Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[ZeroGravity55]

Would production and maintenance costs have anything to do with this new trend? Or is it just meant to be aesthetic? So far, RMC is the only one doing this--and on original coasters. Could we see other companies follow suit, or an Iron Horse with this kind of lift?

 

A lot of it has to do with the land the coasters were installed on. They needed more room to move around and construct Goliath, so the lift hill was designed out of necessity to give them that room. Wildfire was built on a rocky cliff side and they would of had to dig through a ton rock to pour all the footers necessary to install the lift with an all wood structure.

[kickflipbacktail]

I honestly prefer the look of those 2 lift structures over the traditional lift structure.

[JordyC]

Would production and maintenance costs have anything to do with this new trend? Or is it just meant to be aesthetic? So far, RMC is the only one doing this--and on original coasters. Could we see other companies follow suit, or an Iron Horse with this kind of lift?

 

A lot of it has to do with the land the coasters were installed on. They needed more room to move around and construct Goliath, so the lift hill was designed out of necessity to give them that room. Wildfire was built on a rocky cliff side and they would of had to dig through a ton rock to pour all the footers necessary to install the lift with an all wood structure.

 

Yes, this is correct. Of course, there are some other factors aswell. But that's the main reason, I believe.

[DoinItForTheFame]

At the park right now. It's much slower than we were expecting. Still haven't made it on Outlaw Run yet, because it's been down, and we got stuck on Powder Keg for a while. . . Finishing up an amazing snack (as shown below) Then headed to see if Outlaw Run is open yet!! It's been a perfect day to visit the park!!! Not to hot, and a slight breeze!!

<3

[Nrthwnd]

^ The Snack looks great!

 

Um...what is it? Them?

 

Just curious.

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ Kettle Chips!!!

Specifically numbers 1 and 3!!!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Yum, thanks.

[larrygator]

I prefer the kettle chips over any skillet food item they offer.

[MrFurious]

Strongly considering a trip to SDC in early November for the Christmas spectacular. I'm assuming it's busier at this time than it is during the summer. Is this accurate?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

In November, no. December is the busiest month of the year. November is a great time to visit, as you get all the Christmas stuff, temperatures are hardly ever low enough to have to close rides, and crowds are low too! Have fun!

[prozach626]

At the park right now. It's much slower than we were expecting. Still haven't made it on Outlaw Run yet, because it's been down, and we got stuck on Powder Keg for a while. . . Finishing up an amazing snack (as shown below) Then headed to see if Outlaw Run is open yet!! It's been a perfect day to visit the park!!! Not to hot, and a slight breeze!!

 

+5 man points for referring to this as a snack. Well done.

[Guy T. Koepp]

At the park right now. It's much slower than we were expecting. Still haven't made it on Outlaw Run yet, because it's been down, and we got stuck on Powder Keg for a while. . . Finishing up an amazing snack (as shown below) Then headed to see if Outlaw Run is open yet!! It's been a perfect day to visit the park!!! Not to hot, and a slight breeze!!

 

+5 man points for referring to this as a snack. Well done.

 

#masculinityissofragile

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yesterday we went to Silver Dollar City for my wife's company picnic. She works for Mercy Health Systems, which is the Ozarks' largest health care provider. This was a huge gathering, and there were a lot of people there. We had an hour of ERT in the morning and 4 hours in the evening, in addition to various shops and restaurants extending hours as well.

 

We had other obligations in the morning, so we arrived around 3. This made the strategy much different than usual. We went first to Thunderation, as the queue is generally short late in the day, and we arrived 3 hours before closing. Sure enough, it was a walk-on! Then we went to the Grand Expo for a few rides, and on to Fireman's Landing, as the children's areas would be closing some attractions with the park at 6.

 

Once we finished with those, it was about 5:30, so we went to the Mill restaurant for dinner. I correctly surmised that right before the park closed to the public would be a slow time for the restaurants, so we got right in with no wait. Good fried chicken as always, and we got a special discount as part of the Mercy Day festivities.

 

When we had finished eating, the park had closed, so we split up. My wife took the girls shopping, while my son and I headed for Outlaw Run. He just hit 48" earlier this summer, so the wristband from the Grand Expo really helped speed things up, as the ride ops didn't have to re-measure him. We rode 3 times in a row, in the space of 20 minutes.

