2011 Trip Reviews

Duelist · October 24, 2011, 11:40:10 AM

Saturday the 22nd review continued: After taking the pieces of cake to citizens my wife and daughter went to the Build a Bear to get a pink poodle and outfits for my daughter's birthday present. My son and I rode the Giant Swing and I asked one of the operators if they were building a new coaster in that area and he said yes they're supposed to start work on it in the winter. I asked if he knew what kind and he said no. So maybe we will get some kind of announcement in the coming months. After the swing my son and I went to ride Powder Keg which had a fairly long line but moved very quickly. We didn't hear any music playing including the theme song. We did hear the theme song playing on our September trip. After Powder keg I took my daughter on FITH again (her favorite ride) while my wife and son went to help Wildfire set it's record for a million riders in one year. Then we went to look at the Best of Missouri Hands exhibit and ate supper at the Rib House. After riding some more rides we went to the Hotel. The rides ended up staying open until 6:30 because of the large crowd. Sunday review to follow...

palallin · October 25, 2011, 08:50:56 AM

Tell your daughter Happy Birthday (a little belated) from me again. It sounds like she had a great time!

Duelist · October 25, 2011, 08:33:34 PM

Thanks Palallin. A few years ago she decided she'd rather go to SDC than have a kid's party at our house. That means another trip to SDC so I'm all for it!

jmc75 · October 25, 2011, 10:07:19 PM

I know this is off topic but did you order the cake at some point when you were down there in Sept. or do you call. I did not know that they did that.

Duelist · October 26, 2011, 06:07:06 PM

Quote from: jmc75 on October 25, 2011, 10:07:19 PM
I know this is off topic but did you order the cake at some point when you were down there in Sept. or do you call. I did not know that they did that.

Yes, we ordered and paid for the cake in September. We haven't tried ordering one over the phone but I'm sure they'd let you pay with a credit card like that. I think they may require 24 hours adance notice to prepare the cake. Well worth the price!

jmc75 · October 30, 2011, 12:00:53 AM

So I emailed customer service about the cake and they said yes and gave the number to call. Called today and was told they would not be able to do it and that they did not have the man power. I then asked how much in advanced they would need since I was hoping for the weekend coming up but will be down there thanksgiving weekend also. Again was told they could not do. I brought the fact that some had just picked one up and could not give an answer to that.
Did send another email to customer service needless to say was very disappointed by phone conversation.

sanddunerider · October 30, 2011, 08:53:38 AM

didja ask for names? or manager? i believe i would have asked for i.d. information and passed it on to PTB's,,

Thats Just Wrong!!

MissinTheGreenTrams · October 30, 2011, 12:01:49 PM

1.that is terrible you didnt get a cake. Its not hard to do and I dont see why they wouldnt have the "manpower" to do it as I can make a cake solo. Its not that difficult to do and doesnt take much time. They have giant ovens so it wouldnt take much space either.......

2. did wildfire get the million riders or does it go thru christmas??

Duelist · October 30, 2011, 05:44:37 PM

Quote from: jmc75 on October 30, 2011, 12:00:53 AM
So I emailed customer service about the cake and they said yes and gave the number to call. Called today and was told they would not be able to do it and that they did not have the man power. I then asked how much in advanced they would need since I was hoping for the weekend coming up but will be down there thanksgiving weekend also. Again was told they could not do. I brought the fact that some had just picked one up and could not give an answer to that.
Did send another email to customer service needless to say was very disappointed by phone conversation.

Wow! We've got one the last 3 years with no problem. It was a standard sized round birthday cake. We did order in person each time but they were very happy to take our order. IIRC the way we knew they did this was from an ad in the Pathfinder. Sorry to hear you're having problems jmc75. I'm sure someone at the park can solve it and get it done.

mhguy77 · October 30, 2011, 09:20:24 PM

QuoteI dont see why they wouldnt have the "manpower" to do it

They are cutting hours at SDC.

