Well, it's here, my friends. Silver Dollar City is officially 50 years old. I thought I'd start a thread for us to share our experiences of this weekend. Here's how Friday went for me...
I got there early, call time for Echo being at 8:30. We started setting up for the Ozark Mountain Daredevil concert. First, the riggers got started on the light rig and awning. The City rented lighting for the concert and only used the in-house lighting to supplement. Light trusses were bolted together and secured to genie lifts, then the top was stretched out across it. When that got off the ground, the sound guys started bringing in their gear and setting it up. Big stacks of speakers and subs. And lots of cable. The Daredevils arrived around 11 or 11:30 (didn't really keep track of time cause we were so busy) and their gear was brought in. They then kinda relaxed while the sound guys tied their gear into the system. Pizza was brought in for the crew and they grabbed bites to eat as time allowed. By around this time the lighting guys were all cabled up and the rig/top was raised to trim height. By about 12:30, the sound guys were ready for the Daredevils to come out and begin sound check. While they were sound checking, the lighting crew was focusing light. All went without a major hitch and by around 1:45 all systems were go, and ready for the house to be opened at 2:00. We all got to relax then, until showtime. Thankfully, the rain held off all through setup.
I would guess that Echo Hollow was about 75-80% full for the 3:00 show. The show was wonderful, and went off without any technical hitches. They performed most of their biggies, including "Jackie Blue" and "If You Want To Get To Heaven." But as the concert went on, the skies were getting darker and darker. Everyone was keeping track of the radar on their I-phones and such. But the rain held off all through the show. Then, as they came back out for an encore, our supervisor met them and told them they couldn't do one because rain was imminent. So they made an announcement to that effect, and as they walked off stage, the skies opened up. It was a deluge, complete with marble sized hail. The crew rushed on stage to begin covering sensitive equipment, and we lowered the top to just above head height and put a slope on it so water would run off of it. We had to watch it carefully though because water still collected on it in low areas, which we had to lift up from time to time to allow drainage. The rain continued, sometimes hard, sometimes lighter, for almost an hour and a half before letting up. It was during this time that the Daredevils went to dinner, and after the rain stopped, the crew was allowed to get some too.
The house opened at 6:00 for the 7:00 show. One little shower came while people were filing in, but was short and light. Lot's of VIP's came for this show, including Jack and Sherry, Pete and Jody, and their families, Joel Manby and his family, and others. The theater was probably 80-85% full for this show. The Daredevils did the same show, and it ended the same way as the first one. But this time, they actually got into their encore before the rain came. They finished up...everyone went home a little soggy, but happy. I got to talk to Jack a bit after the show, and he said that, not being a Ozark Mountain Daredevils fan, he hadn't really expected to enjoy the show as much as he did. But he said he really enjoyed it alot. I had kept an eye on their whole bunch during the concert and it did seem that they were really getting into it.
It took about an hour after the show to get the Daredevils loaded out and everything buttoned down for the night. All in all, a great day down at Echo Hollow. Call time in the morning...7:15. I've got some pictures but it will be a couple of days before I can get around to posting them. I'll be pretty busy all weekend. I love show business. LOL
I have no idea how things went up on park today (Friday), so someone else is going to fill us in on that.
Thanks for the rundown. Sounds like a full day, and glad to hear the hot shots enjoyed the show. Can't wait to see the photos. :)
Pictures of today's performances and the cake are up on the SDC facebook group.
Great timing!
Did someone say cake? ;D
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs526.snc3/29890_851751062040_15924968_46569733_6355427_n.jpg)
It looks like the layers move in circles. Did they?
It was not rotating when I saw it. If it had been made by Charm City Cakes, I'm sure it would have been
That would have been an extra special touch. Was the cake tasty?
IDK if that cake is even edible as I never saw it get sliced up.
I called Aunt June last night and she said that it was a fun day, but she hardly got any candy making done. By the end of it, she mentioned that she might as well have set up a kissing booth in the candy basement from all the people coming by....LOL.
Working for a cake company off and on that makes extreme cakes, I was very impressed by the size of the "cake" from the party, I don't know if it was totally edible though. Anything that size poses big risks for a small shop like us for weather/heat/ etc. It moved like a cake, when being wheeled out so you never know!
I'm sure it was edible. I don't see why it wouldn't be. Its covered in fondant which makes everything look inedible.
Since it seemed to be a "show" cake and it was outside for an inordinate amount of time (it was rolled out at the end of the show and I later saw them rolling it up to the Reunion Hall at least two-ish hours later), I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually Styrofoam decorated with fondant, and then the actual cake was several sheet cakes cut up into pieces in the kitchen and served. It's a fairly common practice.
