Ok....SDC management comes to you and says "We are wanting to open a new store in the park and we've selected you to develop it! It has to stay within our overall theme, but it's your baby."
What would you open??
Me, I'd have an old west store filled with the history of the gunfighters and their legacies. Earp, James, Masterson, Holliday, Cody, Hickok, Billy the Kid, etc. The O.K. Corral, Northfield Bank robbery, Dodge City, etc.
I know a Nostalgia store is coming....I am just waiting to see which one of you opens it!
You Called that right! I would love to open that kind of store. Actually, a lot of parks with history behind them have a memorabilia store that also includes a museum (stuff you couldn't buy). I think the signs around the park that tell about the Park history illustrate the need for this.
I'd reintroduce a bookstore. I'd specialize in books about the Ozarks.
I will help betamike! After all his home is a :LOOONG way from "store" :o :o
LOL ;D..
Nostalia/History of SDC. Museum and goodies for sale. reproductions of buildings and the rides.. yes!!! ::)
Beta and I could go in on the museum!
That or a store of my artwork/ paintings.
Bliss! I could sell a ton of your artwork!
I would open a store near FITH that sold FITH merchandise and other replica antique firefighter "stuff". My firemen family members would drop the bank in that store plus it would be a great way to further honor the men and women who put their lives on the line fighting fire, rescuing people, and saving lives in general.
I would have to go with a store that only had american made items in it.
Quote from: sparkles2179 on July 22, 2011, 06:34:34 PMI would open a store near FITH that sold FITH merchandise and other replica antique firefighter "stuff".
Excellent idea! That sounds like a store that I would be interested in.
Quote from: jmc75 on July 22, 2011, 07:25:58 PMI would have to go with a store that only had american made items in it.
Speaking of that, I would like to see a store that sells only Silver Dollar City handmade items.
Okay, I am totally going to cheat, and suggest a Silver Dollar City online store. ;D
Yes, the dreaded online store. However, I never make it to Silver Dollar City as much as I would like, and it would be nice to have a place to order a shirt, or other merchandise with the axe, and log logo on it before each trip. It would also serve as a great springboard for the local handcrafters to sell even more of their products.
i keep sayin' it, & i'll say it again -- Indian stuff.. Native Americans were part of the ol' West rather it was fighting, trading, or stealing their land. Heck, we have to fight off the Baldknobbers & train robbers everyday at the park!
Just sayin..
online store is a good idea, IF they stuck to "quality" merchandise.. But i know they would flood it with crap like they sell at HH and Marketplace. >:( >:(
Quote from: Ozark BBQ on July 22, 2011, 11:35:57 PM
Okay, I am totally going to cheat, and suggest a Silver Dollar City online store. ;D
Yes, the dreaded online store. However, I never make it to Silver Dollar City as much as I would like, and it would be nice to have a place to order a shirt, or other merchandise with the axe, and log logo on it before each trip. It would also serve as a great springboard for the local handcrafters to sell even more of their products.
I always thought this was one of the best ideas SDC could come up with. It's a win - win situation for SDC and it's customers. What would be the increase in merchandise sales a year...say at least 25%?
Quote
I always thought this was one of the best ideas SDC could come up with. It's a win - win situation for SDC and it's customers. What would be the increase in merchandise sales a year...say at least 25%
25% would be just from those of us on this site ;D
I think your absolutely right okiebluegrass! I think 25% would be a very modest estimate.
I was glad to see some FITH merch in the HH! I got my son a FITH t-shirt and mini basketball! But there could be so much more, as I mentioned in an earlier post. We always scour Branson for firemen stuff and it's hard to find. I would love to have a t-shirt that said Silver Dollar City Volunteer Fire Dept on it! Just a thought but I could really see that there!
Some thoughts from my family, not necessarily new stores but augmentations of current ones, too:
*Period clothing, probably its own store. Everything from hats to shoes, underpinnings to overcoats.
*Period toys, to replace the WallyChina stuff across the board. About half of the stuff curently in the Toy Store needs to go.
*Reintroduce the blackpowder guns to the Outfitters. I had actually planned a purchase there, only to find out they had dropped the line.
