Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[The Great Zo]

The captain of the duck boat has been indicted.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The captain of a tourist boat that sank in a southwest Missouri lake and killed 17 people, including nine members of one family, didn’t tell passengers to put on flotation devices or prepare them to abandon ship, even after waves crashed into the boat during a severe storm, according to an indictment released Thursday.

 

The federal indictment shows 51-year-old Kenneth Scott McKee faces 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty by a ship’s officer resulting in death. The duck boat, a refurbished amphibious vessel originally used by the military during World War II, sank during a storm in July .

 

McKee also is accused of failing to properly assess the weather before and after the boat went into Table Rock Lake near the tourist town of Branson, U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison said during a news conference in Springfield.

 

The prosecutor said he couldn’t release specifics about the investigation, but added: “This is the beginning, not the end, of our efforts in this matter.”

[CaptainUnknown]

^Lock him up.

 

On a different note, would Black Friday likely be the best time to purchase 2019 1-day tickets to the park?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^^ That's great news.

 

^ At this point, I'd say no. It could of course change, but so far I haven't heard anything about one day tickets being discounted, just season passes and in park merch:

 

https://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/Attractions/Shopping/After-Thanksgiving-Sale

[Dragonsfire123]

My wife and I are visiting sdc for the first time in a few weeks. We're going on a Wednesday and a Thursday later in December. How busy will these days be? What's the weather usually like, I know it will be cold but how cold. Are season passes for 2018 still available? I feel like it would be cheaper just to get season passes for the 2 days.

[DavidB]

The best kind of question....does anyone with experience with the park have a prediction on crowd levels today? Im thinking of making a spontaneous trip with how nice the weather is. If this is historically a busy day due to thd holiday, coupling that with the nice weather may not make it worth the 3.5 hour drive though?

[monotone]

The best kind of question....does anyone with experience with the park have a prediction on crowd levels today? Im thinking of making a spontaneous trip with how nice the weather is. If this is historically a busy day due to thd holiday, coupling that with the nice weather may not make it worth the 3.5 hour drive though?

 

It will be a nightmare. I highly recommend not going.

 

Last Saturday had 25k people. It was awful.

[Shavethewhales]

Oh man, I hope you didn't try to make the trip today DavidB. Sounds like it was a mad-house today. They closed the gates due to crowds. Probably another new attendance record.

 

The park has gotten too popular for it's own good at this point during Christmas. I'm honestly too scared to go unless I know it will be bad weather and the crowds will be lighter.

 

Shows why the are rebuilding whole sections of the park. Also why they are experimenting with different season pass concepts that would exclude Christmas (for a lower price). There are still many parts of the year when the park is a ghost town, but as soon as November hits it's like half the country descends on the place.

[DavidB]

Fortunately I decided not to take the chance figuring it may be really crowded, and I wasn't feeling too great in the first place. Good for the park that they are doing booming business though!

[sdcfan88]

Yeah its being said crowds were peaked out at 35,000 with people parking on the side of Indian Point and 76.

 

Also the gutting/demo of the Lost River and surrounding areas of the park appears to have begun.

[IntaminLove]

I've got some time off in December and was thinking about going to Silver Dollar City for the first time. I'm only interested in riding the coasters and some flats. I would drive from Chicago so this trip would depend on the weather. Is it worth it to go for one day or should I hold off until next season?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I've got some time off in December and was thinking about going to Silver Dollar City for the first time. I'm only interested in riding the coasters and some flats. I would drive from Chicago so this trip would depend on the weather. Is it worth it to go for one day or should I hold off until next season?

My advice would be to have an open mind about this park. It's more like Knott's or Disneyland than it is like Six Flags. The two best things here are the cave tour and cinnamon bread. If you just ride coasters, you're missing the point.

 

That said, if you do come, look for a day with a high temperature. They start closing rides at 44°F, so if the high is around there, hold off. Weather is weird here and we can have a high in the 30s one day and in the 60s the next.