 

At this point we caught up with the girls and headed for Sullivan's Mill. It would only be open until 7, so we had a deadline. We got our cinnamon bread, and they threw in 2 cups of coffee for free! We were one of the last customers, so they would have thrown it out anyway. That's hospitality!

 

The cinnamon bread was, as usual, greater than Paul McCartney leading a unicorn orchestra in "Blackbird" while dragons fly overhead and skywrite "Merry Christmas" with their fire breath. I especially love that this year, the eating of cinnamon bread is accompanied by angels singing Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." Nice touch, HFE. Well done.

 

My son's birthday is coming up this week, so throughout the day we were able to get several gifts from the park. I've never experienced this before, and I'm not sure if it's new, or we just never knew about it. He got a pin and taffy from the general store, peanut brittle from Brown's Candy Factory, and popcorn from the stand by the Frisco Barn--all for free! He was also entitled to an ice cream cone from the parlour on the square, but he's dairy intolerant, so we had to skip that. Still, that was an unexpected surprise that really made an already great day that much better.

 

Since I'm sure some SDC people read this thread, thank you so much for another great Mercy event! It was super fun all around, all the ride ops were great, we hardly had any waits during ERT, and all the shop and food staff were phenomenal as well. Everyone went far beyond what was necessary and far beyond our expectations to make our day great. Everything about that day reminded me of just why Silver Dollar City is one of the best theme parks in the country.

Riding off into the sunset.

Cinnamon bread...after dark.

[jedimaster1227]

Silver Dollar City sent us a press release about the return of the National Harvest & Cowboy Festival!

 

Known for five decades for bringing the history, culture and craftsmanship of the 1880s Ozarks to life, Silver Dollar City's National Harvest & Cowboy Festival presents a showcase of adventure and art, from a stagecoach to the stages and cowboys to craftsmen. Features include a Wild West Show, the return of the park's historic stagecoach, Western music and art, a barn dance and hundreds of demonstrating craftsmen. The festival runs September 14 - October 29 at the Branson, Missouri theme park.

 

The Silver Dollar City Wild West Show captures the excitement of the traveling wild west shows of the 1880s, featuring trick riders, Native American dance with 8-time World Champion Native American Hoop Dancer Nakotah LaRance, comedy canines, and trick roper and bullwhip artist A.J. Silver. The Wild West Show runs through October 16.

 

The festival marks the homecoming of the historic Silver Dollar City Stagecoach, an authentic 1880s stagecoach that was part of the Overland Stage Line carrying mail and passengers out West before it became one of the first rides at Silver Dollar City in the early 1960s. The restored coach is an artifact of American and Silver Dollar City history.

 

A major spotlight is craftsmanship, as the park features 125 top craftsmen from around the country, including Best of Missouri Hands juried artists and a showcase of Western artists, all joining Silver Dollar City's100 resident craftsmen. Featured crafts include weaving, jewelry making, stained glass, basket making, gourd carving and painting.

 

Additional Festival Features:

• "Buck Taylor's Cowboy Emporium" with a variety of Western crafts from painting to moccasin making, hosted by Western actor and watercolor artist Buck Taylor
  
• Western musicians including Western Album of the Year winner Belinda Gail, Vocalist of the Year Syd Masters, Western Music Association Female Performer of the Year Kristyn Harris, and Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band
  
• Chuck wagon historian and chefKent Rollins, whose talents have landed him on the Food Network's "Chopped" and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," with trail-side cooking
  
• Extreme Mustang Makeovers with mustang expert Fred Woehl, who tames and trains rescued wild mustangs during the festival
  
• Award-winning Cowboy Poet Chris Isaacs, a three-time winner of the Academy of Western Artists "Will Rogers Award"
  
• The Barn Dance with an open dance floor for guests to strut, slide and stomp, with live music by the Horsecreek Band

 

Fall harvest activities from sorghum and apple butter making are demonstrated on the Square, and harvest-time foods are served up throughout the park.

 

The National Harvest Festival runs September 14 - October 29 at the Branson, Missouri theme park, open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Information: 800-831-4FUN(386) or http://www.silverdollarcity.com.

