http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/festivals/kidsfest/
Some Comments on KidsFest this Year:
-- There seems to be a much larger push this year to get parents to buy things for their kids. There are two huge "stores" where the whole point is to BUY BUY BUY. Then on the square they have a "kids crafts" area where the kids for $2.00 can make things that you would make at Vacation Bible School.
-- The magic show was very good, but it seemed to just end
-- The Circus on Ice was once again very bad. They have one section of the show which relies on strobe lights almost the entire time. I don't know about others, but I can handle strobes for a little bit, but then they just get annoying, and that was the case here.
-- There really wasn't that much for the older generations to do during this festival. Once again this is my beef with Kids Fest as it has been in the past. This Festival goes on way too long and alienates a good portion of those who visit the park. There was a show a couple years ago that was produced by Mutal of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. That show could be enjoyed by all audiences, why wasn't it brought back?
-- Is it time for Southern Gospel Picnic yet? At least there are grown up shows then.
I actually liked the circus on ice better than the magic show. The only thing I really didn't like about the circus was the use of the projection screen. I would have liked to see the girl skate with the hoop this year, but I did like the act with the cloth--similar to the acrobats of China act.
I can't really put my finger on why the magic show annoyed me, but I was ready for it to end. Don't get me wrong, the illusions were cool, but after awhile I was ready for it to end. I agree that it does end suddenly.
My cousins were disappointed in the Veggie Tales show, but I didn't see it. They thought the show inolved too many people just dancing around the vegetables.
I wish they would bring back shows similar to what they used to have in the opera house. I like silly little musical or comedy shows. I also liked the riverboat show they had with the Cajun Connection a few years ago. I guess the saloon show is musical comedy, but even that show hasn't been as good the last two years.
Dollywood had a good show last year; I nearly cried watching it, and my daughter was on the edge of her seat for the whole show. It was a story about teenagers at a 1950s burger joint and how their lives progressed as the decades passed. I guess that type of show wouldn't really fit in as well at SDC, but shows at Kids Fest often don't fit the 1880s theme.
Thanks for the opportunity to give my opinion. :)
The 1950's show you mention from Dollywood has actually won some theme park awards. It is one of the best shows I have ever seen (inside or outside a theme park) but would not fit in at SDC as we (thankfully IMHO) do not have a 1950's themed section.
It would be a HUGE draw for Celebration City though. :)
I really enjoy all that Kidsfest has to offer although I didn't get to see any shows this year. I think the main reason it runs so long though is because they want the festival to run all the way through the summer season which is fine with me. Summertime is supposed to be for kids really, plus adults can visit in the fall more than kids can.
I just don't think it needs to last 3 months whereas most of the other festivals are limited to 1 month.
They must really turn a profit off of this festival. I mean, it seems a little ridiculous to devote the entire summer to abandoning so much of the park's theme and catering to kiddies. I know it brings in the mom's and their young families, which SDC is after so hungrily these days, but I think more can be done to keep the park more all around entertaining during the summer. I don't think even the kids are as attracted to the cheesiness that's slapped around for them as much as most would think.
Quote from: shavethewhales on July 07, 2008, 06:33:46 PM
They must really turn a profit off of this festival. I mean, it seems a little ridiculous to devote the entire summer to abandoning so much of the park's theme and catering to kiddies. I know it brings in the mom's and their young families, which SDC is after so hungrily these days, but I think more can be done to keep the park more all around entertaining during the summer. I don't think even the kids are as attracted to the cheesiness that's slapped around for them as much as most would think.
Yeah I have to agree with this whole statement. I hate how it is all about the money.
worst fest ever....money is the bottom line with this one.
Quote from: shavethewhales on July 07, 2008, 06:33:46 PM
They must really turn a profit off of this festival. I mean, it seems a little ridiculous to devote the entire summer to abandoning so much of the park's theme and catering to kiddies. I know it brings in the mom's and their young families, which SDC is after so hungrily these days, but I think more can be done to keep the park more all around entertaining during the summer. I don't think even the kids are as attracted to the cheesiness that's slapped around for them as much as most would think.
Well, in defense of the company- June, July, and August are the summer vacation months. The period of the year when kids are not in school and most families plan their vacations. Having the Kid's Fest last 9 weeks (just a week over 2 months) allows those families flexibility to fit their vacations into their own time-frames, not SDC's. It's not like they shut down all the adult oriented facets of the park. There are still plenty of adult oriented shows, crafts, and shopping. As a matter of fact, out of the four large entertainment venues- Opera House, Red Gold, Playhouse, and Echo Hollow, only the Playhouse with the VeggieTales show would be strictly a "kid's" show. Echo is still Echo, and the magic and ice shows are just as enjoyable to
most adults as they are to kids, maybe even more. And I can say this because I see their reactions everyday.
