SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => General Silver Dollar City Talk => Topic started by: Okiebenz on June 29, 2018, 06:25:07 PM
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I don't recall seeing this mentioned here before but maybe it has and I just now thought of it. Anyway, the last time I was at the city earlier in the month it appeared they are no longer using the shotgun for the robbery. The conductor was using what appeared and sounded to me to be a cap gun. The robbers appeared to have wooden guns in their holsters. Is this some change to be more PC like everything else seems to be or something else?
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Yep. Talked to a long time worker yesterday and they replaced the guns with slingshots on mainstreet .Probably old news here.
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Oh good! Is the cap gun quieter than the shotgun? I always have to plug my ears when I'm on the train ride or anywhere else at the park that has guns in their shows; I'm autistic and sudden loud noises are one of my most negative stims.
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i just got off the train about a hour ago and the lady conductor was carrying what looked like a replica winchester lever action. But the robbers never took their guns out. Also you could barely hear the gun go off.
BTW, Its hotter than Hades out there today. Stayed till about 2 and thats all anyone could take.
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When we rode earlier this month the conductor was carrying a replica shotgun. However, at the end of the skit, when one of the Bolens bends over, the conductor just yelled "bang".
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The rifle the conductor is using now is basically a pop gun that shoots what is essentially caps, and it misfires a lot. Even when it does fire you can barely hear it. It's a sad replacement of the shotgun they used to use.
And yes, it sure looks like they've replaced the robbers guns with wood props that they never pull out of the holsters. Sad.
Nothing really nice to say about any of that. :-\
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I think it was last year or the year before I got to thinking about an end to the guns because they might offend people. Seems like there might have been some posts about it, but sure enough here we go.
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I might be in the minority but I think it is time to end the robbery all together. It's not needed anymore as the 504 is poweful enough to do the loop without stopping to build up steam to finish the climb (the real reason there was a robbery to begin with at the old location).
I just cannot stand when a certain individual is out there or acts as conductor. I can't name names but you all know who I am talking about.
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I might be in the minority but I think it is time to end the robbery all together. It's not needed anymore as the 504 is poweful enough to do the loop without stopping to build up steam to finish the climb (the real reason there was a robbery to begin with at the old location).
I just cannot stand when a certain individual is out there or acts as conductor. I can't name names but you all know who I am talking about.
None of the engines have needed to stop to build up steam for many years. Really the only one that did was the Davenport and it hasn't been used in a long time. The engines regularly complete the loop without pause when there is bad weather or other reasons to skip the show.
As for removing the robbery altogether, my vote is no, but I would like to see it return to it's roots a bit. Bring back the bits that were removed because of the hypersensitivity to being PC and make a couple of changes in personnel, and let the robbers have some freedom. But I don't know that any of that will happen.
There are some that have suspected certain people in leadership positions would like to see the robbery go away and have been working on that in a gradual process, and sadly I can't argue with that view. The current state compared to even a few years ago lends credibility to that.
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Well I don’t really want it to go away. Just a certain individual that needs to leave for good.
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Without getting too deep into a political debate as I am pretty liberal yet pro 2nd amendment, I really hate the direction this is heading with the gun/robbery issue. I really think it would be a misstep for the park to get rid of the guns and the robbery, as it is part of what makes SDC... well SDC. The 1880s was not all roses and rainbows and while I get the park is trying to maintain a Christian/Family friendly atmosphere I feel some historical authenticity (even as lighthearted as it has been with the corny jokes) should be maintained. It is what sets SDC apart from other parks with 1880's or wild west themes.
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I wonder though if the removal of the guns isn't political based, but based on people's entitlement?
I grew up with guns, cap guns, rifles, pistols, etc. guns were in the house. My kids have grown up with guns, but still have a very high respect for them. But even with having the guns in the house, my children wouldn't ride the train for a long time because they really thought the guns being used in the show were a real danger. No matter how much I told them "all was well", it was just a show, they didn't care...........so we just skipped the ride.
I never complained to anyone that my child wouldn't ride the train - we just skipped the ride. But I think more people feel that they have a right to do something, and if something doesn't go their way, they want change. So if their child is scared or not getting to enjoy something others are doing because of a fear (or any other reason).....they let the park know about it.
So I wonder, if it's more about people's entitlement than political? Where I would say, suck it up buttercup to my kid....others tell the kid don't worry, we'll get this changed so you don't have to be afraid.....
