Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[-Edge of Beast-]

I will be going to the park this upcoming Thursday for opening day. I'll check if damage was done to any sections of the park. I'll also have a photo TR!

[Jerrykoala2112]

I will be going to the park this upcoming Thursday for opening day. I'll check if damage was done to any sections of the park. I'll also have a photo TR!

 

The park has already confirmed that no damage has been done to the park

[The Yeti]

So they are preparing ground work near the old train robber's station? I have no idea where in the park that is...but I've always dreamed that the park would somehow be able to utilize land on the other side of the road that goes down Indian Point near Thunderation for a coaster. Sort of like Ravine Flyer II, but this would mean a bigger drop into a deep trench which could go awesome for a terrain coaster - or really any coaster!

 

If RMC is developing a looping wooden coaster, or if they have it ready now, I could easily see SDC going for that. While the park may not be too big on major thrills, SDC seems to take pride in their unique rides even though they may only be unique by some small specification (Buzzsaw Falls - a water coaster/boat ride, Powder Keg uses old track from Buzzsaw Falls and a weird transfer track, Thunderation was or is the fastest mine train coaster and has frontward and backward facing seats, Fire in the Hole??). A looping coaster that is wooden, or steel with wooden supports, could fit SDC in a strange way...

 

I'm very happy that SDC is going to get a new coaster and being from RMC it does sound promising!

[Shavethewhales]

^The robber's shack was on the other side of the park close to where the Giant Swing is. The entrance to this ride will be near TGS by the Heege Towers (Hi-lo Silos), and the station will be very close to where the robbers shack was in between the railroad tracks.

 

It sounds like they aren't planning to go out of their way to block views of the construction, so if you take the train you should be able to see a lot. Right now we know they've started on the station to the point where the foundations were being laid a couple of weeks ago. They're probably doing vertical construction on that as we speak by now. I'm very curious to see the area they've cleared as well, although I've heard they're holding off on some of that for now.

[-Edge of Beast-]

I will be going to the park this upcoming Thursday for opening day. I'll check if damage was done to any sections of the park. I'll also have a photo TR!

 

The park has already confirmed that no damage has been done to the park

 

Blurgghh. Thanks Jeremie, haha.

 

 

So is the park typically busy on their first day of operation? It is a thursday, but I think Branson-area schools get out that day. Hopefully it isn't too bad.

[Shavethewhales]

The park opens today.

 

Here's an interesting video the park produced showing a few behind the scenes shots and info about some of the rides:

 

I never knew Wildfire had a B&M ball as well, although I've probably been told multiple times. I notice they call it the Thai Fighter or something that sounds like that,and they say it's one of only two in the world? Is it different from the other B&M balls?

[Moose]

I know I've seen a few balls for inverted coasters; perhaps there are only two balls for floor less coasters?

 

That or the park may have their facts wrong.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Moose

[cfc]

^So, most coasters lack balls?

 

I'd never seen a maintenance ball for coaster until the WCB 2012 report, but I'd always wondered how crews went about checking the track of coaster without a catwalk around it.

[Godwyn]

I notice they call it the Thai Fighter or something that sounds like that,and they say it's one of only two in the world?

 

They are making a reference to Star Wars. There are ships called TIE Fighters where the pilot sits in a "ball".

 

Ya, I know, I'm a geek.

TIE Fighter.

[Shavethewhales]

The first photos from opening day are back, and HOLY CRAP have they gotten busy with the construction. Tons of footers are in place and construction on the station is in full swing and will start getting vertical soon. A lot has been cleared as well towards the backside of Hobo Junction (sort of off to the side of the train tracks). I'm thinking they might actually build the ride over the summer so they can show it off before the park even closed for this season.

 

In other news, if you haven't heard, the Christmas shop and the Wood Carvers swapped places, Echo Hollow is being revamped for new shows later this year, and the park has several new shows that are already getting under way this year.

 

See a few photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan/6985676237/in/photostream/

[UrbanLegend]

Pardon my ignorance (or inability to use the search function in this thread), but has there been any official details about this project released (layout, name, stats, anything)? Or is all we know that it'll be a woodie made by RMC?

[cfc]

^I don't think there's been an "official" announcement. All we know is what was mentioned in this article posted earlier in the thread: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1139082#p1139082.

[mike_kelly]

Just left the park after a nice "non rainy" day. Talked to someone from one of the shows. The red & gold hall getting a million dollar make over to make it more of a "theater" I would guess for the new Christmas show this year that they talked about in the pathfinder last year. I know that sentence went in circles.

 

 

Also drove by Celebration City. They are in the middle of disassembling the Thunderbolt. Bet they are sending to Wild Adventure like they have everything else.

[Shavethewhales]

^Wow, I knew about the new show and that they were working on RGH, but I didn't think it was going to take a million dollars to do it. RBH was more of a convention hall-style building that they used for a ton of stuff. I wonder if they are just turning it into a traditional theatre from now on.

 

Thunderbolt is going to Glenwood Canyon Adventure Park in Colorado where it will reopen later this year as the Cliffhanger.

[mike_kelly]

Thanks for the info.

 

It's just sad to see all of those rides leave the area.

[Shavethewhales]

Apparently Silver Dollar City has it's own 'Fast Pass' now for $50. For the last couple of years they have experimented with the 'Trailblazer Pass' which previously cost $20 and gave a total of 5 line jumps. The new iteration gives unlimited jumps all day long.

