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[shavethewhales]

This image speaks for itself.  I mean what maintenance person in their right mind would do such a thing.

Whoa, chill out there bud. Like oklaSDCfan said, it's for Moonlight Madness to make the park safe for the nightime event. I can understand being displeased from the purist perspective, but you've got to watch the tone. There's a fairly distinct line between bitching and constructively pointing out things that would make the experience better.

[History Buff]

I didn't take it to be that far over the line, but I understand that you don't want the tone to go further.  I've said more than once that I will not attend MM - and in the process will not take my family, including two children, during those hours.  I don't even like to see these types of things during the day - printed neon signs announcing the late hours, etc.  That light, as zsc100 said, could have easily been hidden with a well-vented box; at the very least, it could have been placed on the back side of a nearby tree.

But like I say, I understand the need to hold SDCFans to some boundaries.  Stay diligent, zsc100.  We all have to temper our tones from time to time.

[saladdays]

I think SDC does a great job of sticking to their themes, and probably the best of any park I've been to, especially considering the amount of period theming required for a park that big.

[zsc100]

I agree, the theming is great at SDC, but I feel it can't be compared to most theme parks easily b/c the theme is so consistently nostalgic at SDC.  It's not like other theme parks where you jump into the queue line for ride A and your immersed into theme A, then you go jump in the queue line for ride B and now your in theme B.  All of SDC (with slight exception of GE) is themed with a underlying nostalgic foundation, therefore that foundation cannot be broken around the park without being easily noticed by people who care about detail.  I also believe the people who don't care as much about detail are still affected by these breaks in theme, just subconsciously.  The more often they see it the more acceptable to them it becomes and the less likely they are to say anything or voice their concerns as time goes on.  I forget where I read it (was in this forum) but someone, perhaps Junior said, "these types of concerns have to trickle down from management or they will continue to be lost"  I've seen him say employees would "loose their job" or "get in trouble" for simple theme breaks back in "Miss Mary's Time", but I'm not sure that aggressive of action is even needed.  If bottom level employees were constantly reminded in memos, meetings, etc.  that they should be paying attention to these things that make SDC so unique and great I would like to believe they would put forth an effort to preserve that, ya know a sense of pride for being part of what makes SDC so awesome.  We know this type of emphasis used to come from management from the stories we hear out of Junior.  I hope this thread reaches some employees in management at SDC that can and have the power to make a direct impact.  I don't believe there has to be any quantitative compromise in profit or resources, just instill a sense of obligation to all employees that theming is VERY important and is a BIG part of what makes SDC so unique. 

Wait,,,,,,,,
Come to think of it I can put a quantitative price on this issue.  Create a position at the park just like safety officer in current corporate structure,,,,,, we'll call it "Theme Officer".  Salary: free admission, food and drinks to SDC every day.  Job description: Issue violations in theming park wide.  Give them a western sheriff themed costume, badge, gun, and all.   I'll leave the rest of the job description up to SDCFan's imagination, but I'll go ahead and nominate Junior for this position

[Junior, too!]

Years ago, they actually had a person dedicated to being keeper of the theme. My guess is that job title no longer exists. Those too young to remember SDC of the 1960s thru mid to late 1980s will never really know how much has changed over the years. Still, the park does much better than others.

[tinmann620]

The person that is the "theme officer" has worked at the park for 36+ years. She has a full plate and is constantly going over the park and WILL note what's not to theme, and do something about it,fyi

[History Buff]

Sounds like she might need a high-paid, part-time executive assistant.  I volunteer to help her with her list.

[Junior, too!]

Hmmmmmm....so Sue Pratt still has the job? She was a GREAT street troupe member way back when.

[MoOzark]

I had to count it up on my fingers but I have been going to SDC for 6 decades now and I have seen a lot of changes. The theme of SDC has always been the Missouri Ozarks of the 1880s. However, at the start in the early 1960s, the theme seemed to be more influenced by 1950s TV westerns than the local history. The early rides were all based on a western theme, such as the stage coach, the donkey pack train, and the steam powered train with an old west train robbery. The entertainment was old west style shootouts on Main Street. In fact, as a small boy in the early 1960s, I thought I had stumbled on to the real-world location of the western shows I watched on TV.

