Cameron

Hahahaha - maybe in the picture, but I can assure you that it very much looks like a sock in person! Not a stupid question at all, sorry I didn't make it more clear. They are separate parks, but they're within five miles of each other. Celebration City typically opens later in the day (mid-afternoon) and stays open late (10pm when I was there), while Silver Dollar City opens in the morning (9am) and closes before dark. Celebration City is a ghost town until SDC closes.. The parks are both managed by the same company, and it's possible to buy multi-day park-hopping passes that are valid at both parks (and/or the water-park near by). For me it was much cheaper to buy a three-day SDC/CC park-hopper pass (even though I was only there for two days), rather than buy explicit day tickets to each park. Cameron.

In closing I just want to add that this was an excellent trip. I was genuinely surprised by how great it was, all three parks, and all of the rides (even the bad ones .. I mean Ninja is bad!). Many people commented that they're thinking of heading to Branson, to them I say "get off your arses and get down there!". Seriously, it's worth the trip. As for the question of SDC or Dollywood, I think I will give the nod to SDC. Partly because I think SDC is more complete, but mostly because it's just a little embarrassing telling people you're going to Dollywood! So thanks for sticking with this more-than-a-little dry trip report - I have enjoyed reading all your comments. Cameron.

^ Funny you should ask about SFStl, I was just about to add those photos. I must admit that I didn't have super-high hopes for SFStl when I got there on Monday afternoon. I'm pretty down on SFGAm near me, and SFStl really doesn't look all that great from the expressway. However I got quite a present surprise when I actually walked through the gates. I arrived on Monday evening (around 7pm - two hours before the park closed), and the park was quite dead. The two things I was most looking forward to here was Batman The Ride (mirror image), and Mr. Freeze. I know I've ridden Batman a gazilion times, but it's such an awesome ride; and riding the mirror image is like riding it for the first time again! I also discovered that there was a new Gerstlauer spinning coaster for 2007. Since I had previously ridden (and enjoyed) one of these at the Mall Of America, I was l looking forward to trying this one. Now I will go on record and say that I hate the whole Tony Hawk marketing machine .. I genuinely have nothing against skating (just the opposite, I think it's really freaking cool), but Tony Hawk seems to have turned the whole thing into such a cliche. The irony is that a week later I found myself at SFGAm with my friends kid (+ a friend), watching the Towy Hawk machine in action! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Big Spin, but I did enjoy it. They have the video camera mounted in each car, so people can buy DVDs with a copy of them in the ride. Are these actual DVDs (with a menu and such), or just an AVI slapped on a disc? Interesting idea from a technology standpoint, but not a product that really appeals to me. Since I was by myself, I ended up riding with a mum and two kids - the younger one was very scared to ride. I was a little nervous for this kid (maybe 9 or 10), and he cried up the lift for for the first few turns; however soon he broke out into a big grin and really loved the ride. I only ride once, but I ran into the mum at the hotel the next morning and she told me they rode about 5 more times - so I guess the kid got over his fear! Anyway, the park itself is really nice. It reminded me a lot of SFGAm before "they" paved over everything. I mean sure it's not a hillside of trees, shade and loveliness; but the landscaping is nice, and it doesn't feel like a concrete jungle. The ops all seemed very good, and even on Tuesday (when it was much busier) I never waited more than about 15 minutes (for Mr. Freeze). Overall it was a really fun visit, and SFStl is a surprisingly great park. OK .. travelog pictures time... On the Chicago Batman this final turn takes place over water. I like how they have dug a trench here, a nice foot-chopper. How many photos of a Batman are really needed? It's such a photogenic coaster, and really is one of my favorites. Zeeeerrrrrooooo Gggggggeeeeee! No-wonder loops make Derek horny, they are gorgeous! Batman is a mirror image from the one we all know and love. Something that must not be forgotten is that the queue is too! Oh yes .. The train is launched out of the station. I was totally enjoying the transfer-track action (I'm an engineer, remember!). Would be awesome to watch two trains dancing around in there. Do the lights in the station dim intentionally, or does the launch really draw that much current?? Taken from the ferris wheel - I really don't know why it looks so photo-shopped. This is of course, the end of the track. The train is given a nudge further up the spike just before it stalls out. Now that I've finally ridden Mr. Freeze, I finally understand Bootlegged Cheeseburger! The dense structure of the top-hat makes it difficult to take a good photo, however it certainly adds to the onride experience. I couldn't count the number of head-choppers. Of course I also need to jump-for-joy at the fact that there's only lap-bars! MMmm .. Mr. Freeze. I think I might be a shuttle fan-boy, being that I really enjoy the Schwarzkopf's, V2, Tower Of Terror in Australia, and now Mr. Freeze. I'm really not a big shooting-dark-ride person, so I probably would have skipped this; however several people recommended it. It was fun, I will recommend it to others. Ugh .. In dealing with TPR I have heard many references to Vekoma Death Machines - none of the ones I've ridden have ever lived up to the name, until Ninja .. WOW .. this was impressively bad. I had several major kicks to the head before the train even engaged the lift.. [ shudder ] An example of some of the nice landscaping. Little things like this dotted around parks really make a big difference. A really not all that fun Arrow mine train .. not painful at all, just extra-meh. That's the Boss, I did it. Actually I was pleasantly surprised by this thing. Sure it was rough, but I didn't find it painful. It's a good layout, and excellent location. I got several rides in a row, in the back seat, before the park closed on Monday evening. The awesome Superman drop tower. It's an interesting theme for a giant drop, since I don't recall Superman ever plummeting to the ground. I found it interesting that the cars drop one at a time (rather than all together) - something I've always thought would greatly enhance these rides. Screamin' Eagle: A fun older wooden coaster. Now normally I'm a sucker for these old rides, but everything that makes an old wooden coaster fun had been updated on Eagle. The result was a slightly rough and not terribly thrilling out-n-back. Not bad as such, but a little less than I was hoping. And this is a swinging ship! Fun to think that they're on the way to some fair where they will entertain all these people. I wonder if these have logs, so their progress can be tracked. Would be interesting to see how far these rides travel. On the drive down I passed by three carnival rides .. this is one of them. Possibly a falling star, or inverter type of thing.

