powderkeg opened on time and we were able to ride a few times before the crowds started building. PK is only running one train this week as the other two trains are broken down and they are waiting on parts. PK is my favorite ride at SDC and I wish it was more reliable. History Buff had mentioned the spinning wheel behind the bar at the Saloon. We were at the show Thursday the 15th and the wheel was stopped at 15 so I guess HB was right that they set the wheel to the date. Fortunately, didn't see any major problems in any of the restrooms I went in. Did actually see an attendant in one of them one time! Didn't seem to be much work going on Thursday at the new coaster but things were very busy there Friday. Ate Thursday at Percy's Southwest Grill and enjoyed it. Globetrotter show was better than I anticipated and my family enjoyed it. We were in the line of fire when they tossed the bucket of confetti. Glad we didn't get the water. Classic HG bit. Last year for them at SDC. Wonder if they will be at Dollywood in the future? Again, we enjoyed our time. Just wish the ride ops would move a little quicker and focus on keeping things moving when the lines get long.
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History Buff had mentioned the spinning wheel behind the bar at the Saloon. We were at the show Thursday the 15th and the wheel was stopped at 15 so I guess HB was right that they set the wheel to the date.
So someone did read my question. Thank you for that tidbit. I'm sure that's not even something for the general public to notice, but the mystery has been solved anyway.
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You're welcome History Buff. I was hoping i would remember to check the wheel when I attended the Saloon show. When they shattered the mirror at the end of the show it drew my attention that way and I checked it out. Like you said...not a big deal but an interesting little tidbit to know.
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Went to SDC three times this past week. All great trips. I will present the highs and the lows.
-Flooded mine was in great shape. I was so happy and made multiple rides. It was also quite busy thursday.
-walked right on to outlaw run a few times. Great ride.
-powder keg really doesnt get old.
-food at SDC is reasonably priced for theme park. Throw in free ice water and i have no idea why anyone complains. Ate at lumbercamp, wagon works, along with eva and deliliahs once for breakfast and grabbed some cinnamon bread. Burgers at wagonworks are superior to lumbercamp. We make our own skillets at our cabin so we dont get those at sdc. Also tried the outlaw run ice cream for the first time and WOW. Also good to see more taffy being made at phoebes.
-saloon show was very good other than one modern music number.
-firemans landing was fun for my daughter. Glad they kept a sort of splash pad...thats a hit.
-we did our first ever sing a long in the church and it was wonderful. Love that church.
-cajun connection was sounding excellent in front of a FULL dockside theatre.
-many crafstmen and shops and signs reminded me why i love SDC!
The bad....
-FITH is in rough shape
-AP still not updated ( i know we all know this )
-thunderation was rough
-powderkeg was again not ready to open after chain drop. It seems they simply refuse to start getting it ready so its ready to go by then. Why should i get there before opening if the staff doesnt care to? Whats worse is the employees working PK were looking extremely tired and LAZY. They also didnt seem to care to fill anyone standing on line in on what was going on. Very poor all around.
-saw a few citizens texting. Just wait until you are in a back room.
-good to see ghost trap there but it wasnt working that i saw.
-on FM "im gettin outta here no matter what" wasnt playing....but everything else was excellent so no big.
-a few water features werent working...
Overall it was a great trip and there were many things about the park i was glad to see. I peeked over the fence to look at the new coaster but just shrugged and continued enjoying the other aspects of the park. Aint no use doin the choppin til the dogs have treed the coon. Hope to make it back for Christmas.
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sounds like a great visit.. will be there this weekend..
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Visited SDC on Thursday. My second trip this month. Positive items: Bathrooms much cleaner (thank you), tram drivers are great, food was good (hash), more food vendors open on this trip. Negative: citizens are on cell phones, Thunderation very rough, need to update the train ride. Many riders complained about the same monologue and jokes for many years.
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No doubt about TnT. Was there today and the tunnel is rougher than earlier in the year.
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All right - we have at least 3 posters that were there this week and no progress photos of the new coaster? Come on guys. You know the rules.
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Well I have a camera phone and only good pics were on-ride on TnT and that seems to be a no-no. I'm really concerned this will be another "short but sweet" SDC coaster. I know it's early on but seems to have a small footprint. I really hope I'm wrong. This park needs a franchise coaster that will be the face of the park for a decade.
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This park needs a franchise coaster that will be the face of the park for a decade.
So... Outlaw Run? ;)
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It seems like Powderkeg and even Wildfire are more popular. I'm sure you have numbers to prove otherwise but everytime I'm at the park OR is a walk-on.
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Why do you supposed TNT is getting very rough all the sudden?
I ride OR a couple of times a year but thats about it. It is too rough for me, even with the new wheels.
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It seems like Powderkeg and even Wildfire are more popular. I'm sure you have numbers to prove otherwise but everytime I'm at the park OR is a walk-on.
Keep in mind this is largely just a debate of opinion.....
I'd argue OR is no doubt a franchise coaster that all but a few other parks in the country would love to have at the top of there lineup. At least in the roller coaster fandom communities OR is a much talked about and respected ride even years after it opened.
I'd argue that OR has drawn more people to SDC than PK and WF combined....meaning more people came and bought SDC tickets just for OR after it opened than the others ever attracted. These are the folks who travel the country just for the rides and/or park. Of course the fact that the park was already respected with PK and WF also helped get them there.
