OTC 2014..What do you think?

[Bogart]

Regarding the timing of food vendors closing, I bought dinner at 8:15 Saturday night and the lady said they could make anything on the menu for me. I was at Hatfields tater patch.

[Gilligan]

All good comments!

TREE: I thought I was tired of the tree, also.  But, I didn't get to see it last year, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it this year. 

PARADE: I liked the parade more than I thought I would.  Rudolph in the car didn't impress me, but I really like the additional floats and the tall walking candy canes, ornaments, etc.  It added a missing bit of humor to it.

SHOWS: Swoosh, thanks for the update on the saloon show.  I'll check it out Thanksgiving.  I was getting tired of Dicken's until I saw A Christmas Carol at the Fox Theater a couple years ago.  We were so bored, we walked out before the ending.  AND, I didn't like It's A Wonderful Life at all the first time I saw it, BUT, I saw it this year and loved it!  Maybe I wasn't in the mood the first time, or they made some changes, but the Hubs liked it, also.

LIGHTS:  Are there fewer lights this year?  The entrance trees has only white lights.  I loved the colors they had in previous years.  And, are there fewer lights in the Grand Expo area?  There didn't seem to be as many during the 5K, or were they just not turned on?

 

[Swoosh]

The only area with fewer lights this year is down by the construction site for obvious reasons. In fact there are areas with more lights than normal.

[Swoosh]

I would imagine that new more intricate patterns on the tree would require a physical upgrade compared to just computer programming.  The lights are on the tree in blocks. Just like pixels on a TV, each pixel (or block) can be lit individually.  I'm not sure that anything smaller than the squares on the tree could be lit to a pattern without upgrading the tree to much smaller squares.

It's a grid.  They could easily go more complex.

[shavethewhales]

It's been noted that the new LED's that are slowly being rolled out across the parks (both SDC and DW) are noticeably less warm and while apparently being brighter at the light point, somehow don't cast light as far. Hopefully some new techniques will roll out to correct this over the coming years as lights continue to get replaced, but it's just something we'll have to live with. The park isn't really doing anything differently. There's also some issue sourcing certain colors of lights, which seems to be a national issue. I don't know if it's a manufacturing thing related to the LED's or what, but it's hard to come by certain colors of lights. That's one reason why there are more random neon colors in certain places and less of the "classic" color patterns.

[runner1960]

I would not mind seeing Rudolph done as a major production next Christmas.

[Bogart]

I would imagine that new more intricate patterns on the tree would require a physical upgrade compared to just computer programming.  The lights are on the tree in blocks. Just like pixels on a TV, each pixel (or block) can be lit individually.  I'm not sure that anything smaller than the squares on the tree could be lit to a pattern without upgrading the tree to much smaller squares.

It's a grid.  They could easily go more complex.

I understand it's a grid.  My point is you can't reprogram a 720p flat screen to display 4k video just by rewriting the code.  The grid on the tv is not small enough or compact enough to do it.

Of course I don't know anything about the actual tech involved with the tree so I'm just expressing thoughts based on what I've seen.  I hope than can do more complex lighting.

[mhguy77]

On topic by 50% I went to get the ornament the night I was there at the park and check on the new passes possibly order them.  In the schoolhouse there were 3 ladies behind the counter.  1 was doing nothing at her register but paperwork and the other 2 were slowly processing passes.  I stood there for 25 min and was 3 people back in line when I got there.  The end result was frustration and lost interest in the situation and I walked.  I would hardly think I am the only one that isn't interested in using more than 30 min of my evening at the park waiting to get  a free ornament and simultaneously shelling out $200 for next years passes.  I expect better service than this at SDC.   This needs to be sped up.   I did not understand why they were asking every question for every person and these people appeared to be current pass holders.  Why the system would not allow them to scan the bar and then confirm that no info had changed.  Instead apparently they have to confirm each bit of info for each pass purchased.  Very slow, I lost interest, if they are going to give away ornaments don't make me wait in line for 30 min to get one.  Do this at 2 or 3 park locations.

