SDC's 50th Anniversary - 2010

[Coaster]

^That would also be a good idea seeing as my idea is very far fetched. It is pretty cool seeing the ride artifacts from Buzz Saw Falls on Powderkeg.

[History Buff]

The Interactive History of Silver Dollar City could be located near the Hospitality House.  They seem to be able to get away with selling 21st Century items there and breaking with the theme of the rest of the park.  Since the history would be an acknowledgment of the history, it's unlikely this would happen.  It's like admitting that years have passed when SDC is supposed to be that rich snippet of the late 1800s.  If time doesn't pass in the park, how is it to have passed for the park?

My vote is for a more humble acknowledgment:  an updated "super" waterclock in the entrance area.  A sculpture and water feature with lots of movement.  The whole area there could envelope the visitors as they wait in line at the turnstiles - like the leaping water sculptures at Epcot.  It would be SDC's anniversary gift to visitors and to itself - something that would actually be enjoyed before you actually scan your ticket (kind of like how the long green tram is a free ride before you ever get into the park).

[sdcforever]

^I had thought of that paradox too.  How do you acknowledge and celebrate a past for a place that has an 1880's theme and remains static in that time period?  Some sort of display before you actually enter the park could work, I agree.

An updated/upgraded water clock would be cool.  I have read that it is the only one of its kind.  I'm not sure if that's true or not.  And someone mentioned that they think it used to have more movements than it does now.  I agree; I think it did have more movements when I started visiting SDC in the late 80s.

[Copper]

Dollywood and Stone Mountain Park (Crossraods) all have water clocks too. Each water clock is unique in its own way.

[History Buff]

I agree.  I think it had more movement.  I'm pretty sure it's just a regular clock now, not dependent on any special "works".  Maybe it never was, but it sure seemed like it did.  Also, there for a while it would advance a year - when they decided they should go "Victorian" and stay exactly a hundred years in the past.  That didn't work, thankfully, and the clock was reset to the current time where it has remained ever since.  It would be nice to have pictures of the clock in its prime.

I wonder what Old Guy might be able to tell us about the Waterclock...

[Joy]

Well, here's a picture I bought on Ebay of the area before the clock was put in:

http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd129/sdc_joy/Personal%20SDC%20Collection/Pictures/?action=view&current=S6300250.jpg

And here's a scan of a postcard (yes, bought on Ebay) of the clock back before they had built what is now the Guest Relations building:

http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd129/sdc_joy/Personal%20SDC%20Collection/Postcards/?action=view&current=S6300247.jpg

You can click on both to make them the original scan size.

~ "Becky" Joy ~

[Coaster]

^Thanks for the pics Joy!

The area looks very bare in the first pic and it looks very pleasant in the second. I think it'd be good if they built another waterclock with better effects.

But I still think a SDC type museum would be really cool! Oh well, it's probably not going to happen.

[sdcforever]

Great pics!  Thanks for posting them.

The area does look bare in the first pic.  But it also has a more natural look and feel, like it blends more with the rustic setting of the park.  It's cool how they made the clock fit the area; they really didn't have to do much, just install the clock.

[Joy]

I've got another idea for the anniversary...

They should make a deal with the studio that owns Beverly Hillbillies and release a special edition DVD set that includes all the SDC-themed episodes, including any of the eps that feature Shorty, Shad Heller, and the Frogman story arc (which features the twin brother [played by the same actor] of Matthew Templeton, the guy who Granny tries to hook Ellie up with at SDC).

And maybe make a documentary about the behind the scenes of them filming at SDC; do some background of why Paul Henning wanted to do it, and what-not. Maybe even address the confusion about where the Clampetts are actually from.

~ "Becky" Joy ~

[sdcforever]

^That's a good idea.  IMO it's a win-win for SDC and Paramount (they own the video rights).  Paramount gets exposure of the Beverly Hillbillies with SDC's help and SDC gets exposure with the help of the Beverly Hillbillies.  It could be a very successful ad campaign for both sides.     

[Swoosh]

FYI: The Beverly Hillbillies car is over in the museum at College of the Ozarks, which is nearby.

[Coaster]

Well, I am about to resurrect a very old thread. This should be a moderator no-no but it fits the topic too well.

As I was reading in a different thread about the old path that used to sit behind the SDC waterfall, an idea came to me of a simple thing that SDC could do to celebrate their 50th anniversary. It'd be great if SDC could come out with a book that has questions from visitors about where the park has gone in the 50 years. This could be a book similar to that of The Story of Silver Dollar City.

Questions like:
Why was the path behind the waterfall removed?
Why is the cave in American Plunge no longer a cave?
How many spots of Marvel Cave are still believed to be unexplored.
Etc.

I would find this book very interesting and a must have.

What do y'all think?

[themeparkguy]

Sounds good- I just hope it is better written than the History of Silver Dollar City Book- what a difficult read.

[Copper]

Nice idea. There are some things people wouldn’t find that interesting… one reason that you can’t go under the waterfall is that the fake rock needs a lot of work (Fornicating behind the waterfall isn’t a good thing either)…. The American Plunge tunnel was to replace the old crumbling fake rock and because of a small budget wasn’t replaced with a more deserving cave. Some things aren’t that interesting… maybe they are?

[Coaster]

^Yeah, I actually already knew the answer to both of those questions I put up there. 

But, there are a lot of other interesting things people might like to know. I know there is a lot of things I wonder about. I just couldn't think of anything great at the time.