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[Jipper]

This was my first trip to the City since 2009. Forgive me for a long review. Just trying to cover what I saw and how it has changed in the five years since I last visited.

Arrived to the park around 8:30AM. Needed to purchase a season pass as I had not done so before arriving. Quickly got one at the ticket booth and then proceeded to the breakfast buffet at Molly's. Food was delicious and the price was right (9.95 + tip for the buffet and OJ with the season pass discount.) Really loved the buffet.

Finished up breakfast shortly before the rope drop. Managed to browse the shops (and SDC Jail,  , so many childhood pictures in that jail.) in the square a bit before the rope drop. First thing that struck me was the light crowd. Most likely due to being the middle of the week and the threat of thunderstorms, which was a bonus for me. First stop was Thunderation. Great as always. Rode another couple of times since there wasn't a line.

After Thunderation, I headed towards Lost River of the Ozarks, but didn't realize that it didn't open until 11AM. I guess this is the case with the other water rides too, so I decided to head to Fire in the Hole. Always loved Fire in the Hole. This time was no different. I noticed that they had a plaque by the queue honoring the dalmatian that used to hang around the entrance. Managed to get photos of all of the tombstones in the fireman's cemetery out front. Are they selling pictures of you on the ride now? Noticed several flashes on the final drop. Seems like they are going the route of Six Flags and trying to get you to buy anything. One other oddity about the ride was Red Flander's pants, they were sagging big time. Also noted a few other minor changes to the ride that were different than 5 years ago, but they were minor.

Not so much a fan of roller coasters that go upside down, so I didn't visit Powder Keg, Outlaw Run, or Wildfire. I did walk by them, but too intense for me. Same with the grand expo. Not really a fan, but I did walk by to see it.

While waiting for the water rides to open, I went to Grandpa's Mansion and the Great Shootout in the Flooded Mine. Grandpa's Mansion was just as I remember it with a few exceptions. It was nice to see that they refurbished the felt on the pool table in the lower level. No longer do you see the worn area marking the path of the 8 ball. However, I did notice the mirror that had the old hag light up when you stood in front of it, now has several rows of lights. Kind of disappointed that changed. Also noticed a few changes in some of the photos in the lower level. Still had the musty smell upon entering, which always takes me back. Love it!

Next up was the Great Shootout in the Flooded Mine. I rode this a couple of times in a row due to no line. Don't really know what to say with this one. This ride was great as a kid. Keep in mind that it's always had guns since my first visit in 1993. Now the ride is... meh. First off, the guns on several boats can't keep score properly. They would jump from 9,900 to 100,000, skipping the 10,000's. Kind of takes the point away. Several guns were malfunctioning also. Several of the special effects didn't trigger when the target was hit. Kinda disappointing. Additionally, the part where the two prisoners are pumping water. Well the problem was that it was bone dry around them. No water in the little area.  Overall, there were some minor character changes (i.e. different heads, beards, etc) from what I remember.

After this Lost River and American Plunge were open. Lost River was great, but getting to the ride took a while due to an employee selling ponchos and waterproof bags. It was rather annoying. Lost River was exactly as I remember it. Got soaked and had a good time.

American Plunge was next up. Ride was good, but theming was horrible. I don't remember if the tunnel was boarded up the last time I rode this, but what happened to all of the little scenes within the tunnel? Pretty lame. This needs to be changed!

Golden Opportunity: Shortly after this ride I was walking through the square trying to decided where to eat for lunch when I was approached by a SDC survey taker. I was able to mention my concerns about theming and ride experience. He seemed concerned and said that he would mention it to the higher ups. We shall see...

As a kid I remember eating at the Lumbercamp and watching the waterfall around the back from the second level. Ended up getting a skillet and eating up there watching the waterfall. Nobody around, quiet and very nostalgic at that moment. Excellent.

