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[History Buff]

I should also say, we got to park in the old "quarry".  That may be my new favorite lot - though the tram service still leaves a lot to be desired.

[Clint F]

We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th.  Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!).  All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.).  All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another! 

I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything.  I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills.  She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen!   

One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason.  I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what.  But we didn't get to go across it.  Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?

We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available.  We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat.  I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again.  That happens to us all the time there.

It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room.  We just escaped it quickly.  Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.

They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie.  Sorry...I don't know her name.  She was hilarious though!

As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day! 

[Dewayne]

We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th.  Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!).  All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.).  All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another! 

I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything.  I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills.  She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen!   

One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason.  I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what.  But we didn't get to go across it.  Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?

We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available.  We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat.  I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again.  That happens to us all the time there.

It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room.  We just escaped it quickly.  Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.

They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie.  Sorry...I don't know her name.  She was hilarious though!

As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day!

Her name is Cathy Wright.

[runner1960]

We went into the park on Saturday, the 15th.  Enjoyed a big breakfast at Molly's Mill (which had no line and we got right up to the food!).  All of the elements I love at the park were working properly (mine car above the entrance to the Mine restaurant, the talking face at the entrance of the Flooded Mine, the horse sounds as you are walking across the bridge towards Brown's Candy Factory, etc.).  All of the rides had short lines (especially in the morning), and because I was riding alone, got to bypass the entire line at Fire In The Hole, since they were looking for a single rider to pair with another! 

I rode with a girl who had never ridden Fire In The Hole and it was great to watch her reactions to everything.  I have a habit of putting my hand up on the back of the seat in front of me when going down one of the hills.  She noticed that and so knew that something was about to happen!   

One thing I didn't like was that the swinging bridge was closed off for some reason.  I don't know if it just hadn't been opened for the day or what.  But we didn't get to go across it.  Does anybody know if there's a problem with it or something?

We stopped at Crossroads Pizza for lunch, but there was absolutely no seats available.  We had to stand next to one of the trash cans inside to eat.  I didn't like that, and so probably won't eat there again.  That happens to us all the time there.

It seemed like there were 10,000 screaming kids in Grandfather's Mansion tilted room.  We just escaped it quickly.  Something I've noticed this season in there is that the music box music is not playing just inside the entrance any longer.

They had #43 up and running that day, and they had the lady playing the part of Ralphie.  Sorry...I don't know her name.  She was hilarious though!

As always, I had a great time, and really enjoyed the day!

Good to see that they have fixed some of the issues i noticed in my trip in late June. The Ghost trap , horse sounds and ore cart were not working the. Looks like they are on top of it though.

[Bigdog]

I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it.  By far the longest line in the park.  Are the other trains out of service?

[Dewayne]

They have been doing that many days this year and last year. They are replacing every part on every train, which they have to do at least once a year, and takes a long time. They have to do this because there rules out there that say every theme park has to do this. Usually the 3rd train is broken somehow. As usual, this info is exactly what Larry, the manager of Powder Keg, said. Not me.

It is rare for me to see more than 1 train running ever. Rarely do I ever see other rides running 1 train, unless there is no crowd.

[sirwillow]

I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it.  By far the longest line in the park.  Are the other trains out of service?

We were there a week and a half ago and went to Powder Keg to open, and they were having problems with the restraints on one of the trains not locking and releasing properly so pulled it out of service.  I would think they'd have that fixed after a week though.

Plus Monday's are usually slow, so I'm not surprised at one train operation there.

[Okiebenz]

We went to the City this past weekend Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th.  The wife just had a knee surgery so we rented her a scooter to get around in and she also got one of those disabled books, which made it nice on a few of the rides.  Sunday was busy but not crazy so.  Looks like a lot of progress on the new ride since I was there a month ago.  I rode tnt with the kid and that tunnel seems even rougher than it did before.  Maybe its just I know that it is coming and I stiffen up in anticipation.  We got to ride PK once then it remained broke down most of the time.  We left around 3 but it was 4pm before we arrived at our vehicle (story posted in another thread). We came back around 6:30 for moonlight madness and stayed until 10.  Between 9 and 10 the park was almost empty.

