If you've seen any of our social media posts from the previous two seasons at Silverwood, you know that the Entertainment side is a huge draw for Evanna.
Some of her (and our) favorite memories have come from the connections with cast members, many (most) of which we still keep in contact with on social media. We were even introduced to two cast members' families that were visiting last season--that was a huge honor.
But this season...things are very different. It's been difficult to try to relay in words, so let me try an analogy.
Growing up in the 80s, the 49ers were my favorite team. My favorite player though wasn't Joe Montana, but his successor, Steve Young. Don't get me wrong--Joe was easily the GOAT at the time. But Steve Young had to step into his place, with all the expectations of the fans and coaching staff. He had a big hurdle to overcome. And he did, leading the 49ers to three Super Bowls and a ton of records.
The previous two seasons were like the Joe Montana era in SF. Luke and Wendi Yellin were hired with much fanfare externally and internally. And for good reason. The train shows were a hit, and last season's premier of the High Moon Saloon Variety Show was packed pretty much every single time it was performed. Beyond that though, there was something I wrote in social media posts repeatedly over those two seasons: not only were they good at finding very talented cast members--hard enough on its own, but they found good people.
The Yellins departed after last season, thus ending the Joe Montana era.
So is this season the start of the Steve Young era?
Ummm...no. That's where the analogy fails. This is more like the Jeff Garcia era that followed Steve Young. Full of potential, but lackluster.
Train show: there's only a single live show with three rotating casts. But the storyline this season is...rough and disjointed. At the beginning there is only one cast member, which severely limits interaction with riders. The reliance on voiceover is, frankly, a mess: three different characters that the live cast member "interacts" with, but there's not enough distinction between the three voices (which sound like they were all recorded by the same person), so it makes the story hard to follow initially. There's virtually no references to the wildlife or surroundings, no substantial back and forth between the live cast member and the recordings--it's basically a monologue until the train arrives at the silver mine stop. And don't get me started on the "poo dude" which isn't tied into the story and gives an interaction between the live cast member and one passenger...passing off plastic replica animal poop to the person. (That part is so weird that I don't even know what to think).
There's another element to the reliance on voiceover that I think is being missed. Last season there were a couple of times that the train experienced some technical issues. But because there were two cast members, they were able to easily--and very well--ad lib and save the show. Turned out to be great shows rather than a failure. But that fallback isn't there this season. Big takeaways: lack of interaction with passengers and disjointed storyline.
The Conductors: the premier of the Conductors for live music last season was a very different experiment, using the cast of the Variety Show between shows. The trio sang 4 or 5 popular country songs, and I think it started to catch on because it was something different and the different versions of the group sang well together. This season? So far I've only seen them in the High Moon Saloon rather than outside, and it wasn't great. And only 3 songs. The voices weren't as strong or confident, and didn't blend as well...but I don't know know whether from lack of practicing together or poor mixing. But the other thing, and this was almost a visceral reaction, but they try too much to "dress"country, and it comes across to me as making fun of or mocking. Big takeaway: as my teen daughter would say, kinda mid.
Marvin and Friends: we have yet to be there when it's been on, and we've been there quite a bit. I don't know if that's a reflection of the show or not, but I'm holding out that this is a net positive act, but will update if/when we finally see. Big takeaway: holding out hope.
Magic Show/Phantasm: I think the show is under the umbrella of Silverwood Entertainment, but pretty much independent, so the show is unaffected.
Let's talk the bottom line. Last two seasons, there were times we would often take short trips up to Silverwood just to enjoy the shows and a couple rides (along with longer visits on weekends). This season Evanna is not excited, and we've already gone far less than last season. And I don't believe any of this will be happening this season, and that's sad:
