Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[John Peck]

Thank you again everyone

[Chiselphane]

Watched the POV of new Fire in the Hole on the main page here.  I think they did a great job of keeping the original spirit of the ride but with some modern elements.  I think some might complain they didn't change enough and I can kind of see that, but keeping it simple is probably better for them in the long run.    It seems a shorter ride now?  Might just be perception though.

On a more personal level I'm super happy to see they kept the painting at the end of the ride  of the guy with his foot sticking out, my kids always love trying to reach up and grab his foot as they pass under

[teacherkim]

So, we got on the new FITH yesterday and I thought it was great. Kept all of the original storyline but with updated audio/visual and of course all new set pieces. The differences are slight but only enhance the experience. For those worried about screens instead of physical sets. Don't, 99% are physical sets with just a few discreet, well placed screens. Curious to see if RMC branches out with more of this sort of thing since it was obviously out of their normal wheelhouse. 

Unfortunately, I really was counting on some more rides to be able to see everything but that didn't happen. After first ride of the day we were supposed to get an hour of ert on it at park close but it went down late in the day and had to be evac'd so never got the extra rides. The park very graciously subbed Outlaw Run for an hour of ert and everyone was pretty happy about that. Anyone who complains about this redo in any way is clearly just and angry old man on the inside, yelling at clouds.

As for the rest of the park. Wildfire had apparently been struck by lightening on Friday and the computer kept seeing a third ghost train and doing e-stops. They did get it up and running in the late afternoon but had to go down to one train ops to make that happen. Thunderation was down all day, no idea why. Powder keg and TT both had a little down time but got up and going fairly quickly. 

Good news, every coaster that was operational was using 2 trains, with the exception of course of Wildfire.

[teacherkim]

Oh yeah and we were given some samples from the new pretzel place. We got hot dogs wrapped in pretzel (like pigs in a blanket) and some little dollar brisket sandwiches, both were quite yummy. 

[DoinItForTheFame]

On 4/28/2024 at 1:08 PM, teacherkim said:

.... After first ride of the day we were supposed to get an hour of ert on it at park close but it went down late in the day and had to be evac'd so never got the extra rides....

Gosh, I'd be so curious to know what caused the downtime, and the evac. It seems like such a simple concept, you wouldn't think there would be a lot that could "go wrong" to cause downtime extreme enough to warrant an evac. - Then again... It's an RMC... soooooo... 

On 4/28/2024 at 1:11 PM, teacherkim said:

Oh yeah and we were given some samples from the new pretzel place. We got hot dogs wrapped in pretzel (like pigs in a blanket) and some little dollar brisket sandwiches, both were quite yummy. 

Okay, now the pretzel wrapped hotdogs sound AMAZING!!! I'll for sure be getting some when we are there next!

[teacherkim]

3 hours ago, DoinItForTheFame said:

Gosh, I'd be so curious to know what caused the downtime, and the evac. It seems like such a simple concept, you wouldn't think there would be a lot that could "go wrong" to cause downtime extreme enough to warrant an evac. - Then again... It's an RMC... soooooo... 

Dunno, but I talked to one of the FITH ride ops who was hanging around during ert, waiting for her boyfriend who was an OR ride op annnd she didn't know the exact nature of the issue (or she wasn't saying) but did say, and this is a verbatim quote "it's big time dead"  So, let the speculation begin, lol!! 

[DoinItForTheFame]

4 hours ago, teacherkim said:

…. "it's big time dead" … 

So it’s like my hopes and dreams… got it.

[Nrthwnd]

"it's big time dead" - great catch phrase.

[mwg]

Silver Dollar City is set to make a major announcement on October 17th. 

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/silver-dollar-city-teases-enormous-expansion/

[teacherkim]

On 9/26/2024 at 12:44 PM, mwg said:

Silver Dollar City is set to make a major announcement on October 17th. 

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/silver-dollar-city-teases-enormous-expansion/

About time. They bought that land over two years ago and Brad Thomas was talking in a presentation in Nov 2022 both about the amount of land they purchased and how there were plans for improvements on the entrance road and parking.......although he was very cagey about whether or not those two things were connected. Guess we will find out in a couple weeks. I am thinking new entrance is a possibility as the park outgrew the old one a long time ago, maybe along with plans for an on site hotel. Now I'll wait for the announcement to see how wrong I am.

[TrippinBillie]

My brother and I went this past Monday, 9/30, as we were down there for the weekend for a golf trip and decided to hit up SDC before headed back home to STL.

