SDC's 2016 Project(s) and Park Developments

[History Buff]

^And they are the most extreme rides in the park!  I'm a hater of the frogs already, so I know I won't be getting into a dog.  Who rides frogs and dogs anyway?  That's just silly.  What's next?  Logs?

Oh yeah.  Never mind.

[joshblakebran]

My guess would be to provide another relatively cost effect ride for the kiddos in line with the fireman's theme. The ride does not take up a lot of space and looks nice in the area. My kids and nephews rode it multiple times and loved it. It didn't seem to bother them that it was basically the same ride as the frogs they had ridden earlier in the day. Remember, FL is intended for families and their younger kids not the teenage/adult, large coaster enthusiasts. To the intended audience, the dogs are another ride in the park which adds to their enjoyment...but that is just my guess.

[Dewayne]

Lol HB!  You are right, nobody can ride dogs or frogs, unless theyre small enough to not hurt a dog, or in a movie where they shrink to ride frogs. After all, other parks have a Space buggy and Bee version of the ride in their parks. Do we ride bees or Space buggies yet? No, but we have to accept it because its a ride and the kids love it. I just thought they could get different rides in there, instead of copying a ride they already have. We want SDC to be different as possible to other parks and also not have a copy of the same ride, in 2 different places in the park.

[MissinTheGreenTrams]

I am not bothered so much by the sameness. You can only do so much for kiddos in the way of rides before they become too adult. If it makes the kiddos happy, it makes the parents happy. If the parent is happy they are more willing to open the ol pocket book and spend spend spend!! Is it ideal to have the same ride? No. Is the crazy bus ride stupid? You bet! And think, they reused the balloon ride from our collective past and they already have that kind of ride. (Magnificent Wave is same just bigger scale) We are pretty excited. At least I am. Its about the memories made! If frogs, dogs, and logs (oh my) do that......

[sanddunerider]

If frogs, dogs, and logs (oh my) do that......

Like that.!    ^^

[Tmboote]

So, if we're going to see something new next year, when should we be hearing an announcement?

[Dewayne]

Id say pretty soon here. FL announcement was around Aug 15, 2014, and they said 1 or 2 weeks before that, that there would be a big announcement. GG shut down on about Sept 11, 2015. So, the longer we wait, the smaller the ride will be, if we get anything next year, and the less likely that we will get anything...But we could also start seeing construction starting for something really HUGE soon, that would open 2 years from now.

I think i saw the old Train robbery stage being torn down near about July 2012 ish...

[shavethewhales]

Outlaw Run started construction unusually early. They've been tending towards earlier starts across the chain in the last decade though.... they used to go to great efforts to keep construction from being visible to guests, but that hasn't really been possible since the start of the Christmas festival.

We haven't really been expecting much for next year based on the Dollywood coaster expenditure and the recent general pattern of the park's spending, but there still could be something in store for 2016. The latest time an announcement would be made is early November when season passes go on sale.

[Swoosh]

Guys, I hate buggin' you about this, but I'm pretty confident that nothing major will be added to the park next season. Now things might move around on the park's time schedule but I'm positive that 2017 is our year

[sanddunerider]

[ADMIN EDIT:]The following few posts have been split from a tangent discussion on the swinging bridge and merged with this thread

Looked that area over this weekend... NO indication yet of what is going to happen...  No flags, No chalk marks....   But get ready!  winter time is coming..!!

[Swoosh]

I just have a feeling that there will be 3 more kiddie rides in HDH next year.  I just don't see how the Swinging Bridge can remain.  I sure hope it'll stay. However between the rides and the rumored new expanded entrance to Sullivan's Mill, it doesn't look good.

[sanddunerider]

I just have a feeling that there will be 3 more kiddie rides in HDH next year.  I just don't see how the Swinging Bridge can remain.  I sure hope it'll stay. However between the rides and the rumored new expanded entrance to Sullivan's Mill, it doesn't look good.

I agree, I walked into HDH and there are easily 3 spots for added rides for the kiddies.....  I Hope you are wrong about losing bridge with new entrance..  But if it does happen, I hope we don't lose the water wheel also...   

This added work will probably change the looks of this whole area.... unfortunately..

[Gilligan]

I hope that doesn't happen.  Most of the time, I need a handicapped entrance, but I can get by without one when using a wheelchair, and I don't want them to change anything!!!  Especially, at the expense of changing the look of the park.

[Swoosh]

Just the tip of changes coming. We'll see how many of these changes come to fruition though.  They (Board/PTB) have lots of ideas, only a handful ever see light of day and become a reality.

[shavethewhales]

I'm still holding out hope that the mill rumor isn't something that will come to pass. Like always, it's a question of what is the "red line" that they shouldn't cross when it comes to damaging the old SDC character, and they've busted through that line a few times now, but this feels like kind of a big one.

I'm bad at noticing change. I didn't understand just how much has left the park over the past few years until some of the others on here physically pointed a lot of out to me on previous meetups. It's really surprising how much the guiding philosophy behind it all has morphed over the years. The park has always been constantly changing, but I do miss the little things that weren't a big deal but really made the place a unique city experience. It seems like the new philosophy is that if it can't be put on a brochure as a major attraction, it isn't worth keeping. Plus, like swoosh said, they now prefer to level things and start "fresh" vs. all the recycling and rebuilding that they used to do with old things.