2014 Trip Reviews

sanddunerider · December 02, 2014, 07:49:19 AM

Caught the salon show,, I thought I had read on thread previously it was an "all" new show.. It is actually NOT all new... just different from the summer show..
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Actually it is, but feel free to disagree. Yes they use some of the same characters that they have in the past but it is all new.

Welllll, IF it is "all new". they did use some of the same characters AND some of the same story lines, and changed them a "little" bit, added a couple of new skits.......

So? with that being said... LOL.. It is an ALL NEW show................... (kind of).....

Swoosh · December 02, 2014, 06:49:25 PM

I'm not going to fight with you over linguistics. Sorry, not taking that bait.

chittlins · December 02, 2014, 08:57:46 PM

how about "Revamped" or "Reworked"

Swoosh · December 02, 2014, 11:03:21 PM

All the songs are new. The only thing that is the same is Sagebrush Scrooge but even that is different. Seriously the show is new.

History Buff · December 05, 2014, 10:13:50 PM

Spent some time at SDC, this evening. The heavy fog all day made the trip beautiful and enchanting. The crowd was very light.

We were disappointed that several strings of lights were not working; entire areas were left unlit, and even many of the lights in the square were not working, including many that were supposed to work with the tree.

Christmas Carol was superb as always and still brings a tear to the eye. I would be all right with a couple of tweaks if they wanted to change it up a little. The snow globe scene was added in the past, so it's not unprecedented.

We spent some time with Santa, but were also disappointed that Rudolf and Bumble were not there. They are only there on Saturday and Sunday. Terry interacted with the kids more than he has in the past, and since we were the only ones in line, Santa spent an extended time with them, as well.

It was sprinkling, so the first parade was cancelled. We made it to Wonderful Life, and the show was good. It doesn't evoke the Christmas spirit like Dickens, and the "theater" doesn't set the same type of mood, but the show is still well done. Joseph, the angel who briefs Clarence, must have been an understudy or a fill-in, since he obviously read the script from his clipboard. That wasn't a terrible distraction, but I'm still stymied over George Bailey's mother being the same age as George. It seems an older lady should play the role.

I figure SDC brought in over $1,000 from Show Lovers in the "Wonderful" show alone. That's more than 100 people who paid $10 to get guaranteed center seats.

The hot chocolate is always a must, and with our Buzzsaw Falls mug, our refill is just $1.

mhguy77 · December 06, 2014, 08:53:48 AM

QuoteWe were disappointed that several strings of lights were not working; entire areas were left unlit, and even many of the lights in the square were not working, including many that were supposed to work with the tree.

I have been there on a similar evening, fog and rain seem to short out some of the lights. I have seen it like this before. I guess its something that cant be helped.
I was a little disappointed they the Rudolf characters were not there for photos except on that limited schedule. It was that way a few weeks ago, I think they are missing photo sales by doing that.

History Buff · December 06, 2014, 09:24:54 AM

I didn't actually miss the characters, but the kids might have liked them...or been scared of them. Those are characters from my own childhood.

Considering the length of the lines during busy times, I wonder how the characters being present changes the atmosphere or the impatience of the wait. It gets steamy and crowded in there.

sanddunerider · December 06, 2014, 10:33:01 AM

I'm sure the moisture is a HUGE factor...

History?, I heard only about 4,000 people there Friday? Is that right?.. should not have been hardly any lines anywhere....

Still wet today, I bet they have problems tonight too......

Gilligan · December 06, 2014, 11:40:47 AM

Bummer about the lights, but I bet it's stunning in the fog.

sanddunerider · December 06, 2014, 01:17:35 PM

I saw some pics from last night, it does look pretty neat in the fog/mist,,,,,,

biscuitcreek · December 06, 2014, 06:41:43 PM

We were there Thursday night -- extremely foggy. Was very weird riding the train in the fog. Went to the saloon show. Some of the jokes we have heard before in previous Christmas saloon shows -- "Why are there no nativity scenes in Washington D.C.? Because they can't find 3 wise men". The sleigh scene with a member of the audience was a modification of the previous shows using a bed with a member of the audience. However, we did think this year's version of the Christmas saloon show was a much better experience than the last 2 or 3 years. It also helped that the 2 men picked out of the audience to participate really got into it and did add to the show.

DianaGail · December 08, 2014, 09:50:25 PM

We were there Saturday. It was a madhouse. We started out seeing Rudolph and the bumble. Then straight to the measuring station, which really needs to be at the top of the hill. Ugh. Cate and Caleb have hit their 48 inches and anna 36 inches. We tried to ride the pirate ships, but it was too cold and they wouldn't run correctly. By 2:30, lines for the expo rides were pushing over 30 minutes. Off to ride the train. They were running 2 trains so we only waited 20 minutes. By the time we got off, the wait was an hour. Thunderation and shopping were next, followed by the tree lighting. Waited 25 minutes for hot chocolate in the square. Watched the tree lighting with 10,000 of my closest friends and them we decided to leave. No way we're we going to wait another 1 1/2 hours for the parade. Walked to the car as we had paid for season pass preferred. At 6, there were still many people coming In to the park. Overall it was a good trip but the more people there were, the more stressful it became with young children.

Swoosh · December 08, 2014, 11:30:29 PM

If you can make it past the first parade - the park empties out and is dead. The park is much more enjoyable then, FYI

DianaGail · December 12, 2014, 07:00:27 PM

We typically do stay around to watch the first parade and then spend more time playing when it clears. It was just too much this time

Preachin_Bill · December 13, 2014, 10:32:04 AM

I know I'm late, but we went over the Thanksgiving weekend on Thanksgiving day and the Saturday after. Words can't really describe how busy it was Saturday. I'll put it this way-we waited in line for an hour and a half to see the 6 o'clock saloon show and if you weren't in line at 4:30 you weren't seeing the 6 o'clock show. There were lines everywhere. The line for the opera house went all the way down to the Lumbercamp. I'm not sure if people even knew what they were in line FOR. Wife and I decided the best thing to do was wait around and people watch! It was crazy, but fun.

Thanksgiving wasn't so bad, and it was GREAT after the parade was over. The last hour in the park is the best time to be there. Nobody around. A few overall comments:
The Christmas Carol is simply excellent. My whole family agrees. I've seen it before and can't wait to see it again next year. I think I saw somewhere that some people want it to go away, but that would be a huge mistake.
The new Saloon show was excellent. Saw it twice. That guy playing Charlie is one funny dude.
Had my first Apple Dumpling. I was disappointed. But oh well.
Cajun Connection was overflowing Saturday. I enjoy Cajun Connection, but they need to play more songs.
The parade was good but it was a little short. And I don't get the car thing for Rudolph. The Bumble might be the best part!
Got to ride FITH but nothing else. Oh well, at least we got to ride my favorite ride. 5 year old niece of mine rode five times and loved it. IT's her favorite ride!
The train was excellent, if you got to see it. We walked on for the last train on Thanksgiving right before they shut the gate and somehow got window seats. Lines were amazingly long Saturday. All the way up to the talking bucket.
It's a wonderful life is okay, but not great. Hard to fit that story into one hour. Dickens is better.

Loved SDC and loved that they still keep the real reason for the season involved! Will go back next year but NOT over Thanksgiving!