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So what's the secret to getting to test ride during the soft open? Certain time? Day? Completely random? Know who to talk to?

I'm tired of waiting for the official opening but don't necessarily want to come all the way down from Springfield if there's not much chance of riding.

Does anyone know if any of the old set pieces or props for the older attractions still exist, maybe in storage or somewhere? Things like the diving bell set itself, the small sub that was in the lake, the video played on the screen in the diving bell, props from the float trip, etc. Or were all of these things dismantled or destroyed? If they're still stored somewhere at SDC, I'd like to see about getting a glimpse at them.

Yes, the theater directly across from Lost River. It probably was in the mid to late 80's. It ran for several years from what I remember.

Are the photos posted of the behind-the-scenes FitH still available somewhere, as well as a lot of the other photos posted before the site redesign? All of the links to the in the forums are now dead.

I just came across this site and, wow, it brings back some memories. Ironically, I found it on my phone today while waiting in line for the balloons in the new Fireman's Hollow area.

My family had season passes for over a decade starting in the late 70's. We visited SDC just about every weekend from Springfield. Most of the employees knew me by name. I literally grew up at SDC and knew it like my own backyard. I even proposed to my wife in the chapel. The sheriff came and kidnapped her, took her in there. I came in shortly after with a ring. It worked.

My first distinct memory of SDC, and in life really, were the moonshine pigs on the float trip. I'm surprised I remember that if it ended in 1980, making me four at the time. Although I also distinctly remember the Plunge opening and watching my older sister ride.

I didn't get up the nerve to ride Fire in the Hole until I was 9-10. That must have been after the broken track scene was taken down because I don't remember that. I did ride it 23 times in a row on a rainy Friday in the late 80's when we were practically the only ones in the park. The workers urged me on to break the record of 22 set by "Pappie" someone-or-other back in 1882.

Favorite places to eat - Mine restaurant (still is, cold pink lemonade in the tin cups, rising table) and Big Jack sandwich (I will miss you). Makes me remember the old star cave in the treehouse. Wow, just remembered the cave-in scene in the flooded mine, too.

When I saw several of the photos posted on this site of the Diving Bell, deju vu hit me hard. I remember rushing and pushing my way to the front center as a kid so we could crank the handles to fix the leaks caused by the rock collision and the dynamite.

And then there was that show in the theater across the street. It was the one in the haunted house. My favorite was the gag where the actor dropped the candle, extinguishing it, and then still "lit" up the upstairs room, causing him to break the fourth wall and laugh. Still funny the hundredth time. And the disappearing kids in the fireplace and under the tablecloth. And the talking bust who you could shake hands with upon exiting. Good times.

I'd be thrilled to go backstage and see a lot of the old ride props, the video from the diving bell screen, etc. if any of that still exists.

My six-year-old just barely got to the minimum height for the larger rides. Today was his first time riding Outlaw Run (in the front row), the Electrospin, and the Barn Swings. I tried showing him some pictures and stories of the old rides but he didn't seem too impressed. Here's hoping for some great SDC memories for him.