By the early 1970s, they seemed to be doing a lot better with the Ozarks theme. It was a showcase of tradition Ozark crafts, Ozark food, and real Ozark traditional music. It wasn't perfect but it was unique. Most amusement parks then were just a collection of rides with very little theme. If anything, the average US amusement park had its roots in the world of the circus or Coney Island.

Silver Dollar City has grown up now. It's not the small family-run park it used to be. It is a multiple hundred-million dollar a year corporation that has to work under all the government regulations, political correctness, and the constant threat of lawsuits from anyone looking for deep pockets. It is not just a vacation spot for locals anymore. SDC has visitors from all over the nation, and foreign countries too. Many are people that have no background or understanding of Ozark culture and history.

I am hoping that SDC planners will make an attempt to keep an Ozark theme. Personally, I'm not even insistent that they stay in the 1880s. If they wanted to develop a brand new area with a 1920s Ozark theme, I would be the first one there on opening day.  After all, when SDC opened in 1960, the 1880s had only ended 70 years before. Today, the year 1924 was 90 years ago.

Imagine a 1920s Ozarks world:  How about a 1920s Ozark version of Epcot's Test-Track? You walk through the showroom of a 1920s Ford dealership full of Model Ts. You walk through the garage area and get into a Model T touring car. The car then takes off, driving through the woods, dodging trees and stumps, down a steep embankment, splash across a river, you dodge chickens and cows on the road, drive into a burning barn, then through a waterfall and into a cave, then out into the woods at night where Bigfoot runs along beside the car, and then you get shot at by angry moonshiners.   

Or, how about a Ozark version of Epcot's Soarin' where you go flying in Rube Dugan's new flying contraption. You go sailing over Ozarks forests where you can smell the woods, over Bald Knobs, past towering bluffs, over fields of running sheep or cows, and soar up a river until there is a towering waterfall up ahead. Then Junior Dugan struggles to gain altitude while you are sprayed in the face with mist from the falls. You barely clear the waterfall, soar over the fields while the skies darkens and turn stormy. Then you are flying directly into a tornado. It could be even better than Soarin' if it was filmed in 3-D IMAX. (Maybe SDC should hire me as an SDC imaginer!)

Silver Dollar City is not perfect. However, I would much rather spend my leisure time at SDC than any Six Flags park or Worlds of Fun. To me, the most important thing for the future of SDC is that they keep the Ozark theme. Then I'll keep coming back, year-after-year.

[History Buff]

Well stated.  I would like it to stay in the 1880s, but would welcome a sister City such as this one, perhaps full of virtual attractions like you mention.

It's interesting to think of how the theme would be different if they had moved forward a year every year as they once proposed, keeping it exactly 100 years in the past.  What would the park look like if now it portrayed 1914?

[okiebluegrass]

Make Celebration City SDC 1920 

[History Buff]

I rebuilt the whole park in my 1960 SDC idea - a weird parallel-type, Bizarro City that has traveled through time:

I have solved the dilemma.  This came to me in a dream while I was riding the new "Route 66 Coaster" at Silver Dollar City (It was nothing to write home about, by the way.).

The Silver Dollar Line, in conjunction with Doc Harris Enterprises, announces the newly re-engineered "Time Train", an experience to take guests into Silver Dollar City during 1960.  What will SDC look like in 1960? you ask.  Well, lets see:

First, the train will travel through a "time tunnel" to transport visitors to the future (1960, a symbolic year).  Once there, in an area away from the current park, we walk through the Hospitality House, which is now the Hospitality Arcade.

On the other side, the band stand (formerly the gazebo), rocks with popular music of the past decade (50's).  The "square" now hosts classic car shows every weekend, with local car clubs showcasing their babies.  The Main Street buildings have transformed through the years and now boast their new storefronts and signage, including lots of neon.  Hannah's is still Hannahs, but now it's a rockin' soda fountain complete with jerks.  Other shops reflect some changes.  Costuming is also different now.  The Mine and the Mill are now the Mine and Mill Pizza Parlor, Roller Rink, and Bowling Alley, in which guests may rent skates.  A more current firetruck is on display on the other side of the square, along with a victory garden in the place of the old homestead.

