Search

It would be an even better place for a Mexican Subway (like Chipotle).  Don't be shocked if that's what they put there

Oh, I hope not.  That is one type of food that SDC does NOT do a good job at.  Their attempt at Mexican food during World Fest was really sad.  I love Mexican food, but would rather they stayed away from it.  Especially since they do so well at so many other foods.

Wow, I just cannot see this going over in Orlando at all. I would have thought they learned a few things from the failed Dixie Stampede project. As for the CC site, I can think of about a dozen different things that would be more appealing than a year round Christmas theme.

Dixie Stampede in Orland was not a failed project.  It was a very profitable venture and was doing fine.  But the outlet mall next to the property offered a ridiculous amount of money to buy the land with the intention to expand- a price they simply couldn't pass up.  There were actively looking for another plot of land to build a new one as the economy tanked, the housing bubble burst bad in Florida and a number of other issues arose.  Seeing all of that I'm sure contributed to their decision to not rebuild.  And I'm sure the closing of the similar show Arabian Nights also added in.  While the outlet mall owners took a huge hit on buying the land that they never did make use of.

I know things change all the time but I'm pretty sure the PK/WF connector is coming in the next 5 years or so as that lot between them has been earmarked for a future large ride

You mean the one that was rumored to be happening before Outlaw Run? 

How does the rest of the park look?

Still looks like SDC.  Trees.  Buildings.  Rides.  :p

Looks like this is going to be a great expansion for them.  I always thought they were rather high priced for what they offered, but with this expansion and not raising prices that comes more in line with what I'd be willing to pay.  Nice they are going to be able to build on their successes and do so much more.

Looking forward to when it's all done.  We will likely make a point to drop in and visit.

Southeast Missouri I got a glaze on the trees and deck. Roads are clear. Schools jumped the gun last night before anything even started hitting. What the heck is up with that. Then the typical doom and gloom local TV guys calling it a winter storm. I laughed this morning as they had news crews out all over the place trying to find ice and couldn't find any. People are becoming weather wimps.

It may have seemed they jumped, but that light glaze turns those roads very slick- not good for school buses.  In our areas the roads looked clear, but I watched a couple of cars have a very hard time at the intersection by our home- and we've got a good street.  Many in our area are on hills with a lot of curves.  Again, not good for school buses or kids.  Then think about the staff that has to drive in to work, many from areas that may have a lot more ice than you do.  Several of ours come from Springfield, which did have a lot of issues this morning.

I would much rather than called it off and played it safe then tried to have school- even with the light mess- and risk a much worse storm and the chaos that could have come from that.  After one local school lost two teachers to wrecks in the 2007 storm, when they should have canceled and didn't until it was to late, no one around here wants that repeated.

So for those that are thinking about working at SDC (or any other park) and wondering what makes certain employees seem to stand out, my newest episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74NC9GMgpTc

What Makes a Great Cast Member?  Attitude!

Some of it may seem obvious, but I'm surprised at how many people who work at theme/ amusement parks don't get some of the things I talk about in this one.  While I focus a bit more on Disney, SDC does come up, and this applies at pretty much any park. Hope you enjoy.  And as always, I'd love your feedback.

For us south of Springfield, it's been pretty much a wash out.  We had a light glaze this morning, but that is melting off now.  Branson was about the same as us, maybe even a bit less.  Springfield had a decent coating, but it is also starting to melt.  A couple of power outages due to falling trees, but that's about it.

My kids' college in Springfield has been out of power since about 8am, but they are saying they should have it back on in the next couple of hours.  Sounds like it's saving the worst for those of you up north.

EDIT- LOL and immediately as I post that my kid texts me to tell me their power is on. 

Interesting that they have two flat rides and a (technically) coaster now. Incredible Pizza in Tulsa has been doing well for awhile now, but I haven't been back in years. I'll have to rope a nephew into going one of these days. It would be nice to see them add this stuff to the Tulsa location too, but I don't think they have as much space.

Assuming they are related to the Incredible Pizza in Springfield, which sounds like it's a good bit smaller than those, no need to have a nephew.  I eat at the one in Springfield every couple of months.  Lunch is a $9 buffet and is a good deal, with some pretty decent food, even without kids.  No one will look at you odd if you don't have any.

Liking a lot of the changes so far.  Not sure on the red, but then color changes usually take a while to grow on me, so don't put to much into that.

Like the newsfeed popping up on the top of the forum as well!

Running off of Swoosh's list of rides, I've put what we called them in caps while working in the park (this is attractions side, so other divisions might vary a little bit.  This is if we were using names instead of radio codes) A lot as you'll notice are the same.