I took a vacation day so we could go back Monday when I figured it would not be very busy.  We arrived around 10am and we already had to park in lot 5.  There was a huge line waiting to get on the tram that was backed up way down the hill toward the back of the lot.  Probably took 20 minutes to board so was not bad.  We debated on just going home.  So when we arrived to the front we see a HUGE line of people coming from around the back side of the admin building, across the front, and up to the front of the building on the left side of the entrance by where you exit. Also as we were coming up to the front there were quite a few people already leaving, so I feared they got in and it was already jam packed so a bunch of people were already leaving.  I could never tell if it was some huge group coming in or what, which is what I assumed.  They were not lined up to go into the main entrance.  I almost just stayed on the tram and went back to the car at that point.  Once we got into the park it was not really all that busy so the kid and I decided to hurry up and get some rides in before this huge group of people came in.  The app said PK was open so we headed there first before it broke down.  Wait said 15 minutes.  We waited in line about 20 they it broke down.  The people in line behind us said they were 0 for 2 so far.  They were riding FITH and said they saw sparks and the train stopped, it broke down inside with them on it.  So they turned on the lights and they had to walk out.  These people commented on how with the lights on it looks REALLY worn out and old in there.  They then headed to PK and it broke down.  At the this time FITH, PK, and OR were all shut down.  We then headed to WF, they were only running one train so the wait was much longer than it should have been.  Later on, they did finally open PK with just one train, but its back row of seats was blocked off, I guess because the restraints were probably broken.  Later we rode WF again and by this time they had 2 trains going.  I never saw what I figured was this massive huge group of people so maybe there were leaving?  Never did figure out what that was all about.  We stayed until about 3 and left.  The tram wait for the ride back was only about 10-15 minutes.

[Bigdog]

I was surprised to see only 1 train running on Powder Keg on Monday and not all of the seats were open on it.  By far the longest line in the park.  Are the other trains out of service?

We were there a week and a half ago and went to Powder Keg to open, and they were having problems with the restraints on one of the trains not locking and releasing properly so pulled it out of service.  I would think they'd have that fixed after a week though.

Plus Monday's are usually slow, so I'm not surprised at one train operation there.

Two trains are running on Powder Keg today.  Much more efficient. In general, the crowd seems slightly smaller than on Monday.  Must be the heat.  We showed up about 2 and the trams leaving the park were packed. 

[How-doFolks]

Went to the park Saturday the 22nd for Moonlight Madness. Arrived about 6:30. Wife & i got in for $10.00 a piece Thanks to my brother & a coupon. Friday there was only 6000 folks at the park. Had to go to the ticket booths first to get our real tickets, that was about a 30 minute wait. No biggie..

Went to the clothing shop across from Lost River to get a dress my brothers wife wanted, but it was already closed. So we rode FITH first, then took a trip on outlaw Run. 1 thing they were doing different was not letting everyone bunch up in the numbered lines to wait for rides. It seemed to go even faster. About 20 minutes per ride was about the longest. And the que lines seemed to move faster. Most coasters had 2-3 trains running at all times, & all were running fine.

We started getting a little warm, so we went & rode Tom & Hucks River Blast. That was my first time. And it was a blast if ya enjoy blasting people with water! LOL!! Went to ride the train & was all ready to go, but they started shooting off fireworks about 9pm. They said the next train would not run till 9:30 because of the fireworks. So we rode Flooded Mine. All effects were working.

My brother & his wife pooped out after that, but they had been there earlier in the day. So we were on our own. Rode Powder Keg in the dark, & Outlaw Run again, in the dark. THAT was fun!! You can not see a thing!!  The country music in the que line for OR was fine, but WAY TO LOUD!! I did get a little dizzy from riding in the dark, but i can deal with that. It was 11:30pm by then, so we left.

