Theming

[History Buff]

Theming elements are usually the little "tweaks".  The tongue-in-cheek.  They invite slaps to the forehead and comments like "I can't believe it actually says that," or "somebody actually had that idea and they did it!"  Theming elements are the inexpensive additions to an area that amusement parks don't have.  They may include things like trash can covers and line railing, but they also include creative signage (like a creative poem telling you not to look over a rail when the train is passing underneath the bridge you're standing on), sidewalk prints (like the original haybale design inside the Giant Swing), and other items that the average visitor might walk right on by without noticing.  Many times the theme sets the stage for the ride you're standing in line for - like all the inventor's sketches and the small laboratory in the corner of the queue for Wildfire (It's almost disappointing when the line moves too fast for you to read all there is - and there's even more upstairs when the line gets really long!).  Oft times, the theming is actually educational (like in the lines at ThuNderaTion, Fire-in-the-Hole, and the Lost River).

Silver Dollar City is at its best when it floods areas with the 1880s Ozarkian themes - I think we can all agree on this point.  The talk in one of the coaster threads, however, has inspired me to move the discussion here.

So, what are your favorite theme elements?

Where do the themes work and where do they fall flat?

Are there theming elements that most people miss if they're not looking for them?

Do you have any ideas for new items that could be added?

I consider the every trip to SDC worth my time as long as I can spot at least one theme element I haven't noticed before, and I've been successful almost every visit.

[shavethewhales]

I think Wildfire was an outstanding show of the creative ability of the park. It has a fun, completely original theme combined with excellent theming such as the flying contraption above the gift shop, the sweet scenes with effects in the station, and the various novelties outside the building. What's also great about it is that the ride is positioned within the park so that it pokes out of the trees and commands the skyline around the park, yet isn't right up in the park where it takes away from the atmosphere of the city.

The Grand Expo is an example of an area where I wish SDC had used more of said creative ability. The area is also fun and well positioned within the park so that it can be a part of the park without making the rest of the city feel to much like an amusement park, but it kinda lacks some of the usual special effects that we're used to. I mean, the area is nicely laid out, but it doesn't feel all that much like a grand expo. It could do well  if they added some kind of 'exhibits' or cool randomness to the area to make it feel like you're really in a some kind of odd fair. As it is though, I'm just glad they found a way to add in the family rides some many guests were dying for in a  way that didn't hurt the atmosphere of the park as a whole too badly. I just hope the area doesn't get out of hand with them throwing rides in there. I'd like to see a midway develop there, with one of those ornate shoot-D'-chutes that you see in vintage postcards from past world's fairs.

[Copper]

I agree that the family rides of the Expo were much needed. I love taking my nephew and niece to the area and able to ride the rides with them. Over time the trees will fill in and help the space out. The area was a parking lot at one time. Jack Herschend brought in a lot of different trees into the area and he even planted some red woods.

The appearance of the rides is lacking. I would have preferred some old time rides like the Whip and Chute the Chutes. It wouldn’t have been hard to order the rides to fit a special SDC theme either. (I applaud the Electro Spin the large paintings in front of the queue line explain what they are doing with electricity) I love Holiday Worlds wave carousel, if you haven’t seen it check it out. I just hate seeing the flying elephants and a swinging ship that is duplicated everywhere else. I would have liked if they stretched their imaginations when it came to the Expo.

I enjoy the Andyisms of the park: Bubbling water bucket on Main Street, water flowing from a tree.

I also enjoy the details in the buildings: Not many strait lines, the wear and tare in corners and cracks...

I could go on and on about the little things that make the park special. What I should do is go all over the park and take pictures and post them on this site, which would be fun!

[History Buff]

I'd like that - everyone with pictures should stick them here.  See if we can tell where in the park the pictures were taken.  Here's an easy one, but it's all I have right now.  My daughter loves this location, and I take her to it when my wife is shopping in the quilt shop.  She always answers the bucket.

Bucket:  Hey Steve!
Daughter:  Steve's not here!

As I said, this is an easy one, but do you know where this is?  There are clues in the background.



They repainted this last year, thankfully not relegating it to rot and despair.  And it's one example of an educational element to the theming.  I like to plop myself on the fence across from it and watch people react to it talking to them.  It would be cool to have a live person talking and listening to the people as they stroll by, hasseling them and freaking them out with all kinds of railroad requests.  Kind of a Candid Camera type thing in good taste.

[Joy]

LOL... Yeah, that'd be awesome. It'd be kinda like Push the Trash Can at the Disney parks...

~ "Becky" Joy ~

[Old Guy]

Somehow the bucket dosn't make sense anymore. There used to be a maniquin on the other side of the tracks with another bucket and a string pulled between the two. He went away when the currlycue bridge went in. We should organise a huge write in campaign to bring him back, a rally, a sit in...... oh fine I'll sit down.   