PK and WF are also great rides and I'd argue that WF if usually a walk on more often than OR. It has the highest capacity and is usually an easy reride. PK always has a line because it is both extremely popular (non-looper that attracts more riders) and has the lowest capacity per hour of all the major rides in the park....and is also the ride that has the most downtime:( Don't forget other things that impact queue lines like....1. # of trains running 2. How good the operations are running 3. How the crowd flows through the park throughout the day (impact of shows nearby, time of day, etc). All make it hard to just look at the queue line on a random day to say which is most popular.
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I went June 18th for a few hours. Mostly for the shows... I enjoy rides but cannot ride them right now.
I watched the Saloon Show for the first time since last summer and I really enjoyed it. The "modern" song mentioned was a take on a song from Hamilton which I really enjoyed... But I enjoyed ALL of Hamilton. I guess we all have our tastes... My guess is 90% of the people in the audience did not even make the connection.
The thing that bothered me was that during the stunt dog show, they were playing Gary Glitter's "Rock n Roll Pt.2" song... This seemed REALLY inappropriate to me given Gary Glitter technically gets money when it is played and he has had some serious legal problems that should probably not be played at a kid-oriented show. Most of the sports arenas that played that song stopped about 10 years ago because they did not want to be associated with his getting money for the song's use.
The pork belly fries have become my new favorite there
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Why do you supposed TNT is getting very rough all the sudden?
I have become very much concerned with this as well. It was really bad when I visited a few weeks ago, bad enough that I almost commented to the staff about it. I have some concern that the track and supports might have shifted slightly in the wake of all the construction and earth moving next door. There is one bad jolt as you exit the tunnel and another at the bottom swoop that I never experienced before and I have ridden TNT a lot. (it was my first big coaster as a kid) I would hate to think this might signal the beginning of the end of TNT. Hopefully the maintenance staff will address it in the off season or have the construction crew assist them as they wrap up construction on the new coaster.
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Why do you supposed TNT is getting very rough all the sudden?
I have become very much concerned with this as well. It was really bad when I visited a few weeks ago, bad enough that I almost commented to the staff about it. I have some concern that the track and supports might have shifted slightly in the wake of all the construction and earth moving next door. There is one bad jolt as you exit the tunnel and another at the bottom swoop that I never experienced before and I have ridden TNT a lot. (it was my first big coaster as a kid) I would hate to think this might signal the beginning of the end of TNT. Hopefully the maintenance staff will address it in the off season or have the construction crew assist them as they wrap up construction on the new coaster.
Very possible with all the dirt work nearby that it was damaged :(.....or that earthquake?....or it's just getting old:(
Very much agree that it needs to be fixed....halt the new construction and fix TnT!!!!
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I agree..why build new coasters when you cant keep up your current ones. PK never opens on time, TnT is not that old, your signature indoor ride needs help...etc.
Ok go ahead and murder me but id rather see them keep the park in shape, then worry about a new coaster. Of course they could be planning to fix up TNT
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Here is our photo trip report from Friday 6/30 of Star-Spangled Summer
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/06/star-spangled-summer-sdc.html
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Not sure where to post this because I dont see a showboat trip reviews thread or a WW reviews thread, so I will leave it right here:
Showboat: I went on 7-3-17 to the 8PM show. I paid for the Celebrate show to hear good music, yet country crap was played on the docks that nobody wants to hear! It needs to be changed or turned off! This is NOT country on the lake! Whoever did that needs to be FIRED!!! I told Corbin about it and he said to tell a manager or write a review online, yet there was no manager there. They started seating at 7:10, 10 minutes late, and said they were going to seat by row, but took the next person in line instead because they wanted to get away from the crap music. Once on the boat, they played Oldies mixed with crap music, as if they didnt make your ears bleed enough on the docks!!! The show started at 8:00, 15 minutes later than last year. They reduced the salad size to HALF of what it was every year! They got rid of the smoothie drinks. They now have ICEE, Coke products, Cappichino, and hot chocolate. They also have the normal water, tea, and pink lemonade. The show itself would have been great as last year, if it werent for new sound idiot that clearly did not know what hes doing or was drunk. He made Cassandra sound horrible when she normally has a lovely voice. That sound man also needs to be FIRED!!! Christopher James, Cassandra, Showmen, and Rhythym all did their best to give us a good show with what was given. Crap music was still played as we went through the docks to our cars. This is by far the WORST year ever for the boat. I usually come 3 times a year, but I wont be back this year.
I didnt see any fireworks, except a few small ones on the South shore of Table Rock Lake.
WW: Went both days. First day, 10:10 to 5:30 (should have stayed later) Everything was great as always. Almost no crowd until 12:30. I got 35 good pictures of most of the attractions to post online because most pictures I see are either old or dont look good. It seemed crowded for a Monday, but only because Ohana Falls was closed. They were fixing the conveyor belt and could not get any rafts. That is the 1 ride I usually see the most people at. Since it was closed, people migrated to other areas and made the lines longer than I have ever seen. It was the first day this year I was at a water park and not shivering because it was hot. Had a nice picnic at 1:30 at the picnic tables.
Tuesday, I was watching the radar that morning in Stone Castle (We get a free stay in ANY room we want with our card next time) and the big storm moved out by 9:00, with very little clouds behind it that were too small to produce lightning. The rain probability was high for some unknown reason, but I saw no chance of lightning until at least 2:00, when I wanted to leave. I made the right choice. I had the park almost to myself, except for 10 other people who had the same idea as me, until noon when a small crowd came in. Ohana Falls was running again. Had fun, but I walked so much my feet hurt, but I dont have blisters because I wear my shoes to every slide. I had a headache and my neck hurt, but that only means I made the right choice. Cant have a good vacation without some kind of pain to rest through the next day. I went on every slide a total of 6 times. My legs have muscles by now, Im sure. Everybody slows down by the time they get to the top of Kalani Towers once, but I can go several times without slowing down.
