Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[WildStangAlex]

While I love the last row on Outlaw Run, I do prefer the front for several consecutive rides, as the back, while completely smooth, is very wild, and there is a crazy amount of hang time in the second barrel roll. I would rate the coaster as a 10/10, and the park as a 10/10. Simply put, Silver Dollar City is one of the best theme parks in this country.

[robbalvey]

On another note they had 6 ride ops on the platform checking lap bars, and they were not in any hurry when checking them either. We asked one of the ops if it was because of the NTAG incident, and he confirmed that it was.

First off, Silver Dollar City has ALWAYS had a lot of ride ops on their loading docks. Not sure I've ever seen a ride with less than four. I actually doubt their operations had anything to do with the accident.

 

Secondly, I personally think it's totally inappropriate to be asking some random ride operator if their ride operations have changed based on an accident at some other park owned by some other company. That ride op is not actually in any authority to tell you one way or the other, and you probably put him on the spot to answer a question he knew little about while he was trying to do his job.

 

Moral of the story - Don't worry about a parks operations and why are they are doing certain things ESPECIALLY if your question relates to a tragic accident someplace else.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

On another note they had 6 ride ops on the platform checking lap bars, and they were not in any hurry when checking them either. We asked one of the ops if it was because of the NTAG incident, and he confirmed that it was.

First off, Silver Dollar City has ALWAYS had a lot of ride ops on their loading docks. Not sure I've ever seen a ride with less than four. I actually doubt their operations had anything to do with the accident.

SDC goes above and beyond in a lot of ways, and safety is one of them. They want to be absolutely sure nothing will happen to their guests--and it's not a kneejerk reaction to Texas Giant, either. Really, it goes back to the Fire in the Hole accident in 1980, when a ride operator accidentally switched the train onto a maintenance track and killed a guest. That was really a wakeup call to them, and from then on, they have been super cautious with all of their rides. Despite this insistence on double-checking everything, they still manage to have some of the most consistently fast operations I've seen. I've been going to SDC for about 25 years now, and it's always been like this. I was there the weekend before the NTAG accident, and I was there a couple weeks later. Nothing changed. Oh, and I find Outlaw Run's new restraints actually more comfortable than the original ones. Good move there.

[CPmillenia94]

What exactly makes them more comfortable now? What changed?

[Woodie Warrior]

This weekend was my first uncomfortable ride on Outlaw Run. My thighs kept being slammed into the restraints, and I can't tell if th restraint was too tight or too loose. My previous rides were before these "changes".

 

I think I just had one bad ride, and I'll make up my mind after I ride again.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

What exactly makes them more comfortable now? What changed?

The old ones had a sort of metal band that was curved around your shins, and otherwise straight across. Sort of like eyeglass frames. The new ones have a padded bar straight across. Big improvement.

[WildStangAlex]

It was a padded bar when I was there in May...

[therick311]

On another note they had 6 ride ops on the platform checking lap bars, and they were not in any hurry when checking them either. We asked one of the ops if it was because of the NTAG incident, and he confirmed that it was.

First off, Silver Dollar City has ALWAYS had a lot of ride ops on their loading docks. Not sure I've ever seen a ride with less than four. I actually doubt their operations had anything to do with the accident.

SDC goes above and beyond in a lot of ways, and safety is one of them. They want to be absolutely sure nothing will happen to their guests--and it's not a kneejerk reaction to Texas Giant, either. Really, it goes back to the Fire in the Hole accident in 1980, when a ride operator accidentally switched the train onto a maintenance track and killed a guest. That was really a wakeup call to them, and from then on, they have been super cautious with all of their rides. Despite this insistence on double-checking everything, they still manage to have some of the most consistently fast operations I've seen. I've been going to SDC for about 25 years now, and it's always been like this. I was there the weekend before the NTAG accident, and I was there a couple weeks later. Nothing changed. Oh, and I find Outlaw Run's new restraints actually more comfortable than the original ones. Good move there.

 

We went back to the park on Sunday, and since we talked about it, and I had posted about it on Saturday, we paid extra attention. This is what we saw.

 

There were 4 ops checking lap bars. They were checking them slowly and deliberately. They were being shadowed by what I assume was a manager (person in a SDC polo, not in costume). This person who was not in costume would literally walk behind the ops and watch everything they did. We saw this every time we rode the ride on both Saturday and Sunday.

 

Now, I will say that this past weekend was the only time I have been to the park this year. So, I don't know what the loading process was like at any other time this season. This is simply what I saw this last weekend. It is possible that what I saw was an anomaly.

 

I do agree that SDC does some other safety conscious things on their rides that other parks don't do, and it doesn't normally slow things down. However, things at OR this last weekend were noticeably slow.

[Mrlittle]

I like Outlaw Run best in the front seat, too, especially since it has the right kind of trains to help maximize the view. Silver Dollar City is easily a top-10 park for me, and I'll now say they win in the customer service and friendliness realm. The uniqueness, creativity and attention to detail of the place is hard to beat as well.

