Shavethewhales

Whereas WOF and SFStL are obviously built around their local patrons, SDC is potentially competing to become a major resort destination for the entire midwest/central plains. I strongly feel that the next steps after this new coaster are an expanded front gate and a resort hotel. SDC is never going to have much of a true local crowd other than the Springfield metro, but there is still a certain segment of theme park-going crowd they can still steal away from the other parks. The competition between all three parks is multi-layered and probably too complex for all us armchair park managers to understand, but certainly this new coaster will at least temporarily pull more people to Branson vs. WOF or SFStL. A lot of people buy one set of season passes per year and that is the extent of their theme parking for the year. I know if I lived in Kansas City, a year or two of SDC season tickets would look much more appealing right now then going back to WOF again. Some people will make the choice of giving up multiple trips to SFStL in favor of a trip or two to Branson. A lot of people won't, but some will. But this coaster is looking great so far. Nothing insane yet, but the size of these big sweeping turns tells us that there is a lot more in store.

To be clear, it is referenced to TTD in terms of the first couple years of operations. There were some major hiccups with TTD, but honestly at this point I think TTD was operating a lot more, and it was never down this much. You still had a chance of riding it on most days, whereas the only chance of riding LR was late last year. Vertigo is really starting to be a closer comparison.

Adventureland is a park that doesn't get talked about enough in enthusiast circles. I never really gave it much thought since it is over 8 hours away from me in the middle of Iowa, but after the addition of Monster I decided to make plans to check it out. This park blew me away. I thought it was just going to be a generic amusement park with a few coasters, but it turned out to be a really enjoyable experience from start to finish. This park seems like it is the Knoebel's of the Midwest. (I'll be able to make a more definite comparison next month when I finally make it to Knoebel's) Adventureland has a really under-rated lineup of flat rides and coasters, a surprisingly nice set of bars, and really interesting operations. What seems to make all the difference with the operations is that unlike the big corporate parks, nearly all of Adventureland is run by older adults. I'm sure a lot of them have been there a long time too, and they all have a certain air of knowing exactly what they are doing and how to keep things running smoothly with a fun but no BS attitude. What is really strange though is the attitude towards loose articles. Most parks are going to higher and higher extremes to keep loose articles off rides, but not Adventureland. This is perhaps the last park in the country that will not just let you, but in some cases tell you to take a backpack or purse with you on a roller coaster. They do have personal item bins in most places, but oddly not in The Outlaw or Underground stations, so they tell you to just hold on to your stuff real tight. This combined with the lack of station gates in a couple of the coaster stations really takes you back to simpler times. I also have to say how much I appreciate their fair food prices and reasonable quality. The bratwursts were pretty good, cookies and milk were brilliant, and several other food choices looked good at normal prices. You can even get ice cream treats for like $2! Big difference compared to WOF the day before where I felt repeatedly ripped off by things like a $6 ice cream cone that was literally 2 bites of ice cream. Only thing I have to complain about food-wise was the well overdone hamburger I got later on, but I'm sure it was on the warming rack for too long. I recommend staying with the bratwursts at the Oktoberfest restaurant/bar. The tap line at that place is better than most of the bars around me! apparently they have an awesome distributor that is one of the few licensed to distribute authentic German Oktoberfest beers. The park's town square style entrance plaza is really nice. A lot of places would make it super cheesy and have a lot of false facades, but this one is full of restaurants, shops, a bingo parlor, and even a HUSS Break dance tucked inside an arcade! It's just a super nice setting as you walk into the park and it's the first sign that this park does so many little and big things right. The Underground was the first coaster I rode. I knew very little about it other than the fact that it is an enclosed coaster, but I absolutely loved it. I'm a big fan of kitschy, classic, and oddball rides and this is all three. For the uninitiated, The Underground is a custom wooden roller coaster that is built above ground but entirely enclosed with tunnels and small buildings. There are scenes, animatronics, and even a waterfall that you go past at a decent clip despite the lack of any actual drops. Two chain lifts throughout the course lift the train up enough for it to coast around at a slight incline. Funny story: I was going to ride it again at the end of the day, but as we are waiting at the gates we hear the train rush past on the other side not once, not twice, but three times. We assumed it was either a joke or the operators having fun with that batch of riders, but nope! They were actually stuck on the ride! They made us leave while they figured out how to stop the train! Personally I would have loved to be stuck on that ride for a few ERT trips. Next was the classic Tornado, which I again fell in love with. Classic out and back woodies are my favorite and I will ride the crap out of them no matter the condition. This one is a bit bumpy, but compared to many it is riding pretty well! Even better is the fact that they still use the original squeeze breaks, and the trains have single lap bars! Also of note is the fact that there are no station gates! It's a true old school ride! The Dragon is kind of meh, but it's fun enough. It's basically just two loops and a figure 8, but the first half of the figure 8 is actually pretty forcefull and includes a highbanked low to the ground turn that gives some nice G-forces. Not much to write home about but worth a few rides. The Outlaw was kind of a disappointment. It's small, short, and rough. I love my wooden coasters, but this one is probably at the bottom of the list. I just didn't see the point in it, and it feels like it is the red-headed stepchild of this park. This ride needs a refurb of some nature to bring some value back to it. GCII or even RMC with a light treatment of new track and a slight reprofile would be great. Monster is a fun ride. It has a great length to it compared to other rides of this nature. It feels like going through a dozen loops even though you only go upside down five times. The open restrains and smooth ride make it a lot of fun. Only downside is the low capacity. This was the only ride in the park to have a decent line on this calm hot Saturday when nearly everyone was in the water park. RCDB says they have three cars, they were only running two, and with the speed of their typical operations adding the third car wouldn't make much difference. Not an issue for now really, but I hope they can expand the station somehow in the future so two cars can be loaded at once like Mystery Mine. The impressive flat ride lineup includes a shot tower, top spin style ride, mondial windseeker, a falling star, a frisbee style ride, a huss breakdance, and such classics as a paratrooper, tiltawhirl, and pirate ship. Perhaps the non coaster ride I enjoyed the most though was the classic sky ride that goes right through the Monster. There is definitely a lack of water rides now with both the river rapids and log rides gone, but they do have a great water park that they have just built in. So all-in-all, I'm a fan! I'd love to make it back here again as soon as possible, I just need them to build a train from Tulsa to Des Moines or something... Cute train station as you enter the park. Not a filter, my camera just bugs out from time to time like this. This place feels like an old post card though. I kind of loved this old animatronic in the station of Underground. It was creepy because the voice is gone, but she still looks around and moves her mouth with a bizarrely loud chattering sound. Corn and coasters! No need to yell at kids for messing with the gates here. Look at these decent prices. I love the wooded park setting on this side of the park. That's the Oktoberfest restaurant/bar! Worth stopping for! I didn't ride this because there are no loose article bins and I'm sure it rips stuff out of pockets - but it looked awesome! I was looking for an ice cream stand, but cookies and milk is even better! This place literally serves cookies and milk! They make cookies by the hundreds and sell them by either the cup or bucket full! This looks like it was taken in the 80's, but my phone camera just sucks. This frisbee ride was actually one of the better variants. Beautiful end to a beautiful day How many parks have a bingo parlor still? I forgot about this until I was leaving, but I should have played. This is straight out of 1940! I'm so excited to see what the future holds for this place. It won't take much to bring me back, no matter the distance!