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Did anybody go to the City over the 4th? I thought about going Monday and Tuesday but did not. Looking at the app a couple of times it looked like it might have been pretty busy on Monday but maybe not on Tuesday.
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Ran into Pete and Jo Dee Hershend today! Had a nice little chat with them.
Most of the coasters had short lines or walk-ons which was surprising for a Saturday afternoon. Strangely enough Outlaw Run had shorter lines than Wildfire today. Powderkeg had the longest line at about a 30 minute wait. Not much new on MM18. But the track and supports have vanished from the back lot. They must have it stacked on the site somewhere and we should be seeing it hung next week.
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Ran into Pete and Jo Dee Hershend today! Had a nice little chat with them.
I dont want to get off topic, But do they seem to be doing.. Have not seen Pete for a while.
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They seem to be doing ok actually. Ran into them sitting on the rockwork across from the TNT archway this afternoon.
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Did anybody go to the City over the 4th? I thought about going Monday and Tuesday but did not. Looking at the app a couple of times it looked like it might have been pretty busy on Monday but maybe not on Tuesday.
I was there on the 4th from rope drop to about 3 in the afternoon. Along with the 4th, I imagine that the threat of rain kept some people away. Pretty much all the rides were walk on.
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Did anybody go to the City over the 4th? I thought about going Monday and Tuesday but did not. Looking at the app a couple of times it looked like it might have been pretty busy on Monday but maybe not on Tuesday.
I was there on the 4th from rope drop to about 3 in the afternoon. Along with the 4th, I imagine that the threat of rain kept some people away. Pretty much all the rides were walk on.
Dang, I knew I should have went!
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Slid through the city on this hot day!
Never noticed the sign for the petting area says "Pet-a-Goat Junction".
Cranky Randy at FitH gave everybody lectures before he would tell people which row to get in line for: "Go where I tell you. If you don't follow my directions, you'll mess it up for everybody!" Wow.
Young guy operating OR yelled over the mic every time the recorded instructions played - both for incoming and outgoing trains: "Undo your seat belts and exit to your right." Every time. Two voices coming over the speakers at the same time! I'm pretty sure the recorded voice is meant to ensure that the rules are said the same way every time. I'm also pretty sure an injured person could make a case for not hearing the rules. He really needed to shut up and wait for the recording to play.
That said, we enjoyed a smooth ride this time. Last time about killed me. Was that because of the hot weather or because we were in the middle of the train this time? It was a huge difference.
Both arms of TGBS were operating, so it was a walk-on. Not sure why they were running both arms.
It was nice to visit GFMansion without a crowd of maniacs. It helped the 7yo appreciate some of the little nuances of the attraction. It was also was his first time to look in the "do not look in this hole" hole.
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We were also out there today for almost the entire day. Had a great time.
Powder Keg was having issues right at opening with the restraints on one train. After waiting a bit to see what was going to happen, we moved on to the other coasters. They did get it open later, but with only one train, which meant a long wait, even with a short line. So we'll catch that one on Friday.
otherwise there was little to no wait for most of the rides today. Got in multiple rides on Wildfire and several others. Niece had a nice "freakout" time on FitH and Flooded mine since she's afraid of clowns, mannequins, and similar things. We had a great time at her expense on those. and she loved Wildfire and really enjoyed Outlaw Run.
Globetrotters put on a great show- much improved over last year! if you haven't seen them yet, better hurry. they're done at the end of this week. it was also great to see a group at the gazebo that we've followed over the years- Southern Raised! they're only there through Thursday, but they are a great bluegrass group.
Had fun showing my niece and some friends from Florida a lot of what makes the park great though- the crafts, candy shop, the food, the train, and the people. We looped around twice and had a great time. Actually went on all of the water rides today- something we usually don't do because they lines are long, but that wasn't an issue today. Didn't make it it to the cave or Homestead Pickers- niece will get those on Friday as well. But it was a great day with light crowds and lots of fun.
They loved the train robbery- and we had a good group of guys doing it today (so happy to see that Rick was out there for my friends!)
My one failure- would you believe we didn't even look at the construction site? We were so busy playing and riding that we didn't even think about it. I'll try to remember to take my good camera Friday to take a look and get some photos. :-)
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We were also out there today for almost the entire day. Had a great time.
Powder Keg was having issues right at opening with the restraints on one train. After waiting a bit to see what was going to happen, we moved on to the other coasters. They did get it open later, but with only one train, which meant a long wait, even with a short line. So we'll catch that one on Friday.
otherwise there was little to no wait for most of the rides today. Got in multiple rides on Wildfire and several others. Niece had a nice "freakout" time on FitH and Flooded mine since she's afraid of clowns, mannequins, and similar things. We had a great time at her expense on those. and she loved Wildfire and really enjoyed Outlaw Run.
Globetrotters put on a great show- much improved over last year! if you haven't seen them yet, better hurry. they're done at the end of this week. it was also great to see a group at the gazebo that we've followed over the years- Southern Raised! they're only there through Thursday, but they are a great bluegrass group.
Had fun showing my niece and some friends from Florida a lot of what makes the park great though- the crafts, candy shop, the food, the train, and the people. We looped around twice and had a great time. Actually went on all of the water rides today- something we usually don't do because they lines are long, but that wasn't an issue today. Didn't make it it to the cave or Homestead Pickers- niece will get those on Friday as well. But it was a great day with light crowds and lots of fun.
