Not in Miss Mary's Time! (MAJOR breaks in the SDC Theme.)

[Grapeslie]

You all make a lot of good points but luckily most of these things are minor. Silver Dollar City does their best to hide things but remember they are NOT a small park anymore! Its so easy to miss a few things. And most of the time, when noticed by management, it is hidden and or fixed. But when dealing with so many rides and buildings you're going to miss something. As far as employees with cell phones that is the employee not the park. They do their best but they can't be perfect. Like boxes of potatoes come on guys that's just being over picky! They are feeding a lot more people and sometimes its just not possible when you only have so much room. I agree I don't like the yellow water coolers but at the same time the employees have to have access to water and believe me most of them ARE hidden its just there are some places where there is no place to hide them. What I'm trying to say is SDC does an amazing job! And they do it with WAY less money than Disney! If something really bothers you at the park go and talk to management at the park they WILL speak with you! Don't just complain tell them what you would do to fix it. but considering the park sits on 100 acres these days a few breaks in theme isn't bad!  

[kldsad]

i love sdc and have no problem with the things you all mention.. i see them as minor things.. that being said when i return i will no doubt nit pick the way you all seem to.. makes me not even wanna go back..

[tiffanylynnt]

When we were in line for TNT, my friend noticed a yellow box on the wall. (I think it was first aid, or something like that.) He said, "You think they would make it look old fashioned."
So its not just the seasoned SDC veterans who are noticing things.

[sanddunerider]

thats a perfect example tiff..  if the newbies notice it, then you know it is out of place!!

[okiebluegrass]

I can understand something first aid related being extremey visible. AED and First Aid kits should be out where people can find them when they need them, so I excuse that. There are just an aweful lot of theme issues that could be easily resolved if they took the time to do it like Miss Mary would have wanted

[shavethewhales]

It was my thinking that the point of this discussion was not to simply nit-pic at every little thing that slips the theme of the park, but rather to note the shift in the park's emphasis on the overall park environment/aurora and how it impacts the experience. It's now simply a fact that SDC is no longer trying to emulate a living history village, the question is where does this actually become a deal-breaker to those who grew up with the old SDC and where does it actually begin to affect how much people are paying to get into the park.

I've noted before that SDC never seemed to have too many problems drawing huge crowds in the past even with high entrance fees and a low number of actual rides. Now the park is filling up with rides and they're having to do all kinds of budget promotions to get the crowds to come back, but these crowds don't seem to be quite the same... So is the loss of the storied SDC ambiance a major factor in all of that? How many people do you hear harping on about the 'feeling' of the city these days, other than talking about the shade and tree cover?

[cousin bubba]

When these are gone, I'm gone.
1. saloon show
2. train ride/show - hobo junction gone
3. flooded mine - changed, but i can live with if for now
4. rain maker - gone
5. street shows - almost gone
6. fire in the hole

[Junior]

You have seen my posts here about this topic...I feel very strongly about some of these things. I don't like the two broken down Coke refrigerators standing out along the wall of the barn along the railroad tracks (where the international food is being served for Worldfest). I have to say I saw many, many "Not in Miss Mary's Time" theme issues on my opening day visit, but on my visit for Worldfest a couple of weeks ago, I hardly noticed any. I know times change and big fans along the pathways going into the rides are nice, and that many people enjoy the concessions where they can make their own slush, and the concessions where they can pull a Coke out of a glass door refrigerator, but I'm still against those things. In my time on park many years ago it was DRILLED into us to "pay attention to detail." I bought into the fantasy that I was a "citizen" rather than an employee, and when I entered the guest area of the park in costume (not a uniform) I did my best to be a citizen of the 1880's. Sorry, I just don't like the exposed employee water coolers, the electric heater in the wall of Two Sisters Jewelry, the metal roll up garage door on the barn adjacent to RiverBlast (formerly called the wagonworks barn) and the cheap toys sold on park during Kidsfest. Don't get me started on the basketball game at GE, the airbrush artist, even the concession that sells Cardinals Baseball stuff. With a shorter winter season it is impossible to build a rollercoaster when no guests are on park, so everytime you ride the train you get to see construction equipment, trucks, backhoes, and so on. There is no way around it. All that said, NONE of the things I have mentioned would have been allowed in Miss Mary's Time. People would have been reprimanded, people would have been fired. SDC still has more flavor and atmosphere than many other parks, and is pretty good at doing what it takes to satisfy guests. If you did not experience SDC in the 60s, 70s, 80s or first half of the 90s, you probably don't get upset very much by the looser theme today. Shave is right, the park has moved away from being a living history or "Colonial Williamsburg of the Ozarks." Since people are not as interested in arts and crafts as they were 50 years ago, there are not nearly as many A&C's on park today. It's a theme park where they have got to cut costs and sell things in shops that people will buy, or they won't be there at all anymore. Designer clothes and assessories in the Valley Merchantile, and Dugan's being a ladies dress and costume jewelry shop...NOT in Miss Mary's Time! But that stuff sells today, so it is there. The management does respond to your feelings about all this stuff...when I was in Sullvan's Mill on opening day I heard the employees say they were happy to see many more "Made in USA" items in their shop, so if you are one of those vocal about that topic, keep talking to the right people, because it's working!

