Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[ElvisLuv]

Happens all the time, that's why they have the trams.

 

Other places have walkways lines off on the ramp where the do it more often/closer to terminal.

 

Or you could have so much status like my friend in the auto parts industry, Delta always picks him up in a Porche Cayanne to take him to his connecting flight or door closest to the lounge if the wait is a bit long. He rubs it in all the time.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, that's how it is for me. I have a ton of clout in the tram industry.

[Nrthwnd]

^

[ytterbiumanalyst]

When a thread goes from off topic to flat out weird, there's nothing but weird stuff left to say.

[tinaalsgirl]

In an attempt to bring things at least a little bit back on topic... Speaking of small airports, I flew out of the Branson airport in 2012, and I was absolutely charmed by that tiny place! It was like a mini-Bass Pro shop inside, and there was basically just one gate. We had to go out on the tarmac and use one of those mobile stairsets to board.

 

I kinda wish more airports would do theming. It felt so inviting!

[prozach626]

Wait, Tina... No offense, but how is that bringing anything back on topic of SDC?

 

I'll make an attempt:

Does anyone have any updates on the testing of the new trains? I'm somewhat surprised we haven't seen any kind of update. Although I suppose they'll want to let it all hang out close to the beginning of the season.

[tinaalsgirl]

Well, I mean, it was about Branson at least; I thought maybe mentioning Branson in general might help steer things back to SDC in specific.

 

The most recent updates I've seen/heard about are the demolition of that food stand. I can't wait to see what that area looks like come March!

 

PS: My name is actually Joy, but that's okay; I've had people call me Tina many times because of my username.

[prozach626]

Will you be mad if I continue to call you Tina?

 

As far as the demolition goes, I hope they do a good job of keeping that area 'old time' feeling. I'm optimistic.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I think you have good reason to be optimistic. The last two new areas, Outlaw Run's plaza and Fireman's Landing, have really fit in well with existing theming. I am also optimistic that they'll do a great job with this area too.

[prozach626]

Indeed. We weren't there for Fireman's Landing, but Outlaw Run was very well executed. I have faith. Now, if we can just give Beer Man an old fashioned home to share his delicious cheer of suds and moon shine ("Theming"), I'll visit more than once every decade.

[Philrad71]

I definitely want to go to this park, but I agree...beer and moonshine would be a most welcomed addition.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I don't really need more reasons to go to SDC, but yeah, if they ever have beer and moonshine...

 

They'll never do it, since it would alienate their religious base, but it would make the park so much better, since it would alienate their religious base.

[Shavethewhales]

I've probably said it a few times before, but I'll say it again: I am glad that they are still putting effort into the architecture of the park. The new buildings use the same stye of roofs and siding materials as the "old" SDC, and with similar details such as authentic props and painted signs that connect them to the city. It's a step above Six Flags or Frontier City where the buildings may have a bit of "theme" but never carry the same kind of ambiance.

 

From what I can tell, the only structure of any "substance" that was removed recently was the old Poke Salad Mary's, which was rarely used and wasn't very big or auspicious. There is already another location for the big skillet, and I assume they'll probably add back food locations anyway. It's not like they tore through midtown. The new gift shop building looks pretty nice, and I've heard talk of them potentially adding a new restaurant or food stand of some kind to replace what has been removed.

 

It should be a huge help for the park in general with much more room to move around. I expect to see them eventually clear out more all the way to Grand Expo and maybe even over to Fireman's Landing. That would give them a lot more room to absorb crowds going to the most popular areas of the park for kids activities. The other side of the park is hillier and has more substantial structures in place, making it harder to clear out like this.

[Jaykethekid]

It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the area around Time Traveler. As long as it helps crowds flow better but isn’t 100% open space. I really hope the Thunderation plaza gets some work as it’s nearly impossible to get to the entrance of the ride from the main path as it seems the small paths to get to the ride are just the *perfect* place to park strollers and motor chairs.

 

But I do hope that the steampunk theme to the ride will expand to the entrance plaza instead of just the queue line. I imagine that the entrance sign for the ride will be decked out in all sorts of animate theming. But time will tell as we can’t just time travel to the opening of this ride

[EliHorton]

I do also hope that they kind of open up that area. It is hard to find Thunderation if you've never been there before. I've been going to SDC all 16 years of my life and I STILL sometimes have trouble finding my way to the Thunderation entrance! And that area gets so clogged all the time!

