Vague Memories of the Late '90s

GeyserGulch33 · March 12, 2011, 01:49:51 PM

Can anyone help me here? I remember around 1997 or 1998 there being some sort of ball pit in the park, maybe near the center (that memory would be reasonable given SDC's original "three-ring" arrangement). The balls were blue and brown, and there was some kind of soft climbing and sliding apparatus within it. It was NOT the area at Geyser Gulch with the foam balls; these were the more traditional larger inflatable kind. If I remember right it was surrounded by some kind of mesh like that used at Geyser Gulch and formerly at Tom Sawyer's Landing. Also, I remember there being a Nickelodeon show during that same time period... all I really remember about it was that the audience was told to "SCREEEEAM!!!" every couple of minutes or so. I can't find much on either. That same year there was also a LEGO exhibit. From what I see on Google, the ball pit was likely in the aforementioned Tom Sawyer's Landing (no pictures though), and I find NOTHING on the Nickelodeon show (just some stuff about Double Dare 2000... not the year I saw it in) or LEGO exhibit.

All this was during the Kids Fest of one of those two years (1997 or 1998).

History Buff · March 12, 2011, 02:29:15 PM

The ball pit was in TS Landing, as you stated. They were in the area that is now across from the River Blast, where the current waxworks (handdipping sculpture) is.

The Nickelodeon shows changed from year to year, during Kidsfest, and were not exactly in the theme of SDC (which is why we diehards disliked them so much, much as we do not like the cartoon visits that graced the festival in 2010).

I'm sure you can find more information (and even pictures) about the old version of TS Landing and Kidsfests in other threads on the forum.

GeyserGulch33 · March 12, 2011, 08:26:02 PM

Quote from: History Buff on March 12, 2011, 02:29:15 PM
The ball pit was in TS Landing, as you stated. They were in the area that is now across from the River Blast, where the current waxworks (handdipping sculpture) is.

The Nickelodeon shows changed from year to year, during Kidsfest, and were not exactly in the theme of SDC (which is why we diehards disliked them so much, much as we do not like the cartoon visits that graced the festival in 2010).

I'm sure you can find more information (and even pictures) about the old version of TS Landing and Kidsfests in other threads on the forum.

A few more memories... brown was the pervading color scheme of the ball pit, with some beige on the climbing thing. The colors were subdued, the blue balls were an "unsaturated" blue. In the Nick show I possibly remember there being some sort of vertical set of lights a bit like that in this arcade game. The Lego exhibit had an area where kids could build with LEGO Freeplay bricks (don't remember the exact name, but it's what they used to call the normal bricks when they were not in a special kit... the 1990's predecessor to "Creator" sets).

As for the "diehards", a toddler usually does not consider the philosophical implications of whether an attraction fits the overall theme of a park before enjoying it.

...nor does he remember much 13 years later.

History Buff · March 12, 2011, 08:43:17 PM

That is true, but the diehards do. Imagine the same type shows being done in theme. It could be done.

Zephon · March 12, 2011, 08:53:10 PM

The ball pits were part of Tom Sawyer's Landing beginning in the mid-80's sometime. There were actually two "pits" with red, brown, yellow, and blue balls. One of the pits did have a slide section with three or four lanes bounded by big bumpers. It was right next to Aunt Polly's restaurant. The ball pits were finally removed basically because they were unsanitary...kids would have "accidents" in there regularly.

The first Nick show was called "You Pick Nick," and had a green sliminator as the centerpiece of the set. Two families would compete against one another in various "get you messed up" games. They even installed showers in the dressing room of the Playhouse so guests could clean up afterwards. My daughters have the distinction of being the first to be "slimed" which happened during a rehearsal for the show. We still found traces of green slime in that theater for years after that show closed.

rubedugans · March 12, 2011, 10:08:38 PM

Ahh the ballpit. It was a veritable petri dish, I don't know how my mother ever allowed us to go in there, I am sure it made us stronger in the long run!