Did you read what I said? "They are all driven by advertising dollars, which means they all focus on ratings, which is why they sensationalize everything". Case in point, how many news programs show ads similar to: "New report says that this extremely common food will kill you in a painful, violent, bloody mess. Watch our report tonight.". And of course the report is of something completely benign, and the last thing they show on the news program. They sensationalize it, and spin it just for the ratings. The very stuff they report on is ratings driven .. it should be driven by importance. 1) I can't vote (I'm not a US citizen). 2) I explicitly said that I dislike FOX "news" for reasons that aren't political. Anyway I'm happy to discuss it further with you but not in this thread, PM me if you're interested. I love a good discussion, and I'll talk your ears off Cameron.

Then you will really enjoy the TRP trips. I was on the UK trip last year, and I was actually a little apprehensive about it before we left. My concern was about spend 10 days with smelly coaster nerds who are constantly high-fiving me with clammy hands, and have no social skills whatsoever. What I got was a great bunch of people, many new friends (who I'm still in touch with), and a really fun trip that was the absolute highlight of my year. The TPR trips are not at all like an ACE event .. in fact I'd say they are the total opposite of an ACE event. The TPR trips are for "normal people who also like coasters". Cameron.

All commercial news media in the US is absolute garbage, including CNN. They are all driven by advertising dollars, which means they all focus on ratings, which is why they sensationalize everything. FOX "news" is by far the worst, and I'm constantly shocked that they're legally even permitted to be called "news". It has nothing to do with political slant. Interesting that not a single person here (or in the media) has commented on the fact that even though the ride suffered a major malfunction, the cars still safely returned to the ground. I would even guess that the ride could probably safely operate with just one (or two) cable per car, and the others are present simply for redundancy. (Just a guess, I really don't know - but it would seem like a sensible way to engineer the thing). That said, I'm never again getting into anything with a cable .. no elevators, no ski-lifts, and I just took all the brake/shifter cables off my bike to make it safer. Seriously people, abandoning drop towers is absurd. This was a horrible thing to happen to the girl, and I feel devastatingly sad for the family; but the chances of it happening are just sky-high. I need to find that statistic I read a few years back that stated more people were injured by garden hoses than amusement park rides. Stop letting the f*cked-up U.S. "news" media run your lives. Cameron.

^^ It's an 8.5 hour drive from my place to Branson .. however I stopped in St. Louis on my way down for an hour (that's when I did the tour of the Arch). On the way home I stopped over-night to visit Six Flags St. Louis (photos coming soon..) Cameron.

Wonderful report Mel, you and Rich look like you're both having a terrific time. I'm envious, I wish I could go away to fun places! Cameron.

^ Indeed, Chuck. Take THAT!

Great report so far, Tom. Michigan's Adventure really is a bit of a hole, but I have to admit that I always have had fun there - thanks to my friends who live in Michigan. And Timbers is pretty great .. very moody since Cedar Fair took over, but it sounds like you caught it on a good day. Can't wait for the rest of the pictures! Cameron.

The final set of pics for Part 2 is for the wonderful Barn Swing. This is another S&S giant swing, but it is exceptionally well done at SDC. Now I will be honest and admit that I have a fear of heights, and I find these things quite scary; however they're so awesome that I can't not ride. As the name suggests, SDC has themed their swing around a barn in a farm ... fun to say, and fun to ride! On Sunday they were running both sides, and we waited little more than about 15 minutes. We rode many times, and in the end I was actually able to keep my arms up the whole time ... it wasn't easy, but I could do it. Actually given the fact that there's nothing to hang on to, I find the ride less scary when I relax and keep my hands up. Just go with the forces... Now I really like S&S .. The Double-shots, Avalanche and Poweder Keg are tremendous fun; and the swings are one of my favorite non-coaster rides. However S&S contraptions tend to be .. well .. visually challenged. I was curious to see how SDC was going to dress-up their swing, and I was surprised to see what a great job they had done. Part 3 (the Marvel Cave) will follow tonight or tomorrow .. Enjoy! These swings are as ugly as they are thrilling, and SDC has done a seriously amazing job of keeping it hidden. From inside the park you can hear all the screaming and noise, but can only see the higher parts of the swing. It all adds to the intimidation factor. You only get a few glimpses of this ride from inside the park, and this is typically the first thing people when when they board. Down, please! This ride is quite a beast, sucking up 32 people per cycle with both sides running. The seats are comfortable and the restraints minimal. You feel very exposed when this thing gets going, and nothing to hold on to really adds to the thrill. The attention to detail is amazingly good. Of course every barn needs a weather-cock, so naturally it is included on this barn at SDC. Rather than just have something painted on like you'd find at some parks, this is actually real and functional. The queue runs through a very convincing looking barn, which is dotted with these fun signs. I can't help but laugh at such cute signs for such an intimidating ride. The swing is in a new area called "Wilson's Farms". Along with the swing, is a collection of those lift-yourself-up drop rides for little kids, some food, and a milk-the-cow game. Obvious the swing is the main draw here.

