Swoosh

^OK, whateva. How you going to make the 50's sections fit into your theory? I don't think you can fit that into the 1880's.

Um, how is a tornado theme and a guy who has invented a new type of fuel anything alike? I think not, try again. Is it really that big of a surprise that the two parks are that much in common with regards to the past. SDC bought the park and used the formula that was working with their park in MO at the new park in TN. The only things missing at DW is the hilly terrain (DW is FLAT compared to SDC) and all of the little knick-knack signs and themeing. I guess some of that was removed when the park converted to DW -- oh and SDC has ONE theme 1880s whereas Dollywood really shows just how many times the park has been bought and rethemed. Quite the juxtaposation of themes in that park.

While Valleyfair is not THE BEST park in the world, you have to give it some credit -- you can have a lot of fun there IF YOU LET YOURSELF. If you go in with the thought "oh this is gonna suck" then of course you will have a bad day. With that being said, I would rather go to VF then say KD or MiA anyday. It is a long way from being the WORST park in the Cedar Fair chain -- but I agree it is no Worlds of Fun

^No that is one of the citizens riding it. That photo was from Media Day and they were shooting a commercial at the time. I think they ended up doing about 30 laps on that thing before they were done shooting -- yes in a row

^First two hills and station track are Arrow. The track switches on the second drop into Morgan. I'm not sure you can call that 90% -- more like maybe 75% or so. I do agree that it is probably my favorite hyper that Morgan had a hand in building

^O RLY? What Mamba were you riding? Your butt isn't in the seat until you get to the bottom of the first and second hills. That isn't air time? And it EJECTS you out of your seat on the second hill. It is also a lot faster going through the helix whereas Steel Force sort of meanders through its.

I think of all of the coasters in Missouri, Wildfire is probably the most photogenic. The mountainside setting makes for some wonderful shots.

I think of all of the "state-side" Morgans, that Mamba is the best of the bunch. I have ridden all of the ones in the states and honestly it is the only one that maintains its speed through the course. The second hill and head-chopper helix are the elements that make MAMBA the best of the bunch.

ELL OH ELL!!! No, I swore I took new photos of that area when I was there, but then when I got to doing the update I was like WTF? So I had to use photos from Media Day when I went to that area... you caught me

If he hadn't alienated so many people he probably would have succeeded. BUT, he decided to commit business suicide... oh well at least it wasn't open long enough for people to get too attached to it.

Day 11: Silver Dollar City Well we have come to the last park of our trip and we saved one of the best parks in the world for last -- Silver Dollar City. The park is so relaxing to go to. There is so much to do and see, but you don't have to rush-rush-rush in order to enjoy yourself like at some of the mega-parks. Park #12 Silver Dollar City See the entire Silver Dollar City Gallery! One last photo --- thanks for visiting!!! I think this is where I am supposed to say "Hi Derek" or something like that. SEXY! Doesn't it have a great setting? WILDFIRE... the coaster that is built on the side of the mountain -- or a large hill, whatever. Welcome to the Mine, hey welcome to the toil... It's harder than heck to take a "legal" picture of this ride TNT - it's dynoo--mite The dragonfly wing curve is awesome Wow, it is almost like the publicity photo -- only not YEAH POWDERKEG! Those Wishing to be B ASTED go that way... why does the "L" keep getting removed from the sign? Waterworks Waterboggan = Get Soaked American Plunge = Get Drenched Lost River = Get Wet The world's largest tree house -- or so they say... Geyser Gulch! Tom's Fort was actually open for a change -- it is sort of redundant now because of... The OLD kiddie area - Tom Sawyer's Landing What goes around, goes around, goes around How 'bout a 'spot of tea' ? The Grand Expo Coaster replaced the void that was left when the Runaway Ore Cart was removed Dumbo? From the swings you can see the town square The Galleon is one of the few rides visible from the highway The Regatta is one of the fastest spin and spues I have ever been on The Grand Expo area is amazingly detailed You have to love the charm of this place The entrance to "heaven"

So it is a half-pipe and NOT a Disk-o? Is that confirmed?

The front seat on Raven. Forget about riding Voyage it's not worth it.

^Did I say it was still looking for itself? *rereads post* Oh, I think I get what you read... no the park's theme works well for it. With that being said, the park is finding that the the 50's theme is a little bit harder to do then the 1880's theme at SDC... you have to sort of stretch a little to do the 50's theme. What I meant is that it needs more to do (rides/indoor shows) still before it can "stand on its own". By all means, the park is still "growing" -- it is only 5 years old! I hope that makes more sense on what I meant. Accelorator (notice it is spelled wrong on purpose -- that's how it was originally spelt) was having a very tempermatic day. It was down for awhile then it would be back up and what-not. I think that the reason I feel it is tame is it is so short. Jack Hammer...er Rabbit is killer on a 6'4" frame. Man it whipped me good around those corners. I've ridden the Miler (I think it's called Scandia Screamer? Been awhile since I rode it) in Cali and did not hurt me near as bad.