They loved the train robbery- and we had a good group of guys doing it today (so happy to see that Rick was out there for my friends!)
My one failure- would you believe we didn't even look at the construction site? We were so busy playing and riding that we didn't even think about it. I'll try to remember to take my good camera Friday to take a look and get some photos. :-)
I don't really care to see the Globetrotters at Silver Dollar City. It's not that I don't like them; we've even had a couple of visits from players at our school. It's just not what I want from a trip to the 1880s. They just don't fit.
As for Southern Raised, they were playing the gazebo as we entered. Great harmony, but it was hot out there so we' didn't want to sit still.
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I should also say, we got to park in the old "quarry". That may be my new favorite lot - though the tram service still leaves a lot to be desired.
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We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th. Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!). All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.). All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another!
I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything. I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills. She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen! ;D
One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason. I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what. But we didn't get to go across it. Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?
We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available. We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat. I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again. That happens to us all the time there.
It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room. We just escaped it quickly. Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.
They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie. Sorry...I don't know her name. She was hilarious though!
As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day!
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We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th. Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!). All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.). All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another!
I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything. I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills. She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen! ;D
One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason. I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what. But we didn't get to go across it. Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?
We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available. We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat. I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again. That happens to us all the time there.
It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room. We just escaped it quickly. Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.
They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie. Sorry...I don't know her name. She was hilarious though!
As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day!
Her name is Cathy Wright.
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We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th. Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!). All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.). All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another!
I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything. I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills. She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen! ;D
One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason. I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what. But we didn't get to go across it. Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?
We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available. We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat. I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again. That happens to us all the time there.
It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room. We just escaped it quickly. Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.
They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie. Sorry...I don't know her name. She was hilarious though!
As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day!
Good to see that they have fixed some of the issues i noticed in my trip in late June. The Ghost trap , horse sounds and ore cart were not working the. Looks like they are on top of it though.
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I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it. By far the longest line in the park. Are the other trains out of service?
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They have been doing that many days this year and last year. They are replacing every part on every train, which they have to do at least once a year, and takes a long time. They have to do this because there rules out there that say every theme park has to do this. Usually the 3rd train is broken somehow. As usual, this info is exactly what Larry, the manager of Powder Keg, said. Not me.
It is rare for me to see more than 1 train running ever. Rarely do I ever see other rides running 1 train, unless there is no crowd.
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I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it. By far the longest line in the park. Are the other trains out of service?
We were there a week and a half ago and went to Powder Keg to open, and they were having problems with the restraints on one of the trains not locking and releasing properly so pulled it out of service. I would think they'd have that fixed after a week though.
Plus Monday's are usually slow, so I'm not surprised at one train operation there.
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We went to the City this past weekend Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th. The wife just had a knee surgery so we rented her a scooter to get around in and she also got one of those disabled books, which made it nice on a few of the rides. Sunday was busy but not crazy so. Looks like a lot of progress on the new ride since I was there a month ago. I rode tnt with the kid and that tunnel seems even rougher than it did before. Maybe its just I know that it is coming and I stiffen up in anticipation. We got to ride PK once then it remained broke down most of the time. We left around 3 but it was 4pm before we arrived at our vehicle (story posted in another thread). We came back around 6:30 for moonlight madness and stayed until 10. Between 9 and 10 the park was almost empty.
I took a vacation day so we could go back Monday when I figured it would not be very busy. We arrived around 10am and we already had to park in lot 5. There was a huge line waiting to get on the tram that was backed up way down the hill toward the back of the lot. Probably took 20 minutes to board so was not bad. We debated on just going home. So when we arrived to the front we see a HUGE line of people coming from around the back side of the admin building, across the front, and up to the front of the building on the left side of the entrance by where you exit. Also as we were coming up to the front there were quite a few people already leaving, so I feared they got in and it was already jam packed so a bunch of people were already leaving. I could never tell if it was some huge group coming in or what, which is what I assumed. They were not lined up to go into the main entrance. I almost just stayed on the tram and went back to the car at that point. Once we got into the park it was not really all that busy so the kid and I decided to hurry up and get some rides in before this huge group of people came in. The app said PK was open so we headed there first before it broke down. Wait said 15 minutes. We waited in line about 20 they it broke down. The people in line behind us said they were 0 for 2 so far. They were riding FITH and said they saw sparks and the train stopped, it broke down inside with them on it. So they turned on the lights and they had to walk out. These people commented on how with the lights on it looks REALLY worn out and old in there. They then headed to PK and it broke down. At the this time FITH, PK, and OR were all shut down. We then headed to WF, they were only running one train so the wait was much longer than it should have been. Later on, they did finally open PK with just one train, but its back row of seats was blocked off, I guess because the restraints were probably broken. Later we rode WF again and by this time they had 2 trains going. I never saw what I figured was this massive huge group of people so maybe there were leaving? Never did figure out what that was all about. We stayed until about 3 and left. The tram wait for the ride back was only about 10-15 minutes.
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I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it. By far the longest line in the park. Are the other trains out of service?
We were there a week and a half ago and went to Powder Keg to open, and they were having problems with the restraints on one of the trains not locking and releasing properly so pulled it out of service. I would think they'd have that fixed after a week though.
Plus Monday's are usually slow, so I'm not surprised at one train operation there.
