Author Topic: 2019 Trip Reports  (Read 76558 times)

pintrader

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #150 on: July 21, 2019, 11:59:55 AM »
They rode every ride in the expo, Caleb on time traveler, all the kids rode thunderstorm twice.

Wow!  That Thunderstorm sounds like a dandy new ride.  Haven't caught that one before....Lol.... ;)

DianaGail

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #151 on: July 21, 2019, 02:19:48 PM »
They rode every ride in the expo, Caleb on time traveler, all the kids rode thunderstorm twice.

Wow!  That Thunderstorm sounds like a dandy new ride.  Haven't caught that one before....Lol.... ;)

Stupid autocorrect!  Hahahaha

chittlins

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #152 on: July 21, 2019, 09:49:19 PM »
Theme Park Worldwide posted a great trip report VLOG from their June visit.  They really liked the park.  For those that don't know TPW, they have a large following and they don't like everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnm956g2Gzg

Ha Ha, they liked SDC over Dollywood. They really were trying like Dollywood though.

Interesting they dumped on Thunderhead at DW. I just  got done with Wodan and Joris. I liked Joris the best out of those two but the queue theming for Wodan is another level outside of a Disney park. But I like Tunderhead. Its just I know our (Branson)GCI was taken away from us  and our coaster count took a hit with CC's closing.

My one regret of my European trip was not getting to Toverland in spite of being a mere 5 minutes from it but the wife was just not willing.  I was also within mere minutes of Walibi Belgium.  They both had rides I wanted to tryout
The launched wing B&M and The Mack Power Splash

Oh, I actually like Time Traveler over Blue Fire. They are similar but the spin makes the difference. Interesting that they even though Time Traveler needed the mid course show building. I'll never stop the :what if" if they had added that show building giving it that little extra it really needs, oh and making that drop out of the station into a rock tunnel with smoke/mist.



Gilligan

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #153 on: July 24, 2019, 07:58:23 AM »
I'll put it in a list for you.  Maybe I can avoid all of my previous rhetoric about somebody needing to be fired or disowned for signing off on this trash.

*I hate stories that just jump from one "adventure" to another one with no climax or resolution.  There was no story here.

*The music selections were terrible and not catchy.  Most were unrecognizable to the general public.

*The jokes were generic.  I know some 10-year-olds who could come up with better ones that would not be as predictable.

*For me, the Disney ripoffs with Pirates of the CaribbeanYou've Got a Friend in Me, and Orlando are pretty much an acknowledgement of inferiority.  Even though some of the other characters are classics, Disney has already exploited them to the point that characters like Robin Hood (Friar Tuck) and Peter Pan (Mr. Smee) are almost fully Disney characters.  It's hard to take back such rooter characters, and this was a weak effort.  If this is anything like the Pirates and Princesses Cruise on the Branson Belle, I don't need to take that cruise either.  At the same time, someone didn't even think to cross-market the cruise with this show, which would have been quite simple to do.  I'd mention that they even used a song from the Muppets, but people don't relate that to Disney.  And, although it's not Disney, they jabbed a line in there about Shrek and Donkey, as well, just to get a cheap laugh.  All of these things take the audience outside of Silver Dollar City.

*Isn't Mr. Smee and Peter Pan character who runs around with Captain Hook?  Why is he here with Long John Silver?

*He is the cook, but is John Silver ever called a "captain" in Treasure Island?

*At least twice, they referenced the "very expensive forest" as if to say that they even know that it was overpriced.

*The flat sets looked cheap.  In fact, they also don't even fit behind each other well enough to hide them when they are not on stage.

*The line about margarita night in one of the songs was inappropriate for the setting, especially if the show was supposed to appeal to kids.

*The hiphop monks were pandering and mildly offensive.  Their colorful socks worked for the gag, but the Converse shoes were stupid.  I'm not sure if they were just trying to force a gospel message into the show, but this was too weird.

*The kid being named Reuben Branson was a cheap gag, and they practically had to beg the audience to laugh at it, as if they thought they had to explain the joke before the punch line ever arrived.  By the way, why are so many SDC characters named Rube and Reuben?  Had the boy been a Dugan, it would have been a nice nod.

*Dialogue was boring, as if the writer was forcing scenes together with a lot of explanation.

