SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => General Silver Dollar City Talk => Topic started by: saloongal on March 19, 2010, 03:33:34 PM
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Just starting this because I really liked it last year. Being able to go to one spot and read about everyone's trip was nice.
So, since the first official trips have started...let us know how they went!
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i went opening day. actually have nothing bad to say. was a great trip! LOVE the new FITH stuff.
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I know Fire in the Hole got a makeover, but specifically what changes have been made? Sorry, I’m just too eager to wait until May to find out in person. :D
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FitH changes
1. New entrance scene as soon as you exit the station area
2. Addition of two characters in the bar / town ablaze scene
3. Addition of baldknobber in the "come back and put on your pants" scene
4. Addition of a sign at the Baldknobbers camp scene
5. Reworking of the wagon scene before burning bridge drop
6. Complete reworking and reassignment of roles and purpose of the scene before railroad tunnel
7. New Dalmatian Puppy :)
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Wow, that's awesome! Riding Fire in the Hole will be like finding an old friend again. I sure hope Silver Dollar City will breathe new life into the American Plunge too. Sure, new rides are great, but you cannot replace a classic. ;)
I hope to have my own trip report this May!
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Hey Swoosh... Don't forget the Spider web is gone... I hated that thing anyway.
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Hey Swoosh... Don't forget the Spider web is gone... I hated that thing anyway.
You know, I took my little niece on FITH for the first time once. I wondered if anything would scare her; she was just tall enough to ride. So, we rode through, and nothing bothered her at all, until we went by that stupid spider web...
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I haven’t been to Silver Dollar City in a few years, and I completely forgot about that silly spider web! Oh well, it kind stuck out like a sore thumb anyway. :P
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Hey Swoosh... Don't forget the Spider web is gone... I hated that thing anyway.
I was trying not to give away the gate by saying specific things, which is why I said the that the scene had been completely changed there (that being included).
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I couldn't believe when they put that black light junk in the ride so many years ago. The spider web was a tired attempt at making the ride more scary, but all it did was cheapen the experience. Now I will do the dance of joy!
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I'd love to see it go back to the old full route. Now that the rider count is down compared to the days when it was the only ride, it would be nice to spend a little more time inside.
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^The rider count is far from being down. They were dispatching trains every 30 secs Friday. The queue was full and out into the midway.
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^It is great that so many people still ride this ride and it is still so popular after all this time. It's a definite classic and a favorite.
The spider web never made any sense to me either.
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One of the best little details we enjoyed on Saturday was taking my daughter to the pan-for-gems area on the Landing, next to RiverBlast. It was the highlight of her trip, and to top it all off, the Citizen who gave us our bag for panning gave us change in gold dollars and told the story of how the City got it's name. It made my whole day!
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^i agree!! my wife and i did the pan-for-gems things and it was a blast for some reason..im thinking of starting a new tradition.maybe filling up a mason jar and then try and peel the hucks hidden treasure thing off ans stick it on there
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I didn't do the panning, but that's 'cause I panned at War Eagle the weekend before. I got myself some good stuff from that, so I'm eager to try out the one at SDC.
Just one quick question: how much is it for one of the bags?
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$8.00..... :(
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^Good grief! That's highway robbery. How big are the bags?
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Are all the bags the same size? 'Cause if so, those bags I saw in the little makeshift store by the ride are a bit small for that price. The one I did at War Eagle was $8.50, and it had to have been twice the size of the bags I saw at SDC.
Then again, it all depends on what stones are included in the bags. The one I did had sapphire and citrine and I think I managed to grab one or two emeralds; still not sure if any of the reddish stones are rubies, still need to do a bit of research to figure out.
So, depending on how much you can find in a bag, $8 may actually be worth it. Panning for gems really is a bit of a crapshoot, really. (is that an okay word to use? I'm really not sure... LOL)
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For the kids, it's more about the experience then the actual end result. I'm just saying.
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They actually have a smaller bag that's $6.00...that's the one we bought.
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To be more accurate, shouldn't they "pan for gold"? For most "gems" a mining operation is needed.
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To tell you the truth my 6 year old just started sifting thru the sand that was in the bottom of the flowing trough.. She found several gems for free.
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So on opening day the parking lot wasn't too full around midday, but yet EVERYTHING had a huge line. I'm guessing it has to do with people not in the water ride lines?
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Nope, can't be the water ride lines; I didn't end up going on Lost River cause of the line.
I think it's cause there were next to zero shows going on.
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Usually opening weekend they never have enough staff on hand and always fall back on "we didn't expect that many people."
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I did the sluice back when it first opened at the other location in SDC. I think that now it will have SOO much more business being in the middle of the city, as opposed to the outskirts. Right across from the wax hands, it is a great place to have the family play!
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SDC doesn’t really have enough rides to be open with so few shops and shows operating. I have seen this time and time again. FITH had four trains operating and still had a full queue line. And for most of Thursday & Friday the line extended to the Saloon. The problem here, no Opera House and Saloon Show to help pull people out of the lines. When SDC is fully operational the park is working in balance, but ride days and ride nights see long lines.
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I appreciate the shows pull a lot of folkes but powder keg and TNT were both down a train and giant swing only one arm in operartion. Surely with no shows they would maximize ride production?
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"Surely with no shows they would maximize ride production?"
I always was told that they had to take the ride down for an extended period of time to introduce another train/car/arm. Honestly I always thought that was a cheap excuse, I have been there and had a full park and they are running 1 train, you might be able to get away with that on Waldfire ( 32 or so per train) But Powder Keg rarely has 2 trains when I am there and they are always busy. Seems the down time would pay off quickly by speeding the line up.
Sometimes I don't understand their practice.
I do have an inquiry about the taffy shop, then I was a boy there were always making/ producing taffy ( in the old location) I think I have seen them doing it 1 time in the new shop. Now I know the taffy they sell in brought in but you would think they could make 1 flavor consistently for kinetics in the shop, its a little dead.
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There are surely other, more complicated reasons behind why they are only able to run limited trains on certain rides. For example, they may not have enough staff to legally/properly operate at full capacity on every ride during this time. There's also the issue of certain trains being broken, as I've witnessed the sensors go foul on several PK trains, causing huge delays. Then there's maintainence and inspection issues, such as a train or arm needing to be inspected by a state or certified inspector before being put back into operation... The list goes on I'm sure.
As far as Taffy goes, I've seen them making it a lot during the Christmas season, but I never go in there any other time.
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On SDC's site it says Lost River and American Plunge are closed until April sometime but you guys said it is open. So was that an opening weekend only deal or will they be open this weekend as well?
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I wonder if Lost River and American Plunge were due to the good weather...?
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THey do make some Taffy but there is no way to make enough. THey peuchase the bulk of it form a company in Salt Lake City....
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I wonder if Lost River and American Plunge were due to the good weather...?
I'd say they were open so that the crowd could be more evenly distributed. American Plunge was not initially open on Friday, but was the sea of humanity continued to pour into the park they needed to put them somewhere
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I do have an inquiry about the taffy shop, then I was a boy there were always making/ producing taffy ( in the old location) I think I have seen them doing it 1 time in the new shop. Now I know the taffy they sell in brought in but you would think they could make 1 flavor consistently for kinetics in the shop, its a little dead.
The taffy shaped like long tootsie rolls are made in Silver Dollar City. The round ones are shipped in.
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Once in the taffy shop they were making a special order for someone-a full batch of Apple Cider Vinegar taffy for a birthday that had been ordered. When pulling it, they even snipped off a piece for me to try warm (it was great by the way and I dislike vinegar). Whenever I have witnessed them wrapping the candies, the machine ALWAYS is malfunctioning. I think I remember them telling me last year that it wraps correctly about 60% of the pieces on a GOOD DAY, and that particular day was not a good day!
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As I understand it, the humidity wreaks havoc with the machinery, as well.
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Can anyone tell me about the minting machine that made coins? That came along after my time there.
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It was a large coin "press". A blank would be placed in the die, and the customer would walk the arm of the press around lowering the upper die. After a lap or two pulling the arm, the coin would be pressed. You would then walk the arm the opposite way, and raise the die leaving the coin! My photos are not with me today, but I will post several this evening of the "mint" and the coins. The press still is in the land of forgotten crafts outside the Opera House.
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Thanks, Rube! I've always wondered what the coins looked like.
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I will try to get a better photo of my coins (I have all years from 88'-92')
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/90coin.jpg)
And I couldn't find in my 1000's of photos the sing of the "Silver Dollar City Mint", however I did find an old slide of the press (partially) atleast... You can see the housing die that would be lowered...
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/Picture209.jpg)
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I seem to remember that pieces from the SDC furniture factory are inlaid with a SDC coin. Is this the same design as the minted coin you've posted?
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It is very similar, those however ate not minted on site (from what I know) and are made of copper/ bronze. I believe there are 50th anniversary coins inlaid in the furnature this year.
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I'll be at the park on Sunday. I think most of the YCW crowd will be gone since Saturday is the big day, so it should be another great day in the city. There's a chance of rain but I won't let that dampen the trip.
I'm so excited!
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I was there, today (Friday) from 8:30, until close, 7 p.m.. Excellent weather, started off with a small crowd, then topped 16,000. The lines were INSANE, Wildfire was all the way to the Plunge entrance (tunnel), PK was headed down the hill, and I can say I've never seen the Grand Expo so packed! The cave is only giving "half" tours, you walk down to the shoe room, then walk back up, because of flooding.
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I love Silver Dollar City, but I cannot deal with long lines! ;)
The last time I visited Silver Dollar City they were only doing half tours of the cave also. However, it was due to some type of gas in the lower chambers being above the limits. Maybe it was carbon dioxide? I don't remember. After walking down all those stairs to about the half way point, I had the "pleasure" of climbing each one all the way back to the entrance.
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Anyone brave the crowds on Young Heathens... I mean Christians Weekend?
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^The crowds on Sunday were perfect. The only line that was long was PK and it went through the entire queue building to the doors. Several citizens said that the park was packed on Saturday though.
I am convinced that this will be the best season SDC has ever had!! The nostalgia is all over the park and I love the improvements that have been made all over the park. RB was fantastic!!!!! SUCH a great theme and the ride will be a lot of fun in the summer. I rode it twice and my sister and I had the ride to ourselves. Temps were in the low 50's. Didn't get too wet because no one was in the area to shoot at us, but you're going to get soaked on the ride as soon as the thermometer reads 80.
We bought several 50th anniversary merchandise items. Got the Beverly Hillbillies DVD. We also bought a print of Jack Dawson's, Memories Worth Repeating painting. The print has his autograph and the 50th anniverary coin. SUCH a great painting and depicts everything SDC stands for. If you haven't seen it, get to the park and take a look!
All in all, great day. :)
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Wow, Coaster it sounds like you had an incredible trip! You just described to me what I would consider a near perfect day at Silver Dollar City would be like.
I am not a big spender on merchandise, but this year I think Silver Dollar City will be getting their money's worth out of me. Or maybe it’s the other way around? ;D
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Last night I had a nightmare that SDC was inside of a mall. Thank God this isn't true. It was such a beautiful great day in the city!
Some tips if you haven't been yet this season: Catch some action on the square during your day. They're bringing the street shows back this year and you don't want to miss that. Make sure you stop by the Bittersweet Gallery in Midtown! The paintings are fantastic, and the citizens are always willing and happy to explain the hidden meanings.
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There is another group that performs at the entrance to Echo Hollow, but it's not on the path finder schedule.
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^Thanks for the info Swoosh.
Has anyone else noticed that the milk cow is gone from Wilson's Farm? Are they going to bring it back? I never actually saw it up and running, working correctly.
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Yeah, I noticed the cow was gone. Kinda disappointed. I wanted my niece to be able to check it out last year, but the udders were either not working or at least one was hanging off.
I wonder if she's gone for maintenance?
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^That's what I was thinking as well. I hope they get it up and working soon, it adds a great touch to the area.
TGS was also broken down for over half the day. It seems that it breaks down more than any other ride at the park...
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Mmm... I dunno. It seems like Powderkeg is down quite a bit as well. In fact, me and Tinmann only got to ride it once the day we went 'cause it took forever for it to open and then was closed later and finally we were able to go on it as our last ride of the day.
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We had a wonderful weekend at SDC. The park is as clean and shiny as I have ever seen it. It was busy but not crowded. And of course we had nearly perfect weather.
First the good- The gentleman who works the frozen lemonade stand in the GE might be the most cheerful and friendly person in the park. He has a smile and greeting for everyone and he remembered us from last summer, seriously, that is some great customer service. Also, the ride operator in the GE (he was on teacups Friday and the Elephants on Saturday) who quacks and gets the kids all excited...Thanks, you make it more fun. (if you have spent much time in the GE you know who I mean)
A question- Why are the running the buses more and the trams less? We just walk into the park instead of trying to collapse the double stroller for a short bus ride...the trams really are more convenient.
A suggestion- The Easter Egg hunt was a wonderful idea. And if it weren't for a few very rude people it would have been incredibly fun. Friday we were nearly trampled by tweens jamming their jackets and pillowcases full (not a joke) and with their parents helping them. I did speak up when a teenager took the egg that my 20 month old was trying to pick up. Saturday things were a little smoother, mostly because it seemed to be less people trying to knock people down. My suggestion- Divide the park into sections by age and let the hunt be from 9-930 with everyone split up. Also, advertising it as a contest probably added to their troubles. My kids didn't even care that the eggs were empty, it was just exciting to them to see all those eggs all over the park.
Fire in the hole and the flooded mine looked great. The work that they did inside was very apparent.
The merchandise all looked nice. Peanut brittle was buy one get one free.
It really was one of our best trips ever to SDC. Cant wait for May 1st to do it again!
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I'm still curious...is the anniversary book out yet and how much does it cost? What other anniversary merchandise is there? Ball caps, t-shirts, mugs...and so on? Any retro-looking stuff, and if so, what do they have?
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I don't know about t-shirts, etc. but they have info and photos on the 50th Celebration Commemorative Collection from their Master Craftsmen on their website. It all looks nice! Check it out here: http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/specialty-shops/detail.aspx?AttractionID=1396 (http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/specialty-shops/detail.aspx?AttractionID=1396)
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I'm still curious...is the anniversary book out yet and how much does it cost? What other anniversary merchandise is there? Ball caps, t-shirts, mugs...and so on? Any retro-looking stuff, and if so, what do they have?
These two pictures belonging to tinmann620 should help with part of your question. When I go into the souvenir shops this year I am going to act like a sugar filled kid in a candy store! :D
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30708145@N02/4446359119/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30708145@N02/4444088909/
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I bought myself a couple pens & a mechanical pencil, the mug that's at the front of that first pic from Tinmann, the souvenir spoon, and a really cool magnet. All of 'em are themed to the 50th Anniv. Logo. Next time I'm there, I plan to get a shirt (they've got my color! [olive green]). Unfortunately, we couldn't find any ballcaps, but there weren't any PK caps either in the shop over by Fire in the Hole. It's possible they just haven't received any shipments yet...
At least, I'm hoping that's the case. I'm a major sucker for ballcaps. :)
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Yeah, you can get a little crazy with the 50th anniversary shopping. I know I did. Jack Dawson's painting, two shirts, the Beverly Hillbillies DVD, and I'm going to get the book whenever they put it out on the shelves.
On Saturday I saw a 50th anniversary basket in the basket shop for 700 dollars! :o
No, I did not add a zero by mistake...
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BTW, how much is a print of that Dawson painting? I didn't get a chance to check 'em out when I was there.
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Depends on the size, and if you want the 50th anniversary coin or not. We got a framed 16x20 with the coin for somewhere around 130 dollars I think. Sorry, but I can't remember the exact price off the top of my head.
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That's okay. Thanks for the info you were able to give. I'd love to get it with the coin... I wish they were selling the coin on its own, darn it.
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Sorry, the shirt & button isn't for sale, but you can buy the patch, along with I think 4 others. Now, back to Roll Call: Anyone attending opening weekend for Worldfest?
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I won't be there. I'm heading up to KC to see my great aunt and uncle; it'll probably be my last time to ever see them, as both are in dire health. Plus, I get to see my mom, sister, bro-in-law-to-be, and my niece for the first time in three months! Been WAY too long!
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I forgot part of my review!
The measuring station is great! They have really nice (like better than a docs office) measuring sticks and each kid gets a color coded wrist band. Then the parent gets a sheet that tells them which rides that height is qualified for. Written on the wrist band is the person who measured them, the height, and what kind of shoes the kid had on.
And I noticed later in the day when we were in line for FITH that the Far Cheef, just glanced at the wristband and knew our daught could ride.
Speaking of FITH, Jaz is going to be a treat to have in there. She was already excited to have the kids pet her and seemed to do a good job of listening (for a 3 month old). And I was glad to see the picture "memorial" for Buckets.
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When watching new SDC vids on YouTube the other day, I was wondering what the wristbands were that kids were wearing. Now I know. That's awesome!
Is it weird that now I'm anxious to take my niece to go get measured? I dunno that she'll be able to ride anything she couldn't last summer... The poor girl is so tiny. LOL
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I've rode FITH five or six times already this year and still haven't got to see the new dalmation! Is she only there during certain times of the day?
I also liked the "memorial" for Buckets.
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The measuring station is great! They have really nice (like better than a docs office) measuring sticks and each kid gets a color coded wrist band.
Oooh! That would be a great theme for the measuring station - an 1880s doctor's office!
As for the cow, I'd love to see a live cow milking in the area at scheduled intervals. It would be more interesting and educational for the kids, too.
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I never thought about theming the measuring station. Our measure was a little disappointing, the oldest is 40 inches, so she got a 36inch wristband, and my youngest was 35 inches, so he is still relegated to the frogs and butterflies. Maybe by the end of summer...
We saw the puppy both mornings up on the square and down at the ride shortly after. Not sure if she is more of a morning girl or just coincedence.
Bringing up the milk cow reminds me, the barnyard was pretty empty. Just a couple of goats and a couple of kids (goats). No bunnies (on Easter weekend), no donkey. I am sure that some of the goats were probably busy having kids (it is that time of year) but it was just a little but empty over there.
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The way it was with Buckets was the when his owner was there he was there.... Copper... Does the new puppy belong to the employee or the park?
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The City owns the dog and Jess is her caretaker.
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Later on in Buckets' life she was only there on Saturdays.
I hope Jazz is there more often.
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A few years ago there used to be a Hound Dog over by the homestead/petting farm area. Does anyone know what happened to that dog? I always wanted a blood hound, but my fiance didn't want a big dog so we settled on a basset hound. He is the best! I'm going to the City this weekend, excited to meet this new addition to the City!
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Oh, I remember that hound dog! He was the cutest thing EVER. I think I actually have him on video, along with a cute pony. I'll have to find and check the video, but it might be a while; I think it's on a tape from when I used my mom's camcorder, and hers are larger tapes than my camcorder's.
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I think his name is Jack, who belongs to Keather (Homestead cook) & her husband, who works at the petting area. I'll try and remember to ask them on my next visit. Somewhere, I have a great shot of the hound dog with his owners ;D
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There are lots of liability issues with a petting farm. At the place I worked, we had miniature burrows (like the ones that were in SDC's old petting location). They were behind a chain link fence, but a kid stuck his arm through and the thing (the burrow, not the fence) bit him. It wouldn't let go of the kid's arm, and I couldn't get my adult hands through the fence to try to pry its mouth apart. I was really afraid the arm would be broken. When finally the burrow released him, the boy had a nice dental imprint, lightly bleeding, to show for his stupidity. Things are on the other side of fences for a reason, people!
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There are lots of liability issues with a petting farm. At the place I worked, we had miniature burrows (like the ones that were in SDC's old petting location). They were behind a chain link fence, but a kid stuck his arm through and the thing (the burrow, not the fence) bit him. It wouldn't let go of the kid's arm, and I couldn't get my adult hands through the fence to try to pry its mouth apart. I was really afraid the arm would be broken. When finally the burrow released him, the boy had a nice dental imprint, lightly bleeding, to show for his stupidity. Things are on the other side of fences for a reason, people!
That's not a liability issue, that's just a life lesson. :D
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I kinda hope he still has the scars.
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So did we all just miss it or is it a new addition?
Yeah so Tony Orlando's "Yellow Ribbon" Granite Ball on water from CC is now at the entrance to Grand Expo... might make it interesting when the Christmas Parade goes through there.... I don't know if they thought of that :o ;D
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I had never gone to CC, so I had no idea where the ball came from.
I wish they hadn't covered up the big entrance logo that was there.
It was there a couple weeks ago but I had never seen it before.
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Don't get me wrong, the ball was great fun. Kind of felt like a Herculean effort to stop it, once I was able to get it rolling pretty fast, then stop it and redirect the motion in the other direction all solo. BUT IT IS NOW IN SDC????? this is a memorial for war from the 2oth century...in the expo now? I would reather have seen an antiqued/aged memorial to the soldiers past and present to fit into the area. I totally agree with the idea, but not the ball IN Sdc. I guess with the money paid by Tony Orlando and SDC was enought to relocate it. I would rather have seen an obelisk with inscriptions, or something tied in with Love My Country-have the store relocated, and have the memorial out in front of the store. This would have been a great way to recognize the serving members of HFEC which would be better than a sign near the flag pole.
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In answer some eariler question the city owns 2 bloodhounds, a male and female, Jake and Georgia. Georgia is the one you see at the homestead, us robbers use jake at the show.
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I finally got to the city on 4/15/10.
We decided to go to the city on a Thursday to avoid the crowds but little did I know that there would only be 2400 people there. That info from a ride op that I know on a friendly basis ( not a line in the place) Not so great for the city but wonderful for me.
Line items
1. Fire in the Hole additions are great, they fill the gaps in the ride both in story impact and lessening the black emptiness that was taking over the ride.
2. Area music was detectable in all areas of the city and rides. I could hear the fire in the hole theme better than ever.( this is really important to the mood of the park)
3. The non specific atmosphere music was bluegrass in nature, they weren’t playing new music it was in the flavor of the SDC music I grew up with. (Although the powder keg workers were repeatedly making fun of the music and were making a list that they were going to download, burn and play at the ride, this was information was publicly shared over the ride speaker system. I am aware that the same guys have been running powder keg for a few years but they might need a refresher on the idea that the music and there efforts are for the guests, not themselves and there tastes. Nothing positive about what those guys were doing at all. (Bad Show)
4. The new ride looks great, I love the mist and all. I was there for 10 min or more looking and not 1 person rode by, it was 80 and sunny. They were riding the other water rides.
5. Things in the park have been spruced up, the signs on 76/Indian point turn look really good.
6. While on Powder Keg at the top I noted that you can really see civilization now, and SDC is responsible for some of it including the new parking area they are working on.
7 The street shows were a throw back to the past, they are very welcome.
8 SDC is smart by not charging a fortune for there t-shirts, they are very reasonable in comparison to other parks. it’s a cheap way to advertise.
All in all it was a short day but a nice one.
They were all very friendly and as I stated things are a little fresher, I am so happy they spread around the cash this year and didn’t invest every dime in the new ride.
I am looking forward to the year, I will not make it on the anniversary but I will be there in spirit!
I still think those guys at Powder Keg were very negative repeatedly making comments about the music ( Ricky Skaggs) on the pa system and planning what “ They” will be playing. That left a bad taste …..
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Thank you for sharing your trip experience with us! I am glad you had a really nice time. I have to admit, I love it when I attend Silver Dollar City, and there are few people there. It’s like I have the whole park to myself! Hey, I wonder if Silver Dollar City would block off an entire day just for sdcfans.com members only? :D Okay maybe not, but I am glad crowds were not an issue when you visited.
I am sorry to hear about the ride operator’s taste in music on PowderKeg. I am a huge bluegrass fan myself which is not typical of most people my age (25). Part of the reason I love Silver Dollar City is because you can literally walk through an atmosphere of bluegrass music throughout the park. It’s almost as if the music was mysteriously flowing from around the hillside bend. That’s a unique experience that you rarely find anywhere else.
I too am so happy that Silver Dollar City is investing in refreshing the existing park this year rather than wasting more money on cookie cutter attractions.
Thanks for the review!
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I kinda can't blame the PK operators. When Tinmann and I stood in line for some 45-ish minutes, we heard the PK song... I have no idea how many times. I imagine for those working the ride ALL DAY, that song can get old VERY fast.
I think it'd be nice if perhaps they has some atmospheric sounds (like in the Wildfire queue) to break up how often the PK song is played.
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Personally, I think the PK crew needs to "stick to theme" and NOT discuss music they want to burn on a disc on the PA system. This ain't a run of the mill amusement park...it's SDC...where standards should ALWAYS be higher than elsewhere. I am old school, I admit, but when it comes to SDC, I am HARD CORE old school. Don't #&%$ with my SDC. (Whew, off the soapbox for now...)
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#&%$ with = mess with
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I watched a Thunderation employee texting in between loading cars, talk about odd new-fangled futuristic communication devices! I was ready to run and tell the Sheriff and the Preacher we had a witch in our midst!
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Maybe if employees feel the need to use cellphones, they should be required to get them customized by those awesome guys who do steampunk laptops/etc. LOL
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I don't know what the employee rules say, but if I was writing them, I'd say that no Citizen should ever be seen by guests with:
1. Cell phone or pager
2. Wrist watch
3. Music player (iPod, etc.)
4. Period-inappropriate jewelry (pretty much anything other than a plain wedding band or a locket for women)
5. Sunglasses
I cut some slack on prescription glasses, just because they're so expensive, but I always prefer period-style glasses.
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I agree with your entire list, I think that the sunglasses is the only thing I might make a exception to if they were peiriod glasses, ( does that even exist?) but the sun has gotten mush worse in the past years for me as well as everyone else I think.
The cell phone thing is far and away just plain wrong.
Back to my music problem, the deal is that when I hear Allison Krauss or Boot Scootin Boggie it just isnt SDC. God knows the guys at Powder Keg dont need to listen to that theme more than once an hour, I am a humane man, long gone are the days of the Fire in the hole theme or The Flooded Mine, these new themes are pretty week. The plunge is really week but I think that the Powder Keg is probably the weekest.
Just let the theming people pick the music that is played, it really does come down to are " We" sick of the music they play or are " They"........
And for god sakes remember that negativity in any way casts a bad spell on the day, I found that situation negative.
I
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KB-
Believe it or not, those are the exact rules, with the addition of brown or black shoes only...no modern tennis shoes. And special mention was made in orientation this year concerning cell phones. It would appear that some employees didn't get the message. And I would agree with all those rules...for employees wearing period costumes. M&C employees, E&E technicians, management personnel, and office types, don't wear those type of clothes, and therefore should be exempt from those restrictions, IMO.
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KB-
Believe it or not, those are the exact rules, with the addition of brown or black shoes only...no modern tennis shoes. And special mention was made in orientation this year concerning cell phones. It would appear that some employees didn't get the message. And I would agree with all those rules...for employees wearing period costumes. M&C employees, E&E technicians, management personnel, and office types, don't wear those type of clothes, and therefore should be exempt from those restrictions, IMO.
Not trying to drive too far off topic, however I have always been curious, are there two different sets of rules between the street entertainers who are in full character, versus a generic ride operator? It would seem like the street entertainers would have strict rules, while the ride operator's would have less restrictive. Maybe they are both the same as long as you are an employee inside the gate. :P
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During my time on park, no cellphones or Ipod's existed. (Sony Walkman was a new fad) but if anyone was out of theme, it would be addressed immediately by the lead man or the area manager. One guy I worked with pierced an ear and was ordered to cover it with a band aid or go home. The second you see a costumed person at SDC use a cell phone or text...ask someone else at the attraction to point out the attraction manager...then be nice, but very firm in your statement/complaint. They will get the message. If you are leaving the park for the day and see someone doing the guest surveys, pull them aside and lodge a complaint there. Those surveys are looked at by management and things will be addressed if they are made aware.
