2016 Trip Reviews

[mhguy77]

Makes no sense whatsoever. Navigating through that area is without question the most miserable experience anywhere in the park.

The addition of the Fry Bread stand without moving it back also added to this miserable area.  I have said time and time again if you have to stick the booth out in the middle of the walkway just to get people to pay attention and buy.....Then maybe you are selling the wrong thing.  Take pity on your patrons if nothing.  Do the PTB walk the park while its open and busy? do they know what is happening?.  Do they stand in line and wait to ride a ride or eat a meal, it should be compulsory in their job description.
Frankly the weekends have not been a good start as far as customer satisfaction is concerned.  SDC sent me a "immediate feedback" survey the right after I went last weekend.  I told them they are not doing a good enough job; frankly speaking, they are not.  They know how to staff on the fly because they have to do this at the Branson Belle.  They can do the same at SDC by having staff on call. They have been caught with their pants down the past 2 weekends its like they don't care or don't think this is important.  They need to get a grip on what is happening in their communities, it seems to have eluded them that Spring Break is going on now.

[History Buff]

FITH had consistent lines stretching out of the station back to the Fry Bread stand as well.

That's only because they don't allow the line to wind inside the building anymore - a shame since the inside of the building tells the story behind the ride.

[sdcfan88]

Yeah it's definitely been a rough start. I went on a Wednesday and it felt like a Saturday with the crowds. Even for spring break I was surprised by this. Hopefully this won't be a precursor to the rest of the season. But I think (hope) things will be close to normal once Worldfest starts and everything else opens up for the season. They do need to work on anticipating staffing and improving traffic. It's been an increasing problem since the Christmas festival.

[runner1960]

Sounds like the Christmas weekend problems are starting to creep into other times of the year. You would think that the company could predict attendance better. I think they just draw a number out of a hat. I know several who will never go back because of the poor policy they have on not being able to accurately staff for the crowds, or put a attendance cap on. But I guess the sheep that leave are replaced my more. Lots of disgruntled facebook reviews over the last couple of weekends.

[Swoosh]

I just find it odd that Dollywood can open their entire park (all show venues, food, stores) AND start with Festival of Nations from the get-go.  The park has been packed this week. 

[Jemmicat]

I've said this before, SDC needs to look at people flow from an industrial engineering standpoint. Civil engineers use similar calculations for how many cars you can fit on a highway at a time. There is a way to calculate and plan. It is obvious that none of this sort of planning is being done. I mean, the classic area that everyone complains about at the Lumber Jack restaurant... There are x number of people passing through that area every few minutes. And the width is Y. to pass the minimum number of people through you need a a width of x + Y + some value... I mean, there is a formula I am sure. It is not being looked at that way.

Best I can tell it is all about dollars and how many people they can pack in the square footage of the park. That is $60 a pop versus much less spent on food. They have lost sight of the goal.

God forbid there is ever an emergency of any serious proportion on days where there are 18K or more people. There will be more injuries as there is just no room for people to go safely and quickly.

I do hope everything I am hearing is not going to be how it bodes for the year. We got our girls season passes for the first time and if it is so crowded that they can't enjoy it, that is going to suck.

We went shopping in downtown Branson Friday instead of going to SDC... Sounds like we made the right choice. We packed our cup just in case but looks like we lucked out.

[shavethewhales]

^I'm sure they have industrial engineers on staff somewhere, but it is puzzling how they'll be conservative in some areas and not in others. Some areas are old and quaint, and it's hard to expand them while keeping their character in tact, but other areas you can see obvious improvements that could be made, yet they go in the opposite direction. I think they just suck at making up their minds sometimes. Maybe there are too many cooks in the kitchen upstairs?

I'm really puzzled over the Fry Bread stand. We kept saying it must be pushed back farther than it looks and how the line must be an improvement, but it sounds like that's mostly bunk at this point? I'm weirdly excited to see it for myself in a couple of weeks.