Powder Keg: A Blast In The Winderness. This ride needs a tagline along the lines of "it'll knock your socks off", because Powder Keg is a seriously awesome coaster. How come this is not talked about more often? Even more puzzling is the fact that all of the "most under-rated coasters" threads on the net aren't dominated with people praising Powder Keg. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I was really impressed with this little launched bundle of craziness! Powder Keg is nothing but fun, Fun, FUN! Every aspect of this ride, from queue to brakes, is impeccably well themed, extremely well thought out, and just laugh-out-loud fun. The coaster itself has amazing air, great forces, an insane layout, and typically had me giggling like a 4th grader! I've ridden coasters almost three times the height of this one, that don't even come close to delivering the thrills, fun, or forces that Powder Keg does. One of the huge over-banked turns, as viewed from the train. The launch shoots out over this crazy air-filled hill, and the action doesn't stop until you hit the lift-hill which is about two-thirds of the way into the ride. The lift actually comes as a bit of a relief, because the ride is just i-n-s-a-n-e up to that point. The observation area is right by the launch track. This is brilliant because kids and parents get to wave to each other. There were many non-riding parents there with video cameras, who were filming their kids on the ride. It's a nice touch. This is how it all looks from outside the ride. The train is in the launch position, and is launched to about 50 MPH in just 2 or 3 seconds. It's a fun launch, accompanied by blasts of fire. Out of the station, the train rolls onto this transfer track. The whole thing slides up and lines up to the launch track. All around the track are more TNT barrels, and buildings. You're basically surrounded by black powder, and a recording warns you not to get too close...! Inside the station .. look for all of the TNT barrels. Where most parks would simply say "food and drink prohibited", SDC decides to take it a step further. Like I said above, this place is themed as well as the best Disney parks. The setting is that of a black powder warehouse, and the queue makes it genuinely feel like you're actually there. Of course it still all fits in to the 19th century setting of whole park. The roof of the queue house is dotted with debris from all of the near-by explosions. As an example of how complete the theming is, I present you here with a photo of some track that is present only to stop a roll-back. This track will probably never even be used, but SDC has incorporated it very well. If you look carefully you can easily see the transition from real to fake track, but most people see the whole thing and think it's all part of the ride. As with Wildfire, guests are lead over to Powder Keg under an innocent looking sign set deep in the woods.

Ozark Wildcat .. what a terrific ride. This coaster is like cottage cheese with pineapple chunks in! I know that GCI is not considered the coolest manufacturer by the enthusiast community, but their coasters really do appeal to me a great deal. I've been fortunate enough to ride 8 of these beauties, and I rate them all B or higher. I mean even B&M have had the occasional clunker! Ozark Wildcat was running smooth and fast, with terrific laterals and excellent air. The layout is perfect, and almost every turn does that awesome thing were it pops you out of the seat right at the apex. Delicious! OK .. I'll shut up now and get to the photos... Cameron. As a park guest, I am obliged to follow all signs and instructions... Every cute, little kitty deserves a hug! As you can see, the park didn't get all that busy even after dark. This was some of the best non-exclusive ride-time I've ever had. Once the sun went down, the ride started to pick up even more speed..! Plus some of my rides were illuminated by the firework show. Typical for GCI coasters, the ride crosses over an under itself a gazillion times. It totally rocks. It really seems like the layout changes every time you ride. It's as if someone scribbled on a piece of paper, and then said "build this!". Air, bank, laterals, drop .. repeat. Look at it!! I had been told "get to Celebration City before Silver Dollar City closes, and you'll have the place to yourself" ... best advice ever! Even with half empty trains, just 2 hours after opening, Wildcat was running extremely well. Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy! I could not get through this entrance quickly enough...!