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I think the list probably makes sense for citizens that are on their working hours. However, if they are on break, I think it would not be so good (mainly for the cell phones and music players). There could potentially be some legal issues if SDC tried to mandate that all employees can't use any of those items.
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In my opinion, it's OK for employees to use them on break...just not in front of guests in a themed area of the park. Employee lounge...yes, hospitality house, marketplace, ticket booth and other "modern" areas, maybe...not on Main St.
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I don't know what the employee rules say, but if I was writing them, I'd say that no Citizen should ever be seen by guests with:
1. Cell phone or pager
2. Wrist watch
3. Music player (iPod, etc.)
4. Period-inappropriate jewelry (pretty much anything other than a plain wedding band or a locket for women)
5. Sunglasses
This is pretty much the required rules, there are certain members of leadership that have cell phones, but are for safety use only.
I watched a Thunderation employee texting in between loading cars, talk about odd new-fangled futuristic communication devices! I was ready to run and tell the Sheriff and the Preacher we had a witch in our midst!
I hope that if you ever see this happen again you would contact a member of management, this is a safety issue.
M&C employees, E&E technicians, management personnel, and office types, don't wear those type of clothes, and therefore should be exempt from those restrictions
I still think that these people should talk on their cell phones in the back of the house areas, unless it is a safety issue. It always looks bad to have any employees yakking away on a phone.
generic ride operator
Strange use of words, these are the people who actually work, not sit around and play checkers in the corner someplace.
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If you are going to push the "theme" this far, then consider the cash registers....credit card readers....atm machines. Where is the line to be drawn?
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If you are going to push the "theme" this far, then consider the cash registers....credit card readers....atm machines. Where is the line to be drawn?
The "line" is definitely subjective. The theme is everything when it comes to Silver Dollar City. However, it's important to consider that Silver Dollar is not an authentic recreation of the 1880's. Silver Dollar City takes modern day objects, and makes them look like they belong in the theme of the 1880's. For example a cash register hidden behind a wooden box, or a music speaker under a fake rock.
On the other hand, some things you just simply cannot incorporate into the theme such as a microphone stand on stage. However, when an employee pulls a cell phone out of their pocket, that is where you draw the line. :)
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Get some of those guys who make steampunk computers to customize the cash registers! :)
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With theme aside, I think it is a safety issue for an employee working a ride to be messing around with a cell phone. Please let people know if this is going on! It needs to be addressed.
Now back to theme, I think it is more about fooling your senses and coming up with gadgets and inventions to hide the theme. It would be impossible to keep every modern element out of the park. Andy Miller said that it should fall in the realm of the past. In other words not everything is from 1880 and before. In fact there is a lot from the 1900s in the park, but it looks old so people except it.
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Very good point Copper, as a history teacher I see many anachronisms for the 19th century, HOWEVER they seem to fit. Rusty 1920's bedframes, 1940s factory equipment, and so many others are there... yet they fit.
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In fact there is a lot from the 1900s in the park, but it looks old so people except it.
Speaking of that, it seems like I read on here that the big red taffy machine in the Taffy Shop was actually built in the 1950s, or some where close to that time frame?
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Now back to theme, I think it is more about fooling your senses and coming up with gadgets and inventions to hide the theme. It would be impossible to keep every modern element out of the park. Andy Miller said that it should fall in the realm of the past. In other words not everything is from 1880 and before. In fact there is a lot from the 1900s in the park, but it looks old so people except it.
This reminded me of the weird "1930's-tractor-made-into-a-paddle-boat" in the canal along the queue for Wildfire. What a great idea! It's definitely not 1880's but it fits in with WF's wacky inventor theming.
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Hear ye! All guests to SDC shall hereby ditch their newfangled talkin' machines, digital watches, weird hairdos, and basketballs. Anyone entering the City shall be dressed in official 1880s garb, right down to the bloomers and long johns.
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^ Hmmmmmm. Maybe I could disguise my Blackberry to look like an actual blackberry?!?
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Hear ye! All guests to SDC shall hereby ditch their newfangled talkin' machines, digital watches, weird hairdos, and basketballs. Anyone entering the City shall be dressed in official 1880s garb, right down to the bloomers and long johns.
All the visitors to Silver Dollar City are from the future. They need help from Doc Harris, and a bolt of lightening to time travel back to the year 1985, or uh uh, I mean 2010. :P
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Me, I'm the Doctor's Companion, so my anachronism should be excused. 'Sides, who else has a cellphone that can get reception from anywhere in the universe?
;)
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Several years ago we went down to SDC one fall for the Salute to the Great American Cowboy. My 17 year old son and I decided to get into the act so we both dressed cowboy. He walked around the park all day in his boots, hat, western shirt and vest, and had a BALL. He was just reminiscing the other day about how many people stopped him and asked him questions, obviously mistaking him for a citizen, and both of us got offered employee discounts on more than one occasion. It was lots of fun.
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Anyone else think the Doc character is a little scary for kids?
We were with my nephew and niece (5 and 2) and they both started crying after he tried to talk with them. We saw at least 4 other kids start crying, too!!
I thought it was kinda funny, but I can see where he would scare them. My nephew asked me "is he drunk????"
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Do you mean Doc Harris? Nah, I think he's great. I dunno how those kids could be scared...
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Here's pictures from last Sunday's trip with Tinaalsgirl. It was a perfect day, small crowd, no long lines (except the funnel cakes!) I've included MOST of the "Did You Know" signs, the new street troupe (Snake oil salesman), & a couple of shows, enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30708145@N02/sets/72157623795013323/
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Don't like Hate that shot of the graffiti. Where is that? I've always been proud that SDC doesn't have much of that garbage, or gum walls, in the queues. I hope they clean that stuff quickly upon finding it.
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YES! All the dates were from the weekend of ( ) weekend in March & forward. Most was girls, not like in the old days, and we caught 2 in the act, waved the ride attendant down. Front car, Wildfire. I posted the pic on purpose, because I know SDC marketing checks my pics!
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Remember kids, giraffes are okay, graffiti is not! Perhaps we can get Tom Sawyer to stop by, and teach these children some white washing techniques?
Other than that, great pictures, and thanks for sharing! I thought the “Did You Know” signs were an interesting touch throughout the park. :)
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Here's pictures from last Sunday's trip with Tinaalsgirl. It was a perfect day, small crowd, no long lines (except the funnel cakes!) I've included MOST of the "Did You Know" signs, the new street troupe (Snake oil salesman), & a couple of shows, enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30708145@N02/sets/72157623795013323/
Did Terry Sanders play a different character every 30 minutes, or what? ??? ;D
I was a little surprised at the Snake Oil costuming. Snake Oil salesmen were supposed to be more "Professor Marvel" than "Cowhand Bob". But I love that they've got the street troupe back in action!
Great pics. Really wish I could be there.
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The main reason I post so many pics, is for people that can't afford, or can't make it, to the city. I'm better with pics, than words, :)
Terry is busy with 3 characters, deputy, balmer, & professor.
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Well, he wasn't actually a snake-oil salesman. It was Zeke Hatfield and he'd bought a bottle of snake-oil from a salesman.
I feel horrid, but I don't think I caught the name of the young lady's character. I'll have to check my video when I get back from class.
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Thanks for the pics Tinnman. It's interesting to see how much farther along Spring is down there as opposed to here in SD. Looks like most of the trees are leaved out and flowers are blooming, while here only the bushes like lilacs have leaves. Was only in the 30's this morning. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Really makes me look forward to June and SDC!
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I went to sdc for the first time this year yesterday. I was a little disappointed in the opening ceremonies. I was expecting company's coming, wonderful day, grand old flag. Maybe it was time for a change, and possibly it will return next year. How does everyone else feel about this.
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I dunno, I quite like the full-length version of A Great Past Ahead of You. It had been a few years since the last time I was present for opening ceremony, so I don't remember/know what it's been like the last several years.
As I think about it, I'm becoming more and more excited about what they're doing with the characters. It reminds me a bit of how they do things at the KC RenFest, where there's a storyline for the day and it begins at the entrance then at certain times throughout the day at different areas of the "park", you see the continuation of the story all the way up until the end of the day when the final climactic "scene" plays out at the exit.
Having the Bolin brothers come charging through at the opening ceremony is really great, because then if you ride the train later in the day, you get a sort of continuation of that story thread.
Now, if only they could do a bit more with that, keep it going through to the end of the day as people are exiting the park. And, as I've probably said far too many times on here before, they really, really need more characters in the other areas of the City! Right now, all the characters seem to be stationed in Main Street (except E. M. Balmer); or at least, that's how it seems. It's cool to have Doc Harris around, but I think he should probably be closer to Wildfire.
And apparently they do different sketches each time the street troupe comes out during the day? I've only managed to catch it once so far, and that was with Zeke and (Sarie Ellen McCoy?) talking about the snake oil. But we came up on the tail end of a sketch earlier that day that involved some gun shooting.
I think I'm gonna take one day and just stake out on Main Street to capture all the different things on video. I'd love to make a music video dedicated to the characters of the City.
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I think I'm gonna take one day and just stake out on Main Street to capture all the different things on video. I'd love to make a music video dedicated to the characters of the City.
Silver Dollar City on MTV? Now that's entertainment! ;D
Actually I think having the Bolin Brothers participate in the opening ceremonies is a very smart move! I mean let's face it, it seems kind of silly to think that these two money grabbers would simply wait around all day for the next train to come through. It makes so much more financial sense for them to venture into the city from time to time. :)
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I really like the "Did You Know" signs! Thanks for all of the trip reports and pictures everyone. I'm really looking forward to visiting the park myself next week! :D
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good to see the photos! Thanks!
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Great pics....thanks for sharing!
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Something that maybe you all already know is as follows from the SDC website:
"2010 Collector's Ornament
Requirements: In celebration of our 50th birthday, visit 5 times in 2010 and qualify for our special 50th ornament. Must pick up ornament during your visit to Silver Dollar City's An Old Time Christmas festival."
I am glad that for once a normal fan can get an ornament. I used to get them every year when We would attend I think it was 3 festivals during the year-World fest-Summer/or Fall, and Christmas. I hate it that they upped the number of festivals needed to get the ornament. I do not attend for the ornament, however it was a nice incentive. I could NOT make it more than I already do, and those of you that have come to know me on here I am there alot, but I have a job etc, and cannot on a whim attend SDC-especially at certain times of the year. I know they could be bought for $10 in the past. I just think the # of festivals attended in the future needs to be rethought to allow for others to get ornaments. Just my thoughts.
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Yup, Rube I couldn't agree more. I think its unrealistic to expect people to travel down so many different times of the year to get the ornament-especially with our present obamaconomy.
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I second that. I am unsure how many times I get to travel this year since my job depends so much on the states budget.
We will not know until November who will get to keep their jobs and who will be bumped. It will take that long since the union is involved.
I am just waiting to win the Mega Millions and they can all kiss me goodbye!!! Branson here I come!!!! ;D
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You and me both Twinsmom!
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I've always seen it more as an incentive to buy a season pass and as an incentive for passholders to visit more often. The fact that it's still available for $10-ish to those who can't make it more than once or twice a year, to me, means the "come so many times, get it free" is more of a perk/incentive than anything else.
As a general side note: let's please leave political statements (subtle or no) off this board or at least in the off-topic/Random Talk forum. We're here to talk about SDC, not take jabs about politics that may offend someone.
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I was simply wondering why in the past years, the park decided to "up" the number of visits in a time when the economy is pretty bad, you 'd think that there would be more of an incentive for people to go. Again I do not go JUST for the ornament, but after visiting 3-4 different festivals I felt shorted last year since I couldn't make it to one of the smaller festivals-It ended my streak and my tree had a bare spot, Guess I'll watch ebay for that one!
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I have to wonder if their decision was based at all on the surveys they send out. I remember they had quite a few over the last year or more that had to do with the economy and how often people did visit and planned to visit.
From a corporate POV, if attendance is down, one way to get it back up is to offer an incentive to come more often. So by upping the number of festivals one must attend in order to receive a free ornament, it means those who want the free ornament come more often, therefore spend money at the park more often, and thus the company earns back what it loses by giving away the ornaments plus makes profits beyond that.
I know it sucks, but from a business standpoint, I think I understand the reasoning (or at least the possible/likely reason).
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I have not ever had a chance for a $10 ticket I live 6 hours away.
I don't think it was a jab since I have worked under alot of political parties.
Good and bad. In two years times I lost a $76k job due to the economy. Took at job at $5.25 a hour as a teacher s aide. I am slowly working my way back up
When I was a student worker I only made $2.35 an hour in 1976.
I will come to SDC as often as I can.
Now I will get off my soap box
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In reference to those ornaments, do they not sell them during the holiday season in the shops? Seems kind of demoralizing to force your customers to visit your business five times a year just for a silly ornament.
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I think the ornament is just something fun and extra for those who visit often, why not give something like that?
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FYI: You can purchase the ornaments for ALL the previous years they have available at the customer service building for $10 each, ANY time of the year. Last year I was able to fill all but 3 that I was missing, buying 1 or 2 at a time, skipping meals on those trips. I was thrilled to get the 3 Celebration City ornaments! ;D
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Tinmann: Oh, cool, I didn't know you could get ones from the previous years!
Ozark BBQ: I really don't see it as "demoralizing" nor do I see it as SDC "forcing" anyone to do anything. Like I said before, the ornament as it is right now, can be bought by anyone for a low price. If you come to the park several times, you get it free for being a multi-repeat visitor. It's just a perk, that's all I see it as.
Sorry, Twinsmom; I wasn't referring to your post. The "jab" I was referring to was the term "obamaconomy" in another post. I don't mind if we discuss the economy because, yes, it does affect us in terms of how often we get to visit SDC, but I think using sly terms like the aforementioned is just a bit too much and threatens to offend someone (and, yes, I am one of those someones). Plus, it takes a couple years for an administration's good or bad effect to be felt, so this economy is something that did not originate under our current administration.
Anyway, I don't know what our admin feels, but personally, I wouldn't mind a thread in Random Talk for people to discuss--politely--any political stuff they need to get off their chest.
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Ok, I was the one that made the comment, and I am sorry if it tended toward offensive-certainly not meant in that way.
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I think we all just need to step back and get back to the subject at hand.
I can't wait but I will be in Branson Friday afternoon!!! I am calling in a sick day - sick of being in Illinois and in need of a Silver Dollar City fix.
Well I did not win the Mega Millions so I have to work alittle longer :(
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Has anyone tried the spiral cut potatoes on a stick? I did not take the photo, but found one online...They looked good, and had both Regular and Sweet it appeared....
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/untitled.jpg)
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Sorry for getting a bit riled up. I usually just try to stay quiet, but sometimes I have difficulties keeping it in. Back to the topic at hand, indeed!
Yes, I got a sample of those potatoes a couple weeks ago... Eh. I dunno. Just tasted like not-quite-so-crispy potato chips.
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Thats what I assumed from looking at them in line for Echo Hollow. I like the crispy chips from the Lumbercamp. I do like the larger assortment of toppings/spices that they offered for them-I just wanted to try those
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Actually if they seasoned them just right, they look like very tasty treats!
Perhaps a barbeque flavor next? :D
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Yeah, a different seasoning would probably do the trick.
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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around much the past few weeks. I have gone back to SDC twice since I attended Opening Day and still have no complaints. The character's are such a huge bonus. I wish they could always be there.
Anyway, here's a collection of the photos from all 3 of my trips. Some of them were taken with my point & shoot and aren't as good as the ones I took with my Nikon DSLR.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roseykrh/sets/72157623523178877/
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The park really looks good this year. Thanks for the pictures. :)
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I love the new spiral potatoes!! They were a great snack and not too expensive either.
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Well, we have just had a good exhausting trip at SDC for the past two days. I loved the cooler weather.
There were alot of student groups particularily band and chorus high school and middle school.
You sure couldn't tell they were even there. Nothing was slowed down at all.
We left everyday at closing and of course we had to have funnel cake.
My daughter tried the spiral cut potatoes. They did offer a variety of seasonings but she only wished they were crispier.
I cannot wait until the next trip. I only wished I lived closer. We left Branson at 10:30 and pulled in ;my driveway at 5:15.
It is a good kind of exhaustion!!
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Those spiral potatoes look good. We had some of those at our festival here a few weeks ago, but I didn't try them. I may have to at SDC. ;D
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My husband and I had the "twisted taters on a stick" during anniversary weekend, and they were quite tasty. A variety of seasonings are available to shake on the taters (pepper, parmesan cheese, garlic pepper, seasoned salt, and several others).
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Mmm... I guess they should have mentioned that when giving out the samples.
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My family and I will be there next Saturday and Sunday, May 22nd and 23rd. Anyone else from SDCFans gonna be there?
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I plan on being there most likely Sat...
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We had a trip some-what planned for Apr. 30 - May 3, but Mother Nature took care of that.
We are trying to plan a trip soon, we would like to go when they are open till 10p, but it just dont fit in our schedule right now. Tried last year but got too wore-out, we only made it till 4p. Guess we need to change our set-up. I THINK WE ARE GUNNA TRY AGAIN JUNE 11TH.
Heck, my woman is 50 this year!! ;)
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I finally (sadly) get to say I had my first "WORST" visit ever, to the city. It started with cars backed up 1 mile before the exit off of the High road. It took 2 hours to get parked, in Branson West, of all places, then the bus ride in. While waiting in line, the 2nd bus decided to pull to the wrong end, and let people on that where walking up, while those of us that had waited in the sun for 20 min, watched stunned. The next bus started to do the same, and several guests blocked the bus. This led to screaming and shouting, even 1 guy pounding on the front window and demanding to let us on. It was a mess. They were not prepared for today's crowd. They closed the park around 4, and when I left at 5, there was already an estimate of 19,000. They re-opened the park, and were staying open until 9pm, so there's no telling what the final total will be.
If today was a sign of things to come, I will not return until the fall fest... :(
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^Well I am glad I opted to go to Adventureland instead of driving down there as I originally planned. ;D
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WOW! After all this nasty-wet weather, i guess everyone decided to head to SDC. We kinda figured that would happen.
Feel for ya tinmann. We stay in Branson West too. What time did ya leave to get there?
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Usually I leave at 7:30, but there is normally a "slow period" around 11-1pm, so I left at 11:30, got on park at 2:15, and left at 4:30. The crowds were so thick, it took 20 min. to get from GG to FITH. There are no shows going on during the BBQ fest, so the only line was for the saloon, leaving ALL rides backed up past the 2 hour wait, except FITH, which was a 45 min wait.
And wait till you see the Newest eyesore- a row of 2010's Coke machines in front of the Frisco Barn!
That being said, I did have some "happy" moments with the guests: I dressed up as a sheriff, to see if I could tolerate the heat, before applying, there. I now know the feeling the street troupe gets when people approach them and ask to take their pic, shake there hand, get directions, etc., it was kind of cool :)
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Sorry to hear about the bad trip. I'm with you on waiting until fall fest. I usually go one time between end of bluegrass/BBQ and the start of fall fest but that's it
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I've finally got my annual trip planned for August (hey, I'm from Florida...I'm used to "the hot"). In the meantime, I'm celebrating each and every day here at Walt Disney World in my own very special way. No one has caught on yet.
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^that's awesome :D
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Thanks Swoosh. I'm trying to find humor in the irony of a theme park name tag which also includes yet another theme park name.
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Was there a picture posted, betamike?
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Yep, HB. I just looked and it's still there (page 11) of this thread.
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Love that nametag, BetaMike! (I'm surprised they allowed you to do that.)
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I've got friends in high places ;)
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I'm just not getting the images that people are posting these days. The only ones I'm seeing are the ones rubedugan is posting.
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I'm not getting the photo either (nor the one posted in the survey thread [the newer posting of that pic worked though]).
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^Same here. But I also always see rube's.
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HOW DID THAT SLIP PAST ME READING THAT? the nametag is awesome, probably the coolest thing I have seen this year! (what can I say it has been a slow year)
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Here's betamike's image for those of you who can't see attachments:
(http://www.sdcfans.com/galleries/IMG_1352.JPG)
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Thanks for the re-post Shavethewales and thanks for the comments everyone. The great thing is, everyone here in Florida knows of my SDC connection and they all love the place too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/4637316632/
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That reminds me of two years ago when the talking trash can at Animal Kingdom asked my wife and daughter about some theme park in Branson. Try as she did, my wife could not get the guy to say Silver Dollar City. I think it is very appropriate for this to be on your badge.
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Me too, heck...we're big enough to accept a little competition. Also, we know what it's like to celebrate a 50th anniversary. That is too funny about PUSH the talking trash can. Clever little trash can.
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Husband and I were at SDC on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Weather was great on Tuesday. Arrived mid-afternoon in time to see the last Rhonda Vincent and the Rage show of the day and the last Nothin' Fancy show of the day; both were excellent. On Wednesday we got to the park before opening. Saw all 3 of Rhonda Vincent's shows and all 3 Balsam Range shows. Rained on and off all day and we avoided rides due to the large number of school groups in the park. Wednesday was the first day for ICEES to be sold in the park. There's a cart with 6 - 8 flavors between RiverBlast and the train trestle. Husband tried to buy one but at the time there wasn't a price list or register available at the cart. It was finally operational later on in the day. Did buy 2 bottles of BBQ sauce at the booth on the Square; would have bought 3 but they were out of 1 type we wanted. By the way, Show Lovers pass is now accepted for the saloon show.
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Hey! If anybody goes to the BG&BBQ Festival this weekend and sees The Stockdale Family Band perform, please say hi to them from me. I got to perform with them a few years ago and they're friends of my brother. Also ask them about their stint on "Wife Swap". They were good several years ago and I understand they've gotten a lot better now.
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betamike,
How long have you had that name tag? I just went to Disney World like two weeks ago. That would have been cool if I had seen you during my trip! ;D
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I've had it since just before the anniversary on May 1st. That would have been cool to bump into you! You probably did see me if you were at Expedition Everest at all.
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I've had it since just before the anniversary on May 1st. That would have been cool to bump into you! You probably did see me if you were at Expedition Everest at all.
I did go to Expedition Everest, but it was at the end of a slow day and there was almost no line, and we pretty much just jumped on almost as soon as we got up to the front. So perhaps I did see you, but just didn't notice your tag.
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Glad you had the good fortune of short lines! You beat the crowds by a few weeks. ;D
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That was the plan!
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That is the coolest nametag I have ever seen BetaMike!! Great idea!
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We got our season passes mid-April and have been four times since. Last weekend was the busiest of the trips. I read on FB that some people waited 3+ hours just to get into the park. We came in around noon and went straight in. The tram lines were long, so we just walked (from lot 5 - it was my husband's idea of a "healthy choice") and ended up walking back at the end of the day. We took two family members with us so we could ride the rides (toddler in tow). Wildfire was pretty much no line which was GREAT being that I haven't been on a mega coaster since 1998 (Batman at SF) and I was able to ride it multiple times. We were going to take turns riding FiTH, but the line was looooong - longest I have ever seen. We were able to ride quite a few rides with no more than a half hour wait.
Being a clogger, I just couldn't keep my feet still while walking around. lol There was some GREAT bluegrass! We have yet to actually sit down and take in any shows other than the saloon - which our daughter l-o-v-e-s. We pit stop alongside theaters here and there until she points in a new direction.
While I'm thinking of it... where the heck were the Irish dancers during World Fest??? Lots of musicians and singers, not as many dancers as I recall.
We were super bummed that the kids area - now River Blast - is completely different than the last time we went. We were looking forward to the balloon ride and carousel. Of course, the last time we were there was 2000 before this year. lol The park does feel a bit more like SF than SDC with all the rides, but they do a great job of fitting everything in and not killing the true SDC atmosphere all together.
For our daughter, the Grand Expo is great! She loves the frogs and butterflies... just if we could fit in those darn rides! lol We don't mind waiting for these since it's all she can ride right now.
I don't know if we'll make it in much during Kids Fest. I have several friends who will be clogging and will want to see them, but I know the park is packed then and I really don't feel like fighting the crowds. I'm already looking towards fall. lol
So there's my random review... 8)
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Welcome to SDCFans, QueenMum. *curtsies*
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Just talked with family that is at the park today, said it's "the busiest they have ever seen it"
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Wish I was going to the City this Saturday. We got an e-mail today that the park opens at 8:00 for Season Pass Holders then the Pass Holders can ride from 8:30 - 9:30 before the City officially opens. Sounds great! Got other plans though...
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Yeah, that'd be awesome to go to...
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Figures...anyone in Springfield mind a tag-a-long, who's short on gas $$$??? :(
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How much would you need for gas? :)
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If we lived in Springfield- or somewhere equally close- we might be at the City almost every weekend. Wouldn't that be great! :)
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ah, you guys all make me jealous. But no one in the family likes to go during the sweltering heat, so we make the majority of our trips in Spring, Fall, and Christmas time. It is a definite advantage to home schooling. Plus my daughter has always been afraid of anyone in a costume, ie yogi bear, peanuts, etc. So, I'll be going down for Southern Gospel Picnic for my first time this season. The last 2 years the weather has not been too bad.
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So did anyone from this site get to go to the special "early ride hour" for Season Pass holders last Saturday?
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LOL, yeah. Tinmann and I got there about 8:30am. Went to Powderkeg and it hadn't even opened yet, though it was supposed to be open at 8am. About 8:40-ish, it opened. We rode in the front, got off, and went around to ride again. We rode in the back. When we got to the lift hill, we were stopped halfway up it.
They had three trains running, and we were all stopped. One was at the launch and the third was just coming into the station.
We waited 20min in the sun for them to get us down. By the time we got out of PK, it was already 9:30 and the exclusive ride time was over.
The rest of the day was still great. There weren't a lot of people, so all the lines were great. Even Lost River wasn't too long.
All in all, a great day!
Oh, and River Blast was fairly busy. We got a really good soaking.
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We'll make our first trip for the year, tomorrow. Too bad it's during my least favorite festival, but that's the way the cookies crumble. We just need to get our SDC fix and finally use our Season Passes (Sorry to see the first Bring-a-Friends have expired already; we might have Brought-a-Friend.). Lots of exciting things have been happening in our family to keep us away, so we have in no way been hindered by bad reasons, but we would like to get out of the house.
Anyone going to be walking around out there tomorrow?
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Only in spirit this weekend HB...Have a great trip!
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^^Don't suppose you'll be there beyond the weekend HB?? We'll arrive at the City on Monday.
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Just a day trip with our daughter (leaving the baby with grandparents). I noticed you were coming and was disappointed we would miss each other.
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Darn! Like my grandfather said, looks like I'll be just camping on your trail.
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I must report that today was my best Kids Fest experience. We easily avoided all contact with costumed characters (except Diggy the dog, in the Stunt Dog show). I can't say I was all that offended by the Coke Coolers at the Frisco barn or the slushy machines that have popped up elsewhere - they were just as disguised as previous fountain drink machines, etc., and I can even live with Tony Orlando's big wet ball at the entrance to the GE (though they did cover the big date impression - I knew they couldn't live with such a hazard forever.). I didn't even notice the massive concrete tunnel at American Plunge since it is mostly dark. I was more upset by all the PVC connected around the flumes at the American Plunge (Someone needs to get in there and do some masking of the modern technology that makes the ride work.), but the biggest offenses were the modern water hose and sprinkler set up near the gazebo as a cooling/play area for the kids and the lady behind the register in one shop talking on her cell phone.
