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I received my season passes today and I would usually get my calendar out and start planning the year.  This year no such hurray.  The festival enhancements and new shows don't appeal that much to me.  Nothing really exciting going on at the park....very much like last year.

What is going to tied you over to 2013?  Is a spruced up and clean park going to be enough to drive the limited entertainment dollars that family's have back to SDC? Will the new shows be enough?  Will the hint of something in 2013 be enough of an incentive to keep people interested for one more year?  Or have we finally got to be point where me must see SDC for what she is...the Grand (but aging) Dame of HFE.

Have been on the Branson Railway several times.  Unfortunately it's a "been there and done that" kind of attraction. It can be very relaxing riding the train, but if there are a lot of kids on your ride, it can be just the opposite.  My last ride was this past summer during the hottest days the town experienced.  Our ride was cut short because the track master closed down the line because the rails were expanding because of the heat.  Good thing too because the car we were in had the observation deck and the air in the car couldnt keep up with the heat from all the glass windows.

I took my nephews on the Polar Express and had a fantastic time.  No better way to see the lights in my opinion.  If you can afford it, do the dining car with the refreshments.  My oldest nephew downed 5 large cups of hot chocolate and our waiter finally just brought a plate of cookies to our table and a jug of hot chocolate.

The highlight was when Santa arrived and signed our Polar Express books and gave the kids their gift.  The entire trip was the highlight of our Christmas....the nephews still talk about it.  Needless to say the bell definitely still rings for me.

And what you say is always very entertaining and so informative.  Please keep up the great work!

Your the one that brought "charm" up...not me.  And unlike some people here....your knowledge of the industry doesnt impress me very much, so drop trying to intemidate me....bud.

Apparently Swoosh thinks that charm will keep the lights on.  How I wish that was true.  But we do have our new play land...worth the price of admission alone!

Looks like they know how to celebrate an anniversary.  Guess being in bankruptcy wasnt that bad for them after all.  Major roller coaster...kids water ride...wonder which will have a bigger draw?!?

Here's hoping they don't fall behind the curve.  There are a number of abandoned and idle developments in and around Branson.  Anyone know of what happened to the Rodeo Arena attraction that was planned across from Branson Meadows...or how about the excavation across from the original Walmart?  We are know hearing that the most possible future for the Grand Palace is the wrecking ball.  Not to mention Indian Point.

It seems like to visionaries that made Branson what it is have all decided to sit on the sidelines and take a wait and see attitude.  I certainly hope that other cities dont take this as an opportunity to cease the moment and steal some of Branson's tourism thunder.  I read recently that Kansas Schilitterbahn is continuing to go forward with their resort plans and the huge Scheels Sporting is scheduled to break ground in the near future.

So if there is no chance as you say that they will move Ozcat why not just get it over with and tear it down?  It seems to me that having a deteriorating structure that size on a property you own is a big liability.

As far as an aquarium goes, there are definitely investors out there who have the cash to get involved and run just an operation.  It was announced yesterday the the owners of Crown Center in Kansas City has gone into partnership with Sea Life to run an aquarium in the destination shopping center.  And the kicker is that NO public money will be used to build the attraction.  Also a larger aquarium is being built in Mission, Kansas with a price tag of over $50 million.  There is definitely investor interest in this type of operation.  I dont think that HFEC is actively looking into this idea.  With the rep they have for quality attractions it seems to me that there is money out there given they developments taking place in the Kansas metro area.  Of course given the proximity of Kansas City and St. Louis to Branson, maybe they missed the boat.

Was there last weekend before last for 4 days....had a fantastic time.  Plan on going at least once a week if my work schedule allows.

Anyone who is paying attention can tell just where the priorities are for this company.  With all the hype that lead up to the 50th anniversary, when the rubber hit the road it was a big disappointment.  Sure they gave us a weekend, but that was it.  It was almost like they were obligated to even do that.  Hang a few banners and signs....hand out some buttons....hey its a party done on the cheap.  Don't look for the on-line store anytime soon.  Heck anyone can start up an on-line store....EBAY anyone?...any on-line presence could have easily included SDC.  It's a shame to see how much the times have changed.  When the offices left SDC, so did its heart.  Like has been said its a business now more than anything.  They money will flow where the greatest chance for return is and that is DW.

I took the Polar Express train last year during my annual Christmas trip.  it was fantastic!.  I went with my then 12 and 8 year old newphews.  They could not have enjoyed themselves more.  We were in the dinning car so we had table service for the hot chocolate and cookies.  Our waitress was great...my nephews didn't even have to ask for more hot chocolate...she was there before the had a chance to finish what they had... same way with the cookies. They had some left so they wrapped them and gave them out to the kids in that car.

Santa took a lot of time with each child and signed their copies of the book.  Mrs. Santa gave each child a special bell (which have special places on our tree now).  We read books and sang carols....it was a great evening for everyone.  It was also a relaxing way of seeing the light display as well.  Couldn't recommend the trip more.

Lets just all remember where it started....I can almost guarantee it will get worse.  Unfortunately, I think a slow leak as begun and hope there is someone around that will put his finger in the hole.

The responses here are rather surprising to me.  Did the information booth run by Humana inside the park bother anyone?  Where do you think the line will be drawn with this type of revenue stream?  Could it be a very fine line that we are walking?

As I was waiting to get the tram back to the lot I noticed that there are advertising banners hanging on the fence around the loading area.  This is the first time I have seen these since I usually park in the season pass preferred lot and walk in.  Does anyone know how long these have been up?  I know that Humana is the official sponsor of the festivals...whats next...Kodak Moment Christmas Tree...Coke American Plunge?  It saddens me to no end that the commercialization of other parks has now hit SDC.  It's not the same park anymore guys.

Swoosh is correct...this should not come as a surprise to anyone here.  It was obvious to everyone that bothered to watch what was going on elsewhere within the organization that a large project was out of the question.  The capital had already been committed to other parks.  Anything that was added to SDC was going to be ,at best, a token project that added at least something "new" no matter how small or relatively insignificant it seems to some here.  It serves a purpose.  I for one believe that they didn't see the return on RB that they had hoped for.  Over the summer I was there at least 3 or 4 times a month on the weekends and I never saw lines at RB that were reminiscent of PK, LR or the Giant Swing.  Granted RB is a different type of ride, but with all the efforts they put into the ride, I expect they had higher expectations for the ride.  Could they be rethinking their direction that have for the park?  Could a larger project have been on the boards, but with the lack luster performance of RB, they decided to retool any ideas they had?  We will never know, even those that claim to have an inside track on the wheelings and dealings of the park, really cannot know what is going on in executive offices in Atlanta.

Silver Dollar City is something to be cherished by those of us here.  But it is also a property owned by a large entertainment company.  No matter how much we idealize HFE, it is in the business of making money.  Capital is going to flow to the property that has the highest potential of turning a profit on their investment, and right now that is DW and the other parks in the organization.  This should be evident with the lack luster effort that was put into the anniversary celebration.  Anniversary weekend was nice and well done, but it was just that a nice weekend.  With the exception of the banners and passing out leftover buttons to those who wanted them, you would never know this year was any different than any other year.  You would have thought that the park that started the entire company would have deserved a larger effort that what was put forth.  Dolly gets her national TV special for 25 years and we get a weekend.  To most of us here that is enough.

Company priorities shift and change just like the wind.  SDC and HFE are no different.  Keep the park clean and attractive.  Stay true to its founding.  And give us the occasional major addition.  At this point in time I don't think we can ask or expect more.