*There was no reason for a bunch of gimmicky singing skulls on Long John Silver's ship.

*The soundtrack does not blend as one show.  The songs don't even stick to a particular genre.

*No swashes were buckled.  At some time it would have been nice to have felt like Reuben was in danger.  It would have been nice to have forgotten that it was all a dream.  It would have been nice to have some kind of struggle, some emotional drama.

*They kept repeating "You look vaguely familiar" to David's characters, as if they thought the audience was too stupid to recognize he was the same actor in different roles.

*Why was he the same actor in different roles?  That didn't tie anything together, and could have made more sense if he had shown up as a real person in Reuben's cabin at the end (like the Wizard of Oz).

*No other characters had to have different names, so why the Marlin gag?  Just so they could make another reference to Orlando/Disney?

*How is it that Long John Silver stayed with Reuben for the entire non-adventure?  It might have been nice for Reuben to have discovered strength of character by protecting a weaker character along the way instead of dancing around with the pirate captain while trekking through the forest (Did I mention it's a very expensive forest?).

*Was Reuben sufficiently troubled by his lack of destiny at the beginning (He's not even wary of meeting Long John Silver.)?  Was there really a need for a swashbuckling adventure at all?  What was all of this talk of destiny?  I thought the kid just wanted to read himself to sleep, but all of the sudden the kid needs to find himself.

*Gypsies, who are called vagabonds (I don't think anyone ever mentioned the word gypsies.), suddenly appear, but why?  If all of these are supposed to be characters of classic stories, what book did the gypsies come out of?  I don't recall any of them being named.

*Sing along?  They ask the audience to sing along to a song most of us have probably never heard, carting out a giant, gaudy scroll and unfurling the words to one verse of the song.  For some reason the scroll remains unfurled during the next verse, even thought the words are different.

*Where was the million dollar show?  The only thing that looked expensive was the upstage digital screen.  Some live pyrotechnics could have also been engaged for the end celebration.

*The lyrics seem rushed and any witty ones are lost as it takes longer to mentally process them than the audience is provided.

*I'm not sure how Reuben and his mom get back to the fantasy at the end.  The whole thing was supposed to be a dream, but now they just have to "believe" and all the characters reappear for the finale.

*Usually these shows have a huge, natural standing ovation at the end.  Not here.  The audience stopped clapping before the actors faded into the background.  Actors waved as they walked upstage, and the audience was packing up to leave.  Embarrassing.

Again, they performers and crew work very hard with what they've been given.  They do the best job possible.  They try very hard to make this show as entertaining as possible, but they must be frustrated to find that the reaction is lackluster.  None of my critique is against the crew and cast who seem to have everything under control.  My criticism is completely against the creators of the show and whomever allowed this to be produced in the first place.

After setting the bar with their Christmas shows, they probably wanted something similar to appeal to kids, but they need to let Disney do Disney.  They've been successful with Dickens and Wonderful Life, but this one falls far short of its mark.

The best parts?  Long John Silver's entrance on the rope, the Defying Gravity entrance for Marlin, and the part where I got to leave.

I have to agree with you, HistoryBuff.  I went yesterday hoping it would be great. It wasn't! I was ready to leave before it was halfway through, but I'm not rude enough to do so.  Hubs hated it! He thought the nods to the Christmas show dumbed it down as though they couldn't think of any new material. Ten to fifteen people did get up and leave before it was over.  The acting and singing was okay, but the script was all over the place and just not entertaining. 

Swoosh

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #154 on: July 24, 2019, 09:03:52 AM »
I tried the show again yesterday hoping that I just went in with a bad attitude last time, thinking surely it’s not as bad as I made it out to be...

Nope.  It’s actually worse.  Apparently I was just being kind in my report.  I actually wanted to walk out during the singing monk scene.  This was even after suffering through the cringe worthy “you got a friend in me” sequence. 

“I’m on a quest to find my destiny,” said no young boy EVER.  *groan*
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #155 on: July 24, 2019, 01:09:23 PM »
SWOOSH

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #156 on: July 24, 2019, 04:36:53 PM »
Saw the play for myself and was pretty amused. I'm all for nitpicking since this is a fan site and that's part of what fans do, but this play definitely wasn't something to take seriously.