I can't say I like the shows they bring in for this festival, but we went to a couple and enjoyed them well enough. I was impressed with the way Paul Gossamer incorporated SDC's celebration into his magic show at the Opera House (though I still don't understand entering through the back door); he told about Firecracker, the dog who supposedly was trapped inside the car that slid into the incline railway tunnel as it was being excavated and subsequently flooded and experienced a mudslide. It was nice tie in and conclusion to his show. Unfortunately, all of his tricks were easily figured out by anyone with any knowledge about stage illusions, but it was good enough to impress a six-year-old.
I don't usually like dog shows where all they do is throw Frisbees, but again, the six-year-old was impressed, and since it is Kids Fest and she is a kid, I guess the target audience was served.
Now as for that multi-million dollar set of squirt guns they call the Riverblast - the theming is great. I am pleased with the way it turned out, and I certainly hope the area can expand on its Tom and Huck theming. I totally forgot to go into the souvenir shop connect with it however. The gem panning move and expansion was also well-done. I can't say the RB would be something to draw me in or bring me back, so I'm not sure about the overall investment, but TPTB must know something more about it than I do. We didn't get as wet as I thought we would, and didn't even consider the dryer. Some kids were getting soaked but that was because they invited it - much like they did at Splash Harbor. I can tell there will be a lot of innocent name-calling in the area. I called someone a turkey one time, and the 6-y-o embellished and started calling everyone despicable turkeys. Mostly, though, we observed more older men - dads and granddads - having fun with this attraction than kids. I guess Tom and Huck bring out the kid in grown men as they wax nostalgic. I'm also glad to hear the ride has its own theme song. The theming on the back wall is awesome, and I would love to have more time to look everything over.
Now there are no shops at all down the PK viewing area. Another attraction would be necessary in that area to get people to walk that way (or perhaps a back door link with Wildfire?).
Crowds were decent for a Thursday, and when we visited Grandfather's Mansion, we could actually hear the voice at the pool table. I guess I totally had forgotten there was a voice there, calling "8-ball in the corner pocket" and other things. I still have no memory of an audio of that nature being in that location after all the decades I've been stumbling through the place.
As we drove by White Water, I still had to wonder why they don't keep it open any longer in the evening. I would guess many teenagers would still be there while their parents attend shows. The lifeguards looked to be doing some refresher training when we drove past.
The strip looks pretty good - with lots of changes and additions since we visited at Christmas. What's with the Kung Fu show at the White House theater? That one took me by surprise.
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^ Thanks for the great review HB! We'll be at the City off and on between Monday the 21st through Saturday the 26th, and we're soooooooooooo excited! :o I've made a special shirt so that my SDC Fans Friends will know me. Here's what it looks like:
<img src="http://imgur.com/O2mpR.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
Hope to see you in the City!
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Love the shirt!!!! Just wished I was there too. Have fun :D
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Awww.... ::) Wish I was going too! Take all of us with you in spirit when you go! And take a couple of shots for me in the Flooded Mine!
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Thanks for the review HB
Awesome shirt pastor don. Might see you on the 26th!
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Love the t-shirt! :)
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The Gossamer Magic show is being billed as the final year. We could predict or suggest a replacement for that show in next year's Kids Fest. What do you think? I'd like to see a return visit from the old courthouse/playhouse comedies - something produced in house and not shipped in through someone's booking agent.
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^ When we were at SDC in '04 we were introduced to the a cappella group Chapter 6 when the performed at the Opera House. They are fantastic and I'd love to see them come back!! Don't know exactly how to fit them into the whole 1880's theme, but with their family friendly and very entertaining show they certainly fit into Kids Fest!
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We saw Chapter 6 at Celebration City - I don't recall them at SDC, but I supposed they could have been there; I sometimes try to ignore the Kids Fest shows. There are also a couple of vocal bands performing on the strip now - a group just called Six and a new one called The Cat's Pajamas. I can't vouch for either, but I noticed Six was recognized at entertainer of the year or something like that.
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I will be at SDC next weekend as well. I am very excited!!!! Maybe I'll see some of you there.
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Looks like we'll be there next Sunday and Monday. My parents invited us to go boating on Table Rock. We decided to add a couple of days. Why not, right?
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Pray for me! Burned my right eye yesterday morning by putting in a contact that had been soaked in hydrogen peroxide...loooong story. Ended up at the Branson ER last night. Still hurts this morning and I can't wear my contacts for two weeks but I'm goin' to the City anyway!
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Amen! Enjoy the day, but...be careful. :)
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Ouch. :-\
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I don't know if this is the right place to post this or not. Sorry as I'm a newbie. Anyway, we just got back home from our annual 3 week trip to Branson and Silver Dollar City. As usual, we had the times of our lives. With 4 boys, season passes to the city are the only way to go. They love the rides and the various shows throughout the park, especially the Saloon Show. I just have to mention one concern however. Even though there are designated smoking areas, I see a number of people smoking outside those areas. I saw one gentleman get very nasty with a park employee when she directed him to a smoking area. My question is, would it be possible to make the whole park a non-smoking area. It seems like the area around the Powder Keg is very bad as far as smelling cigarette smoke. On a couple of different occasions both my family and myself were made sick from the smell of the smoke. Surely it would be possible to do without a cigarette during a visit to the park. Not trying to say anything bad about anybody who smokes, but a non-smoking park I think would even make it more family oriented. I'd be interested in hearing some of your thoughts on this and if you think it is something that could/would ever happen. Also, if you had a contact person from the park that I could contact about this issue I'd appreciate it.
Finally, I have to say thanks to all of you for making this an enjoyable website for me. I have learned much about SDC since discovering it.
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Howdy, Josh...! Happy to have you aboard. You might learn more about the smoking topic here: http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=715.0 (http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=715.0) .
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Thanks for you quick response.... :)
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Pray for me! Burned my right eye yesterday morning by putting in a contact that had been soaked in hydrogen peroxide...loooong story.
Did thy right eye offend thee? ;D
Get well soon! Eye injuries are a hassle.
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Thanks for your prayers everybody! My eye started feeling better within an hour or so of getting to SDC...so I credit your prayers and the Lord who answers prayers.
First let me say the heat and humidity down here were absolutely oppressive. We've had a long winter and a cool spring where we come from so it was really hard on us. (We're hoping it will moderate a bit by the end of the week.) But we had a great time anyway. Walked right onto Wildfire at about 9:30 and rode it 3 times in a row. Then it was off to American plunge where I sat in the back behind 5 other people in our group and got absolutely soaked. After that we rode Powderkeg, TNT, FITH, and TGFMS. Didn't catch any shows, but had a great lunch at the Mine Restaurant where it was gloriously COOOOOOOOOL! We finally just couldn't take the heat and humidity any longer and headed back to our resort on Indian Point at about 3:30 where I took about a 2 hour nap, and now my eye is feeling much better! Tomorrow is our day on the lake so I should be able to report more on SDC on Wednesday.
Overall I was impressed with how great everything looks. The park did not seem to be too crowded and the lines were not too long except for the water rides! I have never seen lines that long for Lost River of the Ozarks.
By the way, my wife did a cooking class at the Culinary & Craft School and said she really enjoyed it...(gave it a 9 out of 10) She's also planning to go back to a "tropical" themed one on Thursday.
Thanks again everyone! Until next time...
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No Giant Swing? If you can do the others, don't let the swing intimidate you! I consider it one of the best rides there, with repeated weightlessness - plus, if you look over your head on the forward swing, you get a great view of the opposite horizon (upside down).
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^It's not that I have anything against GS but just didn't make it over there today. However, I will admit it has the ability to "weird me out" more than any other ride in the park. I rode it once last time we were there in '07 and that whole "nothing-between-me-and-the-ground-except-this-padded-pipe" thing kind of messed with my head. But I'll probably ride it on Wednesday! Thanks for the nudge, HB!
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I love the GS!!!!!! It makes me feel so weightless and it's a lot of fun. I could just sit and ride it all day! :o
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Just like to say that I've attended Echo Hollow twice and saw the Saloon Show once this week,and both are excellent! I was really disappointed with the Saloon Show last time I saw it in '07, but they have really tightened up the jokes and songs, and it's great! Really like all the current cultural references and the choice of songs. Jae McFerron is absolutely superb as the host of EH, and his comedy bits are fresh and funny.
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One addition to my comments on the Echo Hollow Show...I think they could stand to make up a few more cards with different words for their "How To Talk Like a Hillbilly" section. There are lot's of words that could be used (Although they probably should stay away from "European"! ;) ) And it would add a little variety for those of us who might want to see the show more than once in a season.
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Are you talking about GAC nights? Thats my favorite show at Echo Hollow. I loved the "Cleedus take the wheel" (sorry I know I spelled that wrong!:D). The main host said that Reba McEntire was coming to help host the second half of the show. I thought he was just joking but I didn't stay long enough to see. Was she there?
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Not even rain can spoil a day at Silver Dollar City! It was a really hot muggy Missouri summer day on Saturday so immediately when we got to the park we headed over to the American Plunge to cool down and then went to Wildfire to dry us off. :D After that, we decided to hit up the saloon show (which was really really well done) to take a load off our feet. Once we got out of the saloon show it was pouring rain! All the rides were closed because of thunderstorms nearby so we decided to go and see The Magic of Peter Gossamer.
I enjoyed the show, even though it really isn't 1880's themed at all. They do talk about Marvel Cave a little bit, and that was cool. I think since it is the final year for that show, they really need to do some creative thinking and come up with a show that will please us, the real fans, and the kids for Kidsfest.
I was sad to see that the birthday cake eating contest was canceled, I guess I'll just have to hit that up in August. SDC can be enjoyed just as much in the rain as it can in the heat of a Missouri summer.
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While we were waiting in line for PK on Thursday the announcer said the ride might be delayed for 15 minutes or so while they cleaned "something" up from row two in the first car. Of course we all assumed somebody had lost their funnel cake during the ride. But after one of the crew consulted with the chief he announced that it appeared to only be sun tan lotion, so it would only take a couple of minutes to send the car out empty, unload the car behind it and then clean up the mess. So here's a little tip for future riders: TAKE YOUR TUBE OF SUN BLOCK OUT OF YOUR BACK POCKET BEFORE YOU RIDE!!! :-[
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I bet that was pleasant to have to deal with ;) It seems like every time something goes wrong it's always on PK.
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Ah, you know PK is always "blowing it's top" and taking off in such a mad fury! It's such a sensitive little baby, but we all love it. ;) You gotta handle PK with tender loving care. There is always somebody else in line who wants to ride!
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True that. PK is pretty sensitive, but it's my favorite ride in the park! ;D
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We just returned from a two-day trip to SDC. We went Sunday and today (June 27 and 28). Man, Sunday was HOT! Crowds were manageable. We rode rides in the morning, and saw one show per day. The dog stunt show is cute. I liked it better than the previous dog show. We saw the magic show today. It was nearly the same show as the past two years. The Marvel Cave ending is new. I especially enjoyed the "pre-show" film that plays before each show that tells a little bit about the history of the park. It wasn't anything I didn't already know, but it was cool to watch.
We saw the saloon show during World Fest, so we skipped it this time. The other shows were not in an air-conditioned building, so we skipped those, too.
Today was much better temperature-wise and crowd-wise. The rain Sunday night helped. The crowd really didn't show up until 12. And even then, it wasn't huge.
We left about 2:30 both days. The lines get longer than we care to wait after lunch. We did have a good trip!
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I just found out the family won't be taking the annual trip to SDC this year. Dad is going on a trip during my fall break and I start vet school this year so I can't skip any school days. I'm going to try reallllllllllly hard to squeeze a trip in before school starts with friends but it won't be the same as the family experience. If not, I sure will enjoy reading these trip reviews!
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PS - We drove by the Branson exit yesterday on our way to St. Louis. It was torturous seeing all the Branson billboards along the way and driving past the exit. We are stopping in St. L on our way to Ohio and will be here for a few days. I tried to talk the fam into stopping in Branson but, Cardinal's game and Gateway Arch won.
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I have an urge to go this weekend but I have to think like an adult now and put things in the correct priority.
There are needs such as food and little repairs such as dripping faucet to name one that needs to be done.
However, I am coming the 30th so my daughter can see Spongebob. Even though she is 12 she stills loves Spongebob. I hope to keep that innocence for alittle longer.
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I forgot to mention this in my earlier review, and I don't know if anyone has posted this yet, but I think the Did you know signs across the park are a really nice touch.
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Don, did you get any comments about your SDCFans shirt?
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Don, did you get any comments about your SDCFans shirt?
I wore the shirt twice, and got several comments--all from park employees. The first time I wore it was Monday morning, and the first comment came from a young lady working at the desk by the entrance to the cave. She said she was a member of SDC fans but didn't log on very often, however she said she thought Steam Freak was working that day. I asked around at the train station but never did link up with him. (I think he was one of the Bolin brothers that day.) Over the two days I got comments from several more citizens and just looks from fellow patrons.
I got more comments on the "I'm celebrating a 50th too" button I got when I got my free season pass. This was again from employees who, upon seeing it, would wish me a happy birthday. This was a little jarring as I turned 50 almost 3 months ago.
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I am glad you had a good time and I really did like the shirt too. Hopefully your eye is doing better.
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^Yes, my eye was doing much better by Tuesday, (but that was the day I got the killer headache! :'() Thanks for your prayers and concern.
It was fun wearing the shirt, and makes me think we really ought to have an official SDC Fans T-shirt!
One other thing. My interactions with park employees were among the highlights of our trip. Got to meet one of our fellow members who works on park (who shall remain nameless) and also enjoyed visiting with the fellow who plays Shakey Standback. He's got a fascinating story of how he came to be an "atmosphere character". Also the ladies in the Apple Butter Store were very friendly and talkative. This is one of the things that makes this place so special...the fine citizens of Silver Dollar City.
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Went to SDC 7 times already this year and have had a great time each and every time. The last visit was on tuesday june 15th. There was no alot of people on park. we walked on almost every ride and saw everyshow we wanted to see. Speaking of shows..... I am glad the Magic of Peter whatever is in it's last season. We need something new for Kids Fest.
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Dropped into the park today to try to get the cinamon bread secret from Sullivans mill.
It was pretty quiet all in all but I am assuming that the crowds are on there way in for the weekend.
I enjoy it being slow but I also think its not a good thing for growth.....
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Dropped in to have a short visit at the city. On my way in i was asked by 4-5 people if i would le them take my picture. Anyone else really annoyed by this?
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ohh oh me me!!!!!! >:( They are a bit much. I know they generate revenue from some groups from the photos and products sold, but really....they make me feel like I am dealing with telemarketers. They are not just confined to the entrance or the square anymore. As a 30 yr visitor, I don't need my photo to remember the trip, Some people might, I don't though. There might be a market for this , but there has to be a better way rather than annoying guests. I have seen at least one of the photographers taking the more abstracted, photo journalistc photos of people/ kids. This is a deal for someone who wants a candid photo of their child/ family that is not just the posed "stock" family portrait for a lesser cost than hiring a photographer/ going to a studio etc. If you want one of these find the young lady usually posted by geyser gulch she knows her photography!
WOndering about these things as a photographer. I wonder if the park ever gets senior portraits, or enagement photography groups in the park. If so, would they allow them in to do their thing?
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Strangest thing - I'm so pretty, even the tourists want to take my picture! "It's hard to be humble when you get better lookin' each day." ;)
Really, give 'em a grumpy face, and they won't even approach you.
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I don't know much about the park "photographers," other than most of them are foreigners. I've never seen one of them being "pushy" about asking if someone would like to have their picture taken, but I guess I can see how it might be annoying to have to say no to several different offers around the park. But look at it this way...if having to say "No, thank you" a couple of times is the worst of your annoyance, you're doing pretty good. Relax...have a good time. Actually, the ones parked outside the Saloon wearing Saloon dresses seem to do a pretty good business.
As I walk through the park, I often see families posing for pictures at various places. It strikes me that one, the photographer, is always left out of the picture, so I offer to take one, with their camera, that all can be in. They are always appreciative.
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I was unaware of this situation with the photographers. It makes me laugh, what a park will do to make money. I remember that as an employee, we were strongly encouraged to pause and snap a picture for folks, just like Zephon mentions doing. To me, that's the way it ought to be...but I realize this is "today" and not 26 years ago! Ya gotta make money to keep things viable. That's my two cents worth.
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The photographers at the saloon are also entertaining. It's fun to watch the saloon girls make some old guy turn red in front of his party. At least that setting lends itself to a "special" photo that you can't normally get on your own.
We had our pictures done at the Christmas tree last year. The photographer took the time with the family in front of us to pose them, get the best angle, etc., but with us, it was point-and-shoot. Our photos didn't turn out very good.
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So, I went with my dad, stepmom, stepsis, and her 4 and 6 year old sons to SDC on Wednesday. Started out cloudy and ended up with a nice shower (which we hid from on the Culinary Arts porch), but then it cleared out and it was sunny the rest of the day.
Terry said on his Facebook that there were 13,107 people on Wedns. I totally believe it. We parked down in... oh, whereever Stop 5 is (got there at 11/12-ish). But once inside, the crowds really weren't too bad. The lines weren't too long ('cept Lost River), so that was nice.
My 6yr old nephew Christopher rode his first ever "big person" roller coaster, riding Thunderation first forwards, then backwards. Loved forward, hated backward.
My dad took Christopher and his 4yr old brother Landen on Fire in the Hole. Christopher rode by himself and didn't particularly care for it on his own. Landen rode with my dad and, in the end, he rode it four times in a row!
My stepsis and I took Christopher on Powderkeg. I figured if he liked TnT, he'd like PK....... Wrong! He cried the whole way through the ride; poor thing had tears streaming down his cheeks. We're pretty sure it was the launch that got to him, though we'd told him about it before it started. So for the rest of the day, we heard "I don't like Powderkeg" from him every 10-15min. :)
The boys got to meet the Colonel and Whoops E. They *really* got a kick out of Whoops E. We ran into her twice, and she remembered them, which they thought was awesome.
All in all, a great day at SDC!
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Hey everybody! Just thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures from our trip to SDC in June...
(http://imgur.com/mF4zC.jpg)
That's, of course, our old buddy Terry on the left as undertaker M. Balmer. (Those eyes really are creepy ain't they?)
On the right is Shakey Standback with whom I enjoyed visiting on a couple of occasions.
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That's a great pic! (I had to edit the code so it would load; there were a couple minor errors in it)
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^ Thanks for doing that. I'm new at this.
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'S'all good!
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My wife snapped this picture yesterday...didn't even know she took it until we got home last night. By far one of my favorite pics of us from SDC. It sums up my report for our trip last week.
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m197/kerrydale34/walkingdowncorkscrewpass.jpg)
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That's pretty awesome! Really captures how special Silver Dollar City is to everyone.
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Wow Kerrydale what a pic
The flowers and all are beautiful
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The pics are great!!! We need more of em on here!!!
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I really like your photo kerrydale! ;D
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Went to the park for a few hours today, it was a sweltering mess.
We rode Wildfire and I couldn't help but think they should shut off that mist effect on days like today. That raises the humidity so quickly in that load area those ride ops must be miserable at around 4 pm.
Powder Keg broke, not sure of they ever got it up again, they were running 2 trains on Wildfire and 3 on PowderKeg. I was proud of that.
After Powderkeg let me down ( I was next in line to load after a 30 min wait) I decided that a Rootbeer Float was all I needed to make my short trip compleat.
It is so nice to have a pass and live close......
BTW, they were spraying alot of water on the crowds today with hoses. I am not sure if that would make me feel cooler or just wet and miserable. I stayed away from the water.
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What is attendance like during the weekdays of mid-August? There isn't a festival during that time so I'm hoping the city won't be too crowded.
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The last few weeks in August are some of the best times to visit. Attendance is rather low, so you don't have to stand in line for anything. And the streets are not packed, plus you can visit with the craftspeople and other citizens.
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Thats probably because school starts back up at that same general time. I'd rather be at SDC anyday than school though. :D
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I have been to the city so many times that I cant count.
Living close allows me to drop in for a cpl hours and then go into town.
I have found that any time the school is in session the crowds are nonexistent.
At least on weekday, I choose Sunday if I have to go on a weekend as it seems lighter than Saturday.
I really enjoy going during school season, if you can, I recommend it.
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I will be on Park this weekend. Hope to see the Kids Fest shows I missed in June. Anyone else going to be there?
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You'll miss us by a week- we're going the last weekend of this month.
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My husband and I are going to SDC Tuesday and Wednesday kids free! Thanks mom! I can't wait. Then, I'm meeting my cousin the next week and we're bringing our kids--all girls. Two trips to look forward to before school starts. Yippee!
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Just returned from our Monday visit to SDC...
Did. Not. Have. Fun.
:-[
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Just returned from our Monday visit to SDC...
Did. Not. Have. Fun.
:-[
We are going tomorrow mid-afternoon. Are the crowds just too large even during the week?
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The crowd was fine. The new parking policy seems to be "Hey let's make it as inconvenient as possible by funneling everybody into one lane, parking them as far away as possible even thought there are closer lots, and make them wait in long lines for trams that are few and far between, cram twice as many people as are recommended into a bus, so they will think twice about paying for preferred parking on their next visit." To their credit, the 200 people in our line were oddly patient with the process.
That really sets a poor tone for welcoming guests.
From then on, I was nothing but critical. Strangely, my high point was watching some poor 20ish man ride the Happy Frogs; you would have thought he was riding the mechanical bull at Gilley's. Another plus was the lady behind the counter in the Marketplace; she was as cheerful as a clerk can get.
Ride lines were long, but not due to the crowds. Lost River was reported to be a 90-minute wait, and it looked to be an accurate estimate.
We quickly left, after a couple of hours, checked in at our hotel, and had a great time at Grand Country's indoor water park. I refuse to participate in Moonlight Madness anyway.
I hope your experience is better. Our trip earlier in the summer was one. of. the. best. ever. Big contrast!
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Ride lines were long, but not due to the crowds
What do you think the problem was?
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Tinmann and I went down on Sunday. Got there about 4-ish. Drove right into "Lot C"/Stop 5. People had already begun leaving, so there was a spot open not far from the station. We walked right onto a bus. Not a lot of people there at the station. The "quarry" didn't have anyone parked there. I'm guessing Sundays, even during MM, are still some of the slower days crowd-wise.
We mostly just hung around waiting for things to get dark. Met up with and spent most the day with some friends we ran into on the train.
I'd say the longest wait we had was Powderkeg at 9pm, and even that wasn't too long and the queue wasn't even fully used.
Dunno if it was a fluke or not, but there was no music coming out of the park speakers after "closing time". So, we were able to walk around a darkening SDC and fully enjoy the night-sounds--lots of cicadas and tree frogs to hear. SO awesome.
Only modern music we heard was... UGH, at Powderkeg. At first, they had some modern country playing, which was fine with me; a lot of people in line were actually singing along. And then WHAT comes blaring across the PK station speakers???
Lady Gaga's "Let's Dance." Yeah, you read that right. I adore Lady Gaga, but she does NOT belong at SDC, even less so than the "oldies" they usually play at MM. However, this seemed to be the ride attendants "having fun" rather than a choice made by the park higher-ups. And you know, it seems as if it's always at Powderkeg that music seems to be an issue. Whoever is supervisor of that attraction needs to give their underlings a talking-to about what music they play at that ride.
Other than that, Moonlight Madness was great. For the first time, I finally got to ride PK at night and OMG it was so AMAZING!!! Also got to ride Barn Swing, but that wasn't *quite* as amazing with all the lighting (though zooming over a dark Lost River was awesome).
Didn't do the dance party since we'd already done it at the anniversary, and we wanted to queue up for PK.
Even with better weather on Sunday (far less humid than it's been), it still got pretty hot for us, even after dark set in. They didn't have ANY of the ceiling fans going in the PK queue. UGH.
So I suppose, in closing, I can just say that I had a great time on Sunday and the only issues I had were based at Powderkeg.
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I'll be there on the last day of Moonlight Madness and then on the next day after MM. I am curious to see if there is a big difference between the two days.
I am bound to the days that I will be there since the City is closed for almost two weeks afterwards. Kind of strange to think that MM ends right when the City expects the crowds to just completely dry up. At least that was the reason I was given that they would just halt operation for two weeks in August. Weird.
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We just got back from Moonlight Madness tonight (Tues.). My husband and I are without the kids for two days, and we are meeting some friends to do Moonlight Madness tomorrow night. We had a good time, but the evening wasn't without issues.
We didn't go in until 7:30. We had dinner at Grand Country Buffet first. We ate dinner at SDC at Moonlight Madness last year, and it seems a little pointless to eat there when you have so few hours of evening to do stuff. We just found our own parking spot near Stop 2 tonight since we arrived pretty late.
We got there, and many people were leaving. They looked worn and hot. I did notice Bluegrass music playing in the park. We went to PowderKeg first, but it was shut down for whatever reason. So, we hopped over to Wildfire. There was quite a line to American Plunge, but Wildfire was about a 5-minute wait with two trains running. At Wildfire, 1950s music was playing.
We then rode the Giant Swing. Both arms were running tonight. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for it. When we did board, a light mist began. It wasn't much, but it surprised us. We walked around after that. We could hear the Echo Hollow show when we got to that side of the park. As we were standing there, they shut the show down due to weather. Again, it was a light mist, but they said they weren't sure about the weather.
We headed over to Thunderation, and we waited for one train in front of us to load. They were running two trains here, as well. After we left Thunderation, the weather was no longer an issue. We strolled through Midtown, and checked PowderKeg. It was running, but the line was longer than we wanted to wait for. It wasn't horribly long, but we knew we'd be back the next night with friends.
The lines for thrill rides were longer at about 9:00, obviously because people want night rides. The lines were nothing like last year's, but we weren't willing to wait more than 10 minutes tonight for anything when we'll be back the next night with our posse. :)
We could hear the dance party as we headed up Hill St. When we got there, people were doing the Electric Slide. Now, I understand that many people don't like the modern things at SDC, and that is fine. But I thought it was nice to see families having fun together. Parents were teaching their kids how to do the dances. (If the parents don't know the dances, there is a dance leader.) Families were being goofy together--making memories.
Now, for the not-so-great part. Leaving was a...cluster. They were trying to do crowd control from the exit of the Marketplace--literally. The guy was standing in the doorway trying to tell people what to do, but you couldn't hear him past three people back. Meanwhile, people can't move at all, and people who frequent the park are wondering what is going on. This was about 9:30 or so. We opted to walk to Stop 2, and we have never done that before. I tell you, we are patient people, and usually willingly wait for a tram. But this was exceptional. It wasn't bad walking in the evening, and it took us about five minutes. As we walked, one tram passed us. If you were there tonight, we were the ones with the blue and green light sabers walking to our car. ;)
All in all, we had a fun night. Heck, we're going back tomorrow. But if you were a first-timer visiting the park, I don't know how you would feel. Why are the trams always an issue?
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs174.snc4/38060_147458585264679_100000016145085_447868_685040_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs174.snc4/38053_147458651931339_100000016145085_447869_4050299_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs216.snc4/39123_147458755264662_100000016145085_447872_6227369_n.jpg)
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I'll most likely be there this weekend. I'm bracing for the worst since it'll be the middle of MM and probably one of the most crowded weekends of the year. Good thing Deer Run has a shuttle so we can avoid the inevitable parking frustration. When are they going to figure out that using the overflow lots first is just not worth the frustration it causes guests?