Two trains are running on Powder Keg today. Much more efficient. In general, the crowd seems slightly smaller than on Monday. Must be the heat. We showed up about 2 and the trams leaving the park were packed.
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Went to the park Saturday the 22nd for Moonlight Madness. Arrived about 6:30. Wife & i got in for $10.00 a piece Thanks to my brother & a coupon. Friday there was only 6000 folks at the park. Had to go to the ticket booths first to get our real tickets, that was about a 30 minute wait. No biggie..
Went to the clothing shop across from Lost River to get a dress my brothers wife wanted, but it was already closed. So we rode FITH first, then took a trip on outlaw Run. 1 thing they were doing different was not letting everyone bunch up in the numbered lines to wait for rides. It seemed to go even faster. About 20 minutes per ride was about the longest. And the que lines seemed to move faster. Most coasters had 2-3 trains running at all times, & all were running fine.
We started getting a little warm, so we went & rode Tom & Hucks River Blast. That was my first time. And it was a blast if ya enjoy blasting people with water! LOL!! Went to ride the train & was all ready to go, but they started shooting off fireworks about 9pm. They said the next train would not run till 9:30 because of the fireworks. So we rode Flooded Mine. All effects were working.
My brother & his wife pooped out after that, but they had been there earlier in the day. So we were on our own. Rode Powder Keg in the dark, & Outlaw Run again, in the dark. THAT was fun!! You can not see a thing!! The country music in the que line for OR was fine, but WAY TO LOUD!! I did get a little dizzy from riding in the dark, but i can deal with that. It was 11:30pm by then, so we left.
Preferred parking without a pass was $15.00. I was cool with that, it was too hot to walk or wait, so we just payed the price like we always do. Had a great time in the dark, my calves are feeling it today!! Drank a few Icee's & a bottle of water. Talked to one of the Icee servers while we were paying, & she said a lot of people just walk up & refill their cups & do not pay, & appriciated our honesty. The crowd was not bad. Lots of younger folks of course, but everyone seemed respectable & having fun even though it was warm.
After a 1 day free for all at SDC, & a 4 hour drive home. We had a storm with lots of wind Saturday night while we were at SDC, & we came home to lots of limbs on & around our house. House is ok, just have been doing a lot of clean up today.
Had a great time! Thanks once again SDC!!
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My wife and I made trip #14 to SDC in 2017 yesterday, Saturday, July 29 (we're keeping track on a calender this year). We hadn't really planned ahead to make this short trip yesterday but the weather was mild and what better way to enjoy the cooler temps than a half day at the City.
We pretty much went just to take in three sets with the Homestead Pickers and one with Rockapella. Also whatever other attractions we could manage between sets on what we expected to of course be a busy Saturday in the City.
The Pickers were their entertaining selves as we caught the 9:30, 10:30, and 1:30 shows. Managed to hang out with Rockapella for the 11:30 show. The Rockapella performance went really quick (30 minutes) as the guys kept the show moving along at a rapid pace. I liked it more than my wife did for sure. The black guy has a great voice and moved to the front of the group for a few throwback medleys from the 60's and 70's. The crowd I think had a bit of a mixed reaction as some obviously loved the group and others maybe not so much. One performer does drums with his voice, which was entertaining and different.
The crowds at the City were of course decent, but manageable. There was a large company group from a Kansas manufacturer in park yesterday but nothing like some of the other infamous company days at the park. We were able to enjoy a float through the Flooded Mine and a spin on Thunderation after the first Picker show. I thought those circular concrete supports behind the new ride was for track coming in behind the building. But we saw yesterday that they're for an entrance bridge for the future riders.
We went straight to the Playhouse after the second Picker set and the theater was barely half full. Just don't think the summer crowds of kiddos and family fun seekers are very into the musical performances. Makes it easy to see these types of shows even on busy saturdays.
We didn't expect to be able to do much in the park after leaving the Playhouse at noon because of the crowds and all. We had 90 minutes to kill before the next show down at the Pickin' Shed, so we just started walking. Stopped and stood along the back fence at Dockside and watched Cedric and the Cajun gang for a couple of songs. Then moved along into Wilsons Farm area just checking on the crowds at the attractions over there. Surprisingly we were able to get a swing at the Barn and a ride on Outlaw Run. The ride operators at BOTH attractions were doing a fantastic job of moving things along, kudos and applause for them. The park was really busy, but it was just a few minutes for a ride over at the farm.
We knew better than to even try for a ride on Powder Keg (gotta do that one at park opening, if it's running), so we went the opposite direction across the park to nibble on some pretzels and dips at the Culinary School, grabbed a couple dollar root beers, and sat on the back porch for a bit behind the Culinary building.
The crowds were pretty thick going from the Grand exposition area back up to main street and eventually to the Homestead petting area and then down into the holler for the Pickers at the shed.
We left after the 1:30 show for a few crafty cold ones and a pizza at Reeds Spring Pizza and the short trip home to Nixa afterwards. Our favorite pizza pie at this award winning inn is the Long Creek Herbs. We always get the biggest one so we can enjoy seconds at home later in the evening.
Back to leaving SDC around 2:15ish...there were a lot of people just showing up at the City as we were leaving. That Moonlight Madness at the park must be quite the popular deal. Must be a lot of fun for the kiddos and teens with all the stuff going on after dark (fireworks, bands, rides, street dance...etc). I think this nighttime event helps us out a bit too, as the park isn't quite as crowded early in the day during this fest.
