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As of now, I'm planning on renewing. I still love the park and feel like I get enough value out of it to make it worth the drive from the Chicago area. $100 isn't terrible at all for what you're getting, IMO.

That said, $100 for White Water is obscene.

Unfortunately there just aren't good options outside of Southern California and Florida.

At Dollywood he could do Blazing Fury, their new Dragonflier suspended coaster, the kiddie coaster, and Firechaser Express. That's probably about the most accommodating you're going to find unfortunately.

Personally I would postpone the trip until he's 48 inches or bite the bullet and head to Orlando or SoCal.

Lol, what? There are a couple things deteriorating on FITH, but mainly on the outside building. The ride is about the same as ever. Some of the audio comes and goes with the seasons. Some years they blast the soundtrack, other years they have had cricket sounds or other music.
I feel like sometimes people forget that FITH is an old ride, and it hasn't changed that much. What people think is "falling apart" was normal back when it was new. The scenes have always been campy, the track has always been bumpy, and it's always going to be musty inside. The real problem with the ride is that they are maintaining the building itself. There's a huge hole near the start of the ride that has been growing for the past several seasons. I'm sure when the lights are on you can see all the water damage...

I'm by no means an expert, but these are some things that I noticed (perceived?) during my rides:
-Lack of ambient music (particularly the second scene)
-Transfer track area between 1st and 2nd scene seemed larger and is covered by a curtain that I do not remember being as large or as obvious as it is now.
-Water shooting over riders not working (this one is understandable given the condition of the building IMO)
-Lack of bridge-out sound effect
-replacement of original fire effects with smaller, weaker-looking (IMO) flames

Along with the already noted deterioration of the building.

Some of those might be subjective, or might lack the nuance of people able to go several times a year, but my point is this: I've been riding FITH on and off for 14 years. I perceive a decline, and I don't think I'm the only one feeling that way. Yes, the building's in terrible condition, but I wouldn't say that's the only place a decline is happening. I don't think this is simply "well, the ride's just old" anymore. Just my two cents.

Just finished a two day visit for Moonlight Madness.

The good:
-I'm stunned that I still am able to find new details each time I visit
-I was impressed by the coaster operations! Not that operations have ever been bad, but they've never wowed me. The last two days, guests and ops were on the ball, trains were being sent out quickly, Powder Keg was calling out for Single Riders, everything was running two trains (albeit TT opened with one today, assuming a mechanical issue), and no stacking. Why more parks can't do that more often is beyond me.
-The Apple Dumpling stand was open! I don't think I've ever seen it open in Summer before.
-The Pickers and most of the entertainment
-Powder Keg was running better for me this visit than it has in YEARS.
-The fireworks show was great! As was the entirety of the Echo Hollow show, actually, a nice change from the last one I saw several years ago.
-Moonlight Madness hours/operational changes. Last time I did MM, pretty much everything in the park that wasn't a ride closed at 7. This year, everything stayed open til 8, then a few shops stayed open til 9 or 10 o'clock close. I thought this was a big improvement from ~5 yrs ago~

The ambiguous
-Taffy shop remodel. It's very nice, but feels like the designer thought he was doing it for Dollywood.

The bad/needs improvement:
-Reuben's. I'm happy they're doing an original show and the set was fantastic. That said, there were too many fourth wall-breaking jokes for my taste, the Reuben at the performance I saw wasn't particularly good, and there were some inconsistencies (i.e. A character mentions that they have trouble rhyming, but then rhymes flawlessly two minutes later in the musical number) that bugged me.
-Redone EH stage. I totally understand why they did it, but the old backdrop had character. The current one might as well be in any City Park, USA.
-FITH. See my post in the 2021 Thread.
-Lantern Tour. It's not that I didn't like it, it just played more like a ghost tour than anything promised on the website ("guide in themed costume" did not happen, to say the least).
-There's a bad jolt on Thunderation in the tunnel after the helix. It's very pronounced and painful now.
-Merchandising/computer snafu. STORY TIME: I went to use the 25% coupon I got with my pass for three items purchased at HH. I go to buy them and use the coupon-the employee tells me that the Marvel Cave DVD I want to buy is sold by attractions and that he can't ring it up for me. Weird, but ok. So I go the cave tour desk. I tell this employee what the previous one had told me. This guy rolls his eyes and said that the other guy absolutely could have and should have rung up the DVD with the other items.