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I honestly believe they are trying to push the necessity of paid parking. We are now down to one lane going into the parking complex, with signs telling us that the other lane takes us to the paradise of "quicker" parking. Not exactly a covert little con they have started. Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.
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Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.
Hush! Don't give them any ideas. ;)
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I'll be there on the last day of Moonlight Madness and then on the next day after MM. I am curious to see if there is a big difference between the two days.
Hey, cool! I'm gonna be there the last day/night of MM, too! Maybe we'll run into each other!
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Ugh. Ok, so call me a "SDC Annual-Pass Snob" but I will be so glad when Kidsfest is over, the "tourists" are gone and things settle down and become more quiet at the park.
I went to SDC today and I remembered why I despise Kidsfest so much. I honestly cannot stand the "tourists". They're loud, they're annoying, and they're in such a big hurry the entire time that they don't allow themselves to have a good time. I had one idiot yell at me because I didn't double up with another single rider on ThuNderaTion. Granted I was already on the train and the lap bars were locked. He just continued yelling at me and the other person (a teenage boy). I finally just told him to stop. I was like "what is your problem guy" and he started up again and I cut him off and said, "You know what, you have a Silver Dollar Day" and just left it at that -- the train was finally moving out of the station. I just don't get it. This isn't Six Flags or Cedar Point, the park is not about the rides, it's about the experience and I just feel like the park is sort of wh0red out during Kidsfest and especially Moonlight Madness and the innocence of the park is lost. It comes back during the next festival, but GD "tourists" are annoying
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Dang, Swoosh. You're posting late. Did you just now get out of the parking lot?
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I feel your pain Swoosh.
When it's Deer Season...you shoot deer.
When it's Duck Season...you shoot duck.
When it's Rabbit Season...you shoot rabbits.
But whe it's Tourist Season...How come we can't shoot them? ;D
(I saw this quote somewhere recently. But I cannot for the life of me remember where. If it was someone on this site, my apologies, please take credit now).
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Hey, cool! I'm gonna be there the last day/night of MM, too! Maybe we'll run into each other!
Cool! I'll be the guy with a camera permanently stuck to his face.
I tend to agree with KidzFest (see, I made it hip with a "z"). The time machine quality of the place sort of disappears during this season. Not sure why I keep planning my trips to fall on those dates. I'm a very "casual" rider of the thrill stuff and tend to prefer the ambiance and slower experiences so once both of those disappear, I get frustrated at seeing the business opportunity of something like KidsFest.
I am glad that the City does devote other seasons to adults though. Starting to wonder if I shouldn't just skip the MM day altogether and enjoy my time there on the next day.
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Whew! Between parking issues and rowdy crowds with Kidsfest, it's sounding pretty rough out there! The SDCFans.com folk are devoted, and are vocal when disappointed. I'm sorry to hear some of you have had bad experiences. I'm looking forward to Harvestfest time, how about you?
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Whew! Between parking issues and rowdy crowds with Kidsfest, it's sounding pretty rough out there! The SDCFans.com folk are devoted, and are vocal when disappointed. I'm sorry to hear some of you have had bad experiences. I'm looking forward to Harvestfest time, how about you?
Absolutely! The middle of October the leaves will be changing colors, the temperature will be cooler, and I will be enjoying several slow days at Silver Dollar City. :)
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Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.
Hush! Don't give them any ideas. ;)
And for providing that service, I shall be awarded a lifetime parking spot right up front!!!
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Husband and I went to the park on Friday July 23. We parked in the small lot near tram stop 4; 2 trams were waiting. Got into the square about 10 minutes before opening so we headed to Sullivan's Mill and used our coupon for some Cinnamon Bread; yummy but I just wish hot bread was available early in the morning. We went over to River Blast and rode it twice. We did get soaked. Then we walked over and joined the line for the opening of Lost River. Noticed that the Riverfront Playhouse was closed. Thought that was odd because it usually has some show like Veggie Tales in it during Kids Fest. Had to wait about 15 minutes to ride. From there we walked over to FITH but it was closed. Not sure why. We didn't stop to talk to the 2 employees who were standing by the closed sign. As we walked by the saloon a citizen was out begging people to go in for the show that was getting ready to start -- plenty of room left. We went on over to the American Plunge and waited in line about 10 minutes. From there we went over to the apple butter cabin and used the coupon for an apple turnover; it was tasty but it was not hot, either. Went on over to Thunderation and walked right on to the ride. Left at 11:30 because we had to be in Springfield that afternoon. We did have to wait about 10 minutes for a bus to ride back to the lot.
We were surprised at how light the crowd was on Friday morning. We've gone several times on Fridays in May and those days are always wild with all of the school groups. We had hoped to make it back for MM on Friday or Saturday but it didn't work out.
Our next trip will be in August. Already looking forward to it.
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That is one thing about the Saloon show. No matter how busy it is, they always seem to have to BEG people to come in and see it when I am there. 'Course that never happened when they had the old cast, but we all know my thoughts on this.
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Saloon show. No matter how busy it is, they always seem to have to BEG people to come in
I was there a few weeks ago and they were doing the same thing.
Walking by I dismissed it as a fluke but apparently not.
Maybe they need to think about the Carrie Nation Show.
That was by far the best.
Last time I saw the Salon Show it was a disjointed mess with the song " Its Raining Men" featured in one segment, I was honestly embarrassed. Maybe its time to break out the old tapes and learn an older show.
I know they tape the shows for future reference, not for release but for teaching tools, I have a few of the shows from there library.
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... so we headed to Sullivan's Mill and used our coupon for some Cinnamon Bread; yummy but I just wish hot bread was available early in the morning.
Noticed that the Riverfront Playhouse was closed. Thought that was odd because it usually has some show like Veggie Tales in it during Kids Fest.
Next time, if the cinnamon bread isn't warm, ask them to nuke it for you. They'll be happy to do it. The Playhouse is undergoing major lighting and some sound reconfigurations and should be back in operation by fall.
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We are back from our second night at Moonlight Madness. I just wanted to say that the return to the parking lot was smoother, although we stayed in the park until 10:00 tonight (one last ride on PowderKeg). We were at stop four, and we got right on a tram. It looked as though people at stop five had a longer wait. We had a great time tonight. We waited the longest for Lost River, and we only waited about 20 minutes. We really didn't ride much until about 7:30. We shopped when we first got there.
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Went to the park on Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th. Parked in Old C both times and always had trams waiting on us when we got there. Ride lines both days were not bad at all. Longest wait on Sat was 20 min on PK and on Sunday we just walked on every ride. We had a problem on Sunday with the store clerk at the candy store in the Ozark Market place. She was very rude and threw my friends credit card down on the counter and told him it was no good. (it just would not scan) It was good because we used it later in the park. We went to Guest Realtions and they were very nice and gave my friend and his children a free ice cream cones and told him they would deal with the problem. My friends went away with a great appriciation of how the park strives to make people have a great day. Had a wonderful time on park. It had been 6 weeks since we had been there.. (and that is way too long)... Can't wait to go back.
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I hate to hear about the rude store clerk, however, I am glad to hear that Guest Relations was able to step up, and resolve the issue. I never expect to be “pampered” at a theme park, but it is nice to know that Silver Dollar City is accountable, and demands high expectations from their employees.
The “citizens” at Silver Dollar City truly are the fabric of the park, and most all of them are exceptionally great people!
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just got home from moonlight madness. pretty awesome trip. good crowd but not to crowded. all rides were running while i was there. i really had no complaints with anything but alot of people around me did. ALOT of comlaints about how the parking and exits where set up ( we all know this ). but this was the worst part. the tram "announcer" guy ( im not sure what the proper name for them is) started getting a little hateful with some people over the " little to the middle rule" anyway this is a direct quote from the guy " ITS HOT, IM TIRED, AND IM GROUCHY SO FOLLOW THE RULES" the guy sitting in front of me then said" wow thats a great way to great the visitors when they first enter the park. so anyway that was interesting to say the least. good trip though
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I don't know how they rotate people running the trams at the park, but that guy needed a "time out"/ break or a cold shower. You feel sorry for the guy, as I would anybody dealing with hot and humid weather and crowds. But professionalism has always been a standard for SDC, so I hope things get worked out better.
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Yeah, as a former employee, I'm actually embarrassed when I hear stories about the nasty sales clerk in the Ozark Marketplace or the guy in the parking lot who's a bit short with folks...I know in the heat of summer I was not always 100 percent perky and energetic, but, I always tried to stay in character and tried to be funny and entertaining, helpful when possible...after all, I knew it was vacation time for those visiting, and I wanted it to be a good time for them, no matter how hot it was. Several years ago in the furniture store I had an encounter with an older gentleman working there as a sales clerk, and I was taken aback when he was smart mouthed and grumpy. He could not have gotten away with it during my time at the park. Frankly, I don't like that stuff one bit. I didn't want to hear it from him. SDC is supposed to be a 100 percent happy place.
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Ummmm....yeah. I worked over 200 degree copper kettles as a craftsman and I never snapped. and I got a lot of the guest interactions that probably would have pushed the tram driver over the edge. But really.....not sure I can say this as a blanket statement but I chalk it up to the work ethic of today.
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Obviously this was not the same clerk we had at the Ozark Marketplace. Ours - not at the candy counter - was an older lady who practiced the fine art of interacting with customers while at the same time keeping the line moving. It was refreshing after our poor experience the rest of the day.
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I'm a DW fan, so I thought I would take a trip to SDC. We got there at 9:30, and watched the Saloon Show. We were going to ride Powderkeg, but, it was closed, so we made it over to Wildfire, and rode it with about a 10 minute wait. After, Wildfire we rode Waterworks Waterboggan, and I must say Mountain Slidewinder at Dollywood is much,much better, because in my opinion they ruined Waterworks when they rebuilt it, and it was rough with those bumps, and didn't go as fast as Slidewinder. After, the painful Waterworks Waterboggan we rode American Plunge, and I made the mistake of carrying my bag on there and it got completely soaked. After AP we went to Lost River Of The Ozarks, but it closed due to storms in the area, we thought they were crazy, we soon found out we were wrong. We got a hot apple turnover and headed to package pickup, we got out packages and headed to the exit. Then, it started pouring down rain, and we had to wait 45 minutes to get on the tram, and got soaked in the process, so we left, got home and went to Dollywood the next day LOL! :)
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Are you referring to a past trip. The waterboggan has been dismantled this year, so you couldn't have ridden it this year.
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DW FAN.. This must have been a great dream to ride on a ride that no longer exists. And after your 12 hour drive home I am supprised you had enough energy to go to Dollywood the next day.
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Wow, Silver Dollar City made you stand there for 45 minutes, and wait for a tram? And, I thought those people complaining about a 7 minute wait were having a bad day. It must have been one those new Waterworks Waterboggan trams.
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We weren't complaining about a seven-minute wait - we were commenting about seven minutes between trams. That doesn't mean we caught the first tram. It took 30 to 40 minutes to finally catch a ride. Getting back to the parking lot, by the way, did not take that long for us.
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C'mon, people, let's let up on the joking. I'm sure dwfan was just talking about a trip previous to this year and forgot to mention it.
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It was a past trip, and by the way I forgot to mention you all are NOT funny! lol just kidding! :)
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Ohh where to begin. This trip was great. I was able to go into the park 3 times this week. Once with friends new to the park (playing tour guide is never as fun as doing my usual thing). When the family and friends were leaving...we (the wife and I) decided to stay in town for 2 more days. We went to the park Thurs afternoon again, and then again last night for a few hours from about 6:30-9ish. Moonlight Madness was empty. Lines were managable, and the crowds were very thin everywhere. I got a few great long exposure photos (not nearly as many as I would have liked, but my wife was being so nice as to follow me and my cameras all night, I held my photos to a minimum :) ) I will post a few later tonight.
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We're taking a big family trip down to Branson this weekend and I will also be at SDC on Saturday, all day, and for Moonlight Madness.
It will be my first time at MM so I hope it's a good experience!! I'm excited!
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My only complaint about MM is trivial, hearng "walking on sunshine" while sitting on the square was a bit hard to swallow. Upon leaving the square, we went down to the horse bridge to escape the 80's (1980's) and soon found that it followed us through the speakers....But It is not too bad. The dance party seemed to be exciting for those involved, and be sure to check the pathfinder for the specials on food etc. for the evening events.
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Unfortunately today is the last day for Andy's Branson/ Springfield locations to have the Silver Dollar City 50th Birthday Cake Sundae. We went yesterday after Moonlight Madness, and the wife got it in a concrerte form. Having had the cake in it's original form, this custard+cake was A-Mazing. I went for the Key Lime Pie concrete (Custard blended with a WHOLE PIECE OF KEY LIME PIE). I wish someone would have told me about this sundae 2 weeks ago when I was staying in Springfield, I would have been there every night! It says it will be offered July only...you could try to see if it is still offered though. We hit up all the custard places on our trips, it is our thing and my wife blogs about them all. Andy's, even beside the fact that they paired up with SDC, is the best we have had EVER (and I would know since I managed a custard store in STL for over 5 yrs!).
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I guess it musta just been a fluke that there was no music on the park speakers last Sunday evening... Darn.
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I guess it musta just been a fluke that there was no music on the park speakers last Sunday evening... Darn.
Gasp! Silver Dollar City just isn't Silver Dollar City without the ambience of bluegrass played throughout. However, I hope that was in fact just a fluke. Perhaps, the summer time heat is just too much for those hard working speakers. ;)
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We were there on Tuesday and Wednesday. We heard Bluegrass until about 8:00 in various places in the park. At the rides, there was different music, though. Then at 9:00, there was the dance party. So don't worry--Bluegrass plays at times. :)
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Whew! Since I don't particularly care about thrill rides but do want to take advantage of being in the park longer, you can count me as leaving at 8:00.
I could go to my grave never having heard Lady CaCa at SDC and be juuuuust fine with that. Gross!
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But Betamike, doesn't get tiring to here Jippity-do-da all day long too?
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Love the Lady CaCa line! (I, too, can live without hearing that come over the PA system at SDC.)
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How many amens can I give ya, Betamike?
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But Betamike, doesn't get tiring to here Jippity-do-da all day long too?
HA Ha! At least Zippidy Doo Da is written specifically for the theme of the area. Poker Face and Fall Out Boy didn't have themeing on the mind when they wrote their stuff, I don't think
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I guess it musta just been a fluke that there was no music on the park speakers last Sunday evening... Darn.
Gasp! Silver Dollar City just isn't Silver Dollar City without the ambience of bluegrass played throughout. However, I hope that was in fact just a fluke. Perhaps, the summer time heat is just too much for those hard working speakers. ;)
I probably should have been more precise. I meant that after normal closing time, instead of switching from bluegrass to "oldies," there was no music coming from the speakers for Moonlight Madness. It was awesome, really, as we were able to traverse the darkening park with only the cicadas and tree frogs to serenade us.
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Just got back from my first visit of the season. Since I'm always so busy and live so far away now, it's tough to get back to the park during the summer, but thanks to my parents I was able to make it once again. I'm a little late to the party for this season, but here's my thoughts anyway.
We got in about 4 o'clock on Saturday, and I headed for Cowboy Jepp's where I meet up for a few minutes with Duelist. Then I went down to check out the new River Blast. Wow, they really did do a great job with this thing! I have little to say about it except that it's awesome all the way around! I thought it would be something that I'd do once and pass up from now on, but after riding it I'd say it's definitely a must-do for hot days. The atmosphere surrounding this ride is astounding; it was good to hear people exclaim how nice it looked. All that having been said though, I still think the loss of Splash Harbor is a real shame... but this will make up for it I guess.
After that I went over to see what was left of the Waterboggin. I can't believe how many trees are in the area - they'll really have to log the place if they're going to put something else there. They did a great job of hiding it all too - it's hard to tell there used to be something there.
I didn't actually notice much KidsFest stuff going on. It seems like it has been much more muted this year due to the 50th celebration. Once you got off of main square there were no signs of it anywhere - although seeing Spongebob and Patrick show up to meet people at the wagon stage was a little surreal.
The rest of the day I ran around and hit up all the coasters. PK actually does eat people with all three trains running. I waited all the way through the queue a couple of times and I'm pretty sure it took less than a half hour each time. Wildfire is still a great, smooth, reliable, crowd-eating machine. FITH's new scenes and additions are awesome and really make the ride pop again - I just wish they could smooth out the drops. It felt like the back car was trying to jump the tracks on the bridge drop. ThuNderaTion actually held some massive lines, even with two train ops. That's why it surprised me so much that they went down to one train ops for MM! The queue stretched all the way out of the tunnel underneath the first drop and was moving ever so slowly that night. Not good for people who were new to the park and expected more of a ride...
The park after dark wasn't much to shout about. It was so crowded I basically just walked around for two hours and looked at everything. I didn't mind the music so much since so much was closed and it was only noticeable in the queue lines for some of the rides anyway. There were 20,500 people in the park that day, according to the bus driver on Sunday night.
Sunday was much better. I got the folks to hit up the Saloon show with me first thing, which I thought was spectacular all around. Then we hit up the train, then the flooded mine, then the buffet at the mine restaurant. We did all this in a little over a couple of hours without hardly waiting for anything except the saloon show. I spent the rest of the day riding stuff, without having to wait too much for anything. Once the sun dropped down I expected the crowds to swell again, so I took advantage of some of the special MM offers - buy one get one peanut brittle and $2 root beer floats, and I picked up the free hat with t-shirt purchase deal on the way out. The crowds didn't actually swell too much that night, but PK ended up closing early, so I just rode Wildfire over and over again in the dark. It's nice to be able to do that without catching a cold.
I came by myself for a few hours this morning (Monday) and was a little less entertained initially. At rope drop I headed straight for PK - closed all day. FITH wasn't opened yet either, so I walked to TGS and found it closed as well. Not wanting to ride Wildfire anymore at the time, I opted to take the cave tour, which was pretty neat as always. With PK down, some of the lines at the other rides were a bit larger, so I just rode Wildfire a few more times and then hit up TGS for one last ride. TGS is actually a pretty good people-eater when both sides are running, but with only run arm the line kind of inches along. Luckily, being a single rider pretty much lets you skip the entire last stretch of the queue.
So all in all, it was one of the better trips I've had to the city in a long time.
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Sounds like a mirror of my trip this week. I plan on being there on Sunday and again on Monday.
Funny how we all are coming to the City around the same week(ish)
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Here are a few of my long exposeres from Friday night Moonlight Madness. Each one was a 15 sec. long exposure.
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_0541.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_0552.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_0553.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_0548.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_0555.jpg)
And my favorite digital photo I think I have taken at SDC ever.....
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_2289.jpg)
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Awesome photos Rube!
Perhaps it was just the angle of photography, but it almost looks like you had the entire city to yourself. The picture taken at Grandfather's Mansion definitely has a nice effect to it. All it needs now is a title card that says "Welcome to Grandfather's Mansion," or "Stand up straight in Grandfather's Masion," or something like that.
Nice job! :)
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What restaurant is that in the pic, the inside picture I mean.
They all look great.
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The Wagonworks grill right off of the square
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Got a question about your photos here, Rube. The restaurant dining area pictured with the fireplace. Where is that at? Is this the Wagon Works Restaurant on Main Street next to the General Store? If so, this would be the old location for the Welch's Vineyard Restaurant...later the Basket Shop for a few years...before being made into another restaurant. Is this right? It appears to be the lower level of the three levels? Even though heavily remodeled since 1979, I think that's got to be it! I swept and mopped and bussed tables in that location for parts of two summers. (78-79)
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Well, I returned yesterday from a one-night stay in Branson. I just want to say that I am finished visiting for the summer this season. I am finished with 100 degree days and extreme humidity--until next year, I'm sure. ;)
Anyway, we arrived in Branson on Monday. We checked into Southern Oaks, and my cousin and her kids met us there. We went swimming in the indoor pool for a couple of hours. We then had dinner at IHOP before heading to SDC for MM.
I think we arrived at the parking lot at about 7:10. I did go to preferred parking, especially since I had my youngest and a stroller this time. We went to the expo first, and it was just busy enough for the kids to wait through one ride cycle for everything they rode. My cousin and the big kids rode RiverBlast with a pretty short wait. Since I had just been, I didn't ride much. I just entertained the baby.
I sent my cousin to ride the coasters, and I took the kids to the dance party. We did that for awhile, and then I took the kids back to the expo. From 9-10, my cousin managed to get one ride on Wildfire and PowderKeg, which was the goal since she had never ridden them at night.
We got up early the next morning and got to SDC at about 9:15. It was already pretty hot and muggy. My cousin and her daughter did Thunderation, and then we rode Flooded Mine. My cousin did the Giant Swing, and the kids did the Hi-Lo Silos. We took in a Saloon Show, and then had lunch at Riverside Rib House. The baby went to sleep, so we hit the Kid Concoctions at the Carousel Barn. It was nice and cool in there. I found a rocking chair; they could use a few more of those.
I don't know how many ice waters we got during the day in addition to the drinks we got our mugs. We'd drink some of the water, and I would put a cup of ice water in the baby's cup holder in the stroller, and she would play in it. She'd push ice cubes around the tray. We had our mister fans. I can't stress how hot it was. I'd let the baby play in the sprinklers around the park, but she isn't sure about them. She let the water hit her feet, at least.
Fire in the Hole had been down earlier in the day, so we checked it. It was open, but the line was a lot longer than what we usually wait for, so we skipped it. My cousin took the older girls to the cave. I was going to go, but the baby was getting fussy. After the cave, we headed home, but my cousin and her kids stayed. I don't know what else they did, but my family was finished--lol.
I'm looking forward to our next trip which should be in October. :)
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It is indeed the old Welch's Junior.
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Perhaps it was just the angle of photography, but it almost looks like you had the entire city to yourself. The picture taken at Grandfather's Mansion definitely has a nice effect to it. All it needs now is a title card that says "Welcome to Grandfather's Mansion," or "Stand up straight in Grandfather's Masion," or something like that.
Walk erect.
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Got a question about your photos here, Rube. The restaurant dining area pictured with the fireplace. Where is that at? Is this the Wagon Works Restaurant on Main Street next to the General Store? If so, this would be the old location for the Welch's Vineyard Restaurant...later the Basket Shop for a few years...before being made into another restaurant. Is this right? It appears to be the lower level of the three levels? Even though heavily remodeled since 1979, I think that's got to be it! I swept and mopped and bussed tables in that location for parts of two summers. (78-79)
Wagonworks is a great place to squeeze in by the fire with their amazing potato soup in a bread bowl in the winter.
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Back when it was the Vineyard, the menu was simple...burger, cheesburger, steak sandwich, fries, onion rings, fried pies, soft drinks, coffee, and Welch's grape juice (3 varieties) And SDCFans.com favorite OLD GUY (John Goldsberry) would perform the Wally Welch Review puppet show for the kiddies, or play his hammer dulcimer. Later, a magic show for kids was performed on stage there.
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Yep...one of my first memories of SDC as a kid (been going since I was in the womb) was of the puppet show there.
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Thursday 10:18 PM Just back from Midnight Madness.
I drove 1.5 hours to SDC tonight to see what Midnight Madness was all about.
I spoke with a employee at a ride tonight and they gave me the number of people to be 12000.
Arrived at 6:00. found a parking spot at stop 4, all lots with the exception of stop 6 were used.
They had 1 tram running at 6. Wait for the tram about 13 min.
Used my coupon for 15 admittance on a stranger I thought looked like they needed to save some money ( they didn't know what to say when I offered)
Walked in to the square with the Ghost Busters theme playing.
The place was swarming, I walked down to Thunderation, Line was up the zig zag ( kept on walking). Down to try a tater twist and on to the GE, I am thinking a David Bowie tune was playing at the time, rides in the GE were loaded up. Moved on. The Lost river area was full as well with a fair crowd at the River BBQ, I had a ft long sausage with 1 side for 7.99, I thought this was a good deal we split it. Walked up to the great swing, the line is coming out of the q into the walkway, 1 arm in action. Moved on. Fire in the hole lines well to .75 of Q.
Powder Keg, line through the ride out to the entrance with an hour wait 1 car being used.
Stopped an employee and asked what the deal was they said "12000 here with no shops open what do you think is happening? They are trying to run a Six Flags over Branson"
Cont next post.
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........................
Wildfires line was running out of the building.
The Plunge was using the old Float trip q as well as the regular q. I gave up at this point I had a funnel cake my friend had an ice cream cone and we left. When I left there were 2 trams in action, the return trip to the car took a while but not terrible.
Thoughts..
The food/ drink discounts were nice, but the rides alone do not absorb the crowds at all, especially when they are running them under capacity. Frankly had I paid I would have not been pleased.
I walked around and ate and drank and rode nothing, they lines were outlandish, haven't seen them like that at Christmas.
I thought it was surreal that I was walking through SDC listening to 99Luftbaloons playing on the sound system.
It wasn't a good surreal.
Lets face it, if you put the Its a small world theme song on the Haunted Mansion do you think the ride would be as effective, that nowone would think something wasn't right?
You just cant get away with 80's rock at SDC, it doesn't work at all, its wrong, like the pig people on the twilight zone episode its not natural and it doesn't fit. The crowds were way more than those rides can absorb. I think it is just as the name implies " Madness".
I Will wait to visit on a regular day with bluegrass playing and the shop open. It just wasn't fulfilling.
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Wow, that sucks. When I was there last weekend with 20,000 people it wasn't that bad. It does make a huge difference whether or not they're running the rides at full capacity or not though. PK with one train on a crowded night would be awful. TGS is not much better, and TNT can get out of hand pretty quick too.
You could have gotten on Wildfire though. Even if the line is stretching out of the building, it's probably only a 15 min wait because they never actually use the queue. I think guests keep removing the wooden bar that leads straight to the loading area, because they seemed to alternate between that set up and using the first portion of the queue when I was there. They need to nail that board on there and at least use the first part of the queue at all times to minimize confusion. I don't understand why they never loop people through the station anymore anyway. The special effects in Doc. H's office were still going on when I was there but the line went straight to the loading area, even though it stretched out of the building.
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I guess after seeing all of the q's and especially the plunge running to the float trip platform I lost faith. You have to get in the wildfire q to see just how it is wrapping. and if they were using 2 trains they weren't loading at a normal speed, I didn't ever see evidence of 2 trains.
If there was a way I could call to see how many trains they would be running for the day ext I would. Seems like I have hit crap days the past few trips.
I love to see a crowd but there is no excuse for not being prepaired.
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That is exactly how it is like at Dollywood Nights. When I got there all shops were open, but, were so packed you couldn't walk. Mountain Slidewinder & Daredevil Falls were closed because they can't operate at dark (no lighting). Mystery Mine had a full Q rapping around with about a two hour wait! Adventure Mountain had a two hour wait. Tennessee Tornado had a one hour and thirty minute wait. Thunderhead had a 1hr. 15min. wait, Blazing Fury 1hr. 30min. Smoky Mountain River Rampage 1hr. 30min. COuntry Fair packed with 45min. waits and all rides were running with full capacity! The Parking Lot was full shops were extremely croweded food lines were long so I left. By the way I had to park at Splash Country because the parking lot was full, but, I should feel lucky other people were parking over in the field and walking over. 16,000 people showed up!
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Just returned to my hotel after a visit to the park. The citizens were on their game today. Every citizen I interacted with was friendly and efficient, despite the heat and the crowds. Hats off to y'all.
As several others have noted, mornings are the key to a relaxing visit. I got there at 9:00am, walked right on to the rides in the first couple of hours, and avoided the lunch lines with an 11:15am meal. I was visiting solo so I could wander at will, which is great. Does anyone else make regular solo visits?
The main drawback was middle-aged me: I've gotten too claustrophobic for the cave tour, my inner ear is too touchy for the thrill rides, and I'm carrying too many fancy-shmancy tech toys to get wet. I'd love a couple more low-impact splash-free rides for us coots.
Another observation: The guys and gals in the saloon show were giving it their all but oh, that script... When they were given a chance to sing and dance, the energy level shot up. When they were talking (and talking and talking) and telling bad jokes, the audience got visibly restless. That cast is talented and they could do a lot with the right material. What do you guys think?
A note about lodging and food: I'm staying at the Best Western on 76 just west of Indian Point Road. It's a good value and their free SDC shuttle drops you off right at the front gate. Also, try the Altenhof Inn just south of SDC on Jakes Creek Trail (more info: http://bit.ly/bWDt60). It's a little deli/cafe with good German home cooking served on a deck overlooking Table Rock.
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The guys and gals in the saloon show were giving it their all but oh, that script... When they were given a chance to sing and dance, the energy level shot up. When they were talking (and talking and talking) and telling bad jokes, the audience got visibly restless.
When Cary Nation was there and they were a cpl years back and we went to the Saloon show so they could cool off, I was visibly embarrassed by the poor show, script and music " Its raining men"? it was really not up to SDC standards.
We will not be back to the saloon show, they are now reaping the fruits of there labour , bad script and sorry numbers, it isn't the actors, its the directors and writers.
Years ago I would brag about SDC entertainment but things have changed, and apparently I am not the only one that feels that way, the lack of crowds in the shows plays testament to the issue.
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I really enjoy the Saloon show... I even liked it's raining men.
the lack of crowds in the shows plays testament to the issue.
If this is the case then they are doing ok.. I have been on Park 11 times this season. Every time I have been in the Saloon show it is standing room only. While Cary Nation was a good show things have got to change. I do not want to see the same show every time I go for 15 years. I am glad they change it every year or so.
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My family thought the saloon show was awesome this year...We went 3 different times and enjoyed it more each time we went...The saloon was packed and the crowd laughed throughout the show...Adam Western is a great actor...The saloon show is one of our favorite "attractions" that we must see on every annual trip we take to SDC...
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I have been to Altenhoff several times (I have walked to and from SDC several times from Indian Point since we always stayed down there on trips), and It has been hit or miss for me. The food is good, there are better in the area, but the view is a definite must for a Branson trip. I think that is what keeps people going back honestly. If you like home-made German food it is worth a try.
http://www.altenhofinn.com/ (http://www.altenhofinn.com/)
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I was so hoping they'd change the Saloon Show for this year, at the very least, to celebrate the 50th by having characters like Dusty Chaps, Choctaw Charlie (who apparently only shows up during Christmas now?), Mean Murphy, Carrie Nation, etc. show up in the show.
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^Yup.
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Just got back from my first trip of the year...and the last night of Moonlight Madness. The daytime crowds were manageable. Took lots of great shots with the DSLR and rode every single ride (FITH was down) with maybe a 10 minute wait. No visible sign of KidsFest past the square (yay!) and never ran into a Hannah-Barbarra character (woo hoo!)
Now to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
The Good
Pretty much everything on the daytime end of things. I come from the center of Hell (read:Florida) so the temp and humidity was not unbearable. We ignored the "Lot Full" sign up by the old green tram stop and found a spot two spaces from the pedestrian walkway. Like I said, the whole park was easy to navigate and didn't leave me with stuff on my wish list.
The Bad
A few very unpleasant Citizens...none of which I was personally affected by, but hastened me to think how strict we used to be when I worked at the City when Jack and Pete would still make appearances, and how these miserable sour-pusses would have been shown the door. One citizen at Big Jacks just exhaled almost directly into the lady in front of me's face when she asked for a pie they were apparently out of. Mind you, that was the ONLY time she even made eye contact. My turn was much better, but I've learned how to crack a tough nut or two and even got her to smile.
Powderkeg - sigh...so I thought I would be the ONE person to go and not hear the breaking of the fourth wall (awesome term in the theme park biz). The outside queue was not blaring any kind of modern music as I had pictured. Oh how wrong I was. When I got to the bridge area I was hit with "Footloose" followed by ABBA. My sister was with me and asked "WTF" (her words) when she saw a heavier set ride operator cha-cha'ing backwards down the load platform. Oh, and it wasn't just me, several people were just staring at the entire crew as they all danced up and down the platform. Mind you, this took extra time to load each since they were just too busy dancing to care about loading people. I knew we were in trouble when one of the operators heard (ugh) Roxette come on, and asked one of the girls to go in the back and "turn it up.". This was around 1:00 mind you. Nowhere near MM hours. If you notice no one is into the music in the queue, then who are you really playing the music for? hmmmm.
Which leads me to...
The Ugly
Still at PK folks! I'm not going to reach too deep into my "this is what I do for a living" bag and bore you all, but in my 10 - 15 minutes in view of the load platform, I saw multiple ride law safety infractions that would have had me come down on them should this have been
Disney. An operator throwing a mug over guests who were loading to the other side of the platform at a pretty good distance. Lack of focus on train motion (dancing comes first) and very poor hand signals during every dispatch...can I really see your thumbs up sign when you are moonwalking with your back to the control tower? I'm not going to say "Hey guys, don't have fun" but could you make it any easier to like, NOT draw attention to yourselves? One guy next to me was branded with all his Theme Park Review credentials and did not look amused....poor PK.
Finally, it wasn't MM, but the MM guests that had me running for the car. I thought it was pretty cool to take some nice snapshots since I never get the chance to be there after dark. You would have thought I was a road bump or a social pariah. For a majority of the MM guests, it seemed that SDC and the quaint nighttime beauty was an invisible annoyance to have to run through to get their scream on and to gorge on funnel cakes. Not that I didn't expect some of that, I just wish I didn't feel like I was already back in Florida dealing with an after-parade exodus.
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Oh....and I forgot to mention that they now have the plain "log and axe" ringer style t-shirts. Nothing else fancy on it...no busy graphics or tie dye. Just honest to goodness retro LOVE!!!
The have grey, blue, white and red. I bought one of each! I cannot tell you how excited this made me! Next to the cave check in desk in the Hospitality House. ;D
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Oh, I know *exactly* which PK ride operator you're talking about, Mike. He's the same one I've previously witnessed complaining about the normal PK station music and saying he wanted to make a CD of the music he'd like to play.
As I came up into the PK station and heard "I Will Survive" blaring, I got thrown into such a bad mood that I whipped out my camcorder and started recording the ride operators. I have a good 5-7 minutes of exactly what you were describing. Not sure what I can do with the footage, though...
And it seems as if Powderkeg is the main issue. We rode Thunderation about 9pm and while they had what seemed to be the same CD as PK (this assumption based solely on the fact that both rides played "Build Me Up Buttercup"), the difference in mood/attitude was shocking. You could suddenly shut off the music at TnT and no one would be the wiser--all the operators were focused on their job. SO much better than the PK crew.
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^ Amen. I'll write off the fact that MM is a "Marketing Scheme"...I love the City too much to not want to see it survive harsh times. But give me some assurance the inmates aren't running the asylum. That's all I ask.
What's sad is that today's "microwaveable" society probably doesn't notice this. where some see a quick thrill at any expense, I see room to lead by example and not succumb to easy lapses in judgement (or management).
I'm back for a regular day visit tomorrow (now that it's over). Litmus test #1 to see if MM is the cause of all this.
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I noticed the PK operators were dancing around and having a good time when I was there too, but I didn't think much of it. Great insight betamike, I'm eager to hear the comparison review after MM.
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I'll be at SDC on Friday. This will be my first summer visit EVER. It's also the first time I'll ride the water rides. I'm hoping the crowds won't be too ridiculous. Since it is the week before school starts for most youngins, I'm optimistic.
I hope it's Kevin Bacon's day off.
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It'd be swell to have bumped into you or Tinaalsgirl...or anyone from the forum!
You crack me up haytater. There's always six degrees from Kevin Bacon!
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Let us all, at this time, observe a moment of silence for the passing of Kidsfest and Moonlight MADness.
Amen.
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I have to share with you a thought about M.M.
2 years ago on a trip to DisneyWorld we were told all about Extra magic Hours, where you get in early or stay later than the public as perk for being a hotel guest. WE did this one time, never to go back, considering just how many people there were at the extra magic hours you couldnt ride anything because of the crowds and the shops were closed. After that night I decided that this " Perk" was Disneys covert crowd control. Selling this special perk only to Disney Hotel guests ( all 30,000) rooms worth, they knew where the bulk of these people would be depending on the park they were expanding hours for on that day.
After my MM experience I have decided that if SDC can open the park for .33 longer at the end of the day and charge 50% admission fee thats a smart move and a great profit, especially considering the lack of employees it takes as teh shops are closed and most of the restaurants are also closed. Smart move SDC.
I will however also do what I did at Disneys Extra Hours, I will now avoid this at all costs.
Its what I liek to think of as " fast easy money"
We have a Disney Phile here on the boards, what are you thoughts on this?
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"Magic After Hours" parks seem to have higher attendance that day as Disney has manipulated patrons into choosing the park which produces the most value that day. Then, that park gets even more crowded when the other parks close and the park hoppers decide to get a few more rides in for the day. I decided my last trip to Disney to NEVER attend the Magic Extra Hours park of the day.
But, alas, onto Silver Dollar City. I went Sunday, August 8, because I had promised the kids we'd go to Moonlight Madness and figured the last day was better than breaking that promise. Here are my thoughts in a few brief blurbs:
With little food and no shows, the median age of visitor plunged through the afternoon. By 9:00 pm, the average age of patron appeared to be 15. Also, the amount of people I talked to claiming to be first time visitors was much higher than normal (for me).
Parking shuttles either underestimated demand (unlikely) or couldn't get enough labor to show up to meet demand (more likely).
I intentionally avoided the dance party to maintain my good attitude.
It was great to ride the wet rides in the dark (something you can't do at Christmas).
Then I saw THIS in the entrance queue to the flooded mine:
(http://www.joecorn.com/IMG_0577_retouched.jpg)
Sorry about the terrible quality. 1) It was dark and I had to adjust the contract to pull out the graffiti. 2) It was from my iPhone and the battery was about gone.
This covered the entire front of one of the crates in the entrance queue to the Flooded Mine.
Knowing how quickly such things are dealt with in the City; I assumed it to be very fresh.
I don't know why I let this bug me so much, but it pretty much put a damper on my fun for the night. Why do I take such things so personally?
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I hope that's gone now...................
That spreads like fire in the forest if its not stopped.
Its tough to have a positive attitude with the MM as it is, it does attract a different crowd. The employees are not positive about it it either, neither by there actions or what some of them said to me last Thursday.
Man I hope that tag is gone.
Can anyone report on this?
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I hope you emailed that pic to SDC as well.
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Anyone know where to send the pic? I'd love to see it dealt with in a prompt manner.
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Graffiti happens all the time at the park, but they are quick to find and cover it. I'm sure it's probably gone by now. You can contact them at http://bransonsilverdollarcity.com/contactus/ though if you feel the need.
On a lighter note, TPR visited the park this weekend and had a blast. http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56333&start=110
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The entire wall at the front of Wildfire is covered in names, and all the dates are 2010.
Yeah, wish I'd run into you, Mike! I told my friend to be on the lookout for someone resembling Alan Cumming, but she didn't know who that was, LOL.
Joe, you might have actually enjoyed the street dance. I'd say that's the only positive use of modern music in the park for MM.
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Truth be told, I wanted to head up, check it out, and post some dance party goodness on Youtube. But the chil'uns wanted to ride the evil frogs and teacups all evening.
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I walked past the dance on my way out of the park, and it was loud, and the flashing lights and electric slide was enough to make me feel like I was at a wedding reception or a high school dance rather than a barn dance, or a square dance that it could be. I could see a bluegrass cover band playing hits of the 80's 90's etc. If you think that sounds original, it is pretty widespread....There are bluegrass CDs dedicated to any pop/ rock artist you could think of. I love bluegrass, and have many of these on my iPod.
It is the "Pickin' on.......(insert band name here) Series"...Check this out if you are interested.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/series/89638?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/series/89638?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0)
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Yeah, I remember someone mentioning (maybe it was you, Rube) Pickin' On before. I went looking on Amazon and spent over an hour listening to samples. LOL
I'd love to see them make custom country versions of all the songs they do at the Street Dance.
On a totally unrelated note... I noticed they already have Christmas lights on buildings!!! In fact, on the side of the Pottery building, the lights were actually on!
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I love those pickin' on series of music. Got most of them on my iPhone as well.
Thanks for trying Tinaalsgirl. I had a blast today! Much better than my MM experience and you could tell everyone was there to appreciate the crafts and atmosphere. I'll just say this about Extra Magic Hours...if you aren't a Disney Resort Guest, go to a different park on that day. Imagine all resort guests plus everyone else. It's like knowing not to eat at noon at a theme park. Just don't do it.
Took the cave tour today and it was so refreshing! Also saw Copper which was cool!
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Postings about graffitti really upset me. I guess times have changed...I don't remember there EVER being a problem with graffitti or "tags" when I worked there. (Only a handful of employees "tagged" their workplace somewhere in those days. Unless somebody has painted the interior of the float trip mill...the mill at AP...I know there is still a tag in there that reads in pencil "River Ratt Mark, 1879.") The employee tags on the beam above where the float trip dispatch stand was painted over in 1981 when the float trip dock became an overflow area for AP. Graffitti needs to be painted over IMMEDIATELY, that same day. I can hardly believe the area at Wildfire is tagged. Folks caught doing it need to be escorted to the parking lot, immedately. OK, I've vented. :)
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Perhaps if they switched back to bluegrass, and country music instead of that out of theme modern pop music then that would scare the juvenile bandits away?
Nothing bums a teenager out more than a string pickin' banjo! I am speaking in general terms of course since I am a young guy, and I love bluegrass! ;D
Then again I don't see how scribbling on a wall, or box really makes you that "cool?" ::)
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From the tags at Wildfire that have more specific dates than the year, it seems most of them popped up over Young Christians' Weekend.... There is, however, one rather inspired tag done in marker that goes something like this (I probably have it wrong, but I plan to take a pic next time I'm there, as long as it's still there):
Don't be skeered!
H. Finn
I ain't skeered!
T. Sawyer
There was plenty of bluegrass to go around at American Plunge and RiverBlast, but that didn't scare anyone away!
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There is, however, one rather inspired tag done in marker that goes something like this (I probably have it wrong, but I plan to take a pic next time I'm there, as long as it's still there):
Don't be skeered!
H. Finn
I ain't skeered!
T. Sawyer
I am not fan of graffiti, but that's pretty funny! Those were imaginative, and creative vandals. :D
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Been to KidsFest one time and have not been back. The hype makes it look good and I thought the kids would enjoy something different. I was wrong, we always end up doing the very same things and have a wonderful time. Factoring this in with the heat and crowds, I vote "no" for KidsFest, at least for our family. Spring, Fall, and Christmas are our planned trips and it never gets old.
My youngest, age 6, heads straight to the homestead and farm area. Then to the Grand Expo, then to FITH, then to Thunderation, then we do it again. How perfect is that.
Harp
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Just got back from an unscheduled or planned trip to Branson! Here is a brief review:
Friday, Aug. 13: Arrived late afternoon, checked into Best Western Music Capital Inn on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. Nice room, not so nice price...it was classic car show weekend
and most of the hotels/motels were at peak pricing levels. Didn't to any good to
complain...business was good, and if you wanted to move on, three people were
behind you to take your place. Ate at Bob Evans, it was alright. Tour of Stone Hill
Winery, very nice. Took a few bottles home! Saw Presley's show. They did a good
Sat, Aug. 14: Lunch at the Branson Cafe, good as always. Highly recommend it. Walked through Dick's 5&10, Victorian Shop, and one of the flea markets downtown. Everything nice.
Rode the Branson Scenic Railway, very nice, Stopped by Red Roof Mall to visit the
Quilt shop and have an Aunt Annie's Pretzel, always good. Scenic drive over Table
Rock Dam and around to College of the Ozarks. Nice. Supper at a little family owned
Mexican Place on Downing Street, downtown Holliser. Highly Reccomend it. DQ for
ice cream and back to hotel to call it a night.
Sun, Aug. 15: SILVER DOLLAR CITY TRIP:
Arrived 45 minutes prior to opening, no parking issues, parked right at Stop 4, and
a tram picked us up within 5 minutes. Walked right into the Mill for breakfast, good
food, quick and friendly service. Walked through General Store, saw the opening
ceremony, it was nice. Overall the park looked very good. Walked on down to the
leather shop, lye soap, down to the plunge. Walked over around Wildfire, and down
to FITH. Rode FITH, it does look good in there. Walked down into the Riverfront area,
RiverBlast looks really good. Walked on down to Lost River, then on up and around
to the train and took a ride. STEAMFREAK was one of the robbers, did not have a
chance to introduce myself...he was too busy robbing! Made a loop back up to Main
Street, asked some of the street troupe members if Terry Sanders was around, and
they told me he had Sunday off. Into Hospitality House, had a nice short visit with
Uncle Gene at the pathfinder booth. Briefly met DOCSPELO, but he was busy and
did not have time to visit...and COPPER has moved up to the cave, but he apparently
had the day off and DOCSPELO told me he would tell him that ole JUNIOR stopped by.
Ozark Marketplace looked good, walked right out to the trams, and caught one
with no wait. We arrived on park about 8:45am-9am, and were in the car headed
home by 12:30pm. Had to come home to get ready to go to work. Did pick up the
Beverly Hillbillies DVD in the Hospitality House, and was glad to see the park did
look very good, no negative encounters with any citizens at all, although two or
three had obviously just gotten to work and were still a little blurry eyed, and not
too talkative. When I stopped by the Lost River I told the ride ops I was just
walking through being sentimental...told 'em I was an old diving bell guy...they were
cordial, but way too young to get too excited about an old Junior Dugan. All in all,
a nice short walk through the park, glad to see the current citizens are doing a good
job with things.
OK...all that said: A cheap Wal-Mart fan sitting in the open in the dining area of the
mill. I am not a fan of the refrigerated drink units sitting out along the streets at the
various concessions...Some of the merchandise in some shops can be purchased
anywhere...so I don't think it belongs at SDC. Marie Osmond brand clothing, Paula
Deen salsa...sorry folks, don't sell it at SDC! No major gripes, overall, a good trip.
A few vacation shots on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan
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Glad you had the chance to get to Branson Junior and glad you had a nice time. I am looking forward to more observations from your trip once you've had a chance to sit down and put some more thoughts together.
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Crowds were not too bad...no long lines at any rides...Wildfire, Plunge, FITH, Train, Flooded Mine...walk right in folks! Branson was very crowded Fri and Sat with the Classic Car Show at Shep. Hills Farm and all the Classic Car Folks were out for a big cruise on Shep. Hills Expressway and Highway 76 last night. Poor Ole Celebration City looked a little lonely! Whitewater and Showboat Branson Belle had big crowds over the weekend, too.
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I must mention two things that occurred on our weekend trip that were interesting...
1) When my wife and I got off the tram we were immediately approached by an older
couple who said they had extra admission tickets and offered them to us. They
introduced themselves, and even walked us through the turnstyles to make sure
we made it in OK. Apparently they ordered extra tickets through the season,and
were afraid they would just go to waste. After we got through the turnstyles, the
frendly couple wished us a good day and disappeared!
2) When DOCSPELEO and I were talking at the line to go into the cave about noon
today (Sun 8-15-10) When I mentioned my SDCFans.com name JUNIOR, a couple
in line jumped, looked at DOC and me a couple of times, and excitedly chatted
and looked at us again. I didn't know who they were, and they did not introduce
themselves. So...if that was you...go ahead and identify yourselves here! Next time,
interrupt the conversation...I'm glad to meet anyone from SDCFans! I'm sorry I didn't
pause to ask who you were!
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Thanks for the thorough review Junior! I am glad you had a nice spontaneous trip. It sounds like Silver Dollar City is unwinding a little bit after a busy summer season.
I think it is awesome that you had the chance to run into a couple of members here even though they did not have long to talk. I am going to Silver Dollar City myself during the middle week of October, and I will definitely be wearing my custom made SDCFans.com shirt!
I completely feel your pain about the exposed Wal-Mart fan, and refrigerated drink units without any theme elements used to hide their presence. Unfortunately, Silver Dollar City doesn’t seem to think that adding theme to every item is worth the cost regardless of the eye sore.
I am surprised Silver Dollar City wasn’t still jammed packed, but perhaps the car show drew some of the crowd away. Which can often be a good thing! ;)
All in all it sounds like you a had a great time. Thanks for sharing! :)
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I've been learning that Sundays are probably one of the least busy days of the week, even in summer.
Thanks for such a thorough review, Junior! I hope one of these days I get the chance to meet you!
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OH! One other glaring thing that I did see that disturbed me...in my visit to the furniture factory/store, I was greeted by a big screen TV that was turned on which sat in a big TV/Shelf combo they built in the factory! This shocked me so much to see an operating TV inside the park...in the 1880s...that I could not even make a comment to the lady who was minding the store. I have no problem whatsoever with the TV in the hospitality house playing the Beverly Hillbillies DVD, but I do have a major issue with at TV inside the park...especially the "old" area of the park. I think I was so upset about this one issue I blocked it out of my head until I remembered it later. OK, off the soapbox!
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My friends and I were at the City on Friday the 13th. We drove in from Shell Knob, MO which is an hour away. It was nothing but curvy roads through the Ozarks the whole way there. So beautiful. When we arrived, C lot was not even full. We got there 30 minutes before the park opened and headed to the Mill for breakfast. We got to sit at the trick table that rises slowly - so much fun! There was a family sitting at the spinning table right next to the entrance and they looked exhausted from their experience. It's so much fun to play that trick on people. My friends didn't even notice the table was up to their chins. Our waitress was very fun and offered to take many pictures of us. She then told us to have a great day at the City. I love citizens who say that!
After breakfast we rode Wildfire, The Giant Barn Swing and Fire in the Hole. The improvements were really obvious. I didn't know if I'd be able to tell but the ride did look great. The ride operators wrote on a chalkboard how many "volunteers" went in each train. I think that's a new thing but I may have not noticed it before. We all got a load of FitH water in our mouths. I am used to the little trickle of water during the Fall. We didn't ride any of the water rides because there was an hour wait for all of them. We opted for getting hit with the misters and waiting 15 minutes for all the coasters.
We saw the noon30 Saloon show which will never be a disappointment as long as Fabian is there. He is hilarious! We went to Powder Keg but the line was probably an hour wait so we decided to go back later. Got some beef jerky and headed to the cave. It felt soo good down there. We were behind this loony woman who recorded the entire tour of the cave. I hope she doesn't intend on watching it again because nothing showed up on her camera screen. The heat was intensified after our 60 degree experience in the cave.
We went to Brown's, Sullivan's for some cinnamon bread, and got some succotash. On our way to TNT I saw Terry Sanders as the Undertaker pick up some trash. What a great citizen. We rode TNT backwards then went to PK, the swing and Wildfire. On our way out I bought two rings from Gill Wire Jewelry and a flower lamp from the furniture store. We had a great time at the City. The crowds were all waiting in line for water rides and the heat was not too bad especially with all the trees. This was a great week to go.
My friend has a house on Table Rock. That lake is amazing! So beautiful and surrounded by the Ozarks. The water is perfect for skiing pretty much at all times. I'll be at the City again in October!
Here's a link to my trip pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/haterpotater/sets/72157624738868752/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/haterpotater/sets/72157624738868752/)
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Great pics, Thanks for sharing. Love the one at breakfast at the rising table. LOL! :D
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Awesome review! It sounds like you all had a great time. The self rising dinner table is definitely a classic Silver Dollar City gag! They need more of those throughout the park, and especially in the “newer” areas. Both the cave, and the Saloon Show are pure stables of every Silver Dollar City visit. I am glad both were very satisfying.
Oh, and I agree Terry Sanders is one the best citizens to ever call Silver Dollar City "home."
I cannot wait for my trip in October as well. Thanks for the review! :)
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My friends and I were at the City on Friday the 13th. We drove in from Shell Knob, MO which is an hour away. It was nothing but curvy roads through the Ozarks the whole way there. So beautiful.
I know what you mean about Shell Knob and the drive to SDC. My parents stay on Campbell Point for a week every year. I agree that it's beautiful. Thanks for the report!
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Haytater, excellent bunch of pictures and thanks so much for sharing.
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Great job with the photos Haytater! I can't believe that we were just a few days apart!
Shell Knob is always the way we come in to Branson and it's just as much a part of my SDC experience as the City itself.
I finally uploaded all the photos from my recent trip as well. There's a slew of them (sorry!)
Just click the links below
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/sets/72157624777240948/">SDC Day One (Moonlight Madness)</a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/sets/72157624777465092/">SDC Day Two (Regular Day)</a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/sets/72157624653024373/">Just the Night Photos</a>
I have to say that the night photos were kind of a bust. They ended up looking like "dusk" photos instead because of my long exposures. Not only that, but I had been taking photos all day long and my battery died (Ugh)
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Really nice pictures Betamike! Makes me feel like I am standing right there. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of camera were you using to get these great shots?
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Thanks kindly!
I use a Canon EOS Rebel XS 1000D with a 55-250mm Zoom lens for some of the shots.
Flickr has made some changes to their site, but on each photo if you click on "Actions" at the top, there is an option to "View EXIF data" which will tell you how long the camera, lens, exposure time, etc..
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Thank you very much for the information :).
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Awesome job on the photos betamike!
I love riding the rollercoasters, but I think when I go on my trip this October I going to spend an entire day just photographing the park. :)
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I still ride a few of them, but yeah....I gave up on viewing SDC as a "thrill" park and use almost all of my time to capture what I see.
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Those are great, Betamike! The low light shots are done very well.
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Great pics!
Makin' me "jones."
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Well, this comment will probably get me the title of SDCFan SuperGeek! But I was thinking...a couple of years ago, I visited Ha Ha Tonka Park at the Lake of the Ozarks and had an idea to use the video on my digital camera and film everywhere I loved to be there. More specifically, what I did was hold the camera at eye level and then filmed everywhere I went continually rolling. That way, if I missed being there and wanted to feel like I was really there again, I could hook the camera up to the tv and just roll it and it would be like I was walking around Ha Ha Tonka from my couch. Get it?!
Now, if I could just get back to SDC, I'd do the same thing there! I would take a day to walk around SDC and film the entire thing from eye level. Ride rides, see shows, see craftsmen, etc. and then when I really wanted to be back at SDC, Presto! I would be!
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I once had a christmas DVD from sdc that someone made, and it was basically the same thing From trainride to saloon show, to the tree, and other places within the park...all was first person point of view (P.O.V.). I looked this christmas to put it on while decorating the tree, and it was not there :'( I'll have to make one of my own then the hardest part would be not talking throughout the day while filming!
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You can talk Rube if you want to! I bet people would enjoy your thoughts, and anecdotes as you walk through the park.
Just no talking to the prisoners in The Flooded Mine, and hold your thoughts during the train robbery if you want to keep your gold. ;)
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Thanks Rube! I knew what I was tryin' to say, but it just wasnt comin' out right. "First person point of view!" That's exactly what I was trying to say! There was talking in my Ha Ha Tonka film and I wasnt worried about that really. There are kinda "pick and choose" spots to have silence like the Chapel and walking the bridge, ridin' rides, etc. Naturally, you cant do anything about the talking of strangers, but I imagine you could pick your spots for not talking.
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I used to dream about my SDC experience in "real time" with nothing sped up. So I would start off in my mind with waiting for the tram, buying a ticket, walking to the turnstiles and so on.
I also used to take my oversize souvenir maps (the big ones from the 70's and 80's) and lay it out on my bed using little tissue balls rolled up to represent my family and I would do the same thing where I would take leisurely strolls through the park in my mind that way.
I love the idea of a PBS quality film of that sort from the first person!
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The PBS type thing would be a great idea.
I never counted sheep. I also would go to sleep at night by closing my eyes, walk through the turnstyles (there was never a wait) and continue through the Hospitality House into the city. Music was always performed on the gazebo stage, the crafts were always being demonstrated, fudge was always there...never a line for anything. I never made it down the hill to FITH I was always out cold by that point....Funny thing is after a stressful day, I do this, and as a teacher, I have a lot of those days! I can honestly say if those counted, I was at SDC every day this year (sometimes I would go there in the middle of the day while on my lunch break!)
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Went to SDC today! The weather was perfect and starting out we could not even guess how many people would show up today. We arrived about 8:30 and there was already more people there than I had ever seen at that time on a Sunday morning. We started the morning by purchasing a few pin trading pins in the Hospitality House. I asked the clerk how many people were they expecting and she said "well we had 15,000 yesterday and expected at least that many and probably a few more today". Well we hit FITH and PK right off the bat because I knew it wouldn't take long for the lines to start to form. We stayed away from the water rides because nobody really wanted to get wet. We did go over to RB and the kids started shooting at this one family in a boat. The mother I presume did not want her hair to get wet and started hollering "stop, don't, quit". I really don't know what she expected riding RB and not expecting to get wet. I really think she might have gotten physical if she could have gotten a hold on them. Oh, well! life goes on! We then went over to the old WB site, but it still looks the same as it has all summer long, nothing going on as far as a new attraction. I even asked a few citizens if they knew anything about any new attractions for next year. They all said they had not heard anything about it. So it looks like they are keeping it pretty hush, hush. We caught the Sons Of The Silver Dollar and Canaan's Crossing (which were a pretty good bluegrass-gospel group). We ended up getting tired of fighting the crowd and leaving about 3:30, saving our energy for another day.
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I wanted to add that today was the first time in a long time that I had seen the Flooded Mine ride line backed up to the entrance. The train depot line was also backed up half way to the old taffy shop.
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I even made the comment today that I wished I was @ SDC. Now I wish this everyday, in my head, but this time it was aloud, and my wife, the wonderful patient soul that she is said "I know". Perfect weather would have been amazing to be there, but the crowds would have gotten on my nerves for a Sunday (albeit a Holiday Weekend Sunday). Glad you got out to enjoy it Pintrader and thanks for the review.
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Thanks for the review Pintrader! ;D
The weather in the Ozarks this Memorial Day weekend has been absolutely gorgeous, and perfect! One would think that after school starts back up that the crowds would thin out a bit, but apparently everyone has the same idea about visiting Silver Dollar City during the cool late summer days. ;)
I share your sentiment about hitting your favorite attractions first. Unfortunately, with the ever growing long lines, there is simply no way to save the best for last. On the issue of River Blast, I am certain that there is a large sign posted nearby that says you will get wet! I laughed when I imagined that poor woman, and her misguided judgment before stepping onboard the ride.
You picked a beautiful weekend to visit Silver Dollar City, and I am glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing! :)
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I bet it was a great weekend weatherwise. We elected to wait until fall festival starts. So far we have been down at least once a month since April.. love that place!
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I am very new to this forum, but I've been going to SDC since I was a kid. Just went for the first time in years last June, Just as cool as I remember. They cut the train ride a little short, guess they got behind schedule. I wish there more street shows, but I was there during kidfest, so it's hard to say. Didn't a music festival used to correspond with the Harvest Festival? I am going back on Oct 9-10, I am going to pay the extra $$ to go to the lantern tour of the cave. I think I was driving our tourguide a little nuttie. I think know the tour a little bit too well.
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My husband and I were in Branson from Sept.11-19 and we went to SDC every day that they were open.The crafts were great, but we were disappointed that there wasn't the live entertainment as in past years. We enjoyed the street shows and liked Steve Bush (the new Homestead Picker). We spent most of our time listening to the Pickers and Aunt Judy. Hope to get back down in Nov. for the Christmas Season.
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Hey Cheesehead-
Which picker did Steve Bush replace or is he a 5th?
Thanks.
Harp
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Got my tickets for the weekend of 8 - 10 October. Can't wait. Haven't been there in the fall in 8 years. I want to take the lantern tour. Are they still doing it this late in the season? If any of y'all happen to see me out there, introduce yourself. I know that I only have one picture of me on here so far so I'll send another one. I was thinking I need a name tag.
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Looks like I will arrive just in time to miss you. I am going to Branson on October 13-17. October will be a great month to go though! ;D
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Dwight Murdy quit the Pickers this Spring to go his own way wth his family band. The Pickers weren't allowed to replace him until the Fall Festival.Steve Bush is from Eureka Springs and has played in theaters in Eureka Springs (a while back) and in many theaters in Branson, currently with the Paul Harris Show.He is good and plays several instruments.
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Ugghhh AGAIN, for work, I will be not even an hour away (Springfield MO)...and will not be able to get to the City. Thats the problem with riding a big yellow school bus with a team, I cannot "get away" for a while. Maybe next week....
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I went to the city Sept 29 and 30 for the Crafts festival. Weather was great, just enjoyed being there, low crowds and plenty of sunshine. I do miss the different concerts that they have had in recent years-now they mostly have just the basic everyday groups. I saw the homestead pickers 3 different times for the first time on this trip. They are great, very entertaining and the jam session was good too. I happened to look around a bit for any little orange flags around the city from time to time, but the only ones that I saw were under the bridge by the glass blowing shop. So they probably don't mean anything. But had a great time. Going back this weekend for the Homeschooling weekend. Tell more later.
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2 more weeks before we can go again. But we will be there!! last full weekend of fall festival... and then u know whats next.......................
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I will be taking my family to SDC for the Christmas festival. What do you all consider to be the best festival and what are some must sees while in the park during the Christmas festival? This will be our first time in the park during this time of the year....
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My favorite festival is the Harvest Festival. However, I am a bit partial since Fall is my favorite time of the year! ;) The Old Time Christmas Festival is also another great time to go!
The Old Time Christmas definitely has its own charm, and it is hard to beat the cool crisp air, and the aroma of peppermint tickling your senses, and the millions of dazzling lights shining across every inch of the park.
Silver Dollar City is truly great all year long, and I am sure your family will have a blast when you all visit later this year. :)
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what to see? in 1 day/nite?..... got to watch the tree lighting at 6:00 pm!! Ride the train for sure... Lots of stuff to see on Main street around the tree.. And just walk around and look... BUT be careful Silver Dollar City accepts no reasponsibitly for strained necks while trying to see everything! Have fun! we will be there the weekend after thanksgiving and going back the week after X-mas!
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We'll be there for 3 days...thanks for the tips...if you think of anything else I'd appreciate hearing about it...we're very excited about going...It will be well worth the 12 hour drive I'm sure...plus it gives us one more chance to use our season passes...by the way, has the 50th anniversary boat been given away yet?
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Boat has not been given away yet. Registration lasts through October 30. also check all the christmas shows out. the christmas carol at the opera house is a must see! 12 hours! wow where r u from! I am near topeka, ks. 4 hours and 15 minutes!!
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12 hour drive!! Whew!! :o Hope ya have'a blast!! ;)
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We are from Colorado...We love Branson and Silver Dollar City...SDC is our favorite place to go...I went probably 10 times or so when I was a kid...Now I'm married and have 4 boys ranging from 2 to 14...I first started taking my family to Branson 6 years ago...Every year we have purchased our season passes and stay for 3 weeks (we have a fifth wheel and like to make the Wilderness campground our summer home), of course going to SDC everyday. I'm a principal at an elementary school and my wife is a 3rd grade teacher so it works well with our schedule to spend some time over the summer, even though our schedule does not work well with the bluegrass festival, which to this point is my favorite festival. Little did I know that when I took my family to Nashville 6 years ago for DukeFest (for those of you who remember the Dukes of Hazzard) and decided to stop by Branson since it was on our way, that I would create such a monster (my wife)...This is all she wants to do now (we very rarely go to the mountains now that Branson is in our lives). Honestly, SDC has created some of the best memories of our lives...The thread entitled the "Aura of Silver Dollar City" echoes our thoughts of our experiences there....We have gotten both my parents, her parents, brothers/sisters-in-law, and numerous friends hooked on the place...We all got a hoot out of the "You know you've been to SDC too much when..." thread as we read everybodies entries....I love being part of this SDC Fans family...You all are great :)
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4 day till I leave my dreary cubicle for SDC. Can't wait. Going to take obnoxious amounts of pictures to post on here.
Found my son's link to our SDC trip pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066155&id=1379509046&fbid=1496208570061&ref=mf
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Have fun I have 12 more days! :o
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Just nine more days for me! ;D
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We are FINALLY going to SDC on the 14th & 15th, maybe the 16th for a half a day if need be. Gotta be back to KC Sat. night for some auto races.
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I am going for christmas this year!! first time ever since i have been going to SDC (around the age of two) and am sharing it with family!!! I want to try the smores and cocoa everyone talks about!
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Oh, you've gotta try the hot wassail, too. It's AMAZING.
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Wassail for me every time, the wife swears the "works" hot chocolate is the best around...
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Their hot chocolate is definitely WAY better than Starbucks.
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wassail!!????
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http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/212/American-Wassail89943.shtml
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oh yum! I cannot wait now!! how fab!
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Can't be real wassail, or we'd be back in the debate over alcohol. ;)
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I never heard of Wassail until my grandma told me about it as a kid. Since she is the wife of a Methodist preacher, I doubt she would have gone for having any alcohol in it.
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What I've read about non-alcoholic wassail is that there's a bit more variety of spices in it than just plain-old hot cider.
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Wow, now I'm flashing back to drinking Glühwein at the Kristkindlmarkt! I need a good cold snap, and some red wine, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves...
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If you are making a trip this weekend or next, how about posting some photos? Would love to see how the park looks this fall for the Harvest Fest...thanks!
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Went to the Harvest Festival on 10/3. Park didn't seem to be crowded at all. Went to the first showing of Headin' West; theater might have been 3/4 full. Cast singing seemed better this year. The highlight for me is always the guy singing "They Call the Wind Mariah". From there we walked out and easily got in line for the saloon show which was starting in 10 minutes. The show did fill. It was different and a bit shorter than the show we saw earlier in the spring. It was okay. Pure Heart was singing at the Dockside, Cajun Connection was in Riverside Playhouse, and the Boatworks was being used by Teter's Floral to give craft demonstrations. Can't believe SDC didn't bring in the extra music groups like they have in the past. The crafters' reunion displays at the carousel barn was nice but pricey. I don't have $15,000 or more to pay for paintings. (That's right -- there were more than 1 item at $15,000 and higher. :o) The PBS Craft in America display in the Frisco Barn was excellent -- museum quality. Doors had been installed at each end of the barn. 2 of the doors were roped off. At the entrance/exit there was a security guard and there were several SDC employees stationed throughout the display to make sure you looked and didn't touch. The craft booths were laid out better this year. Did make it easier to walk around. Looked at the old Waterboggan area -- didn't see any signs of construction. Didn't take the camera so I don't have any pictures to share. The other note -- it was difficult to get into the park at the entrance gates. Lots of people had problems getting their passes to scan and many passes were being reprinted. My husband had to have his season pass reprinted for the second time this year.
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@biscuit if you keep your passes near items like cell phones it will zap your pass and make it unusable. strange but true
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The passes are bar codes now - not magnetic strips.
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The crafters' reunion displays at the carousel barn was nice but pricey. I don't have $15,000 or more to pay for paintings. (That's right -- there were more than 1 item at $15,000 and higher.
We went to SDC today and walked through the Carousel Barn. I did notice Jesse Barnes had a painting priced at $24,000. It was a great looking painting but not quite that great to me. Maybe in the world of art it was a steal but it did seem pretty pricey to me. We did pick up a couple of water colors from Gary Dierking for $5 and $30, which was very reasonable. He was a very friendly and talkative guy. At 1 o'clock today the attendance was 4,600. What was the old Who song? I Can See For Miles :).
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Looks like I'm going in tomorrow! :)
I'll report back...
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4600? nice................
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Call me selfish, but I am hoping for low attendance numbers when I go in a few days! However, the weather is scheduled to be beautiful so look out, here come the masses! ;D
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yes, i will bethere on sunday, hoping for low turnout.... sorry ::)........... i would love to have time to browse the booths and walk where we want without the crowd.. good luck ozark! you knows it will be great!
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So, we went yesterday (Sat., Oct. 9), ans wow, it was busy! But of course, it was a Sat. in October, and the weather was beautiful, so we weren't surprised. The crowds were manageable for us, but for someone who had never been, it may have been frustrating.
We broke one of our rules and arrived well after rope drop. We were making it a day trip, so we drove for about an hour and a half to get there. I was just too tired to get up early enough. School has been wearing me out :). We got to the parking lot at about 12:15. We were routed right to Stop 5. There was a line to board the tram, but trams and buses were arriving one after another. The only problem we had was that we were in line waiting to board. The line was wrapping down into the parking lot. As our turn approached, we were happy to see a tram coming for us. The tram is faster than a bus for anyone, but we had our one-year old and a stroller, so we would much rather deal with a tram. Well, it was certain that we would be able to board the tram as it approached. The tram was followed by a bus. When the bus pulled up behind the tram, the tram attendant opened a place in the fence. He probably meant to help load the bus, but everyone behind us went for the tram seating. Those people poured in and filled the back of the tram before we our line moved and we could board the tram. We thought we weren't going to get one, but we were able to split up and get on the tram.
We did get into the park quickly, though. There were people everywhere. And I'm sorry to those people who were bumped by my stroller. I know people complain about that, but people stopping suddenly all over the place. But again, that's part of being in the crowd. We knew we needed to feed the youngest soon, and we had our 12-year old with us, too. We decided on the Lumbercamp for kid-friendly food, but when we got there, it was closed. I have no idea why it was closed on a Saturday at lunch time. We went to one of our favorites instead, Riverfront Rib House. There was a line, but it wasn't too long and it moved surprisingly fast. Both indoor lines were open, and that line on the far left was also open, so things were pretty efficient. It was good, as usual.
By the time we had finished eating, it was time for Headin' West. We got in line at about 1:30 for the 1:45 show. We were on the far left side, but there was plenty of seating on that side of the theatre. Being on the side wasn't all bad. We were able to get an aisle seat in case we needed a quick exit with a crying baby. She did cry out once when she was startled, but she was easily soothed with a pacifier.
After the show we went to Geyser Gulch and let our youngest run around in the toddler area with the slide and the rocking playground stuff. She ran all over the place. No one else was up there when we arrived, but soon the place was packed with toddlers! We took her to the ball part, and I have never seen that place so full of kids. They were everywhere! I followed the toddler around for awhile to make sure she wouldn't be trampled, but she had a great time. I see tantrums in our future when we leave...
We hit my older daughter's favorite ride--Flooded Mine. The ride actually had a line to the outdoor section of the que. Usually you only see that when a train has just unloaded. The line moved quickly. They also had the "face" working in the que. Fun!
After the ride and some frozen lemonades, we headed over to the Expo. Our youngest fell asleep, so she didn't ride any insects this trip. We had met our parents for this trip, so they took the kids while we rode coasters and bought pork rinds. We walked onto Wildfire, but PowderKeg had a pretty long wait. We did wait for it. After our ride, we walked around the booths a little. The crowds how thinned out, and it was easier to see things. We decided to leave at about 10 til 6. There was a line going stretching into the marketplace to exit, but it wasn't too long or scary. Once you could get through the exit turnstiles, you could get where you needed to go. Stop 5 had its own que, so we were able to board the next available tram. It was no wait at all. It went straight to our stop, of course, and we had no problems leaving the parking lot.
We ended the day with dinner at Cracker Barrel with my parents. That place was packed, too. We did wait about 20 minutes to be seated. At least at Cracker Barrel, there is plenty to look at while you wait!
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So, I just booked our rooms for SDC Christmas at Deer Run Nov. 12-13! It's the only available weekend I have until Dec. 18. I thought the weather may be better in Nov., but we'll see.
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We are also planning a family trip the weekend of Nov. 12-14, hoping to beat the cold weather. Anyone ever been on a Veteran's Day weekend? How are the crowds??
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Thanks for the review StaceySue!
I am glad you, and your family had a great time. Silver Dollar City is the perfect day trip for folks who live in the area, and have been there before. Long lines are the epitome of my life. :P I always hope that most people would visit during the summertime, and forget about fall because of school, and whatnot. However, those autumn leaves, and cool temperatures never fail to bring in the crowds.
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hey there KT. where r u from? i am south of topeka.. we get to go next weekend :) and then have a 4 day trip planned in Branson thanksgiving weekend ;D..
and then probably 1 more the week after x-mas when everything is still open... and that will be all this year :'(
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What a small world... I am from a small town South of Topeka as well! I would Love to have that many trips planned for the remainder of the year, but don't think it will happen. Maybe one quick day trip in December, who knows. :)
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ok. KT. I am within 3 miles of Lyndon.. your turn?.. I have made several trips to sdc this year.. it has been great, planning on it again next year. went down at least once a month this year since april.
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For those that have been in the last week or so, are the leaves changing yet?
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branson website says another 10-12 days for "peak" foliage... We will be there!
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Had the great fortune to go to SDC this past Saturday and Sunday (October 9th and 10th). Could not have asked for better weather!The kids were having a blast getting to ride the water rides in October. Like StaceySue, we headed to the Lumbercamp for lunch on Saturday only to find it was closed. Turns out Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative was having an employee appreciation luncheon and they were holding it at the Lumbercamp. I have never understood why SDC does not have a picnic area (like other parks) where large groups and companies can gather for a meal. Expecting a large crowd we hit Powderkeg and FITH first thing and got several rides in. We then went to the Saloon show at 10:30 only to be greatly disappointed. The young man who played Fabian has left SDC to go to work for Yakov. He was terrificly funny and really made the show. They replaced him with a woman, "Miss Sally", and although she tried very hard the show was just not as good or funny. They cut out several bits and shortened it down quite a bit. Major, major disappointment!! Hopefully the Christmas show will be better when Choctaw Charlie returns. Overall, I was really disappointed with the shows (or lack thereof) during my visit. Must say Head'n West was very good though. I really enjoyed the Old Prospector--he was a riot. The guy playing the main character Luke played Scrooge last year in Christmas Carol. Was wondering if he will play Scrooge again this year. Had a nice conversation with an older gentleman named Lee...he is one of the guys who has played Grandpa on the train ride at Christmas. I was disappointed to learn that he will not be playing Grandpa this year as he always did a nice job. Saturday was very crowded...Sunday much less so. I enjoyed watching all the crafters and agree with others who have stated they did a better job this year spacing them out. Thought they really wasted the space in the Red Gold Hall. I poked my head in Sunday and there were about three couples dancing at the barn dance and about 50 people sitting in the bleachers watching. Really missed the Tastes of America and all the various foods that used to be in there..especially the desert counter. I really wonder if they just didn't want to be bothered taking the bleachers down for the Harvest Festival only to have to put them back up for Christmas. I wish they would bring back the various shows they used to have in there like mule jumping, trick riding, etc. I always enjoyed those as they presented something you didn't see every day. The park looked nice and everything was running. The Grand Expo is still missing something....it needs something in there to pump some life and character into it. My daughter had some friends with her attending the park for the first time. It's always great to see the reactions of firsttimers. Overall, really enjoyed the weather and had a great time. Can't wait to get back there Thanksgiving for the Christmas festivities.
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I am in Branson right now! ;D
I will be at Silver Dollar City this week, and will post a review shortly as well. :)
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We'r head'n out this morn'n, go'n today for'a few hours & all day tomorrow, & be back Sat. afternoon. Will write-up our review ASAP!! See ya!!!!!!!!!!! ;)
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As others have said it was really crowded last Saturday. We had a great time. I have a comment though. The sound of the horses on the toll bridge makes no since at all without the sign to explain it. Why did they take that sign down?
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have agreat weekend how-do.... next weekend for us
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Mid-October is now my favorite time to go to SDC...the weather was incredible, the people (citizens and crowds) were uber-friendly, and the craft demonstrations were incredible. Plus, we rode everything with less than a five minute wait. Had a BBQ sandwich at Riverside Ribhouse with a sweet tea while we sat overlooking Lost River.
Aside from SDC, we saw "Noah" at Sight & Sound (excellent); took the kids on the Ducks (also great); and stayed at All-American Inn (very clean, quiet, and also super friendly people).
I noticed that Branson was full of tour buses of retired folks...is this the norm? I'm asking because we intend to go back at this time next year, and I hope those retired folks are there too...every person we came across was not only nice, but treated my kids like gold.
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We're home!! Had a very relaxing last 2 days. 8)
Day 1, Thurs. -- Left the driveway at 9:21 in the morning. Got our lil' motel room at about 1'ish or 2'ish, unpacked, & got to the park 25 minutes before 3, hung out by the big water clock & talked with afew folks celebrating their wedding anniversarys. Bought some cheap shirts in the hospitality house, with the log & axe logo on them, for $10.00. Got right on PK to kill the excitement alil', ate some ham & beans at Aunt Polly's. Got right on FITH, same with Wildfire - still hit my head 3 times... Bought some kettlecorn, then bought 2 50th Anniv. shirts. Started to cruise Branson but changed our minds cuz it got backed up fairly soon. Pace at SDC was real slow, lots of older folks, no basketballs or cellphones, no lines, no nothin'.... Great relaxing 3 hours.
Day 2, Fri. -- Breakfast at Michels in Branson West about 9'ish. Got season pass preferred parking for only $6.00 cuz my girl is 50 yrs old. Walked to the entrance & in, just in time to be part of The Nat. Anthem. We was just outside the hospitality house & i could see the big banner - colors, & all the people.. It really made me reflect of years past & memories to come, i have to admit it put a lump in my throat & my eyes got alil' moist.... ;) We went straight to the glassblower & watched the first show. Then watched a guy carving a 6 ft. wood Santa across from Thunderation for about a 1/2 hour, then rode T'ation. Rode the Swing 2 times in a row, no lines, made me dizzy enough that we had to go on. Watched a guy named Dave make some cedar birdhouses', talked with him for a hour or so. Played with a goat for 15 minutes or so.. Watched some log huein' for 30 minutes or so. Went & got a roast beef sandwich & apple pie at Big Jacks. Slammed PK twice, then FITH, finally had a 10 minute wait for a ride!! Great to see FITH is SO busy, i love it!! ;D Got some taffy for friends & family, they got some stuff called Wildfire - its freak'n HOT!! Bought some more t-shirts, old ones in a 3 pack for $20.00. Left the park about 4. It was alil' busier than the day before, but still very relaxing. Only saw 1 basketball. Food was good, prices were ok but we are always prepared for that.
We went with $700.00 & still came home with $300.00, thats just us tho'. I have no complaints. We just have a hard time sleepin' when we'r out'a town, i have no idea why.... Beds are always too hard for my woman & i just cant sleep. We'r early birds anyways.
Thanks SDC! Had a blast'n & relax'n time, we will definitly go durin' the week from now on.
Yes, i did take notes. :D ::)
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sounds like a great 2 days! low traffic flow is bad for the park, but always makes the trip more fun. Always nice to be relaxed and walk where u want and stop when u want. We always stay at the eagles lodge hotel on the west side of town, beds are comfy, continental breakfast, the manager and her husband are great! price is very reasonable. We are headed down next weekend.. I am past ready!! Hoping for low admission on sunday.
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how-do: I get that for my dad cuz he doesnt even blink when he eats it. I think he burnt off the hot recepters in his mouth. Last year they didnt have it down as wildfire. It was a small rectangular piece, brownish in color. It burns!!!!! Owwwwww! Glad to hear you had a great trip and a safe trip home!
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Went to SDC yesterday and saw this between the gazebo and hotel on the square. The way it looked it was cut out of one piece. We asked and the man said it was put together from 69 separate pieces. Hard to believe it took that many pieces to make, but then again it's hard to believe it's $3,600 for a walnut rocker.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/tomncyndi/IMAG0129.jpg)
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WOW! ???
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Here is my official trip report to Branson from Wednesday October 13th through Sunday October 17th.
Day One
This was my first trip back to Branson in several years. On Wednesday my family, and I loaded up the Mustang, and left from Little Rock at around 10:00 AM, and essentially took Highway 65 all the way into Branson. This drive is still as scenic as I remember it being. The autumn leaves were really starting to come alive throughout the Ozarks. After arriving in Branson, my family, and I visited the new Branson Landing for the very first time. We sifted through the Bass Pro Shop Store, and had lunch at Garfield’s. We sat at an outdoor table which overlooked Lake Taneycomo. Later that evening, we returned to the Branson Landing, and enjoyed the fire, water, and lights show which was spectacular.
Day Two
This was our first day at Silver Dollar City! Thankfully, the crowds were not too overbearing on this brisk Thursday morning. After getting our tickets, our very first stop was at the bakery to buy a couple of those tasty jumbo sized cinnamon rolls! The street characters were out in full force, and they were as wonderful as always. There was so much activity going on in the town square before the park even opened. As soon as the ropes dropped, my family, and I made a mad dash straight to Powder Keg. I must admit, nothing wakes you up in the morning quite like blasting off on that coaster. Afterwards, we tried out Wildfire, which does a great job of reminding you of what you had for breakfast. Later on, we made a visit to the new River Blast. Unfortunately, it was a bit too chilly outside to really see the attraction in full force. However, we were able to water blast an unsuspecting older couple who rode the ride. Afterwards we made a stop by The Giant Swing. I truly enjoy that ride - while standing on the ground! For lunch we stopped by the Riverside Rib House which is sort of a family tradition. Later, we mingled our way over to Geyser Gulch, and had a foam ball fight with some of the other kids which was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we passed through The Grand Exposition, Thunderation, and Grandfather’s Mansion. We ended the day at Silver Dollar City by buying some lye soap, and learning a trick, or two from Masterblade Smith Ray Johnson. Oh, and how could I forget? We also had a chance to meet with Terry Sanders, and Woops-a-Daisy in the animal barn.
Later that evening, my family, and I made a visit to the Titanic Museum. I had not given that attraction much credit previously, however, I was thoroughly impressed! I would highly recommend it, and the prices were very reasonable at about twenty dollars a person.
Day Three
Our second day at Silver Dollar City started much like our first one. A warm cinnamon roll, and a jaunt on Powder Keg first thing in the morning. Afterwards, we made a trip over to Fire in Hole. I must say, the cosmetics inside the ride are definitely an improvement. However, the actual ride itself was a little more rough than I remember. Later, it was time to board the train on the Frisco Silver Dollar Scenic Railway! Although much of the train ride is the same as it has always been, I enjoyed it immensely. The train robbery was a comedic success as usual. My only complainant, however, is after passing by the original hold up location, you can clearly see cars parked in a nearby parking lot. That was a tremendous eye sore! Later on, we made a visit to The Flooded Mine, and had timed our arrival so perfectly, that my family, and I had the entire section of boats to ourselves! We ended the day by grabbing a funnel cake, and sitting in front of McHaffie’s Homestead to listen to the lady on the front porch tell her endless stories.