The folks at IR Engineering have been on these very boards to defend their work. Based on their explanations and how forthcoming they are, I doubt there stuff is the issue. It is probably a combination of various things not playing nice together. But we're back to making assumptions about what could possibly be going wrong again... We haven't figured it out yet, and I'm sure we won't until someone who actually works on it comes out and states it. Funny, I was just at Adventureland in Iowa the other day and their old wooden coaster Tornado still operates on manual squeeze breaks with seemingly no sensors anywhere. They don't even have station gates to keep people away from the tracks. Sure makes things simpler to run...

Fantastic! I love to see parks, especially smaller parks, go the extra step to make things look great. It really shows an underlying care and appreciating behind how they do things and that they aren't just looking for a quick buck. Seabreeze has been on my radar for a long time, but it's going to take a long time before it comes up on my list of things to finally make it to. I'm glad that it is apparently going to be improving in the meantime.

The park seems to be doing well today. Most rides are open. Only major ride that I have seen down is Boomerang. Operations are pretty decent - not great, but the guests cause most of the slowness themselves. Cant believe so many people still think they can take purses on a roller coaster. Its hot, but the crowds are pretty light. Only one complaint today: the $6 ice cream is a tiny scoop on a kiddie cone. The girl working said she was sure that was the correct size, but she seemed super unsure about everything since it was her first day working the stand. Probably should have known better than to buy food in the park, but usually ice cream is a safe bet. Thats like 2 bites.

Always makes me happy to see such effort put into theming. And as we always point out, if these little european parks can do it, why not the huge U.S. parks?

My first take is that Six Flags is making some serious strides. Probably thanks in large part to the addition of holiday events, but there have certainly been some chain wide improvements in the guest experience. Geez, what's going on with Ocean Park? Don't follow them enough to know the situation, but -18.8% is nuts. Disney France still struggling hard too? Again, I haven't followed them much but I thought they were making improvements. The industry as a whole is growing at a rapid pace. While we have lost a lot of small parks in the U.S. over the years, the big parks keep getting bigger with no sign of stopping. I seem to remember less than ten years ago a lot of the biggest U.S. parks were seeing around 2 million? That was with shorter seasons though - so much has changed with how parks operate in the last decade. The sudden expansion in China and other countries has been a godsend to the global industry as well. A lot of those parks on the Asia list are pretty new.

