Messages

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Prime Rib at the Reunion Hall?

« on: November 16, 2022, 05:18:00 PM »

My family and I ate at Reunion Hall this past Saturday (11/12). Had the prime rib and ham. We were told it is open everyday starting at 3:00pm (2:00pm on Saturdays).  It is not listed on the app.  But there is a big ad in the Pathfinder paper.  Reunion Hall has Prime Rib, Ham, Fried Chicken Buffet.  The Mill has Turkey and the fixins Buffet.   Sadly, the Mine is still not open.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2022 Crowds / Trip Reports

« on: November 15, 2022, 11:53:07 AM »

Visited the City over the weekend.  Attended ACE’s Coaster Christmas presentations.  Gleaned the following information—the new ride is scheduled to debut in 2024.  Brad Thomas showed a picture of the new building and said (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that they are building the world’s largest Dollar General, and that more information would be announced next year.   So, it looks like we still have another full year to ride FITH 1.0.  Brad also mentioned the new property acquisitions.  He said they have “exciting plans” for the property but didn’t elaborate.  He did mention that by the time all is said and done that SDC’s real estate holdings will extend all the way to Branson West.

As I mentioned in another thread, other sources indicated that the investigation into the train accident has been completed, but the results have not yet been made public. Hopefully, we will hear something soon.  And you don’t have to worry about missing Grandpa’s story.  He was sitting on a bench in front of the depot when I walked by on Sunday and he happily told the story to me and my family.  It was really neat, even without the lights and music.

On a random note, the apple dumplings are only about a third of the size of what they used to be.  They are basically just a ring of apple wrapped in pastry.  I asked the worker at the stand if they changed the size due to the tasting passport.  He said, “no”.  They had to find a new supplier.  On the bright side, they tasted really good, just very small.

All in all it was a good visit, my only real complaint is the lack of bluegrass.  It used to be that they played Christmas music in a bluegrass style throughout the park during Old Time Christmas.  Now about the only place you hear bluegrass at SDC is if you go watch the Homestead Pickers (which I recommend).  Please note:  I’m not a huge bluegrass music fan.  But I’ve come to associate that style of music with SDC, and I miss it when its not there.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Train Crash?

« on: November 15, 2022, 11:29:42 AM »

I too have heard the rumor about putting "grandpa" on the the Tom and Huck stage.  But in the meantime, you can sometimes find "grandpa" sitting on the bench in front of the train depot (or one of the conductors standing nearby); and he is happy to tell you the Christmas story if you ask him. I got to hear it myself this past Sunday.  It was really special even without the lights and music.

Also, I heard that the investigation into the train accident has been completed, but they haven't released the results to the public yet.  So, hopefully we will hear something soon.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / How is Foggy Hollow/Harvest festival?

« on: October 13, 2022, 12:25:03 PM »

I've seen some video of Foggy Hollow, but I won't be able to see it in person.  Is there anything to it other than lights and theatrical smoke?  Also, does anyone know why Kent Rollins isn't there with his chuckwagon this year? I was going to try and make it down to see him again.    I tried some of his biscuits last year.  They were amazing.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Future Festivals

« on: December 29, 2021, 05:05:55 PM »

If College of the Ozarks still owns the lease on the land, that could be a major reason why SDC is alcohol free.  Personally, I like the alcohol free environment.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2021 Crowds/Trip Reports

« on: December 29, 2021, 04:51:36 PM »

On Saturday, December 4, they had over 23,000 on park.  The line to get in at opening stretched all the way back to paid parking. I was told this by one of the employees.

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Construction/Rumors / Re: SDC's 2023 Project(s) and Park Developments

« on: October 09, 2021, 07:53:18 PM »

Almost two years ago I ran into Brad Thomas at SDC.  I expressed my concern about the rumors swirling around FITH's impending doom.  He did not confirm or deny any rumors. But he reassured me that he understands how much FITH means to many of us.  Based on that reassurance, I can only hold out hope that FITH 2.0 will maintain some type of continuity with FITH 1.0. We shall see.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Opening Day!

« on: March 20, 2021, 04:27:55 PM »

Any chance you took a ride on the train and saw the land clearing going on behind Fireman's Landing? Is there any evidence to the off season rumor that something is going on back there?

Jay

Hey cowboy

Yes, I did ride the train. But I didn't even think about construction rumors until you just mentioned them.  I believe there was some stuff going on behind Fireman's landing, but I just wasn't paying close attention.  Sorry.   Hopefully, you can make it to SDC soon and give a better report on what is going on back there!

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Opening Day!

« on: March 18, 2021, 06:07:24 PM »

Two of my sons and I made a quick trip down to SDC for opening day.  After a wet start, the weather cleared and we had a beautiful day. The park ended up being a lot busier than I expected, given the mid-week opening and poor weather forecast.   I don't have any numbers, and the park wasn't even close to being full, but there was a 50 minute wait for Time Traveler at one point (they were only running 1 train).  Fire in the Hole, Powderkeg, Outlaw Run had 30 minute waits at various times.  I didn't check the wait time for Mystic Rivers.  Speaking of Mystic Rivers, if you are not a fan of the "shark joke" its not going away anytime soon.  They now sell shark teeth and a Mystic River Falls shark T-shirt at the kiosk by the ride.  I bought one of the shirts.  Go shark!

