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[tmstephe]

Hopefully one of the new shows is a return to the original music to the Christmas Carol. Since they changed the songs from the original ones it is unwatchable.

Don't get your hopes up; the change was made due to copyright issues. 

[shavethewhales]

They'll never go back to the 'Disney' music for sure, but there's still room for improvement. The bigger issue is that they lost a lot of their best performers. It's still a timeless show and story, but they will have to keep working at it to get close to where they were back in the glory days.

Looking at satellite maps, it looks like they have room to double the plaza area from what currently exists, but that would require bumping out to the road. Looks like they'll also have to lose a few more trees...

The big announcement is only a week away. One has to assume part of the reason behind the plaza enhancement is to make more room for the bigger and bigger crowds that will come as SDC turns into a multi-day resort destination. I'm almost surprised there wasn't more announced in this regard. In recent years, they have made a number of big redevelopments of areas of the park to accommodate larger crowds. The areas around Time Traveler, Mystic River, and the furniture factory are all unrecognizable from a decade ago. I guess without really bulldozing the rest of the park there aren't many other pinch points left to "fix" other than the entrance itself. Surprised that Ozark Marketplace and the Hospitality House are still sticking around, but I would be surprised if they are still here in five years.

Another thing not mentioned in this year's announcements: anything related to the old FITH space...

[jericho]

They'll never go back to the 'Disney' music for sure, but there's still room for improvement. The bigger issue is that they lost a lot of their best performers. It's still a timeless show and story, but they will have to keep working at it to get close to where they were back in the glory days.

Looking at satellite maps, it looks like they have room to double the plaza area from what currently exists, but that would require bumping out to the road. Looks like they'll also have to lose a few more trees...

The big announcement is only a week away. One has to assume part of the reason behind the plaza enhancement is to make more room for the bigger and bigger crowds that will come as SDC turns into a multi-day resort destination. I'm almost surprised there wasn't more announced in this regard. In recent years, they have made a number of big redevelopments of areas of the park to accommodate larger crowds. The areas around Time Traveler, Mystic River, and the furniture factory are all unrecognizable from a decade ago. I guess without really bulldozing the rest of the park there aren't many other pinch points left to "fix" other than the entrance itself. Surprised that Ozark Marketplace and the Hospitality House are still sticking around, but I would be surprised if they are still here in five years.

Another thing not mentioned in this year's announcements: anything related to the old FITH space...

If the train tracks weren't there, they could make the new plaza start and blend in from where the old Toboggin ride structure is. I'm talking that area between the where the current path is, to the side of Red Gold Theater.  Is the area behind the plaza (next to the highway) buildable? Seems like I remember a steep decline to the highway.

They have to do something with the old FITH building or remove it, and they need to connect Hill Street to Outlaw Run. Also, they should link the two dead end roads at Wildfire and Powerkeg together.

[Jesus4me]

Hopefully one of the new shows is a return to the original music to the Christmas Carol. Since they changed the songs from the original ones it is unwatchable.

Don't get your hopes up; the change was made due to copyright issues.

Funny how other parks do not have "copyright issues" with the same exact songs. I believe it was more or a choice by the director of entertainment. They need just retire the show as it is so bad now.

[cowboy]

I think this first announcement was to highlight what was going to change in the park for next year so they can begin the season pass sales. Seems like a typical year after a big ride introduction "FITH" with the new festivals, food, etc.

I'm thinking the announcement on the 17th will let us know what's coming in a few years in the future...so probably more like 2026 and beyond. We have to give them a little time to get something built.

Swoosh probably knows best (I think he's a musical director at a high school) but regarding the copywrite or performance of songs, basically you just have to contact the rights holder for the work and make arrangements for the use, sometimes it's a one-time fee, or a usage fee, or just permission...and trying and failing to contact the rights holder is not a substitution for permission. So stay with songs in the public domain or be prepared to pay something...especially if you are profiting from the performance.

Jay

[tmstephe]

Swoosh probably knows best (I think he's a musical director at a high school) but regarding the copywrite or performance of songs, basically you just have to contact the rights holder for the work and make arrangements for the use, sometimes it's a one-time fee, or a usage fee, or just permission...and trying and failing to contact the rights holder is not a substitution for permission. So stay with songs in the public domain or be prepared to pay something...especially if you are profiting from the performance.

Jay

You're exactly right.. SDC has to get permission and pay for the use of copyrighted songs.  It's not that they can't do that, but they have chosen not to.  The new music is fine - I think a lot of the complainants are based on comparison to the old show and not necessarily on the quality of the current show in isolation.  But to each their own. 

