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[joecorn]

As a PURIST who believes that HFE has forgotten just about every concept of what made SDC special, I moan about every misguided change they make and every compromise made to the park theme.  Moonlight Madness last year was a slap in the face IMHO.  However, this thread has given me hope. 

I've been deputized at the City since I was 3 years old; and I have never got to arrest anyone yet.  Personally, I'd like to see the Marshal deputize a whole large group of kids en masse, give 'em badges, AND send them out through the dark, underlit park to find and arrest Alfie and Ralfie Bolin, or any escaped convicts, with some offer of a bounty.  Huntin' down Baldknobbers would be quite a tie-in, but it might be a bit intense for some 5 year olds who are up way past their bed time.  It would also have the added benefit of distributing some attendees away from the square and through the park. 

Or at very least, with no fanfare, no announcement and no attention drawn to it, have Eli Tolts' diving bell partially surface in Lake Silver for a few seconds every hour in the darkness of night.  That would truly make me smile.

[Joy]

Oooo... I like that idea! Watchin' kids arresting bandits. Great image!

[History Buff]

Kind of a big, albeit controlled, game of hide-and-seek.

[bthomas]

With all due respect I think History Buff needs to take a powder and calm down a little.  The comment about the lap dances and grinding is uncalled for.  MM is not going to shut down the park!  The people who complain the most when things change are the same ones who complain the most when things dont change.  Save your energy for the battles that matter....I have a feeling that some of those will be coming before we know it.

[History Buff]

With all due respect I think History Buff needs to take a powder and calm down a little.  The comment about the lap dances and grinding is uncalled for.

The statement in question was in response to a comment about SDC trying to make more money by introducing anti-thematic properties.  It could be a slippery slope.  I thought of other ways they could money, as well, if that really is all they are really wanting, but I also recognized (in the same post) that I hoped it wouldn't come to something like that (just looking for the almighty dollar) given the values that HFE touts.  What makes you think I wasn't calm when I wrote that?

The people who complain the most when things change are the same ones who complain the most when things dont change.

You must not have noticed that History Buff was the person who turned this thread away from the complaining and started turning it toward offering solutions.

Save your energy for the battles that matter....I have a feeling that some of those will be coming before we know it.

Like what?  Things that are uncalled for?  I didn't realize there were battles; we are fans, aren't we?  Fans, or fanatics, tend to have a vested interest in the object of their fanaticism.  It's not the fans against SDC; we're all on the same team.

[Duelist]

I'm thinking the reason for MM is to try to attract a certain clientele to the park that may not come otherwise.  One can't help but compare it to Six Flags but since that company is in danger of going out of business I can't see that being a necessarily "smart" way to go.  While Six Flags seems to be failing and SDC thriving should put out the message "if it works don't fix it".

[Coaster]

Well, I have never been to Moonlight Madness and didn't go to the dance on the square, but I have heard modernish music playing in SDC before and I don't like it. It ruins the entire atmosphere and extremely goes against the theme. It just doesn't fit and I agree with many of the solutions that have been offered here to fix this problem, while SDC can still make money.

I love the idea of an SDC campfire. The characters could play songs on their banjos and guitars and it could be a great storytelling opportunity, and another comedy type show for SDC. They could do a campfire maybe three or four days a week in the summer and in the fall and it should be FREE OF CHARGE. We've already paid enough to get into the park and paid enough for food, the shows should be free. And what could be more American and 1880's than a campfire!

[bthomas]

I certainly hope we don't "theme" SDC into oblivion.  We love the theme, but how many more like us are being raised to love the park as much.  We might have to accept the inevitable that a little change might have to be accepted.

[Joy]

I really didn't feel like the dance party was really invasive, partly because it was only located in Main Street and I swear, it seemed like all the people who were still there at the park were there on Main Street. Everyone really seemed to be having fun. If they keep it strictly to Moonlight Madness, I don't think it's all that bad an idea.

Though, as previously mentioned, if they could reworks the songs for both the dance party and the MM background music to be all country-themed, that'd be even better.

[slow_walker]

I have been going to the park since I was a small child in the 70's. I love the 1880's theme. I miss the Diving Bell and the Float Trip and other things that have changed. But change is natural and eventually has to happen everywhere. We have all changed. We don't choose to live the same way we lived 20 years ago, but we probably still have the same values and morals we had 20 years ago.

It's easy to say the Mary and the other Herschands would not approve of Moonlight Madness or the Dance Party, but do we really know that for sure? You can assume it based on how things used to be when they were the ones making the decisions... but what if we pretend that those people were still around and in charge today, can you guarantee they wouldn't have made these changes themselves? I doubt many of us still dress like we did in the 70's or 80's, we've all changed with the times. Clothes don't look the same and we have accepted the new way they look without even blinking. I'm horrible with examples, but surely you can see what I mean. When I was a kid and all the way through my twenties I hated salad and would not eat it. Then in my 30's I suddenly thought a salad looked pretty tasty and I began eating them. Now I eat salad several times a week. It didn't change my values or mean that I had compromised something. It's just a natural change that happened with age. We have no way of knowing if Mary would have made these types of changes or not. But if she had, it wouldn't mean that her values had changed. It would just mean that her tastes and style had changed.

Let me see if I can kind of bring my point of view a little closer to addressing SDC as a physical place. You guys think because it's an 1880's theme park and we love it as such, nothing should ever break theme. I do understand and agree that theme needs to be maintained as much as possible during normal business hours. But in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with them changing things up a bit when they hold an "event" like Moonlight Madness that is outside their normal business hours. Again, I'm bad with examples... but it's kind of like when a community needs a place to gather and hold a town meeting so they use their local church building on a Tuesday night for a political discussion. Or when a schoolyard is used to setup a traveling carnival for 2 weeks every summer. Both instances mean the property is not being used for the purpose it was designed for. But it doesn't mean that when you attend church on Wednesday evening the political discussion has changed anything about your church or fellowship. Or that when school's back in session kids are going to want to become carnies simply because carnies had been on the property during the summer.

I guess that all sounds a little silly. I'm not very good at explaining how I view it. But hopefully you'll get the general idea and hopefully I managed not to upset anyone. Because of course we are all going to have different opinions and I certainly don't believe my opinion is better than anyone else's. It's just simply mine.

[saloongal]

Slow Walker that might be the best summary I have read.

[pintrader]

You can assume it based on how things used to be when they were the ones making the decisions... but what if we pretend that those people were still around and in charge today, can you guarantee they wouldn't have made these changes themselves?

Am I the only one that still feels & thinks the Herschends are in charge of what goes on in sdc?  I know corporate is in Georgia and am sure they make decisions on what happens in the park, but I don't think a theme park started and held for 50 years by the same family is going to let anyone tell them how to run their park.  I think the Herschends still have the last say on what is added or took away in sdc. 

[Junior]

I think you are right. Jack and Pete are semi-retired, but sit on the board. The third and fourth generation family members are working in the company at various positions. Jack and Pete let others take care of day to day things, but anything big probably still needs their approval. Probably one of the reasons the old treehouse is still in place is somebody up high wants it kept until something can be done to improve and reopen it in someway. I'm just guessing here on all of this, but most of it is probably more right than wrong.

[slow_walker]

Oh sorry. I didn't mean to imply the Herschends aren't involved in decision making, I was basically just meaning the original people who started in charge are no longer in the same leadership roles. Or something. Whatever I meant. 

[History Buff]

Whoever makes the decisions, today, I pray they remain focused on the big picture.