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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2021 Crowds/Trip Reports
« on: November 16, 2021, 08:44:33 AM »Had an enjoyable three day visit for OTC that just wrapped up. I didn't 100% love old Dickens but I do think its a miss that they didn't take the opportunity to rethink portions of the show instead of just going with soundalikes pretty much the entire time. The new Scrooge isn't bad, but why is he there? But the staging and set design are essentially unchanged, and those were two of the strong suits anyway, and the new changes, while not great, aren't catastrophic either.
As much as I miss the Saloon show being in the Saloon, it seemed noticeably easier to get into the Playhouse. I have to wonder if replacing the Saloon with one that's larger is in their long-term plans.
I really enjoyed Home for the Holidays. If there is any minor critique that I have, it's just that the title and description make it seem like there's going to be a plot, and there just isn't one. That said, the singing was fantastic. For me, this was a definite upgrade from IAWL.
If I have any critique of the park over the weekend, it lies in the park's (mostly ride) operations. Namely that the park has decidedly shifted to being more ride-oriented, and the crowds have responded accordingly, even during OTC. The park's philosophy towards ride operations, however, seemingly hasn't changed at all since my first visit in 2005 when they were still more of a novelty, and so they're still doing things like single train operation on Powder Keg and Time Traveler on an OTC Saturday that's hosting an enthusiast event. It just feels like something is institutionally broken in operations if there are two attractions that are very obviously more popular than others and yet those are the same attractions they are parting out or (potentially, from what I've heard) selling trains from! I'm not saying it can't be nuanced-Thunderation isn't going to need two trains running at the same frequency as some of the others. But SDC-you WILL fill those two 16-seat trains on Powder Keg and TT 95% of the time in any crowd conditions. Just run multiple dang trains on them, please, so that those of us who like those rides you've built can ride them other than at the start and close of each day!
Oh, and I think it's time to just open everything on the square already during that preview hour. Many things are open, sure, but not everything, and on Saturday because the buffet didn't open until later the only place to get anything to eat during that hour was the bakery, which was, naturally, mobbed. During OTC especially there were plenty of people hanging out that likely would have spent more money on food/souvenirs if they were given the opportunity to do so. They're leaving money on the table by keeping a lot of things closed. I get that it costs money to staff things but I bet they'd more than offset those costs in increased sales.
I went last Wednesday. We got there before chain drop, but Molly's Mill was not open before chain drop during OTC. Weird...
My mom saw Home for Christmas. She said it was basically non-stop singing.
I rode TT twice. I talked to one of the ops. He assured me that they have NOT sold a train for that ride. 1 is in pieces and the other is in the back while they wait on the wheels to come in the mail. I noticed that they aren't doing the sound/lighting effects for the lapbars. I pointed that out and he said that it broke about week ago. It won't be fixed until probably the beginning of next year. We bought a TT magnet for our fridge. I REALLY wished they did ride photos on this ride. I would have totally bought one! They are missing a great opportunity to make money! The shop employee told me that they used to take photos in line, but they don't anymore. Those wouldn't have been nearly as good for me anyway.
MRF was running, but closed. I would expect all water rides to be closed and turned off during OTC. I saw maintenance operating the ride and constantly walking to different areas all day. They had dummies in 1 or 2 rafts. It only stopped for 1 hour at 3PM, then it started back up again. A ride op said there are certain things they have to do before it can officially shut down. I also saw employees watching in the towers and they now have computers to look at for something. I think they are trying to work out the bugs while they can so it doesn't break down as much next year. I also saw a new road going around Lake Silver, along MRF, from Fireman's Landing restrooms to the MRF line. It was roped off on both sides. Not sure if this is just an employee road or a public road everyone can use later. I will find out next year.
We got to the Pumpkin Plaza gate next to GE to watch the parade at 6PM. They did some cheezy, very kiddie dances at 5:30 for 10 minutes. That was not on the schedule and I did not like seeing that! I was strictly there to see the parade.
I saw they were running engine 504, which is the new engine, so we rode it at 8PM. It seems that they have taken most of the light tunnel away and added it to Christmas in Midtown. I did not like that at all. I always loved and prefer riding thru the normal length of it on the train. They were also closing the main gates and using the old, single, wooden gate to load the last few people on the train. I haven't seen them use this gate in YEARS!!! I'm very happy to see this once again and I hope it continues!
FITH was the same as always to me. Never heard any type of a story any time I have ever ridden it.
We got passes for next year. The employees still won't say what the VIP access and events are. They say it is suppose to be a surprise. I pointed out that if nobody knows what it is, nobody will buy the pass to get it. I also asked about the discounted mug refills. I wanted to know how much those would be and why they are not free, like another Amusement Park franchise is. They said that they are about $1.75 or $2.50. The normal price without a discount is $2.75, and they do have free refill mugs, but those cost $75. WOW! Really price gouging you and SUPER greedy these days on all food and drinks!!! At some point, nobody will be buying food anymore. They will all start bringing their own food in.
The tree seems to be worse than ever. It seems like they got yet another new tree, new songs that are all bad, and it just doesn't look as good as it used to. I miss how they used to do it before 2017....
PK was running 1 train and I saw 1 other train in the building. This must be the same situation that TT is in for their trains.
Lastly, I saw the construction from both Firefall and the windows of the Firehouse. I expected it to be in the triangular area of trees across the tracks, like some have said, but that looks to be untouched. The construction is actually straight behind the Firehouse, litteraly touching the back part of Pumpkin Plaza. They stacked 4 shipping containers on top of each other as a way to build a wall, directed at Pumpkin Plaza. I didn't see much going on. About 4 construction vehicles, but all I saw was a few electrical/water lines going in the ground and gravel on top of them. There is a gravel road going around it, along the train tracks and the West side, with small wooden sticks along it. There wasn't anything interesting enough to take pics of.....yet. Can't tell anything about it as it is. Anything could have electrical/water lines in those positions.