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that might actually work for us.  My wife was looking at a few days away to rest and recover after Christmas, so she might be interested in a room.

Regular rate?

Glad thats over. It died a quick death. The offer was rejected.

We hope it's over, but don't count it out yet.  It's very possible that was just an initial salvo in a line of negotiations.

In the middle of the new Pumpkin Plaza area, there is a large circle of concrete in the blacktop. It has metal access box lid looking things evenly spaced around the edge of the circle and a large one in the middle. Anyone know that this is for? I didn't get a good picture of it, but have attached a few that I've found.
My initial though was a testing/programming area for the new tree, but not sure when they would have time to use the are due to Pumpkin Nights.

I was wondering about that myself.  It certainly wasn't there when it was still employee parking.  Not a clue offhand what it's for/ from

I'll post this on the trip reports thread as well.

We were at the park yesterday.  It was disappointing to see how many crafters were missing this year- much lower numbers and many of the favorites aren't there this time.  Which meant the square felt much lighter in numbers.  I'm hoping that the PTB realize what a loss that is and fix what got broke this year that is keeping so many of them away.  This was honestly my wife and daughter's favorite time to visit with all the crafters, and I know they aren't alone.  Hopefully they work on bringing them back rather than ditching them.

The new "lumberjack" show was great.  We really enjoyed that one and hope to get back to it again.

Fire in the Hole- no music again,   And poor Ned Flanders hip was majorly out of socket.  Also the wheels in the back really felt flat spotted- even slid into the station at one point instead of rolled, which made for a bit of a rough ride in spots.

Percy's was closed for some reason, which was really odd considering they gave it a pretty good spread in the Pathfinder.  So we ended up eating at Wagon Works, where they had run out of the good fries.  Still a great burger though.

The Echo Hollow Show was great.

Pumpkin Nights is incredible.  We were only able to stay until about 7:30, so really didn't get to see it in the dark, but even at dusk it was really neat.  I'm really hoping that they not only continue this but expand it a bit.  If they do, I can see this eventually building into their number 2 time of year, behind Christmas.  There is so much potential with it, and even for a first year we really liked what they did and wish we could have stuck around.

photos are posted at https://sirwillow.smugmug.com/Amusement-Parks-Roller/Silver-Dollar-City/Sept-27-2019-Craft-Festival-Pumpkin-Nights-and-More/ including some construction photos (didn't ride the train, sorry) and I'll have the video from the day posted on Tuesday on the youtube channel.

I'll post this on the trip reports thread as well.

We were at the park yesterday.  It was disappointing to see how many crafters were missing this year- much lower numbers and many of the favorites aren't there this time.  Which meant the square felt much lighter in numbers.

But the Pumpkin Nights was awesome.

We were there until about 7:30 and were very impressed by what they are offering for the new festival, and can't wait to see it grow.

And yes, crowds were pretty light.  Which means short lines for everything, and Echo Hollow being maybe 1/3 to 1/2 full.

Great vlog. really enjoyed this one

I'll be out there tomorrow afternoon and evening to get some photos and video.  Looking forward to it.  I should have the video for it posted next Tuesday.

I wish they'd just bite the bullet and say it's Halloween. You know it's Halloween...I know it's Halloween. It's Halloween.

Me too. Not really sure what the problem is here ?

The problem is a narrow slice of people who are very vocal about their hate for Halloween and anything that might be related to it. They're the same ones that come out in force during the Southern Gospel fest and that we would have to make minor "adjustments" to the train robbery so we wouldn't have to listen to them complain.

As a pastor, I probably encounter the type much more than non-church goers would. But if you've got any, shall I say, "holiness" or "traditionalists" in your church group, then you might know what I'm talking about.

And with the park and corporation still trying to be respectful to that group because of their Christian roots, it plays a role in things like this.

But I agree.  I don't think the name is a big deal. Except that this is also a way to reinforce that it's not scary, frightening or filled with monsters, but is very much kid and family friendly.

