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2021 Crowds/Trip Reports

Started by shavethewhales, March 19, 2021, 02:52:32 PM

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applegbt

Planning to go for the second time on Friday.  Hope it ends up a better experience than the visit last week.  All our kids were disappointed that they barely got to ride anything.  I'm glad we have season tickets, because if I'd paid for single day admission for that visit I would have been pretty disappointed.  Definitely would not have gotten my money's worth.  We also had visitors in from out of state last week, and were really excited to share the park with them.  Lets just say, they were not impressed.   :-\

pintrader

It's really almost impossible to judge the park by just one visit with all the factors to consider.   You do not go into much detail in why you were disappointed and not impressed, except it sounds like you thought it was too crowded.

If you are lucky enough to get to the park on a nice weather weekday and stay away from the weekends it should be a better experience for you, your family, and friends.

shavethewhales

^Nah, a bad first visit leaves an impression. People aren't going to repeated visit some place they don't enjoy just to see if the other factors eventually pan out.

Visiting SDC this spring has sucked. Long slow lines, covid restrictions, constant ride break downs, and not much else to do besides the rides. I'm not really blaming the park for all of it, as there is so much out of their control. The freak storm caused some of the ride issues, and covid is obviously beyond their control. Still, it hasn't been fun.

pintrader

#18
^Sure a first visit leaves an impression....every visit leaves an impression.   The factors in the park change daily from weather to attendance,  to even which festival is on at the time of your visit, and the covid restrictions should be expected for awhile.  These are all factors that change and could make a difference on your visit to the park. A little later on you won't have to constantly count on the rides when shops and a few more shows open up. 

Just don't let all your bad impressions for one day leave a thought that every day is going to be that way.   A visit on another day might be a completely different experience for you.

runner1960

Quote from: Pintrader on April 01, 2021, 09:02:16 AM
It's really almost impossible to judge the park by just one visit with all the factors to consider.   You do not go into much detail in why you were disappointed and not impressed, except it sounds like you thought it was too crowded.

If you are lucky enough to get to the park on a nice weather weekday and stay away from the weekends it should be a better experience for you, your family, and friends.

There is no excuse for a bad experience whatever day you choose to go! They should be on their A game from day one. You pay the exact same amount every day. This spring has been a disaster for them. If I was a first time visitor I would never go back again. In fact my last few visits I have been underwhelmed more than I have been impressed. SDC has lost a lot in customer service the last few years.

applegbt

Quote from: runner1960 on April 01, 2021, 02:57:31 PM
Quote from: Pintrader on April 01, 2021, 09:02:16 AM
It's really almost impossible to judge the park by just one visit with all the factors to consider.   You do not go into much detail in why you were disappointed and not impressed, except it sounds like you thought it was too crowded.

If you are lucky enough to get to the park on a nice weather weekday and stay away from the weekends it should be a better experience for you, your family, and friends.

There is no excuse for a bad experience whatever day you choose to go! They should be on their A game from day one. You pay the exact same amount every day. This spring has been a disaster for them. If I was a first time visitor I would never go back again. In fact my last few visits I have been underwhelmed more than I have been impressed. SDC has lost a lot in customer service the last few years.

This exactly!  Look I understand there are certain things out of their control.  But my kids waited in line for nearly an hour on 3 different rides, in which the ride shut down during their wait in line.  We were there for about 7 hours.  And they got to ride a grand total of 3 rides.  Our visiting family used out guest passes, so at least they weren't out the money.  But if they'd spent the price of admission for their family of three, I would have felt horrible.  I'm a huge fan of SDC.  I know how great it can be.  I've been going there for over 40 years.  That was the most disappointing visit I've ever had.  Nearly to the point that they should have offered partial refunds or rain checks for another visit.

pintrader

I wouldn't say it has been a disaster for them since everyone says the park has been packed.  Now if they continue to have long lines and waits I could see that being a problem.

My post was for someone that has never been before or just made one trip to the park and made their judgement by that one day.  I am myself still impressed with SDC unless the charm and quality of the place would continue to decline.

applegbt

Quote from: Pintrader on April 01, 2021, 03:21:48 PM
I wouldn't say it has been a disaster for them since everyone says the park has been packed.  Now if they continue to have long lines and waits I could see that being a problem.

My post was for someone that has never been before or just made one trip to the park and made their judgement by that one day.  I am myself still impressed with SDC unless the charm and quality of the place would continue to decline.

Definitely agree.  It's still one of the best.   

BTW...anyone know if Grandfather's Mansion is going to be closed permanently?  Or is this just a COVID closure?

KBCraig

Quote from: applegbt on April 01, 2021, 08:38:40 AM
Planning to go for the second time on Friday.  Hope it ends up a better experience than the visit last week.  All our kids were disappointed that they barely got to ride anything.

Can you clarify something?

Was this your first visit ever, or the first this year?

You said your kids were disappointed by the wait time for rides. Rides are a big part of SDC, but it's primarily a theme park with rides, not an amusement park with themes.