The season lasts 9 months, April to December. Just under 7 months of that is completely devoted to the adult customer, and the kids have nothing for them except a few rides, a playground, and a chance to visit Santa Claus at Christmastime. Please don't be resentful of the fact that kids have 2 months when the park tries to pay special attention to them.
That being said, I'm sorry that you can't find things to keep you entertained during Kid's Fest.
Well I have just heard from a lot of the shop workers that they do not care very much for KidsFest as it seems the older people who actually SHOP don't seem are prevalent as the other festivals and it is quite boring for them during that festival.
They call it the "never-ending festival"
I understand. It is indeed, the longest festival we have. But then, life is what you make of it.
My observation is that, even though it is Kid's Fest, there are still large numbers of elderly people visiting the park. I know because it's hard to walk anywhere on park without getting stuck behind bunches of them ambling here or there. Now, why they would do less shopping in the summer is a mystery. My personal opinion is that it is just elderly shop keepers (and most of them are elderly) needing something to talk, or more likely gripe about. I was just talking to Ray Johnson, the knife maker, today, and he said he just sold two of his $5000 Damascus knifes in the last couple of days, and I know it wasn't kids buying those. As a matter of fact, he said that he was getting really low on stock and that the general manager, Brad Thomas, had offered to come in after hours to help him make more. An offer which he kindly refused. LOL
Sometimes I do wish the area had the available workforce such that the company could hire more younger help in the shops and restaurants. Not that I'm against hiring the elderly. It's just that 95% of them are so slow at the counters and registers. It takes forever to get checked out. And I would suspect that that is partly the reason they can't run more customers through their shops. But, God love 'em, they're just tryin' to get along, same as me, so I do my best to be patient with them.
And yet there are ways they could have a Kids' Festival without losing the theme of the park.
That's true. I think in a round-about way, they're trying to go for a circus type atmosphere, which would be in keeping with theme, but just not quite achieving it. As you know, circuses were prevalent in the late 1800's but trying to spread one across the whole town might not be the right way to go about it.
That would be fine with me, but dog shows and magicians who dress in modern costumes and use modern music don't work for me. Likewise with the circus. Worldfest seems to work better, with most groups wearing traditional costumes (but not always). I loved hearing the bagpipes, several years ago - it lent a new sound to the atmosphere that was kind of cool.
You're right, that stuff doesn't fit with the theme. What kind of entertainment do you think would be enjoyable for kid's in the 4-11 age range that would still fit the theme? Or just put the aforementioned in costumes?
Well, the costumes would be a pretty simple solution to the illusion that we are really in the 1800s.
As the parent of a four-year-old, I can attest to the fact that she can be entertained by picking up sticks; and as the teacher of elementary students for 18 years, I know a bit about how to keep the attention of that crowd, as well. Some entertaining shows and original projects can easily created to do this, appeal to families, and look good in advertisements - all without resorting to hiring entertainers from catalogs.
Yes, entertaining shows can indeed be created. But for some reason, Entertainment management likes to take the easy way out, which is as you said, hiring from a catalog. They do travel around the country, viewing acts to find those they think might be appropriate. Hmmmm.... travel around the country on the company dime or spend time in the office trying to write something funny and entertaining- what would I choose to do? That's not saying it's right, it's just what they do. Long ago they lost the will to create their own, except for the large production shows in the Opera House, and they spend years getting one of those done. Frankly, I'm not sure anyone in E&E management has the ability to write the kind of comedy shows that we used to have, particularly in the Playhouse. It's really sad.
Current E&E philosophy is thet inovation is a danger. Hiring a proven act is less risk. Perhaps that is why, when I first worked there It seems we had a new Entertainment Director every year or two, and this one (who did away with the shows like those in the cast shots), hired awayfrom Six Flags, has been with SDC for over 15 years now. Not sure what this says, but It's worked for them.
Quote from: Old Guy on July 13, 2008, 10:45:48 AM
Current E&E philosophy is thet inovation is a danger. Hiring a proven act is less risk.
See I don't agree with that and it just doesn't make sense to me. Why would they go down this route when they, themselves have proven that they can create their own shows and they will be great. But maybe you are right Zephon, maybe no one in the Entertainment department has the talent to do that anymore.
Isn't it more expensive to go out and find an act then just creating your own show anyway?
makes no sense to me eather and thats one of the big reasons why I left entertainment
Actually, when you consider the man-hours spent in developing concepts, scripts, music, sets, etc., and then production costs such as rehearsal, props, set materials and construction, and then add to that regular payroll for cast and crew, it is very likely that contracting a "ready-made" show is cheaper, and probably by quite a bit.