*Augment the trian stuff at the Depot. Here's one idea: LGB makes a G scale loco that is durn near identical to a couple of the Silver Dollar Line engines. Partner with LGB to package one with a couple revised, old-time passenger cars, throw in an engineer, conductor, and two Bolin figures, a power pack, and a circle of track, and these outfits WILL fly out the door, especially around OTC.
One more: Period (mostly) music store. The dulcimer store in the OM is a nice start. Put it IN the city, add more instruments (mostly period), sheet music (keep the CDs, too), and maybe add a place where an aspiring musician can get quick-and-dirty lessons for a small fee, kinda like the Culinary School.
palallin, those are some great ideas!
I'll open the music store. Rows and rows of fiddles, mandolins, banjos and guitars. Like I died and went to heaven
Branching off the music store idea, I wish they sold simple, and rustic instruments that are easy to learn in an afternoon. Like blowing into one of those empty “moonshine” bottles, or tapping two spoons together, or running your hand across an old metal washing board, or even a wooden flute.
They could sale all sorts of 1880's noise makers for kids to rattle their parents ears in the car all the way home. :)
Wow, I really really like all these ideas. Anything that adds a little more charm to that 1880's theme is a great idea in my book.
Quote from: Ozark BBQ on July 22, 2011, 11:35:57 PM
Okay, I am totally going to cheat, and suggest a Silver Dollar City online store. ;D
I would love that!! I like to keep stocked up on their candles, but sometimes its hard when I get busy and don't have a chance to make it to the City. Then I usually have to settle for one from Walmart. Still smells good, but doesn't have the same charm. I bet if there was an online store, that's where my entire paycheck would go.
Quote from: sparkles2179 on July 27, 2011, 12:06:24 AM
I would love to have a t-shirt that said Silver Dollar City Volunteer Fire Dept on it! Just a thought but I could really see that there!
OOOO!!! I WANT ONE!!! FITH IS MY FAVORITE RIDE!!!
Have a luthier on site making guitars and mandolins to buy. If you can have a knife smith making $1000+ knives, have a luthier do the same for a guitar. I would pay that for a good quality instrument. He could have a display store to keep the wood from the elements, and you could try them out on a back porch or even catch a small act using them there. It would be great.
They definitely need a luthier. Other than Violet Hensley who visits in the Fall (and honestly I am really unsure of how much she still produces while at the park). I know when I visited in June, there was a guest carver/ luthier downstairs in the wood carver's shop working on a fiddle body.
And along this theme of a luthier, have the luthier use specifically Ozark woods, including some of the wood that is cleared for different purposes in the park.
I have played in Bluegrass Jams with luthier Jerry Rosa of Rolla MO who makes amazing mandolins. He would be a great guy to contact if you are on the market for a playable piece of art!
http://www.rosastringworks.com/ (http://www.rosastringworks.com/)
I love the inlay work on his guitars. Very orginal. I may direct a friend there. I play my strat for gigs, so I don't really play acoustic. However, if I ever need a mandolin, I know where to go.
Man an Ozark SDC wood Les Paul would be insane. I should talk to Gibson and tell them to put that in the idea box. Your choice a Tennessee Dollywood Lessie or an Ozark SDC Lessie. Limited addition made on site guitars. Now that's a seller! ;D
Quote from: FireInTheHole on July 29, 2011, 02:51:05 PM
Have a luthier on site making guitars and mandolins to buy. If you can have a knife smith making $1000+ knives, have a luthier do the same for a guitar. I would pay that for a good quality instrument.
If you pay $1,000 for a "good quality instrument", it's going to be factory made. Three times that (or more) for a quality, truly handmade, guitar.
Quote from: rubedugans on July 29, 2011, 03:36:38 PM
And along this theme of a luthier, have the luthier use specifically Ozark woods, including some of the wood that is cleared for different purposes in the park.
Not a lot of spruce or fir in the area, if you're talking acoustic instruments. You can make guitars/mandolins/fiddles/etc. out of the local woods, but they won't be great sounding.