Shavethewhales

Awesome! Sounds like maybe some dry side expansions in the works after all? Or at least some great water side expansions. I'm very excited to hear about it.

When I rode it last June I still thought it was still too rough to be very enjoyable - and I'm usually a fan of old woodies. It's a certain type of jostling that just ruins it. The helix was certainly the worst part, but the whole ride has issues. Maybe I just rode on a particularly bad day though - it's happened before. I would have really liked to see new trains after a full GCI retracking though. I don't think it will be long before the PTCs tear it up again. Seems like a wasted effort.

This was the one I was thinking of: http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_0c806d5a-e4f1-11e7-967f-6fc1bd93f9ff.html Actually there have been several new indoor water parks, but most of them have been glorified indoor pools. This resort is actually pretty sizable with $422 million worth of development. I don't think the new water park will be huge, but it sounds like it will be big enough to be called a real water park.

Meh... While it's going to be a slight improvement on the current ride experience, I wish they would have just shelled out the money to retrack the whole thing at once. These band-aid fixes over a several year span haven't made the ride much more enjoyable. The helix was rough, but it was also interesting and was fun when it was smoother. This ride has been neutered and modified so many times that it is barely recognizable compared to what it once was. Even with this modification it will probably still be too rough for a lot of kids, but it's too mild and unremarkable for anyone else. I would just tear it down and replace it with a junior woodie from M&V or Gravity Group at this point.

They spent a lot on the new Christmas stuff though - that was basically the new attraction for this year. It is great to see the park really taking off again though. They have been bursting at the seams and actually losing customers because of how busy they've been during Christmas and how overcrowded it has been. The new coaster next year will really set things over the edge. They need more parking, a bigger entrance, wider walkways, etc... I have a feeling a Dollywood-esque period of investments and expansions is near. Maybe not $300 million worth over a decade, but I expect a resort announcement any year now. I don't know if we discussed it already here or not, but a huge new water park resort has been proposed just down the road from SDC. They are losing out on opportunities here if they don't spend some money to increase SDC's capacity and get started on more resort amenities.

Sigh... not a good sign. I'll see if I can find someone to contact later this week to get a scoop on what's happening. I'm close to finalizing my trip plans for this year and I was hoping to get there...

Pretty low. I think the new record this year was 26,000 in one day (but not all at once). Most good weekend days saw at least 19-20,000. The last few days have been just a few thousand. When it gets below freezing all day they start counting by the hundreds. Basically just a dinner crowd.

Certainly a large themed area, but I'd bet it will be in stages. Probably looking at a Fireman's-landing style area to start, with a new coaster added later. If the rumor about it being the largest expansion ever are true, then it would have to be larger than County Fair with it's ten rides. Perhaps the play building will be really huge. One of the issues with SDC's is that it's a bit small. Lots of possibilities here with so much new land and a park as ambitious as DW. I keep forgetting this is going on, but the latest photos have me floored. That's some industrial-level clearing going on.

People are talking about how trimmed the first drop is... Time will tell how it operates in three months when there are real riders, but for now it seems like the big first drop may seem like kind of a dud - for the front cars at least. I think coaster enthusiasts will quickly learn to head for the back and it will be plenty thrilling in those seats. I suspected all along that it wouldn't be that intense. People make too much out of a little spinning. Other than the first drop, which will apparently be neutered, there are no obviously intense elements on this ride. The first launch might have a nice push to it, but less so than PK. We'll see what it actually feels like, but I think a lot of people will be surprised by how "mild" the ride actually is, compared to how it's been presented. It looks really imposing, but they stopped short of making it actually crazy. Ultimately I think it will be a really fun ride, but I think it will have an identity problem among the GP. It's going to be tough to get anyone on it that isn't a fan of thrill coasters, but actual thrill seekers may be disappointed that it isn't as wildly thrilling as it seems. I guess I should add though that it could feel a lot more intense than it looks. I'm ready to try it out.

There are two levels of queue area before you get to the loading level. It doesn't look as big anymore as it did during construction now that it's all be closed in and the insides are taking shape. It's just really tall, especially from the valley side. Probably could have been a bit less tall if they had done the launch/lift before the drop like the concept artwork had. Maybe it was cheaper this way. Still a crazy spot to squeeze in a coaster like this.

I know I'm kind of biased here, but I think this might be the coolest looking coaster train ever. The finishes are exquisite. I think this might be the earliest they've ever gotten a coaster testing. I don't recall Powderkeg or Outlaw testing until after the season. Probably don't want any surprises after lightning rod...

So basically Dinosaurs Alive but with bugs? At least it's something. Doesn't sound like it will be an upcharge either, so that's nice.

Oh my god, I am so happy this is finally happening. Actual vertical construction at last. Who knows if the theme park will ever get here, but this is something. It's been a long time since I've seen a developer actually pull through on a project like this after so many delays and setbacks.

Very thoughtful addition. I would have loved all of this as a kid. I love how these smaller family-owned parks go all-out with good ideas like this where bigger corporate parks would have added a couple of kids' slides and been done with it. I hope this takes out the pilgrim's plunge eyesore.

Well they were reportedly about to start on the water park and then Harvey hit... I don't think they'll be able to find the necessary contractors for awhile. I wouldn't be surprised if they have to delay another year at least. At least this is a legitimate excuse...