[sdcfan88]

From this time till the end of the season is the time the park really shines. I love it. The fall scenery matched with the decor in this heavily wooded park makes for a great atmosphere. Then when you add lights and such at Christmas it gets even better. Its been on my bucket list to attend when there is snow on the ground or while its actually snowing. (yes the park stays in limited operation when that happens)

[tinaalsgirl]

I was at SDC on Friday, and it was great. The only negative was how hot it was. Created a bit of a weird feeling because I'm not used to being at SDC when it's 90-degrees out (I tend to avoid the summer and go in the spring and fall & Christmas).

 

The crowds were light, which helped us do quite a bit. I was with my dad, my sister, my bro-in-law, and my three nieces (ages 8 [N8], 3 [N3], and 1 [N1]).

 

First up was Grandfather's Mansion, which was one of the only things N8 remembered from her last time at SDC (which was when she was only 3). She loved it, but N3 was not fond; she's currently going through a "scared of the dark" phase, so she wasn't easy to please with the indoor stuff.

 

We went to the Saloon Show after that. I hadn't been to the park since 2013, so I hadn't gotten to see the revived Mean Murphy show. I loved it! I was so happy to get that shot of nostalgia from when I was a kid (the Mean Murphy show was the show they did back in the mid-90s when I first went to SDC). I also enjoyed seeing Dave and Rachel still front-lining the show; they're both so talented! The girls all liked it, except N3 was scared of the gunshots.

 

I am autistic and sudden loud noises severely distress me, so I had to make sure to ask Ma Hatfield as we got in the queue if there were real gunshots or recorded, as that had been the case a few years ago; they are using blanks again, so if you or a family member has trouble with loud noises, be prepared. Additionally, they use very heavy strobe lighting in the finale of the show, so be aware if you or a loved one suffers from seizures.

 

After the Saloon, we headed over to Fire in the Hole. I sat with N8; my BIL sat with N3.... Yeah. Well, that was not the best ride to go on. N8 had never ridden a coaster aside from a kiddie coaster. She informed me a couple days later that the reason she didn't like Fire in the Hole was because she thought the lap bar was going to fly up when we went down the hills. So now that she knows the lap bars lock, there may be a chance I can get her back on it in a year or two. As for N3.... she didn't like how dark it was, and she definitely did NOT like the drops. I give major credit to her, though, for not crying. But man I wish I'd had a camera on me to capture the look on her face when we rolled into the station and into the light.... I don't know how long it'll be before I can convince her to go on that again.

 

Next, we traversed over to the Red Gold Heritage Hall because my dad insisted that we must see the Wild West Show. I had planned to let everyone else go and while they were at the show, I'd take pictures of the area that will be getting changed as part of the 2017/2018 projects.... but it was so hot and I was already so exhausted (I'm still recovering from the pneumonia I caught at the beginning of August and my lungs just still aren't as strong as they were before I got sick), so I ended up going to the show with everyone else and I'm glad I did.

 

The Wild West Show was very well done. I'd been uninterested in taking the time out to see it because it looked in the pics I'd seen like a tiny version of Dixie Stampede, which we were going to the next day. But while the concept is similar, there are actually aspects of the WWS that I preferred over DS. Particularly, I was very impressed and happy with the segment that featured Nakotah LaRance, the Hopi hoop dancer, and his father, Steve LaRance (who played the drum as well as had his own jewelry booth in the Frisco Barn). The Dixie Stampede segment concerning Native Americans didn't specify at all what nations were being represented, and it felt rather generic (also, the old man mask was really strange and creepy); the segment at the SDC show featured a specific dance from a specific nation, named the performers, and their dress was specific to the nation they were representing as well.

 

After the Wild West Show, we rode the train, which all the girls were excited about, particularly N3 as she is obsessed with trains at the moment. We ended up going right around lunchtime, so only Ralphie (or maybe it was Alfie - I didn't pay enough attention to the name, oops) was present. But the actor was top-notch and carried the whole show very well. Since I've seen the show many times, I was able to warn the girls when to cover their ears for the gunshot, which helped.