EDIT: And now I just realized Dustijn's picture has the cake sitting over by the entrance to the Hospitality House. Yeah, now I'm definitely sure that it likely wasn't actual cake.
Just back from the party this weekend. Friday ran into the rain storm coming in from Springfield, could not see a thing in front of me and had to get off the road until it let up. Got to the opening ceremony on Saturday and meet SteamFreak. They started lining up for the Noon program immediately and ran from the candy store all the way to the Expo, knew I was going to get to see it forsure or it was going to come another down pour the way the sky was looking. My wife, daughter, and I went on around the park and checked out the RiverBattle, sorry I am not all that impressed by it and found half the boats were empty most of the day when I went by. Love the improvement to FITH. Left my family and ventured back up to Echo Hollow at Noon and was able to get into the program after all. The sun came out and I got burned. The program was good and was surprised with VIP and Entertainers who were there. My family decided to good back to the motel and let me have the rest of the day in the park to myself where I could go to some of the shops and place they would not go to. Ended the day riding Powderkeg as the fireworks were going off, now that seem poetic. All In all, the rain stayed away, and I had a good time. Would have like to meet more of the members of this forum, I was wearing a neon yellow shirt with SDCFANS.COM on it if you did see me.
My perspective is from one, once again, stuck in Echo Hollow all day. I didn't have a chance to go to the Employee Reunion, which saddens me to no end. I would have liked to have seen old faces and had a chance to sign Jack and Pete's books. Alas.
Set up for the Noon event began around 7am. Lifting the top, drying off the stage, refocusing lights. Setting up the sound gear again and then sound checking all the various entertainers. We were on a tight schedule but it all went reasonably smooth. The VIP's started arriving around 10:30 and milling around, chatting amiably. Gov. Nixon got there accompanied by 3 or 4 security personnel, they were obvious. The house was opened a 11:00 and the crowd began to swell.
It started right on time, Jae McFerron came out and welcomed everyone and then the Haygoods kicked it off. Stormy Warren, a GAC personality, came out and showed a video in which a large number of Country Western stars wished SDC a Happy Birthday. Next came the "proclamations." Congressman Blunt, Gov. Nixon, and Mayor Presley all said a few words. Then Louise Mandrell came out for a song and a few words. GM Brad Thomas was next; he introduced the Herschends and had them each say a few words. Jack told a great anecdote about Sherry in the early days. Joel Manby got up the say a few words, and then the Lennon Sisters sang a song. Bucky Heard and the Blues Brothers capped off the entertainment before all the VIP's were gathered on stage for the presentation of the cake with the Sons of the Silver Dollar leading in the singing of Happy Birthday. That's the Reader's Digest version...all in all, I don't think it could have been a more wonderful celebration. Perfect in every way.
Then, as people milled around for quite a long time afterward, the crew began tearing down the gear...sound, lights, the top, all had to go so we could reset for the regular Echo Hollow show that evening. That's why I couldn't make it up to the reunion.
A large crowd showed up for the 7pm show, responded with enthusiasm, and the fireworks went off during the singing of "Proud To Be An American." A fitting end to one of the most fantastic days I've ever seen at SDC.
Tonight, the combined choirs of James River Assembly and the 2nd Baptist Church, both from Springfield, lead in a praise and worship service to give thanks to the Lord, who made this all possible. It was wonderful, and moving. Jack and Sherry, Pete and Jodie were there singing and praising as well.
I think I can truthfully say that this weekend was the highlight of my career at SDC. I can't remember a better one.
Zephon...You mentioned Jae in your last post. Is he still active on park and what does he do? Last time I saw him was in spring, 84. I walked into the Mass Com Dept. at Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau) and a professor was giving him a tour of our TV studio! This surprised me to no end...what was he doing there? Turns out he graduated from the school, just like I would three years later. I never knew that, Jae and I worked together a bit during my time on park. In fact, he was one of the spotlighted entertainers at the time. We were both shocked to see each other...you know, fish out of water...didn't expect to see you here type of thing. We only had a few moments to chat, but he did remember me from the diving bell. Now, over the years I'd seen Jae's photo in promotional material, usually something from one of the stage shows, but was not aware he was still around SDC.
Well, until they changed the Saloon show a couple years ago, Jae was there as Choctaw Charlie all season. I've not been to the Christmas show since the regular show changed, but apparently he's still in the Christmas show.
