SDC in Colorado? California? Arizona?

Junior · May 07, 2010, 09:40:36 AM

What do you think? Could other Silver Dollar City parks be established in say the mining areas of Colorado, California, Arizona? Remember, there was a SDC Tennessee before Dollywood? Just pick up the SDC theme, move it to another area, and tie it to the old mining histories of places that had gold and silver rushes? Or is SDC such a unique product and theme that it would only work in Missouri? Sound off. Let's hear your opinions...

Ozark Outlaw · May 07, 2010, 10:44:39 AM

Could it be done? Absolutely. Should it be done? Maybe. Would it be successful? Perhaps.

This is a very challenging question. Silver Dollar City is such a unique theme park that I believe it is unmatched by any other theme park in the world. I know I am going to receive criticism for this, but I do not believe Dollywood has the same level of adventure, and excitement that Silver Dollar City has. There is something about Silver Dollar City that truly brings the city to life.

Now if you were to build a theme park based on the 1880's in another area of the country, I believe it would work, and be popular. However, at the end of the day it would still be just a theme park.

Silver Dollar City was built on history, and tradition. Over the past 50 years we have seen this city grow just like a real city. Silver Dollar City could always be replicated, but it could never be duplicated.

My opinion only.

PastorDon · May 07, 2010, 11:04:07 PM

I'd like to see 'em build SDC Black Hills! I'd be first in line for season tickets. Of course the "season" wouldn't be 9 months long like it is in Missouri. It was in the 40's here today!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

KBCraig · May 07, 2010, 11:37:29 PM

I think BBQ has it exactly right: SDC's unique success is due to its, well, uniqueness. Dogpatch USA was a theme park, but it was based on a cartoon strip and Ozark hillbilly stereotypes. Dollywood is a sister park, but it's just a theme park without history. I don't know of any other theme park based on real events and real history taking place on the real site. Yes, it's dramatized and fictionalized and exaggerated, but it has true roots.

Similar themes might work in other places, but they would have to draw from the actual history of those places.

Zephon · May 08, 2010, 12:50:30 AM

I know there are a couple of places similar to SDC in Arizona. One is called Rawhide, by Phoenix. A small western style attraction with street shows, a saloon, a few rides, shops, and eateries. I had a couple of friends who went there from SDC back in the day. http://www.rawhide.com/home-index.html

Another place is Old Tucson, just outside of Tucson. It started as a movie set back in the 40's or 50's; John Wayne shot some of his stuff from the location. But now, not many westerns are being made so it stands as an attraction...old west town. They have some street shows, a saloon, a few rides, eateries, shops, etc. They do stunt shows in the streets, which are fun with gunfights, etc. But the odd thing, I thought, it that the actors take a bow after their shows...even the "dead" guys. So they're not really trying to create the living town like SDC does. Nevertheless, it's a great place to visit. You should recognize pieces of it from various movies. http://www.oldtucson.com/

Neither of those places are to quite the scale that SDC is, but they are fun.

On a side note, when I was working full time in the Saloon, years ago, I always thought it would be fun to take the basic Saloon show, go to one of the winter resort towns in Colorado, and produce it at one of the resorts as an evening show. Something for skiers to do in the evening. It would have been great back then because our season lasted from mid-April to the end of October...so work here during the summer season, there during the winter season. Perfect job. Alas, it never happened.

Junior · May 08, 2010, 07:57:06 AM

Zephon, is there not a western town in Texas called Alamo City? I think it was built for John Wayne's Alamo movie, and then opened as an attraction, too. Some other western shows were filmed there, I think.

Zephon · May 08, 2010, 10:57:16 AM

I couldn't say, I've never heard of it but that doesn't mean much.

I just did a search on Dodge City, KS, and apparently they are making efforts to turn the old district into more of an attraction. I was there with Tony McCarty in the late 90's and nothing much was going on. You could go through a museum and walk along a replication of Front Street, but that was about it. Now it seems that during the summer, they have events scheduled, gunfights on the street, and some entertainment in the Long Branch Saloon. http://boothill.org/ I remember going to Dodge City for family reunions when I was a kid in the early 60's...we gathered in a pavilion in a park within walking distance of Boot Hill and Front street, and I used to run up there and mess around. It was interesting to me then, but it's now completely different from how I remember it.

History Buff · May 08, 2010, 02:46:03 PM

I breached this subject here a long time ago. I was a manager of a place in El Reno, OK, that had aspirations of being SDC for Oklahoma. We had a great start, but the oil bust and bank failures of the 80s fought back. The place went bankrupt with a full-scale railroad in the works with its dirt work already completed. The engine lay in ruins, never to be seen again. It would have been built around a beautiful 10-acre lake. We already took hayrides through a 40-head buffalo herd, but it would have been awesome to ride the rails through the herd. We also had a restaurant that was modeled after a horse barn, a petting farm, local indigenous animals including a wolf, elk, mountain lion, etc. The owners restored a working waterwheel-turned grist mill. I was successful in operating a full educational program for local schools. I had even taken the areal photos of the place and planned the whole park, with rides themed to authentic Oklahoma history. If only...I could be CEO today!

I showed these plans and outlined the rides to someone at SDC after realizing our place was not going to make it, and was offered a position at SDC as some kind of "educational manager", creating programs to kids to participate in while parents attended the Echo Hollow show in the evenings. In my sharing, I may have planted the seeds for some of the projects that have come to SDC since that time (I doubt it, but some of the attractions have been similar, though not exactly the same.).

Junior · May 08, 2010, 04:25:29 PM

Interesting history lesson, History Buff!

KBCraig · May 08, 2010, 08:57:06 PM

Quote from: History Buff on May 08, 2010, 02:46:03 PM
I breached this subject here a long time ago. I was a manager of a place in El Reno, OK, that had aspirations of being SDC for Oklahoma.

El Reno's best park is the one on the west side of town on Route 66. You know, the one with the towers and razor wire.

History Buff · May 08, 2010, 09:41:35 PM

Yeah, it wasn't that one

ghosthost · May 09, 2010, 12:20:19 PM

I think that HFE should buy out Six Flags personally. They would turn that place around..........

shavethewhales · May 10, 2010, 12:59:46 AM

^^^Wow, that's really interesting History Buff. Too bad this state looses out on so many rec. opportunities...

^I think SF would devour anything good about HFEC in that situation. I don't think we'd be thrilled to see advertising shrink-wraps on Wildfire

HFEC did make a bid on several SF properties when they were up for sale several years ago, if my memory serves right. I seem to remember some wrangling going on where HFEC only wanted a couple of the parks and not all six, but SF wanted to sell them all together. They might have come really close to buying up Fronter City - that would have been awesome...