Jay
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It could just as well be a cost-saving effort. Relatively speaking, that would be pinching pennies.
Or could it be licensing? Or the younger age of an occasional performer? Or laziness?
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I wonder though if the removal of the guns isn't political based, but based on people's entitlement?
I grew up with guns, cap guns, rifles, pistols, etc. guns were in the house. My kids have grown up with guns, but still have a very high respect for them. But even with having the guns in the house, my children wouldn't ride the train for a long time because they really thought the guns being used in the show were a real danger. No matter how much I told them "all was well", it was just a show, they didn't care...........so we just skipped the ride.
I never complained to anyone that my child wouldn't ride the train - we just skipped the ride. But I think more people feel that they have a right to do something, and if something doesn't go their way, they want change. So if their child is scared or not getting to enjoy something others are doing because of a fear (or any other reason).....they let the park know about it.
So I wonder, if it's more about people's entitlement than political? Where I would say, suck it up buttercup to my kid....others tell the kid don't worry, we'll get this changed so you don't have to be afraid.....
Jay
That's a good thought that I had not considered before.
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I wonder though if the removal of the guns isn't political based, but based on people's entitlement?
It's a thought, but I think it's likely kind of a mix of the two and really comes down to people who don't like guns. They don't want their kids to play with them. They don't want to see them used. Guns are dangerous so don't be near them. Or just plain anti-gun.
I know when I worked there we would sometimes see the complaints, and usually they were along the lines of, "I can't believe you use real guns or ones that make us think they are real." Like many things they've removed, it's people being oversensitive and offended over things so the park removes them, even if they're a very small number For example, the line about why is ma smiling? Because that man next to her isn't our pa. We'd get 2 or 3 complaints a year, out of a couple of million guests. But that was enough to remove it.
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The main issue is the park is in a very RED part of the nation but the company’s headquarters is in a very BLUE city. The liberal mindset is to PC the crap out of everything because “feelings” and that’s why we’re not allowed to have nice things anymore. If the real leaders of the company were still in the Ozarks I feel we wouldn’t have to keep the re-education of snot nosed fresh of of college brats from coming in and ruining everything because they “don’t get the theme of SDC”
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I wonder though if the removal of the guns isn't political based, but based on people's entitlement?
It's a thought, but I think it's likely kind of a mix of the two and really comes down to people who don't like guns. They don't want their kids to play with them. They don't want to see them used. Guns are dangerous so don't be near them. Or just plain anti-gun.
I know when I worked there we would sometimes see the complaints, and usually they were along the lines of, "I can't believe you use real guns or ones that make us think they are real." Like many things they've removed, it's people being oversensitive and offended over things so the park removes them, even if they're a very small number For example, the line about why is ma smiling? Because that man next to her isn't our pa. We'd get 2 or 3 complaints a year, out of a couple of million guests. But that was enough to remove it.
When you work there and people complained, who did they complain to and/or how were you made aware of their complaints? This is ridiculous.
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The main issue is the park is in a very RED part of the nation but the company’s headquarters is in a very BLUE city.
Except that it's the PARK leaders making those decisions, not HQ. They're local decisions, made by people who should know better, on their own. Can't blame the national office for what the locals are doing and deciding. It's been an internal park struggle and fight for a long time now. We fought over the guns and things they wanted to do when I was there- and all of it was coming from certain managers and leaders at the park.
When you work there and people complained, who did they complain to and/or how were you made aware of their complaints? This is ridiculous.
Guests can make comments, suggestions, compliments or complaints through the guest relations office, email, phone calls or the company Facebook page. If they were specific to a ride/ attraction/ show or to employees they were passed to the supervisors, then to the leads, and often to the employees. That included both compliments and complaints. My lead was great about sharing some of the comments the train got, both good and bad. I don't believe all of the leads do that though.
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The main issue is the park is in a very RED part of the nation but the company’s headquarters is in a very BLUE city.
Except that it's the PARK leaders making those decisions, not HQ. They're local decisions, made by people who should know better, on their own. Can't blame the national office for what the locals are doing and deciding. It's been an internal park struggle and fight for a long time now. We fought over the guns and things they wanted to do when I was there- and all of it was coming from certain managers and leaders at the park.
I see we decided to cherry pick. You apparently missed this key point which addresses your post.
