Shavethewhales

A splash battle is a good speculative bet, but I haven't heard anything through the grape vine. Does anyone know what their attendance levels have been like this year? It's hard to say if they'll keep adding smaller to midsize family rides, or try to really open up their market with a big new ride soon. I want to see a big new coaster at the park someday soon. They really only have Cheetah and a bunch of clones.

^It's actually one of the first times in recent memory, according to some of the employees I've talked to. It usually doesn't snow/ice this bad in until January or at least late December in this part of the country, and the park used to be more stubborn about staying open. Of course, it wasn't long ago that rides weren't even the main draw for the park, so it was easier to just keep the shops and covered attractions open. Also, this particular storm brought in so much pure ice.

I guess the only other big ride to speculate about is the mine train. I know it's a bit homer of me, but I could see HFEC picking it up for either Darien Lake or Wild Adventures. Those things are incredibly dynamic with how theming can be applied to them. It's a shame this one was just left in the open. I would say any smaller park could pick it up if it goes cheap, but it looks like it takes a fair bit of flat land.

What really struck me about Lightning Run is that if it were made by RMC out of wood instead of being a steel coaster, people would be going nuts about it. It has all the components of a great ride, it just looks underwhelming from the outside because we're so used to seeing this track type be used for much bigger rides. I agree that it will probably be a sleeper hit if it is smooth.

It doesn't sound like too much of a push-back to me. If they get something out later this month, even if it's just an environment to play with, I'll be pleased. I'm not expecting to be able to play this until March, but I really do think it's worth it if waiting will allow me to have something that is worth spending countless hours playing vs. something that only holds my attention for a few days.

Believe it or not, Herschend has more control over this deal than we realize, or they are just good at repackaging the truth when I spoke with a higher up from Herschend corporate during IAAPA. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name for the life of me. My question during Q&A session with the Show Ambassadors at IAAPA was, "What unique opportunities does Darien Lake posses to make it an attractive option to enter into a management contract?" Well, his answer was pretty straightforward with the usual they have a lot of land and they have an untapped potential to become a major resort. However, a major detail of that answer was that the ultimate goal of this management deal is to decide whether or not Herschend will buy Darien Lake, and own it outright. Some food for thought... Interesting... Seems counter-productive for them though - the more they improve the park the more they'll have to spend if they want to buy it outright. There's a lot of potential there that's really beginning to show through with HFEC at the helm. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the park join the chain.

^It was supposed to be an after-SDC experience for the night crowd in Branson. After a couple of years of trying this strategy, they decided to stop keeping the park open so late after dark. I think by the time they closed they were only open till 8pm... the details are fuzzy to me now. Branson has never really developed the 'night' crowd properly because it is so family oriented. I don't know if I've ever heard an official, non-sugarcoated reason why they actually shut the place down completely after only 5 years. They spent $40 million on the initial build, millions more on new additions, and then after just 5 years they decided it was a failure and closed it with no plan to reopen or sell it in the near future. I know that a lot of their investment was aimed at simply shutting out competition. It's been speculated that CC became what they were trying to prevent others from doing - a lower budget alternative to SDC. I guess they just didnt see a way to mesh the two properties properly, even after all of that expense. It still seems like such a huge waste to me, and I'm a bit bitter about it still. It's not that the park failed per se - it seemed to get fairly decent attendance - it's that it didn't actually increase visitors to Branson and make more money for HFEC as a whole.

It sounded to me like CNL is starting to shift their contracts again. HFEC has left Elitch Gardens, and they were originally only signed on for 3 years with Darien Lake (right?). I wonder if HFEC's contract is in question at this point. They've done so much to improve the park, but I have a feeling CNL only really cares about the bottom line.

I think SF is probably the only group I can think of right now that would buy Max RPM. It's oddball, yet cheap enough to fit a number of their parks. It's too much of a risk for a smaller park to take on. Other than the B&M and the mine train, was there anything else at this park worth watching? I don't remember there being many good flat rides.

So here's another stroke of luck for the park that just won't die: Source: http://www.aceonline.org/AceNewsNow/?article=470&RSSupd=20131127 Sounds really strange and amazing to me, much like everything else going on with this park. Who just buys a coaster and then gives it away to a random park like that? I guess it probably went for a few hundred dollars, and IRM figured it would be a nice little promotion. What a huge stroke of luck for Bell's though - a kiddie coaster could be a real attraction for them. I know I was glued to the Herschell little dipper at kiddie park when I was a kid. In other news, the crowd-sourcing effort was a bit of a fail. It's been awhile now, but I think they got $15,000 or so out of the $60,000 they were hoping for, but since they used Indiegogo, they actually got the money. In the last update they gave, they had made visible progress on the tilt-a-whirl and were promising to get started soon on a concession stand, mini-golf course, and several other rides. I'm going to be able to stop by the park in a couple weeks again to see if they've really made any real progress.