[Coaster]

One of my favorite theming elements at SDC would have to be in the Grandfather's Mansion with all it's little details. The bathroom door is one of my favorites. If I remember correct it says, Johnny's Room and when you knock on it you hear flushing.

Oh and the new pool table felt there is just so exciting! 

That should be like our site slogan or something:

SDCFans.com! "We're so obsessed, we notice new pool table felt!"

[History Buff]

Remember to look in the mirror in GM.  Wait for it.  Wait.  There!

You'll never look at your reflection in quite the same way again.

[sdcforever]

First of all thanks, Coaster, for welcoming me to the forums! 

One of my favorite themes is the random signs throughout the park that remind me, at least, that I'm in the 1880s.  Such as the Nott and Shott sign (a poem that ends with "So Nott was shot and Shott was not, so in this case it was better to be Shott than Nott") and the ghost horse toll bridge with the signs tallying who has crossed the bridge.  Also the thief lineup/suspect sign with the mirror (that reveals you as the culprit!) which I believe is on the side of the saloon by the water fountain.  Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

I also love the daredevil signs in the queue leading up to the American Plunge (the pole sitting record, etc).  I do wish more theming was restored to the ride that extends the daredevil aspect, though.

[History Buff]

You are correct.  The culprit mirror is on the side of the restrooms at the tintype/portrait place (the old bookstore and print shop).

How about the picture at Fire-in-the-Hole that looks like an advertisement with a lady taking a bath.  The guest is invited to pull down a panel to reveal the full picture inside the tub, only to discover that what you thought was something else is really the bald heads of two men, and the picture is no longer a bath scene.

I think Powder Keg needs more theming.  The storyline is lost on a lot of people, and it's just a rollercoaster to a lot of people.  It should do more to teach the cave-guano-gun powder connection.  I know there's a big area in the queue, but it needs to be more explicit.

[Coaster]

Thunderation also has some great theming but people don't take the time to notice because the line is never that long for the ride anymore.

[Joy]

I always want to stop and enjoy (and videotape) the theming on Thunderation, but I'm always with friends or family who are eager to get to the ride...

~ "Becky" Joy ~

[sdcforever]

Thunderation also has some great theming but people don't take the time to notice because the line is never that long for the ride anymore.

Ahhh...those were the days.  I remember when Thunderation first opened and the queue stretched all the way outside of the loading station.  It does have great theming; so do the queues for Wildfire, Powder Keg, and the Lost River too, actually.  Now when you ride Thunderation you practically sprint inside the loading station and it's rare when the line is so long that you have to wait somewhere besides for a specific car.  I love riding backwards, and I've ridden it so many times that I have the turns, stops, and sudden drops memorized.  My favorite thing to do is point out Inspiration Tower on the lift hill!  Maybe SDC should consider shortening the queue area for Thunderation.  Honestly, the long zigzag sidewalk isn't really necessary anymore.  They could take that out, push the entrance back, and put something else there.

Another favorite theme aspect of SDC for me is the Fireman's Cemetery next to the queue for FITH.  The epitaphs are so quirky and entertaining! 
 

[Old Guy]

the Fireman's Cemetery is the old cue line for FITH, but hasen't been used as such after the first two years.
Is the Buggywheel of fortune still around?

[History Buff]

The thing about Thunderation is that you're in line while making your walk - you just don't realize it.  That makes the actual standing time less, so maybe that's a good thing.  It does cut down on the theming elements, though.  I love the lines being so short, but they also make us miss much of that theming that everybody's talking about.  Even in FitH, we now wait outside the building and don't snake inside at all, where the explanation of the Baldknobbers is located.  (While on FitH, it's a great feature to actually have the live dalmation, don't you think?).

It takes away from the ride, in my opinion, for there to be no wait, no set-up, no anticipation.  Waiting allows riders to get nervous and excited and then the ride provides a carthartic release.  It's part of the ride.  I know I'm weird, but the one time I had to wait for Wildfire and had to go through the overflow line upstairs.  There are more invention sketches and optical illusions up there to see, and we miss them all when the lines are too short.  (While on WF, is the big bubble "aquarium" really supposed to be fed by turning the wheels?  If not, shouldn't it be?)  I love it when the giant bubble fills the diameter of the tank.)

I think I saw the Buggywheel of Fortune.  If it's the same one, it's in the restaurant at the left corner of Main Street.  I think it's used to help make a decision about which food to order.  It's just not the same, but at least they didn't just trash it.  I may be wrong, but I don't think there's one in the old location since Wildfire was introduced.