When I tell you we had the place to ourselves, I'm not exaggerating at all!  If it weren't for the ride ops making us go around, we would've had even more rides on all the coasters.  The most we waited was 1 train for front row of Wildfire, which was running 1 train.  I think we totaled 9ish laps on Time Traveler (all back and front rows), 2 laps on Mystic River and they let us stay on (got way soaked both times early in the day), 7 laps on Outlaw Run (first drop in the back seat should be illegal) 6 laps on Powder Keg (all in front and back - that back row on the first launch SLAPS and awesome airtime hill), 5 laps on Wildfire- (front edges and back edges) and 4 laps on TNT (back seat is ROUGH).

Haven't been to the park since 2002 or so...?  I was REALLY impressed.  Back in High School, I wasn't a dad of 3 and paid close attention to cleanliness, theming, staff friendliness and such.  SDC really has it together.  We had no idea how crowds would be, but to not have to use Trailblazer and spur the extra cash and literally lap coasters and explore every avenue and non-coaster ride multiple times within a 5 hour window was a DREAM.  I wanted to call out FITH separate.  We only rode twice, despite not having a wait.  I thought it was great and a well done tribute to the original.  However, neither of us were longing to go back and do it more times.  It's a great family ride and impressive presentation.  Seems like a lot comes at you in a short amount of time.  Found it hard to "follow", but I was also familiar with it.  The new sets and blends of screens are great.  It makes me think they're probably doing this over in Dollywood, given the recent plans leaked for a building 3x the size of FITH.  You'd assume a similar ride, on a bigger scale in Wildwood.  Not sure what the theme would be, but hopefully it's RMC.  Only downside is we saw the ride go down 3-4 times in the day.  So hopefully it's reliable enough.

If you're looking to go on a day where you can rip thru the park and enjoy everything with no waits, fall time on a Monday is the way to go!  I guess kids are in school and people come more on Thursday/Friday for long weekends.  

EDIT* - What's everyone think for their next addition?  They spent a lot of money on the past 2 investments for families (FITH, Mystic River Falls).  Seems they're due for a major thrill coaster in the next couple years.  With them having a couple launch coasters already, wonder if they'll look to do something like a suspended thrill coaster from Vekoma since they got in with them for BBM at DW....?

[prozach626]

I'd rather they get another flat or two.

Sounds like you had a great trip.

[KBrylczyk]

SDC seriously sent out a message about an hour ago about a GIGAntic announcement coming at 3:30.  I think they're trolling.

[TEDodd]

Silver Dollar City has announced a $500 million future development plan, starting with a brand new resort!

https://www.silverdollarcity.com/press/resort-announcement/

Silver Dollar City, America’s #1 Theme Park, today announced plans to invest half a billion dollars over the next decade on the construction of new family adventures, including the development of 1,200 acres adjacent to the Ozark Mountain theme park. The strategic plan represents the largest investment in the company’s 65-year history and begins with the debut of the Silver Dollar City Resort, the first theme park resort in America’s Heartland.

“This is more than just growth—it’s a new era.” said Silver Dollar City Parks & Resorts President, Brad Thomas. “Over the next decade, we will mindfully transform 1,200 acres into an authentic, only-in-the-Ozarks destination starting with our first resort. The new resort will combine Silver Dollar City’s spirit of playfulness, discovery, craftsmanship and exploration with all that makes The Heart of the Ozarks so special.”

Already under construction and set to open late 2026, the 262-room resort will feature never-before-seen vistas of the Ozark Mountains and Table Rock Lake, along with unparalleled access to Silver Dollar City theme park. The new resort will also be located just a stone’s throw from the company’s other family attractions, including White Water water park, Showboat dinner cruises, Pink Jeep Adventure Tours and the Silver Dollar City Campground.

“This investment showcases Silver Dollar City’s commitment to tourism and economic growth in the Ozarks and for the State of Missouri.” said Missouri Governor Mike Parson. “We are excited to see this project bring thousands of new jobs and millions of new visitors to our great state.”

Additional resort details will be provided in the coming months regarding guest amenities, park privileges, room types, and group meeting spaces. For more information, visit silverdollarcity.com/resort.

Edited October 18, 2024 by A.J.
Added official press release information

[prozach626]

Looks really cool. I'll take that over a giga.

[teacherkim]

Went to Coaster Christmas on 11/9 after skipping last year in a fit of annoyance over the snowstorm the year before. We got very lucky with the weather, 50's and 60's, the rain mostly stayed away other than some very light drizzle and moderate fog. The fog actually enhanced the whole experience as it was almost as good as a night ride and since it made the Christmas lights more visible during the day which gave the whole thing a cozy atmosphere.