FITM = Fire in the Hole- FIRE IN THE HOLE
FM = Flooded Mine (or Mine)- FLOODED MINE
WF = Wildfire- WILDFIRE
TNT = ThuNderaTion- THUNDER, TNT OR THUNDERATION
PK = PowderKeg- POWDERKEG OR VERY RARELY POWDER
RB = River Blast- RIVERBLAST
TGS = The Giant (Barn) Swing- BARNSWING (never heard it called anything else)
AP = American Plunge (or Plunge)- PLUNGE was what we always called it
FL = Firemans Landing- wasn't open my last year there. Before that was GEYSER GULCH or GULCH
GE = Grand Expo (or Expo)- EXPO
EH = Echo Hollow- EH or ECHO or ECHO HOLLOW usually the first 2
Swings = Wave Carousel- usually SWINGS, though occasionally you'd hear WAVE CAROUSEL
OH = Opera House- OPERA HOUSE
RG or RGHH = Red Gold Heritage Hall- RED GOLD (it'd through us for a loop when people would ask for the Heritage Hall because we never called it that.  It was always just Red Gold.  It's also what we called the employee parking behind it.)

He missed:
Outlaw Run- usually called by it's name.  There was a huge emphasis that it is NOT just Outlaw.
Frisco Line- TRAIN or STEAM TRAIN

In Grand Expo:
ELECTROSPIN
FROGS
BUGS OR LADYBUGS
GALLEON
REGATTA
TEA PARTY or TEA CUPS
WINGS or BUTTERFLIES (don't ask me on the second one)
ELEPHANTS

Gazebo area- SQUARE
Cave- MARVEL or CAVE
exit giftshop- MARKETPLACE or OZARK MARKET
HOSPITALITY HOUS or just HH
all the eating areas up the hill from the train would be grouped as BUCKSHOTS
theaters would be called by just their first names (e.g. BOATWORKS, DOCKSIDE, RIVERFRONT)
SALOON
HALF DOLLAR HOLLAR or HDH
CAROUSEL (never heard the whole name, especially not "Hugo and Mary's")

It's always fun to see some of the names that other people use or the abbreviations they come up with.  Especially those who don't know what something is called.

After I thought about it I can remember a few times that people asked where the Giant Swing was, but they sometimes meant the Wave Carousel (swings), and they were the minority.  It did happen, but if someone asked about the giant swing we'd have to ask to clarify which ride they meant and often pause to think about it because it wasn't a name that was usually used.  People who were familiar with the park, and especially those who worked, almost always called it the Barn Swing. 

On the train spiel if we used the name we'd say Barn Swing.  Mine was usually a variation of, "They just got done with a big ol' barn raisin' and as part of the fun they put a big giant/ol' swing right smack in the middle of that barn that'll take you up 70', drop you at 50 miles an hour, and make you scream like a little girl"

"Test Riders Wanted" is what I was thinking might happen near the end of 2017, like they did with TGS. Although I cant remember when they did that. I just remember watching my mom walk up the street to ride.

TGS??  Do you mean Barnswing?  Otherwise you lost me with that abbreviation, and I've no clue what it could stand for.  (even barnswing I had to look up and saw a reference to it as "the great barn swing" so that's why I'm guessing.  Can't say I've ever actually heard someone call it that)

The normal actor who plays Bob Crachet had a medical emergency involving his wife.  They did not have an understudy for him at that time so they did not have any choice.  I know most of you were unaware of the situation but have a heart.  He and his wife had to spend Christmas Day in the hospital due to it.  I have been away so I have not heard an update on her but pretty sure it is no longer critical.

Last word I had from him was they are optimistic that she'll be home before New Years.  That was back on the 23rd.  As of tonight she's still in the hospital but recovering well.  Keep them in your prayers.

is it possible for a train to leave the station every ten minutes? Every time I check it's usually 20 or 30 minutes. I have never seen ten. And hours were extended for the fourth day in a row today.

During Christmas, yes it is possible.  During the rest of the year, no.  A train leaving every 20 or 30 minutes means they are running one train, which is normal during the spring, summer, and fall.  But because of the very large crowds wanting to ride during the Christmas season they'll run 2 trains during it.  If there's 2 trains, then yes, it's every 10 minutes that it's leaving.

I doubt that you'll see it at any time other than Christmas though, because to do it requires a rather large increase in staffing, and the lines to justify that are only close on the busiest of summer Saturdays and almost no other time.  So even though with the engines they recently bought they could have the equipment, they're not likely to be willing to pay for the increase in wages and fuel to do it at any time other than Christmas.

Had one about 3 weeks back about working during Christmas at SDC.  Here's the newest one which is also a SDC focused one- some of those moments where your mouth quits working in sync with your brain and you say something you don't quite mean.  Made for a couple of funny moments on the train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUSTJV03ND0