Preferred parking without a pass was $15.00. I was cool with that, it was too hot to walk or wait, so we just payed the price like we always do. Had a great time in the dark, my calves are feeling it today!! Drank a few Icee's & a bottle of water. Talked to one of the Icee servers while we were paying, & she said a lot of people just walk up & refill their cups & do not pay, & appriciated our honesty. The crowd was not bad. Lots of younger folks of course, but everyone seemed respectable & having fun even though it was warm.

After a 1 day free for all at SDC, & a 4 hour drive home. We had a storm with lots of wind Saturday night while we were at SDC, & we came home to lots of limbs on & around our house. House is ok, just have been doing a lot of clean up today.

Had a great time! Thanks once again SDC!!

[HikerDan]

My wife and I made trip #14 to SDC in 2017 yesterday, Saturday, July 29 (we're keeping track on a calender this year).  We hadn't really planned ahead to make this short trip yesterday but the weather was mild and what better way to enjoy the cooler temps than a half day at the City.

We pretty much went just to take in three sets with the Homestead Pickers and one with Rockapella. Also whatever other attractions we could manage between sets on what we expected to of course be a busy Saturday in the City.

The Pickers were their entertaining selves as we caught the 9:30, 10:30, and 1:30 shows. Managed to hang out with Rockapella for the 11:30 show.  The Rockapella performance went really quick (30 minutes) as the guys kept the show moving along at a rapid pace. I liked it more than my wife did for sure. The black guy has a great voice and moved to the front of the group for a few throwback medleys from the 60's and 70's. The crowd I think had a bit of a mixed reaction as some obviously loved the group and others maybe not so much.  One performer does drums with his voice, which was entertaining and different. 

The crowds at the City were of course decent, but manageable. There was a large company group from a Kansas manufacturer in park yesterday but nothing like some of the other infamous company days at the park.  We were able to enjoy a float through the Flooded Mine and a spin on Thunderation after the first Picker show. I thought those circular concrete supports behind the new ride was for track coming in behind the building. But we saw yesterday that they're for an entrance bridge for the future riders.

We went straight to the Playhouse after the second Picker set and the theater was barely half full.  Just don't think the summer crowds of kiddos and family fun seekers are very into the musical performances.  Makes it easy to see these types of shows even on busy saturdays.

We didn't expect to be able to do much in the park after leaving the Playhouse at noon because of the crowds and all.  We had 90 minutes to kill before the next show down at the Pickin' Shed, so we just started walking. Stopped and stood along the back fence at Dockside and watched Cedric and the Cajun gang for a couple of songs. Then moved along into Wilsons Farm area just checking on the crowds at the attractions over there. Surprisingly we were able to get a swing at the Barn and a ride on Outlaw Run. The ride operators at BOTH attractions were doing a fantastic job of moving things along, kudos and applause for them. The park was really busy, but it was just a few minutes for a ride over at the farm. 

We knew better than to even try for a ride on Powder Keg (gotta do that one at park opening, if it's running), so we went the opposite direction across the park to nibble on some pretzels and dips at the Culinary School, grabbed a couple dollar root beers, and sat on the back porch for a bit behind the Culinary building. 

The crowds were pretty thick going from the Grand exposition area back up to main street and eventually to the Homestead petting area and then down into the holler for the Pickers at the shed. 

We left after the 1:30 show for a few crafty cold ones and a pizza at Reeds Spring Pizza and the short trip home to Nixa afterwards.  Our favorite pizza pie at this award winning inn is the Long Creek Herbs.  We always get the biggest one so we can enjoy seconds at home later in the evening.

Back to leaving SDC around 2:15ish...there were a lot of people just showing up at the City as we were leaving. That Moonlight Madness at the park must be quite the popular deal.  Must be a lot of fun for the kiddos and teens with all the stuff going on after dark (fireworks, bands, rides, street dance...etc).  I think this nighttime event helps us out a bit too, as the park isn't quite as crowded early in the day during this fest. 