Day 10: Celebration City After spending most of the day at White Water we headed over to Celebration City to finish out the day. This is the park's 5th year and unfortunately still has a lot of growing pains. It is going to take awhile still for this park to become "a park" as there is still not enough to do. However, with that being said, the stuff that is there is worth doing. You cannot go wrong with OzCat. That ride kicks major butt and if you get to CC before SDC closes for the evening, you can get in some personal ERT on the Cat before the crowds set in later around 7ish. Park #10 Celebration City See the entire gallery here: Celebration City Gallery One more because you can always use ONE MORE photos of OzCat. SDC Photos coming soon All praise Clair Hain Jr. The #1 Woodie in the Show-Me State (like it was even a challenge) PRETTY!!! Ok, I've stalled long enough Hooray for the carny log flume!!! FIREBAAAAALLLLLL The tamest double shot in the world I did not like the whippy curves as it threw my back out of place The worst coaster in the park is the Miler built Jack Rabbit The new ride is STINGER and is a Wisdom Tornado ride -- talk about making you dizzy The themeing is pretty good -- here is a restaurant There is also a tilt-a-whirl Next door is the scrambler The bumper cars are a little weak -- you barely feel the "bumps" This curve here gets me every time Thunderbolt is crazy This came from Bonfante Gardens. I think the Herschends cut a deal with him when he came to learn their "secrets". This was left over from Branson USA -- the views are much better now though The flyers are fun, but hard to snap Isn't this one of the best settings for a carousel? I like the car -- I wonder if has any "guts" or if it just the shell Main Street USA, much? Now in its 5th season!

^^Hmmm... you must be living life right when you go to the park then because the lines are never that short on Saturdays in Late July and August.

Most of the money will go into place-making, but there will be a lot of rides/attractions added/subtracted during the entire "redo" of the park. The guy at the helm of the project is the most interesting thing though. He was the original guy for the Disney's America concept. Interesting thing is, a lot of the ideas from Disney's America are already at DCA, though watered down... it will be neat to see how this ends up. FYI the DCA/DowntownDisneyland/Grand Californian combined project cost $1.4 Billion. That puts just how BIG this really is.

I honestly don't think it would take more than 4-5 hours to ride the major rides and do a few rerides. A lot depends on the weather that time of year at VF. It might take less time, but I would say 4-5 hours is a good amount of time to expect to get everything + some in.

Well I hate to tell you this, but the longer you wait, the more crowded the Saturdays will get at Valleyfair. You are getting into the "guilt trip" season at amusement parks. What is the "guilt trip" season, you ask? Well that is the time of the year when parents realize that school is right around the corner and they have not taken Jimmy John and Sally Sue anywhere this summer. So to "hush" their sub-conscious guilt of being terrible parents that have not taken their kiddos anywhere for a summer trip like all of their friends' parents have, they do this "fail-proof vacation" to the local amusement park as a last-minute "cover-up" because well they were busy and "forgot". This "phenomenon" happens every year around the last two weeks of July and will continue to be so up until the later parts of August, including the holiday weekend. Once you get into September, you will see things slow down on Saturdays (because kids are back in school and "no longer need to go to the park -- it's not summer"). It will pick up once again when the Halloween events start though.

^Yes he said in an interview that when it is 'all said and done' Thanksgiving would be the "center of the park". I still can't believe they haven't added EASTER yet. I mean come on! get your photo with Santa Claus and Easter Bunny in the same day.

^When did you last go to the Branson parks? Did you get a chance to go to Celebration City as well as Silver Dollar City?

^It really did turn out nice. You can see it from about every point in the park, which makes it very imposing. The park needed this new complex and I am happy for HFEC that they added it to WWB

Day 10: White Water Branson's waterpark is located right on the strip, so you cannot miss seeing it as you drive down 76 to get to a show or where ever you are headed. This year they added the new slide complex known as Kalani Towers and it has really made an impression on the park. For one thing you can see it directly from 76 as they put it right next to the road. The other thing is that this is the first new slide complex they have added for about 4 years I think. The park is always a lot of fun and we enjoyed our visit to the waterpark. Park #10 White Water Please visit our complete gallery for White Water: http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/gallery/waterparks/wwb/ One last look at Kalani -- Celebration City is next! More of the Racing Side The Racing Slides are by far the more popular of the two sides. The speed slides are very intimidating before you go down This new complex is pretty impressive looking Kalani Towers complex entrance Surfquake Wave Pool Bermuda Triangle tandem raft slide This one was weird Caribbean Plunge slide complex Tropical Twister family raft ride Raging River Rapids slide complex Rain Tree Island Lazy River Here you can see what the park has to offer and where they put the new complex Entrance to White Water

^To each his own, on their personal preferences. I like Millie because you can just have fun on it. No need to brace, just extreme speed and a great first drop. It's my favorite steel because you just feel "free" on it. Like I said though, each person has their own "things" that they look for when picking favorites -- for me, I prefer "effortless riding" coasters where I don't have to worry about bracing to keep myself from getting hurt.

AMEN!