So I assume that the first guy just didn't know and go to Guest Relations to get the 25% to also apply to the DVD. They call HH and assure me a manager is coming. This manager takes me to the Marketplace and tells the employee there to refund the DVD and then have me repurchase with the coupon. Ok, fine. But the Marketplace employee says that that's not going to work because it's a cave item, only the cave people can sell/refund/adjust it. Manager says it'll work and walks away. Marketplace employee tries, but the computer doesn't recognize the item at all. Marketplace employee and a few other employees try several things with the computer and make some phone calls. It takes awhile, but finally it works. Unfortunately, by the time it was all done, it was an hour of my day I will never get back.

It doesn't make any sense to me that the Cave DVD is an attractions item and not a general merchandise item, or that it could only be rung up in a particular place, but that seemed to be the case. Especially since one of the other items I purchased was a Marvel Cave book that was also from HH! I hope that at some point whoever handles SDC's IT needs fixes some of those weird little kinks in the system.

If they told you, they'd have to call the baldknobbers!

I finally got to ride FITH today and based on that, I'd say they need to accelerate their timetable. The condition of the ride was truly deplorable, and felt like a marked comedown even from last season. Still a lot of missing audio, new train whistle and "FITH!" for some reason (why?), and a ton of visible deterioration.

If you'd have told me ten years ago that Dollywood would put some TLC into Blazing Fury and SDC had let FITH rot, I would have never believed you or thought you'd gotten the parks confused somehow. I just don't understand the thought/rationale behind allowing the ride to even get to this point, what was once and I had thought to be still a signature ride.

I would have hoped for a Knott's style refurb, but alas, it seems like that's unlikely. Hopefully they'll do a fantastic reimagined version, but right now I have my doubts. And until this visit I hadn't really ever doubted the park before.

So what's the story with FITH? Is it definitely being removed? Probably? Is there a timetable?

Is there a thread somewhere that lays this out that I should peruse?

I've wanted to give Bluegrass and BBQ a shot for a long time, and due to my work schedule it looks like the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend are the only days I could go. Obviously it'll be busy, but I have a few questions for anyone who has gone to SDC during that weekend in the past:
1. Should I expect crowds to be on par with or worse than an average OTC Saturday in December? Imagining ride lines are longer of course.
2. Do the evening hours run roughly like Moonlight Madness (at least, the MM of a few years ago) where most things shut down around 7 and it's basically just the rides running until 10 PM?
3. Are there any notable food items for the festival beyond what I would expect (ribs, brisket, etc)?

Any insight is appreciated.

Just wrapped up a two day visit.

Loved the new signage that has popped up around the park!

Time Traveler got better each time I rode it. Going upside down sideways was a surreal experience. Great air on the first drop in the back of the train!

The reconfigured path from Time Traveler to the Frisco barn worked well. I was pleased to see a number of new food items in those booths too. However, yesterday around the time they made the call to shut the rides for the storm, I was dismayed to find almost no food stands open from Time Traveler to the Toy Store. I settled on Nachos from Elmer's minutes before they closed too. Has this become normal procedure? It didn't make any sense to me that they would introduce new menu items near a new ride and then shut them down at prime time for dinner. I've never noticed this before.

No lines for Outlaw Run the few times I was over there. I can't tell if I was lucky, its popularity has diminished, or if the location is too remote. I really think the park should try to connect the farm area to FITH or the Opera House if there isn't some issue with the terrain.

Train was most notable for a woman robber (!), and the fact that the script seemed better than the last time I did the train during the regular season, which must have been 2015 or so.

As noted, FITH and FM were a mess. FITH had working music and dialogue, but no sound effects; FM was just sad with no music and maybe half the targets working. Both are due for major TLC.

Took the cave tour to beat the heat in the afternoon today. It was a bit backed up because they apparently had been having problems with the train. When we were at the lowest point we were encouraged to go slowly because more problems had been reported, and we might have to climb back up. Luckily, whatever problems existed were resolved and we were able to take the train out. I wonder if they'll limit the cave tours to slightly less than 60 in the near future- sitting four to a bench was basically not happening in our car and where it did happen, it was often a struggle.

