2014 Trip Reviews

warp9p65 · June 09, 2014, 09:22:19 PM

Was there Sunday. The little kids swing underneath the swinging bridge is gone. Just an empty space remains. Had a good day. Got to the city early. Caught the first session of the Homestead Pickers and then went to the 10am church services. Grabbed a burger for lunch, then went to the saloon show. It was very cloudy and overcast, but no rain yet. Crowds seemed to be light. Took the 2pm cave tour. Part of the cave was flooded to where you couldn't pass through to the exit and ride the cable tram back up. Should have heeded the guide's warning about having to take the stairs back up and out the way we came in and passed on the tour this time. I didn't know if I was going to make it out or not. I was completely winded and exhausted at the end. I don't think I could have climbed one more set of stairs. I always enjoy the cave, but I won't make that mistake again.

By the time I was out of the cave, the rain had started to fall. It was a light, steady rain the rest of the afternoon. The trams were slow in arriving to pick up departing guests. We stood out in the rain for quite awhile waiting for a chance to board a tram or bus to the parking areas.

runner1960 · June 29, 2014, 01:38:41 PM

2014 was not a year we intended to visit, but decided to take a last minute trip last week so we ended up in the city on 6/26/14. Since we did not have season passes this year we did the $30.00 Thursday through country mart. We arrived and parked close to stop 2 at about 9:30 and went to the ticket booth to exchange the vouchers for tickets. Kind of a cumbersome system when you could just get the ticket when you purchase it at CM. Through the gates and into the square. For me the whole Star Spangled Summer, excessive flags and bunting really takes away from the beauty of the square and gazebo area. Along with all the Wal mart temporary tents set up in that area it just really cheapens it up. Lots of kids activities that no one was participating in. I agree with some others. This is kids fest with a bunch of Red , White, and Blue thrown in. Not much of a festival. Fortunately the deeper you get into the park it seems like it gets less. The first stop was OR and it was a walk on about 10 AM. 2 trains, but dispatch was slow. Rode it 2 times then headed up to power down keg to find out it was down for awhile. So, we headed to wildfire and it was a walk on also. Made a round to the Pottery shop and then up the hill and through by HDH which was empty. The park was still slow and so we went back to PK and guess what , still down, so we hit the saloon show. It is a nice change from the old show with corny jokes, and the old Carrie Nation skit revived. The girl who played Carrie seemed to rush her lines but overall a improvement from Mean Murphy. After that hit Fire in the hole and had a corn dog. Gee $8.99 for a corn dog and fries.By this time it was about 2:00 so back up to powerless keg and guess what, It was running, so rode it once then back down to Outlaw run and it wasn't running. By this time the park was getting crowded and warmer so hit the lost river and FM and AP. Checked the app on my phone and saw that OR was running again so we rode it 1 more time. Did some shopping and we had planned on hitting the cave, but it was close to 5 and we were getting hungry. We did not want to dine on theme park food , so out the exit around 5. I tried to be more observant and below are some critical observations.

1. AP,FM, and FITH need some serious refurbs. They are really showing their age and in a bad way. So many elements missing and not working correctly. Please throw some money towards them or bring in the bulldozers and do it over.

2. The park could use a major cleaning. Buildings and queue areas have spider webs and rotten timbers everywhere. Especially Lost River buildings.

3.I do wish they would cover the slush machines and coke vending machines better. They look really out of place.

4. Looked into the new area for 2015 and it was nothing more than a construction site right now. But I sure hope it is more than what is rumored to be. Splash Harbor needs to come down soon or I think it will fall down.

It was a good $30.00 day, but it got me my fill for the year. If the 2015 rumors are true it won't be enough to bring me back in 2015 so hopefully something big is on the horizon.

chittlins · June 29, 2014, 08:07:07 PM

I'm not as pessimistic about the new area as most seem here, let's wait till the ride package is officially announced. If it's zamperla, I just hope for an air race as part of it, cause that's a solid flat. Let's have a little faith, they did good with Outlaw Run.

We fully intend on season passes next season, they'll be THE stocking stuffer. This year was a planned 3 day visit at Galveston and a Disney week. The kids got stoked for Galveston cause the Shlitterbahn there was on Extreme Terror Rides earlier today.

runner1960 · June 29, 2014, 10:15:12 PM

Quote from: chittlins on June 29, 2014, 08:07:07 PM
I'm not as pessimistic about the new area as most seem here, let's wait till the ride package is officially announced. If it's zamperla, I just hope for an air race as part of it, cause that's a solid flat. Let's have a little faith, they did good with Outlaw Run.

