2022 Crowds / Trip Reports

[How-doFolks]

Just a quick report.. Went to SDC Sat & Sun, Sat was not busy at all! We got there around 2'ish & got on 4 rides with no wait at all!! It was awesome! Stayed until about 4:30 or so. Sunday we got there for breakfast & opening ceremonies. Park didnt get too busy until about 11a. Thought it was weird that Sun was busier than Sat, but i guess we made the right decision to go the weekend after Labor Day. Aint seen the Saloon show in probably 5 or so years, it was pretty good. We left about 4:30. Saturday, all the effects & sound were working on FITH & FM. Sunday was a different story.. By 11a, 3/4 of the coasters were shut down. Rode the train & checked out some shops. All in all it was a great visit. Stayed at Shady Acres in the 2 bedroom house - apartment above the office, it was awesome! Private porch to boot. $116 a night. See ya all next time..!!

[biscuitcreek]

Went to the first day/night of Harvest Festival/Crafts and Pumpkins in the City. There were people in the park on Wednesday but it was not crowded. Staffing levels seemed higher than my last visit during Bluegrass and BBQ. Enjoyed Eastern Heights, the Branson band that is providing the 6 pm show throughout the festival. Was about 50 minutes of music, no intermission. Was a variety of country and pop music from 80s - current. It was a little loud.

The fog from Foggy Hollow really carried into other areas of the park. It filled the front of the Boatworks Theater during the 7:30 show of Lindley Creek.  The band was calling it their spooky set due to the fog. The bluegrass group will be playing the late afternoon and evening shows throughout the festival at the Boatworks.

There were no shows in the Opera House, Riverside Playhouse or Red/Gold.

We have decided to give up on Chester's Chips which used to be our favorite place. No matter what time of the day we have made a purchase last year or this year, the chips have been cold. Within the basket we got Wednesday at 5 pm, we had crispy chips and raw chips but all cold.

Didn't see any promotional signs for the new Fire in the Hole.

[SDCisHome]

Went to the park on Saturday (9/24) and we had a great time. We arrived at the park around 3 p.m. and stayed until the park closed (10 p.m.). The crowds were fantastic. You could tell the park was "busy" but definitely manageable. I would say for a Saturday, the crowd was probably below-average, but that's just a guess. There weren't any long lines and staffing did not seem to be an issue.

This is the time of the year I don't ride many rides, we like to go and try the food with the tasting passports and walk around and enjoy the City. However, we did ride the train, FM and FITH. The train was great as always. I've always thought it'd be cool if they were to do a silly "ghost train" this time of year, but that's just my opinion and I understand why they don't. Flooded Mine continues to be a disappointment. I just sit in the boat now as our guns didn't work again and the animatronics seem to be...well...dead. I walked on FITH around 8:30 and there was no line at all. They were still operating 3 trains according to the chalkboard. Ride was great and everything seemed to be working. The only ride not operating was MRF, but around 8:30 they started pumping water through the channel...not sure if they were testing or if it eventually opening, i don't know.

Pumpkin Nights is one of my favorite times to go to the park. It's great to be there with all the lights on cooler evenings. As always, I highly recommend the tasting passport. Well worth the money. We had multiple full-size portions with our punches.

[Pudgy Jones]

I was in the City over the weekend.

The good things I saw:
1. Despite changes here and there, the atmosphere continues to be second-to-none.
2. It was great to see our old friends such as Terry Sanders, the Schrock family making sorghum, Pat McCarty the blacksmith, Doug Bratcher the cooper, Buck Taylor, the Homestead Pickers and many others.
3. They have new hand-blown glass bell Christmas tree ornaments in the glass blowing shop!
4. Fire in the Hole and the Flooded Mine were in great condition.
5. Hillary Klug the fiddling buck dancer is great!
6. The molasses cookies in the bakery are back!
7. Still feels like home.

The negative things I saw:
1. Modern music in the park remains the bane of my existence. Unnecessary and a complete head-scratcher.
2. The new, lighted refrigerated cases in the General Store make me sad. In a few more years, I expect it to make the full transition into a Dollar General (only halfway joking). 

[mg]

2. The new, lighted refrigerated cases in the General Store make me sad. In a few more years, I expect it to make the full transition into a Dollar General (only halfway joking). 

Somewhat along the same lines, I hope that the new standup Coke coolers with bottled water that recently appeared around the City are integrated better over the offseason. Specifically, the one at Corn Dogs & Tenders is just sat out front and is kind of in the way. Hopefully they will work on them over the off season to blend them in more.

It is nice that they have an older/retro rounded style to them and aren't the stock squared off ones you see in concession stands.

[shavethewhales]

It's just a theme park now. No point in even mentioning the "theme breaks" any more. They stopped caring a long time ago. It's a lost cause. Most people will never know the SDC we grew up with when that was a scandal and you were really supposed to be stepping back in time. I mean, the park is covered in roller coasters now anyway...

[Pudgy Jones]

It's just a theme park now. No point in even mentioning the "theme breaks" any more. They stopped caring a long time ago. It's a lost cause. Most people will never know the SDC we grew up with when that was a scandal and you were really supposed to be stepping back in time. I mean, the park is covered in roller coasters now anyway...