Now that I've ordered it several times over the years, and tried an "upgraded" version today, I must conclude that SDC's Cinnamon Bread just isn't for me. I'll stick to Dollywood's bread in the future.

Overall a great visit, and maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to make it down for one of the other festivals before the year is out.

Dropped by tonight as I came into town. The vibe is EXACTLY like the Fun Spots in Orlando. They were running a $10 wristband special, possibly because I came an hour before they closed.

Looked like a lot of great options for families with the two coasters running well enough.

I didn't realize that there was a relatively elaborate looking dark ride! Unfortunately it was closed.

Apparently they didn't scrutinize their music tracks well enough because one of the songs that played over the speakers was the uncensored version of Radiohead's "Creep." Whoops!

While I feel do feel bad for Cedric and the other musicians, I think this is the right move for the park. I certainly want the park to retain the talented musicians that give so much character to the park; however, I have always found Cajun Connection to be tired. I tried several times and maybe it was the music they were singing and playing, but more than any other group they always felt to me like they were coasting, as if their heyday was long behind them. I just hope that the park will make an effort to replace them; I would hate for them to be replaced with no one at all.

Truly sad that this is the case. Dollywood has been able to refurbish Blazing Fury recently, and while I wish they had kept the water splash, overall the ride was looking much fresher when I last saw it. I would hope they would see the ROI in reinvesting; Six Flags over Georgia and Knott's refurbed their signature dark rides to great success not that long ago, and it would be short-sighted to not consider doing that during an off year. I think they might be surprised at how effective it can be at reviving interest in the classics.

While I would still recommend heading to Outlaw Run first, you should be aware that Outlaw Run has trouble getting up in the morning and probably won't start going until the park's already been open for about 20 minutes.  This is based on last year, so it may be a bit better now, but I'm seeing the same sorts of delays this year at my closest park, Six Flags Great America, with their new Goliath.

Powder Keg should still be manageable by the time you get done with Outlaw Run.

In the last twelve months, I have visited Branson three times and Pigeon Forge twice.  What can I say, I'm a Herschend groupie apparently.  Prior to that I had visited both in 2005. 

There's a huge difference between the two areas now.  Pigeon Forge is thriving, and feels alive in a way that Branson simply does not right now.  Of course, Pigeon Forge benefits a great deal from its location, but in 2005 they seemed similar to one another and now there is a stark difference.  As a 24 year old, here's my thought process:

1. Restaurants.  Pigeon Forge and the surrounding area have tons of touristy places, sure, but there's a lot of food around, whether it's chain food or good independent places.  In Branson, there seem to be fewer restaurants and options.  Maybe there are more in downtown Branson but by the strip they're lacking.  A few touristy places seems about it.  There's hardly even a chain restaurant around.  Every time I'm out of SDC it's a constant struggle to figure out where to eat.

2. I don't understand the demonization of beer and casinos going on in this thread.  Some of you apparently think that either or both will automatically result in tons of drunks or neglect.  I'm not much of a drinker, but in my experience that's not the case.  I know several people who would be drawn to microbreweries churning out quality product.  I like them too because even if I don't want a beverage, they usually have good food in my experience. 

One casino does not mean the area will turn into Vegas.

3. It's amazing that a city as show-dependent as Branson doesn't have a headlining concert venue.

4. There's no main draw.  Every tourist trap (I love Branson, but let's face it...) has one or one type of main attraction.  Wisconsin Dells has waterparks, Orlando has Disney, Pigeon Forge has the Smokies...what does Branson have?  SDC, nature, and a lot of shows that don't appeal much to the younger demographic.  I don't know what this attraction would be, or even if one can be organically developed to the area, but there's no "hook."  SDC is an amazing place, but I've had a hard time explaining to people what it's really about.  Whereas I don't have to explain to them what Six Flags or Cedar Point is about.  And if they're not interested in Silver Dollar City, or nature, or the shows, what is there to offer them?  How do you get them to the area?

Where is the hi-striker?  I'm having a hard time telling where it is from the picture.