Still hung up on the emphasis in the "Like Nothing Else" statement though... A standard model coaster that shares similarities with a coaster in Europe is not really unique, albeit awesome. I still think there is a gimmick to all this that hasn't been revealed yet. Perhaps it will be something as simple as theming elements though? Something like "What's in the shed?" but with a mine shaft? That would be a relief, and at SDC that type of thing would actually go over extremely well. This park and chain likes it's gimmicks and world's first's though. If we are betting, I'm still going with some kind of spinning action. After all, five different concept pitches showed spinning cars, and the concept pitches historically show the idea they are pursuing. I think it will be calculated though - people hear "spinning coaster" and immediately assume it will be spin-till-you-puke. I'm guessing a ride like this would have a combination of straight segments, free spinning segments, and controlled spinning segments. They have the technology and are spending the money to do it right. There's no way they are spending this much money on something that would turn people off. There's also the fact to consider that the design may have changed considerably since the original pitch. I've noted before about the apparent changes during the staking/clearing process. They could have nixed the spinning concept for a more traditional model. Only time will tell...

Well that sucks... I'm planning on being there on Friday. Hope the coasters are at least open. Wasn't WOF featured on NPR like two years ago for their great operations? Did they have a corporate shake-up?

I would not be surprised if there is a lawsuit in the works, but I'm not certain they would file it yet. Probably by the end of this summer if we don't see massive improvement in the ride we should start looking for a court filing. The contracts between ride vendors and parks are surely pretty complicated, but you would expect that there is a provision to recoup losses if the ride provided isn't able to be operated for a certain percentage of time. I'm too lazy to lookup the case they brought against HUSS, but I believe it was essentially breach of contract because the ride didn't work or was ridiculous to maintain. There's been a lot of talk about who is responsible: RMC or the launch subcontractor, but if they have a true main contractor/subcontractor relationship then I worry that RMC is in for some trouble here. The sub will get dumped on obviously, but it's not like the main contractor gets to just pass the buck. I'm sure RMC sold the whole concept to the park based on their confidence that this launch sub could get it to work. In any case, it's about to get seriously messy.

^Wildfire has the only true observation area. PK just has a bit of path next to the launch that was leftover from the Buzzsaw Days when they were going to add a bunch of crafts/shops up there. OR just has a little exit path that is accessible, but the track is out in the woods so there wasn't much of an option there. Wildfire's observation area is incredible though - it's a something I've really wanted more parks to look into wherever it can be worked into a design. With this ride being on a hillside, all they have to do is add a deck on the other side of the station and it will be perfect. Time will tell if that is in the plans. If not, we'll still have the back porch of the culinary school.

I remember last year I was really worried about them not having the issues sorted out by Memorial Day and that they would head into the summer with a bunch of people disappointed... I never imagined it would happen for the second year in a row. Seriously, if this part doesn't seriously improve the up-time, just go ahead and put a chain on it. I don't think the optics of getting rid of the launch would be anywhere near as bad as having a star ride that barely operates. Anyway though, I'm thinking that before too long we could start seeing some markings for the 2018 addition. If they are indeed adding a whole new area as proposed in the last concept, then they will typically start clearing by August depending on how much excavation is necessary. Keep a lookout!

TRACK IS NOW GOING UP! It does indeed appear to be Mack track - kinda dark green in color? I did not expect them to start adding track this fast for some reason. Can't wait to see what kind of tangled mess of track this thing is going to become. There's enough footers in place for all kinds of craziness.

I agree that the mountain/mining theme is a very real possibility still. There were actually two concept surveys about a spinning coaster with a plunge. The first one was widely publicized with themes of Rodeo, Mystery Mine, and Time Traveler. The second survey had a more targeted rodeo style theme and another take on the mining theme. They took out the trademark for Time Traveler, so everyone kind of assumed that their choice was made, and the second survey was glossed over. Perhaps the Time Traveler theme was a red herring from the beginning and they were choosing between the rodeo and mining themes. It's also possible that they started out with the time traveler theme, then switched soon after construction first started. There was a rumor at the time that the design had changed after a bunch of the survey stakes moved around. It was apparently originally slated to cross over TNT instead of merely coming super close. Who knows with these kinds of projects, but it's not unheard of for SDC to have several options thoroughly prepared, and then switch some things at the last moment. I'm sure they will tinker with the theme continuously based on what they still have in the budget and what thematic elements they can get their hands on. It's really hard to tell what all is going on with the big concrete boxes and such, but it is very possible that this ride will have multiple tunnels and towers/mineshafts. I've been too quick to write off the possibility of much theming going in among all these footers, but it's been pointed out to me that a lot of thematic elements are not worked on until after the ride is pretty much built. With the amount they are spending and the continued implication of some sort of "plunge" out of a tower, it definitely seems like there will be some major set pieces on this ride.