So Sunday afternoon at about 4pm, we piled into our cars and headed down the road to Celebration City. I knew next to nothing about this park, so I was pleased to see that it wasn't trying to be a mini-SDC. CC is more like a county fair, with lots of flat rides, games, less luxurious theming; however it is extremely well done. There are many small parks that should use CC as a template, I really enjoyed it there .. more than I thought I would after parking the car. The highlight of CC is of course Ozark Wildcat .. but I'll get to that in the next post. Other highlights include not just the variety of flat rides, but also how well they're run... Cameron. However this is why I came to Celebration City. If we're going to be brutally honest I will admit that this was the main draw for me to come to Branson at all! More in the next post... Unfortunately the Ferris Wheel was closed, but I forgave it since it looked so amazing against the sunset. After our ride on Fireball, Mike didn't feel like spending too much time on Wildcat so he went to grab a bite to a bite to eat with his wife. I took the opportunity to return a few phone-calls. The atmosphere was terrific, with the setting sun, the rides, and all the happy people around. More if the minimal, yet delightful landscaping at Celebration City. In total contrast to the Double Shot story is the story that revolves around this thing. The first one I rode was at a county fair in Indiana last August. It was fun, but quite tame. This one at Celebration City is INSANE! This pulled such extreme forces that my teeth actually hurt after the ride! It totally knocked Mike out, but I took it for two more rides. None were as intense as that first ride, I guess I had just been right in the sweet-spot. The first Double Shot I rode is the one at Indiana Beach, and that is run in ultra-insane mode. While this means that I always have loads of fun on the Indy Beach Double Shot, it also means that every other Double Shot has let me down. Boy was I surprised by this one! Celebration City is now the second place I've found that runs their Double Shot in ultra-insane mode! Aside from the goofy turns, the ride is full of little hills like these which are lots of fun, and provide quite a bit of air. However this is where Jack Rabbit sort of fails .. these turns are quite wrong. I couldn't quite place it, but the car is thrown to the left before a right turn, and to the right before a left turn. I wonder if the banking is wrong? Jack Rabbit is the second coaster at Celebration City. In style this is very much like a Mad Mouse, although the layout is quite different. This is the first drop, which is a lot of fun. The highlight of Thunderbolt is this crazy dive, which is fast and forceful. Celebration City has three coasters, and Thunderbolt is the first one I rode. These are fun little rides, however the restraint really hurt me in a very .. umm .. personal area. The park doesn't come close to the beauty of SDC, but that's OK because it still does what it does extremely well. Real-life rockem-sockem robots! These are gas powered cages that people actually enter, and then punch the crap out of the other robot! It was a small up-charge, but looked so cool. Unfortunately I got distracted (Wildcat), and forgot to try them out. Inside the park, we're presented with a fairly typical "main street" area. This is home to many small food stands, and gift shops. Usually these areas are pretty tacky, however this was nicely done. The entrance to CC has a small giant-granite-ball. These things are so much fun! The ball weighs some insane amount, but it's supported on a jet of water. Yes, water! The fun is that you can spin the ball with your hands. (Note the faint reflection of the handsome, young photographer..)

Monday afternoon we ventured down into Marvel Cave. I knew very little about this before my visit, other than "don't miss the cave". Included free with park admission, this is a sixty minute journey, almost 500 feet underground, and covers many hundreds of steps. That's a lot of numbers! The cave is what started it all, being the first attraction at SDC - in fact SDC grew up all around it. It was an amazing tour, and I strongly recommend it to everyone who visits the park. It was really inspiring to be down there, and I can totally see how one could find religion after stumbling into a place like that alone. Even without the rides, this would make SDC worth the visit. The tour even ends with a cable tram ride back up to the surface; although I'd be hard-pressed to call it a credit! I must admit that I was torn about posting the pictures .. On one hand I want to show off what an experience the cave is, but sadly on the other hand the pictures don't even come close to capturing what it's like down there. Cameron. Several shafts like this are visible in the tour. They have all been formed by dripping water .. just try and wrap your mind around how long it takes water to carve something like this out of rock. Near the top of the 200 foot tall form. The stairs we climbed (call the huff-n-puff stairs) wound right up next to this - it was great. The 200 foot tall form stretches far up into the rocks. This is part of one of the largest known forms on the planet (almost 200 feet tall). Can you guess? This is called the "waterfall room". Note the water dripping down. I actually found the dank / darkness to be very comforting. Not sure what that says about me! The creepy form reminded me of a cross between Alien and the Borg. Looking back up the way we came. I can't emphasize enough how big this cavern is, one of the largest that is known. Apparently they have had full-size hot-air balloons flying in there. This huge form is at the bottom of the cathedral room. It's an all-natural form, and the lighting is superb. The first cavern is the "cathedral room", and it was breathtaking. Light filtered in from above, and lit up the mist inside, it was like a scene from Zelda! The tours depart in groups of 60. To enter the holding pen it's necessary to step through a doorway that's about 3 feet tall - this represents the smallest passageway that is encountered on the tour.