Next up was the cave tour. Can't say enough about how awesome it is. Always fun to go in there. When I got back from the cave tour, I checked the radar on my phone... Looked like only about a half hour before the skies opened up and most rides would shut down. Ended up riding Thunderation and Fire in the Hole a couple of time before the storms hit. After 2:30PM it seemed that a majority of the day would be a washout so, I just wandered about the park for another hour or so, dodging rain in-between shops and killing time in Grandpa's Mansion.

On my next visit I hope to ride the train, see the saloon show, and do several other things that I missed out on. Thanks for letting me give a long-winded review. Hopefully I can get some pictures uploaded at some point in the future.

[sanddunerider]

Great report...  glad it was a good visit for you.....  you have many more visits to go....

AND welcome to the group!

[DollarCityBoy]

Welcome to our group! I actually like reading the long winded reviews! 

On a side note about FITH...those are strobe lights you are seeing, not a ride-picture.

[Gilligan]

It wasn't long winded at all, but very enjoyable reading. I agree with you about the Am. Plunge tunnel. It's. It the same without the scenes in the tunnel. Still seems an easy fix to me.

[mhguy77]

Great review and nice ( take me there) read.

[KBCraig]

One other oddity about the ride was Red Flander's pants, they were sagging big time.

What pants? He ain't got no pants, the dang Baldknobbers stole 'em!

[okiebluegrass]

I noticed the last time I was in there. He seems to have lost his behind 

[mhguy77]

After getting off work Saturday at 6 pm I started the ride to Branson.  Luckily I live 1.5 hours away so its just a short drive for me.   We arrived at the Classic on Shepard of the Hills Expressway at 8 after a quick stop at the Tanger.  This was my first time at this hotel and the people there were very nice, they were fairly busy but it was quiet and the rooms were very clean.  They had a fridge and the air worked well, bathroom was clean and the price was right.  I recommend this as an option to Homestay when they are closed.  They did give us the SDC discount $38 and were very gracious.
Godzilla at the 9:50 show, Taco Bell drive through and back to the hotel to sleep.
Up and at the park by 9 am, it was not crowded at all.  We were there for the opening ceremonies and at rope drop I made my way to OR for my first front seat ride, I did it twice as there was no line at all.  Then on to the swing. 1 ride then a dash to PK.  They are now stopping you at the bridge before the stairs and asking you what seat you want.  The girl explained that they found this much more efficient as they would often be a pile up at the back seat or front that would clog the line and people could not get by to find the seats they wanted.  We are apparently not efficient at deciding how to make our entire party sit on one train.  You know how they line up and end up leaving seats empty because they want to ride together.  I thought this was a good idea.  The lines ran quicker and the trains dispatched faster this way.  After PK it was off to the Carrie Nation show.  I enjoyed the show but the pacing was off, it was the first show of the day and they had problems.  Carries mic didn't work, they told lots of jokes that were not related to the " show" they had the fight but it was very very short and I think they hit the mirror button to fast because the mirror started sliding way off Q.  They aborted the show early because of the problems but I enjoyed it.  They do need to work on the pacing of the show. But I enjoyed it more than Mean Murphy  After this I made a loop around the park and noted the changes.  The game that most are protesting was closed and I think it will remain that way.  It looks to me like they are going to relocate this or build new games.
I have photographs that explain this all on their own. 
We went to the BBQ hall and had the award winning BBQ, it was good.  9.95 per plate for a dinner and it was sufficient.   After this we stopped by the taffy store and the marketplace and made our way back to Branson.
My thoughts.....
I bought the FITH logo shirt as it was retro and cool.  It was high but I don't often buy t-shirts so I didn't feel bad about it.  They had several versions of the FITH shirt but the one with the firemen's badge on the front was my choice.  It may have also been many others as they had fewer of these than the cartoony versions, I hope they keep with the retro aged look.  FITH is looking worse this year.  I am wondering if they are prohibited from doing a lot of work on the ride because of OSHA or the Missouri institution that gives the safety seal to these rides.  I am sure you have all noticed that if FITH was built today it would be different.  The ceilings on the ride are very low in some spots.  If you doubt me hold your hands up above your head and you will repeatedly have it make contact with the ceiling, on top of this ceiling is the next layer of the ride so it cant be lifted any or it will disrupt the level above it.  I am wondering if they are unable to do any major work without fixing this unfixable low ceiling issue. (IE leave it like it is or fix the safety issue.)  You can see the lights from outside in multiple places.  PLEASE SDC don't treat FITH like the AP.  FITH is a one of a kind and it needs to be saved and improved.