It wasn't their best effort, especially considering what they spent on the production, but it wasn't terrible. It felt in-line with the Saloon show. Very corny, and lots of borrowed songs and jokes. Decently amusing to pass some time in the air conditioning, but not something I would plan my day around or wait in line for.

I'll bet they fiddle with the script and next year it will be better. It's a pretty short play, so if there's definitely room to flesh it out some more.

sdcfan88

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #157 on: July 24, 2019, 06:05:21 PM »
Again I went up there on Sunday for Moonlight Madness, crowds were surprisingly manageable compared to other times I went to the park during this event. Coasters were a one train wait or a walk on. I will note if you have done the train ride at Silver Dollar City, how about at night during the summer with Moonlight Madness and having fireworks going off overhead? I really like the unique atmosphere that the ride provides at night during this time of the year with this event.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/IWJ9Oiewob8

Also, I recently rode thru The Flooded Mine and shot high quality photos of the entire ride. Thought these turned out awesome considering you are nearly in total darkness as a rider. Wished I could do the same for Fire In The Hole.

ALBUM: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157414974072232&set=a.10157414971667232&type=3&theater



I still haven't bothered with the new summer show (based on the reviews here) but I might go ahead and check it out on my next visit before the festival concludes.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2019, 06:15:13 PM by sdcfan88 »

Jemmicat

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #158 on: July 26, 2019, 09:28:13 AM »
I went this past wednesday to give the musical another shot as I saw it like the 8th performance and was disappointed. Thought maybe with time it all would gel. Nope. As someone else said, the second viewing made me hate it more

They touted a million dollar production but for the life of me I cannot tell what that money was spent on. Scenery was 2 dimensional and rather bland. And the story... just not good. I also wonder who signed off on this

Maybe I am biased as I still long for some of the old shows that they wrote and performed 30+ years ago. And then For the Glory and Heading west or whatever... those were amazing. This was just not

The cast do the best with what they are given but wow it just isn’t good

chittlins

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #159 on: July 26, 2019, 11:37:41 AM »
So, the summary view of the new show is...

Kill it, Kill it with fire.

Gilligan

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #160 on: July 26, 2019, 01:51:24 PM »
That pretty much sums it up, Chittlins.  ;D

How-doFolks

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #161 on: July 28, 2019, 02:25:05 PM »
Went to the park Saturday with my wife, my brother, step daughter, & her boyfriend who has never been to SDC. Spent about an hour in the hospitality house first. Got there when they opened & tried to hit TT, but there was a line already, so we rode TNT first. It made the newbie boyfriend a little dizzy. As we walked off, we noticed TT had no line. Step daughter had never riden it yet. It only took about 30 minutes & they were done. She really enjoyed it. Her boyfriend & i had walked down to the train station because he used to work for the rail road in KC. Gave him another chance & put him on the FM & FITH. He seemed to enjoy shooting the guns in FM. Everything seemed to be working ok on FM & FITH. Walked around to where Tom & Hucks ride was, & spent about 30 minutes shooting people with water cannons. ( that never gets old ) Kinda jacked around & step daughter got a funnel cake, & my brother got a skillet meal. -- Took off from the park & rode go karts, played a round of mini golf & the newbie boyfriend beat me by about 2-3 strokes. My brother & i took about a 2 hour sleep fest & we headed back around 6. -- Piddle paddled around by the square cuz a guy was doing a sound check with a electric guitar & he was really jammin'. Went over by Grandpas Mansion & gave it a walk thru. Headed down to the AP. We convinced the step daughters boyfriend into riding in back.. We all leaned forward down the hill & he got the worst of it, but he really enjoyed it. Walked around the park waiting for it to get dark. Tried to ride PK, but the line was out of the building, so we scratched on that. Went & got the $6.00 hamburger deals & headed to OR. We waited cuz they were taking a train off. By the time we were 2nd ones to get on to ride, they put the train back on. But, it was dark by then!! OR in the dark was a blast!! You could not tell where the bottom of the hill was, or where you were going!! Just as we got off, the fireworks show started, so we sat on a park bench & watched. It lasted about 7 minutes. Finally to the train for the newbie. We rode in the dark, in the back, & it put the step daughter to sleep. LOL! We couldnt get here livened up after that, so we left.. :( It was right at 11pm. -- As always, GREAT time at SDC, & Moonlight Madness. Nothing to really trip on or complain about, just another flawless trip from us veterans SDC goers who like to take newbies. -- Ozark Valley Inn was great. Beds were soft enough, & it was quiet. We never ate any breakfast there, so..
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #162 on: August 04, 2019, 01:59:37 PM »
We were at the City August 1st and 2nd.  I haven't seen it mentioned in any other trip review but I have to give a thumbs up to Taylor Hughes.  His comedy/magic show was very entertaining.  We never made it to Echo Hollow to see his performance there but the show in the Riverfront Playhouse was great!  Also we really enjoyed Sagebrush Sadie's Wild West Show in the Saloon.  The guy playing Charlie is hilarious (as usual).  We saw this show twice during Bluegrass and BBQ and again last Friday.  if they want to repeat this show for the next few years they have our approval.  Also Southern Raised gave another great performance at the Gazebo.  We've been avoiding going in the summer for the last couple of years because of a lack of good shows, and you need a break from riding all the time.  We do occasionally watch craft demonstrations but you need somewhere to sit down in the ac and relax for a bit.  This year the shows brought us back and we were happy they did.
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #163 on: August 04, 2019, 07:29:37 PM »
We went up yesterday at around 5pm and rode rides until it was time for the Echo hollow show.  I really just do not like the new stage. It is great that it is new but it does not have the same ambiance it has before. Anyway, we did not stay thru the whole show, left at about 8:45 and rode a few more rides.  It was not super busy but was not dead either.  There was a little bit of a wait for PK.  We were 1 train away from being able to see the fireworks from the ride.  As it stands we did not see anything at all of the show because we were in the building.  For some reason there were several train loads of folks who could not seem to figure out how to get on and off the ride.  We left right before 10pm.  It was a mad house at the exit.