We have discussed this on several threads here, but as the resident archivist I will supply some photos of the ball pit at TS Landing. I am partial to the brown, so that is what I am posting, however i have photos of the blue pit as well.

MissinTheGreenTrams · March 13, 2011, 04:23:14 PM

I loved that ball pit.......now I cringe at it....and it makes me wanna ralph. I was part of the nick show. I had to answer trivia on cartoons that were current and won then I go to go to the wall of stuff and that was neat. I have a few pics from the nick show and the wall o stuff. I remember winning a rugrats shirt and had the cast sign it. How nerdy....as for it being in theme, no its not but as it was said kiddos dont much care for theme. While yes its nice they are lookin for somethin familier to them as well as fun. Its a big people bringer in-er. If my son saw somethin he wanted to go to, and at the same time they had somethin for me to do also, thats the place I would go to. Somethin that pleases the whole family.

Zephon · March 13, 2011, 05:54:04 PM

Well, shut my mouf! Blue and brown balls. There it is. I could have swore there were red and yellow as well. I'm a-pile-o-gize.

rubedugans · March 13, 2011, 07:48:13 PM

I am only aware of the two varieties...blue, and brown.

DollarCityBoy · March 13, 2011, 10:43:53 PM

I too am only aware of the blue and brown balls. The ball pit was one of my favorite places to go as a young child. As I had mentioned in another thread, I always called them "new balls" because they changed them from brown to blue, and the name stuck for many years! I was always VERY scared to climb the ropes above the ball pit, because I thought I would fall (of course my feet were about the size of the opening!)
Because we went to Silver Dollar City so many times, the girl who worked at the Ball Pit always remembered me, and even called me by name. My dad tells that story a lot.

rubedugans · March 13, 2011, 11:18:18 PM

I remember having my 4-5 yr old legs fall through the holes in the rope net many times. I loved the portion above the balls where you could decide to go bellow a net, or up-leading you to either stairs down, or stairs up to reach the high pathways that led across/ over the road. There was always an SDC worker stationed on the nets to assist the littluns up. I was never that afraid of falling, but moreso I was afraid that I would lose a shoe!

Junior · March 14, 2011, 03:28:02 PM

Tom Sawyer's Landing...the earliest version of it...was another place I worked on park. The ballroom (blue balls) was the most labor intensive place to work. Always had to be paying attention. The cable slide was fun. The petting farm was OK, but there would always be at least one kid or two who would be scared by the animals or would feed the animals and get a finger nipped. The treehouse was remodeled into Huck Finn's Hideaway about this time, and, as mentioned on other threads, I worked in there too. The second ball room, the balloon chase, the wax dipping station, paper and leather crafts and the carousel all came later, in 1984 or after, so I don't have experiences working there. It was the first hardcore attempt by the city to build a large kid friendly play area, and has gone down as one of those spots at SDC that a generation of folks, now adults, look back on fondly. I was happy to be a part of it.

KBCraig · March 15, 2011, 07:22:57 AM

Quote from: rubedugans on March 12, 2011, 10:08:38 PM
Ahh the ballpit. It was a veritable petri dish, I don't know how my mother ever allowed us to go in there, I am sure it made us stronger in the long run!

To steal a quote from the blogger "Ambulance Driver": my immune system kills squirrels in the back yard.

thelarsonsix · March 24, 2011, 07:55:11 PM

Quote from: rubedugans on March 12, 2011, 10:08:38 PM
Ahh the ballpit. It was a veritable petri dish, I don't know how my mother ever allowed us to go in there, I am sure it made us stronger in the long run!

We have discussed this on several threads here, but as the resident archivist I will supply some photos of the ball pit at TS Landing. I am partial to the brown, so that is what I am posting, however i have photos of the blue pit as well.

Your limitless supply of archives never ceases to amaze me.

Thanks for sharing so much with us.

Coaster · April 03, 2011, 11:27:16 AM

I spent HOURS in that ball pit. And I also remember many of the old Nickelodeon shows, especially Double Dare. It was great being a kid in the 90's at SDC!