As I've already mentioned, Silver Dollar City is an awesome park. It's in a crazy-beautiful setting, and the theming is so good that it even challenges Disney. If that's not enough, there are some really great thrill-rides there too. Wildfire is a B&M looping coaster that opened in 2001. I remember seeing photos of this when it first opened, and thinking about how good it looked. Built on a hillside, this coaster features 5 inversions, a really fun layout, and a great first drop. I started each of my two days at SDC with several rides on Wildfire, and it was always a great way to start the day! I was a little worried at first, but thankfully my face did not constitute an obscene gesture! Bright!! I know a certain South Bend school teacher who would be chomping at the bit for such a hideous t-shirt... Wildfire would be seriously dull if it was sitting in some dank parking lot, however this is built on the side of a hill. The views are fantastic! Location really does have a huge affect on the quality of any ride; so even though Wildfire is far from the most intense coaster I've ever ridden, the location more than makes up for it. I love a good cobra-roll, and this one on Wildfire is smooth and fast. Probably not one of the most force-full cobra-rolls I've ridden, but the hill-side location more than makes up for it. This loop is the second inversion, and it pulls some nice positive Gs at the entrance/exit, with moderate hang-time at the top. The trees in the background make it look as if this loop is about 700 feet tall! Typical, ultra-comfortable sit down B&M trains. This was only the second sit-down B&M looping coaster I have ridden (the first being Kumba). A lot of theming is found in the queue. Theming! Theming! Theming! Wildfire is very well themed, and even something as simple as a height limit is given a fun twist. This is pretty much the only part of Wildfire that is visible from inside the park. There is an observation deck that really shows off the ride, but you have to go far out of your way to see it. The result is that you really don't get any sense of the layout until you're on the lift. Which is just fantastic! This sign marks the entrance to the Wildfire area. You can see that (like the rest of SDC) it's deep within the woods.

