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[Copper]

What new coaster do you want to see for the 2009 season? Post what type you want, where should it be located and anything else you can think of...

[Coaster]

I think most of us want that rumored woodie. I would want it to be HUGE!!! I would want it to pack a huge punch (with as few head choppers as possible. I'm a big wuss when it comes to that). I would probably want it located back behind the Wilson's Farm Area so the area would be extended or over in the Grand Expo.

If we don't get a woodie my second choice would have to be an inverted coaster. I think those are a lot of fun. I love The Patriot at Worlds of Fun.


I was just thinkng, how bummed will we all be if we don't even get a coaster next year? I think we'd all be pretty upset.

[Copper]

Ok, if you vote please list your reasons why!

[History Buff]

I'm torn.  I don't know much about the options, but would say any would be welcome IF the theming is top-notch.  The woodie would fit with the Grand Expo, but with creative engineering and execution the others could fit in, too.  I don't think a hypercoaster is right for SDC, though.  Inverted would certainly work for a bat theme next to the cave, but that's really too close to Batman, so it would be regarded as a copy, and as a copy it would have to top the original by far.

[shavethewhales]

I too, am torn on the issue.

The thing is that I want to see some more large-scale attractions come to the city, but I want the city to go back to more of the feel it had before the big rides. What I really want the city to focus on is bringing out more heritage and craftsmanship. With this new coaster, I want it to really be part of the park. I want it to be push a classic SDC theme that is accentuated by a new plethora of surrounding shops, crafts, and andyisms. You might be thinking "well hell, that's what TGS was", but no, TGS is great in that it has some great andyisms and a strong theme, but it's pretty much a big ride with a bunch of stalls plopped around it. This time around, I hope to see some games that are actually relavent to the theme, some actual shops that sell more than t-shirts, and maybe some new craftsmen, also relavent to theme.

Again, it sounds bitchy, but TGS and GE have never really felt like they belong with the rest of SDC. I'm sure they will when the areas mature and characterize, but as it is they are kinda wacky. This time around I hope they dig up something really SDCish, that will really accentuate the atmosphere of the park as a whole.

As far as the coaster type itself, any of the above options besides the hyper coaster would be great, though I personally would prefer a solid Intamin Pre-fab woodie.

[Coaster]

I actually think the Grand Exposition fits in great with the rest of the park. I do however think if it was in a different location it would look very very stupid. And TGS will grow and mature, as you said, into a great ride and area of the park.

I think we all agree on one thing-that SDC has slipped on some of its theming and heritage. The thing we tend to disagree on is how much they actually HAVE slipped up. I personally, don't think they have screwed up so bad. By reading your posts I am inferring that you think they have went down a totally wrong path. SDC still does the same things they used to do so I really don't understand your thinking on how they have screwed up so bad. I too agree that the stupid stalls around TGS are some of the dumbest things I have seen at SDC. They may be the dumbest.

The truth about all this is that, people today care more about the rides than they do the crafts. That is just the sick sad truth. The Herschend's have to keep in line with the times while still trying to uphold the same theme and spirit that they have already created. I think they are doing a magnificent job with it.

[shavethewhales]

^I don't think they've messed up in any way, I just wish they included more of SDC tradition in their new developments. I mean, if GE was added 10 years ago, I think it would have held a lot more neat smaller elements, like funky little shops and maybe a few 'exhibits' of some kind. There's nothing exactly bad about the way SDC is growing, I just wish they held back a little more to the old ways. Besides, SDC's main crowd pull is certainly not thrill seekers, at least not in a direct sense. For thrills, there are numerous other parks, but SDC has much higher prestige for a reason.

[Tom]

WOOD! 
I have no idea why a small unpainted woodie wasn't their first coaster.  I think it should dive off the hill behind farm area.  It could easily stay hidden from people within the park.