This came as a surprise, and it's huge news for this park. This means that the new owners are keeping the dry side and are going to build it back up to a full park. While the park suffers in the summer from how hot and muggy it is in HS, they have figured out that people still want to come out in Fall and even Winter. Their halloween event sounded like it was successful, and I'm sure they will expand into Christmas just like FC and Wild Waves are doing. I wouldn't expect them to go crazy with adding dry rides again, but I think this will be the first of several new flats to be added over the next few years. HS is still struggling forward and there isn't a huge population base to give a serious ROI from a new coaster, but these cheaper Larson flats should give them pretty good value. Would love to see a set of flyers next.

Great photos as always, thanks for sharing! If SDC doesn't win best Christmas Event this year, I'm going to start some serious shit or something with the Golden Ticket people, lol. You just know that half the people there are going to vote for DW without thinking, and they don't even have the tree this year apparently? SDC really tried to step it up this year, and it is paying off. The park has been packed at night, even with so much new competition. It's not just other parks that are doing Christmas events, but also other light displays in the area. The barriers to entry are coming down with cheaper LED's and such, but no one can replace all the other stuff that SDC provides.

Here's the thing about Flooded Mine's "glory days" - when you look back at the old pictures and post cards it actually looks a lot simpler than it does today. No one remembers how goofy the old mannequins were, and they added a lot of details throughout the years. There are still some employees there that put a lot of care and work into making it look as sharp as it can. The switch-over to the shoot-out format added a lot of quirks and gags that people love, even if they don't enjoy the shooting. The real problem with it now is that they won't spend the relatively small amounts of money on small upgrades like replacing the gun system or things like sound effects that break. I worry that they are letting it slip more each year until it is "justified" to take it out. The more I look back over old SDC history, the more I realize how much truly changes from year to year. It's not so much the change that is hard to deal with as the way things change. I know we're all worried that if they completely re-did the flooded mine it wouldn't have the hand-made details or the funny non-PC story lines. It would probably be some kind of generic mystery mine with projection screens and all that. Who knows though. A renovation in the way of knotts would be well received by the park fans, but I'm not sure they think they would get the ROI without doing something big and gimmicky. They are smarter than we give them credit for most of the time though, so we'll just have to wait and see. Won't be long until SOMETHING is done though.

See I would absolutely LOVE it if more parks actually did this. I'm so tired of parks letting good wooden coasters go to crap because there's no ROI in keeping them maintained, and then everyone begs them to tear them down. Such a waste. I get excited when they get refurbished though - it's almost like a new coaster sometimes. This will literally bump KK up a notch in my priority list. I might just be able to squeeze out a roadtrip over there next summer if all goes well. These are fantastic flat additions too. I really enjoy the Zamperla Endeavors. Some of them need a longer ride cycle, but they really do capture the essence of the old enterprises.

There's a chance that something will be announced next year before opening. I could see something small being added, but more likely the new owners will wait another year to monitor how the park is doing and then expand the water park again since that is what probably makes sense. They haven't sprung into investments the way CNL did when they first took ownership. So far DL is getting a rather small coaster and both FC and Wild Waves are getting a Christmas event next year. Seems like good ideas and a fairly cautious approach, but being cautious and frugal doesn't bode well for this park, IMO. I didn't even know they had a Halloween event, but it looks like it was at least slightly successful. Seems kind of odd for the dry side of the park to be open by itself still though. If they got any actual crowds for Halloween I can't imagine what a cluster it must have been with their usual 5+ minute dispatches.

So to be clear, it's not confirmed that they will go with the Iron Shark layout? Like they just submitted that as an example? I rode Iron Shark earlier this year and enjoyed it, but the whole point of that layout was to fit it onto a tiny pier. Somehow it would just rub me the wrong way if an expansive park like DL got a clone of it just to be cheap. I know they are going for a small budget, but I'm sure there isn't that much difference in engineering costs to come up with a slightly different layout to fit the actual site. In any case $4.5 million isn't going to buy much, but Iron Shark is very fun albeit short.

Cool, I love when they do "show years" because I still think that's one of the main things that sets HFEC parks apart. The other regional parks just never can seem to put as much effort into shows - they just have a completely different mindset about that kind of entertainment in parks. I've read through the press release twice though, and I don't see an explanation for the concept art pictures? Where is that going to be in the park?

Does DW start pushing season passes in early November like SDC does? Because that's usually the latest that announcements for next year are made. The trend seems to be to announce big rides in August and everything else in early November. I agree though, we could be looking at a construction site for a year. They like to do that.

The station is supposed to be a clock factory that was inherited by a guy with bigger ambitions. Together with his daughter he turns it into a huge workshop for creating a time machine. Supposedly the ground floor will be full of clocks, and as you ascend you go through the workshop with a big time machine or something hanging in the big gap they made in the center of the queue area. I think it will look amazing on the inside. I too am kind of wary of how it looks on the outside so far, but a few thematic details could really liven it up and as far as I can tell the theming crew hasn't made it to the park yet.

There are a few very dedicated individuals that have been trying their hardest to keep the ride looking as nice as possible for it's 50th season. It's extremely hard to keep it going these days since what it really needs is an entirely new gun system, but the park doesn't seem to think the expense will pay off. Not sure what is going to happen in the next few years, but the ride does have a cult following.