2015 Trip Reviews

[How-doFolks]

Thanks sanddune!! We will be back with the 2nd grandkid in August, cant wait!!

[Preachin_Bill]

Went to the Park about four times last week with light crowds.  I'm thinking the rain kept people away but judging by the parking lot Saturday it was a busy one.
A few notes on some things about our trips:
-I still think the best part of Silver Dollar City is those moments when the atmosphere, theme, characters, etc. make you feel like you're in the past.  I love the old signs that have been there for years, love the old buildings, low-traffic areas, old rides, etc.
-Had a nice visit with the man working at the Mill and he loaded me up a fresh bag of cornmeal.  I sat and watched the mill and stone grinder work for awhile, something I haven't done in a long time.
-The Saloon Show was entertaining although I'll say Carrie Nation wasn't my favorite show.  My 9 year old nephew approved of the salloon gals, especially "the green one".
-Ate lunch for the first time ever at the Mill buffet.  I've only had breakfast there and usually buffet in the Mine.  The fried chicken was surprisingly excellent but the catfish was disappointing.
-Walked right on to any ride we wanted to pretty much the whole time we were there.  I don't know why rain scares people away...SDC is a great place to be in the rain.  We had to wait longer to re-fill our mugs than we did in any line for any ride.  I like eating at the park but I think some people go there and eat all day and do nothing else.
-Rode American Plunge again and loved it while still wishing they would re-create the daredevils theme.  I can't believe something hasn't been done there.
-Bought some freshly made soap and also watched the craftsmen at the carvers shop.

-Fireman's landing was underwhelming but it isn't there for my demographic so no big deal...kids will enjoy the ball room.
-Dr. Willy's wacky science show was excellent.  I don't know how it really fits other than the fact that science has always been around, but if you haven't seen it you may want to check it out.  It is very entertaining and informative--I was impressed and it isn't just a kids show.
-Bought pottery, honey, taffy, a Ray Johnson book, and headed out.
Didn't have time for a few things but it seems like there is never enough time to really explore and do everything you want at SDC.  All in all a great trip aside from some small eye sores.  Can't wait to go back for Old Time Christmas.

[Tmboote]

Some things I have noticed at SDC Sunday-Tuesday:
1. The Star-Spangled Summer Festival doesn't seem like a very big deal compared to the other festivals.
2. Lost River is a lot more fun when you don't have to wait when it is 93 degrees out.
3. The tunnel on AP is too long.
4. FITH's line seems to move really slow when only two trains are being used and the drops have seemed a lot smoother this year than in the past.
5. PK should ALWAYS have two or three trains going. The line takes forever when only one is used.
6. Why does OR only have one train going when WF has always had two?
7. It's ok that TNT only uses one train, but I still think two should be used.
8. Firefall is a fun ride, but I'm glad I didn't wait an hour for it in March. I just don't like rides that short.

You probably noticed I complained about the number of trains rides use a lot. Does anyone know how they choose how many trains to open with every day? I just don't get why they don't open everything with two-three trains because it seems to be a lot easier to remove extra trains then to add trains when lines are long.

I'm looking forward to the next two days at the City before going back home.

[shavethewhales]

Every park that I know of tries to minimize train usage because of the maintenance involved. There are only a limited number of cycles between certain costly maintenance events. You'll notice rides only get rougher as the season goes on due to wheels, train chassis, and even the track itself getting worn out. They don't really want to have to do major maintenance in the fall since they are open through December, so they need to limit train cycles as practical. I don't know what the cut off is for running one train vs. two for each ride, but in general if the station fills up for a sustained period of time they'll give in and add a second train.

That said, I agree that one train operations suck unless the station is empty.