[Gilligan]

..I feel very strongly about some of these things. I don't like the two broken down Coke refrigerators standing out along the wall of the barn along the railroad tracks (where the international food is being served for Worldfest). I have to say I saw many, many "Not in Miss Mary's Time" theme issues on my opening day visit, but on my visit for Worldfest a couple of weeks ago, I hardly noticed any. I know times change and big fans along the pathways going into the rides are nice, and that many people enjoy the concessions where they can make their own slush, and the concessions where they can pull a Coke out of a glass door refrigerator, but I'm still against those things.  (Junior)

AMEN TO THAT, JUNIOR!!

[cousin bubba]

I've often wondered what Miss Mary would have thought about more roller coaster and less crafts. Don't tell me "that's progress" because at Silver Dollar City is ain't.

[clancomyn]

As a former living historian/interpreter with the National Park Service, this has been a very interesting thread to read, and a familiar topic. I worked for a decade with NPS doing small-arms and artillery demonstrations at the Civil War battlefield, and NPS was also very concerned about historical accuracy and policing historically inaccurate items at events. I was also reenacting in my spare time, and there was a very big difference between the two. (If you're wondering, a "reenactment" is a mock combat scenario, never done on NPS sites, while "living history" is usually some sort of demonstration of a period weapon, etc. These are NPS-speak.)

Being a historian by vocation (and avocation) I have to watch myself when our family goes to SDC. I have to remind myself that SDC is not a national park, but after reading this thread, it makes my heart my glad to see that at one time, there was a strong committment to standards similar to the ones we used in NPS.

Todd

[Junior]

I was in the blacksmith shop today...a floor fan made of plastic in plain view, a heater unit in a wall completely modern, no theming. AHHHHHH! You have already read my postings on the water coolers and fans in the open at GE. The absolute crap sold in Fiddlesticks Toy Shop, the Hospitality House, and Ozark Marketplace, it makes my stomach churn. However, it sells, and making bucks is what is all about. But adhering to theme and quality today is not like it was all those years ago during Miss Mary's time. Progress? Well, you be the judge. I know, they do what they do to generate cash, and if guests don't complain about theming issues, nothing will change.

[clancomyn]

We went to SDC today (the missus is a Mercy co-worker) and after reading this thread last week, I couldn't help but notice all of the non-period (in reenacting we would have said "farby") items in full view, as well as all of the modern items for sale, etc. Granted, with a four and two year-old, we spent most of the morning in the GE, and didn't even make it to the train, Flooded Mine, etc.

The ice cream parlor, though, was still very "period" to me, straight out of The Music Man. It made me wonder if SDC would ever want our Spanish-American War reenactment unit to come down and be the SDC National Guard company? 

T.

[zsc100]

This image speaks for itself.  I mean what maintenance person in their right mind would do such a thing.  The littlest effort here could've made the biggest difference.  A small floor standing halogen light positioned behind an in-theme crate.  Or even just making the effort to cover the feet and/or paint the stand camoflauge.  Pitiful.

[marolinesdad]

Yea.  Those things are everywhere for moonlight madness.  Even zip tied to parts of roller coasters.  The park was not made to be a night time park.  They would need to add a ton of themed lights to do this the rest of the year.