Grandfather's Mansion Fire

[tinmann620]

Sad news, today, as there has been a fire, rumored at this point to be arson, that broke out around 3 pm.  If anyone has any more details, please post.  I left Branson around 11 a.m., today, or I would have been there taking pictures.  Hopefully this is resolved quickly & the damage is repairable!

[MudCat15]

My daughter and I were leaving today about that time, and they had the main Hill Road closed.  We went around and saw three fire trucks lined up but could not make out what was happening.  That is very sad.

[Joy]

OMG! We were AT SDC today! We never went near Grandfather's Mansion, so never noticed anything wrong. Even when leaving at the end of the day, didn't see anything strange, of course, the nearest we got to GM was... well, we did walk behind it on the way to the train at around 5pm. Didn't notice anything.

[jmc75]

Unable to find any info if this is true or not and the extent of damage if there is any

[shavethewhales]

Oh wow, I wonder how anyone would even be able to start a fire unnoticed with all the people who go through. I doubt it did much damage though, without a bunch of starting fuel I don't know that there's that much to burn in there, and it sounds like they got to it pretty quick. However, if it was in fact a larger fire and it did do some damage, I don't know how the park would even be able to open the mansion back up again without solving the ADA issue.

Fires tend to be bad omens for classic attractions...

[rubedugans]

NOOO.  I really hope something can be done and that it was only minor damage. Those pesky Baldknobbers need to be stopped! ( too soon?)

[Joy]

Well, there weren't a whole lot of people at the park. The number I overheard was over 9,000; that was in the late afternoon. So I suppose it's possible for GM to have been fairly empty at some point or another.

I hope it turns out to have been minor.

[Zephon]

The only thing I can report is that at the Echo Hollow show, a fellow employee asked me if I had heard anything about the false alarm fire call.  Sooooo....maybe there was no real fire.  But I don't know.

[sanddunerider]

I hope that is all it was zephon...

[Junior]

GM is a "classic" at SDC. I pray that nothing has happened here. I fear that if there is substantial damage, it might mark the end for this attraction, because, as we all know it has narrow hallways and a staircase, and is not easily accessible for some handicapped guests. Just a note for those who don't know, Grandfather's Mansion is the "upgraded" attraction that was initially known as "Slantin' Sam's the Miner's Shack." The playroom of GM is the original gravity house that was Slantin' Sam's. I remember as a kid that my dad had to have our passport ticket punched prior to going in to visit back in 1970. I have relayed a story on another thread about my old work buddy Kevin McPhail and his getting fired by Miss Mary when the upgrade work was being done to Slantin' Sam's. It was because he cut down a tree that Miss Mary did not want to loose. As an employee, I cleaned and swept out GM daily 1981-1983. It was prior to park opening, nice, quiet, cool, peaceful work prior to rope drop on Main Street. Wonderful memories about this attraction as both a child, and employee. I'm glad my grandson and I had a chance to go through the mansion in June when we were last there. He really enjoyed it. I was happy that he did enjoy it, just like I always have.

[DollarCityBoy]

Very sad to hear this news. I'm praying that it was a false alarm, or a very minimal damage. Classic attraction, that all of us know & love.

[DollarCityBoy]

This also really worries me. If indeed there was a fire that destroyed any part of the mansion, I fear that it will never get replaced. It will be be like the waterfall out front, that just got a wooden facade. They will just quick fix it for cheap. Worse yet, it there was extensive damange, the mansion might just sit there closed, just like Huck Finn's Tree Fort.
I really do hope that all this turns out ok.

[tiffanylynnt]

    I'm starting to get really worried. If this is true, I don't know how somebody could do that! And I'll cry forever if GM gets closed for good. Somebody find the whole story and QUICK!!   

[zachsmom]

This is my first post, wanted to let you know what we saw yesterday.

My son and I were there yesterday when this happened.  We were going to eat a late lunch at Big Jack and walked by GM to get there.  They had the area blocked off and asked us to walk around.  For some reason we thought someone had gotten sick inside, I can't remember if the security guard told us something that made us think that or if we just did.

While getting our food we heard and saw a fire truck.  After eating we walked back by, they didn't have the entire path blocked at that point just the section in front of GM, with the stairs.  We could smell smoke and my son said it smelled like fireworks. 

We kept walking and a few minutes later over heard an employee telling another guest that a kid had set off a smoke bomb inside GM.  Later I could see someone standing in the entrance blocking the way in but then noticed not long after that it looked like people were going in. 

So I'm not positive but it did look like it was open as we were leaving the park. 

[tiffanylynnt]

Let's all hope it was just a smoke bomb!!