Messages

1

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Last Season for Cedric and Cajun Connection

« on: June 18, 2018, 11:27:43 AM »

Yeah, just like everything else... new corporate mindset + oldtimers getting old and leaving with no one to replace them. Sons of Silver Dollar will be next, and eventually the homestead pickers will age out as well.

I'm wondering when the first Six Flags style show will come in. You know, the ones where they dance around and lip-sync to recorded country/pop covers.

The bluegrass bands still bring people in. Last time I was there it was raining on a Sunday evening, but the dockside theatre was packed for the last set of one of the bluegrass family bands. They just don't seem to want to pay enough to keep some of these types in residence anymore.

2

Branson Talk / Re: America's Fun Park in Branson

« on: June 17, 2018, 03:07:47 PM »

Neat. Hope to head down there this fall. Interesting how they have two 'big' coasters, but are otherwise a pretty small operation. Quality over quantity. I'd love to see them develop like ZDT's.

3

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2018 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: June 17, 2018, 03:04:43 PM »

Very nice. Love the wood siding. Good massing and architectural details. Pretty similar to Big Jacks overall. Glad they kept those trees in place.

Would be awesome if they made this the permanent home of season pass sales during winter. I hate when they take out the school house stuff to put it in there...

4

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: VIP Tour

« on: June 15, 2018, 04:30:30 PM »

I remember them starting this years ago and then forgot all about it.

For the cost, there's not much reason for many of us to take notice since most of us go so often anyway and know how to manage with crowds and such. It's really meant more for minor celebrities or just well off people who want to be treated like royalty.

I think I've seen it be used a couple of times. You basically get your own SDC handler to let you into all the rides through the exits. It causes all kinds of complaints though... I think some of the Trailblazer complaints are actually caused by just a few people using the VIP system. Trailblazer merges you into the line, but the VIP system is a literal skip the line pass as I understand it.

It might make the Christmas experience more enjoyable... if you can ignore the glares from the people you bump in the station. I think it makes more sense to save the $200, get their early, get your ride on Time Traveler, and enjoy the rest of the park at your leisure. Sure, it can be crowded at points, but at Christmas time you can focus on the lights if nothing else.

5

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2018 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: June 07, 2018, 08:33:13 PM »

LOL, this is turning into such a classic SDCFans thread. Only here will you find enthusiasts that think the possibility of someone on a laptop in the park is something to worry about.

I mean, I get where you are coming from. At one point it was kind of frowned up to bring in electronics, and anything electronic on park was thoroughly hidden. As we've noted countless times though, that ship has sailed so far it's hardly in sight anymore.

But yeah, as Swoosh noted, getting off topic here. Doesn't seem like there's any indication that this will be anything more than a BOH building, though who knows. It could be re-purposed one day depending on how it's designed.

There's been rumors they do want to put in a coffee shop/cafe somewhere, but I'll leave that to the speculation thread.

We totally skipped right over that article about Time Traveler's uptime.
http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Silver-Dollar-City-explains-causes-of-maintenance-delays-on-Time-Traveler-483994491.html

It's definitely been finicky, but it's at that point where at least it operates pretty much every day at least a little... Doesn't seem like there will be much chance for them to really improve it until next season. 

6

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2018 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: June 05, 2018, 07:26:25 PM »

Ah man, that would have been helpful to see at the time. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of summer anyway.

7

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2018 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: June 05, 2018, 05:13:51 PM »

I don't mind the construction, but did they really have to wall the entire area off? Hopefully they can reconfigure that soon once the walls go up. I didn't realize how many times I usually take that route to cut through the park until they closed it off.

I wonder if the new building will have any gimmicks to hold lights... Should be a nice new facade anyway.

8

Branson Talk / Re: America's Fun Park in Branson

« on: June 05, 2018, 05:08:40 PM »

Apparently they are open now. Had a soft opening of sorts on Sunday. With how they kept pushing it back, I was worried, but it looks like the ball is rolling now and what I've seen in photos looks nice.

9

Branson Talk / Re: Bigfoot sues man over review

« on: June 05, 2018, 05:07:48 PM »

I wonder what the other side of the story is. I doubt they simply freaked out over a three star review. Sounds like there is a personal drama going back and forth.

10

Other Parks / Re: Frontier City Developments

« on: May 26, 2018, 04:40:51 PM »

Magic Springs is getting the drop tower this year. Personally, I think it would be huge if we could get a copy of it next year.

FC is at the point where ANYTHING new is very welcome. The new zipline thing looks kinda tacky, but at least it's something new.