Wrapping this up, we want to say a big THANK YOU to the Pickers, Rockapella, the ride operators, and everyone at SDC who did such a great job of making our 5 hours in the park yesterday a very enjoyable one.  Looking forward to those few weekends in August between festivals when we can stroll the park casually in the mornings and even most of the day. 

Anybody know what Saturday(s) those big hospitals have their employee day(s) at the City this year? I'm thinking at least one will be on one of those August Saturdays. We'll skip that one and go on Sunday instead.   

[sanddunerider]

Always love those short visits that work out well... congrats...

[biscuitcreek]

Made a quick trip to the park on Thursday July 29th. Arrived about 7:45 which was just in time to go to Echo Hollow for the show. Got some frozen lemonade at one of the Echo Hollow concession stands (turned out to be lemon flavored water with 2 big chunks of ice, and very little slush -- we have not had good luck with frozen lemonade at any stand this year). We truly enjoyed the Echo Hollow show -- first time since Chosen Few left that we have not left before the show was over. Thought the cast was good, a great variety of music, and the pace was good. Enjoyed the fireworks at the end of the show.

[DianaGail]

The kids are finally asleep (in our favorite room at the classic!) so it's time to post a review of the last two days.  We had a crazy amount of people this time! 

Saturday we began at the city around 9:45 with a measly 7 people.  I had five $25.00 tickets to get people in.  I found a family of mom, dad, and three teenagers who were super grateful for the savings!  The first stop was to get my birthday button!  Then off to TNT and the measuring station.  I will continue to say this in hopes that they will read it...please move the measuring station to the top of the hill. Anyway...turns out my kids have grown 3 inches, 2 1/2 inches, and 1 1/2 inches since our first trip in march.  No wonder we ended up at tanger for new clothes.  Almost everything was a walk on in the expo and firemans landing, where the rest of our group showed up.  This brought us to 11 people.    Next a kick up to the pizza place where there was a 45 minute wait for pizza.  Just no.  So down thE hill for chicken, BBQ and fries instead.  Then my sister took 3 of the kids to ride water rides and the rest of us went to see rock a pella.  When we got out of the show there were so many people we could barely move.  So off to get cinnamon bread and taffy and then out. 

Checked in to the classic motor inn and got our favorite room!  A quick change and 4 more people arriving brings us to 15 people.  Head to white water for a few hours.  We were able to get a cabana for $80.00 from 4-close.  Awesome deal so we do it.  This trip is the first time I noticed that they really are going to have to do something.  The wave pool wasn't working correctly and when it was, it certainly didn't have the power it did a few years ago.  They only have 2
Slides I would consider big people lovers where the lines go quickly.  They really need to figure out a way to possibly put a few more of these in.  But the kids loved it and we all had a great time! 

We just messed around for most of the day today.  Ate at grand country for breakfast, went to tanger, spent a few hours in the pool here.  We went back to the city about 5 today.    No lines for rides.  We had some really good sopapilla like fry bread and got tons of ride time in.  We went to the 8:00 echo hollow show.  Do they have 2 full casts that they rotate through?  Outside of the band and the Christian singer and hosts, no one was the same as the last time we went.  They were fantastic but we thought it a bit strange. We left the show a bit early because the kids wanted a bit more ride time.  We hit the square during the dance but my kids were party poopers and didn't want to dance.  We got to the teams (we always walk because we have the parking pass) and one of he employees told us that if we stayed right there, we would have the best seats in the house for the fireworks.  He was right! I'm glad we got to see them. 

Now it's time for bed again at the classic.  We have an early morning tomorrow as we have to be at the ozaek empire fair by 9 am for 4h achievement day for the twins!

[Dewayne]

You could have just changed clothes in the changing room at White Water, instead of in the motel room. Ohana Falls always has the longest, slowest line. Kalani Towers is the 2nd slowest, longest line. All other lines either move fast or never have a line that is long. The Wave Pool is only at half power because it is safe that way, says a lifeguard.