 

I know these types of passes have been debated many times before, but I still have to say I don't like them. If it were a Q-bot system like DW I'd be at least marginally OK with it because then at least you are paying for a scheduling service. With this it's simply rich people paying double the ticket price to inconvenience everyone else. Defend it how you want, it's still a middle finger to everyone who doesn't pony up the extra dough, and there aren't many places outside of parks where people would stand for it. I I've come to expect it at Six Flags, which is why I avoid those parks during the summer. I didn't expect it here where they charge a lot more to get in and the expectations for the experience are much higher. I hope I don't have to start avoiding SDC in the summer as well.

 

Getting back to the construction at hand though, lots of PTR's recently. Those footers are popping up crazy fast. I think in the two weeks before opening they placed nearly all of what you can see out there now. The station is now very much vertical already, and it sounds like it will be big enough to include a gift shop. The construction has for some reason affected the famous Hobo Junction on the train route however... perhaps the management decided that making fun of hobos was no longer PC with the times being the way they are...

[chadster]

^They were selling quite a few of those passes on Sunday as the park was jammed! They were offering two types, The "Trailblazer Pass" gets you 8 front of line rides for $25 while the "Trailblazer Super Pass" gets you unlimited rides for $50. The pass I saw most around the necks of people was the $25 pass. Prices are tax inclusive. According this weeks Pathfinder(If you want one, PM me and I'll send it up) the rides included are:

 

American Plunge (Line was out to the beginning of the queue)

Fire-In-The-Hole (Line was past its outside queue)

The Giant Swing

Lost River of the Ozarks (About a 45 minute to 1 hour wait)

PowderKeg (Easy 1 hour wait)

RiverBlast

Thunderation (Walkon)

WildFire (all switchbacks were full, about a 30 minute wait)

[jzoole]

^^ I couldn't agree with you more.

[Shavethewhales]

Wow, I've never heard of the park being so jammed before. I mean, there are busy days of the year for sure, but the lines for rides are usually pretty short and speedy most of the year. I used to brag about SDC's operations a lot. I'm not so sure anymore, because a lot of this sounds like it stems from not using enough trains on a regular basis. I'm not sure if they're having staffing troubles or if they've really started going the SF route and are cutting corners and profiting off it by suckering people into buying these passes. Now that they're practically a big chain, I have to wonder.

 

I'll definitely be watching this year. Perhaps the park is simply drawing a different crowd than it used to, and perhaps spring break is just a really bad time to visit.

[chadster]

They are also offering a $30 ticket to get in the first two weeks which probably is helping draw the crowds in. Wildfire, Keg, and Thunder all had two trains tho Keg could have really benefited from a third. Not sure what Fire was running. They were also using both arms of the swing which I have rarely seen. According to the dippin dots guy (actually it was the folks running the sandwich shop) told me they were looking at a high attendance day. The parking had the first 5 free lots full and were working on the farthest lot towards the exit to the hwy tho only a dozen cars were in it. The pay lot was also about 90% full as was the handicap lots.

 

One thing I dislike about Wildfire's operations is they wait for the train to completely unload then unbelt any restraints that weren't used on the previous run before letting anyone on board. That 15-20 seconds they waste makes a huge difference in capacity. They seem to treat that ride as if it's gold tho.

 

The line for the burger place on main street easily had 50 people in it at lunch time as did many of the food outlets, goes to show how good their food really is. Over in the exposition you could get on the rides within two cycles minus the kiddie coaster(no, I didn't ride it again )

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the major hows were not in operation, that could be another reason the ride lines were long.

[Shavethewhales]

Word on the street is that vertical construction has begun. If anyone is going anytime soon we'd all love some photos. Still trying to piece together even the general layout of this coaster.

[larrygator]

With this it's simply rich people paying double the ticket price to inconvenience everyone else. Defend it how you want, it's still a middle finger to everyone who doesn't pony up the extra dough, and there aren't many places outside of parks where people would stand for it.

 

Rich people? I know plenty of people that are not rich that cut corners in other ways to enjoy items like front of line passes. It's all a matter of prioritization, a concept many don't seem to understand. Or locals simply need to go to the park when it's not crowded to manage the day without the upcharge. I had the misfortune of going to SDC two years ago on one of those discount days and the park ran out of Trailblazer passes. I was on a tight schedule and could only spend 6 hours in the park and barely got on all the coasters (and a few other rides). I gladly would have paid more for the privilege of taking the park at a more relaxed pace. I also would also had time to enjoy a meal at the park, but couldn't on my schedule.

 

There aren't many other places outside of parks where people put up with this? How about airplanes, hotels, sporting events, concerts just to name a few places?

[Shavethewhales]

^Fair enough, we'll have to agree to disagree on some aspects as usual.

 

In other news, the first photo of vertical construction has surfaced thanks to user 'Wildfire' on sdcfans:

 

It's going to fly up there now. Hell, they might have this thing done before SF gets some of their coasters open for this year.

[oriolat]

Nice to see something new being built at SDC. Perhaps this has been stated in previous pages but do we know the manufacturer of this roller coaster? I remember reading rumours about this coaster being built by the same manufacturer that worked on NTAG.

[The Yeti]

I AM *************** EXCITED.

 

Nice to see something new being built at SDC. Perhaps this has been stated in previous pages but do we know the manufacturer of this roller coaster? I remember reading rumours about this coaster being built by the same manufacturer that worked on NTAG.

 

I'm pretty sure it is being built by them, and I will bet you a dollar, if it is by RMC, that it will have a loop. I don't know it for a fact, but if RMC has it ready I could see SDC being a sucker for having a looping woodie.