[biscuitcreek]

FYI -- I didn't say ALL food vendors closed at 7:30 on Sunday night but there are ones that were closed -- Jim Owen Fish Camp, Riverside Rib House, Elmer's Frankfurters, the refreshment stand by the Opera House that sells the big cookies, many other stands in the back section of the park.

If the park closes at 9 or later, why can't there be a show or 2 that starts at 7:30? Doesn't have to be one of the hour long productions. Talked to one woman who had attended the last Cajun Connection show of the day. She was in a motorized scooter. She wasn't exactly sure what to do while the rest of her family was off riding the rides.

There are areas besides the construction zone that do seem darker than in previous years. Maybe it is my faulty memory but I thought there used to be more trees that had lights.

I do think the ornament/season pass process could be improved.

[Ozarks Gal]

On topic by 50% I went to get the ornament the night I was there at the park and check on the new passes possibly order them.  In the schoolhouse there were 3 ladies behind the counter.  1 was doing nothing at her register but paperwork and the other 2 were slowly processing passes.  I stood there for 25 min and was 3 people back in line when I got there.  The end result was frustration and lost interest in the situation and I walked.  I would hardly think I am the only one that isn't interested in using more than 30 min of my evening at the park waiting to get  a free ornament and simultaneously shelling out $200 for next years passes.  I expect better service than this at SDC.   This needs to be sped up.   I did not understand why they were asking every question for every person and these people appeared to be current pass holders.  Why the system would not allow them to scan the bar and then confirm that no info had changed.  Instead apparently they have to confirm each bit of info for each pass purchased.  Very slow, I lost interest, if they are going to give away ornaments don't make me wait in line for 30 min to get one.  Do this at 2 or 3 park locations.

We had the same experience the past two years (haven't been down yet this OTC).  At the very least they could do one line for just ornaments.  I feel like I'm wasting my night by standing in line for 30 minutes or more just for a free ornament.

[cheesehead57]

Homestead Pickers have a show around 8-8:15 PM.. I think it's the latest one in the park.

[runner1960]

On topic by 50% I went to get the ornament the night I was there at the park and check on the new passes possibly order them.  In the schoolhouse there were 3 ladies behind the counter.  1 was doing nothing at her register but paperwork and the other 2 were slowly processing passes.  I stood there for 25 min and was 3 people back in line when I got there.  The end result was frustration and lost interest in the situation and I walked.  I would hardly think I am the only one that isn't interested in using more than 30 min of my evening at the park waiting to get  a free ornament and simultaneously shelling out $200 for next years passes.  I expect better service than this at SDC.   This needs to be sped up.   I did not understand why they were asking every question for every person and these people appeared to be current pass holders.  Why the system would not allow them to scan the bar and then confirm that no info had changed.  Instead apparently they have to confirm each bit of info for each pass purchased.  Very slow, I lost interest, if they are going to give away ornaments don't make me wait in line for 30 min to get one.  Do this at 2 or 3 park locations.

We had the same experience the past two years (haven't been down yet this OTC).  At the very least they could do one line for just ornaments.  I feel like I'm wasting my night by standing in line for 30 minutes or more just for a free ornament.

They should be able to just mail the ornament to those who qualify. The system should be able to notify them who is entitled to the ornaments. So , as for the on topic 50 %. I really think they are using a very old and cumbersome ticketing system. This summer while purchasing a $30.00 Thursday pass I watched how many screens the lady had to go through just in order to process a ticket I had already bought at Country Mart. Maybe a new software program would speed up the process. As for me I will buy my passes online and save the time.

[History Buff]

If you've ever had to wait for your Santa photos, you know the waits there are pretty serious, as well.

[biscuitcreek]

Homestead Pickers have a show around 8-8:15 PM.. I think it's the latest one in the park.

Unfortunately, the space is small where they perform.

[sanddunerider]

there always seems to be a "full house", when they are playing.....