Of course, as has already been cussed and discussed, you're not necessarily getting a show that meshes with the theme.
I'm not saying they don't have the ability to create any kind of show, just look at Dicken's, Listen to the River, and Headin' West. They seem to do fine on big production shows that are planned for the Opera House, but a lot of the creative vision is supplied by an outside writer/director. And the Echo Hollow show is simply, well, you're standard music show. There is the Saloon show, but it is usually a lot of old bits and music tied together by slightly different storylines; nothing really fresh there.
But the shows with comedy and slapstick that used to be prevalent at SDC are probably quite a stretch for the imaginations of the current staff.
Would it be so hard to bring back the old shows and simply put them on five year rotations? There would be plenty of material and the shows would be ready to be rerun after 25 years. People would even look forward to seeing them again.
I know I step lightly onto this subject (not being in the position to make decisions and all), but how much of the reason we don't see a lot of the shows we all remember being at the City, goes toward the National trend to "scrub" some of the perceived "offensive" nature of the humor? (I hate using the term Politically correct). And I don't mean to say that any of it was nasty to begin with.
If you take a look though, a lot of what was considered charming in the past is looked at as being mildly offensive to some. Even "mildly" offensive in this day and age of trying to grab every market out there is a risk some people are wanting to shy away from I think.
Not saying it is right, and not saying it is wrong. Just sayin'
Thoughts?
^I think that's a big reason why they don't use a lot of the old shows.
No excuse. For a few of the older shows, this may be true, but others can be salvaged enough to entertain. If we're cutting all the offensive stuff for everybody, there's some current material that needs to be cut, as well, but that would be pretty picky.
Do you think they were offending hillbillies? Who else?
Even though I think they might be afraid of offending people today by bringing back the old shows, they could do some rewrites of the old scripts. I don't think it would be that difficult to remove the more offensive material and still salvage the story.
I always found the poking fun at the hill folk culture "sweet" (I guess especially since I was raised there), but I do remember some vague references to the women-folk, etc...that I was curious would stand the test of time. That is what I was referring to.
All I am saying is it makes you wonder how some of the content would be perceived today. Similar to how shooting at hippos was taken out of Jungle Cruise and having the Pirates chase the women in Pirates of the Caribbean.
I loved having all of the women pick up their feet on the train. I couldn't wait for that line because inevitably, we would all look at my mom and make her blush!
OK.... I think that we need to get back on topic here and discuss on Kidsfest this season.
If you want to discuss the current conditions of the entertainment dept of SDC, let's make a specific thread about it and move all discussions and disagreements there.
kthnxbai
^I was just thinking how we got a little OT there.
Back to Kids Fest, I think it really got away from SDC's theme when they started partnering with Nickelodeon. Does anyone know when that partnership started? I just think it's hard to stay "100 Years In the Past" when you're featuring shows like Double Dare in your park.
^I remember the Double Dare show. It was actually a really fun show but you're right, it doesn't fit it with the theme at all. I think the partnership started in the mid 90's. I have pictures of me with Rugrats characters (my favorite show back in the day) at SDC in the mid to late 90's and the partnership hadn't started much earlier than that.
Yeah, sorry for driving the OT-ness of the previous few posts. ;)
I might be mistaken but I think the Nickelodeon era began in 1992 or there-abouts. I seem to remember it was my first summer working for the City.
We just completed a survey about Kids Fest. Questions focused on the shows and Kid Concoctions.
We wanted to make comments about how this festival deviates from theme. Has anyone else gotten this survey?
^I don't know if anyone else has gotten the survey, but since they sent one out they must be pondering some changes. I hope they make changes to steer it back toward SDC's theme.
Sorry that it's taken me so long to read this and respond:
I have a 1, 4, and 5 year old. They enjoyed the Kidsfest alot. We've now gone to the Veggietale show twice. Both times my kids sat their mesmorized by it.
My thinking is that SDC knows that they can not reinvent thier own thinking thus they must hire out to create new ideas and new shows. The idea is working- the park is packed- and a park that is set in the 1880s is selling to a new generation.
I'll stop there for fears of OT. I wish I would have got in on the conversation while it was more appropriate.
^You aren't getting off topic. That is what this thread is about--Kids Fest.
Anyways, I wish I got these surveys! As I've said in the past, I think Kids Fest is a good thing for SDC. It might run too long, but it definitely is a money maker and it offers some great shows for the summer season. I wish I got the surveys so I could tell them my opinions on the festival in its entirety.