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[DeweyBald]

I really didn't want to bring it up in fear that I would just be "complaining again" but while waiting in line for FM, they were playing "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.  It's strange to me that you have to strain to hear the actual Flooded Mine song, but Kool and the Gang were loud and clear!  The same thing with FITH.  Why can't they turn up the dialogue/music outside the ride so you can hear?  They had it on last week, but you could barely hear it.

I did take a look in the old Big Jacks Sandwich Shop, and they have in fact turned it into an office.  Sad, but true.  I miss my "Big Jack".

On another note, my wife and I were discussing this on the drive home.  Do they (SDC) charge the full price of admission right now since they are only about "half open"?  If I were a first time visitor and paid to get in during this time of year, I would be pissed since most everything is closed right now.  Surely they have a cut price for now.   Anybody know?

[sanddunerider]

Nope, full price.. only time I have seen discounted entry price is sometimes late in December...

[mhguy77]

Nope, full price..

I dont know that its worth it.

[Swoosh]

The music is only being played because it's Spring Break. 

[Jemmicat]

Does anyone know what they are estimating for the crowd for Friday 3/25? We are heading to Springfield tomorrow for job interview and staying all weekend. Was thinking of going to SDC Friday but if it is crazy busy we probably will stay away

[Coaster]

It's Good Friday and a three day weekend for a lot of people so it could be pretty busy. Especially with how busy the park has apparently been already this season.

[HumphreyHawk]

I had that thought about pricing last weekend too.  I'd be mad if I paid full price last Saturday.  Pretty much no shows, 3/4th of the shops where closed, no one was on the water rides (in the 50s), so the ride lines where as longs as I've ever seen them. 

But it was still jammed packed.....makes you also wonder if they could get away with increasing the ticket price too 

[mhguy77]

But it was still jammed packed.....makes you also wonder if they could get away with increasing the ticket price too 

Speaking from a business end and encompassing customer satisfaction I think the writing is on the wall.  SDC CAN continue this type of operation in the spring but it inevitably has and will leave a bad taste in the mouths of those that paid full price.  Yes they ARE drawing crowds but lets not forget their mantra " Making memories worth REPEATING" and if a family spends $200 to walk into the park and this is what they find what kind of memories are they going to walk away with?  Will they desire to repete them?  Like I said in a earlier post claim the shops restaurants are  closed and then if they get busy open them up.  Restaurants can not always be flung open however but shops can with minimal staffing.   Give your customers the experience they are paying for. Always give more than they expect not less.  The early spring is a tough time of year but they sure could up the staff and offerings on the weekends.  I dont work there and I know those are the two days they are busy.   They really should reconsider this mode of operation for guest satisfaction.
Memories worth repeating......
Am I wrong about this ?

[MissinTheGreenTrams]

I have never really suffered from the fact the park is half open during this time. They post about it on their website, so if you are planning a trip you are able to know well in advance that yes the park is half open. You are able to know what you are getting yourself into and the price you are paying to do it. However, I like the idea of having the weekends as fully opened and the weekdays as half open. That is a very good idea. A nice compromise.

[Madtwins]

  Won a shirt at opening ceremonies today.  It was cold but still a great day.  I am really impressed with the celebrate birthday and anniversary.  Sdc is really going the extra mile in my opinion.  My wife and I celebrated our anniversary today and it impressed my kids so much they are already begging to go for their birthdays.  We are going back tomorrow and ill do a full review when we get back home. 

[DianaGail]

Not there today but I will be tomorrow.  Here is a review from a friend who tried to go today...This is a first:

Almost a 2 hour wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Shepherd of the Hills express......
Left at the bottom of stop three in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere for 45 minutes before a tram came along...
Finally getting to the gate at Silverdollar City to find out there but there was an over an hour wait just to get in the park with a seasons pass...
🙄😂🙃
It's a good thing that I love hanging in the car with my kid...
It's my fault! It's spring break in many places, and it's a holiday weekend... But I will honestly tell you in 40 years that I have been going to Silverdollar City, I have never seen traffic backed up like this nor have I seen a line just to get in the gate like this!
And there is traffic for miles and miles and miles backed up as we leave to get in! Holy moly!
We are salvaging our day and heading out for shopping and to find food! 😀#stillsmiling
#ilovepeople.....but
#Silverdollarcityisbustinattheseams

[mammalone]

Not there today but I will be tomorrow.  Here is a review from a friend who tried to go today...This is a first:

Almost a 2 hour wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Shepherd of the Hills express......
Left at the bottom of stop three in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere for 45 minutes before a tram came along...
Finally getting to the gate at Silverdollar City to find out there but there was an over an hour wait just to get in the park with a seasons pass...
🙄😂🙃
It's a good thing that I love hanging in the car with my kid...
It's my fault! It's spring break in many places, and it's a holiday weekend... But I will honestly tell you in 40 years that I have been going to Silverdollar City, I have never seen traffic backed up like this nor have I seen a line just to get in the gate like this!
And there is traffic for miles and miles and miles backed up as we leave to get in! Holy moly!
We are salvaging our day and heading out for shopping and to find food! 😀#stillsmiling
#ilovepeople.....but
#Silverdollarcityisbustinattheseams

My folks attempted to go today as well and reported the same. Absolutely packed so they left. Also said that in all these years, they've never seen it like this.