[Kisco]

Instead of just replacing the train depot, what if they redid the whole layout of the train?  Remove the tracks from the middle of the park and add to the tracks on the back side of the current layout.  The train could become a much longer ride and also open up new land to development.  A new depot would need to be built somewhere on the new layout, but the need to block off walkways could be removed.  There could even be multiple depots to move people from one part of the park to another.  Eventually, the train could link to a new resort or another entrance by a resort.  There would be lots of possibilities with a new layout.  They could also move the "round" house and open up that area for other development.  If they keep expanding the park with the current track layout, they are going to have even more crosswalks with gates that need closed for trains.  The Flooded Mine/current depot area could have major changes done without the train tracks in the way.  Same thing over by the old Fire in the hole.  Just a thought, however radical it might be.

[shavethewhales]

^I don't think they'll be going that far. The train is pretty established, lol. Would be a hell of a job to build a new route at this point. That would be a major reconstruction of half the park. Will be interesting to see what they do next with it though. The rumor about the new train station was always a bit off, but it makes sense for them to do something in that regard because of the overcrowding at the current station. I know at one point they seemed to be looking at redeveloping the existing train station and the Flooded Mine area in one swoop. Could still happen someday I guess.


Anyway though, we are finally on the eve of the resort announcement. Any last minute guesses as to how many rooms and what else could be included? I am guessing this will be a first phase, especially considering how much work it will take to grade the site and bring in utilities. Probably just a "starter" resort with standard amenities and around 250 rooms. I'm expecting a smaller Dreammore, essentially. I think they will do it in a way that makes it easy to add onto though.

[mg]

Eventually, the train could link to a new resort or another entrance by a resort.

Having the train bring people from a resort into the park would also require more staffing since there would need to be security and ticket booth staff at the resort depot too.

The trolly system at Dollywood works great and could even be better at SDC assuming they build a road through the woods for the trolly system only.

[flutas]

Probably just a "starter" resort with standard amenities and around 250 rooms.

This is about what I'm expecting too.

I'm expecting it to be a "luxury rural/'hillbilly'" theme if that makes any sense. "Luxury" materials, but styled to be old and rustic essentially them heavily leaning in to an "Experience the Ozarks" message, but no actual "old-scool" substance behind it.

Maybe I'm completely off though, this is all a guess based off what I've seen with the park lately.

[Lampie]

Probably just a "starter" resort with standard amenities and around 250 rooms.

This is about what I'm expecting too.

I'm expecting it to be a "luxury rural/'hillbilly'" theme if that makes any sense. "Luxury" materials, but styled to be old and rustic essentially them heavily leaning in to an "Experience the Ozarks" message, but no actual "old-scool" substance behind it.

Maybe I'm completely off though, this is all a guess based off what I've seen with the park lately.

Yeah, luxury hillbilly sounds right, maybe lean into the home of American craftsmanship.

I'm thinking 250-300 rooms

[crsjrr]

With the location chosen for the new Fire in the Hole, and now the expansion of the exposition area, it seems like the fringe on the most northeastern edge of the park has been the focus.  What I'm trying to wrap my head around, with the 1,200 acres purchased in the opposite direction, is why? Why wasn't the thought to make improvements(Fire in the Hole) on the western edge?  Has the delay of the front gate/hospitality house improvements suggest a new gate to the west? Any improvements to reduce or eliminate choke points would be welcomed. 

[shavethewhales]

Somehow I doubt there will be a resort entrance for the first few years. Seems like a long way to go to put in access back there. I'm sure they will eventually move that way though. The maintenance area will probably slowly shift north over the next decade or two so they can fit more in there in the small amount of flat space they have to work with.

[Lampie]

I'm a little underwhelmed by the concept art in the reveal video. Based on the survey they sent out about themes for the resort several months ago I was expecting a more themed exterior that would be more of a lodge vibe. this looks very modern generic resort.

[shavethewhales]

WOW. Not just a resort, but a ten year building boom. They emphasized connecting the park and resort.

My initial reaction to the resort is that the architecture looks pretty bland. It doesn't evoke anything that reminds me of SDC in any way. Just a generic white resort building. Oh well, I'm sure it will be very nice, and it looks like they are going all out with the landscaping and park features behind it. It's seven stories tall, but only 260 rooms. You can tell they did indeed leave plenty of room for an expansion however. With 1200 acres, they can expand a few times, lol.

Glad this has FINALLY come to fruition after years of waiting.