On Saturday around noon, I saw a citizen walking down the path toward the glass blowing shop carrying several Dominos Pizza boxes. It was a bit of a shock. What would Miss Mary say to that!?

[SDCisHome]

While there is a divide between old SDC and new SDC...it is still way better than your average theme park. In Missouri, it blows Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis out of the water. So what if it's "covered in roller coasters" it's 2022 and that's what the new generation is going for. It pays the bills. Plus, it's not like the coasters are sitting right there in the middle of the park, they're all hidden in their own way.

There is still plenty of old SDC for everyone to enjoy. The festivals are incredibly themed and fun to attend and the only one that has seemed to be omitted from years past is World Fest. Just because things may not be the same as they were 5, 10 or 20 years ago, doesn't make it bad. To say "they've stopped caring a long time ago" is a complete insult to the citizens who have put a lot of time and effort to making SDC a national destination. 

[Okiebenz]

Yes, it is completely accurate to say they have stopped caring a long time ago...about the sticking to theme that you are stepping back in time.  Just the design of the new buildings says that.  It is more more becoming just another theme park.

[sdcfan88]

It's just a theme park now. No point in even mentioning the "theme breaks" any more. They stopped caring a long time ago. It's a lost cause. Most people will never know the SDC we grew up with when that was a scandal and you were really supposed to be stepping back in time. I mean, the park is covered in roller coasters now anyway...

On Saturday around noon, I saw a citizen walking down the path toward the glass blowing shop carrying several Dominos Pizza boxes. It was a bit of a shock. What would Miss Mary say to that!?

Well she would have had a heart attack with all the clear cutting of the trees in the middle of the park over the past decade. Though the latest example couldn't really be helped due to the fire, it still shocked me to see so much more get clear cut after the fact.

[Pudgy Jones]

To say "they've stopped caring a long time ago" is a complete insult to the citizens who have put a lot of time and effort to making SDC a national destination.

I don't think it's a reflection of the citizens at all. In fact, I would argue that it's the long-time citizens that's kept up the atmosphere as much as it has been. To me, it's more of a top-down issue. In the same way that Mary Herschend set the culture at the beginning, current management is responsible for setting the culture now. Current culture says it's OK to have giant light up Coke coolers in the General Store and play pop music during the day over the speakers. Honestly, there's only a handful of us obnoxious purists who see it as a problem. Most people probably don't even notice. Heck...my wife and kids don't see it as a problem. But then again, they've not been coming to the park since the 70's like I have.

That being said, it is still a special place, especially when compared to other theme parks. I plan to keep coming back and obsessing over the details that no one else notices. 

[shavethewhales]

... Just because things may not be the same as they were 5, 10 or 20 years ago, doesn't make it bad. To say "they've stopped caring a long time ago" is a complete insult to the citizens who have put a lot of time and effort to making SDC a national destination.

Nah. Talk to some workers in the park about the direction things have been going in. Seriously, talk to anyone. If you can find any of the last remaining "old timers" they'll tell you some stories. The park used to be completely different before Wildfire was added about 21 years ago - just a completely different experience.

I'm not going to bemoan what was lost, because times change and what we have now is obviously pretty fun, but there was an SDC of the past that is basically completely gone now. That's what people are getting at when they talk about lighted coolers in an old store. In the old days that would be extremely jarring because they really were trying to create a tongue-in-cheek 1880's experience.

[Preachin_Bill]

While there is a divide between old SDC and new SDC...it is still way better than your average theme park. In Missouri, it blows Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis out of the water. So what if it's "covered in roller coasters" it's 2022 and that's what the new generation is going for. It pays the bills. Plus, it's not like the coasters are sitting right there in the middle of the park, they're all hidden in their own way.

There is still plenty of old SDC for everyone to enjoy. The festivals are incredibly themed and fun to attend and the only one that has seemed to be omitted from years past is World Fest. Just because things may not be the same as they were 5, 10 or 20 years ago, doesn't make it bad. To say "they've stopped caring a long time ago" is a complete insult to the citizens who have put a lot of time and effort to making SDC a national destination.

They stopped caring a long time ago.

Its well on its way to being six flags branson.
Thats what the powers that be prefer.
Heck some of them are probably happy about the train being down. Now they can “update” it and get rid of the classic aspect of it.
Wait til you see the new FITH.  No doubt it will be a soulless PC glitzy ride with no real history or theme.

I try to enjoy the remaining aspects of what made the park special before they transition those out too, one by one as they have been.

[Okiebenz]

Perhaps the new FITH will simply be an indoor dark coaster like the one they have at Six Flags.

[sdcfan88]

With the rumors of a new larger train station going in where the current FITH sits, it makes me wonder with the recent train incident putting the train out of commission and now no references are being made to it on their website or social media, what if they don't bring the train back into operation until that project is done to give time for the media frenzy to die down and give the public the impression that things have been sorted out with it? Seems nuts they would actually have it out of commission for that long but still... considering how viral this incident went being on national news and whatnot, it wasn't good for SDC's publicity. I know none of the trains will likely be in operation this Christmas.