Sheriff's Showdown

Didn't there used to be a bandit behind the building with the bell that would pop from behind the sign when it was Golden Nugget? I wonder why they never fixed that.
 
Has anyone here ever rode it back when it opened in 2000 when it was under the name of Golden Nugget? I'm genuinely curious to know what it was like then when it was all new. Was it still a poor dark ride by any means before the horrible rainbow lights were added.
 
Has anyone here ever rode it back when it opened in 2000 when it was under the name of Golden Nugget? I'm genuinely curious to know what it was like then when it was all new. Was it still a poor dark ride by any means before the horrible rainbow lights were added.
We’ve rode it in its golden nugget carnation. It was brilliant , very similar in my memory to what it is now however it used to be so scary walking over the grill bars in the queue line and looking down to see the water wheel which used to turn.
 
The ride is now down to 4 carts (numbers 5,6,7&8) not sure if they service the other 4 then swap them over so the ride doesn’t have much downtime.
Do you think this actually impacts on the throughput that much? When there was more there always just seemed to be a queue to load / unload that was nearly 4 cars long. Or is that just my impression?
 
Has anyone here ever rode it back when it opened in 2000 when it was under the name of Golden Nugget? I'm genuinely curious to know what it was like then when it was all new. Was it still a poor dark ride by any means before the horrible rainbow lights were added.
I did ^^
It was pretty much similar if my memory serves correctly - a few different scenes (for example the mine at the start was a farm house)

The guns and scoring system were different + think more retro and bright coloured

The targets were actual targets instead of lights

Some good povs can be found online though it was pretty similar to what it is now
(But with a fe more effects and without the twinkling stars ceiling)
 
The system for the wheel is still in place. Every time we go , the ride host activates all the lights below for my child to see down below.
It's been on for my last few visits too :) (somewhere back in this thread I think I've shared photos)

Could use a good clean
 
Thank you all for the quick replies everyone! I always had the impression that people never really liked Golden Nugget all that much. From looking a lot of POVs of both variations, both are good in each of their own way, but Golden Nugget always seemed a bit more 'fun' if you get where I'm coming from.

Golden Nugget had a lot more interactive effects in it, and the bandits guns used to shoot back at you and you'd lose some points, I always found that to be a pretty neat effect. I think the star cloth and the walls added in Sheriffs showdown is a great addition, but it covers everything with this weird blue/purple colour, it kinda looks out of place for me.

The barn looked better than the mine does now. Nothing moves in that scene, and there's very little to look at.

I think the facade when it Golden Nugget looked a lot more appealing than when it was converted into showdown, this could be because of the 2D logo though. I wish that Sheriffs had a 3D logo.

I do wish the old Golden Nugget music still played in the station. The ambience in the station is a bit calm for a wacky wild west shooter personally.

I kinda wish they kept the old targets, the new ones that light up don't fit the wild west ascetic all that well.

All in all, both rides are good in each if their own way, but Golden Nugget looked terrible during its last few years with the horrible new lighting and broken effects.

Also, talking about the Mill Wheel, here's a picture of it with the lights on with how it currently looks down there. Lots of litter and rubbish has been chucked down there sadly :(
20230812_210938.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thank you all for the quick replies everyone! I always had the impression that people never really liked Golden Nugget all that much. From looking a lot of POVs of both variations, both are good in each of their own way, but Golden Nugget always seemed a bit more 'fun' if you get where I'm coming from.

Golden Nugget had a lot more interactive effects in it, and the bandits guns used to shoot back at you and you'd lose some points, I always found that to be a pretty neat effect. I think the star cloth and the walls added in Sheriffs showdown is a great addition, but it covers everything with this weird blue/purple colour, it kinda looks out of place for me.

The barn looked better than the mine does now. Nothing moves in that scene, and there's very little to look at.

I think the facade when it Golden Nugget looked a lot more appealing than when it was converted into showdown, this could be because of the 2D logo though. I wish that Sheriffs had a 3D logo.

I do wish the old Golden Nugget music still played in the station. The ambience in the station is a bit calm for a wacky wild west shooter personally.