Less than 2 weeks until our Disneyland trip...
Can't tell you how excited I am for this one.  Actually going to start posting count down videos for it, we're that excited.

Say Rudolph suffered from CWD and had to be put down or finally got kilt by one of the Branson Blue Hairs' RVs on 76.


About Lake Silver...

On the lake, add a water fountain show complete with  choreographing to Dueling Ban........err, Ozarkian Music. 5 minute show on top and bottom of the hour.  This was quite common in Europe from Palace Gardens to theme parks. Older folk crowd pleasers they are.  Puy du Fou had a smaller one on a lake/pond about the size of the former Lake Silver.

Would absolutely love to see that.  Wouldn't cost much investment, and provide a nice extra down there.  Once those walls come down, there'll be a good bit of viewing from Fireman's Landing and Dockside Grill, along with the Landing area.

It wouldn't be something that would bring the people in, but it would be something that would keep them there and be part of the atmosphere that would bring them back.  It's little things like that that add up to big things that keep people coming.

BTW, I'll have a video look at the construction, the pumpkins and a few others things coming on Tuesday.  :-)

Thursday the 12th..  only 2900 people....

We were out there for about 3 hours Thursday.  That was as empty as I've seen the park in a long time.  We literally walked onto Time Traveler, which only had a half full train.  Only did it once as we would have had to walk all the way around and that's a long walk with all those stairs.  lol

Only places that really had any people were the shows.  Saloon was full, as well as the Pickers and the Dockside theater had a decent size crowd.  But everything else was just empty.

Not that it's any help, but I've actually seen two different ladies playing the drums at the saloon.  So it could be a couple of different people.

You might want to try asking on the SDC Fans facebook page, or even on the "You Know You're from Silver Dollar City" facebook page (you'll have to ask to join that group, but they let in anyone who isn't a spammer)  More people will likely see your post there and perhaps be able to give you an answer.

20,000 Leagues for the Snow White coaster let down(cause it is way too short)

The subs were gone long before 7 Dwarves were even thought of.  They were filled in and replaced with an Ariel meet and greet, splash and play area, restrooms, and a Winnie the Pooh playground.  All of that but the restrooms was scrapped with the Fantasyland makeover and it's actually more where Gaston's tavern is now.  :-)

Sad to see that.  Heart breaks for the family, and for those at the park who tried to save him as well.  Things like that hurt.

How is it Disney can preserve their classics then ? Here is how. You do not neglect them for years you do preventive maintenance from the beginning. Hopefully they will realize this on newer attractions. Do not let the deterioration get out of control. PM in my opinion is one thing Herschend is terrible at.

Actually if you followed any Disney board you'd see even Disney has trouble properly maintaining their classics and especially their dark rides.  Figment is a sore spot for most and the current state of effects in several of the Magic Kingdom dark rides - and don't forget about Disco Yeti in Everest

World of Motion and Horizons at Epcot; Country Bears, People Mover, Mission to Mars, Flying Saucers at Disneyland; I could go on long lists of rides and attractions that Disney has replaced- and several of those were because they couldn't/ wouldn't maintain them.

But the point is also valid with SDC and other parks- for some reason it seems certain attraction types don't get the TLC and attention that they need- wood coasters and dark rides stand out.  Little problems are ignored, and gradually so many little problems add up that it starts to become big problems.

Disney is obviously better than most. But they also are the most well attended and the most expensive parks to visit. When you have more people paying a lot more, then you have more money to be able to spend on upkeep.  And they are known for their Fantasyland dark rides- the "classics"  But if you've been to a Disney park in the last few years, then it's also likely you've seen their penny pinching and signs of not spending as much to take care of even those as they used to.  And Disney far outspends everyone else on taking care of their stuff.  And on "atmosphere" characters as well, something that many parks quit doing or cut way back on years ago.

Getting back on topic, I'm hoping to make it out to SDC next week myself to look at the changes. What I've seen it's looking like it's coming along well.  I will say SDC does a great job of working on their things and keeping them on a timeline.  That's one area they've got Disney beat by a long shot.