During the traditional cinnamon roll and coffee/hot chocolate with a presentation Brad Thomas went back over all the details of the hotel. Nothing more that what we already knew other than to state that prices would probably be in the same neighborhood as the DreamMore and that they basically levelled off the top of a mountain to create the space for the hotel. For those that know the area the park now owns land that goes all the way from the present park to the Dana's BBQ in Branson West. In other words they have a lot of room to work with. Of course people were trying to trip him up into revealing more information on future projects and of course that did not work, although it got entertaining and he was good natured about it. He did emphasize that the hotel was simply phase 1 of a planned decade of growth and investment and that both the park and undeveloped land would benefit from the investment. Later I talked to a local business leader that said it was basically an open secret that a new water park will be happening. This makes total sense since they do not even own the land that the current water park is on and that would allow them to entice people to stay at the new hotel and spend the bulk of their time in a SDC bubble. We then had ert on FITH and I was grateful to get some more rides on it as there really is a whole lot to take in. As for other rides during the day TT had a lot of down time on Sat, I really don't think it likes the misty dripping weather. We did get a ride in on it during one of the small up times but it was running great on Sunday. Wildfire ran like a champ both days and with two trains and it's high capacity we never waited more than 10-15 min and that was because we did front row. Diving into the fog on the first hill was amazing. Powder Keg had the longest line so we hit that first thing after open on Sunday and caught it with only about a 20 min wait. OR only had one train but it was either a walk on or station wait most of both days. I just don't think a lot of people make it all the way back there, lol. It was also a lot of fun in the fog and even better after dark in the fog. 

They opened up the culinary school building across from Heritage Gold Hall for the event attendees for about 3 hours in the afternoon with apple dumplings, cinnamon ice cream, hot chocolate, cider, wassail and a deck that overlooked TT. Nice touch.

Short but colorful Christmas Parade, but I still say that the face of the candy cane makes it look like the most stoned thing I have ever scene!

[teacherkim]

I mean look at the face on this thing. High as a kite! Kills me every time 

 

[prozach626]

I don't think I've ever waited for more than a few trains on Outlaw Run. It's wild.

[teacherkim]

 

On 11/13/2024 at 10:55 AM, prozach626 said:

I don't think I've ever waited for more than a few trains on Outlaw Run. It's wild.

And on one of the very few points we can probably agree on , same for me. The park gave us the one time skip the line on 8 rides thingy and we never even used the one for Outlaw Run. I just don't think a lot of the gp ever make it all the way back there and a lot of SDC visitors probably have no idea what an RMC is or why they should care. It is a park that gets a lot of people that just come for shows, shops, food and "just walking around".  I recently talked to a young student on a sub job that goes several times a year with her family to meet up with Grandparents that live in northern AR and she literally had no idea what I was talking about when I described Outlaw Run, I mean to be fair she is in 5th grade, but she knew what some of the other coasters were. Btw, her Grandma will ride only one ride at SDC, thought for sure it would be the train but nope........Flooded Mine, lol.

I am curious, IF they put in a new entrance for resort guests on that side of the park whether or not it will affect traffic back there or not.

[jedimaster1227]

Silver Dollar City has sent us a press release announcing a new festival called Spring Exposition, which will run from April 10th through May 12th, 2025.

Step into spring and step back to simpler times during Silver Dollar City’s new Spring Exposition, April 10 through May 12. The festival is a springtime celebration of authentic American food, music and culture with fun for the whole family.

The new Spring Exposition introduces The Plaza, a brand-new area that doubles the size of the Grand Exposition featuring traditional hoedowns, hands-on gardening demonstrations from master gardeners with the world-famous Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, food & crafts vendors and a splash pad for family-friendly fun. Guests can also look up to enjoy the new Parasol Sky, a vibrant umbrella canopy stretching 2 stories above Valley Road. 

The best in regional flavors and sounds from across America take center stage at the new Fest House, where Cajun, Deep South and Upper Midwest traditions create a unique dining and music experience. For more festival entertainment catch the ragtime piano showman at the Gazebo or stomp your feet down at the Opera House for the Down-Home Clogging Jamboree, featuring dancers from America’s Got Talent! 

Silver Dollar City is famous for food, and the new Spring Exposition is no exception, with a smorgasbord of cravings from spring favorites honey blueberry lemonade, strawberry shortcake and a traditional Ozarkian fish fry to regional flavors in the Fest House like jambalaya pasta, shrimp po’boys, fried cheese curds and so much more! Guests can eat their way through the festival with the fan-favorite Tasting Passport. 

Beyond festival flavors, Silver Dollar City offers one-of-a kind rides including the nostalgic Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train to the record-setting Time Traveler® and the best new family coaster— Fire In The Hole®, there’s something for every thrill level. 

Spring Exposition is just the beginning of an unforgettable year at Silver Dollar City celebrating its 65th anniversary with a season of savings, including "2 Days for the Price of 1" this summer, exclusive offers for military, teachers, nurses and first responders, flash sales, and Season Pass Holder perks. 

For tickets, festival details and special offers, visit silverdollarcity.com or download the Silver Dollar City App. 

[prozach626]

Silver Dollar City looked great last weekend during our short Branson trip to celebrate my daughter's fifth birthday.