 

Since we were right there, we went straight to Flooded Mine after the train. I was again impressed by the work done on the ride. Everything looks nicely painted and there were some effects I noticed that I didn't remember from before (the glowing coals in the bucket at the end with the "hurry up, Fred" guy, for example). Sadly, after having taken some pics of the entrance, a few of Huck Finn's Hideaway, and tons of pics of the Saloon Show, I turned on the camera in the Flooded Mine to take some pics only to find that the battery was now dead because I'd forgotten to put it back on its charger the night before. So from then on, I was unable to get any pics with my sister's nice camera. Thankfully, she's got a newer phone, so her phone pics turned out pretty good.

 

After Flooded Mine, we ate at the Tater Patch. We had a "meat bee" hovering around us, and N3 was getting pretty upset about it. My dad started swiping at it, despite me telling them all to just ignore it and not make moves against it because that would just make it attack. Well, I was right. It ended up landing on N3's knee and stinging her (I just did a search on "meat bees" and it turns out it was a yellow jacket, which would explain why there was no stinger in the wound). For the first few seconds, we thought she was just freaking out because it touched her, but then she continued to cry and scream and we realized it had actually stung her.

 

The lady sitting at the picnic table behind us overheard and came over and directed us to use ice on the wound. I went over to the food stand and asked where First Aid was; she told me how to get there and then asked if my niece was allergic and if we needed her to call the EMTs down to us. My niece is not allergic and just needed some neosporin and a bandaid. I went back over to our table and told them where First Aid was and we decided we'd go up there and get a bandaid. Lo and behold, as we started to leave, the lady who had been sitting behind us overheard us again and offered us a bandaid. She had a whole ziploc of first aid stuff! She was so nice and putting the bandaid on the wound helped N3 calm down. By the end of the day, the wound was almost gone.

 

We decided to go to Grand Exposition, because I'd told my nieces about the "Dumbo ride" and since N3 is obsessed with elephants as well, we figured taking her on a ride we knew she'd like would help get her mind off her sting. Sure enough, not only did she love it, but I had to ride it twice in a row with her, LOL. After that, she went on the teacups with her mother, and then N8, my sis, and N3 went on the kiddie coaster. N8 loved it; N3 wasn't a huge fan.

 

Since N1 had only gotten to do a couple things due to her age, we took the girls over to the tiny kiddie rides and N1 rode the Happy Frogs with her mommy; N8 and N3 also rode it together. They also all did the Wings of Wonder, with my sister barely fitting into the seat behind N1 (it's kinda amusing to watch all the parents having to sit sideways so they can ride with their little ones).

 

The girls then went with my dad and BIL to the bathrooms while my sister and I got to ride our one "adult" ride of the day - Electro Spin. She'd never been on it. It was HILARIOUS the way she scared-giggled every time we got to the very top where it looks like we're gonna fly out into the open. She loved the ride!

 

After getting ice cream over by the Red Gold, we headed to Fireman's Landing. This was another thing that was new since the last time I'd been there. I'd seen plenty of pictures, but man it was great to see it in person! What a great replacement for Geyser Gulch!

 

Since it was hot as sin, we took the girls over to the splash yard and they had TONS of fun! N1 was particularly fond of standing right by one of the water holes and leaning down over it until it splashed her bang on in the face. LOL All three girls got soaking wet. After a while, I asked N8 if she'd like to try Firefall. Well, that turned out to be yet another bad ride choice. She didn't make a peep when the ride shot us up, but as soon as we got the airtime at the top, she started screaming bloodcurdling murder. I've never been with a person that has screamed that terrifyingly on a ride ever before. I'm honestly surprised the poor thing didn't pee her pants or something. What I found kinda amusing was that when we got on the ride, there was a gal in line who was close enough to hear me assuring N8 that it would be okay and that it's okay to scream and what-not. The gal obviously heard and saw when my niece started screaming on the ride and as we came back down into the station, the gal had the most amused look on her face. I couldn't help laughing while asking my niece several times, "Are you okay?"

 

BTW, Firefall is not particularly easy to get on for a short person. They had to push my OTSR down a bit because I have a large bust, but it was trying to climb into the seat that was the worst part; I'm 5'3" and I wish they'd had a step stool there....

 

We went back over to our group and my sister could see how terrified N8 was. She hugged her and exclaimed that she could feel her heart beating super fast, the poor girl.