Day Four
Our third, and final day at Silver Dollar City started off much like the first two. A warm cinnamon roll, and a breath of fresh air on Powder Keg first thing in the morning. My family, and I spent most of the day just floating in the wind, and catching up on all of the things we may have missed before. We also got to see the Saloon Show which was an absolute riot! It was hilariously funny, and truly a great time. The show had no dull moments, and really entertained quite well. For those of you who hated the “It's Raining Men” song I have good news for you - it’s gone! Before leaving for the day, I sampled some fresh peanut brittle, and bought some fudge at Brown’s Candy Factory.
Later that evening, my family, and I made a visit to The White River Landing, and watched the Showboat Branson Belle leave port. It was such a peaceful, sunny afternoon on the port, and it made for some nice free entertainment. After the sun went down, we drove the busy Highway 76 strip one last time to experience it in its full glory.
Day Five
Today was day number five, and my family, and I made the trip on Highway 65 back home again. What a wonderful experience! :)
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Thanks for all the trip reviews. I enjoy reading them. Glad everyone had a great time. I agree with Kerrydale, October is my favorite time to go to the park. My wife is a high school teacher so we can only go on the weekends. It would be great if we could get there during the week. On a different note, I read several reviewers talking about their motel/hotel. It's a shame we all can't agree on one and talk to them about an SDC Fans special discount in exchange for a little word of mouth (web) advertising.
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now that is a great idea! i will talk to Paige(motel manager) about it. I bet she will go for it.. will let you all know what happens when i get back next week...
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Great detailed trip review Ozark BBQ! Thanks! Glad ya had a good time.
I thought the baldknobber scenes were just fine inside FITH. I always yell back at Ned Flanders & his wife when they comment on his pants gettin' stolen - 'THEM DANG BALDKNOBBERS!! :D I heard a lil' girl ask her mom -- "are there really fires in there" & "are the baldknobbers real?" Ofcourse her mommy said no, i tried to tell the lil' one that you can yell back at them & they'll leave ya alone. She looked at me like i was crazy. Oh well..
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My parents, grandparents and the rest of my extended family are heading to Silver Dollar City this weekend. This is the first time in my life time they will go without me. I'm in my first year of vet school so I expected there would be a conflict. I have a test every Monday in October so there is really no way I could go. I did get to go this summer but, I could go every day during the summer and it still wouldn't cut it for my annual SDC fix. There's nothing like going to the Ozarks in the fall. Ahh well there are plenty of fall seasons left in my life. I just feel like I need my SDC break the most this year. So please take tons of pictures of SDC in the fall and send 'em my way!
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Nice to read the last several reviews, especially Ozark BBQ's. Glad to hear the current citizens are doing a good job of keeping everyone entertained!
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Thanks Junior! While in the Hospitality House I was skimming through the 50th Anniversary book when I came across the picture in reference to you, and the Diving Bell. I was so ecstatic to tell my family about all of the things I have learned from you, and others here on SDCFans.com ;D
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Headed to the City on Saturday, Hope it doesn't rain. Got to find my SDCFan.com tee!
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we will be there sunday.. last sunday of the fall festival.!!!! "hoping for small crowd"
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@Howdo folks---If I did that stuff with my husband he would frown at me. That surely is funny stuff though!~!
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GreenTrams - do it anyways, its dark in FITH & ya couldnt see him frown'n at ya anyways. We'r pretty noisey on the ride.
Check'd out that book also Ozark BBQ, & saw the pic ya was talk'n about. Bought the CD of the Beverly Hillbillies for my brother.
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I spent a few hours in the park Saturday 10/16 before going to the little Branson airport to meet my mother and her friend, flying in from Nashville. I took advantage of valet parking for the first time and loved it. $25 for more time in the park and a hassle-free exit? Sign me up.
Sunday 10/17 I returned with Mom and her friend. I called a week in advance to reserve electric scooters for them, and I'm glad I did. The instant a scooter came back it went right back out again, so I'd say reservations are a must. Call 800-475-9370; it's $34/day. If you cancel by 7pm the night before your reservation, they'll refund your credit card.
Visitors and citizens alike were very accommodating of two older ladies on their scooters. They moved out of the way, helped with bags and food trays, and were friendly and patient. If you're wondering about taking an older family member to the park, go for it. Don't try to hit everything in one day, reserve a scooter or wheelchair ahead of time, and then relax and enjoy the visit with them.
We also attended our first worship service at the Wilderness Church. Parson Lee at the pulpit and Linda at the piano led a nice service. Mom has a lovely alto voice and I'm a passable tenor, so we had fun harmonizing on the hymns.
I can't wait to go back for Christmastime!
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Went to the City today and it was cloudy all day until about 5:00 went the thundershowers moved in. Lots of people but getting on the rides was not too bad. Took the Grandson on AP and RB and he didn't appreciate getting wet. My Granddaughter loved the frogs and bugs in the GE. Meet Duelist at AP, hoped to meet more people from this forum becaused I advertized with my fan tee shirt, got lots of acknowledgements that the wife wouldn't lose me because it is neon yellow. Hope to be back Thanksgiving weekend.
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hit the motel tonite about 11:00, headed for the city tomorrow afternoon. (going to catch a show in branson 1st)... then out to see more crafts, booths.. aand hopefully no bad weather and watch the GAC show tomorrow nite.! ;D. anxious to see the wall and surroundings. definately going to look over the WB area.. ???
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I am in the works of making my own SDCFans tee shirt as well oldsdcer. :)
Go get some sleep sandunerider so you can give us a great trip review tomorrow! ;D
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Any way we can see what ya'r t-shirt looks like oldsdcer?
Lookin' forward to another trip review sanddunerider!!
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nothing fancy, neon yellow with the words
SDCFANS.COM
OLDSDCER
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ok. got there about 12:30 PM.. went to Jack's for lunch, had to wait what seemed like forever to get through the line, only 10 people in front of me... ???- Bad start for the day,, but the philly sandwhich was grteat!
headed to train depot to check out any progress, nothing being done at all. se my other post under construction..
got to see several of the craftsmen at work today it was nice.. about 70 or so degrees, only 5200 people. very relaxed afternoon. short lines on the ride. RB was pretty well empty. Train was pretty busy today.
2nd disappointment :(- went to see cajun connection. volume was way too LOUD!! the main singer tended to be LOUD anyway and 1/2 of time could not understand him.. IF they turned down volume might be ok.. I wont do it again this year. I might try it once next year--MAYBE.
heading west was an excellent show, 2nd time to see it
Gac show as good as always, but this was my third time to see it, so getting as little old. ZBut still a very talented bunch of performers.
Overall good afternnon/evening PERFECT weather and NO big crowd. could not have ordered a better day.
jUST WISH I COULD AHVE VERIFIED WORK PROJECTS
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Thanks for the day trip review sanddunerider! ;D
I am glad your day was mostly successful, and that the frustrating moments were sparse. You just can't beat the temperature in Branson this time of year. As far as a construction behind the fence, I doubt there will be anything much to see until we hit the off season. However, keep those eyes peeled for any surprises! :o
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I absolutely LOVE Heading West!!! It's my absolute favorite show they have at SDC hands down! I look forward to it every year... it's the highlight of my year, really (well, that and World Fest! ;D). I LOVE Disney movie songs, so combining a bunch of them all in one show at my favorite theme park, and giving it an 1880's theme is just awesome!!! :D
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Heading West was pretty cool, I'll admit. But I must say that the two Disney songs kinda pulled me out of the show because I recognized them so clearly.
That's never happened when I recognize the use of songs from musicals and stuff. Only when they use Disney songs... Weird.
I think my favorite scene was with the old miner. He was hilarious!
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I have yet to see Headin' West! It's embarrassing to admit I know. :-X For those people who have seen it, I would love to read about your reviews, and thoughts about the show. :)
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Heading West was pretty cool, I'll admit. But I must say that the two Disney songs kinda pulled me out of the show because I recognized them so clearly.
That's never happened when I recognize the use of songs from musicals and stuff. Only when they use Disney songs... Weird.
I think my favorite scene was with the old miner. He was hilarious!
pssst. There's more than 2. ;)
My favorite scene is the "just around the river bend" song where if you're sitting on Stage right (so the left side of the theatre if you're looking at the stage) get a nice, little (unexpected, for some) splash right in the face! ;D
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My favorite song in Headin' West is "They Call the Wind Mariah". I could listen to that guy sing it over and over.
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Does someone have a list of all the songs used in Headin' West and where they're all from?
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Going to Sdc this weekend. Yea. Can't wait to get our Christmas ornaments.
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Going to Sdc this weekend. Yea. Can't wait to get our Christmas ornaments.
Have a great time, and don't forget to return with not only your ornament, but a trip review as well! :)
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have a great trip! 3 more weeks before i go down again.
we are ready to hear what they did at RB.
Make sure you give paige and lance at the motel my regards, Just tell her Dan fom Topeka.
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off topic but Sanddunier-you just reminded me of that seinfeld episode where Kramer sends George to the optomitrist to get a sweet deal on glasses and tells him to tell the optomotrist "Kramer."
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LOL.. maybe so.. But Paige does know who i am. and it will help her rememebr to help us all with discount motel rates. ;D
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Was there today with he family I thought everything looked good. We spent some time with my son over at GG and was very happy to see that they had all the ball drop cages working again. I seemed when we were there this summer that only a couple were dropping the balls. Anyway the parade was good and so was the show at the center with the tree. I know my son was entranced with both. We also got our season passes for next year and our ornament which was pretty cool and I think I only stood in line maybe 5 mins to get my pass went really quick. I only had two issues and I know these will continue but one why must people continue to stop in the middle of the street when it is so crowded especially before the parade starts and two if you use a SDC stroller take it back all the way to where you picked it up don't just leave it in the middle of the walkway for it to be in everyones way.
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did u get any BAF with next years passes?
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Thanks for the review jmc75! :)
I am glad that for the most part you had a wonderful family outing. I also visited Geyser Gulch during this past Harvest Festival, and I was pleased to see that Geyser Gulch was functioning fully, and doing its job of putting smiles on the kids faces.
Why some people insist on stopping in the middle of a crowded street is beyond me. To me, those people are like that one salmon that swims the wrong way against the school of fish. ::)
However, I am happy to hear that you had a nice time! :)
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Yes I recieved all the BAF tickets they were 3/17-6/3/11 except 4/2,5/28,5/29 7/23-8/7 after 6pm, 8/8-9/16 all day except 9/3,9/4and 12/1-12/30
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thanks jmc, i just got back an email that verifies if you buy tickets at the city, you will get all the same benefits as mail or phone call.... I will get mime when i am there in a couple of weeks ;D
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The nice thing was it went pertty quick and you got your oranament in the same line they actually had some of the past orananments there also fot ten dollars a piece but declined. I will give a suggestion for anyone who like to collect different things for SDC. I managed to get a dollar coin back in change the that 2010 as the mint date. Took it to the place that cuts coins and the put 50th SDC on it kinda cool I will post a pic.
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thought this was a neat idea , sorry about the picture
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jmc, that is different.. what did it cost to have it cut? Thats a great idea.
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It was $59.00 the neat thing was that they had not done that one before and assumed that I worked at the park.
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I arrived Sunday night at 5:30, all the lots seemed full as well as much of the paid parking. The cars concerned me for the crowds I would find however I stopped int eh bathroom on the way in and asked the attendant if they were having a good day, he said 7500 at that point. When I got the to the square they were lighting the tree, no real crowds at all.
It was a great warm night and the rides had no lines. 2 trains were running on Powder Keg ( Nice ! ) there was the inevetable crowd issue for the Dickens show ( They really need to do something about that). I wandered down past the Saloon ( Big crowd) towards the River Battle. I walked up and thought it was closed, they made no efforts to decorate the ride for the season with the exception of rope lights in the windows of the prop boat. I really couldn't figure it out, no music, no lights, no Santa's elves working around the creek,,,,,,nothing. There were a cpl adults on the ride looking as if they were unsure why they were there. I felt for them.....
We walked down around the park and stopped by the train station to see the new fence, the addition in that area will work well, its a quiet spot. I do forsee there being a spot saving issue for the train but it will brighten up the area. Maybe they will do something with the old taffy shop as well, it used to be such a active area.
It didn't seem as if they had as many Christmas decorations for sale this year, less to choose from.
The Nature store also changed all of there merchandise, it has become a clone to the old buzzsaw falls outpost store near the FITH. Disappointing.
I had a good time but I think it was a little early to get into the spirit.
Beautiful weather.
I also skipped getting the ornament as the line is usually prohibitively long for me to wait.
You would think that this being the renew line for the passes they would move it quickly or staff it better but that wasn't the case.
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sounds like u had a good trip.. thats great! glad the weather was agreeable. hopefully my sunday visit will be the same. crowd & weather.....
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Thanks for the review mhguy77! :D
I am sure glad the parking lots were not a true indicator of how crowded it was inside of the park. Perhaps, everybody drove themselves that day, and decided not carpool? :P
I am really disappointed to hear about the lack of decorations around River Blast. Perhaps all of the water makes it difficult to install, and operate lights inside of the course itself? However, it sure defeats the purpose if there is nothing different to see.
I completely agree on the lack of merchandise variety! When I was there a few weeks ago they had nothing of interest to me to purchase, and I had an open wallet. Hopefully next year will be better when the 50th Anniversary merchandise is moved out.
I am definitely on par with you about it being a tad too early to really be in a winter mood. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time though! :)
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Went to the park today. Arrived at 12:45pm. Traffic wasn't bad, parking wasn't bad, pretty much walked right in. As the day grew so did the crowds, but 2/3 of the crowds were senior adults wanting to see the shows. The lines for the rides weren't bad at all, pretty much walked on to thunderation, flooded mine and all of the rides in the GE. We had a 15-minute wait for Powderkeg but they were only running one train. About a 5-minute wait for FITH. Train ride was awesome as usual (30-minute wait for the train). Saw the parade. We were able to get cups of hot chocolate with the works (using our refillable mugs) for $1.00 each!!! Ummmm goood. Nothing going on with Half-Dollar Holler yet. The fence was up, if you looked through the fence you saw some areas that were marked off with orange tape, but that was about it. Riverblast was nice, nothing extravagant. Just a nice relaxing ride looking at the lights around the area, there were a few extra lights around Riverblast, but nothing really big, it was just a nice relaxing ride. My younger boys (ages 7, 4) enjoyed pretending to shoot the guns. Weather was beautiful. Going back tomorrow. Will try to post pictures, too tired to fool with it tonight!
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Thanks for the trip review Parson B Ready!
I am sure glad the crowds weren’t too terrible today, especially since it’s Veteran’s Day, and many people are off work.
An Old Time Christmas is just not the same without the wonderful train ride, and a cup of hot chocolate! Plus, all of that for just one dollar? That’s a good deal! ;D
Thanks for the update around the Half Dollar Holler area. Unfortunately, I don’t expect any major construction there until January when the park is closed. However, just flag markers alone are a really big deal around here.
I look forward to your review for tomorrow! :)
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ozark+, it may be a little early, BUT the season is definanlty upon us. getting closer everyday, I am sooo ready to go in 2 weeks!
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We were also there today and last night. I agree with Parson; everything was very manageable today. Last night, we watched the parade and rode the train. We also spent some time in the dark at the GE. Today, we took the shuttle from Deer Run that left at noon. We had nearly an hour to kill on the square, and then we went straight to Dickens. We picked up our ornaments--very fitting for the 50th. We also had the kids sit on Santa's lap. We bought that picture even though our 1-year-old is screaming. That will be a great memory; we bought the ornament for the picture. We also added a wise man to our Fontanini Nativity. We add a piece every year, and we are due for another wise man. This one kind of looks like Samuel L. Jackson.
We left right after the tree lighting. We would've left sooner, but we were killing time before the shuttle came back at 5:45. I still don't know why people watch the tree lighting. The only thing different was a paraphrasing of the life of Christ right before the first song. The first song was Joy to the World. Then it played Carol of the Bells (my favorite), but you can see those songs with the tree later in the evening minus hundreds of your closest friends. Oh well.
We went out to dinner tonight, and then we hit Tanger and the Landing.
We will probably go in tomorrow, but we've already accomplished our main goals. We'd kind of like to see the Tracy Heaston Show. Maybe Frosty. It's only a high in the 50s tomorrow, though.
I just want to say also that it is warm!! It has been tee shirt weather for us the past two days. Sometimes we put on a sweatshirt when it drizzles.
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sounds like a positive trip stacey.. thanks, have fun tomorrow.
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Thanks for the review StaceySue! ;D
So let’s see; you picked up your ornaments, visited Santa, bought a picture of the one year old on Santa’s lap, purchased the ornament for the picture, and added another wise man to your collection, and still had time to catch the tree lighting? That sounds like one very successful day at Silver Dollar City!
I agree that Branson has been very warm the past week, or so, but a cold front should be moving in shortly. I am glad you, and your family had a wonderful trip! :)
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The family and I went to SDC November 11.
Enjoyed the warm weather and OTC very much. I have to admit with the kids, we are using the 6 buck parking every time now. Avoiding the tram mess, especially at Christmas adds great value to our visit. Being the frugal type, we never spring for any kind of up charge, but this has become well worth it for us. The "lets get ready to ruuuummmble", portion of the trip was seriously affecting our quality of time spent on park. We are the "no you go ahead" type of family. Unfortunately for my family, people these days are not reciprocal and usually have the attitude of "out of my way sucker". I stress manners to my children and I hate putting them in a situation where they see their elders look like the creatures from the movie "28 days" when it comes to a tram. :)
Anyway on to the good. The park looked great. It was not overly crowded but not deserted either. The perfect mix of people having a good time with their families and Christmas lights. We casually strolled through the park. I apologize to anyone else from the board that might have been there for sucking the big skillet smell out of the air single handedly. My those cooking smells at SDC smell good. I think those smells could make me hungry after the nausea of a gut busting Thanksgiving dinner and 50 ketchup sandwiches.
During our casual stroll we stopped and let the kids play on the play ground by GG. I snapped some pics of the marker flags and gazed at the abandoned part of the park walkway by the defunct Water Boggin. We climbed to the top of GG and enjoyed the lights from up on high, and enjoyed watching the lit train go by while the kids played. I never noticed the little rail road crossing sign lights up way up there as the train goes by. Little details like that make SDC great. I also noticed Lake Silver was drained really low, and could see where the old Diving Bell sub used to be housed.
We took our usual trip through "Granpas old Mansion" as the kids like to call it. It really looks great in there and it was fun seeing a family explore it for the first time. With the warm temps outside, man it was stuffy and hot in there.
One of the highlights of the trip was a couple of back to back rides on the Flooded Mine. Everything was working great and I actually saw dozens of things that seemed new, at least to me. The special effects were looking as good as I have seen them in a long while. Kudos to whomever is working on the old ride. The staff was really friendly also.
We were a little disappointed to see the soup shack closed and weren't able to get our bread bowl soup on as normal, but maybe it was closed because it was so warm.
Another highlight for me was riding "The powder keg" in the dark. Wow! The view was amazing during the slow ride to the top of the last hill. The lighted city looked incredible from way up there. Man that thing felt like it was flying through the dark. I find myself with that goofy grin you have on your face after it comes to a halt while just writing this.
Biggest highlight though was getting to ride with my six year old boy who is now tall enough to ride Thunderation. The little daredevil would ride anything in the park if they would let him, and laughed hysterically all the way through every bank, hill and turn. Priceless! I look forward to many years of laughter and coasters. :)
In Summary. Trips like these, including the slow ride home with sleeping kids in the back are why we keep coming!
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Sounds like a nice trip, Hatfield/McCoy. Thanks for the review.
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good for you hatfield! glad you had a GREAT! trip..
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Thanks guys.
Hey Junior I saw your ghost when I looked at the old Diving Bell location. :)
Someone also was kind enough to stop and take our family's picture, and I remember thinking I wonder if it was one the great people on this here board? It was really nice of someone.
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We also like to use the preferred parking. I've got a wife, 5 kids (ages 2-14), 3 refillable mugs, a diaper bag and a double stroller. Shelling out the additional $6 for season pass preferred parking is so worth it compared to waiting for the tram, shepherding 7 people through the massive rush to get them and all of our stuff on the tram and unloading the tram. Plus by using PP we could leave our coats in the van and one of us could simply walk back and get them if it got cold. We've used the Deer Run shuttle which isn't as bad, but we are usually some of the last ones to leave the park at the end of the night and we have to wait for them to find a free shuttle to take us back. Today we went to the park for just a few hours before we headed home. My 4-year-old wanted to ride the tram, so when we left the park this afternoon, we stopped at the tram pick-up and waited at least 15 minutes before a shuttle came by to take us back to "stop 1". When the kids get older and we don't have to fool with strollers and diaper bags, I will gratefully go back to free parking, but until then $6 is worth the convenience (though I don't think I'd pay $12)!
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well parson,stacey,hatfield.. sounds like you had a great weekend and i hope trams and i were able to keep off the rain..
I can only hope when we go in a couple of weeks, i have the good weather and get to see all the sights accordingly..
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Sanddune you and Trams did an excellent job with your rain dance. Perhaps next year you should try out for the anti-Rainmaker show at SDC. ;D
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Yes, we were pretty lucky with the rain!
We went into the park at about 3:00 p.m. today. We took the shuttle from Deer Run. It was much cooler today, but I was fine with a sweatshirt, gloves, and a scarf. The baby was bundled up pretty well, though. We decided to see Dickens again. The first show after our arrival was 3:45. We misjudged where they were in the process of filling the theater, so we missed that show because it was. We went to the 5:45 show instead and just got in by the skin of our teeth. We aren't used to going to the shows after the first showing!
And no, we didn't hang around the Dickens queue for two hours; we had dinner. My family went to an old standby, the Riverfront Rib House. I've been in the "try new things" mode lately, so I went Mary's Springhouse for some Chicken Fettuccine. It wasn't what I expected, but it wasn't too bad. I don't think I'll get it again, though.
After Dickens, we watched the parade near the Opera House. We actually sat on the stone wall across from the Fire in the Hole exit. Not a bad spot.
We tinkered around awhile, but then the youngest got cranky. So here is the only bad part about using the shuttle. He can't use the shuttle until 9:45. It was 8:00. We considered going to stop 5, and we even asked if they parked near stop 7 today, but they hadn't. We even broke one of our rules and left the park. We saw the line to stop 5, so we whipped out our passes and went back into the park. The baby started to calm down while we sat in the Ice Cream Parlor to get warm. After some hot chocolate, it was time for the second parade. We walked over by the GE to watch it (the baby was happier if we kept moving, so that is why we ended up all the way down there). After it went by, we had a dorky notion to watch it again, so we zipped through a near-empty park and caught the parade again across from the Lumber Camp. Yes, we are dorks. Out-of-shape dorks, by the way. We nearly killed ourselves zipping that fast.
By the time we made it to the square and took a restroom break, it was time for the shuttle. So we went to the stop and waited about 10 minutes. It was a full bus back to the motel.
We made a Taco Bell run to Branson West to put the baby to sleep and to grab a snack. Mmm, tacos. Now it's time for bed. We'll head home tomorrow.
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I have really enjoyed reading the trip reviews this weekend. Thanks everyone!
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stacey, GREAT review.
i like the fact you saw the parade twice at "one" time.... :o
i also love the idea about leaving the park and then "whipping" out the passes! :o Love those passes..
But most of all I LOVE the idea of tacos after a day in the 1880's!!! :P
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Thanks for the review StaceySue! :)
It seems like the Deer Run motel is continuing to work well for you, and that it is recovering nicely after that faux pas that was discussed around here early this week.
It sounds like you had to earn your spot in the Dickens’s theater this year! It is still worth it though despite the extra hassle.
The Riverfront Rib House is always a Silver Dollar City tradition, but I am glad to hear that you tried something new although it didn’t turn out to be something you would eat again.
The warm ice cream parlor, and a hot cup of chocolate really sooths the soul on a cold day. Way to go on catching the same parade twice! I don’t think I would have thought of that.
It’s nice to know that the Season Passes worked well for your situation. I wonder, does returning in the same day equal a “second” visit? I should just pass through the ticket turnstiles five times in one day to qualify for my ornament. ;)
After fighting for a seat at the Dickens’s show, racing to catch two, or three parades, dealing with the baby just being a baby, walking in, and out of the park, and scurrying to catch a full shuttle bus, it sounds like those tacos were a much deserved treat! :D
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we have left and reentered 4 or 5 times this year, I also wondered if that was 1 trip, or 2 trips.. ???
I keep a cooler with pops and sandwich stuff in the vehicle. We will go out for a break from the crowd and the lines, have snack/meal and then head back in!! ??? ???
Just something I do. :-\
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Yes, we did have a great trip. We accomplished a lot, but I wouldn't say it was relaxing--lol. One of the parts about the trip I was looking forward to was "getting away" from my job. This was one of our more stressful trips, but it's just going to be that way for a few years until the baby is older.
One thing I forgot to mention in my trip report is that while the baby was sleeping on Saturday, we peeked in the Mahaffie Homestead, and a young woman was inside making chicken and dumplings on the stove. There was also a fire in the fireplace. It's been awhile since I peeked in there, so it was cool to catch her cooking. I wonder who eats the food they make in there? The Homestead Pickers? :)
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hmmm? ???chicken and dumplings?? :o so if i have my refill cup, and a spoon :-\.............. do you suppose???///...........................Maybe......................
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StacySue I wouldn't call your trip stress free. However, the hustle, and bustle of visiting Silver Dollar City is a good, and healthy stress, and much different than work stress. :)
Also, I have seen the McHaffie’s cook breakfast during a visit several years ago. As far as I am aware of, the employees who work at the Homestead stay in authentic 1880s character all day long.
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The Picker's do eat there, if you are there during the lunch break, they will be at the table in the kitchen.
IMHO, best area of the park is the Homestead.
Harp
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I also give a big thanks to everyone writing trip reviews! These detailed reviews allow me to walk through the park with you and enjoy the experience too. Keep em' coming, folks! Good, good stuff!
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your right about stress ozark.... Lets all remember the saying " A bad day at SDC, always beats a good day at work".... That is not the exact wording, but it will work. LOL
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Our favorite place is the HOMESTEAD. Keather is a great cook for someone as young as she is. If the Homestead Pickers, Terry Sanders, Frisco Jack (and John) and Aunt Judy and the street Characters weren't there...it would only be just another amusement park and we wouldn't drive 900 miles to go there.
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Is the preferred parking available to non season pass holders ? Can you leave and re-enter unlimited?
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yes, and yes. i think they may stamp your hand when u leave, if u have 1 day pass.. if you have season pass it does not make any difference
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Thanks for the reply. Our first visit to SDC and with 4 kids I want to take advantage of every convenience :)
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Howdy missark,
I am from Arkansas too. When you get time, check out the Newbies Thread, and tell us all a little about yourself. Welcome to SDCFans.com! :)
Newbies Thread http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=356.90 (http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=356.90)
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Hi, hello and howdy to Missark!
Welcome to the site. It's a lot of fun!!!!
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missark, you didnt say when you r going?
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Howdy missark. Glad to have you aboard!!!
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oh sorry.. ::) HOWDY!!! ;D Welcome to the site missark
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Is the preferred parking available to non season pass holders ? Can you leave and re-enter unlimited?
Preferred Parking is available to those without a Season Pass but it is $12.00 ($6.00 with a Season Pass). I'm not sure about in and out privileges in the preferred parking lot.
Also, when we left the park Saturday, we had to get our hands-stamped to get back into the park, even though we had a Season Pass, they said we had to have our tickets and our hands stamped to re-enter the park. Quoting from last weekend's "Path Finder", "Re-Admission. If you leave and plan to return on the same day, you must get a handstamp and retain your ticket for re-entry."