After an hour at the Arch, I was back in my car for the remaining three hour drive to Branson. Actually I stopped just short (in Springfield MO), as that's where my friend Mike was staying with his in-laws. We hung out there for a few hours, grilled some burgers and Brats, and generally had a nice relaxing evening. Sunday however, it was time for Silver Dollar City .. YAY! We were at SDC until about 3pm on Sunday, and then we were back on Monday. The park is beautiful, with trees, shade and fun everywhere you go. We spent two days here (Sunday and Monday - both from open until about 3pm). The rides are great, the food is great, and the Marvel Cave is .. well, words cannot describe it. I was really looking forward to SDC, and I was not at all disappointed by it. More parks (ie: Six Flags and Cedar Fair) need to visit places like this, and really shouldn't be shy about copying them outright. This is a handful of photos from around the park, I'll add photos of Wildfire, Powderkeg and the Swing in part 2 .. coming soon! Strawberries and ice-cream is one of the nicest ways to end a meal, and served as our dessert after lunch. The strawberries were fresh, and the vanilla ice-cream was of excellent quality. Why don't other parks offer stuff like this? At SFGAm the other day, I was forced to dine on Papa Johns pizza - Shaperio should go to prison for making people eat that slop! Everywhere you turn at SDC are these giant skillets full of fresh, delicious food. It's reasonably priced too .. What a welcome relief! SDC has a real steam engine, which means I just have to take a ride. I'm not normally someone who goes nuts for train rides (or the cheesy show you're always subjected to); however real steam engines are just amazing. The "impossible machine". Water falls on the small wheel (lower left in the photo), causing it to turn. As it turns it drives the big wheel up the top, which is what lifts the water to drive the small wheel. This is of course, impossible. The real draw to SDC (and Dollywood too) is the attention to detail, authenticity, and quality of the theming and all the arts/crafts. Here is a working steam-lathe, which is used to spin wooden baseball bats. This was a great machine to watch operating! Thunderation is a really fun Arrow mine-train. Curiously they have two cars on each train installed backwards, and that's where I rode first. I've never been a fan of backwards rides, and this continued that trend; in fact it even made me feel a little ill. However riding forwards is tremendous fun. A hint at the fun nature throughout the whole park... (Tough to see in the photo, but there is water flowing through the "filter".) Sitting on the center console of the swinging ship is a cup of water. When the cycle began everyone started to shout "but there's a cup of water on there", but the ride-ops didn't stop the ride. Believe it or not, not a single drop was spilled, nor did the cup move one inch. Notice the kids (with their back to the camera) are eying it suspiciously! No tricks either, after the ride the op let me pick up the cup and pour the water out. He then refilled it and but it back! The Regatta carriages run on what looks like steel coaster wheels. Credit?! I'd never ridden anything like the Regatta before, but it was terrific. I made sure to sit on the inside, and did my best to try and break all of Mike's ribs! The op looked at us and laughed when he buckled us in, and kept laughing each time we flew by him. I think Mike might have uttered some naughty words.. The Grand Exposition is the area of SDC with the most dense collection of rides (including a kiddy coaster which I didn't ride). The Disc-o however, was lots of fun. It is all exceptionally well done, keeping with the 19th century theme. We ate lunch at this awesome BBQ place, including these fresh cooked corn. MMmm, corn. A very wet looking rapids ride winds its way through the woods. I'm not a huge fan of getting drenched, so I didn't ride; but it really does look like a bloody good ride. Food is a well-know highlight at both SDC and Dollywood. I started off early with some fair-dinkum Kangaroo Jerky, strewth! (It's not a great photo, but the