[prozach626]

They'll never do it, since it would alienate their religious base, but it would make the park so much better.

 

This is true, although I was raised Roman Catholic, so our religion almost praised booze more than Jesus...

 

It's a step above Six Flags or Frontier City where the buildings may have a bit of "theme" but never carry the same kind of ambiance.

A step above, eh? Now that's what I call a generous statement! Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty big fan of their Walmart chain parks. That is, with the exception of the clientele, which again relates to Walmart.

[Fisch]

Hey Everyone! Hope you're all excited about Time Traveler this year at Silver Dollar City! My name is Dalton Fischer, and I'm a publicist at Silver Dollar City. If you have questions about the park or our newest coaster, I'd love to answer them. I'll answer as much as I can about rides, shows, food, and even certain behind-the-scenes topics. I'll also try to post content regularly to this thread, and I'll do my best to monitor the thread so I can be timely about answering your questions. I'm not sure if any other park does this, so we'll see how this goes. This isn't an AMA, per say; rather, I'd like to keep it fun and informative and just spark conversation. Obviously, I'm not going to reveal strategies, trade secrets, or anything like that, but I'll still answer MOST questions the best that I can.

 

By the way, love this thread! I enjoy seeing the passion that many of you have for the park and the surrounding area of Branson.

 

Here's an exclusive—installing the first train to the transfer track a few months ago!

[sdcfan88]

Thought I would share this little tidbit from the Facebook page of the construction company assisting with the construction of Time Traveler. Scroll down their feed to see lots of interesting behind the scenes photos of the construction from this past year.

 

https://www.facebook.com/CarrExcavating/

 

Also from their latest photo it is looking like the entire eating area including the skillets are gone. This entire area has apparently been opened up down to the ground itself with much of the wooded area that offered a bit of seclusion to this eating area removed completely as well. A presumed new restaurant is apparently going up too. Some considered this area before to be a bit of a pinch point but another concern is now it also seems to hide the Flooded Mine area. How upset would you be if they actually removed this classic SDC dark ride as well?

 

 

The guys over at MIG have a more detailed explanation to the above photo. http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2018/01/city-changes-sdc_27.html

[Jaykethekid]

I dont imagine this expansion could lead up to the removal of Flooded Mine. Personally, i would be extremely sad to see the flooded mine removed. Even though it seems more effects break every year(most significantly the runaway saw blade scene that was broke for my last 3 visits), its still a fun and downright hilarious dark ride. Its one of those rides i think of when i hear "Silver Dollar City". Its just downright fun and unique. I guess you could add me to the "refurbish the heck out of it" group. Honestly, even if the refurbishment came with a new storyline or added screens, id just as excited for it as i would a new coaster.

[Fisch]

Flooded Mine will stay where it is. Re-routing is being worked on to prevent the bottleneck that occurred in that area for many years.

[legoerosion]

Well, looks like we have some more footage of it being tested!

 

Also, we're getting a sneak peek at the shop and restaurant themed around the ride soon!

 

[sdcfan88]

Yeah SDC just put it on Facebook and YouTube

 

Notice the lack of spin with the cars versus the animations we previously saw, granted its partially because there is no weight variance to cause the spinning but that is also part of the magnetic braking system that will control it, I do still see quite a few people being apprehensive about this. I think to help with this issue, the park should market and word it more along the lines of pivoting or turning versus using the term spinning. Again these are NOT gonna be your teacup type spinning cars.

 

EDIT: Those launches are looking quite a bit more intense than what the animations showed.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, World's First Turning Coaster. That won't be confusing to anyone.

[Rill'o'beily]

Yeah, World's First Turning Coaster. That won't be confusing to anyone.

I believe this was the first turning coaster

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[ytterbiumanalyst]

No, the first turning coaster was Serpentine Railroad at Coney Island in 1885. It was the first to have turns. That's what people are going to think of when they hear "turning coaster." The term "spinning coaster" is descriptive, and people know what they're getting into when they hear it. Just like "looping coaster" is fine even if the coaster doesn't have a vertical loop. People know what it means, so communication achieved. There's no need to be exact when exactitude would cause confusion.