[Duelist]

^^ This time of year is not a good time to judge how busy the park will be the rest of the year.  As has been said many times the reason for the crazy lines this time of year is the limited shops/shows operating during Spring Ride Days.  The cooler OTC days/nights have the same effect on the shows.  it was crazy busy when we went last December except for the ride lines.  More visitors were there to see the shows than ride.  On hotter days you're going to stand in line longer for the water rides.  that's just the nature of the beast.

[Swoosh]

I'm really puzzled over the Fry Bread stand. We kept saying it must be pushed back farther than it looks and how the line must be an improvement, but it sounds like that's mostly bunk at this point? I'm weirdly excited to see it for myself in a couple of weeks.

[tinmann620]

As you can see, the Fry bread building is built where the flowerbed USED TO BE, not on the original footprint. The waiting line is where Berries and creme used to be.

[HumphreyHawk]

Interesting to hear I'm not the only one concerned by their first trip this year.  I didn't want to seem to negative in my review but I was seriously concerned about the rest of the year based on my first trip too.  I agree that if I was making my first SDC trip I doubt I would wanted to come back.  The food service was horribly slow and crowds painful to navigate with kids.  The only rides we really got to do without a 30+ minute wait where the morning rides we did pre-rush crowd.  We even had a 30 minute wait for FL after lunch.  I had to keep reminding myself how much better it would be if the shows where active, shops where open, and water rides full.  I may have to invest in a trailblazers pass for myself next time so I can ride coasters without my family of 5 waiting for me for 45+ minutes for a ride.

If my next trip is like this (with everything open) I might cut down my 6-7 planned trips back to 3-4 trips.  I will also completely avoid Saturdays this year and might sneak the kids out for a weekday visit before summer break.

I can remember going the SDC two years ago over spring break and riding OR 2-3x, and PK, WF ride in before 10 without any issues.  Then had the whole day for the shows and kid rides.



 

[mhguy77]

There are no pictures of the entire street.  The issue is they didn't put it back and out toward the graveyard.  They didn't have to eliminate the fireman cemetary at all.  The bread but could have moved further from the road. Next time I go I will take a picture of the road, that's really what the issue is.

[shavethewhales]

^^When the weather is nice, Spring break is crazy. It's never been a great time to be at the park unless it's just the right amount of cold and wet to keep people away but rides open so that you can at least focus on enjoying the rides. April is almost here.

^That's what's puzzling. I understand it's pushed back a bit, but considering the effort they went through to build this thing, why not completely optimize the area? Maybe they have a better plan in store eventually. The real issue is still a little further south in any case, and the real question is why have they let so many seasons pass with that bottleneck being such a mess.

I've got to say again though that they did a good job on the building. It has all the SDC characteristics. It looks like they even covered the registers? Someone's up there is still paying attention to details. 

[Jemmicat]

I honestly they don't believe they would have an industrial/manufacturing engineer on staff... No real need most of the time. But they could contract out some work to look at those types things if they cared. Perhaps they don't even know how to look at traffic flow in this manner

I will say that they have gotten better at staggering shows starting and stopping so it is not just one big clusterphuck. It still isn't great, but at least there often isn't a show letting out from say the opera house right as they are starting to fill the saloon show. At least they now time it so that the line for the saloon is mostly empty when the opera shows get let out. These are small things that make huge difference

[palallin]

I didn't experience most of these problems on Opening Day--we didn't get down to the bottom of the hill by the LumberCamp, for example--but that day may have been too early for the crowd.

Still, the feeling was very positive that day, for which I am grateful.

One complaint I really don't have much of is waiting in line.  Other than the train and FM (and an occasional romp on LR), you'd have to hold me at gunpoint to do any of the rides.  I can't stand coasters or any of their "thrill" ilk, so those lines never bother me.  I suppose if the rides were the reason I go to the city, I would be similarly unhappy, so I don't dismiss the problem, but I am glad that I can say I am not bothered by it personally.

The only reason I would regret the loss of every "thrill" ride in the city is that it couldn't be made to pay these days.  Otherwise, take me back to pre-'72.  A real thrill ride for me would be a time machine, I guess.