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[shavethewhales]

SDC has sent out another survey recently, and it's got more signs of fatalism about it. Emphasis seems to have been placed on defining what people could live with being removed from the park. 

I don't know what this means. They're probably just trying to find their footing with the new generation of guests as usual, but I hate how these surveys are always so telling of how the park is thinking. We've already had a series of surveys about the economy that got the parks's 2009 plans dampened, then canceled altogether, and now they want to know what they can take out of the park.

Anyone get this? I always miss the best ones.

[History Buff]

Apparently we have it.  We will look at it tonight and report more.

[sdcforever]

^This is interesting.  Looking forward to your report, History Buff, and SDC rides and attractions are whirring through my mind as I try to figure out what SDC is pondering right now!

[History Buff]

How frustrating!  The survey was sent at 2:00 today, but after answering the questions and submitting, the message tells us they've already received enough responses.

The questions were:

Using a 1-10 scale, where 1=not important at all and 10=extremely important, please rate how important each of the following amenities are in your enjoyment of Silver Dollar City.

     Rides, Shows, Shopping, Restaurants, Street Entertainers, Festivals, Crafts/Demos

Using a 1-10 scale, where 1=not satisfied at all and 10=extremely satisfied, please rate your satisfaction with each of the following amenities at Silver Dollar City.

     Same answer choices

Of the following Silver Dollar City rides with which you are familiar, please indicate how much you like the ride by rating each on a scale of 1-5 where 1=do not like at all and 5=one of my favorites.

     All major rides listed, plus Geyser Gulch, Splash Harbor, GE, Train

Which of the following Silver Dollar City rides do you believe could be replaced with a new ride or attraction without having a negative impact on the park?

     Same choices

Which of the following Silver Dollar City rides do you consider to be a part of the Silver Dollar City tradition and would not want to see it changed?

     Same choices

Of the following Silver Dollar City shows with which you are familiar, please indicate how much you like the show by rating each on a scale of 1-5 where 1=do not like at all and 5=one of my favorites.

     Christmas Carol, Horsecreek Bank, Cajun Connection, Saloon, Echo Hollow, Light Parade, Nativity, Homestead Pickers

Which of the following Silver Dollar City shows do you believe could be replaced with a new show without having a negative impact on the park?

     Same

Which of the following Silver Dollar City shows do you consider to be a part of the Silver Dollar City tradition and would not want to see it changed?

Same (Are you getting the question pattern yet?)

Of the following Silver Dollar City attractions with which you are familiar, please indicate how much you like the attraction by rating each on a scale of 1-5 where 1=do not like at all and 5=one of my favorites.
     
     GF Mansion, Petting Farm, McHaffie's, Wilderness Church, Marvel Cave, Schoolhouse, Swinging Bridge, Street Entertainers

Which of the following Silver Dollar City attractions do you believe could be replaced with a new attraction without having a negative impact on the park?

     Same - Let's see them replace Marvel Cave!

Which of the following Silver Dollar City attractions do you consider to be a part of the Silver Dollar City tradition and would not want to see it changed?

     Same - uh, all the above!!!

Of the following Silver Dollar City festivals with which you are familiar, please indicate how much you like the festival by rating each on a scale of 1-5 where 1=do not like at all and 5=one of my favorites.

     All current festivals listed

Which of the following Silver Dollar City festivals do you believe could be replaced with a new festival without having a negative impact on the park?

     Same choices

Which of the following Silver Dollar City festivals do you consider to be a part of the Silver Dollar City tradition and would not want to see it changed?

     Again

So what do you think?  I figure they can replace the Waterboggan if they have to pick one or change the Echo Hollow Show, and I definitely want them to change Kidsfest.  But don't mess with my FitH!!!

All in all, the survey wasn't that bad, but I don't want some things replaced.  It was interesting that they framed those questions in the form of "part of the Silver Dollar City tradition".  Hopefully those questions will direct people to answer in the right ways.

So, what do you think?  How would you vote?

[shavethewhales]

Being as nostalgic as I am, I'd be heartbroken if they took out just about anything. However, if something had to go, I think they should look at taking out the WaterBoggin. It was just redone in 2003, but it's a high cost ride that takes up a lot of high-value space, and while it's always been a cool little part of the park, it's just not as much as a classic SDC attraction as everything else. I'd miss seeing the bats though.

Thinking about it more, I doubt this is a sign of them being fatalist. I think they're actually trying to judge just how strong the nostalgia effect is on SDC patrons. Hopefully their selection finds more time-hardened SDC patrons. I know the park has downplayed the role of long time fans a lot in the past years.

[sdcforever]

Well, they definitely can't change or replace Marvel Cave.  It sounds like they're evaluating everything to see what aspects of the park are really prized by guests.  I don't want them to replace Fire In the Hole or Grandfather's Mansion.  And I really like the Homestead Pickers.  I wouldn't mind them changing Echo Hollow or retooling KidsFest.