At the park, we started off with Fire In the Hole. The ride feels like modernized a copy of the old ride, which I consider a good thing. It was received with, "I'm never ever riding that ride again until I die." wtf ok

I rode Outlaw Run by myself. It still kicks ass as my favorite RMC. It's borderline getting rough, but not to the level of real discomfort. 

I also grabbed a ride on Wild Fire near the end of the day, because it was walk-on. I'm always surprised by the airtime on the first drop. It's very smooth for its age. The observation deck was great for the family.

When given the choice between "log flume" or "the bumpy kid's coaster" in exchange for a neurotoxin Dip-N-Dots reward, the "bumpy kids coaster" surprisingly won out. Earlier in the day it had the random walk-by rating of "That Holiday World roller coaster is TRASH!" (where does she get this from?)

All in all, the Grand Exposition Coaster was much more suited for my daughter now than it was when she was three. At that time it received the rating of "I'm never ever ever riding that ride again." I think she actually had fun, which made me optimistic for the future. It's hard to tell.

The Marvel Cave tour was a nice challenge for the kid. Caves make me uncomfortable. In my opinion, the tour guide took way too long incorporating the cave's history with story telling. We weren't the only ones in the crowd who looked bored with the five minute explanation of the original explorers throwing rocks into the deeper part of the cave that led to a bat shit filled pit. Like legit, dude went over the "He threw a rock and heard no response" reenactment about five times. I have a feeling the drawn out stories were to give the growingly restless crowd a break from the 600, but I don't remember the guides taking that long. I wish the extended story lengths would have instead just contained additional history, since the younger kids didn't seem to give a shit about the dramatization, anyway. Thankfully, the tram back to the top worked, because the lady gasping for air and breathing on my neck behind me was about to die.

The train was great. The experience near the back half was a lot different with the Fire In the Hole area added. The robbery show was good. I feel like it got longer. Again, at one point I was wondering when it was going to wrap up, but the actors took extra time to interact with every row, which was worth it for all the kids. Staff did a great job of filling the train to make sure almost everyone in line got on.

Flooded Mine is a great ride for kids. A lot of the effects weren't working, but the scoring was spot on and it's still a lot of fun. The gun accuracy is better than most considering this ride is old school.

There were three animals out in the petting zoo. lol

We originally made the mistake of getting in line for the BBQ place near the raft ride. (As I have gotten older, I really don't give two shits about most ride names anymore if you can't tell.) We got out of line when it seriously didn't move for the five minutes we were in it. I didn't understand the mistake of trying to grab lunch during prime time until I had a kid. Avoiding excessive hunger is a big part of preventing a meltdown, so the urgency of getting lunch increases. The quick-serve food stand pretzel nearby was decent and they had a fruit cup, which was nice.

We later made it to the BBQ place when it had almost no line. The pulled turkey was ok, and the slaw was surprisingly not loaded with sugar. The pulled pork my wife had didn't taste like typical wanna-be barbeque crockpot meat. It's nice to have a healthy(er) choices for meat and vegetables.

I'm not going to elaborate further on the kid and family rides we went on. Our experiences on all of them were great. The park was clean and the staff was friendly. I love how shaded the park is. It's a nice place to take it slow and enjoy the atmosphere. 

Does anyone know what they're building near the north side of the park? There was a lot of land clearing. It may be just the deconstruction of Fire In the Hole version 1.

As far as Branson in general, we did the Runaway Mountain Coaster a few times. Two of the three times I went at a slower pace with my daughter and let her tell me when to slow down and speed up. If your kid is still afraid of roller coasters, this is a nice way to break them in at the pace you choose.

I went by myself on one of the rides. There are a lot of small double down airtime hops in the layout and it cooks through the helix sections. Some of the areas seem to jut out at least fifty feet or so from the hill, with the optics of overlooking the valley making it seem much higher than that.

For those interested in hiking, there's a nice waterfall hike nearby. Hiking is my daughter's jam, and this one doesn't have a lot of steep climbs. It's good for young kids. It takes a couple 2-3 hours if you stop to explore. If you go without kids, you can probably knock it out in a little over an hour.

We chose to stay at a one room suite with a pullout, kitchenette, and porch at Hyatt's Timber Ridge. If you're looking for a well maintained property, I recommend it. There are activities at night for families.

The resort has an indoor/outdoor pool that was unfortunately unavailable due to storm damage repair. The fitness center is really nice, but I chose to go the grueling route of steep elevation changing laps around the property, which was well worth it for being scenic and quiet in the early morning. Constants in Branson/SDC are that the gyms and running trails are rarely occupied... (Honorable mention to Holiday World area.)

If you're in the area, I HIGHLY recommend Mr. Gilbertis pizza across the dam in Hollister. The cast iron Chicago style pizza seriously rivals Lou Malnati's. 

Cheers.