little white sticker on the bag actually says "Roo"!) Lots of people in period costumes walking by. This fireman is with his awesome dalmatian, named Buckets! Silver Dollar City, like Dollywood, is breathtakingly pretty. While most parks dumps down some plants between all the paths and concrete, SDC (and Dollywood) carefully place the paths between the trees. It's wonderful! The park began letting people in to the central "Town Square" area up to an hour before the park officially opened. While waiting, we're entertained with this awesome bluegrass band. It was the bluegrass and BBQ week, and the whole Town Square area was dotted with small wooden signs toting facts about the two subjects. This water clock is extremely cool. Located just inside the entrance, it is driven by water and actually tracks hours, months and years. There is no minute hand on the clock because the minute hand is a relatively recent invention. This is really a working clock too, with a mechanical speed governor and everything. Very impressive.. Yup, we're in the south! Although we saw a similar sign at ValleyFair, so I guess the "we're in the south" joke is not really valid anymore. Although I am Australian so I guess I can say "Yup, we're in America!". Welcome to Silver Dollar City! I'm really happy to be here..

I really faced a dilemma this year as I had two road trips tugging me in two completely opposite directions. Option 1 was a trip out east to hit Busch Gardens VA, SFGAdv, Knoebels, and Kennywood. I have never been to SFGAdv or Knoebels before (and I really, REALLY want to), but that would have been at least a week-long trip and my vacation time at work is already dangerously low. Option 2: A trip down to Branson (Missouri) to hit Silver Dollar City, Celebration City and then SFStl on the way home. I could do this trip in just four days (which means taking just two days off work), and all three parks would be new. Plus I just adore Dollywood, and so was anxious to visit SDC. I suppose that, as dilemmas go, things certainly could have been worse! Still, option 2 won; and on June 2nd I jumped in my car and headed south-west on I-55. It's about 9 hours from Chicago to Branson, which is a good drive; however I couldn't resist stopping at the St. Louis arch on the way down.. This is easily the largest PTR I've attempted, and the first in several parts. I'll try and space them out by a few days so not to overwhelm anyone: Part 1: St. Louis Arch and general Silver Dollar City photos. Part 2: Silver Dollar City rides Part 3: Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City Part 4: Celebration City Part 5: Six Flags St Louis One last look at the Arch. It's actually slightly eerie when you stand right next to it. It is so tall, but so minimal as well. Plus it was cloudy when I was there, and the clouds moving overhead made it seem like the whole arch was in motion. Looking south (and slightly west) towards the suburbs of St. Louis. It was a bit of a breezy day when I was there, and up top you can feel the Arch sway. My lovely little bundle of insanity looks like a match-box car from up here! (It's the silver car, second from the left) Looking west now, over downtown St. Louis. The area immediately surrounding the Arch (beyond the park) is really in decay, but the downtown itself looks pretty nice. From the top (630 feet up), the view is fantastic! I'm looking south/east into Illinois. To reach the top, you ride in these little carriages, which is like a ride in itself. No, this is not a toilet, but a small barrel into which 5 people are crammed. The barrel itself rotates as it heads up the Arch leg, always keeping the occupants level (relative to the ground). For those who've never been to the arch before, it is huge. I could see it poking through the trees for close to 20 miles before I arrived there. It's something I've been wanting to visit for years. Nerd alert! I saw this gem a mere 20 minutes into the drive (I'm in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood). You can just hear the skinny 14 year old kid (with thick glasses) begging his dad to get this plate: "PLEASE DAD?! It will be SO KEWL!!". Hah .. nerds are funny

