Dixie Stampede is undergoing renovations prior to the March start of the 2016 season. More details and pictures from Hometown Daily News:
http://www.hometowndailynews.com/2016/02/11/dixie-stampede-offers-sneak-peek-at-new-2016-renovations/
Here's an article from Branson Tri-Lakes News:
http://bransontrilakesnews.com/entertainment/article_11016678-c6b1-11e5-850d-839c8a451b10.html
I am glad they are changing things up a bit. While I do enjoy going to the show it has been pretty much the same for years. The new additions sound great.
WOW! This looks great! I've been there probably 3 times over the years, and once to the one in Pigeon Forge.
And a few more details from another article in Branson Tri-Lakes News:
http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_988e4daa-d1be-11e5-bcb4-1b9fc7273f7d.html
Dixie Stampede opens March 3rd.
Wow. The removal of the Plantation House is pretty shocking.
They'll probably take out any reference to the Confederacy while they're at it.
Quote from: History Buff on February 13, 2016, 10:46:17 AM
They'll probably take out any reference to the Confederacy while they're at it.
Yes, the new name will be "The Stampede" ::)
If it's true and they've taken this political correctness b.s. too far, eliminating history, I won't be giving them my business.
*braces self*
I am absolutely for them getting rid of the "North vs South/Confederacy" thing, if that's what they're doing. Yes, it's about history, etc. But while the show is about our history, it's using that history as entertainment, when the reality is that the Civil War was a violent, bloody conflict. Additionally, as far as I can remember, you don't get to pick which side you represent. And now that I have grown and learned a LOT since my last time going to DS (pretty sure it's been 10-ish years at least), I would feel very uncomfortable if they seated me in the South section and be asked to "represent the South" for the sake of entertainment.
Of course, I imagine y'all aren't surprised by this, since I seem to be the forum's resident "SJW," lol.
It's been a while since we went to Dixie Stampede, but when we went they asked us which side we wanted to be on.
Quote from: cheesehead57 on February 16, 2016, 01:48:53 PM
It's been a while since we went to Dixie Stampede, but when we went they asked us which side we wanted to be on.
Thanks. That makes me feel a little bit better.
I've only gone to the show once......food was better than I expected and the show was pretty much exactly what I expected.
I did spend about half the show thinking to myself various thoughts around the whole scenario and was a little amazed that they still do the civil war thing. Granted I grew up and have family in a 'Northern' states (KS, IN, OH) and only recently have really been around true southern cultures.
A few of my thoughts during the show I still remember....
Why would you pick the southern side? Not only because of the political stuff.....they lost the war?
They really should change the format to be PC correct? East vs West, Cowboys vs Indians, city folks vs country folks (all jokes)? Make up a backstory about fighting families (Hatfield vs Mccoys)?
I know Southerners are not 'bad guys' and they had plenty of reasons to secede other than slavery.....but seriously.....would a WW2 dinner show work with Axis and Allies?
I typically hate PC stuff but these still feels weird.....how do I not think about all the history. This is practically a celebration of war? Seriously.....do the writers know that the South lost and never really had much of a chance to win? Do really think I'm not going to picture the real rebel flag waiving? Would I be even be offended if they used the real symbol or had more direct dialog around the PC situations?
After the grand patriotic ending - ok.....I guess that was good.....was that the souths way of saying sorry....lets be friends? Passive aggressive way of saying that USA wouldn't be as good as it is today unless we had that war?.....Thanks Dixie?
All that being said....Its a free country....I wasn't offended by any specific situations or dialog. They sure are making the money to stay open. I'll probably go again this year to see the changes and because my wife mentioned she wanted to go. But all the political stuff really distracted me from the show.....guess you can take that as a good or bad thing cause the worst shows are the ones that don't make me think.
Thanks for your perspective, HumphreyHawk!
I wonder... if they wanted to move away from the Civil War theme, but still wanted a "competition," maybe a Revolutionary War theme might work better? The outcome was that our country was founded, and eventually we patched things up with England, so that might be a slightly more positive theme?
I like your idea of a Hatfields vs. McCoys, though! That would fit into the Branson theme SO well. I mean, they do it at SDC, so why not at DS?
Well considering my family fought for the South... THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN!
Quote from: Swoosh on February 16, 2016, 10:18:08 PM
Well considering my family fought for the South... THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN!
I respect that and I'm not offended by that response. But understand that others might be offended. The south will rise sparks ideas that some in the south still want the slavery or segregation rules of the past to become true again. I'm more quickly to use common sense to understand it has more to do with family pride, being proud the place your living/come from and making sure southern values are still relative in our nation. But common sense is hard to find these days.
Remember....this show wouldn't make it in a tourist town in the North or West. No one cares enough about that history. The main issues from the war are settled now....why create that type of show if it isn't historically accurate? It's really a celebration of historic southern culture with the bad parts edited out. Nothing wrong with that....it just confuses people since it forces in the two sides. They tried to make it as 'inclusive' as possible but I don't think that is really possible unless they strip out the North vs South thing....which of course is the foundation of the show. Really does make the show seem out of touch with the rest of the country because it is actually more written to appeal to the 'southerns' then the rest of the public.
I hate PC censorship.....rebel flag banning in public is stupid and wrong.....I believe in free speech and believe the shows writers are free to do as the want. The public will vote with their attendance. This shows storyline is full of possible ways to offend the modern audience. Based on the symbols and verbiage that they use....they are very well aware of that and actually do a pretty good job of walking that fine line.