We fully intend on season passes next season, they'll be THE stocking stuffer. This year was a planned 3 day visit at Galveston and a Disney week. The kids got stoked for Galveston cause the Shlitterbahn there was on Extreme Terror Rides earlier today.

Yes, They did great on outlaw run, but a bunch of traveling carnival rides fail to excite me. Cheapens up the place like a six Flags.

Swoosh · June 29, 2014, 11:26:07 PM

I guess you have to just decide what constitutes as a "carnival ride" -- basically anything that is not a custom rollercoaster or water ride is going to be something you can find at a carnival.

Someone above mentioned this being a Zamperla package -- I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere. I wouldn't put too much stock in that. In fact I'd be very surprised if there is anything in the area that is "new" -- we've all sort of figured out that there will be at least 4 used rides in there (balloons, lil swing, S&S tower, crazy bus) -- so maybe at most 2 other rides and who is to say those will be new and even adult rides?

chittlins · June 30, 2014, 11:37:34 AM

Quote from: Swoosh on June 29, 2014, 11:26:07 PM
I guess you have to just decide what constitutes as a "carnival ride" -- basically anything that is not a custom rollercoaster or water ride is going to be something you can find at a carnival.

Someone above mentioned this being a Zamperla package -- I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere. I wouldn't put too much stock in that. In fact I'd be very surprised if there is anything in the area that is "new" -- we've all sort of figured out that there will be at least 4 used rides in there (balloons, lil swing, S&S tower, crazy bus) -- so maybe at most 2 other rides and who is to say those will be new and even adult rides?

There's a "could be" a Zamperla ride statement not a "will be." Even you have speculated on that before. How do we know all the used rides are destined for this area. The kiddie swing was part of the original concept art of Wilson's Farm. It would certainly make sense to stick it there as it was really hidden the the back of HDH. Maybe they'll stick it with with the other pre k rides in GE. It really is a small footprint. I've got nothing against park model flats as long as they are done right with theming. It is a fact that the public is expecting something new often and it can't be 10 million plus for a single ride every time.

Swoosh · June 30, 2014, 02:42:45 PM

The problem with sticking Lil Swing back in GE and not in the new area is the fact that the new area is supposed to be aimed at families. There has to be something for everyone to ride in there.

shavethewhales · June 30, 2014, 10:18:10 PM

Let's try to keep this topic focused on trip reviews, and talk about the 2015 additions in it's own thread. That will make things much easier for everyone to follow.

I'm kind of disappointed that the Star-Spangled Summer didn't turn out to be much more than KidsFest, but at least it's a better name for it...

I'm looking forward to hearing reports from moonlight madness in a couple of weeks if anyone is planning on going. I think that is another important event that has been shaping the direction of the park. With the way the weather had been early this season, this year that portion of the year could easily be what makes or breaks them for the general season.

Swoosh · July 05, 2014, 02:30:32 PM

Photo Trip Report from our July 4th trip to SDC
http://midwestinfoguide.com/migcrew/2014/SDCsummer/

Let me know if you like the new layout of the site
We debuted a new format this past week and are still getting some of the kinks out.

History Buff · July 05, 2014, 03:00:35 PM

I do like the patriotic decorations, and I don't think there are too many.

Everyone knows how I feel about the entertainment that doesn't even remotely resemble the park theme.

A game inside the Frisco Barn? Does this look like the barn could eventually become an arcade? Blech! The game doesn't look out of place, but could it be a sign of things to come?

Your site looks much better, and it functions well, too. I was on there the other day and thought you had really gone more professional with it.

Tawny71 · July 05, 2014, 04:52:19 PM

Thanks for the report, Swoosh! Loved it!
Also, I really enjoyed being redirected to your site because I got to read the great reviews of Dollywood and The Alpine Coaster. I'm headed to Gatlinburg on Monday, so I loved getting a preview of those two activities.

Swoosh · July 05, 2014, 05:05:19 PM

Sorry that those PTRs have not been upgraded to the new design yet.
Thanks for your kind words.

joshblakebran · July 05, 2014, 07:31:32 PM

Swoosh...enjoyed the updates and the website...thanks for sharing the link...

PastorDon · July 05, 2014, 10:43:32 PM

Hey Swoosh! I enjoyed your Summer Festival Review, but had to wonder if the mistake in the following sentence was a typo or intentional: "You'll notice right off the bad, this looks a lot like Kids Fest." (Emphasis mine.)

Swoosh · July 06, 2014, 04:29:46 AM

Oops. Fixed. Thanks.