Jae is still out here...33 seasons now. He emcees the Echo Hollow show now, but he's done a lot of other stuff on park, as well as several things in Branson. In the mid-80's he worked at the radio station and in the 90's, he did a short stint with Jim Stafford (doing some writing I believe). He's doing well...married a former Saloon gal, Helen (the original Miss Tilly), and has three boys.
By original Miss Tilly, is she the one from the early/mid 90s or earlier than that? The Miss Tilly from the mid-90s is the one my whole family enjoyed the most.
Is she the one with the silly giggle? We went to one show that when she would giggle, a baby in the front row would mimic her, broke up the whole saloon.
Yeah, she's the one with the silly giggle and the big hair bow. She's usually brunette, but I've noticed that sometimes during Christmas, she's blonde.
Not sure that we really had an anniversary experience. Our trip ran parallel to the celebration but didn't really intersect it!
We arrived on park about about 9am on Saturday, despite multiple stops for bouts of kids' carsickness (fun way to start).
Things were busy but not overly crowded. We all got buttons and saw a lot of characters around the square. I was beyond amazed at the fact that people were lined up for the Echo Hollow show already!
We headed straight to the GE and spent several hours back there. Then did a walk around the park (the line for FITH was crazy) went back over and had some "worldly" foods. Everything we sampled was good, the chips of fish and chips were great. I went to Echo and bought a few of the 50 greatest books for our group. We headed back to the GE after that and by then the lines were a little longer so we left and checked in at Deer Run. After a little R&R at Deer Run we went to Danna's BBQ and hogged down. Went straight back to the park from there, both kids cashed out so we had a chance to look through the glass shop and watch a demo, and roam through the wood carvers. By now all the bus groups were long gone and the park felt a lot more peaceful. When the kids woke up we went to GG and FITH, then (surprise) back to the GE. On the way out I stopped at the Candy store and E&Ds.
A couple things I was disappointed in:The Homestead needs more animals to be out. I know that they have to rotate and a lot of what they have is lambing/kidding/calving/whelping etc. But I felt like 4 goats and 1 rabbit was not the best that they could do. Also would like to have seen more "world" vendors up around main.
A week or two ago, one of the Citizens at the Homestead said they were still in the midst of receiving their animals.
Sounds like everyone had a great time. So how many people were at the park on Saturday?
At around, oh, 5pm-ish (can't remember exactly), there were 18,000 on park.
You shoulda SEEN the crowd at the dance party! OMG, it was so amazing! And we stopped when the fireworks started, so even though we didn't go to the GAC show, we still got a really good view of the fireworks.
I have pics and video (video taken on my camera because I stupidly left my camcorder battery in its charger at home), but not sure when I'll have them online. It's 6pm and I have 3 papers due and an oral exam in Spanish all tomorrow. And I have a short story due by Wednesday morning.
So... yeah. I was gonna do homework yesterday, but I ended up sleeping in until 2:30pm, went BACK to bed at 4pm for a nap and got up at 6:30pm. 14.5 hours at SDC in a single day can definitely take its toll on you, especially when you add in sunburn from sitting in a blazing hot sun for over an hour.
I want to thank everyone for the updates on Jae, and for the play by play on anniversary weekend. Zephon was kind enough to secure an anniversary book for me, and to him I say "thanks" again! Really would have loved to of been there, and when this ankle heals I'll get that way later in the summer. I'll give a heads up on my trip, and perhaps I'll be able to meet a few of you. :)
It was a long weekend but well worth it. Waking up Saturday in StL posed the first hurdle at arriving for opening ceremonies...We arrived after our 4 hour drive at about 850, so you do the math! Needless to say we were glad to be there, but the stress, and early morning, and lack of stops had us all on edge (I again apologize Tinman for being so distant!) It was alot to take in when running into the square during the veterans march. We walked around for about an hour and a half while our family went and got in line for us at Echo Hollow. Sat next to Gene, and enjoyed the show greatly. Got the limited edition coin, coca cola, and button, as well as the program, and after a long weekend, it all seems like ablur of a trip, cause it was! Cannot wait until this summer when I can come for a week and relax.
I'm thinking of starting an online petition to get better music for the "moonlight madness" hours, 'cause they had that playlist going Saturday after 6pm-ish. I don't want to be walking around SDC hearing "Ghostbusters" and "My Baby Does the Hanky Panky" streaming through the park.
That said, I LOVED the dance party, and I'm planning to fill out the feedback form on the SDC site and tell them I'd love to see it done again during Moonlight Madness. The crowd was HUGE, and there had to be more than a hundred people dancing. It was FUN. That'd be the only allowance my mind can give to modern music being played in SDC.
