Ok, here you go SDC/ train fans. Part 1 of 2 of pranks and silliness that we pulled on the Frisco Silver Dollar train. If you've ever been on the train, you'll get a kick out of this one (and maybe seen some of these things) If not, you'll still get a good laugh out of this I hope. I'd love feedback.
And if all goes well, part 2 will hopefully be up Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.
https://youtu.be/L1h44kDJy8c
I've never worked at SDC, but I've ridden the train many times.
I'm sure you had fun with your fellow train robbers, and maybe got a laugh from the crowd at the end. Was it just polite laughter because they were polite?
As a guest, I really don't want to strain to listen to bad crackling audio of actors putting on a show. The train robber skit used to be about the Bolins interacting with the guests, and getting laughs up and down the line from other riders within direct earshot of those around them.
I know, I'm just a crotchety old-timer from the '70s. I don't have much sympathy for people who think their job is supposed to be entertainment for themselves and their friends.
I'm guessing that you didn't watch (which is ok). If you do, you'll notice that pretty much every gag and prank we pull is either obvious to the people on the train so they can enjoy it, or it pulls them into it as well. There's only one exception to that, and it happens really after the show is over.
Because I'm totally with you. The people on the train are not props, they are the reason we're out there. So if it wasn't something that wasn't going to be enjoyed by the people on the train, that they would laugh at, or if it would detract from the show at all, then we wouldn't do it. So those watching either loved it or never noticed it, and that was on purpose.
We never wanted to take away from what the train robbery was and what it was supposed to be- and that was for the people on the train. Some of the things we did were things that were actually done repeatedly over decades past. We actually resurrected a couple of old gags, and the newer ones that we did went over well.
The only time I can think of where I got "polite laughter" for doing something unexpected was my pirate show, and that lasted for the first couple of minutes while I think people were trying to figure out if we were really doing what we were doing. By halfway through they were laughing hard and the end we got a great response (actually had a couple stand up to applaud).
So I'm in total agreement with you on that. in fact, I think that if you watch, you'll probably see that, and even notice on the one "live" clip in there that it's more than "polite laughter" At some point I'll do another video that will talk about a lot of my banter and interaction with the people on the train, because that was my favorite part and had a ton of fun with it.
On a side note- The sound system was actually a point of contention between us and the park on a number of occasions because of it did and didn't work. We tried to get it upgraded and improved, and proposed a number of ways to do that, but were never able to get the budgets or improvements approved. Never liked that because of how it's set up that the very front and back of the train have a hard time hearing. We pushed the system to the limits, on the verge of feedback loops, trying to make sure everyone could hear everything.