Today I had planned on going up at opening them coming back later in the day.  We ended up just coming at about 7pm.  On the way up it was raining cats and dogs even though it was just a little blip on the radar.  Just as we were pulling in the rain was stopping.  As we were going in (we were the only ones going in at that time) it was like an episode of the walking dead with the hordes of people coming out.  This was looking like a good sign.  As we got in all the rides were closed, even FM.  We ended up getting on FITH pretty quick.  Rode that, got a $1 ice cream float, then even though app said TGS was closed we went up there anyway and they just opened it.  So, we rode that.  We headed up to PK and they said it was open, got down to the gates and there were probably 4 loads of people ahead of us.  They said they were just waiting on a call to start running.  Pretty soon they sent one of the workers out for a test ride.  As soon as that car left, they got another call.  Worker comes back on and lightening is within 10 miles so they can't run.  We left.  Headed toward the train, it was running but I guess it shut down also when it got back in.  Rode FM.  Waited around till about 8:30 and there was still lightening in the area per radar.  Figured there was very little chance of them opening anything to started to head toward the exit just as it started pouring again.  Currently at the Honeysuckle where Michelle from All Access hooked us up for $60 a night where as our usual place wanted over $200 for the jacuzzi suite, which was all they had.  All the travel sites have the other places in town close to $100 or more for the rat hole places.  Will head back up at opening tomorrow for a couple of hours, then go back around 8:30-9pm tomorrow for another couple of hours. 

Saturday we got there at opening and walked on everything we wanted to ride.  Started off with 2 trips on PK, then over to FITH.  Rode WF a couple of times. Walked right on the train as it was loading up then did FM.  By this time it was around 11-11:30am and TT had too long of a line so we decided to leave and went to town to eat lunch.  We then decided to ride the train down at the landing.  I had planned on going back to the city at around 8:30 to watch fireworks then ride some rides in the dark but just did not have the energy.  After looking at the wait time on the app with TGS wait time of 60 minutes, TT 75 minutes, I decided I was not going to fight the crowds so we relaxed at the hotel.  Left town at around 10am in the morning. 

cheesehead57

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #164 on: August 05, 2019, 10:13:41 AM »
Okie... .we stay at aHomeStay Inn and when you call and tell them you want the SDC fans rate of $40.00 a night they honor it. The new owners are Indian and have treated us exceptionally well. The rooms are clean and the breakfast area by the check in desk has been updated.  As long as we keep on  getting  the rate we will keep on staying there.