Messages

61

Other Parks / Re: Troubles for Disneyland and WDW in the news.

« on: July 16, 2019, 01:56:58 PM »

Here is the price via Disney for a two night stay at Paradise Pier with two day, one park tickets for a family of 4, two adults, two children(17 and 15) for the second week of Oct Wed night to Fri morning.

Drum roll please.......
$2,283  and some change.

No park hopper or max price or food package. That gets you to over $2,600 and its best to buy the 3 day/one park per day with early morning access with the two nite stay with the park hopper and max pass at that point. Add in some food, one quick meal and one sit down and some other snacks and souvenirs and it'll be 3, 500 in a blink.

Only one major major problem with that- why stay at a Disney hotel when there are lots of good hotels around and across the street from the parks?  There are only 3 Disney hotels in CA (compared to 27+ in Florida), and all 3 of those are on the price scale of the Grand Floridian or Animal Kingdom Lodge.  There are no moderate or lower Disney hotels, so it's not a fair comparison.

For our Oct trip, we have 5 of us staying 6 nights in a 2 room suite across the street and we're paying a bit over $800 for it.  and all of those hotels around the parks can sell official Disney tickets with the extras that are offered. (Disneyland doesn't do a meal plan)

I will agree that their park tickets are overpriced at this point, and I'm grateful someone else is covering that for us.    But when it comes to lodging, Disneyland is a far different kind of beast than WDW and needs to be approached differently.  Including food- lot of it within easy walking distance of the gates if you want to save money there.

62

Other Parks / Re: Troubles for Disneyland and WDW in the news.

« on: July 16, 2019, 12:38:01 PM »

I've actually got a video posting about this exact thing in just a bit.  Way to early to write this off as a Star Wars thing.

their crowds in summer have been massively down the last couple of years while up the rest of the year due to their tier pricing, making it really expensive to visit in summer.  The last couple of years people have said that summer is now their off season due to it.

The vast majority of their annual passes, outside of the expensive ones, are blocked until the end of August or early September, and a very large portion of Disneyland's attendance is from locals and passholders.

Their advertising has delivered a message very easily misunderstood- that the entire park was going to be massively overwhelmed, overcrowded and that you needed a reservation to get into the parks themselves.  I've got several family and friends that were confused by this and that I had to explain that reservations were only for Star Wars, not the rest of the parks.  They also didn't believe me that the crowds weren't huge and didn't want to deal with them.

And then yes, they haven't opened up the second main attraction in the land- and just announced again that it is delayed.  Though honestly outside of park fans I don't think that most of the general public are aware of or affected by that so much.  They just see the land as a whole.

there are a few other things, but really the issue isn't Star Wars, it's that the park leadership, management, and advertising have all combined to reinforce that this summer isn't the time to visit.

63

Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2020 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: July 16, 2019, 12:32:15 PM »

Even more interesting is the massive new parking lot to the north. New employee parking lot? Definitely a lot of land work going on around the area with the new pumpkin area, lot 3 expansion, expansion of the maintenance area, and now that.

it would be about time and long overdue for them to finally put in an employee lot out of the way and not affected by the traffic on 76.  The shuttle can run from that lot right up through M&C and to the back of the park without ever dealing with traffic, signals, etc.  Not sure that's what it is, but it has parking markers and would make sense.

It's possible that it's could be a lot specifically for the M&C folks that used to park right behind Red Gold but that lost that lot with the construction of the Pumpkin Nights area.

64

Random Talk / Re: Your Travels Thread (2019)

« on: July 16, 2019, 12:24:34 PM »

Started on my round of trips for the next month.

Worlds of Fun tomorrow
Busch Gardens Tampa next Weds
Sea World on Friday the 26th.
Disney Springs the 27th
WDW parks on the 29th and 30th
Cocoa Beach in Florida on the 31st for my daughters bday
Frontier City for GKTW Coasting for Kids on August 17th. I'll be livestreaming this if all goes well.

I'll try to post updates on the video channel, and expect the vlogs to be posting there a few days after each.

65

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Theme Park Insider Names top 50 Rides, SDC MAKES the cut!

« on: July 11, 2019, 10:46:25 AM »

Check again guys, its been removed from the list.  Updated poll or something else?

I'm guessing that it updates on a regular basis based on how people on the site are voting.  At the top it says, "As voted on by ThemeParkInsider.com's readers."  And then at the bottom is "You can find other attractions to rate and review on our Disney, Universal, and other theme parks' listing pages."

So I'm guessing that as people vote, rate, and review that the top 50 updates based on that.  So if a bunch of people went and flooded a certain attraction with positive ratings, it would move it up in the rankings.  That would make sense, and could be a way to try to keep the list as active and current as possible.

66

Random Talk / Re: New rides, ideas and entertainment development that catch your fancy

« on: July 09, 2019, 10:24:41 AM »

There is this creation from Intamin in China...

https://youtu.be/NzZI5yay1iE

Thats a really neat looking set of coasters

67

Branson Talk / Re: Ozark Valley Inn - 2019 - 417-336-4666 !!!!!

« on: July 09, 2019, 10:22:08 AM »

My wife's cousin was very pleased with her stay there a couple of weeks ago. My wife stayed one night with her so they could stay up visiting.  It's a great place.

68

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Theme Park Insider Names top 50 Rides, SDC MAKES the cut!

« on: July 04, 2019, 11:36:16 AM »

I’d argue that the Cave is the heart and soul of the park

I'd agree with you!  Mark it down- a first tie for everything.  lol

@palallin thank you for the explanation.  I totally understand your view, not liking the transformation from a "town" into a rides park (if that's even a good way to put it)  I think all of us here understand that as the park evolves few of us like when it loses things from the past and some of the charm that it used to have.  Times change, and the older I get the more I realize how hard that is for us sometimes.

