I've noticed in the last few years since the HQ moved to Atlanta that it seems Dollywood is getting top status in the company...maybe because it's bigger, or maybe because it's got more attendance. Seems like that park is used for debuting new things like the RiverBlast idea, the Eagle, and so on...is this just my imagination or is SDC being given second class status? Say it ain't so! :)
With the results from the Golden Tickets, they are obviously moving to the front for many reasons, They have the name recognition.
I would rather SDC be the smaller , not necessarily behind, just smaller! like DisneyLand-to DisneyWorld).
It sure seems like it is. Hopefully the new coaster is the start of a new era of investment in the park.
Dollywood has a larger area of dense population to draw from. Silver Dollar City is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There in lies the problem.
Interesting discussion. From a person on the inside of the Disney organization, we contrarily feel the same way about the Disneyland Park. It IS smaller, but is always getting the more upgraded version of this or that, or has a stronger focus from the media (there is the heritage piece) and then you have the strong name association that most people call even the Florida park....DISNEYLAND! It's true and you'd notice it if you worked there.
It was that way until recently however when the shift seemed to move towards the Florida property. WDW only opened 16 years after Disneyland debuted (strange to think about). For the LONGEST time, we had no history to draw from, but now in our 40th year, the focus seems to be on us.
It really is about managing a corporation from the standpoint of where the benefits will be best placed.
In the case of Dollywood and SDC, the both have strong local audiences (read: passholders). This is similar to Disneyland who have about 80% locals vs. tourists....the reverse can be said about Florida. This influences a lot of how the parks are updated. We are the "once in a lifetime" experience so the rides always need to stay somewhat the same. At Disneyland, they want to experience the changes happening often to keep them coming.
I think the Herschend Company would like to give equal attention to both, but it's also about the economy and what's going to pay in dividend for them. Yes, being in Atlanta gives them a closer place to test and push. I'm also very curious about how much $$$ Dolly pours into the park herself. She is a business unit all her own. It's like Tokyo Disneyland. If you want a killer Disney experience go there...they write the biggest checks and nothing is off the table.
SDC is always gonna be #1 in my book!!
I may be wrong about this, but haven't I heard before that Dollywood is surrounded by other big time amusement parks whereas SDC is more isolated in terms of other parks? My understanding is that Dollywood has to have the expansions to stay competitive whereas SDC does not have to compete as hard to keep the visitors coming. Again, I may be wrong about this. Either way, I love SDC and Dollywood is not an option for us due to the distance from our home in Colorado so I hate to see this. I've actually commented on this before in other threads on this forum. I just hope that with Outlaw run and the plan Swoosh has mentioned as far as adding to the park later on will keep the park fresh while holding on to the "culture" of SDC. Hopefully the PTB will keep showing SDC love despite their focus on Dollywood.
I found a little article in the KC newspaper awhile back & was gunna post it but never got around to it. I dont think it has anything to do with Dollywood but heres what it says....
" Attendance at SDC is up 3% from this time last year, partly because a 3 month drought beats stormy weather when it comes to tourism, said Lisa Rau. One rainy Saturday & you can lose 15,000 people, she said.
Tracking the zip codes of ticket buyers, SDC attributes the higher attendance to visitors who travel many hours to get there, 58,811 have arrived so far this year from the KC area, a near 4% jump.
Rau said the one problem area market is Springfield, 25 miles to the North, where many hold season passes & may be waiting for milder weather to use them."
Home building in NWA is picking up again and hardly any of it is under 170,000 and most of it is 220 to 280,000. I was listening to a local big wig at Arvest at work the other day and he seemed rather upbeat about growth in the area again. Hints there's things in the pipeline. On the other end of the spectrum, the Ft. Smith/River Valley area is hurting something bad. that's a 200,000 pop that's getting bad news on top of bad news.
Before the bust, housing around these parts were going for 120 a sq. ft. It had fallen to around 90 and is back up to 104 fo 110.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that NWA ( at least, I think) holds a key part in SDC's future as to providing a good solid base. It's nothing for us to get there and sooner or later 412 will be 4 laned to 67 all the way.
Yeah, I'm in Springfield and I avoid the summer months at SDC like the plague. I really wanted to make it once this year just to check out the new shows (my dad said Gazillion Bubbles was amazing), but I just didn't make it. But now I'm going to be going, and it's Harvest Fest already. My top three fests are World Fest, Harvest Fest, and Old Time Christmas, and a whole lot of that has to do with the themes as well as the milder weather.
Dollywood has always gotten the bigger attention. Even during the City's 50th. Anniversary, It had to be nationally known the it was DW's 25th. anniversary, not attention outside of the local area about ours. In comparison, DW has gotten more rides opened to those of the City's, and had more live concerts, television exposure, and national advertizing. The City's only national exposure comes in brief 2 second clips in the Branson TV ads. So far the biggest exposure was Undercover Boss, and it really didn't say allot about the City. If you think about it, Wild Adventures has gotten more attention also then the City.
Prior to about 2004/2005, DW fans used to complain that DW was the one being ignored. DW has experienced some significant rapid growth in the past decade, but SDC has certainly not been passed over for DW's favor. Like Swoosh said, DW is in a tremendous area for growth, and it was definitely time for them to start investing majorly in the park to ensure it stayed a competitive and dominant force in that area.
We might have experienced some project delays, but I think we can pin those on the economy the parking lot fiasco. Now that those two events are more-or-less behind us, you'll notice SDC is getting the big shiny new toy of the chain, and there are plenty more good things on the way. I don't think we have much to complain about.