Also I would bet that showing up in person and ordering the cake makes it a lot harder to say no.

jmc75 · November 05, 2011, 11:42:54 PM

Alright so here is my review for going to the park today the 5Th and my birthday cake issues.
So after I called last week for the cake and was told no I emailed customer service just to let them know. We I received a email back from customer service with a letter from the food manager. Basically saying she thought there was a misunderstanding and they thought I wanted that next day. I know that is not what I said but either way she told me to call her and she will make it happen. So after we talked she promised me a cake for Sat. and before we left we had a cake and everyone kept apologizing to me for the missunderstanding. So all worked out I think they even tried to overcompensate with the pound of icing but it was very good. This is why I love SDC they seem to me at least fix what ever issue you have.
OK now to the trip to the park.
Got to the park about 1:30. The main parking lot was pretty full and talking with the parking attendant he was saying so for they were meeting expectations for the day. Got in the park and headed over to get a our 2012 season I was a little surprised was not to busy and after talking to the lady she was saying it was very busy earlier. Also she was saying that SDC was doing tickets different this year so they have to reenter all your info. Also the BAF tickets have completely changed as you might have read. You now get a a voucher that you have to take the voucher with your pass to the ticket window so they can compare the numbers on your voucher with your pass. The reason for this is because of all the people that are selling the BAF. Apparently she was saying they do not worry about the people giving the BAF away for free but its the selling of them is the problem. Also with that I did get a parking pass which was $18.00 apparently they are selling only 1000 of them and people had been buying them she said. They give you a ticket and then next year when you go the first time you will get a sticker for your car.Also did get a ornament for 2011.
The BAF in case anyone wants to know are these dates 12/1-12/30,8/6-9/16 except 9/1&9/2,7/21-8/5 after 6pm,6/2-6/10 and last 3/15-6/1 except 3/31,5/26,5/27.
After the season pass headed over to HDH for a little bit so my Son could run around a little bit. I have to say originally I did not think that place was big enough to keep ones attention for awhile but I have to take that back because we spent probably an hour there with Nathan was running around.
Left there for the flooded mine they had all the people with Santa hats on. Was kinda hoping for a little more but was still good.
After the flooded mine went to the riverside ribhouse for lunch food was very good and they also after my son told them it was his birthday some free cookies he was very excited. Just another reason why I like SDC. After a very filling lunch headed over to GG for the little one to use up some energy. After that headed over to Boatworks theater for the frosty show. Which turned very well, we were sitting towards the front and one of the performers came down to talk to the kids and started talking to Nathan well he mentioned how it was his birthday today and they told him when they call hem to come up and help put Frosty together. He loved it had the best time when he got done he turned around and gave the crowd a thumbs up which just cracked the crowd up.
After that headed toward the train but after seeing the line decided to try that next time we come down. So we headed up to the square to wait wait for the lights and the parade. We did stop in grandfathers mansion everything was working but one odd thing they had the heat on and it felt like it was 100 degrees on the main floor was very hot.
The tree lighting was very good as was the parade, we did see some people watching from the balcony of the hotel not sure who they were but how awesome would it be to watch from that spot.
After the parade headed to get the cake and then headed out ,all and all a great day at SDC.
Only had two issues I was standing in line for about 10mins in front of the popcorn stand by the square granted the lady seemed in no hurry not that , that was a big deal the issue I had was she never announced that the CO2 canister was out. You would think that maybe she would have mentioned that on occasion so the people that wanted a soda or something else did not have wait that long for nothing. The second is more of a parenting thing if you are there with a older child and see them just run over a smaller child please say something. We were getting off the carousel and exiting and some kid forearmed my sun to move him out of the way and the mom just stood there and smiled that just drives me nuts.
Anyway I know I rambled on in this one but we had a very good time as always.

jmc75 · November 06, 2011, 12:05:40 AM

Did forget to mention that with the season pass you get a coupon for 20% on one purchase over 20 dollars

How-doFolks · November 06, 2011, 01:31:58 AM

great review jmc75. thanks for the info on the parking pass.

sanddunerider · November 06, 2011, 05:22:06 AM

NIce JMC,, headed ther today.. anxious to see mainn strret and the lights tonite.. after all, it has been 10 months since OTC 2011!! LOL

jmc75 · November 06, 2011, 10:09:55 PM

One last thing I did forget to mention and thought this was interesting. I had with me my 50th annv. refill mug with me and as I was going to get a soda one of the citizens asked if I would like to trade it in for a 2011 OTC mug. I said no but come to find out she was hoping I would so she could have it. Apparently after last year all the extra mugs were gathered up and taken away so the chances of seeing any extra are very slim. Apparently some had taken hers. So keep that in mind for those who have one.