Games, games and more games, either being relocated from the other parts of the park or more are being put in.  Note the photos.

They are cutting down more trees.  The oaks are going away and its obvious.  They give the best cover as far as shade and they are cutting them down.  Look at the ground.  You will see stumps ground down to pavement level so you can walk across the trunks and not trip.  Look around the square, look around Grandfathers Mansion, you will see the stumps flush in the pavement.
I am not sure why this is being done but the oaks around the square look like they are not doing well.  Maybe too much pavement and not enough moisture getting through?.

Had a great time, looking forward to a trip back on 06/02/14.

 



This is not the only area being built out.  I guess I cant complain if they keep the games out of the park and contain them in the GE.  Maybe they will move the unused sledgehammer strength game here.......are they listening to us?  If not pads for games what would you think these are? 

Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAPuWVwKr8E&feature=youtu.be

[chittlins]

Link doesn't work. Do you have closed to non friends?

[How-doFolks]

great review!!
my brother got me the same shirt.

[Jipper]

One other oddity about the ride was Red Flander's pants, they were sagging big time.

What pants? He ain't got no pants, the dang Baldknobbers stole 'em!

Haha, yes! Great point!

[shavethewhales]

Here are my photos from this weekend: http://sdcfans.com/photos/feat/25

I'm getting too tired to write a whole blow-by-blow account of what I saw and did, but suffice it to say it was an awesome trip and I got to experience just about everything in the park except the water rides which I skipped.

I got to meet sanddunerider, tinmann, Terry Sanders, and pintrader.

I documented a lot of the changes that we've been talking about already. Something I didn't hear about is that they seem to be experimenting with the way they handle the coaster lines these days. On Outlaw Run they are trying to assign seats (they do take requests though if you really want to wait for the back). On powderkeg they hold the line back at the "chicken exit" and then letting people into the loading area a few at a time so that only a couple train loads are waiting in the docks at any one time. Wildfire and TNT haven't changed much though. I believe they are doing this because of the Trailblazer passes. All of the Six Flags rides are operated the same way - the main line is held back at a certain point near the station so that those who purchase fast passes can slip into the station rather than just overtly taking someone's seat right in front of them.

There is definitely more and more monetization going on and less and less Herschend influence in the park these days, but it is what it is and it is definitely still very enjoyable.

[History Buff]

Some great pics, but I noticed the headline on the page mentions Labor Day.  You correctly ID'd Memorial Day in the article, though.

[Gilligan]

We finally made it to the park today!  Of course, the rain started right after we got there, so we hung out at the hub's favorite spot - the Woodcarvers.  It wasn't raining hard yet, so we ventured down to the Frisco building to check out bbq gear.  That's when the torrential downpour hit!  We didn't want to drive all the way home soaking wet, so we waited for a break and decided to leave.  We'll be back at the end of June.  Music on the square sounded really nice, and I noticed Delilah's has a new sign as we walked through on our way out.  Hubs said it best - "Hey they changed that sign.  It doesn't really fit in!  I have to agree with him.

[Ozarks Gal]

My hubby and I went on Wednesday the 28th with my Dad and his youth group.  We couldn't have picked a better day! The weather was nearly perfect. It tried to sprinkle about 1:30 pm, which cleared out a lot of the crowd (never did actually rain!).  I have no idea what the numbers were yesterday, but lines were very short at all the rides (0-15 min were the reported times for almost all the rides). Our group of 7 managed to ride every ride in the park (minus some kiddie rides) at least once, and still hit Grandfather's Mansion and the Swinging Bridge. 
We had two teens in our group who had never been to an amusement park, so I did my best to ease them into the rides as well as giving some park history where appropriate.