My love of the park (going back to 1969) is for the theme aspect. The rides are fun, but the key to having a great past ahead of you is doing a mental travel back in time as you pass the gates. Those wanting the biggest/fastest/hottest amusement rides above all, probably won't have a great time at SDC no matter how good the rides are.

shavethewhales

^During spring ride days it's just an amusement park with beautiful scenery. There's nothing else going on. Pretty much all stores closed, and basically no craftsmen except the glass blowers and one artist on the main square. None of the shows are going yet.

Grandfather's Mansion closed due to the pandemic, but I assume they plan to reopen it when allowed... then again, it's a huge liability and this would be a good opportunity to close it forever...

I'm just hoping the swinging bridge comes back.

applegbt

#25
Quote from: shavethewhales on April 01, 2021, 08:49:39 PM
^During spring ride days it's just an amusement park with beautiful scenery. There's nothing else going on. Pretty much all stores closed, and basically no craftsmen except the glass blowers and one artist on the main square. None of the shows are going yet.

Grandfather's Mansion closed due to the pandemic, but I assume they plan to reopen it when allowed... then again, it's a huge liability and this would be a good opportunity to close it forever...

I'm just hoping the swinging bridge comes back.

I explained above, but yes I've been to SDC many times, maybe 50 to 60 in my lifetime.  First time season ticket holder in many years though, after moving back to the area following several years away.  I have lived away from the area for the last several years, and probably only went once per year during that time.  Kids have been maybe 6 or 7 times previously to last week.   I can certainly get enjoyment out of the park without rides.  But kids are a different story.  Waiting in lines for broken down rides 3 TIMES is never fun no matter how great a theme the park has.

Edit:  Sorry, I meant that to be a reply to the previous post, not yours.

pintrader

Quote from: KBCraig on April 01, 2021, 08:23:48 PM
Quote from: applegbt on April 01, 2021, 08:38:40 AM
Planning to go for the second time on Friday.  Hope it ends up a better experience than the visit last week.  All our kids were disappointed that they barely got to ride anything.

Can you clarify something?

Was this your first visit ever, or the first this year?

I want to apologize applegbt.   I took your post to mean you had visited the park one time and was about to visit your second time.

You don't need me to tell you that every trip can be a different experience  :)

shavethewhales

Someone posted a TR on reddit that said they got to ride all the big rides multiple times yesterday with light crowds. Hopefully that means they've worked some of the mechanical jitters out at least. I'll bet the crowds this month will be a lot more manageable too.

applegbt

Quote from: shavethewhales on April 02, 2021, 10:49:41 AM
Someone posted a TR on reddit that said they got to ride all the big rides multiple times yesterday with light crowds. Hopefully that means they've worked some of the mechanical jitters out at least. I'll bet the crowds this month will be a lot more manageable too.

No problem, my original post wasn't very clear. 

So here's the update on my visit today.  It was amazing!  Now, I'll preface by saying it seemed like the crowd was pretty light.  But all the rides appeared to be operational the whole time I was there.  We were able to pretty much ride everything.  I still find it odd that there seems to be only one car running on all the big roller coasters.  It appeared that FITH was running two cars.  But all the newer coasters seemed to only be running one.  I could be wrong on that, but it's what it seemed like.  And it was definitely the case for Thunderation.  But at least they were using all the seats.  The lines seemed to be a bit long in wait time considering the seemingly lighter crowd.  But that's a minor complaint, I don't think we had to wait more than 45 min to an hour  for anything today.

Anyway, all in all we had a great day.  I'll be glad when all the shops and artisans open up, and am hoping all the shows open up this year.

Can anyone tell me why the saloon show moved out of the old saloon?  Are they just updating the saloon?  Or is it going to be turned into something else?

History Buff

Quote from: applegbt on April 02, 2021, 08:41:36 PM
Quote from: shavethewhales on April 02, 2021, 10:49:41 AM
Someone posted a TR on reddit that said they got to ride all the big rides multiple times yesterday with light crowds. Hopefully that means they've worked some of the mechanical jitters out at least. I'll bet the crowds this month will be a lot more manageable too.

No problem, my original post wasn't very clear. 

So here's the update on my visit today.  It was amazing!  Now, I'll preface by saying it seemed like the crowd was pretty light.  But all the rides appeared to be operational the whole time I was there.  We were able to pretty much ride everything.  I still find it odd that there seems to be only one car running on all the big roller coasters.  It appeared that FITH was running two cars.  But all the newer coasters seemed to only be running one.  I could be wrong on that, but it's what it seemed like.  And it was definitely the case for Thunderation.  But at least they were using all the seats.  The lines seemed to be a bit long in wait time considering the seemingly lighter crowd.  But that's a minor complaint, I don't think we had to wait more than 45 min to an hour  for anything today.

Anyway, all in all we had a great day.  I'll be glad when all the shops and artisans open up, and am hoping all the shows open up this year.

Can anyone tell me why the saloon show moved out of the old saloon?  Are they just updating the saloon?  Or is it going to be turned into something else?

No indoor shows due to C19
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