The Train Holdup Skit

[RollaJedi]

i think it makes each trip unique when they add their own touches to the show.  I hate it when you get on a ride such as this and it just feels and sounds like the person talking is reading everything off a sheet of paper with no interest or emotion in it. 

[themeparkguy]

Different is good but they must remember it's for the audience not themselves.

[rubedugans]

I took my wife on the train ride for her first non-Christmas ride, and I, a seasoned veteran who could recite every line of the hold up scene was very let down by it all. I know I am a bit of a harsher critic than some others, but it was too quiet for the average rider, much MUCH shorter than the show once was, and well very flat, and empty as far as the actual body of the hold up. From start to finish, boarding the train to exiting the train, it was not quite 15 minutes! I thought it was longer. It was only about 15 seconds from the time the conductor "went up the tracks" until he came back down to stop the hold up. Each robber had covered 3-4 windows. Besides the hold up, we heard nothing of the conductor from car 3 due to the immense screeching noise coming from our wheels.

[Swoosh]

They had two "new to us" guys playing the Bolens on Saturday.  IDK if they were just not used to their parts yet or just didn't care but the whole thing didn't do anything for me.  I miss Gunner and Butch playing the roles as I believe they were the two that debuted the current script. 

[rubedugans]

It was Friday I believe...if that makes any difference. I didn't recognize them.

[Firstvisit1967]

Dot the people in charge know what is going on.  It seems that quite a few of us have been disappointed in the train this year.  I know that this along with the cave, the flooded mine and the candy store are some of my best memories.

[Swoosh]

Personally I am ready for them to remove the stop all together.
If need be they could put another sight-gag in that location, but no longer do the stop

[Joy]

I thought the stop there had something to do with the train needing to gain steam to hit the last climb...? Or was that just something from the past...?

Joy

[RollaJedi]

i was there on saturday from opening till close (10pm) and we rode the train at around 530-6pm.  They did the shorter version of the skit (without the part of recognizing their mom on the train).  Things i noticed was the flatness of the conductor.  Some of the lines were ommitted, like 'ladies put your feet down' and just running jokes together without the right delivery. 
Also, where did the caboose right outside of wilsons farm come from?  It looks very old but i dont remember it. 
It looked like there were a couple new dummies (the man and woman at the fire) at the hobo caboose, yet the poor dummy in the barrel taking a shower looked like he was falling apart.  i dont know if it was supposed to be some kind of new material to make it look like bubbles on his head or if his head had actual damage to it that has made it explode and the innards coming out.  Poor old thing.  I know it is at least 30 years old as its always been there since i've came.  The elements have not been kind.
Whats the deal with there now being a new area for the holdup skit, yet on down the tracks was the old one?
The little "4 story mansion" was gone.  This is the first year in probably 3 years i've gone to SDC, so this stuff may not be new.

[sdcforever]

I thought the stop there had something to do with the train needing to gain steam to hit the last climb...? Or was that just something from the past...?

Joy

Yes, they do need the stop for the train to build up steam for the last climb.

Whats the deal with there now being a new area for the holdup skit, yet on down the tracks was the old one?

They moved the cabin for the holdup skit earlier in the train ride in 2007 due to the encroachment of The Giant Swing.  You can see and hear TGS from the location of the old cabin.

[crsjrr]

Gunner was a conductor right?  Was that the character's name or his real name. We always enjoyed his work on he train and the skit.

[KBCraig]

On our visit in June, the skit went fine. They adlibbed after a couple of blown lines, but they stayed on theme.

But, we couldn't hear anything the conductor said during the ride. It was all very rushed, and very distorted. You could tell that "...the other way, ladies!" only got a laugh from people who already knew the joke. People who didn't, didn't even know a joke had been told.

[Swoosh]

Gunner was a conductor right?  Was that the character's name or his real name. We always enjoyed his work on he train and the skit.

Gunner's real name is Rusty.  He played both Ralphie and was a Conductor

[marolinesdad]

I rode the Train with my kids and a few friends on Monday...   It was the whole skit.   They even picked the woman from the train to be their mom....   The conductor was a little quiet and seemed to be new...  Over all I still had a good time. 

[U Smell Smoke]

Hello all...long time listener, first time caller. We were at the City
several days last week and rode the train each day. We experienced
the entire spectrum of hold-ups...one that was pretty good, one that was not so good and one with a single robber that hardly qualified as a robbery. I don't know, sometimes the characters seem to be going through the motions. But, I guess I can see how that can happen since they do so many skits a day every day of the week.  Some might find it tough to keep that enthusiasm going.