HFEC is not going to sell the park to someone looking to re-open amusements on the property. That much I know for sure. Much of the reason behind their purchase of the property in the first place was to stifle low-budget competition to SDC. Rumors about redeveloping CC have been swirling around since the place closed. I wouldn't get excited. If the road project doesn't get resurrected within the next five years, I think they'll sell it off in parcels for restaurants and hotels. There is a small possibility that they'll put a different kind of attraction there such as an aquarium, but I think they are still very wary about investing too much in Branson properties other than SDC at this point. By the way, I made it out to the park last weekend. Spur of the moment decision to visit the park with my young nephew rather than study for finals. It was definitely the right choice - I got to see him experience Half Dollar Holler for the first time, which he loved dearly. Ate a lot of food of course and snagged rides on PK, Wildfire, and Outlaw Run. The only big note I have to share is that the crowd levels fluctuate so, so much during the day at this time of year. At opening it's pretty mild. Around the late afternoon till the time the sun starts to go down the place will be packed. After the first holiday light parade though, the place quickly starts to empty out, doubly so if it's cold. Outlaw Run had hour+ waits for much of the afternoon, but if you came back during the last hour of the night it was a walk-on, even on one of the busiest days of the year.

I don't have time to look it up, but I'm almost positive there was a news article a couple of months ago that explained that they would not be adding physical attractions next year, but hinted at the Geyser Gulch project for 2015. They always take a 'year off' to focus on maintenance and other aspects of the park after adding a huge attraction anyway.

^The weekend after Christmas should be good. The crowds vary based on weather, but after Christmas is not known to be a busy time, and they have a lot of last-minute deals going on. The rides will be open unless it's a cold weekend and it dips below 40. Not much more to it than that, but it's still worth the trip IMO even if they aren't (I happen to be into the whole crafts/shows aspect of the place though). The mugs SHOULD still be honored for refills based on the year they were purchased, unless they were purchased in one of the recent odd years such as 2011 when they started being more screwy with the mug refill perks. However, for $25, you can probably just buy one in the park and get a few refills for not much more.

^Sounds like they're simply throwing a party for awareness/fundraising. I'm still very excited about this project. I have a good feeling that since they've taken it this far and have followed this approach, good things will come out of it. It reminds me a lot of the Bay Beach project to build the Zippin Pippin.

That rumor was only really supported by one person. I think at one point the park might have been looking in this direction, but they sure aren't now. They have pretty much already confirmed that 2014 will be a maintenance/festival year and in 2015 they'll open a major renovation of Geyser Gulch with several new children's rides and the shot tower from CC. They seem to have been wanting to put a few more coasters into SDC. For a long time I've had people telling me of a backlog of major projects that'll happen if they can just get the funding in place, but the weather and finicky crowds just haven't been cooperating in the last few years.

Very cool. So many nominations too. I'm glad to see DW sweep a couple of tickets as well, though I'm sure we can argue over who has the best christmas event between the two. Really good day for HFEC!

Very exciting times for Bell's. Like I've said before, the whole thing is a little rough around the edges, but they are really putting everything they've got into it and you've got to respect them for that. The recent social marketing pushes have been extremely effective. Tulsa still really wants to see Bell's rebuilt, and a lot of people are getting behind this movement. They had over 400 people show up a weekend or so ago. Not bad for just four kiddie rides in a flea market parking lot. The tilt-a-whirl is still coming along. I've seen them out there working on it for weeks, but they're mostly just working weekends at the moment. The top deck seems to be done, and they've got a lot of the gearing in place. Seems to just need side panels, railings, the cars themselves, and a motor. I think the cars have been worked on separately, so I hope to see it running this Fall. I believe the spider will be the next ride on the agenda, as well as a concession stand. The scrambler and carousel will soon follow, as well as the mini golf course. ^Btw, about that map: Bell's/the flea market is actually located just to the left of the yellow circle. They are inbetween the dirt farm and the race tracks. I believe the guy that owns the flea market also owns the land the dirt farm is on as well as some other land around it though, so they certainly do have a lot of space to grow, just not that entire red area.

The holiday events begin in early November. SDC is thoroughly enjoyable in the winter. It will be well worth the trip. It's not the same as the summer, but you will most likely get to ride all the major rides unless there is a cold snap. Really though, the shows, lights, ambiance, shopping, etc. are where it's at.

