A Detailed Discussion: Food/Drinks

[U Smell Smoke]

Tell us more Junior. What kind of show was it?  What kind of menu did it feature?  Where did the people sit to eat?  I guess it did not go over well since it only lasted a year or so?

[Junior]

FROM THE 1983 SDC ENTERTAINMENT BROCHURE (Passed out with the Pathfinders once you arrived on park):
         "Evenings! Are really special at Silver Dollar City! A guide to Special Activities Beginning at 3pm"

         "BRAND NEW Echo Hollow Dinner & Show in a beautiful wooded setting."

         "Silver Dollar City is proud to present Echo Hollow, a spectacular Ozark showplace that
         delightfully brings hearty dining and festive entertainment together in a beautifully wooded
         setting. Dine from a country menu choice smoked beef, buttery corn-on-the-cob, baked beans,
         biscuits,and fruit cobbler. You can relax and savor our family recipies, because everything is
         served at your table! With dinner complete, sit back and enjoy a cast of over 30 characters
         and musicians telling a fascinating story depicting many of the true to life experiences of the
         mid-1880's. A non-stop celebration of songs, dancing, laughter and tears are all woven into
         an evening you won't soon forget! The admission to Echo Hollow is $7.95 for adults (ages 11
         and up.) with a Silver Dollar City passport, and $3.95 for children (ages 5-11.) Tickets are
         available at Echo Hollow or Silver Dollar City's front gate. Dinner begins at 6:00 sharp, so
         arrive early to insure the best seating! Don't miss this spectacular dinner and show nestled in
         a beautiful Ozark hollow!"

I'm sorry I cannot tell you about the show from a personal perspective. If I remember correctly, employees at the time had to pay for it, too. (I think we got some kind of discount, but it wasn't much.)You could get a meal at the Branson McDonald's back then for under $3.00...and admission to the park about this time was around $9.75. So the $7.95 price was too much for me at the time. From what I was told, the show was pretty good. This was the first dinner theater experience SDC put together. Down the road it would develop into a string of very successful DIXIE STAMPEDE Dinner Theaters! At the time, I was baffled as to how they could carve a theater out of a deep hollow, and wondered what Miss Mary would have thought about all those trees they cut down!

[Junior]

Check out the Flickr site. Photos of the 1983 cast of the new Echo Hollow dinner theater at SDC! Also a description of the new Echo Hollow from the 1983 SDC brochure.

                                    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan

[Junior]

People sat in the top area of Echo Hollow to eat, then moved down into the theater to be seated for the show. The food service was so-so. SDC never had cooked food in one location and carried out into an open dining area like Echo Hollow before, so that first year was an experiment for that, too. I'm told that the food was OK, but maybe not served as hot as it could have been. People also were upset about the extra price on top of their admission to the park. Attendance was so-so. The show was replaced and the dinner dropped completely for the 1984 season, which was the first year of the popular, long running, and FREE "Silver Dollar Jubilee" with Rodney Dillard and Jack McDowell as comedian Mercy Purvis. I think the SDC Jubilee show ran through 1991. Sorry for the three part answer, but I hope I've gone into enough detail for you...it took me a while to root through my files to find all the info and the photos I posted on Flickr.

[rubedugans]

I have several photos of EH with the tables that I will try to get posted this weekend as well.

[KBCraig]

Junior, your account of the "gentleman's agreement" is what I've always understood to be behind the early closing hour of the park. Branson visitors were "supposed to" spend the day at SDC, and the evening at SOTH or the music shows.

Well, it's no longer a 9-5 world. People want what they want, 24/7.

[U Smell Smoke]

Thanks for the additional information Junior.  You did a great job pulling all that together!  You and Rube never cease to amaze me.

[Junior]

Aw, shucks! :)That period of '78-84 was my time on park. I kept everything my employers gave me, costume reciepts, employee guidelines, brochures, maps, so I can tell you a lot about that slice of time. It was a great place to work, and I have always enjoyed visiting as both citizen and guest. The place has a lot of magic for me.

[joshblakebran]

Yah, that would be a bit more quaint than then the large echo hollow shows, and it would provide an activity for guests after hours, and it would also provide another source of income for the park. Dinner and a show...I would take them up on it.

That sounds neat but I would be very disappointed if the shows in Echo Hollow after park closing was cancelled for this...My family has enjoyed the GAC and would hate to see it cancelled. Plus, I like the fact that the Echo Hollow show is included in the price of the ticket...I would not be apt to spend extra dollars for the additional show when I have a family of six...

[rubedugans]

FOUND IT!!!!  From 1984 I believe. When opened, it seated 2,000 but was later expanded to 4,000 after the tables etc. were removed. Here is a view from the walkway at the entrance to Echo Hollow. Notice the many tables that now...are not there.

[Ozark Outlaw]

Wow, that is unbelievable picture you have there rube!

I had no idea that a dinner theater of sorts was offered at Echo Hollow until I read this thread. That is absolutely amazing. Notice not only the dinner tables, but how much the stage area has changed since then as well.

[Junior]

Good pic Rube. I do remember some of the Echo Hollow shows were well attended in '83, but many were not. They have done a good job of utilizing the facility over the years...it served well in it's capacity as a venue for the 50th anniversary stuff.

[joshblakebran]

This summer, I didn't see the homemade ice cream stand which is typically located in the area where the new Riverblast ride is located. I loved that ice cream. Does anybody know what happened to it?

[rubedugans]

I thought I seaw it, but I am going to have to remember where exactly that was... Anyone else think that or am I just making it up in my head?

[U Smell Smoke]

Great picture Rube!  Thanks for finding it and thanks for sharing. Now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing the homemade ice cream on my visits this year.  That doesn't mean it's not there though.