Wrapping this up, we want to say a big THANK YOU to the Pickers, Rockapella, the ride operators, and everyone at SDC who did such a great job of making our 5 hours in the park yesterday a very enjoyable one. Looking forward to those few weekends in August between festivals when we can stroll the park casually in the mornings and even most of the day.
Anybody know what Saturday(s) those big hospitals have their employee day(s) at the City this year? I'm thinking at least one will be on one of those August Saturdays. We'll skip that one and go on Sunday instead.
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Always love those short visits that work out well... congrats...
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Made a quick trip to the park on Thursday July 29th. Arrived about 7:45 which was just in time to go to Echo Hollow for the show. Got some frozen lemonade at one of the Echo Hollow concession stands (turned out to be lemon flavored water with 2 big chunks of ice, and very little slush -- we have not had good luck with frozen lemonade at any stand this year). We truly enjoyed the Echo Hollow show -- first time since Chosen Few left that we have not left before the show was over. Thought the cast was good, a great variety of music, and the pace was good. Enjoyed the fireworks at the end of the show.
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The kids are finally asleep (in our favorite room at the classic!) so it's time to post a review of the last two days. We had a crazy amount of people this time!
Saturday we began at the city around 9:45 with a measly 7 people. I had five $25.00 tickets to get people in. I found a family of mom, dad, and three teenagers who were super grateful for the savings! The first stop was to get my birthday button! Then off to TNT and the measuring station. I will continue to say this in hopes that they will read it...please move the measuring station to the top of the hill. Anyway...turns out my kids have grown 3 inches, 2 1/2 inches, and 1 1/2 inches since our first trip in march. No wonder we ended up at tanger for new clothes. Almost everything was a walk on in the expo and firemans landing, where the rest of our group showed up. This brought us to 11 people. Next a kick up to the pizza place where there was a 45 minute wait for pizza. Just no. So down thE hill for chicken, BBQ and fries instead. Then my sister took 3 of the kids to ride water rides and the rest of us went to see rock a pella. When we got out of the show there were so many people we could barely move. So off to get cinnamon bread and taffy and then out.
Checked in to the classic motor inn and got our favorite room! A quick change and 4 more people arriving brings us to 15 people. Head to white water for a few hours. We were able to get a cabana for $80.00 from 4-close. Awesome deal so we do it. This trip is the first time I noticed that they really are going to have to do something. The wave pool wasn't working correctly and when it was, it certainly didn't have the power it did a few years ago. They only have 2
Slides I would consider big people lovers where the lines go quickly. They really need to figure out a way to possibly put a few more of these in. But the kids loved it and we all had a great time!
We just messed around for most of the day today. Ate at grand country for breakfast, went to tanger, spent a few hours in the pool here. We went back to the city about 5 today. No lines for rides. We had some really good sopapilla like fry bread and got tons of ride time in. We went to the 8:00 echo hollow show. Do they have 2 full casts that they rotate through? Outside of the band and the Christian singer and hosts, no one was the same as the last time we went. They were fantastic but we thought it a bit strange. We left the show a bit early because the kids wanted a bit more ride time. We hit the square during the dance but my kids were party poopers and didn't want to dance. We got to the teams (we always walk because we have the parking pass) and one of he employees told us that if we stayed right there, we would have the best seats in the house for the fireworks. He was right! I'm glad we got to see them.
Now it's time for bed again at the classic. We have an early morning tomorrow as we have to be at the ozaek empire fair by 9 am for 4h achievement day for the twins!
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You could have just changed clothes in the changing room at White Water, instead of in the motel room. Ohana Falls always has the longest, slowest line. Kalani Towers is the 2nd slowest, longest line. All other lines either move fast or never have a line that is long. The Wave Pool is only at half power because it is safe that way, says a lifeguard.
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@ Diana--sounds like a good visit.! glad it all went well
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Hubs and I went yesterday and had a great time in spite of it being pretty crowded. There's a new blacksmith, Roger Perry, and he wears a red shirt. ;D Nice, friendly guy! The saloon show was fun - I hadn't been to it in a very, long time, but most of the other shows weren't going on, so we decided to give it a try! I'm glad we did! Train was down for a long time - not sure why. We had tickets to Dessert on the Porch, and that was a real treat. Hubs loved his dessert and drink, lemon bundt cake with blueberries and amaretto glaze. I'll make a separate post on mine to help others out, but in short, I have celiac and couldn't eat it, but was served a cheese/gluten free cracker plate with fresh fruit. Read my other post for details because the staff went over the top to help me out, and I was so impressed with them. I didn't expect much from the Echo Hollow show, but Hubs and I both thought it was very enjoyable. The fireworks from the Culinary Porch were spectacular! We got in on the end of the Street Dance. I wish we could've made it back to Main Street quicker after fireworks to see more of it. It was crowded and most everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. My only critique would have to timing. It was hard to see Echo Hollow, fireworks, and the Street Party in one night because they overlapped. We had a great time!
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You could have just changed clothes in the changing room at White Water, instead of in the motel room. Ohana Falls always has the longest, slowest line. Kalani Towers is the 2nd slowest, longest line. All other lines either move fast or never have a line that is long. The Wave Pool is only at half power because it is safe that way, says a lifeguard.
I'm not a first timer at white water as I have been going there for over 20 years. I am well aware that they have changing rooms but have you ever tried to change 3 kids in those rooms where there aren't any available dressing rooms? I'm going to pass on that experience every time if I can. I talked to one of the lifeguards after it started and stopped after one minutes 3 cycles in a row. He says that this is a common issue and that they aren't able to get it to work properly at this time. When trying to ride Saturday, the lines were quite long at all but one ride. See, the lines fluctuate from day to day and it was a gorgeous night to be riding. We often waited just for tubes for 10 minutes.