Oh Shepp, there's no double standard. Look, if you jump up and down all the time screaming "I'm special! I'm special!", then people will treat you differently. Furthermore it's extremely annoying to have to listen to someone jumping up and down all the time screaming "I'm special! I'm special!", so people get annoyed and then treat you poorly. If you want people to treat you like a normal adult, then you're going to have to act like one. There are zillions of gay guys all over the world who just live their lives like everyone else, and don't complain of any double standards. You're going to have to face it, you're not special. Anyway, back to the topic (which I've enjoyed reading): I don't believe in the literal translation of Genesis, which means I don't believe in creationism. I don't have a problem with people who believe in creationism (or anything else), as long as they don't try and enforce those beliefs onto me; however I will happily discuss different beliefs with anyone until we're both blue in the face! Cameron.

Awesome video Erik, thanks for putting that together .. Aside from the subject matter, I really enjoyed the lack of music - nice to see something different. And SheiKra 2.0 looks fantastic .. I need to get back there. Those station gates are super sexy ..! Cameron. PS: Next time your there, please give it a big hug from me

Nice photos, Chuck. I was at Carowinds in 2004 and had a great time. Pity they're under the Cedar Fair umbrella now. I pretty much agree with you about Top Gun, which is one of my favorite Inverts, and certainly under-rated. The rest is pretty "meh", but the park on the whole was enjoyable (in 2004). Cameron.

Geeze Chuck .. Thanks for making me want to go back to Hersheypark, you jerk! Seriously, excellent report. Curiously I agree with your comments about pretty much all of the rides - including Great Bear, which surprised me with its intensity. Thanks for sharing! Cameron.

Thanks for all the comments - it really was a fun day. As for driving stick, there really wasn't much shifting involved .. in fact one guy was able to drive and it had been 6 years since he'd driven stick (and at that time he just spent about an hour driving his friend's car around a parking lot). We were in third gear by the time we left the pit lane, then fourth on the back straight, and we left it in fourth (the highest gear) the whole time. It was easy.. Besides, driving stick makes you a better driver in general - so it's even more incentive to learn. Cameron.

Hey Jeff, Awesome trip report, thanks for sharing. I can't believe how much you did in such a short time, but it looks like you had loads of fun. Pity about Indiana, the thing is that no-one has ever been able to give a reliable answer as to why the time zones are so screwed up there .. The whole state should just be central or eastern. Cameron.

Cedar Point, Cedar Point, Cedar Point .. This place is way over priced, average coasters, no atmosphere, and it's just plain ugly. I mean what sort of @$#%@# management company builds a park in such a awesome location, but then focuses all of your attention inside the park .. to gravel and concrete?! The only time you can see the water is on a few of the rides .. lame. Cedar Point has nothing unique to offer and there's just no reason to go there (except maybe for the Derby Racer!). Cameron.