Topics

1

Construction/Rumors / Shopping survey

« on: June 24, 2024, 08:21:17 PM »

Just filled out an interesting survey from SDC. This one was focused on shopping.

It began by asking the last time I visited/how much I enjoyed or considered visiting the following destinations:
SDC, Disney Springs, Disneyland, Busch Gardens VA, DCA, Universal FL, Universal City Walk FL, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios FL.

I found this an interesting grouping of shopping districts/parks to ask about. Then the survey just got more specific to SDC asking what shops I visit, what motivated me to buy something, asking about what is important to me for the retail experience, the last thing I bought, etc. There were also specific questions about what retail experiences I feel are missing and also what could SDC remove without the overall experience declining.

Obviously SDC is looking to make some changes to their shopping and retail experience with this survey. The inclusion of Disney Springs and City Walk make me think that some of their questions were related to the upcoming (likely) SDC resort and shopping options they may or may not include with that resort. The Busch Gardens inclusion in the survey is the most random to me but that’s also the park I’m least familiar with having never visited.

Either way, interesting survey.

2

General Silver Dollar City Talk / SDC Launches New Online Store

« on: November 14, 2020, 10:58:28 AM »

https://silver-dollar-city.myshopify.com

SDC just launched a new online shop. It appears to be a limited selection of some handmade crafts and 60th anniversary merchandise. I'm sure that the offerings will increase if the shop is successful, or depending on how the COVID situation progresses.

3

General Silver Dollar City Talk / SDC Sets Attendance Record

« on: January 03, 2018, 02:12:57 PM »

http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Silver-Dollar-City-rings-in-new-year-with-2017-attendance-record-467731443.html

SDC had more visitors in 2017 than in its entire 58 year history. I found two things very interesting in this article. The fact that almost 25% of the visitors for the ENTIRE year came in November-December for the Christmas festival is amazing. I think we can all say that Christmas in Midtown was a resounding success. The other thing from the article I found very interesting is the quote from Brad Thomas. He calls SDC a resort destination. I find it interesting because SDC is not currently a resort, but I find it telling that he uses the word to describe it. I wonder just how close we are to seeing SDC become a true resort with a hotel onsite.

4

General Silver Dollar City Talk / 2017 Trip Reports

« on: March 15, 2017, 01:44:38 PM »

Happy Opening Day 2017! A new year of fun brings a new year of trip reports. Please share your SDC experiences/pictures for the entire 2017 season here.

5

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Heroes Month

« on: August 30, 2016, 07:38:52 PM »

http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/Tickets/TP-Special-Offers/Heroes-Month

SDC is offering a free one day admission ticket to all first responders and military personnel during September, with a discounted ticket to family members. I think this is an awesome thing for SDC to do and I don't know of any other theme park who offers this. Makes me proud to be an SDCFan.

6

General Silver Dollar City Talk / 2016 Trip Reviews

« on: March 12, 2016, 03:18:07 PM »

Time to get this started for the 2016 season! Tell us about your trip experiences good and bad, changes you notice at the park, etc.

7

Branson Talk / Stone Hill

« on: March 06, 2016, 08:28:14 PM »

Some news for all you wine drinkers out there. We were in Branson for the weekend and we went to Stone Hill Winery for the free wine tasting. They told us that by late July to early August they will be transitioning from Stone Hill Winery to Curling Vines Winery. There was an explanation for it, that I don't remember every detail of (sorry). Something to do with one of the owners of Stone Hill currently, wants to branch out into his own brand. Along with the name change and new wines, they will also be adding a moonshine distillery museum at the current location. They said the owner has a personal collection of over 100. The museum will be a separate admission ticket.

They said more details will be announced soon.

8

Other Parks / Disney's America

« on: March 02, 2016, 06:28:37 PM »

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/america-almost-had-a-disney-theme-park-with-a-slavery-section

I found this article to be really interesting. I had heard of the park concept before but I had no idea of the backstory behind it all. Hearing the other side to the story, with it being so close to Civil War battlegrounds does seem odd and probably a good thing that it never worked out. I've gotta admit, I love that concept art though. Makes me wonder if this concept (while drastically adjusted and re-worked) could work as a 5th theme park at WDW.

9

Random Talk / Star Wars Episode VII

« on: October 20, 2015, 10:19:45 AM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE

Alright, who saw this and who is PUMPED?! This movie will make the most money of any movie ever made, guaranteed.I'm so excited to see it.

10

Dollywood Discussion / Interesting Article

« on: June 30, 2015, 05:34:46 PM »

http://mashable.com/2015/06/30/dollywood-30-years/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner

Found this to be an interesting article.

11

Branson Talk / New Show

« on: June 28, 2015, 11:07:49 AM »

Found a new show the other day. It's on the REELZ channel, called "Branson Taxi." It follows the owners of the taxi company in Branson and their adventures. I actually found it pretty entertaining. It paints a pretty positive picture on Branson. I think there have only been two episodes so far, they were both pretty good.

One episode was about them trying to beat the traffic on the strip to get a bunch of people from the Landing to the Clay Cooper theater on time for the show. I think we can all sympathize with and understand the frustration of that traffic on the strip!

http://www.reelz.com/branson-taxi/ 

12

SDC Memories/ Park History / What Would make Miss Mary Smile?

