When were they there last?

[oldsdcer]

I keep seeing this comment, so I will bite.  When were the Herschend's last at the City?

[U Smell Smoke]

That's an excellent question. I would love to know how often the Herschends are on park and what they do when they are there.  Do they stay in the administrative offices or do they get out and walk the streets, ride some rides and watch some shows?  You would think they more than anyone would have a great feel for something that's just not right or drifting away from theme.

We were at Dollywood a few years back the summer before they built the Mystery Mine. I was approached by a lady taking a survey. She seemed ready to talk so I started asking questions.  She told me all about the Mystery Mine--and this was before D'wood had announced anything about the new ride.  She also told me how involved one of the brothers (I can't remember if she said Pete or Jack) was in the planning and development of the Thunderhead Gap area. She said he would come down and walk through the area with other staff members laying out his vision of what ride would go here and what ride would go there.  She said he was very hands-on and very firm in what he wanted.  She seemed very impressed with his vision and ability to see the potential in a new area. I can't help but wonder if their attention and creative juices have been focused a bit much on Dollywood and the acquisition of Wild Adventures the past few years while SDC (and Whitewater for that matter) has been left on auto pilot.

[History Buff]

Isn't that one of the brothers on the Missouri state school board?

[Hatfield McCoy]

Last year my family and I were in line for the "Acrobats of China", and one of the brothers strolled up and began talking to my little girl.  He then turned to us and asked how we were enjoying the park and if we were having a good day.  I can't remember which one it was, but he had a name tag on and I recognized the name as being one of the Herschends.  He was very polite and truly acted like he was enjoying talking with the kids.  He also was asking a few questions about the shows and festivals.  I was really impressed with his desire to make sure guests were being entertained.

[Joy]

I don't know how I'd react if one of the Herschends walked up and started talking to me. I'd probably go all fangirl... "OMGyou'repeteherschendhowareyouthisplacerocksyouguysaresocoolherschendisawesome!"

LOL

Joy

[Firstvisit1967]

Would love to spend hours listening to them tell storys about the park and hour they built it.

[U Smell Smoke]

I bet any of us would love to get just 30 minutes with one of the brothers to share our thoughts, ideas and concerns. Has anyone received a survey lately?  I didn't see anyone taking down names and e-mail addresses when we were at the park last week. I wonder what concepts and ideas they are thinking about for the future.  Does anyone know, do the folks at SDC use any focus groups or do they stick mainly to the surveys?

[sdcforever]

They recently sent out a craft survey.  Check out this thread for the discussion:  http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=503.0

[shavethewhales]

Does anyone know, do the folks at SDC use any focus groups or do they stick mainly to the surveys?

I think they do both, but they seem use surveys for the majority of their observations. I thought I heard of them pitching ideas to focus groups back when they were coming up with Powderkeg, but maybe I'm getting that confused with other parks.

They've really been ramping up the use of surveys though, which means they still care deeply about their guests' concerns. Maybe it's because I'm watching for them now, but I don't remember them sending out 8-10 surveys a year before like they seem to do now.

[oldsdcer]

I don't remember getting a survey at all and I am on the e-mail list.

[shavethewhales]

^They use small, random samples apparently. Sometimes the samples are pulled from guests who have visited recently, or haven't visited in a long time, depending on what they're trying to survey, I think.

[docspeleo]

The bros are on park frequently and are great to talk with, such a wealth of information.

[themeparkguy]

Glad to hear they are keeping an eye on things.