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You could have just changed clothes in the changing room at White Water, instead of in the motel room. Ohana Falls always has the longest, slowest line. Kalani Towers is the 2nd slowest, longest line. All other lines either move fast or never have a line that is long. The Wave Pool is only at half power because it is safe that way, says a lifeguard.
I'm not a first timer at white water as I have been going there for over 20 years. I am well aware that they have changing rooms but have you ever tried to change 3 kids in those rooms where there aren't any available dressing rooms? I'm going to pass on that experience every time if I can. I talked to one of the lifeguards after it started and stopped after one minutes 3 cycles in a row. He says that this is a common issue and that they aren't able to get it to work properly at this time. When trying to ride Saturday, the lines were quite long at all but one ride. See, the lines fluctuate from day to day and it was a gorgeous night to be riding. We often waited just for tubes for 10 minutes.
No he hasn't. Forgive LaRoy/DeWayne he means well when he gives advice and doesn't mean to come off as an ass. He honestly cannot help it. I'll give him props he has calmed down from his earlier posting days but ever so often he will have a flare up. Again forgive him. He's trying.
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No he hasn't. Forgive LaRoy/DeWayne he means well when he gives advice and doesn't mean to come off as an ass. He honestly cannot help it. I'll give him props he has calmed down from his earlier posting days but ever so often he will have a flare up. Again forgive him. He's trying.
We all have different means of communicating and sometimes the verbal to the written doesn't always translate emotions effectively. We are all a little different but there is room for everybody. I think intentions are good on all ends.
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Took the seven-year-old to the city, yesterday, for a little treat.
Some "kid" in the tram line at Stop 3 told his family that there are no rides at EPCOT. The way they bring in families, apparently is "unique character experiences"
People were returning to their cars to get jackets. 75 degrees is unbearably cold.
Walked on to AP to start. Just two of us at the back of the log. Drenched us. Theming is just not there any more. Still not cold enough to make us wear jackets on August 1. Went to FitH to get another splash.
PK was terrific. OR was great - and smooth (for the time being). TGS was a breeze.
Noticed the tower/water feature at the corkscrew has some new lumber. GM could use some attention, too.
TnT was next along with a look over the fence. Then went to FM. There are spots of orange paint on the ride. One was on one edge of the loading area. Another was in the outdoor part, along the cement wall. Looks like there may be some repairs in the works.
Watched some spinning pottery and blacksmithing.
Walked to GE for a spin on the ES, EM, and WC. Happily the boy can now ride most rides in the park by himself, so he also captained his own boat in the RR.
Returned to OR, where the ride was considerably rougher than earlier, even though we were in the same seat (Warmer weather?). We hadn't eaten, so I was interested in something in the Pathfinder. According to it, they have sample sizes of funnel cakes at "all" funnel cake locations. I stopped at the OR/TGS funnel cake place to ask about price and size. The lady there had no idea what I was talking about and kind of blew us off instead of finding out more for herself. I decided to find another place to eat, and ended up with a Sidewinder: thick potato curls with nacho cheese and bacon for less than $7 (SP discount applied).
Decided to take a hike into Marvel Cave. Vivian was our guide and she did a great job, though she probably talked more than most would have liked.
Left the park and ate at McDonald's in B. West before heading home - $3 Happy Meal, a McChicken, and $1 drink for cheapskates like us.
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Returned to OR, where the ride was considerably rougher than earlier, even though we were in the same seat (Warmer weather?).
We have found that one train seems to ride smoother than the other for some odd reason. My father and I will only ride in the front seat now because we refuse to "risk" a rough ride. Mom will ride once and be done for the day on OR. For selfish reasons, I wish the park would have gone with Iron Horse instead of a "hybrid wooden track" - I'm not convinced that it won't have to do that eventually. FTR Goliath at SFGAm hasn't aged well either.
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Took the seven-year-old to the city, yesterday, for a little treat.
People were returning to their cars to get jackets. 75 degrees is unbearably cold.
congrats the the "treat" for the little one....
:D
Jackets??? ??? ???
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Returned to OR, where the ride was considerably rougher than earlier, even though we were in the same seat (Warmer weather?).
We have found that one train seems to ride smoother than the other for some odd reason. My father and I will only ride in the front seat now because we refuse to "risk" a rough ride. Mom will ride once and be done for the day on OR. For selfish reasons, I wish the park would have gone with Iron Horse instead of a "hybrid wooden track" - I'm not convinced that it won't have to do that eventually. FTR Goliath at SFGAm hasn't aged well either.
They were only running one train, so I figured it had to be warming weather, friction-warmed track and wheels, or something to do with a change from the damp morning to a dry afternoon. It was a huge difference - from really smooth in the morning to moderately rough in the afternoon.
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... they have sample sizes of funnel cakes at "all" funnel cake locations. I stopped at the OR/TGS funnel cake place to ask about price and size.
We noticed a sign for this at Cakes & Cones back by The Grand Exposition. It was a great way to try all of the flavors. We also noticed that the other stands didn't seem to be offering the sampler.