You do realize it's the NORTH side of the stadium vs the SOUTH side of the stadium, right? There are no Confederate war flags present. It's a blue Dixie Stampede flag vs a red Dixie Stampede flag. There is nothing history related to it. If you want to attach that to the show it is your prerogative but it is not present. The only thing you might apply it to is the grey vs blue costumes but give me a break.
Quote from: Swoosh on February 16, 2016, 10:18:08 PM
Well considering my family fought for the South... THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN!
Great Great Grandfather was a Captain under General Nathaniel Bedford Forrest, they didn't do much losing.
But...watch yourself, there's a prof at your Alma Mater (nicknamed fighters of the North)that's going to bring some muscle to take care of that kind of microaggression.
Lol....not trying to brew anything up but a smile and some extra conversations.
I'm pretty sure my heritage comes from both sides of the line. My Dads family is less documented (hillbillies) and was right in the middle of the mess on the KY/TN/VA linea. Family legend about brothers who didn't speak to each other after the war include taking a few shot at each other over the creek. My mothers immigrated after the war and lived in the midwest (city slickers). I'm full of contradiction. I am an evil Jayhawk fan....lol
Like I said...the shows writing and symbols does it's best to keep it all PC...just don't play me a fool to think South isn't for the confederacy and north union. Jheez
Quote from: chittlins on February 17, 2016, 02:03:19 PM
Quote from: Swoosh on February 16, 2016, 10:18:08 PM
Well considering my family fought for the South... THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN!
Great Great Grandfather was a Captain under General Nathaniel Bedford Forrest, they didn't do much losing.
But...watch yourself, there's a prof at your Alma Mater (nicknamed fighters of the North)that's going to bring some muscle to take care of that kind of microaggression.
She is no longer working at Mizzou - so FORMER associate professor (which was only a courtesy title)
Should we notify Charle Daniels there's a need to change his lyrics?
Annnnyyyywayyyyy.... I had the opportunity to meet an awesome lady at a recent convention that works in the Sales and Marketing Dept. for DS and told she me that the new video boards are truly amazing. She tells it that the trees look like you could pull leaves right off of them and that it allows for some amazing background views. Almost 3D. I am really looking forward to seeing it this season! :o
Don't be changing lyrics for me....Especially Charlie.....I'm all for freedom of speech and hate censorship.
I hope the show continues and does well....just pointing out I understand how some might feel uncomfortable.
Video boards look and sound like a great upgrade. Wonder if they can use them to be more interactive with the audience? For Example....use text polling or realtime tweets to display on the boards? Wouldn't be hard to interact with the audiences smart phones and display stuff on screens. Could use the pre-show time to get everyone on the same app and prepped for the interaction. That could be an interesting modern touch.
Of course...finger food and smart phone usage doesn't go well together either
I would not want to see random tweets popping up during the show. That would be so obnoxious. I am not there to see what others thoughts are during a performance that I paid good money for. Think about the little lights all through the audience as they tweet and not watch the show. How distracting that would be if it were to happen. Nope that would not be for me.
I agree with Missing the Green Trams. I hate it when someone next to me is playing with their phones during a show I pay good money for. If they allow Tweets etc.. at DS...we will never go again.
I think we can cease with the hyperboles.
They are not going to do a text thing. Stop worrying about non existent problem.
Yeah, if they wanted to do audience polls, all they'd have to do is install voting buttons at the tables. No need to bring phones into it.
I agree its probably a non existent problem. Now to the real issue. I won't be back until I get silverware. I stopped eating like a neanderthal when I left the high chair.
Also, The new boards seem like it would make it easier to change the entire format of the show. The entire southern thing will play out at sometime and the PTB could decide to do like they did in SC and totally change the show theme. I would guess it will still play for awhile in Branson And Pigeon Forge, but with the demographics changing it will need to change to survive or suffer the fate of the Orlando location.
Is there ever the chance that other concerts or shows could now be brought in sporadically? They are no longer limited to the southern plantation backdrop, so they could easily theme the stage to any performer.
Quote from: Runner1960 on February 20, 2016, 07:26:03 AM
I agree its probably a non existent problem. Now to the real issue. I won't be back until I get silverware. I stopped eating like a neanderthal when I left the high chair.
Also, The new boards seem like it would make it easier to change the entire format of the show. The entire southern thing will play out at sometime and the PTB could decide to do like they did in SC and totally change the show theme. I would guess it will still play for awhile in Branson And Pigeon Forge, but with the demographics changing it will need to change to survive or suffer the fate of the Orlando location.
Funny you should mention silverware and the Orlando show - that's one of the reasons it DIDN'T last as it was the only location to use silverware. Coincidence? Who knows.
Just saw my first TV ad for DS. It looks like they're taking more of a western route, with Cowboys and Indians. The special effects look terrific in the short ad.
Cowboys and Indians....that's a lot more PC....lol
I bring up doing interactive stuff with smart phones specifically because of demographics. If you have have a business and don't know how to interact with you customers through a smart phone than you are going to lose you younger customers. You can tell SDC know this with the improvements in the app they have made and the marketing of the celebrations that they have been doing this year.
Lord knows I wouldn't want to have to be staring at my phone for half the show but that is not what I'm saying they should do. A couple of well done brief interactions could be huge for marketing to the younger crowd and creating some special moments. Have people take selfies during pre-show, and/or quick surveys (where you from, whats your nickname, etc) during the pre-show....could be done completely before the show. They could be displayed (filtered) for use on the screens and maybe create opportunities for the show to play off of. It gets people more engaged and creates more marketing through social media.
I use tools like survey monkey regularly for business meetings.....it's a modern world friends.....Disney has done stuff like this for years....and the tech is easy....and can be done without getting to far on your lawn (messing up the old show).