69

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2019 Trip Reports

« on: July 02, 2019, 12:36:29 PM »

Personally I like the Reuben Branson tie in, since that is who founded Branson in real life.  I think it's a totally appropriate reference...

70

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Theme Park Insider Names top 50 Rides, SDC MAKES the cut!

« on: July 02, 2019, 12:35:33 PM »

I won't miss FITH:  frankly, when I heard it was built, I was very upset.  I didn't want it to begin with!  It ruined the ambiance of "my" SDC (and led to even greater decline in all the other coasters).

But I certainly recognize that my singular perspective is both uncommon and unprofitable 

I'm also confused.  Are you referring to Fire in the Hole, down by the Opera House, or something else?  When it was built there weren't any other coasters, so how did it lead to a decline in the others...

Explanation please, if you're willing.

71

Other Parks / Re: Frontier City Developments

« on: June 30, 2019, 07:54:14 PM »

If they bring in a serious ride coaster then sponsor the rides. Make this park better please Six Flags.

Remember, this isn't the first time that Six Flags has owned the park.  It could actually be debated that the current company that is Six Flags owned the park before it became Six Flags, as Frontier City was one of the parks owned by Tierco at the time it became Premier Parks and bought the Six Flags chain.  Believe it or not, Six Flags national HQ was even on the park property from 1998-2006, and they owned the park until 2007.  And Six Flags didn't add or do a whole lot with the park back then.

I hope that with the new management compared to when Six Flags last owned the park that it will be different, and they did do some pretty solid investments in the off season.  But I'll take a "wait and see" before I get to excited about Six Flags bringing in any major additions or changes.  :-)

72

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Theme Park Insider Names top 50 Rides, SDC MAKES the cut!

« on: June 30, 2019, 07:45:24 PM »

Well jeeze debbie downer, why are you even on this board? Get lost with this crap, FiTH is an outstanding ride.

PTB had better not remove this ride or replace it. As time traveler theme is any indication, theyd mess it up.

Classic and has soul. A favorite of many of my family, including my neices and nephews. Daughters arent old enough yet and if they take it out before they can ride Im done with season passes.

Well excuse me for having an opinion.  Why am I on the board?  Really Bill?  3 years working at the park and lots of visits and a love for SDC.  But just because, as much as I love the park and love FitH I don't think it's in the same class as multimillion dollar attractions....  It could be if the park had bothered to invest in keeping it up, but they haven't done that.  And if you've experienced the others on that list (and I've got about 2/3rds of them under my belt) then the difference is clear.

Put SDC on the list for best shows, best atmosphere, best landscaping, great theming (though it's slipping there), best food... And a very good collection of rides.  But top 50 in the world?  Outlaw Run could make that list for best coasters pretty easy, and with a bit more theming I could put it on that list for best attractions.  Fire in the Hole might have been there years ago when it wasn't neglected and falling apart.  But outside of those, SDC just doesn't have anything in the same realm.  It's awesome it got this recognition, but I don't think it's a realistic fit.

But it's really sad that you think I shouldn't be posting here for thinking that.

73

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2019 Daily Attendance

« on: June 29, 2019, 06:08:13 PM »

Wonder if they're having some sort of issue.  I had to drive past the entrance this morning on my way to Branson, going the opposite way of the traffic going into the park, and it was backed up past Shepherd of the Hills.  I was very happy I wasn't waiting in that line

74

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Theme Park Insider Names top 50 Rides, SDC MAKES the cut!

« on: June 29, 2019, 05:22:24 PM »

I love FitH, but I'm honestly shocked to see it on that list, especially up that high.  But it's also a rather oddly compiled list, including not just rides but shows (Mickey and the Magician), parades (Festival of Fantasy at 46), night spectaculars (World of Color) and fireworks presentations (Happily Ever After).  And to say that FitH is a better ride than Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, Monster's Inc, and Splash Mountain in Tokyo?  Or than Disneyland's Fantasmic?  Sorry.  There's absolutely no way.

FitH also, as much as I like it, in it's current condition doesn't even come close to comparing to the other dark rides on there, all of which really outclass it as far as quality goes- almost completely due to FitH's lack up upkeep.

I'm not surprised that Disney, and to a lesser extent Universal and Abu Dhabi, dominate that list.  If anything I'd almost say that it would be motivation to the PTB to scrap and replace FitH in an effort to actually have a ride that would deserve a place on the list.

One other thing to note- as much as I enjoy TPI as well, it's also a niche group and site that represents just a small select group of people and their views.  It's interesting to see SDC find a spot in it, but overall I don't think it means much.

75

Random Talk / Re: Your Travels Thread (2019)

« on: June 29, 2019, 05:10:12 PM »

I'd love to get out to the European parks one day.  They sound incredible.

One bit of clarification though:

Mack has the spiral lift down withbit being used on EuroMir and the new Moulin Rouge ride in their small epcot ball. I can see them using it for a new FITH at SDC. Again, all I know is that SDC missed out on Mack doing a show building for the first launch of Time Traveler. After seeing Europa park is all the more disappointing.

Mack would not have been doing the show building, or the elements inside of it.  That would have been other companies.  Mack builds the rides and the elements directly tied in and related to the operation of the ride, but other things like show elements, manequins/ animatronics, set pieces, theming, etc are all done by unrelated companies, possibly even local contractors, or even other companies like Sally, for example, who provided some of the non screen pieces on the Justice League rides at Six Flags parks.

I agree that it would have been really nice if SDC had those elements they hinted at earlier on, but they're not related to Mack in any way.