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[It's about time we got something fun started. I never started a "Where in the City?" thread, this year, so try this: give me some famous quotes (They don't have to be from the movies.), but alter them slightly to reflect something from our beloved park.]

It's about time we got something fun started.  I never started a "Where in the City?" thread, this year, so try this:  give me some famous quotes (They don't have to be from the movies.), but alter them slightly to reflect something from our beloved park.

"You had me at Howdy."

"We're off to see Doc Harris...Follow the Cardiac Hill."

"These are not the convicts you are looking for."

Surely some of you can beat those examples.

If Flooded Mine must go, what does its last season look like?  Is it advertised as "Flooded Mine's Final Season"?  Is there final season merchandise?  Special rides at Christmas (recall the candy mine)?  How does SDC pay tribute to Flooded Mine when it is gone?  Does Obama visit to pardon the prisoners?  Oops, sorry, that last one just slipped out.

WITHOUT DISCUSSING REPLACEMENT ATTRACTIONS, what would you suggest?

Wet 'n Wild Orlando: Universal Orlando to Close Water Park in 2016
Park officials announced Wednesday that Wet 'n Wild Orlando would permanently close Dec. 31, 2016. The park has been in business since March 1977.

With bigger brands in the area opening bigger, newer, more advanced parks, it looks like this old staple is closing its gates.

This topic has been moved to the Dollywood Discussion Board.

So, we can only wonder if and what Virgin's Sir Richard Branson might invest.  I just read about this in the Branson Daily Independent.

http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2015/03/17/british-billionaire-exploring-opportunities-branson/24927415/

Here's the link to his original blog post, which already sports a number of comments from the locals:

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/reuben-s-branson-the-original-entrepreneur

Discuss...

This would be awesome.  My daughter and I just finished a stint at Joplin Little Theatre with roles in the Christmas production, and now David (Scrooge) and Rachel (Ghost of Christmas Present) are returning home for a fundraiser concert on the same stage, performing songs from Steve and Eydie no less.

http://joplinlittletheatre.org/

A VALENTINE CONCERT

"HERE'S TO LOVE"

SUNDAY ~ FEBRUARY 15, 2015
2:30pm

Directed by Carolyn McGowan
Musical Direction and Arrangements by Cecie Fritz
Choreography by Angela Lowe

featuring  Branson performers and JLT alums
RACHEL and DAVID WALLACE
plus a company of JLT veterans

Highlighting love songs from the song book of
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

One Performance Only  ~~~  Reservations a MUST!
All Tickets $10.00

We visited the Dewey Short Visitors Center at Table Rock Dam, this morning, and even though the new facility is pretty, there is relatively little inside.  There is a great overlook of the dam, all the normal spiel about endangered animals and using sustainable materials, etc., a little hands-on room with animal pelts, snake skin, and the like, but all in all we felt like the old visitors center actually had more to see and do.  It's sad that they waste the opportunity (along with a lot of money) to present some really cool exhibits about the dam itself and the wildlife that benefits from the lake.  I understand their mission, but I can go to a retail store (Bass Pro) and get the same message in a much more effective and innovative way.  The old place even had a pretty good gift ship with appropriately themed items, but the new place has nothing - no shirts, no posters, and barely even a rack with conservation tracts.  Color me disappointed.

I don't get to Branson Landing on every visit, since it's basically just another mall, but we did get down there this afternoon to eat at Famous Dave's.  We watched the zip line that pulls people to the cliff on the other side of the lake ($25 per person for three times), walked past the little shooting gallery ($3), and noticed a new feature at the Belk end of the shops.  The Branson trolley driver told us it would be a tethered hot air balloon ride (though I imagine it will be a gas-filled balloon and not reliant on hot air).  He said it would have a 100-foot tower, so I guess it will be a prominent feature and will be visible from a long distant.

[ABCs of SDC]

Years ago, we had the ABCs of SDC.  Let's try something new - tongue twisters - for those of you who are so inclined.  To keep things organized, let's keep all alliterations alphabetical, starting with the letter A.  If you can write one - or improve on someone else's suggestion, feel free...but leave out crude remarks and profanities please.

Help with this one or submit your own (starting with A):

Alfie's awful actions accelerated...

History Channel:  Mad as a Picker
Premiere Date:May 07, 2014 - 09:00-10:00PM ET

Danielle and the guys kick it into overdrive when they land a high-profile custom pick for Dollywood, the theme park owned by legendary country music star Dolly Parton. A tribute to the Smokey Mountain Fire Patrol of the 1930s, the park's brand new roller coaster wouldn't be complete without some key pieces of vintage petroliana. And the team has just two weeks to uncover a long list of hard-to-find items.

TVPG

Upcoming Airings:

    May 08, 2014 - 01:01-02:01AM ET
    May 14, 2014 - 08:00-09:00PM ET
    May 15, 2014 - 12:01-01:01AM ET

[12 Fun Facts About Dollywood:]

12 Fun Facts About Dollywood:  http://mentalfloss.com/article/56324/12-fun-facts-about-dollywood

[I'll get the game started. I only have a couple of pictures, but we can still begin. If I run out, someone else can provide some.#1]

I'll get the game started.  I only have a couple of pictures, but we can still begin.  If I run out, someone else can provide some.

#1

As many times as I have ridden Thunderation - granted, I haven't been on it for a while with a 10-year-old who doesn't like coasters - when I finally got to ride again with my just-tall-enough son, I noticed a theme song for the ride.  I have never heard the song before this week.  Has it always been there?

This topic has been moved to Construction/Rumors.

[inside]

Paula Deen is opening her first post-"scandal" restaurant near Dollywood.  When I heard this, today, I thought they said inside Dollywood.  It would have been interesting, but I'm glad I checked it out before I posted it here.

Here we go, folks.  Let's create an intricate, virtual, textual tour of SDC (just to keep us busy).  If this works, it could be interesting.  In not, the thread will die.

Let's get started:

I exit the white parking tram on the right side, and the first thing I see is a large wooden building with a water wheel.  Two costumed characters direct me toward the ticket booth.  What else can be seen from this location?

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20131218/NEWS04/312180035/College-of-the-Ozarks-high-school?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p&nclick_check=1

The new book will be available, next week!  

Out of the Wind is a fictionalized account of real events, written for 4th through 8th grades (and others who are interested). The characters are not real, though some readers and good friends may find pieces of themselves scattered within the plot. It is not my intent to retell other people's stories or capitalize on their suffering, but to share the very real emotions and struggles experienced by thousands of our neighbors.

I needed to tell this story from multiple points of view, from different places in town, and from a small variety of age groups. To draw the reader into the experience, I also wanted to describe the tornado in present tense. It is a part of Joplin's story that has not been told until now, and for two years, I felt the compulsion to tell it. I hope I did it justice.

A short preview is on my hoggatt.weebly.com.

OK, it's time.  Kids Fest has seen its final year, and the Salute to the American Cowboy is rumored to be leaving.  Does anyone have any ideas for new festivals that perhaps the team at SDC hasn't dreamed up?

How about the Salute to America, including special weeks dedicated to American Kids, American Parents, American Teachers, American Veterans, American Farmers, and yes, American Cowboys?  This new festival takes place in June/July with special fireworks after dusk (shot from a platform in Lake Silver in front of the new fireworks factory?)

Your turn...