 

I was very happy we decided to use our front of the line pass for the front seat. What a ride it was indeed in the front. Honestly though, I just love riding the coaster. I can't wait to get back to SDC (also a top park on my list)

[therick311]

Trip report time!

 

My wife and I headed down to Branson for a Labor Day weekend at Silver Dollar City. We were very excited to finally experience Outlaw Run, as well as our old park favorite Powder Keg!

 

Overall:

 

SDC is a very well rounded park. Between the extreme coasters, family rides, shows, shops, craftsmen, and cave tour, they really do have something for everyone. The park is well shaded, which was nice during the heat of the day, and the staff was very friendly. The park is also quite hilly, so bring your walking shoes.

 

I tend to favor more thrill oriented parks, and for this reason I don’t rate SDC as high as say Cedar Point. However, we did have a wonderfully fun weekend of rides, shopping, and generally just acting like the children that we are.

 

Food:

 

The food at SDC is decent and reasonably priced. By decent, I mean really good compared to normal theme park food, and average compared to most restaurants. The standout meal we had was at Crossroads Pizza. We tried both of the calzones, and while they were pretty greasy, they were also tasty. Of course, no trip to SDC would be complete without cinnamon bread! Also the Outlaw Run flavor ice cream was quite good.

 

Attractions:

 

Grandfather’s Mansion - This is an interesting tilt/fun house walk thru. It is worth a look, however, be careful if you have motion sickness issues. I am normally ok if I stay away from spinning rides. It didn’t make me barf, but the tilted rooms did make me feel dizzy.

 

Marvel Cave - This is what the entire theme park was originally built around. We took the Lantern Light Tour, and it was excellent! The tour lasts 90 minutes and the group navigates the cave entirely by lantern light. You also get to see some areas of the cave you don’t see on the normal tour. I highly recommend this!

 

Rides:

 

Flooded Mine - This is a fun shooting boat ride.

 

Train - This is one of the best train rides around. The conductors are funny, and the show is as well. A great way to break up a day of coasters!

 

Fire in the Hole - You can’t go to SDC and not ride Fire in the Hole. Yes, it’s dated, but it’s so much fun! Plus, it is based on a (mostly) true story. It also takes me back to when I was a little kid and first visited SDC.

 

Thunderation - This is a surprisingly good Arrow mine train. I love the big helix, and if you sit in the back there is even some mild floater air.

 

Wildfire - I really like this ride. It’s a fun B&M looper with decent forces. I also love the trains. Since your feet are off the floor and the OTSRs don’t staple you, the airtime in the last row on the first drop is incredible. While Powder Keg and Outlaw Run have much more airtime overall, this drop is the best individual airtime moment in the park!

 

Powder Keg - This ride is actually tied as my favorite in the park. The launch is great, and there is plenty of airtime to go around. I also like the lap bars better than the ones on Outlaw Run. They didn’t staple me as much as OR, so the airtime was much more floaty. The lift hill does kill the pacing toward the end, but it’s still a great ride!

 

Outlaw Run - This is my other co-favorite ride of the park. This thing is fast, has airtime all around, and is just generally a wild and crazy ride. What I didn’t like was the inversions. The 153 was meh. It wasn’t bad. It just didn’t really do anything for me. The barrel rolls, on the other hand, I didn’t care for. I don’t normally mind hang time, but going through the barrel rolls felt like rolling around in a dryer. I felt my weight slowly shift from the bottom of the seat, to the side of the seat, to the lap bar, to the other side of the seat, back to the bottom of the seat, and then all over again. It just felt awkward. Still, this ride is a crazy good time!

 

Other Branson recommendations:

 

If you are headed to SDC, or just Branson in general, I recommend the following.

 

Deer Run Motel - This is where we stayed this weekend. It is just down the road from SDC. They have a shuttle to and from the park, but we chose to drive so we wouldn’t be locked into the shuttle times. Because this hotel is actually past the park, when driving from downtown Branson, traffic was a breeze. We didn’t have to sit and wait in the normal ridiculous SDC traffic. The motel itself was nice. It was nothing special, but it was clean and comfortable. It is family owned and the staff were extremely nice. Breakfast left a little to be desired, but we didn’t mind since we knew we would be snacking all day at the park. The rates are also very cheap.

 

Uptown Cafe - We decided to go out of the park for dinner on Sunday. We landed at Uptown Cafe. It is a retro diner style restaurant, similar to Steak n Shake. However, Uptown Cafe beats the pants off of Steak n Shake. The food was delicious. I had a bacon cheeseburger, and you could tell the beef was fresh and the thick cut bacon was amazing. My wife finished her chicken sandwich before I finished my burger. This never happens! The only downside is that it is in the middle of the crazy tourist area of branson. It is very near the Titanic museum, and the Ripley’s museum.

