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[biscuitcreek]

Humphrey Hawk, was the cave open? The last 3 times we have been to the park the cave has been closed.

[HumphreyHawk]

I think so....around 1:30 when I walked in I noticed a line and they had the sign out about tours every 30 minutes.  I think I recall the last tour being at listed 4 that day.  It was closed when I left around 5.

[Preachin_Bill]

This is a late review, but better late then never.  I was at the park four different times from June 15th to the 20th.
Wednesday was a great day.  It was hot weather that week and we had a baby along with us (more on that in the Random Talk thread) so we were a little worried but the weather there and being with a family really makes you appreciate little things more at SDC.
1) The trees/canopy.  I've always liked the wilderness aspect of SDC for theme and "cosmetic" reasons...I really believe more than anything that this is what makes SDC the MOST different from other parks.  But I never fully appreciated all the shade it provides...there are times when you really don't feel the heat and then go to an open area (like the exit tram line) and WOW you realize how much you love that shade.  Hate areas of the park that don't have it.

2) Mother's nursing stations/family restrooms.  These places are a life-saver.  My wife would never have lasted had she not had an air-conditioned mother's station in which to do what she had to do.  The family restrooms were also great for diaper changes.

3) Free water.  I know this has been discussed before, but seriously folks what a deal.

4) The food places/restaurants.  I honestly cannot fathom how anyone can complain about the food prices at SDC.  They are beyond reasonable, especially if you have the season pass, but even without.  The restaurants are also A/C and you can sit down and take a break without feeling rushed and have a god meal.  Here are my dining reviews:
a) Mary's Springhouse.  I've never eaten here before as we always thought it was Italian, but my guess is that when Aunt Molly's (or pollys?) chicken closed for that hideous pizza place they moved fried chicken as an option over at the Springhouse?  Anyway, doesn't matter. I had the fried chicken dinner and the wife had the chicken strips, re-fills on the mugs and the price was less than $21.  I got a large breast, a meaty thigh, mashed potatoes, beans, and a dinner roll (and drink) and the wife the same except with chicken strips and it was less than 21 bucks at a theme park?!?!  It was delicious, too...great fried chicken very tender declicious and not a greasy mess.  What a deal.
b) Molly's Mill Breakfast: With the 20 percent off it equaled about the same price--around 21 bucks and then a tip for the waitress--it really is a very good breakfast buffet. Excellent biscuits and gravy, real bacon, suprisingly good sausage---this is a great breakfast option.
c) The Mine.  Again, a great place on a hot day.  More pricey but it is a buffet.  Chicken and beans were the main hit.  Have eaten there plenty of times on hot days.
I don't know how people can complain about pricing, but maybe it is with food options such as 5 dollar funnel cakes or something?  I guess we did have an orange roll at Eva and Delilahs...don't remember the price.  Too tasty to care.

Anyway, these things make me realize how much of an excellent family place SDC is.  It should be applauded.  We were able to spend over 7 hours at the park on a 95 degree day with a 3 month old.  Back to the review:

Salloon show was great Wednesday Morning.  The Flooded Mine audio was not working and I was very disappointed with that, but to our relief it worked on Thursday and Friday.  FITH was good.  Outlaw Run should have had no wait on Wednesday but they were running one car and it took forever even though hardly anyone was in line.  What a great ride, though.  Same with Powderkeg--walk on wednesday.

Saw the Globetrotters and it was a pretty good little show.  Watched the Magic Show and it was well done.  Why on earth does the opera house sit empty in the summers again?  Too pricey to run A/C??  Watched pickers--they are really good.  Frisco Jack was good, too.

Now time for some complaints:  While the free parking and transportation to and from your car is great, it is needlessly tedious, especially to exit the park and especially on a hot day.  There's something wrong with waiting on a Friday when it's 95 degrees and seeing 3 or 4 trains go by without loading for people exiting.  Seriously?  Then when the car is loaded it seems forever for them to just LEAVE.  The safety checks have always been done at SDC, but this year it just felt like too much.  Just GO ALREADY, is what I kept thinking.  I also didn't like it when the workers seemed more interested in talking to each other than getting stuff going.  But, oh well.  Tis a small thing.