Great TR. I didn't even percieve the comments as being negative, just realistic. I grew up going to a small amusement park like this one myself (Bell's in Tulsa), so I know how it is. It's just a lot rougher around the edges than the chain parks, but the experiences are unique and still quite fun (and much cheaper). It really looks like the park is doing much better than it has in the past. I've seen it when it was just a handful of carnival rides in the past. I never knew there was so much history behind it.

Great photos, thanks for sharing. I had never heard of Big Cedar Lodge, looks impressive. It sounds like the kind of resort I'm hoping SDC will build one day. About FITH, it seems like every year they do a lot of work on it and fix it up, but people always mention it needing TLC and some of the effects stop working. I'm not sure if it's really that prone to breakage, or if people just don't remember what effects actually exist and what parts are just static. Thanks for the heads up about the chicken place too. I'm sure we would have been tempted. Seems like the 'gimmick' places are always ones to avoid.

RMC has taken over the high-thrill end of the wooden coaster business of which TGG was formerly starting to dominate. GCII has mostly stuck to what they are good at, which is medium-sized well-packaged wooden coasters that have a wide appeal and low initial cost. With the wooden coaster market being so competitive right now, if TGG doesn't get their act together and release something new and spectacular I don't think they'll be able to last much longer. By the way, HFEC has done plenty of business with GCII after OzCat, including Thunderhead (one of the most popular coasters in the entire chain), and a major refurbishment of Cheetah at WA. I definitely see them going back to GCII some day for a smaller coaster with family appeal.

Just an employee forgetting to sign out of the corporate twitter account. Anyway, about LM, I can't believe the rumors that GCII was spotted on this project. It sounds like a rumor a young enthusiast started. We know HFEC has been working with RMC already, and they are known for using the same company on multiple projects. The description they give sounded exactly like a RMC product. It just wouldn't make sense to switch vendors so suddenly, especially to a vendor that hasn't proven themselves like RMC has. GCII could very well move into the restoration/modernization business to stay competitive in the current market, but I think it will be a couple of years until they land a project of that nature. It takes a while just for the R&D, especially when they have a small crew and are fitting it inbetween projects.

That is an exceptionally well thought out layout. Most of the other wing coasters are essentially standard looping coasters that happen to have wing coaster trains, but this one actually takes advantage of the train design and should provide a unique, thrilling ride. I wish the wing coasters in the states had been designed like this. I love the dive under the gift shop, and the near misses with the track itself look good. Also like that it doesn't have a MCBR. That seems to be a modern thing now though.

First of all this is still fairly early in the "announcement season". It's seems to have come increasingly earlier each year, but parks tend to make big announcements anytime between the end of summer and Christmas, and of course DL has done it even later than that. If they are planning on doing this project for 2014, the announcement could come in September or October, after all the other major announcements from other regional parks are out of the way. It seems like some of the smaller parks have tended to announce later so they aren't upstaged by the bigger parks. I don't know if I've said this on here yet or not, but after thinking about this a bit, I expect that this project would be an extensive rebuild of Predator rather than a new stand-alone coaster. HFEC management has tended towards quality over quantity, and I could see them thinking it doesn't make sense to operate a rough, aging wooden coaster next to their new wood hybrid. By rebuilding Predator they get a chance to re-sell the concept of a wooden coaster to people, if you know what I mean. If Predator were to remain, a lot of the GP would assume the new coaster had similar characteristics and may not like it as much. That's my take on it. I could certainly be wrong and they may have decided that they need the addition to their coaster count more than the image boost. We might have to wait until 2015 to find out though, but give them till October of this year before ruling it out for 2014.

^JJ, I don't think there's an argument about the fact that it's a business and that they follow whatever trends are marketable to the current demographic. I'm first in line to say that the park has maintained it's "feel" and overall awesome level of experience to an exceptional level throughout the huge demographic changes it has experienced. However, I think many enthusiasts would be surprised to know how diverse a demographic it is. SDC is patronized by everyone from toddlers to grandparents, and the park has always had excellent offerings for everyone. Heck, I can remember recently that during certain times of the year, the rides were running almost empty while the lines for shows and craft demonstrations were running out of buildings. SDC has shown that there are other people who will come to theme parks, you don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator: ie, kids. The reason so many crafts are imported these days has a lot to do with the volume they sell, not that no one is buying it. When a number of people in my family visit, they always purchase crafts and pottery. A lot of older people are the same - part of their day is spent specifically on seeking out crafts and unique things to buy. It is tough finding new craftsmen though. A lot of them are trying to retire, and there are few to replace them who don't charge exceptional fees. When SDC was founded craftman skills were still abundant, and even taught in some schools. That might be the demographic change that's affecting them the most.