I kinda wish they kept the old targets, the new ones that light up don't fit the wild west ascetic all that well.

All in all, both rides are good in each if their own way, but Golden Nuggets looked terrible during its last few years with the horrible new lighting and broken effects.

Also, talking about the Mill Wheel, here's a picture of it with the lights on with how it currently looks down there. Lots of litter and rubbish has been chucked down there sadly :(
View attachment 4383
That photo is amazing. It would be an easy fix for the park because if they gave it all a clean in regards to rubbish , the dust and things would fit in with the theme. All the park would have to do then in theory is place a clear sea through plastic cover underneath the grill to protect the wheel and stop littler from falling through. I do wonder though how many people lost there phones.
 
That photo is amazing. It would be an easy fix for the park because if they gave it all a clean in regards to rubbish , the dust and things would fit in with the theme. All the park would have to do then in theory is place a clear sea through plastic cover underneath the grill to protect the wheel and stop littler from falling through. I do wonder though how many people lost there phones.
I'd love for them to clean it, and get it back working if they could.

Another thing I found out about Golden Nugget is how much more lighting and props it used to have. Here's a few examples, credit goes to @Archives DMP for sharing these photos on Towers Streets Forum.

DMP-CAR-2.jpg

This scene is located just as you leave the barn and you enter the main building.

photo-3060.jpg

This is where you'd meet the first bandits popping out from the windows and doors.

photo-12069.jpg

You'd see this chicken at the end of the barn.

Another I'd like to point out is the current state of the facade. Here's how it used to look like back in the 2000s.
photo-1058.jpg


This is what it looks like now in its current state, minus the small section at the top, which has since been removed, along with a lot of the smaller details that it used to have.
Sheriffs-Showdown-06.jpg
 
That photo is amazing. It would be an easy fix for the park because if they gave it all a clean in regards to rubbish , the dust and things would fit in with the theme. All the park would have to do then in theory is place a clear sea through plastic cover underneath the grill to protect the wheel and stop littler from falling through. I do wonder though how many people lost there phones.
I think we spoke about this a few pages back (or i've spoken to someone before about it)
I think the problem identified was that it would mist up / have condensation issues :(
I always fear for my phone over it amongt other belongings.
 
I'd love for them to clean it, and get it back working if they could.

Another thing I found out about Golden Nugget is how much more lighting and props it used to have. Here's a few examples, credit goes to @Archives DMP for sharing these photos on Towers Streets Forum.

View attachment 4384
This scene is located just as you leave the barn and you enter the main building.

View attachment 4385
This is where you'd meet the first bandits popping out from the windows and doors.

View attachment 4386
You'd see this chicken at the end of the barn.

Another I'd like to point out is the current state of the facade. Here's how it used to look like back in the 2000s.
View attachment 4387

This is what it looks like now in its current state, minus the small section at the top, which has since been removed, along with a lot of the smaller details that it used to have.
View attachment 4388
Great photos. I do agree that I think the facade looked better when the ride was Golden Nuggets. Now the colours are not very vibrant and Drayton have gone for a more simplistic look on the exterior.
 
Has anyone here ever rode it back when it opened in 2000 when it was under the name of Golden Nugget? I'm genuinely curious to know what it was like then when it was all new. Was it still a poor dark ride by any means before the horrible rainbow lights were added.
I used to love the golden nuggets version it was a lot more shall we say more lively compared to the proper wild west theme that sheriffs is, it used to be bright and colourful and wasnt really broken up in to scenes a lot of things never used to really work but it used to be a laugh (it also use to have a really good theme tune in the queue)
 
If any of you miss the Golden Nuggets theme, I unfortunately don't have the file, but you can clearly hear it in one if TPWs vlogs back in 2016, around 24:46
 
Last edited:
Not sure if it’s a new thing but I got the highest score of the day
View attachment 4408
The person who operated the ride said we got a new high score and clapped me and said to the others get your blasters ready and beat that high score.
Congratulations! Very good that they acknowledged that, if a younger child had (somehow) managed to do that I’m sure that would’ve made their day!
 
Back
Top