[DianaGail]

Went to the park for a few hours this morning. We left when it started to get crazy.  We stayed in the square for opening ceremonies. They do a contest for the boys and irks then throw out tsirts.  Our first stop was the measuring station.  I have said it before and I'll say it again.  They need to love that to the top of the hill.  Next up, the landing.  We overheard a man at the icee station asking how many people were in the park yesterday. She said they expected 6,000 but had 18,000.  Not sure how accurate that number is but with the reports that were given, I wouldn't be surprised.  We rode many of the rides.  I will write about this part in the 2016 updates thread.  The landing looked great but it was super busy.  Lines were long so we spent a lot of time on the ball area.  Will be back in 4 weeks for world fest.

[BackInTime]

Just returned home from a two-day trip to the City and I can confirm the reports firsthand. On Friday, we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic just past the light at Hwy 465...at about 9:15. Luckily, it moved relatively quickly and we were pulling into the preferred lot just past 9:30. We couldn't believe how many people were already in the lots. And stunned when we entered the park and discovered how many people were already there. I haven't been to the park throughout the season like many here have, but have been during typically crowded "peak" times, as well as during OTC when the crowds can swell. We have never seen anything like it.

The line for Wildfire filled the entire station house queue and stretched down the hill past the entrance to AP.

The line for PK also filled the entire station queue capacity and at one point, stretched down the hill near the new Fry Bread Stand. Speaking of which, PK was down for periods more than once on Friday and again today. At one point late Friday, we waited in line 45 minutes, only to be told they were closing it as we were just feet from entering the main station. I know this is a beloved ride, but at some point they have to address the continued lack of reliability with this ride. Can they not simply invest in improved trains that offer more reliability? It seems to be getting worse. For still being such a popular attraction more than a decade after its debut, it's a real shame they haven't done something to take care of this.

FITH had consistent lines stretching out of the station back to the Fry Bread stand as well.

OR had wait times listed up to 60 minutes, but the lines moved favorably well despite crowds spilling outside of the covered queue and into the mulched corral area adjacent to.

Crowds were such that even the smallest of rides in FL and GE (Lucky Dogs, Balloons, GE Coaster, etc.) at times had waits over 30 minutes. If you wanted to ride anything, you were waiting.

FM clearly got some love as previously reported here. New mannequins look nice throughout. Definitely made me wonder what the future holds for this attraction.

Looked as closely as I could for signs pointing to any new developments near GE and between PK and WF, but did not see anything obvious.

Speaking of GE. Swoosh had reported new paint to all the rides in the area during the offseason. Unless I wasn't looking at the right thing, that did not seem to be the case from what I saw. I personally saw original, chipping paint on Several of the rides. Did not get close enough to all of them and in fairness, I never really paid close enough attention to this in particular when we were on park last Fall so I really have no frame of reference to compare it to other than the fact that several of the rides clearly still show some pretty obvious signs of wear. Signage did looked pretty fresh throughout as far as I could tell. Oh, and the Hi-Topper game is definitely still there, but tucked a little further back from it's old position near the swings.

The new Fry Bread station looked very nice and seems well visited. My wife tried some and enjoyed them, but I did not try any.

Other observations...
Once again, SDC unfortunately, was clearly not prepared for the crowds.

Wait times for rides are one thing. Waiting in line for over 45 minutes for any morsel of food is inexcusable. Sorry, it just isn't. Hire more people and have more stations to move people through. Do something. It's just ridiculous. There were well over 100 people in line for Skillet in the Lumbercamp area and the line (like too many others) moves at an absolute snails pace.

Speaking of that area. It is clear and insanely annoying that HFEC and/or the PTB at SDC have clearly done little to nothing to address the need for improved traffic flow in this area. It is flat out stupid and nearly impossible to navigate through this area on an even moderate day, let alone one with heavy patron volume. The fact that entrances to two of the parks major coasters and many favorite eating options nearly converge in this area, and it is very narrow on top of it, it just plain idiotic. I took the photo below on Friday well outside of the lunch time hour. The fact that the Campfire Skillet and Kettle Chips stations are located where they are is an enormous issue. This has been an issue for quite some time now and it's beyond me how it has yet to be efficiently addressed. Simply re-locating those two stations would dramatically improve that area. The Positioning of the Kettle Chips station is literally in the middle that area. Makes no sense whatsoever. Navigating through that area is without question the most miserable experience anywhere in the park.

It was not quite as crowded today, but still heavy and plenty of waiting everywhere.

Despite the crowds, we enjoyed two days of beautiful weather and the opportunity to spend a lot of fun times in the City.

[Preachin_Bill]

Sounds like if I was a dad with young kids trying the park for the first time I wouldn't be coming back. Open the place up and fully staff weekends and holidays, sdc. Laziness.
Very glad to hear flooded mine got some love. Hope they keep that up.