 

Billy Gail’s Cafe - This is a little out of the way diner, that is not too far from SDC. The parking is limited, they only take cash, you will likely have to wait 45min-1 hour for a table, and it looks like a old run down hole in the wall. However, it is the best made from scratch breakfast ever!

[chadster]

Silver Dollar City and Rocky Mountain Construction win Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride of 2013 for Outlaw Run!!

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[Nrthwnd]

Along with what I've seen as awesome food there,

Silver Dollar City is on my bucket list, now.

[Shavethewhales]

Very cool. So many nominations too. I'm glad to see DW sweep a couple of tickets as well, though I'm sure we can argue over who has the best christmas event between the two.

 

Really good day for HFEC!

[djboss302]

Yeah, i was expecting Outlaw Run to win that.

[Woodie Warrior]

Outlaw Run deserved to be much higher on the wood coaster rankings. I haven't been on any of the top 3 coasters, but Outlaw Run totally beats out Voyage. Either way, congrats to SDC for that award. The ride is really amazing.

[christianscoasters]

Does anyone know what crowds should be like next Wednesday? I'm excited to finally ride Outlaw Run!

[chadster]

Dead

[christianscoasters]

^That's what I was guessing.

[jray21]

I'm really bummed I wasn't able to get to SDC and ride Outlaw Run this year. Glad to hear all the positive reviews. Definitely since like an amazing ride at an amazing park.

[Vonni]

^ I didnt get to ride it either, which is really disappointing. Hopefully next year....

[Hoppy]

Looks like I've got an opportunity this week during my STL visit Thurs-Sun to drive an extra 3-4hrs to SDC - why not for Outlaw Run?

 

That's my question to folks here who are well aware about this National Harvest Festival and how the crowds are for the weekends. Reading some reviews, it seems like quite a ton of people travel for all the extra activities but they seem dependent on particular weekends in SEPT and OCT even though the festival runs Wed-Sun for both months. Hopefully they are all too busy with the horses, cowboys, music/concerts and extra activities all day to care less about Outlaw Run, PowderKeg, and the many other great thrill rides?

 

I'll be taking a break from the fireworks competition I am involved at in St Louis and figured why not head to SDC since that will be the closet I'll ever be until the next fireworks competition Sept 2014. Or, I can go back to the City Museum with a few friends and see how much fun/mischief we will get into before the beer samples call our names...SFStL will be too packed full of folks for the Halloween event, plus I noticed not a whole lot changed from when I went to a few years back before each museum/maze became an (extra charge) on top of everything else.

 

Opinions/suggestions/recommendations are welcome...also, if anyone finds that Branson, MO Ticket voucher deal that is supposed to help save money on admission, that would be greatly appreciated! I've looked around, but must not be looking hard enough - most likely too tired...ok, goodnight!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Come on down! Crowds really aren't too bad for the Harvest Festival. Saturdays are busy, but Sundays are not at all. We were down there last Sunday, and literally every ride except Outlaw Run and the Grand Expo Coaster we were on in 2 cycles or less. Outlaw Run was only 20 minutes, lowest I've seen it all year, not counting the season pass holders ERT event last summer.

 

The focus of the Harvest Festival is really on the crafts, so there's a lot to see and most things are for sale. Some of the craftspeople will actually be working in their booths, so you can watch and talk to them. It's worth taking some time between rides for the crafts booths.

[Jaykethekid]

From what I have been hearing SDC 2015 project more than likely will be intamin or b&m. They say it will be their largest investment to date. Also it is nothing from CC.

 

I'm not trying to tell a lie. I saw it on the sdcfans forum

[Woodie Warrior]

From what I have been hearing SDC 2015 project more than likely will be intamin or b&m. They say it will be their largest investment to date. Also it is nothing from CC.

 

I'm not trying to tell a lie. I saw it on the sdcfans forum

 

Rumors about SDC for 2015 are all over the place. Screamscape reports the Geyser Gulch renovation/launch tower is coming then, other sources say B&M coaster, and I'm sure there are other rumors. I heard from a fellow enthusiast than what you're saying about a B&M coaster is correct. But there are too many possibilities and none of them are supported by park management, so 2015 could bring anything at this point.

[Shavethewhales]

From what I have been hearing SDC 2015 project more than likely will be intamin or b&m. They say it will be their largest investment to date. Also it is nothing from CC.

 

I'm not trying to tell a lie. I saw it on the sdcfans forum

 

That rumor was only really supported by one person. I think at one point the park might have been looking in this direction, but they sure aren't now. They have pretty much already confirmed that 2014 will be a maintenance/festival year and in 2015 they'll open a major renovation of Geyser Gulch with several new children's rides and the shot tower from CC.

 

They seem to have been wanting to put a few more coasters into SDC. For a long time I've had people telling me of a backlog of major projects that'll happen if they can just get the funding in place, but the weather and finicky crowds just haven't been cooperating in the last few years.