I had a fun conversation with one of the train conductors.  He got a chuckle that I knew who Ichabod was.  He said the park was hopeful that they would be able to get rid of the mask requirement by the end of June.  So, here is hoping for that.  I also had a good visit with Terry Wayne Sanders.

All of the rides appeared to be open at various times of the day.  I didn't notice any shut-downs on Mystic River once it finally opened.

The lines for food weren't bad.  It was great to sample Cinnamon Bread and the SDC made frozen lemonade. 

I only had two disappointments in the trip: 1. Since the weather was bad, they didn't do an opening ceremony on opening day.  I understand why.  But it was a bummer.  2  We hadn't received our 2021 season passes yet.  So, I called customer service to see what I needed to do before we came down.  Customer service told me that my 2021 passes had been printed and would be mailed soon. But our 2020 passes were  still good until June, so I should still be able to use the 2020 pass to get into the park.  WRONG! I got to the gate and I was told my 2020 pass was no longer valid, because my new passes had already been printed.  So, I had to go back to the ticket windows and get a 2021 pass printed out. Fortunately, there wasn't a huge line.  So if you have extended your 2020 pass, and don't get your 2021 passes before you go down, you might plan on making a stop by the ticket window.

All in all it was still a fun trip down to the City. 

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Going back to SDC

« on: August 18, 2020, 06:24:49 PM »

Made a quick trip to SDC over the weekend.  Had a good visit.  About 90% of the visitors wore masks. But only about half of those wearing masks had both mouth and nose covered.  Social distancing was non-existent in the ride ques, but it was pretty well followed in the shows, shopping and dining areas.  Waited in line for 2 hours to ride Mystic River. The big delay is social distancing on the rafts.  Saw several rafts go out with just 2 people in them.  It was a fun ride, the rafts move much faster than Lost River.  The drop was fun, but nothing to be afraid of.  I felt like I was going down a giant slide. The drop on American Plunge is much steeper.  I will ride Mystic River again, but I will probably wait until this Covid mess is over.  And yes, they do have cubbies in the station to store your bags. I thought the improvements to the bridge were well done.  Most visitors will never notice the difference, and those with strollers/wheelchairs will appreciate them.  They've moved some of the water features around.  And the little creek over by the knife shop wasn't running.  The Swinging Bridge was also closed. We were there on Sunday morning.  They moved the Church services to the Dockside theater for social distancing.  They've made some changes to the worship service that I'm not a fan of, but that's all I'm going to say about that.  All in all it was a good trip.  I'm hoping to go back down for Pumpkin Nights.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Fire In The Hole Bump

« on: November 16, 2019, 10:34:26 PM »

He also said that they recognize that many people view FITH as essential to the park.

When he said essential do you think he meant the ride itself or the history connected to the ride, or both?

I think he meant the ride itself.  We both discussed how many people really don't know the story behind the ride.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2019 Trip Reports

« on: November 16, 2019, 10:30:10 PM »

I counted 8 songs when I was there.  See my post above.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Fire In The Hole Bump

« on: November 11, 2019, 08:48:52 PM »

I had the chance to talk to Brad Thomas about Fire in the Hole. I expressed my concern about all the rumors I've heard surrounding Fire in th Hole.  He told that he is very much aware of how much this ride means to us.  He also said that they recognize that many people view FITH as essential to the park. This gives me hope that, whatever happens, FITH will return in some form.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: 2019 Trip Reports

« on: November 11, 2019, 08:18:25 PM »

Haven't posted in a while.  But still lurking.  Changing economics and family dynamics limit my visits to SDC to just once a year.  Just got home from ACE's Coaster Christmas at SDC.  It's such a well done event.  At any rate, I wanted to post the songs the new tree plays.
Carol of the Bells and Sleigh Ride are the only holdovers from the old tree that I can remember.  The other six songs are (in no particular order):
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joy to the World (different version)
Christmas Bells (Michael W. Smith)
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy (Gaithers)
Hallelujah Chorus

The new tree is very impressive. And I don't mind the modern music with the tree.  But hearing Dan Fogelberg singing "Same Auld Lang Syne" back in the Grand Exposition was downright jarring. If the PTB read this, please note, I will hear that song on the radio 20 -30 times over the next to months.  You know what I won't hear.....Christmas Bluegrass music.  That's what I want to hear when I'm at SDC.

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General Silver Dollar City Talk / OTC The day before Thanksgiving.

« on: November 09, 2017, 07:26:58 PM »

I know Thanksgiving weekend is crazy busy.  But how bad is the day before Thanksgiving?