[Old Guy]

All right I'm throwing my hat in the ring. I love coasters too. But I must agree that SDC has to be very careful about how they implement them. Thats why FITH was born so many years ago. Low but positive impact on theme as a whole. As nostalgic as I'd like to be, Living in te past is pointless. SDC grew on the personalitys of individuals many of whom are no longer with us. The generation that Townsend Godsey so eliquently documented in his book "These were the Last"  are gone . The real Ozark citizans like Shad, Ken Holt, Rex Matzinbacher, Leslie Jones, et al, are from another time, that we can learn from but not duplicate. The craft festival used to draw 20,000 plus a day on weekends from as far away as Chicago. But it was uniuqe. Now there are craft festivals closer to home. And taste changes. Country crafts were big in the 70's. That crowd is gone. The decision to abandon much theme in the 90's alienated  many long time sdc visiters. Would they come back? Perhaps, but turning back the clock now might prove counterproductive to what SDC is now. There are a lot of tough calls in this business. SDC has had its shares of bad calls, but more good call than most. I may not agree with all of there decisions, indeed I left becouse some of them made it impossable to stay, but overall, the Hershends and crew will do what needs doing and I for one trust them.
Me, I'd build the suspended version of the Ice House.

[Tom]

The park used to host 20,000.  I would hate being there.  There have been many days in which we received word that there were 15,000 and we went shopping and then entered the park at 3PM.  I guess this makes me wonder:  why didn't the park move the entrance or do something to make room for the massive numbers of people who were to enter the park before they started building mega- rides? 

[Copper]

The Christmas season, that being November and December, sees the parks most heavily attended days. Most Fridays and Saturdays see anywhere from 18-22,000 people. The record was set in November of 2006 with attendance being close to 25,000.

If you can avoid the 18-22,000 people days do, they are frustrating for guests.

There is another entrance to the park that hasn't been used in a long time. Next to the Red Golf Heritage Hall is Shad's Cabin and a door marked employees only. That door is an entrance to SDC that has a few ticket booths and turnstiles. I always thought a themed entrance near the elephant ride in the Expo would be a great location. It could have a medium sized shop in the spirit of the Ozark Market Place, just incase you needed a last minute souvenir. This entrance could be for all of the Notch parking lots and any Branson/Campground shuttles. This would eliminate a lot of time standing in Notch waiting for a shuttle and the lines at the front gate would be reduced.

[sdcforever]

There is another entrance to the park that hasn't been used in a long time. Next to the Red Golf Heritage Hall is Shad's Cabin and a door marked employees only. That door is an entrance to SDC that has a few ticket booths and turnstiles.

That entrance closed in the 80s, I think.  Way back when they stopped allowing parking on Main St. (where the gazebo is now) they started using the entrance by Shad's cabin as the entrance to the park and using the train to get people to the park (they would disembark at the old depot which was to the left of the curly-q bridge).  All this has been said before in the forums, but I'm pointing it out because I really don't see them using this entrance again any time soon.  It would require some major changes to the park.

As for the coaster, I would love to see a woodie!  Something Screamin' Eagle style would be a lot of fun and could be worked into the 1880s theme without much difficulty.

[Copper]

They stopped using this entrance about four years ago when they started dividing the hospitality house during the Christmas Season. They set up stantions and make each side one way. They thought this would help out on traffic. The ticket booths in the back entrance still have 04' or 05' ticket prices up.

[sdcforever]

They stopped using this entrance about four years ago when they started dividing the hospitality house during the Christmas Season. They set up stantions and make each side one way. They thought this would help out on traffic. The ticket booths in the back entrance still have 04' or 05' ticket prices up.

Thanks for the clarification, Copper.  I had no idea they used that entrance this recently.  I wish I had entered that way at some point.  Do you know how they managed that (parking issues, etc.)?

[History Buff]

I'm proud to say I had the privilege of entering that direction a few years ago.  We were actually directed to park in that employee lot off of Hwy 76, and we walked right up to the turnstiles.  They were also bussing folks in from the Notch parking lots (Yes, it was crooowwded.).  This was before the magnet strip season passes were established and we still had those folding passes (which by the way told us which days were predicted to be the most crowded, and no we didn't check the dates before we visited).

The best part of entering from that direction was the looks on people's faces when we walked in beside the waterboggen.  It was as if we had enjoyed a privilege they didn't!  We showed them!