[Hollwood]

Multiple train operation is labor intensive. The amount of trains is decided by attendance forecast (I.E. 1-5,000= 1 train 5000+= 2 trains). You will also notice tat rides in the back of the park will add a train 1-2 hours into the day (always right when you get there...) this is because, just like you, folks don't get to the back of the park until later. It may seem small, but adding a train means two extra staff members. 2 Staff Members @ $8 an hour (minimum wage assumption) multiply that by 2= $16 multiply that out by 200 operating days= $3,200 and your final multiplication is by atleast 5 rides tabs would do this (WF, PK, FITH, OR, LR) brings your total labor saved to $16,000. "Hey boss. I saved $16,000 this year by strategically bringing in staff to match flow of guests in the park." That person gets a promotion and half of that as a raise for smart thinking!

[Tmboote]

Powder Keg has been closed since at least eleven and they have five workers just standing outside the ride. I haven't seen them sending any tests runs either so I wonder what is going on with that ride.

[Tmboote]

And just when I complain, it reopens after I have left SDC.

[chittlins]

My daughter's reward for volunteering to help Habitat for Humanity with a new local project today was a trip SDC, hope the weather breaks enough for her to get a few rides of something in.

[palallin]

Odd day yesterday!  No rain at the city, but nearby lightning shut down the rides twice.  Naturally, we were waiting for the train both times :-/

The second time, the situation got to be quite extraordinary!  When the rain finally let up, the train remained on hold because the brakes were apparently hanging up.  Some guys from maintenance came and set things to rights (or so they thought).  After a further delay, we were boarded and on our way.

Just as we got to the backside of the robbers' cabin, the train began to slow.  Somehow or another, #43 dropped her fire, and boiler pressure plummeted.  The engineer managed to relight the fire and built up pressure, but the brakes were hanging up again.  The guys from maintenance had to walk all the way out there to make more adjustments. 

While we were waiting, Alfie and Ralphie went ahead an robbed the train, explaining that they had intended to delay us by blowing up the tunnel, but this was much more convenient.  Ralphie offered to push the train with his horse.

The crew took us straight back to the depot with no stop at the cabin (Alphie was hanging out of the outhouse to salute us as we went by).  Total trip time was about 50-55 minutes, and it was less than an hour before closing when we detrained.  We noted that the depot was closed up right afterwards, but the gal in the FM said something about them intending to bring out another train, which, if true, I found to be a little silly:  one ride in a park whose attendance was rapidly declining (heading out for FW on the lake) seemed a bit of a waste.  Don't know if they actually brought one out or not.

Throughout, the very young crew handled things very well, keeping us informed and entertained.  All in all, it was an unusual adventure that was, fortunately, in no way troublesome (to us--can't say about the other passengers, but there was no grumbling in Car 3).

About 10,000 in the city:  not bad for 7/3 with predictions of rain and the appeal of the lake just down the road.

[History Buff]

Sounds better than the time we were stuck on the train, several years ago.  It seems there was a medical emergency back at the station, and an ambulance had to be called in.  As a result, they held the train at the hold-up cabin.  Unfortunately, there were no witty ad libs or entertainment as we baked in the sun.  All the narrator could manage was to read directly from the current SDC brochure.

[shavethewhales]

Interesting story palallin, few parks handle issues like that so well and with so much grace.

Anyone out there today? How bad are the crowds? Probably going out there tomorrow with a bunch of family.

[Dewayne]

Whats FW?

[Swoosh]

Fireworks

[runner1960]

Interesting story palallin, few parks handle issues like that so well and with so much grace.

Anyone out there today? How bad are the crowds? Probably going out there tomorrow with a bunch of family.

Well I had not planned on going any this year but I was there today. Very light crowd. When I left the parking lot for stop 5 was maybe half full. Most coasters were OR,PK,WF were 15 minutes at the most. Did not do any water rides but there were no lines whatsoever for LROTO or AP. So not sure what tomorrow will bring. Also, They are only doing half tours of the cave today. Not sure about the 5th but the guy said the water was still very hight down there.

[loudmama]

HI !!  new to board and I have  question.

family and I went to sdc and took train ride.  I have notice last few times I went that only 1 robber
and whole trip was 10 minutes,  is this normal.         

I remember back when I was young two robbers would rob train.  not worth train ride now.  anyone.