The most interesting aspect of the survey to me is how they asked guests to rate replacing and changing things.  Now I can understand changing or replacing festivals, shows, and attractions, and I can understand replacing rides as well.  But changing rides?  Changing in the way that BuzzSaw Falls was changed into PowderKeg?  That's an interesting concept.  What's the difference between changing a ride and replacing it?  Just changing part of a ride?  For example, how do you change Thunderation?

[Hatfield McCoy]

The most interesting aspect of the survey to me is how they asked guests to rate replacing and changing things.  Now I can understand changing or replacing festivals, shows, and attractions, and I can understand replacing rides as well.  But changing rides?  Changing in the way that BuzzSaw Falls was changed into PowderKeg?  That's an interesting concept.  What's the difference between changing a ride and replacing it?  Just changing part of a ride?  For example, how do you change Thunderation?

It would be interesting to see them change/upgrade The American Plunge and the Fire in the Hole.  Add some cave elements to the American Plunge and restore the lost scenes in the Fire and the Hole and you would have a really nice marketing angle for the 50th anniversary. 

On a separate note, I hope they don't go back to replacing rides.  SDC was terrible about this not too long ago, and it really took some of the zing away from the park.  I was really glad when the park began expanding their lineup instead of subtracting rides/street performers. 

[History Buff]

To their credit, a new email came in saying that the message about already having enough responses was a flaw in the survey and that our survey counted.  Yea!  I hope the other surveys don't vote for replacing Marvel Cave; they'd have to bring in a lot of fill dirt for that.

[sdcforever]

^Considering that Marvel Cave is a National Natural Landmark, which SDC voluntarily participates in, I don't think they'd change anything with the cave.  Participation in the NNL program would be meaningless if they planned any landscape destruction.

Of couse, I know you're joking about the fill dirt!

[Swoosh]

Well, they definitely can't change or replace Marvel Cave. 

Not exactly.  There has been talk about making the cave ADA and having an elevator installed.  Granted that was awhile ago, but still it could be done.  There has also been talk about making the Mammoth Room accessible to the tour.

[DocSpeleo]

Hmmm... not sure how I feel about the survey.. If it was received by certain people I may be afraid to see what would happen.
Now on to my area (lol) how do you make the cave ADA certified? ummm... i've been through nearly 700 times this year and that's not going to happen.  Adding an elevator is a story that I tell my lantern tours when we talk about changes being made to the cave.  I think it ranked up there on the scale of $15 million when it was researched.. or that's the info I made up (who knows... you can't trust a cave guide) anyway, there are some ideas floating around about some changes and additions to the tour route for the lantern tour groups and possibly making the mammoth room accessible, my idea was to use it as a classroom type setting ... having a nice wall in there to show some video on as well as allowing groups to continue moving through the cave.

My difficulty with the survey is that so many people ask me... "what's this cave all about?"
ummm duh! lol
but there are so many people who don't know what it is or where or how it is tied to the park...  all of us know but i'm not so sure about the survey recipients. 

I guess we'll see...

[Tom]

I was at the park today and walked on the Culinary School's back porch for the first time.  I have to say that I was surprised at the awesome  view of the Echo Hollow.  Honestly, I wondered. . .why?  Why would you want such a great view of a venue that just doesn't host that many concerts and isn't that magnificent to look at?  I've heard the rumor/theory on this blog before that Echo Hollow was on its way out, and I became slightly more curious today. . .  especially if the survey is suggesting that new attractions might take the place of old ones. 
By the way, I agree with the idea that if a major ride was to be replaced, Waterboggin who be the correct choice.  But talk about a no win for enthusiast.  There are just not that many water slides left. 

[Swoosh]

Why couldn't the laser show be moved to Echo Hollow 

[oldsdcer]

IMO geyser gulch and the waterboggin could both be replaced, alot of people just can't climb that many stairs.  Move the merry=go=round from CC to the GE. Upgrade FITH and AP.Give thunderation more of the underground tunnel that were orginally conceved. just don't take out the corkscrew. Don't take out the McHaffert's, church ,School. More a I think about it

[Coaster]

I was at the park today and walked on the Culinary School's back porch for the first time.  I have to say that I was surprised at the awesome  view of the Echo Hollow.  Honestly, I wondered. . .why?  Why would you want such a great view of a venue that just doesn't host that many concerts and isn't that magnificent to look at?  I've heard the rumor/theory on this blog before that Echo Hollow was on its way out, and I became slightly more curious today. . .  especially if the survey is suggesting that new attractions might take the place of old ones. 

Very smart observation Tom! That could actually happen. But then SDC wouldn't have a big concert venue and they wouldn't have an area for big shows. So, they'd have to fix that somehow.

I'm just curious. Is SDC hurting that badly that they have to cancel their 2009 projects, close down a whole park, and then ask fans what they could deal with being taken out of the park? If so, SDC might be headed for darker times.

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But in relation to this topic, I could also deal with the Waterboggan leaving. This survey was geared toward removing though so I think if people marked down FITH that maybe they read the question wrong or something. That kind of worries me.