I mean, really, I think they're aiming at the younger set with their "moonlight madness" playlist, but the thing is, they're all "golden oldies"! Sure, I listen to that stuff, but the majority of the generation they're aiming for do NOT listen to that music. So why not, if one wants upbeat, modern music, just play modern country--Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, etc.?
But yeah, the dance party, though, was amazing. In fact, here's the playlist for it (I made a memo on my phone so I could remember all the songs they did); it's mostly in order, but not entirely:
Celebration by Kool and the Gang
The Electric Slide
The Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)
YMCA by The Village People
Simon Says (a song I've never heard before, but it was fun!)
Cotton-Eyed Joe by Rednex
Hokey Pokey (which started out traditional then did some different music styles)
Bunny Hop
Boot-scootin' Boogie
Time Warp
The Twist
Cha-Cha Slide Part II
Then a medley that went: The Dinosaur/Walk Like An Egyptian/Come On Ride The Train/Hand Jive/Thriller/Cupid Shuffle
And to end it all, Na Na Hey Hey (The Goodbye Song)
Quote from: tinaalsgirl on May 03, 2010, 06:09:52 PM
14.5 hours at SDC in a single day can definitely take its toll on you, especially when you add in sunburn from sitting in a blazing hot sun for over an hour.
Wow....that is a long time and the sunburn is definitely no fun! Hope you get some much needed rest. Thanks for sharing your weekend experience and thanks to everyone else. I've really enjoyed reading them! ;D
It was disappointing to see that they still had several shoppes closed during the weekend..including the Christmas and Love Thy Country shops. Why would you not have all your shops up and running for this weekend...this was no ordinary weekend?! Open them just for the weekend event...you can't tell me that there wasn't enough staff to cover all the shops. They were even touting OTC as you were leaving the park and not to have Christmas Hollow open was odd to me.
Was there starting Thursday and enjoyed all the festivities a great deal. I must say that I was disappointed in the praise and worship event. I even extended my stay a day to be able to attend. It began when I noticed that it was going to be a night of contemporary praise and worship. I'm sorry....I don't go to SDC for anything contemporary, especially my praise and worship. It seemed out of place. Then to arrive and see that they were handing out the words to the some of the songs, again disappointed. To see the choirs in blue jeans, another disappointment. I guess this was tailored around the two choirs that were chosen for event. When waiting in line for the event, it seemed to me that the majority of those there were members of one of these 2 churches. After getting seated, my observation seemed true. Having attended a traditional Baptist church for the entirety of my life, I have become accustomed the traditional hymns of the past. I imagine that this is why SDC holds such a special place in my heart. I applaud them for having such as event, I wish they would have returned to our praise and worship roots, We insist upon being true to our themes with everything else in the park..... praise of the Lord at the park should be no different. Was expecting that "old time religion" and got modernized for today's word instead. My spirit was touched more, and I was moved the tears, during the short praise and patriotic portion of GAC, than during the hour I was at Sunday's night show. Again I thank them for this type of event... just was expecting something more fitting. Please keep in mind that this is in no way meant to offend anyone that enjoys contemporary praise and worship. We all worship the Lord in many different manners. I can sit in the Wilderness Church for hours in silence and feel closer to Him than I did Sunday night....to each is own.
How fitting would have "Precious Memories" had been Sunday night?
My favorite song is He Lives!!
Oh a couple things that I forgot...There was Summer Lovin' playing as we left. Are you kidding me? There is no need to change the music just because it is evening. Stop this.
And why is the reverse side of World Fest banner "Be Sure to Come Back for An Old Time Christmas"? That is an actual question as it drives me crazy!
And I forgot one HUGE positive...nearly everytime we went across the square there was a street show going on. It was really fun!
And once again a big shout out to our favorite ride operator Freddie! HE makes me daughter laugh to no end! And on the drive home she looked over at me and said "howdy neighbor" in that silly voice he does. Seriously hope SDC does everything they can to keep him in the GE.
Anybody see the RAINMAKER SHOW in action over anniversary weekend?
Replying to those who wondered about Miss Tilly...Helen was the original, from when we first did the Choctaw Charlie show in the mid-80's. The original cast included Helen (now McFerron) as Tilly, Janet Brooks as Jo, Sandy Shawgo as Georgia, Jana Henleben as Lilly, Jae McFerron as Charlie, Ed Marshall as Mean Murphy, and I was Bart.