Supports typically go up pretty fast - often several bents per day. I'm assuming they are working from the far side first... so within a couple of weeks they should be ready for track on that side before they get to far along on the center. Surely the track must already be in transit by now; perhaps it is even being held at an off site location. I can't even wait for an update from this weekend. This is going to be an exciting couple of months. It's like Christmas morning in slow motion.

That photo really shows how much effort some of the huge support locations have taken. That photo is from not too long after they started construction, seeing as the clearing got a lot bigger and the excavations got a lot deeper. There's a big box to the right of the first second concrete patch from the bottom in the photo. Some of that is due to cave issues, but they wouldn't be doing that much unless they are going to be supporting some huge elements. Big news though: vertical construction has officially started! It's going to be spectacular watching this thing fly together when we still don't know anything official about what it is. Most of us are still trying to verify the manufacturer!

Columns are onsite. Looks like vertical construction is going to start this week? Queue line has footers poured as well.

Great shots as always! Amazing how the station continues to change shape, just when we think we have it figured out. I still think noise will be a problem for EH. They don't do stunt performances in the hollow, it's all singing. The performers used to complain about Thunderation... Even if the coaster runs quiet, the screams will be annoying enough for that kind of music and theater. I'm still assuming that the long term plan is to simply build a new amphitheater somewhere else. Been a lot of rumors through the years about building a new one in conjunction with a new entrance. Who knows when they will finally get around to that though, and I'm sure they will take their sweet time building that too.

SDC and beer simply don't mix. It's not because beer is not awesome - I love a good beer break at most parks myself. SDC is what it is because it was built out of a certain value and belief system. I don't want to go into the weeds discussing it, but after all the history and vision of the park it would be a shame if it got so corporate that they threw it all away for a few concession sales. I don't think it will happen anytime in the foreseeable future though, even if all the Herschends clear out. 95% of the park's current patrons are familiar and sympathetic with the evangelical leanings of the park. Also, I don't know what Kentucky's Bluegrass festivals are like, but SDC's Bluegrass festival is pretty religious in nature. A lot of the songs you hear are going to involve Jesus. That would be kind of weird to drink moonshine to.

I'm planning a trip to Knoebel's for July, and I think my plan to save money is going to be packing a tent and sleeping bag and staying in the campground. It's not usually crazy hot there in the summer, right? I'm sure it's warm, but not like 70-80 degrees at night hot like where I'm from.

^Well when it happens once in a decade it doesn't really call for an expensive change... but at this point I'd be surprised if they don't do something. Honestly though, with how much bad publicity this ride has brought the park, and with how squeezed they are for land, and with the recent sale and new investment opportunities opening up, I'm thinking this is a nail in the coffin for this coaster at FC. Hopefully it isn't scrapped though - maybe they could send it to Magic Springs? I had already wondered if they were thinking of replacing it with a cheap Gerstauler or Mack standard compact model. If they get a custom design like Monster that would be awesome.

Exactly. I'm kind of amazed at how much effort they are putting in to get around doing a little proper engineering. So much form work and manpower to do this... If they had just gone to a western company with the general concept they would have gotten something so much better. I realize it's a risk to go to the drawing board and start from scratch with a new concept, but if this is the alternative then why not go with something else altogether? At least they are good at building theming - for however long it lasts. I've heard the rock work at Chinese parks tends to fall apart pretty quick. I'll bet it will be fun though, all things said and done. Rides built out of pure craftmanship like this tend to be the most unique and interesting at least.

Not to mention the fact that many roads have been severely damaged. Asphalt layers were picked up and carried away in some areas. It's going to be a mess for a long time, and we're still not out of the rainy season yet. Hope it doesn't hurt the park too much with visitor count.

If it were a hyper, it'd have to have a vertical lift, and there would be absolutely no straight sections... The footers are packed into a tight area stretching across a big gully. It's a bunch of footers, and a sizable area, but not like a hyper coaster area. I mean, it still could be 200' tall for the drop at least, but we can rule out any sort of traditional hyper coaster at this point. It will be very twisted. I wish I could get shots of the footers without breaking any rules. Riding TNT gives some great views. These are still the best overview shots: http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/business/2017/03/03/silver-dollar-city-confirms-single-biggest-thing-ever-done-under-construction/98496960/ Those are old photos though, from at least 3 or 4 months ago. A lot of footers have been added since, especially the big block footers down in the deepest areas. Also, for what it's worth, I've been told recently that HFEC is not really happy with RMC right now. Both Outlaw Run and Lightning Run are pretty big headaches. I'm sure you'll hear plenty of different stories, but that's what many seem to think who are closer to the parks.