[IntaminLove]

Thanks for your response! I know there is more to the park than just coasters, which also excites me. I figured I should make the rides a priority since I would only go for a day, shorter hours, unknown crowd size and it could be a while before I would go back. If things work out in my favor then I would try to experience as much of the park offerings as possible. I'll see if I can get down there this weekend since the weather looks promising.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Ok cool. Saturday has extended hours too, so if you can get there right at 11 and get yourself a Trailblazer Pass, that'll be the way to go. Crowds will be HUGE with weather that good on a weekend. Seriously, we get more people during Christmas than we do in the summer.

[sdcfan88]

Word has it that Lost River was officially Demo'd over the past couple days. Anyone got pics to confirm?

[DoinItForTheFame]

Word has it that Lost River was officially Demo'd over the past couple days. Anyone got pics to confirm?

 

 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

 

I truly do hope this isn't the case. We love that ride, and it is such a huge hit with the GP as well! I'll be super shocked if it really did get removed!

 

What would they even replace it with?!

[tinaalsgirl]

The rumors are that Lost River is getting replaced with a ride similar to Infinity Falls.... So, it'll still be a river raft ride.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

When we went on the last day of the Cowboy Festival, our bus driver announced that Lost River would be closing that day, and would be rebuilt and reopen for the 2020 season. So the park has confirmed it will be replaced with a new rapids ride. The rumour is that it will be similar to Infinity Falls.

 

So for all you speculators, don't expect a new coaster until 2022 at the earliest.

Edited December 9, 2018 by ytterbiumanalyst

[DoinItForTheFame]

Ahhhhhhhh, well... In that case I'm all for it! I do love Lost River, but if they are replacing it with a similar or better ride then awesome!!

[Shavethewhales]

At the ACE Coaster Christmas event, park manager Brad Thomas stated that they would announce this, and many other interesting things for the 60th anniversary (2020) throughout next year. I think the fact that this is a 60th anniversary addition bodes well. Riverblast was the 50th anniversary addition, and although not many people are in love with the ride itself, you can't deny that they put a lot of detail and care into it.

[sdcfan88]

At the ACE Coaster Christmas event, park manager Brad Thomas stated that they would announce this, and many other interesting things for the 60th anniversary (2020) throughout next year. I think the fact that this is a 60th anniversary addition bodes well. Riverblast was the 50th anniversary addition, and although not many people are in love with the ride itself, you can't deny that they put a lot of detail and care into it.

 

Agreed while I consider RiverBlast as meh. It is the most well themed of their "modern" rides.

[sdcfan88]

So it was no joke... It is GONE. Came across these photos tonight and the only thing I could say was...

 

Whoa...

https://www.midwestinfoguide.com/2018/12/riverfront-lost-river-sdc.html

 

 

 

 

 

The entire site has been walled off as well.

 

 

[coasterbill]

When we went on the last day of the Cowboy Festival, our bus driver announced that Lost River would be closing that day, and would be rebuilt and reopen for the 2020 season. So the park has confirmed it will be replaced with a new rapids ride. The rumour is that it will be similar to Infinity Falls.

 

I don't get it but... okay.

[Shavethewhales]

^Lost River had a number of issues. It was actually a historical ride as one of the first, maybe THE first modern rapids ride. It was built back in 84/85 and was Intamin's prototype, or so I've been told. Not only was the channel old and leaky, but it lacked certain safety features with the loading setup since you loaded the boats in the water with other boats crashing into the back of the lineup.

 

It was such a popular ride though, there's no way they could just get rid of it. Hopefully they theme the heck out of it and set the standard for any other ride replacements to come.

[Canobie Coaster]

I found Lost River to be one of the better river rapids rides out there. It definitely hit the spot on a hot day.

[sdcfan88]

I do hope the key word IS "rebuilt". Not replaced. Keep the name and theme and expand on themeing the heck out of it. (as Shave mentioned above) Make the layout larger and keep elements such as the cave finale and the big "first drop" off the lift. Maybe shrink the lake size and add a bit of the layout out there.

 

I was really surprised this happened, I expected Fire In The Hole, American Plunge, or Flooded Mine to go first as they apparently have their own aging and maintenance issues.

 

Also note with the loss of this (and Waterboggen a few years ago) expect the summer ride lines for American Plunge and River Blast to be atrocious in 2019. lol