A clone coaster like an Iron Shark would go over extremely well here.

11

Branson Talk / Re: Classic Motor Inn 2018 - Call K.D. @ 417 334 6991

« on: May 22, 2018, 04:56:24 PM »

Hey Dan, do you know if it's OK for me to post about our deal on the FB page, or is it supposed to stay within the smaller community here? Sometimes I forget they have this arrangement for us after all these years. It's past time to show them the love again if this deal is meant to be shared.

12

Other Parks / Re: Frontier City Developments

« on: May 22, 2018, 04:54:05 PM »

Not sure what to make of this... I doubt they will bring the SF branding here, similar to last time, but the pass benefits will be nice for us.

The park has been on such a good track for the last decade. Sure, it's been frustrating waiting for something "big", but the incremental improvements can't be overlooked. It felt like they were on the cusp of something big. I guess that's part of being setup for sale by these REITs though. They were always going to be stingy with the cap.ex. spending.

I just don't want FC to languish again... feels like watching a friend get back with their ex...

If they kick this off with a big new expansion next year though, that would be amazing.

13

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2018 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: May 18, 2018, 02:13:02 PM »

I'm not sure why it wasn't left as a sandwich shop... perhaps there was something wrong with the building.

I'm also not sure why they suddenly needed to do demo right now, with the park about to kick into high gear for summer season. Roof collapse or a code violation? 

I'll bet they leave it as open space though. Gotta fit more people in for the Christmas spectacle...

14

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Fire In the Hole/Flooded Mine

« on: May 18, 2018, 02:08:02 PM »

Shave, the hubs is in a group with a gentlemen that worked at SDC for years and years. He retired from a prestigious park character position the year before the corporation took over.  I wish I could've heard the conversation they had.  Hubs came home talking about it.  He essentially talked about most of the things you said in the above post. 

Lol, yeah... listening to the "old timers" can really deflate the way you look at the park these days. There are so many little things that are no longer done, so many traditions lost, so much "non-PC" stuff stripped away... You just have to remember that the park has always been evolving and that this is just the way the world turns. I try not to bitch too much about inevitable change, but I do have a love for the old SDC so it can be tough.

Major rehab on the canals.  Apparently that earthquake we had last year (?) made it rather porous and it loses a lot of water. 

I could see that being the case. We'll see what happens. I'm betting right now their budget is so turned around that they try to do rehab work instead of completely re-doing the whole thing. Then again, maybe insurance is on their case about it. After the Australia accident, I hear it's a lot tougher to keep those rides going even though they are statistically safe. LR is one of the earliest models, and lacks some of the modern features to keep people from falling out. The station is also pretty bad since the boats pound into each other as people are trying to get on and off and you have to be careful not to slip off. 

15

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Fire In the Hole/Flooded Mine

« on: May 18, 2018, 10:20:32 AM »

From the outside looking in, I think the park is slowly allowing the classics to slip away because are gradually getting more cynical in how they manage capital investments and maintenance of things that don't provide immediate, overt ROI. A lot of the things that people complain about on FM and FITH could have been fixed years ago for not a lot of money in the broad scheme of things. They'll spend tens of millions on a shiny new coaster, but neglect $10,000 of cosmetic repairs for a ride that the entire family has enjoyed for generations.

This is similar to how other parks operate, especially Six Flags and Cedar Fair. It's a corporate mindset problem. They are completely focused on the "new", the "brand", the stuff they can show off. Gone are the days when the Herschends kept everything around and refurbished or re-purposed as needed. The whole park has a short shelf life now, and when a piece is deemed "used up" it is unceremoniously bulldozed and rebuilt into something else.

That's not to say that redevelopment is always bad, but the apparent mindset bothers me. Too much of the old character of the park gets thrown away without much thought given to it. The newer people don't notice and I doubt many of them would care anyway. Stuff like Flooded Mine was built back when the park was more of a labor of love and the creators enjoyed the process of making it as detailed and unique as they could. It's replacement will be made by a bunch of contractors and designers trying to cost-justify every little thing, and the PTB will be looking for what gimmick they can squeeze in to make it "marketable".


/rant. Sorry, I have to do that every once in awhile. It's cathartic.

Yeah, the day of reckoning is coming for FM and FITH. They are simply getting old, and either mass-refurbishment or replacements are in order. I am a big fan of classic rides, especially these specifically, and obviously I'm super pessimistic that they will be replaced with anything that captures the essence of the originals.