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Hm, that seems so bizarre! With the Season Pass, I would assume that I could leave, and return as often in one day as I wanted so long as I use my pass.
Perhaps, returning more than once in a day confuses their computer counting system? :P Still seems odd though.
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thats odd ???. I know we have been in and out 4 or 5 times this year. no stamp.
BUT when we leave i just nod at the citizen by the exit door and tell have a good day. Never have told that person i would be back in a little while since i have the pass.
Possibly IF they know you intend to return, they want to stamp you?
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Came up yesterday for a short Christmas trip. I'll be back today for a bit as well.
I'll write more later, but I have to say I'm really surprised at how small the crowds are this weekend. The only crowds I saw were for the Dicken's show. PK was closed the entire time I was there, but TGS was running until the park closed. I saw the RiverBlast was running as well, but it doesn't look like anyone wanted to ride. Maybe they didn't make it clear enough what it was?
All of the employees are great, as usual. Lots of great conversations in the shops.
Saw the outlines for HDH as well. They come awfully close to the swinging bridge, so it'll be interesting to see how that works out.
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We were in SDC 18-21. Had a great time, but THE TREE was TOOOO LOUD! It hurt my ears while I was sitting in the cabin with the doors shut. I can only imagine what the little kids ears felt like. It was great to say hello to the workers we knew from our former visits.
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^ I disagree about the tree. I think it is at a good level. My girls and I were standing by the planting beds between the homestead and the tree. It was not to loud there. There is a lot of BASS but that it there to make you feel the music not just hear it.
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I love the tree. I think the volumes about right. If they ever get rid of that thing, I'm going to buy it and put it in my front yard. My neighbors will love me! ;D
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Got to be at the City Thursday night for a couple of hours, then most of the day yesterday, and had a great time. The weather was perfect, and my son and I enjoyed taking a class at the C&C School. We really enjoy Debbie Dance Uhrig and she remembered my son from last June because of his crazy costume. (Wore Cowboy hat, John Deere Tee shirt, swim trunks and boots.) Absolutely loved the Dickens Christmas Carol. It was even better than when we saw it a few years ago. This is really a neat time to be here. I'm planning to go back tomorrow, and do some Christmas shopping. Had planned to go this afternoon but were shocked they were parking folks clear down about a mile east of Indian Point Road, so decided that it wasn't worth it. I plan to get there early tomorrow.
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made it to branson this afternoon, caught a couple of shows in town. will be at the city tomorrow. hoping for low attendence sincei it is the last day of a 4/5 day weekend ;D.
we will see! :o
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It was definitely a lot more crowded today. This was one of my first experiences dealing with the new(ish) parking system after opening. Even though we got to the park soon after opening, we ended up being forced to park miles from the park in JD. Having to follow a massive line of cars all the out there while passing several other perfectly good parking lots was not a great way to start the day.
I waited about half an hour for PK, which opened back up today, only to have it close down when I was three cars away from riding. They made everyone leave the station so they could evacuate people off the final break section. ::)
Other than those two issues though, the day was great. The apple dumplings with ice cream are fantastic, I don't know how I haven't found those before. I mostly just walked around today since so many of the lines were so long. Luckily both Wildfire and TNT had great operations with quick moving lines so I got on both of those a couple of times. The line for the train stretched up the hill almost back to grandfather's mansion at one point.
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Hm, that seems so bizarre! With the Season Pass, I would assume that I could leave, and return as often in one day as I wanted so long as I use my pass.
Perhaps, returning more than once in a day confuses their computer counting system? :P Still seems odd though.
Just returned from SDC...We are season pass holders and left for a couple of hours yesterday...The lady did not stamp our hands and said with season passes there was no need...we just showed our passes again to regain entry...
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Just returned to Colorado from Branson. We got to Branson on Tuesday so we could enjoy Wednesday-Saturday at SDC. This was the first time we've been to OTC. We absolutely loved it. We were able to see all the shows twice, ride the rides, what a difference riding Wildfire and Powerkeg at night, and enjoyed the Hot Chocolate with the Works and Wassail. Wednesday and Thursday were not too busy. It was cold on Thanksgiving, sorta even snowed that day, and may have been the reason the crowds were small. The most traffic we saw was in the Mollie Mill Restaurant which served an extremely delicious meal. It had stormed Wednesday evening/early Thursday morning and the American Plunge was hit by lightening. The guard shack/house whatever you call the little building at the top of the slide was hit and burnt up. Sounds like a motor or two will have to be replaced and the building rebuilt but other than that, no major damage. The Dicken's Christmas Carol was awesome, but my family also enjoyed Pure Heart and Tracy Heaston. We always enjoy the Saloon Show and the Homestead Pickers were awesome as usual. I saw the markers for what must be the Half Dollar Hollar and carousel. Looks like the carousel will be very close to the swinging bridge. The train ride was awesome as was Grandpa's story. I could not believe how busy the park was on Saturday. We went an hour before park opening and were amazed at the number of people already there. We left around 3:00ish, amazed at the line of people still trying to get in the park and returned at 6:30ish. We stayed at the Wilderness and the lady at the desk called some number and discovered that there were 16,704 people at the park already. There were many more entering the park when we reentered at 6:30ish. All the parking lots were full and people were being parked at the Notches which is on the way to Branson West. Amazing!!! They were running two trains and still the line to ride was backed up to the corkscrew. It was packed. Anyway, we truly enjoyed the trip and loved OTC.
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I am under the understanding that Season Pass=unlimited entries both in the season, AND in a single day. No stamps needed
HOWEVER...it would allow for a much quicker re-entry, and a more swiflty moving line during ther rush/ crowd of entries for the evening lights, Maybe they are simply trying to not spend as much time scanning passes, instead looking at a hand and moving them along is quicker.
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just got in, quick recap:
over 9,000 people there today (sunday)..
Never got on train :-[ :o. no problem will be back next month
watched the tree and parade, love those displays as always
did RB..... ::) ::) nothing impressive, as we already know.
lines were a little busy at PK and WF.
AP doesnt look too bad..will be up and running next year, no problem
HDH- did not see any changes there, although the new "rides" appear to come in
behind Beccas House
Checked WB area close. nothing new there.
Flooded Mine.. all they did was put hats on the inmates.. :'(
Lights all looked good,
Got out of there about 8 and went and hit SoTH, 10 bucks per head, little steep i thought,
but it included the tower.. But that does not impress me any...oh yea free chocolate ;D
Thats it for now, going to drive over by CC tomorrow.
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Just returned from a great day at the City! Really enjoyed the Live Nativity and the Saloon Show was great, with a lot of the great old gags I remember from Christmas several years ago. The weather was perfect and the crowds, for the most part, weren't too heavy. Lines were mostly short for WF, PK and GS, and I got to ride Wildfire at night which was awesome!
But then comes the bad news. On my second go around on Wildfire I decided to leave my camera in the cubby and go around to ride again. There were maybe less than 15 people in the whole place. When I got off the second round my camera was gone. Fortunately I had downloaded most of my pics to my laptop from the last several days but all the pics I took today are gone. :'( Filed a report with security, but doubt I'll see it, or those pics, again. Guess I'm just too trusting!
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^Wow, that's actually the first time I've heard of something being stolen at the park. I'm sorry that happened to you.
I can't believe how many of us were at the park this week - we probably all passed by each other at some point and didn't know it.
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pastor, sorry to hear about camera. :-\
Steve your right, seemed to be several of us there.
Steve, "we" should have a clubhouse there.! LOL ;D
You know private entrance,private parking, discounts all year around. LOL :o :o
You should make that a winter project, I am sure you can do that!! :o :o
Nest time it sounds like a few of us might show up, lets set up meeting place, maybe set a couple of "meet" times. I would love to shake hands and meet you people face to face!.
Dan
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Went to my sister in laws for thankgiving in Marshfield noth of Springfield. Rained all the way until we got there the turned to sleet and snow. To the NOtch Condos that night. Friday was shoping at Branson and the Landing with the Branson and SoTH light drive thurs that night.
Was there on Saturday, heard there were 15,300 people in the park at 5:00. Ladies bathroom down at the Hospitality House, made every one go to bathroom a TNT. Grand son an inch too short for TNT, maybe nest year. Wore my Fansite shirt and attracted the attention of U Smell Smoke, great to meet you. Love riding TGS and WF at night, wish I had gotten back on TNT then. The Lights were great. Found the secret to beating the crowds for the train which was great as usual and my Grandson's favorite thing. Didn't get the Wassil this time , darn. Other than family issues it was a great time.
To Springfield to shop on Sunday and the home. Hope everyone had a good holiday.
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Have enjoyed all the trip reports in the last week or so...sounds like alot of SDC Fans. com visited! Wish I could have been there, but felt like I was anyway from all the play by play reports! Thanks!
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Went over the weekend... here's my hubby's blog post about it: http://bransoninfo.org/silver-dollar-city-at-christmas/
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glad you were able to go! read your blog,,,,, yes it is quite a sight!!
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Read the blog, QueenMum. A good description and read!
A big thanks to everyone giving their OTC reviews!
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We were able to make a short daytrip to Branson today! Traffic was heavy all over. When passing Indian Point Road turnoff to SDC, traffic was backed up all the way to the Hwy. 265 intersection. Went to Branson Landing and both parking lots were full to capacity. Had to stop at Bass Pro Shop, and it was very crowded. Got to see a local family group performing in the landing...playing traditional music. Very nice. Red Roof Mall not too busy, easy to get in and out. Ate the seafood buffet at Starvin' Marvin's Restaurant, as always, well worth the stop, although pricy. Enjoyed seeing Christmas lights around town. Walked through the Apple Tree Mall, something we always enjoy. Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights was absolutely packed! A long line waiting to go in. Kimberling City had no lights worth talking about on the main drag. That was a drag! Got to Branson about 1pm, and left Branson about 9:30pm. A nice short daytrip. I'm just sorry I could not convence the family members with me to stop at SDC! It was a bit breezy, and after dark, very cold! So maybe it was better we didn't walk the streets at SDC this trip. Enjoyed the day. I posted a few photos at the Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan
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Itttt wwassss vvvvveerrrrryyyyy ccccccoooolllllddddd llllaaaassssttt nnnnigggght!!!!! :o
And it was very busy. I talked to Mr. HeHa, he said that they were expecting 11,000 and had (as of 7:00pm) 17,500. We were able to get on a few rides, but lines were fairly long, the flooded mine line was backed out the entrance. We stuck it out to the bitter end and the kids were rewarded with 2 walk-on rides to FITH. After the first parade the park really thins out. Got to meet the Herschends at the book signing. They were very gracious, asked everyone where they were from and how many years they'd been coming to SDC then thanked each one for coming. I asked Jack to please don't ever let them take Jesus out of the park. He looked me in the eye and said "We won't." He went on to ask me if I had seen "undercover boss". I told him I had. He said that Joel was a very committed Christian and he would never let that happen. Yesterday was my daughter's eleventh birthday. She chose going to SDC over having a slumber party with her friends. The ladies in Pure Heart sang "Happy Birthday" to her as did Clarence Peabody, Santa's executive assistant.
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We had 69 attendees for Coaster Christmas and we packed Reunion Hall for lunch and presentations. I left the park around 6pm and there was quite a back up at the Hospitality House entrance down to OMP and especially at the trams. I decided to walk because I parked out at the Old C turn around and honestly it was quicker to walk than wait on a tram to take me to 4. Loved that I got to start the day with rides on TNT, FITH, and PK. VIP seating at Dickens then rides on WF. Swing appeared to be moody yesterday as they could only get one arm working. PK & WF only had one train running as well.
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wow! :o :o 17,500!! last sat was 15,300 and sunday was 9200... ???. that is a lot of traffic....
does anybody know the attendencs number fromthe b-day party in may? ??? ???
We r going back down for the last trip 26-28..... ::)
.. then everybody has to wait until march :'( :'( almost 90 days :'( :'(
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I talked to Mr. Heha again today and asked him what the final figures were for yesterday (Saturday, 12/4).... were over 19,000 at SDC. It was packed. Today was not neary as packed. But still cold. Thunderation, Fire in the Hole and Flooded Mine were the only "big" rides running. Thunderation closed around dusk due to temp. Did not go back into the Grand Exposition today.
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Hey folks, I have a little survey I'd like to do. As I mentioned earlier I was at the City over Thanksgiving Weekend and had a great time. Is it just me, or is this time of year a better time to ride WF and PK? Just seemed to me that maybe because of the cool, clear air at this time of year that the rides were faster, and just overall a better thrill. What do you think?
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Holy moly, what a weekend!
Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Sister and I left Jeff City about 630. Went straight to the tanger outlets and shopped until afternoon. The stores were busy but not packed and ample parking was available. We then went to Lone Star for a burger and it was great and had fantastic service. Next stop was a quick check in at Deer Run Motel. We love it there. It is not fancy but serves our purposes perfectly.
We headed to the city (I think we arrived about 3:15-3:30). Sister and I headed straight to PowderKeg. It was my first time riding it (I usually have little kids with me and I have a fear of puking in public). I am in love with a roller coaster! It was an amazing ride! after that round we ran over to the Christmas store to grab a couple things and then picked up our "Seasons Pass Ornament". Mom, Grandma and Aunt did the culinary class. Since that still had thrity minutes we wnet back to powderkeg. the second ride was even better. It was colder and darker so the ride felt faster! Except a brief moment at the top when we had a chance to see all of the lights in SDC, it was so beautiful. After we were done there we had a walk-on ride at Fire in the Hole. A brief purchase at Honey Heaven and we met back up with cooking class attendees and were out of the city (by 10 til 6, so we avoided the parade) *Cooking Class review* Since they were expecting a hands on experience and/or take home the group was quite disappointed in the class. And I don't think the food was very good either*
Then we headed to The Landing for a stroll and shopping. It was pleasant out and a wonderful atmosphere. To wrap up our Friday we hit our favorite Branson eatery, Mr Gs Pizza! The Tony Orlando Salad and Mr Gs Special Pizza were the perfect end.
Saturday we took advantage of being child and husbandless again in the morning. Went to Dick’s 5 and 10. That is an experience in itself. We had fun and it was pretty busy in there. Next was the red roof outlets; not much there but we had specific stores in mind.
By this time the kids and guys were arriving in Branson so we headed back to Deer Run to get everyone bundled up for the afternoon and evening at SDC.
SDC was mostly wonderful! Went straight to Santa Claus to get pictures and give our wishes. Then over to the GE for all the hopping and flying we could handle. Followed by the train, the flooded mine, and the train again. A sandwich at Big Jacks and two rounds on Fire in the Hole and it was parade time! After the parade we milled about for a while then headed to the car. As we were walking out I called Pizza by the Chef and they delivered to our room shortly after we got settled in there. (Yes we had pizza both nights of vacation)
Some notes about our time in park: The bathrooms were all immaculate, the train line moves fast(!), the flooded mine was busy but friendly, the staff in Santas Workshop were great, Santa was kind and patient, Big Jacks was slllooowww (and just mediocre), the wassail and hot chocolate are so good, crowd was big, lights are so beautiful.
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Addition to my thanksgiving review. Glad I went tho the Branson West Walmart between 8 & 9PM since they arrested the guy that went there before Midnight with a gun claiming the Walmart shoppers were out to get him.
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We're headed up this afternoon...can anyone tell me what the crowds are usually like on a Friday evening? We've been after Christmas, but not before...very excited to see all the lights and have bread pudding from Eva & Delilah's!
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And kerrydale, we all expect a full report upon your return! ;D Gotta keep us in the loop! :D
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Hey everyone! I just visited the City on Thursday (December 9th) and had a great time! The park was comfortable, not crowded AT ALL.
Of course OTC was beautifully decorated and the weather wasn't as cold as it has been the past few days. I spent about 2 hours talking to June in the Candy Basement, saw Mr. HeeHaw and our very own Copper. I couldn't ask for more, it was great!
Took the train before it became too crowded, but would have liked to wait until later. Man, I forgot how much of the illusion is shattered when you can see through the trees into back areas. RiverBlast and quite a few other attractions were running, but I had no interest in riding; but honestly, I would have had the run of the place if I did.
Jack and Pete were also on park for the employee Christmas luncheon, so that was cool. All in all, just a nice casual day with no hassles. Great job SDC!
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good for you mike! hope u got to go on friday also.. Very nice day here in eastern kansas!
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No such luck for me. I'm writing this from Graceland in Memphis as we speak, on my way back to Flo-rida.
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Hey folks, I have a little survey I'd like to do. As I mentioned earlier I was at the City over Thanksgiving Weekend and had a great time. Is it just me, or is this time of year a better time to ride WF and PK? Just seemed to me that maybe because of the cool, clear air at this time of year that the rides were faster, and just overall a better thrill. What do you think?
We were there over Thanksgiving Weekend and also rode those rides at night. Yeah, it seems better, especially in the dark, however, the flashes from the camera took me by surprise....
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I am not sure if this was the best place to post these, but here's my pictures from my December 4th trip. There are pictures of A Christmas Carol in here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roseykrh/sets/72157623523178877/
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Slow Walker, thanks for posting the shots! Hope you enjoyed the trip.
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We went to the city on Friday evening and stayed until closing. The weather was incredible, especially considering the cold front that came through Saturday afternoon. We stopped at Eva & Delilah's for some bread pudding and a cinnamon roll and walked onto the square just in time for the tree lighting. From there, we went down to Powderkeg...my sister and I rode once in car three and then hurried back around to car one for another trip...PK in winter in the dark is the most awesome coaster experience I've ever had! Reaching the top of the second drop and seeing the City awash in light made it even better. Then we rode FITH and walked out just in time to catch the parade. After that we walked over to the candle shop so my daughter could make some Christmas presents and then we picked up our season pass ornaments. Then we headed back down to the Saloon for the Christmas show...best one I've ever seen! The girl who played Sally was hilarious, and I always enjoy watching Choctaw Charlie. By the time the show was over we had just enough time to walk over to the Flooded Mine and ride through before heading back up to the front for a stop at the Apple Butter shop before heading back to the hotel. The best part was taking my mom and sister to see the SDC lights for the first time...they were definitely not disappointed!
Oh, and I got my 2011 season pass...see you next March!
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you bet kerry! glad u had a good trip. friday was a great day in our area.. See you next march!
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any bode going this weekend?? 18 & 19???
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We went on Saturday the 18th. Had a great time- got there just before noon and stayed until about 9:10. I heard there were over 17,800 visitors at 7pm. It was a chilly day but not as bad as some. We got to ride Thunderation 5 times including one at about 8:30pm. I heard Wildfire and Powder Keg ran for about an hour and a half and I saw the Giant Swing running. The Wave Carosel was still going when we left and I know they shut down at 35 degrees. I don't know if they kept the Park open later than 9:30 or not. We got to see "A Dickens Christmas Carol" at the 2:10 show. It was packed as usual but we only had to wait about 30 minutes in line. We ate the Holiday Buffet at the Mill restraunt about 4pm and had no one in front of us in line (that wasn't the case as we were leaving the Mill- the line got pretty full). All in all another near-perfect visit to SDC. Merry Christmas everyone!
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Glad to read your weekend trip was good, Duelist. Anyone headed to the park over Christmas weekend? The 2010 anniversary year is winding down, fast!
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Was at the park on Friday and thought it turned out to be a very nice day. There were not very many people at all at the park which was nice. Also I was happy that I was able to give my last BAF tickets to some mom that she used for her kids.
I was able to get on all the powder keg and wildfire after one go around which was extremely nice. Though on wildfire I felt bad since some guy behind me forgot to take his keys out of his pocket and ended getting dropped somewhere. Apparently the lady behind him tried to catch them in the air but was unable to. After wildfire went to see the Christmas Carol which was the first time that I had seen it and thought is was very good and recommend it. Then got a late lunch at the Tater Patch which is always yummy. I was able to get on the train, I just happen to get there when they were boarding on so I only had to wait about 20 min and was on the next one luck because after that the line grew very long. After that was thunderation which the first I had ridden that in the dark which I though was a completely new experience definitely will have to do that again. Then had supper at Big Jack's Sandwhich shop and ended my evening with buying a couple of items from the mill and then headed back to the condo.
The weather was nice, the rides were fast, the employees as usually were great so I am considering this a perfect day.
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Nice review, thanks!
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Husband and I went on Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th. Crowd was very light both days. On Thursday the 5 pm show for Pure Heart and Tracey Heaston at Riverfront Playhouse was about 3/4 full; same show as the 2009 version. Went to the 6:15 Dickens show at the Opera House; I've never seen such a small crowd. Hardly anyone on the sides and the center was about 3/4 full. Some different folks in the show from the 2009 version. Enjoyed both shows. Went to the Living Nativity at 7:15. The guy we really like as the narrator/singer was not in that role but playing a wise man instead. Very small crowd. The seating arrangement was better this year with the raised seating in addition to seats on the floor. Then went out for the 8 pm parade -- easy to find a bench to sit on in the Love My Country area. Was going to ride the train but it shut down early. Got our 50th anniversary ornaments and season passes; we were the only people there. In past years we've had to wait in line.
On Friday we rode FITH and the train. Noticed on the train ride that Lake Silver had really been drawn down to a very low level. Went to the 6 pm Choctaw Charlie Fa-la-la Follies saloon show -- it filled but the doors were open a long time before it filled up. Pretty good show due to audience participation. All of the Christmas decor in Jingle Bell Junction was already marked down 50%; don't know if Christmas Hollow had any markdowns. There were a lot of markdowns in the Hospitality House and Ozark Marketplace. The 50th anniversary clothing and other items were marked down 50% so I bought a t-shirt. Overall it was a good trip!
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anybody go sunday after christmas(yestarday)? just wondered about attendence.
I am headed out there this afternoon, should be there by 5. got a 2:00 show in branson to catch first. then headed out there for 1 more round of rides and lights.!!!
(and taffy of course)
will see if they have done anything to HDH in the last few days.. Last report was no work started yet. going to check out utility/elevation flags this trip.
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ok. made my last trip monday afternoon/evening. several people there, did not get a body count.
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got on the train this time- nice rida as usual
shut dowont he big coasters around 5 or so,,
keep fith and thunderation running later.
weather was ok.. about 35 and no wind
checked HDH, no dirt work yet, but lots and lots of flags and marker paint. At this point there is NO way to tell what tyhey are doing. the were elevation markers, utility flags, GPS markers, utility paint. the whole area was pretty well marked, you could see lines/markers going to becca's place, so they for sure are using that building for something. I would guess they will start there 8:00 friday morning.. supposed to be in the upper 40's and lower 50's! Time for them to go to work.
Oh yea got my taffy, will get it zip locked today.. Hope i have enough for 80 days!!! ( i think thats right).. Finally less than 90 days!! to go!!!.
ok. packing up and headed north, catch ya later
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We went Sunday the 26th and Tuesday the 28th. It was very cold Sunday and we went out later in the evening to catch some shows and see the lights. Only the train, FITH and FM were running. Rode them all and saw Dickens. The weather was great on the 28th. We got there before park opening and stayed almost to close. All rides (except River Battle, maybe they gave up on that experiment) were running. The crowd was pretty good and they were only running one train on all the coasters. They only had one train for WF and TNT anyway as maintenance crews had already started tearing down and refurbishing one of the trains from each ride. I guess they tear them down to the frame, x-ray them and then replace every screw, bolt and nut. Despite only one train running, all the lines moved fairly quickly. There were a lot of great bargains in the park as they were trying to get rid of as much as possible. We bought a lot of the 50th anniversary stuff for 75% off--shirts, candles, mugs, coins, and baseballs. They will provide some good reminders of the anniversary year. We bought for $34 stuff that originally would have cost $130. We picked up our season passes for next year. It was great to be able to get around Branson without having to fight traffic. I will be missing the lack of traffic when I am down there next summer. It was weird though to see so many hotels, shows and restaurants closed for the season. The shopping malls were doing a good business though. It was sad walking out for the last time of the year...but it's reassuring to know in just a few months I will still have a great past just ahead of me!
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Nice job, U Smell! Good review and thanks for the update!
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Thanks for the great review U Smell Smoke!
I thought your comments about the rollercoasters being dissembled, and the hotels, shows, and restaurants closing down for the off season were interesting. In a weird way, Branson sort of goes through a hibernation at the end of the year. We often reflect on our year at Branson with such warmth, and fondness, and eventually our core sentimental values start to seep through. :)
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I posted about my trip in another section earlier, but I wanted to add some points. I was down on the last two days the park was open and the weather was fantastic. Had a great time seeing all the lights and the shows on the first day. Thursday morning, I got up expecting to go to one of my "haunts" for breakfast. Much to my chagrin, one was closed and the other would not open until 11:00! Yeesh, that ain't right. So I ate at McFarlans instead and it was pretty good. Then I just spent the rest of the time driving around the strip a little bit. Headed for the park around 11:45 and managed to give away the last of my bring a friend. A family of five and a lady in a wheelchair, made for a great Christmas bonus. Went it and had a cheese stick and just walked around taking it all in. Man, I miss the place already. :'( But March is not that far away and I have you guys to help the time go faster.
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:) :) :) "patiently waiting for much" ;) ;) ;)
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Thanks for the quick trip review mbrownx4!
I am glad you were able to get one last solid trip in last year. Speaking of March, I just received my 2011 Season Passes in the mail today! I am so excited! ;D
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hey ozark.. that should be our new theme song for the next 70 days or so... :o
"I'm so excited"...
I hear the song, cant place the female artist.. LOL ;D
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The Pointer Sisters... They sang it first.
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thanks okla.!!! i would never have been able to get that answer.! :-\
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Just wanted everyone to know that I talked to the manager at Eagle Lodge, and they will be doing the SDCFans discount this year.. Room rate is going to be 40.00 plus tax. No extra add ons for additional people.. all rooms have microwaves/fridge/coffee.. I have stayed here several times AND they can get you discounts on show tickets in town... Talk to "Paige", Although they are not open yet,, she is in the office..She is not scheduled to open until April 1., But if a few of us were going to be there during spring break she will open on March 15th... CALL HER!!! Leave her a message if she does not answer.. here is her link..
http://www.eagleslodgebranson.com/
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Went to SDC today! The weather was perfect and starting out we could not even guess how many people would show up today. We arrived about 8:30 and there was already more people there than I had ever seen at that time on a Sunday morning. We started the morning by purchasing a few pin trading pins in the Hospitality House. I asked the clerk how many people were they expecting and she said "well we had 15,000 yesterday and expected at least that many and probably a few more today". Well we hit FITH and PK right off the bat because I knew it wouldn't take long for the lines to start to form. We stayed away from the water rides because nobody really wanted to get wet. We did go over to RB and the kids started shooting at this one family in a boat. The mother I presume did not want her hair to get wet and started hollering "stop, don't, quit". I really don't know what she expected riding RB and not expecting to get wet. I really think she might have gotten physical if she could have gotten a hold on them. Oh, well! life goes on! We then went over to the old WB site, but it still looks the same as it has all summer long, nothing going on as far as a new attraction. I even asked a few citizens if they knew anything about any new attractions for next year. They all said they had not heard anything about it. So it looks like they are keeping it pretty hush, hush. We caught the Sons Of The Silver Dollar and Canaan's Crossing (which were a pretty good bluegrass-gospel group). We ended up getting tired of fighting the crowd and leaving about 3:30, saving our energy for another day.
SO YOU WERE THE ONES who unleashed the super-effective Hydro Cannon on my mom!!!!! Tell them good going, and I hope it happens again this summer... though I doubt it will be you guys if and when it does happen. :)