Working counterclockwise through the condensed version of the park, we find a newer, hipper candy store.  The Flooded Mine is now the Flooded Mine mini-golf (a pay-to-play attraction).  ThuNderaTion is now the ThuNderaTion Raceway, where guests can drive period cars around a track.

Ice skating is offered at the cannery (a smaller version of the original), and the Grand Exposition has been replaced by a street carnival with the best rides from Celebration City filling the area, with the CC Carousel taking the place of the Wave Carousel.  The carnival can even rotate its rides throughout the year so the experience continually changes.

The Lost River and Geyser Gulch have now become the LR and GG waterpark, with any number of waterslides and attractions (White Water is a thing of the past.).  Geyser Gulch is also the location of the new Adventure Mountain ropes course.  The Riverfront Playhouse is updated as a dinner theater.  Even the newest ride at SDC gets a makeover in 1960.  Tom and Huck's Riverblast is now an enclosed laser tag area.  The Giant Swing is a display of modern agricultural techniques.

Fire-in-the-Hole is now a dark ride that simply slowly takes guests through fire, local, and Silver Dollar City history, ending in a walk-through experience.  The Opera House is now a movie theater showing classic movies on the big screen (the only place you can see old movies on the big screen).  And Powder Keg is now a big chat pile with a track through it that guests can sled down.

Wildfire is now a gas station and drive in restaurant where guests can order from carhops or step inside a great old hamburger joint.  The Saloon is now a biker bar (just kidding).  American Plunge eventually gets a position here, too, now as a white water rapids ride with a huge plunge at the end.  Oh, and grandfather's mansion is rebuilt in its approximate space (to ADA standards), and is now Great, Great, Great Grandfather's Mansion.

Shops can be interspersed strategically as in the 1800s park.  The whole thing, as I said, is a condensed version with all kinds of tongue-in-cheek nods to the original.  A book will be published called Spot the Differences in which readers can compare pictures of each time period (Volume Two will be a contrast between the real 1960 and the "future" 1960 of SDC.).

Guests to SDC will have free admission to this new section, but will still have to pay to play golf or laser tag, skate, bowl, see a movie, or enter the waterpark.  On the other hand, the general public also will have access to shop in the area, but they will be charged for tickets to ride any of the carnival rides, etc.  They could also enter SDC on this side, by purchasing a pass and boarding the train to go back in time.

The train will plummet through another time tunnel to get to the current station, at some time playing Huey Louis while going "Back in Time".

Methinks the train will not be enough to accommodate the number of guests wanting to travel back and forth through time, so we may need to think of a barnstorming idea, in which guests can ride ski-lifts to the new area and back, getting a great view along the way.

Naturally, features in this new area would be able to remain open when SDC closes for the evening or for the season.

Rockin' the World (during WorldFest, a way to focus on America's influence on the rest of the world)
Space Cowboys (during the Cowboy Festival, focusing on the space race of the 1950s and 60s)

During Old Time Christmas, the silver foil tree could be erected in the new square and reprogrammed to some of the classic crooners.

I forgot to mention the laser/water show in the "new" Echo Hollow each evening.

That keeps SDC with its current theme, and turns a whole other location into SDC 1960 (to commemorate the time of the original City opening.  Of course, every time SDC adds an attraction, a similar attraction must be constructed in the new Bizarro SDC.

[KBCraig]

The person that is the "theme officer" has worked at the park for 36+ years. She has a full plate and is constantly going over the park and WILL note what's not to theme, and do something about it,fyi

I guess her plate is too full to do anything about the computer-printed signs, visible soft drink machines, and Dippin' Dots.

[Swoosh]

If you look hard enough you will always find something out of theme OR you could just enjoy the park like I do.  The signs don't bother me.  I honestly do not even notice the soft drink machines until someone points them out.  Dippin Dots stands are at least themed and not the generic fair ones you see at most parks.

[History Buff]

I don't mind the drinks and slushes as much as I used to.  In fact, I think the new facilities look pretty decent and are presented well enough with the refrigeration et al.  They don't bother me as much as the drink coolers at the operator stations in GE.  I still think those could be easily hidden. 

To keep things in theme, of course, if it is to be the 1880s, Coca Cola should be a nickel!  Come on, SDC!