The frozen lemonade stand by the saloon didn't open until 11 on a 90 degree day.  Thought that was dumb.  Didn't feel like walking around to find another one.

The rides on Monday morning were all closed.  I've never seen anything like it.  Was looking forward to riding with my father but Powder Keg was closed (of course) and we overheard someone say that Thunderation and Outlaw Run were closed, too.  FITH was also down for a very short time.  We rode wildfire and the line was long and there was only one train.

AP is still a shame.

Overall though it was a great trip.

[History Buff]

Cooler day Friday, with no storms on the horizon, so I took the 12- and the 6-year old to the City for a break.

Walked all the way to the measuring station to find it closed; would have rather gone the other direction if we had known.

Ride operator on Racing Regatta was singing "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Da" over the PA.

The magic show might be OK for kids, but we saw through so many of the tricks, it was just sad.  The introduction to the show was set to the opening song from Aladdin, and they even played a snippet of "It's a Small World" during the show (What's up with the Disney stuff these days?).  I do enjoy being in the Courthouse Riverfront Theater though.  So many memories of some great shows.

Waiting in line for LR, we overheard the Kids show singing 80s rock songs - took us out of the ambience of the park.

Water cannons on FitH were aimed directly into my face:  Well played SDC Firefighters!

[History Buff]

^Not a big crowd yesterday.  Could have walked on to most rides with a short wait.

15 minutes at AP, 20 minutes for LR; indefinite wait for PK as it was...wait for it...closed for maintenance (Who'd've thunk?)

We did walk on to Riverblast (because the kids wanted to; I would avoid it if not for them).  We rode on the side counter to the sidewalk (port side), along with another kid to fire the fourth cannon.  On the starboard side of the boat was a family of four.

When the raft reached the section where people shoot from shore, the mother on the other side of the boat started yelling at the shooters.  She asked how old one young man was and then proceeded to call him a 21-year-old &!^% for getting her wet.

I thought she might have known the man and was just crudely teasing him, so I didn't think much of it, but 20 seconds later, an older gentleman (gray hair and bearded) was joyfully drenching our raft, as well.  The mother started yelling at him and asking how old he was.  She screamed at him that a 60-year-old man should know better than to keep shooting at her and getting her wet.

This guy was as shocked as I would have been.  All he could say was, "You shouldn't have gotten on the ride."  (Duh!)  Thankfully he didn't return her tone.

When we got out and passed this guy, he was sitting with his family.  I think he was still hurt from being screamed at by this ridiculously obnoxious and loud woman.  I watched as he finally stood and they walked away from the area.  How could such absolute stupidity exist?  This woman walked by RB, saw what it was, presumably read the warnings of "You will get wet!", boarded the raft, and was shooting at other people, and yet cut down a perfect stranger with insults and yelling.

There are so many things that happens in a place like SDC that affect the feel of your trip.  The tourism industry relies on the tourists to help set the tone, and in this case the idiot-tourist failed to assist.

[sanddunerider]

"When we got out and passed this guy, he was sitting with his family.  I think he was still hurt from being screamed at by this ridiculously obnoxious and loud woman.  I watched as he finally stood and they walked away from the area.  How could such absolute stupidity exist?  This woman walked by RB, saw what it was, presumably read the warnings of "You will get wet!", boarded the raft, and was shooting at other people, and yet cut down a perfect stranger with insults and yelling."

May have been a good time to tell the guy not to worry about it, obviously the "lady" was no lady at all.

[Swoosh]

Ugh.  This is why I hate the summer months at SDC.  It's hot and the park is full of GP.  I love when it's fall and the AP holders come back to the park enjoying it for what it is instead of the "the park owes it to me" mentality that is on display by the GP in the summer.  Ugh tourists are the worst.