If the real leaders of the company were still in the Ozarks I feel we wouldn’t have to keep the re-education of snot nosed fresh of of college brats from coming in and ruining everything because they “don’t get the theme of SDC”
Maybe you’ll read it this time because this is the reason
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I never hesitate to play the Old-Timer card, so here ya go: how many remember when there were shootouts on Main Street?
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I never hesitate to play the Old-Timer card, so here ya go: how many remember when there were shootouts on Main Street?
I think I remember that, didn't they clear out areas right in front of the stores and people were shot off the roofs and such, fall into water troughs, etc.? Or maybe that was Six Flags? A lot of parks had those type of shows with Frontier City still having really nice gunfight show.
Something I remember at SDC was the bartender of the saloon standing out front of the saloon selling garters to the ladies and he'd steal a kiss from them. You could also buy the garters from the saloon girls and take them off their legs. My cousin thought the bartender was good looking so she would always buy several garters throughout the day.
Maybe SDC could appease both crowds and have "show trains" where the show is announced several times before the train leaves the station letting people know that the train will be robbed and special effects will be used. Special effects could include loud noises, simulated gun fights, stealing your women, crude corny jokes, hobo nudity, references to liquor, getting bushwhacked, etc.
Jay
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Okay, so the leadership is very sensitive to politically correct comments. My thought is do they give equal consideration to other comments? Let's say they have 3 complaints about the guns. Then during the same time period, they have 557 complaints about SDC becoming too sensitive to political correctness. Would they give weighted consideration to that? Would they even consider that folks are turned off by all the political correctness? Or do the people who are turned off by the political correctness not even realizing that they have to say something?
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I might be in the minority but I think it is time to end the robbery all together. It's not needed anymore as the 504 is poweful enough to do the loop without stopping to build up steam to finish the climb (the real reason there was a robbery to begin with at the old location).
I just cannot stand when a certain individual is out there or acts as conductor. I can't name names but you all know who I am talking about.
To be honest I do not know who you are talking about. But, I had not rode the train in a few years so that is on me. My main concern was the lack of emotion or acting or whatever you want to call it. The skit was just boring and the cast looked and sounded like they were just rushing through it. If this is the best that can be done I would just say end it also. They basically got blank stares from the crowd. Or, maybe develop a new skit that is fresh. This one has been running for 40 years probably ?
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To be honest I do not know who you are talking about. But, I had not rode the train in a few years so that is on me. My main concern was the lack of emotion or acting or whatever you want to call it. The skit was just boring and the cast looked and sounded like they were just rushing through it. If this is the best that can be done I would just say end it also. They basically got blank stares from the crowd. Or, maybe develop a new skit that is fresh. This one has been running for 40 years probably ?
The problem with a "new script" is that it's actually been tried a number of times and run into two issues- it's a lot harder to write a script for it that's actually funny, and there was a huge demand from guests to bring back the old one. I've actually seen a "new" version that was pretty funny, but a large percentage of the train wasn't happy with it simply because it was different.
Also, what many think is a 40 year old script is actually bits and pieces that have been cobbled together over the years. A line would be spontaneously used, get some laughs, so they'd try it again. if it still got laughs, it would continue to be used. There are actually a couple of lines that were created and added to the show while I worked there. So really it's a compilation of various ad libs, changes, and bits that were tried out and worked. Several are actually from gags the robbers tried on the conductors and they worked so well they've just stayed in the show (the missed day of the week started out that way)
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Also, what many think is a 40 year old script is actually bits and pieces that have been cobbled together over the years. A line would be spontaneously used, get some laughs, so they'd try it again. if it still got laughs, it would continue to be used. There are actually a couple of lines that were created and added to the show while I worked there. So really it's a compilation of various ad libs, changes, and bits that were tried out and worked. Several are actually from gags the robbers tried on the conductors and they worked so well they've just stayed in the show (the missed day of the week started out that way)
What is hilarious delivered by one person, often falls flat when it's rushed through by the next actor who has no sense of timing or delivery or ability to act for the audience, instead of hamming with fellow actors for their own amusement.
My last few visits (all of them more than a dozen years ago), everything recited by the conductor, and portrayed by the train robbers, was just sad and mostly unintelligible. It was all rushed and perfunctory. The robbers spoke to each other, not the audience, and didn't know how to deliver lines in a way that could be heard.