« on: June 11, 2015, 06:21:27 PM »

Switching gears here a bit. As promoters of our beloved SDC I feel we are often far too negative about our haven in the Ozarks. Almost every thread has a negative comment about the PTB and how they don't really know what they're doing with the park's theme. When in my opinion, I think SDC has done a pretty good job staying true to its theme while also doing what they have to do to compete in the industry. Yes, there are things I gripe about but all in all I think the theme is still there.

With that being said, onto the topic. What about SDC today would make Miss Mary smile? What would she be proud of in regards to the park? Is there anything at SDC today that she would have done if she were still with us today? I find it hard to believe that every single new addition to the park would be frowned upon and we are able to say "not in Miss Mary's time." So SDCFans, let's discuss the positives of the park's theme we can find today. 

13

Other Parks / Blackfish Movie

« on: November 26, 2013, 01:00:09 AM »

Hi everyone, long time no talk. I'm on Thanksgiving break, finally with a little bit of time to sit down and catch up on my favorite SDC website. I'm posting this here because it has to do with all the Seaworld parks, not just the movie. There are reports that Seaworld's attendance has actually dropped since the release of this documentary, and that does not surprise me at all.

One night at school I caught the middle and towards the end of the Blackfish documentary, a movie about the treatment of killer whales in the Seaworld parks. It sparked my interest and I wanted to watch the rest so my girlfriend and I rented the movie and watched it from the beginning to the end. Let me just say, it is eye opening! As someone who has been to all three Seaworld parks and loved every visit, I found it shocking the things that the company has hidden from both the public, and its trainers.

After watching the movie, I have come to the opinion that Seaworld could still make a great profit by opening sea pens, out in the ocean for their orcas to be viewed and marveled at. I feel a killer whale is just much too powerful of a creature to be kept in a concrete tank after watching this documentary, I guess I was naive. Opening sea pens would allow both the company to continue to make a profit, but also allow a killer whale to live its life in an ocean environment. I feel this especially needs to be done for the whales who have lived their life "in the business."

Anyway, if you haven't seen this documentary, I HIGHLY recommend renting it and spending an evening watching it. If you have seen it, please post your comments, thoughts, and opinions here. I'd love to hear them.

14

Other Parks / MOVED: Did you see this yet?

« on: July 27, 2011, 03:40:54 PM »

This topic has been moved to Dollywood Discussion.

http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=1701.0

15

Other Parks / Shamu, Mickey Mouse, & Harry Potter!

« on: July 12, 2011, 12:11:24 AM »

Sorry for this late trip review but I haven't had much time on my hands lately. Orlando was AMAZING. I love everything about it and I always find myself not wanting to leave and saying I could spend a lot longer than a week there. We got to visit Seaworld, Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney, and Islands of Adventure.

Seaworld
Seaworld is always a fun place to visit but just as I worried, they are all pretty much the same. I wish I could have done the waterpark, Aquatica, but it just didn't work out that way. All the rides at Seaworld are really great. Manta and Kraken were simply amazing! I had never rode a "Superman" coaster like Manta before where you lay down, but boy, was it an experience! The first drop felt like I was diving. Journey to Atlantis was also a very fun ride, but the wait was extremely long! Over an hour. Luckily, the ride is long and technologically advanced enough that the wait was worth it.

The shows at Seaworld were also amazing as always. The sea lion and sea otter show was cheesy, but entertaining. I also noticed they no longer allow the trainers into the water with the killer whales. No doubt stemming from the accident which occured at Seaworld Orlando a few months ago when a trainer was killed by a killer whale.

I guess my one complaint about Seaworld was that we had to pay for a locker for any ride we went on. At Disney and Universal, this was not the case. Also, the Sky Tower should be free with admission for us cheapos 

Magic Kingdom & Downtown Disney
Wow, I love Disney. I love everything about it, and it killed me not to experience all the parks like I was so fortunate to be able to do on my last trip. We only got to spend about 5 hours in the Magic Kingdom. And we made them count. We got to ride many of the classics (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain) and also got to see the night parade. However, we missed the fireworks because we thought they were at midnight, but they were actually at 10, whenever we were still in line for Space Mountain.

Every nook and cranny in a Disney park just has such charm. It is so hard to put into words. The Imagineers really do put so much thought and research into each new addition, however small it may be. They are currently expanding Fantasyland and taking out Mickey's Toontown USA. It looks like a huge expansion, and I wish it would have been finished while I was there.

Islands of Adventure
The first thing we did when we got to IOA was of course, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And WOW. Being a Potter nerd, I was in for a treat. It is quite an experience, one that must be seen to be believed just like Disney. Everything is in tune with the books and movies, and I felt like I was in the movie. Everything is so well themed. Butterbeer was amazing! (Ended up spending 15 dollars on Butterbeer alone!  )

But the must do attraction was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It is the single best ride I have ever experienced, beating out the Tower of Terror at Disney. It was so REAL, and so technologically advanced. I can't explain it. Amazing amazing ride.

After spending over almost two hours in the Harry Potter world, it was time to experience everything else IOA had to offer. And it has a lot more to offer. Jurassic Park, superheroes, Toon Lagoon (fun, fun water rides), I won't get into all of it because it is so much, but it was all such an amazing experience.

All of Orlando was. Amazing week with so many memories made.  Thanks for reading everybody.