 

By then, it was getting pretty late in the afternoon, so we decided to head up to do the petting zoo.... When we got up there, we found it closed off and there was another family there who said they'd tried to go earlier in the day and it'd been closed then, too. Dunno why it was closed.

 

So, N8 wanted to do Grandfather's Mansion again, so she and my dad went through it while I just sat on a bench in the main square because by that time I had a blister on my toe, the heat was really getting to me, and I'd done enough walking and hill climbing that my lungs were done for the day.

 

Sadly, my dad rushed us through the exit pretty fast so I didn't get a chance to look for or buy any souvenirs this time around.

 

The girls got souvenirs, though! Earlier in the day, when we were in the Grand Exposition area, the girls wanted to play one of the carnival games that was across the way from Red Gold Heritage Hall. It was the game where you pay $5 for 3 balls to throw into different colored holes. I've never been particularly fond of carnival games at theme parks, but what I like about SDC's is that no matter how you do in a game, you still win a prize. So you're basically buying a toy for $5 (which really is a steal at a theme park) and get to have fun at the same time.

 

The Citizen at the booth was nice and let the girls play 4 balls instead of 3. N8 didn't get any of the special holes, so she picked out a square dalmatian plushie. N3 managed to get her ball into the gold hole, so she got to pick a big prize and chose a giant blue plush raccoon with giant eyes. For N1, she tends to throw her balls down instead of out, so the Citizen had my sister bring her around and into the booth and had N1 stand on the edge of the game "board" so she could just drop her balls. She didn't get any special holes, so she picked out two small neon monkey plushes - green and pink.

 

And that's just something I have to say about all the Citizens at SDC. I am forever impressed with how friendly and giving they are. I didn't meet a single unhappy Citizen that day.

 

And now I'm itching to go back to the park. SDC is one of my special interests, and being away from there for three years was TERRIBLE. And now that I've gotten to go again, I'm itching to go back. Plus, there were a LOT of things we didn't see or do (Fire in the Hole was the only "coaster" I got to go on), so I can't wait to go back and have maybe a bit more slow, casual, and ride-filled day next time. Or maybe, if I'm lucky, get to have a two-day trip to the park!

 

Shout-out, btw, to my friend who got me the tickets. We wouldn't have had this great trip to Branson without him! (besides SDC, we did Dixie Stampede, Branson Landing & Dicks 5&10, and the Butterfly Palace; I liked the new DS show, though there are things that I think could be improved still - I'd love to see more of the lumberjack segment; now I wanna go see the new Lumberjack Adventure in Tennessee! And I'd never been to Butterfly Palace and I LOVED it! I also like how the admission price gets you a wristband for three days!)

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Great report! You've really highlighted how much there is to do at SDC with little kids. I'm glad you liked Fireman's Landing; it really is a big improvement to that area. SDC has been making huge strides over the last 10 years to get more rides for small children, and it's really paying off.

 

We haven't seen this year's Wild West show yet, but the way you've described it sounds like they haven't changed much since last year. And that's a good thing; it's a very good show. The Hopi hoop dancing is amazing.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

On Saturday my wife and daughters went to a wedding shower for my cousin, which meant guys' day out at Silver Dollar City! It was the third weekend for the National Harvest and Cowboy Festival, which is one of the best times to visit. Crowd levels are fairly low this time of year, temperatures are still good (it was in the 70s that day), and most importantly, the crafts are on full display.

 

We arrived a little after noon (no need for strategy this time of year) and ended up staying only about 2 hours. We went first to American Plunge, then to Fire in the Hole. We had intended to go over to Powder Keg next, but at that moment I found out my son was having a sensory sensitive day, because the loud noise of the launch caused him to burst into tears. Normally he loves Powder Keg, but today we were going to need to skip it. We found a quiet spot over by the Fire in the Hole exit for him to calm down. We sat for about half an hour to let him cry it out, and then he asked to go on Thunderation. We didn't try to go on any other loud or intense rides like the train or Outlaw Run. We just kind of wandered at looked at the scenery and crafts for a while and headed out.

SDC has cowboyed up!

I'm ready for fall! It's my favourite season!

SDC doesn't do spooky for Halloween, or even acknowledge that Halloween is a thing.

Stop! Banner time!