Since then, of course, there have been many versions of the show and many different people playing the various roles.
DH and I got to the park before opening on Friday. Went to Sullivan's Mill to get cinnamon bread for breakfast; was disappointed the bread was cold since it's usually HOT first thing in the morning. :( We were the only people on FITH when we rode -- could have ridden it again by ourselves but decided to pass. Like the improvements to the scenes. Went to the first saloon show of the day (it wasn't full) and was able to walk out of the saloon and walk right into the Opera House for the first Acrobats show of the day. Thought that the acrobats were much better than last year. We also rode the Flooded Mine and saw the Mexican show (excellent). Saw part of the Ireland show. Decided to swap our 7 pm OMD tickets for 3 pm ones. Loved the show! We sat in the upper area and were able to get to the Red/Gold Heritage Hall before the skies opened up. The Fiery Fiddles show was FANTASTIC. We walked around the park some after the show and took advantage of some of the after 5 pm food specials. We left at 6.
Saturday we arrived at 10:30 and got in line for the noon show. Had a brief rain shower before the show started. It got hot when the sun came out. Great show! Afterwards we went to the Mexican show; another excellent show that was totally different from Friday's show. Since the park was so crowded, we decided to leave.
Sunday we waited until late afternoon to arrive. Waited in line an hour to get into EH for the evening praise and worship event. DH and I like praise and worship music but we were very disappointed that there were no hymns or gospel songs --also very disappointed that there was no live music, just tracks to back up the singers.
Overall, it was a great weekend!
Quote from: biscuitcreek on May 08, 2010, 04:15:35 PM
DH and I got to the park before opening on Friday.
Who's that? Sort of confusing since those are my initials and it sure wasn't me.
DH is a common Internet abbreviation for "Dear Husband"
Really? Must not be overly common because I post on many boards and that's the first time I've ever heard of that -- course most people that post on boards are not married so that might be it.
That is not even the tip of the iceburg. You also have DS for Dear Son, DD for Dear Daughter, DW for Dear Wife, and DMCWAOTDA for Driving Me Crazy With All Of These Dear Abbreviations. It's more of a ladies thing. :P
So I am going to Silver Dollar City next weekend! Does anyone know if they will be keeping their decorations up all year long?
It's a year long celebration, probably so. The park, from all the photos I've seen, is looking really nice this year, too.
Quote from: Swoosh on May 09, 2010, 12:31:59 AM
Quote from: biscuitcreek on May 08, 2010, 04:15:35 PM
DH and I got to the park before opening on Friday.
Who's that? Sort of confusing since those are my initials and it sure wasn't me.
I was thinking the same for myself.
Since they are keeping the 50th decorations up do you think they will limit the fall and Christmas decorations?
Probably not. the fall decorations are always nice, but it's the Christmas lights that everyone flocks to see. They will have plenty of decorations for both seasons, just wait and see.
SILVER DOLLAR CITY
50th ANNIVERSARY PARTY WEEKEND
Photo Trip Report
May 1st, 2010
FULL UPDATE: the "TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE" UPDATE (http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/migcrew/2010/SDC50/)
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/Dustijn/ptr2010/5.jpg)
399th Army Band from Ft. Leonard Wood.
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/Dustijn/ptr2010/20-1.jpg)
Wildfire
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/Dustijn/ptr2010/24.jpg)
Echo Hollow - site of the Birthday Party
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/Dustijn/ptr2010/29.jpg)
The Haygoods performing at the Birthday Party
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/Dustijn/ptr2010/57.jpg)
Me in front of the Birthday Cake
Swoosh - you should have poked the cake!
Swoosh, I still can't believe I was standing right behind you on Main Street and didn't realize it. In fact, I've got a very close, clear picture of you from the back as you were taking that photo of Shorty that you've got in your trip review.... LOL And... ohp. Yup, I've got a profile shot of you, too! hahaha
PS: The "Cowboy Santa Claus" in the country artists congrats video was Charlie Daniels.
Quote from: tinaalsgirl on May 11, 2010, 12:25:41 AM
PS: The "Cowboy Santa Claus" in the country artists congrats video was Charlie Daniels.
I know who he is. I just thought it would be funnier to label him as that. ;D ;)
Oh. *slaps forehead* Yeah, I'm not so good at picking up on humor on the Internet, LOL.
there, I changed the caption of the photo for you to include his real name. ;) ;D
Swoosh, I hate to press, but Nixon is really the governor, not the mayor...or was that supposed to be a political statement?
that's why I have you guys
Aw, shucks... ;)