[sanddunerider]

Ugh.  This is why I hate the summer months at SDC.  It's hot and the park is full of GP.  I love when it's fall and the AP holders come back to the park enjoying it for what it is instead of the "the park owes it to me" mentality that is on display by the GP in the summer.  Ugh tourists are the worst.

\

LOL..  Heat + Tourists = Potential Attitude Problems.....  LOL

[Clint F]

We went down to the City this morning for our bi-weekly visit.  We arrived a little later than normal and so had to wait in a huge line to get to the Season Pass Preferred lot.  We got inside the park in time for breakfast at Molly's Mill though, so I was happy about that! 

After breakfast, we began exploring.  The park was really full even by 11:00 am.  Plus, the heat was getting strong too.  All the rides had crazy lines in them, including the Flooded Mine.  I was very happy to see the mine car above the entrance to the mine restaurant operating as it should!  I have always been fascinated by that thing!

We visited all our favorite stores and attractions, I got the newest Moonlight Madness pin at the hospitality house on our way out and we came home.  The heat was just too much out there today!  it was fun watching people getting drenched on the Lost River too! 

Aside from the heat, it was a very nice, however short visit!   

[sanddunerider]

Didn't make it to the city today,  was hoping to see Duelist, MHGuy, and Pintrader... 
But late yesterday afternoon I lost AC in my car, and elected to leave this morning about 4:00 and drive home to beat the heat...
Hope you all had a good visit.!!  Cya next time around...

[Duelist]

^  Yeah we missed visiting with you!  We did finally get to meet Tinmann620- a very pleasant experience.  We were there from breakfast at the Mill at 8:30 and left the park at 6:30.  As Clint F posted the heat was brutal.  Lost River was over an hour wait and so was the Plunge for most of the day.  we finally did ride the Plunge with about a 40 minute wait.  The train was busy (or course) and Fire in the Hole was by far the busiest coaster.  Powder Keg was down a lot of the day but my wife got on Wildfire in about 10 minutes and we both rode Outlaw Run with a 10 minute wait.  The Giant Swing was running around 15 minutes (with both swings running) when I rode.  Thunderation was running 2 trains with between 5 and 10 minutes waiting time.  The Flooded Mine was about a 15 to 20 minute wait in the afternoon but I figured the train must have just unloaded passengers right before we got to the Mine and that always makes for a longer wait.  With the popularity of FITH and FM on a hot day I think the City needs to think seriously about another indoor attraction.

[mhguy77]

Had a good time exploring Branson this weekend.  I found the alpine coaster, looks ready to go. $15 a ride. 
The new ferris wheel has caused gridlock on 76 from SOTH to Gretna.  I havent seen it this bad is some years.
It was far too hot to go to SDC this weekend so we went to the pool, lake, Vigelante zipline(fun once) and saw a show.
I drove by SDC Friday on my way to the park on Indian point and they were not busy, you could see the heat was effecting the crowd.
It looks like I need to follow the advise of the others and skip during the summer, the heat and crowds are just not worth it.

[Okiebenz]

I can handle the heat if the crowds are small.

[DollarCityBoy]

My Wife, Daughter and I, along with my parents visited SDC on Sunday, July 24.

After 29 years of visiting the park, I finally had the privilege of meeting Jack and Sherry Herschend! It was quite the honor to meet them! My family was in the pottery shop when I noticed them walking around. They were so nice and down to earth, but to me it was like meeting celebrities. I pointed to my 21 month old daughter and told them I had been visiting the park since  I was her age and how it was a second home to me. Mrs. Herschend commented how nice it was to see 3 generations together and enjoying the park. Dad told them he had been visiting for 38 years, and Jack said it was humbling to hear how much we loved the park.

They were just walking around, shopping, like everyone else. Mrs. Herschend said that the pottery shop was her favorite of all the stores and loved the high quality craftsmanship in each piece.

[Coaster]

^Wow, great story and such a privilege you got to meet them!! Definitely a dream of mine.