The Square is craftier than ever this time of year.

Hand woven baskets.

One thing I love about the crafts festival is that SDC encourages all the vendors to work at their booths. This woman is painting right here on the corner.

These guys are back! They're blacksmiths based out of Washington, Mo., which is just a bit west of Six Flags St. Louis.

Awwww.

Who wants to ride a log flume in October? We do!

And we're not the only ones, apparently.

Choices, choices.

We took the blue pill and headed left.

This is why you ride log flumes in October.

On the way to Fire in the Hole, we took the scenic route. For those wondering, yes, we are actually in the middle of a theme park right now.

This was the skillet line at the lumberjack camp. These people are making the correct choice.

Over at Thunderation, they had this giant cornucopia. Evan's eyes are a bit red from crying, but a roller coaster is going to make it okay in just a moment.

We didn't stay long enough for Echo Hollow to open, so this is the closest I could get to the construction. It's a giant area, and all of it is behind Echo Hollow and Thunderation.

Our lovely stick family. I'm starting to think these are just put here to mess with us, and the coaster won't actually be in this spot at all. All the excavation is well back from here.

[Shavethewhales]

Great photos, thanks for sharing! That Washington Forge stand is crazy! They brought in an entire log cabin for the festival! I love everything that comes out of Washington, MO though - great town and really fun to visit around Christmas time.

[Jaykethekid]

Fall is definitely SDCs best time to visit! When I go during the week on conference break, there is no one here, so you can get a lot of rides in and still enjoy the craftsman and stuff like that. I don't know about you guys, but the National Harvest and Cowboy Festival is my personal favorite event the park holds because it is just so cool to see the craftsmen!

[sdcfan88]

I was up there for a few hours on Thursday, didn't get as many pictures as I wanted since a thunderstorm decided to form right over the lake and sit over the park for 2 hours.

 

 

Some of the clearing behind Echo Hollow seen from the Culinary School porch.

 

 

Here is a bit of the clearing as seen from ThuNderaTion's queue. They didn't just clear out the trees and throw some retaining walls up and such, they also appear to be digging out much of that hillside now too. Likely for pathways and infrastructure. However I would'nt be surprised to see footers pop up here soon.

 

 

New Signage, the blue part lights up with a neon blue halo effect:

 

This one is still incomplete for some reason, it has been this way for awhile:

Edited October 16, 2016 by sdcfan88

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Good photos! There's been a tremendous amount of ground work done already. I think a lot of enthusiasts are thinking 2018 because nothing has gone vertical, and because the park hasn't announced anything yet. Outlaw Run went vertical in April 2012, nearly a year before it opened, but this is a different project. That hillside needed a lot of prep work before anything vertical can be done, and it's obvious when you ride Thunderation just how much work has gone into it. If this is a steel coaster--and all signs point to it--then we have plenty of time to get this done by March 2017 and be ready for opening day.

 

Let's keep in mind too that SDC's season always goes until the end of the calendar year (this year the last operating day is 12/30). In general, they tend to announce next year's additions around the beginning of November, once the Christmas festival begins. It's true that Outlaw Run was announced August 2012, but that's very much the exception, and probably due to the very visible construction. Most of the time, even when a coaster is coming, they've waited until November to announce.

 

So I'm not ruling out 2017 yet. I can't really be disappointed if it waits until 2018; SDC doesn't do things like the big chains do, where they need to have new additions every year. Instead, it's more in the league of Disneyland, where they get it done when they get it done, and you'll love it once they do. One more year's wait just means that's the time needed to get it right, and that's more important than doing it fast. Still, with the amount of work already done, it seems a 2017 timeline may very well be within possibility, and that would be quite all right with me.

[ZambeziZinger]

Did you guys see that footers have started to show up on the new coasters?

 

https://midwestinfoguide.blogspot.com/2016/10/project-2018-sdc.html

[TyRush]

With the success RMC has had with Outlaw Run at SDC, I wouldn't put the possibility of it being a T-Rex coaster...Okay more like I want it to be but we can all dream

[Jaykethekid]

Very interesting! I'm excited to start seeing some substantial construction on this coaster. I'm hoping they might have some more footers poured when I visit! I haven't been following construction too closely lately; where were those pics taken approximately?