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Went to the park on Saturday the 2nd. I went in with low expectations because of the labor day weekend crowd but the park and all the employees blew that theory right out of the water. We got there around 9:45 and parked in lot 6. We just walked in from that point. The line for tickets was very long and I was buying 2 of the $ 31.00 entrys for my daughter and her boyfriend, but it moved with extreme efficiency. Once inside we headed to PK and they were running a very efficient 2 train system already. Moved to WF after that and it was the same. I could go on about the other attractions but they were all the same all day long. It seems like they had anticipated and staffed accordingly for the crowd that day. The park was crowded but most rides were 10 minutes at the most wait. I am not into religious music so I cannot speak to that aspect of the day. MY daughters boyfriend had never been into the cave so we did a tour and he was overwhelmed. Kind of neat to see someone experience it for the first time and the wow factor they get. JUst to sum it up SDC and the citizens hit a home run Saturday. I can not think of one thing that could have been done better or exceded what they were doing. And the park looked great.
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Nice to see such a positive review! We often get caught up on what SDC can do better, and not mention when they get almost everything correct. Nice review.
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Didnt want to start a new thread , this weekend is Country Music Weekend, last night they had Diaod Rio at Ech Hollow, and Sat was Mercy Day,,,,,,, attendence for the day was only 13,000. That has to be a disappointing number the PTB,
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Didnt want to start a new thread , this weekend is Country Music Weekend, last night they had Diaod Rio at Ech Hollow, and Sat was Mercy Day,,,,,,, attendence for the day was only 13,000. That has to be a disappointing number the PTB,
I was there Fri. and Sat. night, and I can tell you it was crowded! Late Friday afternoon wasn't too bad, but last night! Wow! Every food vendor had long lines. We got there right after 4:00 planning to have dinner, but a citizen told us Echo opened up 20 min. earlier so we headed that way. Didn't make it off Main Street and we were standing in line. Not a seat open last night! People were sitting on concrete, in stairways, and against walls. I'm really surprised they didn't cut off attendance. Not a country fan, but a great night. I actually liked Restless Heart a little better. My only gripe is the way traffic control is set up. Autograph station/sales set up right in the middle of the walkway really impedes traffic. And, if someone is in a large ecv, waiting to buy a cd, t-shirt, etc. no one can walk by - there's no room! Tempers were starting to flare when people needed to get by to get out and others were standing there waiting for autographs. Couldn't they set that up right outside the entrance? Everyone walks out that way anyway, so why not open up the traffic?
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We went to the Restless Heart concert Friday night, thoroughly enjoyed it. Very thankful that Echo Hollow is opening early so that you don't have to stand in line for hours. I would say it was about 98% full. Last year we attended all 3 nights but chose not to do so this year since Diamond Rio and Lonestar were repeats from last year.
It took us the longest time to get back to our vehicle after a concert than it ever has. It was really tight near the scooter/stroller rental booth due to all of the scooters parked in front of the booth. I will be glad when the entrance area is redone so the bottlenecks aren't so bad when there are large crowds entering or exiting.
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Had a nice visit on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The kids got to go on all the rides and a niece got to see SDC for the first time. It is so much fun seeing the park through others eyes. The park looked very nice. On Saturday the management was walking the park. I like the fact the SDC "suits" actually just wear polo's. On Sunday there was a film crew shooting B-footage for an upcoming episode of a cooking/travel show. The film crew told us who it was, but I don't know if that constitutes public knowledge for SDCfans. I think everyone would recognize who it was. It doesn't matter too much on Wednesday they start to film the chef, and everyone can find out then.
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Here's our Photo Trip Report from the National Crafts and Cowboy Festival
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/09/national-craft-cowboy-festival-sdc.html
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Great pics as always, thanks swoosh.
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Here's our Photo Trip Report from the National Crafts and Cowboy Festival
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/09/national-craft-cowboy-festival-sdc.html
Pretty good video to go along with the pics of the NC&C Festival....
https://youtu.be/cQkTHXajfYI
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An Old Time Christmas
http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2017/11/an-old-time-christmas-sdc.html
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Swoosh as always, great pics and detail.. I saw some stuff I missed.. The park does look great this year.
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Just heard 14175 was the count at 4:30 this afternoon.
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Went 2nd weekend in December for annual Christmas trip. Haven't had a chance to post about it until now.
What a great trip overall. Lights were great, Dickens was awesome, Wassail was delicious, Flooded Mine was working fantastic just like it was this past summer, train was great. Salloon was funny and PACKED. Skillet was good from tater patch.
The new lights were very good and it will be nice because that will attract a lot of people while I go to my less visited haunts.
Trams were running very efficiently. They weren't last year so that was great to see.
Only a few disappointments.
-Food at the Mine was really, really awful. It's too bad, that's such a cool place and atmosphere. It was the worst food I've ever had at SDC.
-Someone puked after getting off Outlaw Run. The employees all stood there laughing at it as the lines got longer and longer. No one wanted to work or do anything. Finally one guy went about cleaning it up while all the others stood there laughing at him. I saw the kit he used and there were plenty of latex gloves for more people to chip in. They did not care and were extremely immature about the whole thing. I was next in line so I stood and waited. It took well over a half hour for a job that should have been done in a little more than five minutes. I was very close to volunteering to do it myself, and I wasn't the only one angry about the situation. It seems ride operators aren't what they used to be, there was only one quality one I saw on the whole trip, a young man on Powder Keg.
Other than that, great trip, love SDC, already thinking about our summer visit ;D
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Yes, I will say the one time I ate at the Mine this year, it was not very good at all. I used to eat there several times a year but this year it was simply not worth the price.
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We ate at the mine a few times last year and never had any issues. I'm sure it varies by day, like many restaurants in and out of the park.