Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[sdcfan88]

An official Teaser was put out by the park... Has a strong Baron 1898 feel to it. August 16th was previously slated to be the announcement date for the new attraction so this seems to be valid. Let the speculation begin.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Dollywood is my home park, but I might make a trip over to the Ozarks for this ride.

You might not want to plan it for opening day. Just sayin'.

[WOFanatic]

Dollywood is my home park, but I might make a trip over to the Ozarks for this ride.

You might not want to plan it for opening day. Just sayin'.

Are they building a launched RMC?

[thedlr]

Been meaning to ask, what is a good time of year to visit this park? Weather, crowd size, night rides possibly, other considerations in the area...

[TrippinBillie]

An official Teaser was put out by the park... Has a strong Baron 1898 feel to it. August 16th was previously slated to be the announcement date for the new attraction so this seems to be valid. Let the speculation begin.

 

 

Worried that all the wheels are hinting at a spinning coaster. UGH. They should just replicate Helix and watch the masses flood.

[BrianGC]

Been meaning to ask, what is a good time of year to visit this park? Weather, crowd size, night rides possibly, other considerations in the area...

Best I've found in that regard is early November. That's the beginning of their Christmas event, which isn't too crowded in the first couple of weeks. Plenty of potential for night rides, too, with the park staying open until around 9pm. It's also a good time of year to do some hiking in the area, as it's no longer hot and you're not dealing with mosquitos anymore.

 

Of course, this is assuming you aren't interested in visiting the water park.

[thedlr]

Best I've found in that regard is early November. That's the beginning of their Christmas event, which isn't too crowded in the first couple of weeks. Plenty of potential for night rides, too, with the park staying open until around 9pm. It's also a good time of year to do some hiking in the area, as it's no longer hot and you're not dealing with mosquitos anymore.

 

Of course, this is assuming you aren't interested in visiting the water park.

 

Thanks! Hiking and nature in general is more appealing to us than a water park (didn't even realize there is one tbh). Glad you brought that up. We visited Dollywood last November and it was an awesome time, so I assume SDC would be similar. I don't mind the cold as long as the coasters are running.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

You really shouldn't care about White Water. It's tiny and doesn't have anything you can't find elsewhere.

 

November is a great time, as it generally stays warm enough that the coasters can remain open even at night. The shows are best during Old Time Christmas as well, which runs all of November and December. The park is open more or less Wed through Sun 1 to 9, but it can vary, so check the schedule when you're making plans.

[thedlr]

^ Yes thank you. I just checked this year's November schedule to get an idea and it's pretty much how Dollywood was last November. It's quite a while from now so we'll see how things go. Thanks again.

 

Now back to (possibly) spinny coaster musings...

[sdcfan88]

An official Teaser was put out by the park... Has a strong Baron 1898 feel to it. August 16th was previously slated to be the announcement date for the new attraction so this seems to be valid. Let the speculation begin.

 

 

Worried that all the wheels are hinting at a spinning coaster. UGH. They should just replicate Helix and watch the masses flood.

 

I agree, they should build an improved version of Helix and theme it on the level of Baron 1898 and they would have a huge winner.

[sdcfan88]

Double post

Edited July 15, 2017 by sdcfan88

[The Yeti]

I think the teaser hints at the Time Traveler theme more than anything.

[TrippinBillie]

An official Teaser was put out by the park... Has a strong Baron 1898 feel to it. August 16th was previously slated to be the announcement date for the new attraction so this seems to be valid. Let the speculation begin.

 

 

Worried that all the wheels are hinting at a spinning coaster. UGH. They should just replicate Helix and watch the masses flood.

 

I agree, they should build an improved version of Helix and theme it on the level of Baron 1898 and they would have a huge winner.

 

[DoinItForTheFame]

Dollywood is my home park, but I might make a trip over to the Ozarks for this ride.

You might not want to plan it for opening day. Just sayin'.

Are they building a launched RMC?

 

Ouch. Shots fired.

[bluestreak]

Hello all, sorry to break conversation about the new coaster.

I am posting this in multiple threads so I apologize if you read this more than once.

Anyways, August 5th-15th we are doing our yearly coaster trip. This year will include visits to SFSL, WoF, SDC, SFSL again (gotta love season passes), Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, and Kings Island.

We will be at SDC all day Wednesday and Thursday on a 2 day ticket.

We are curious about the crowds we will encounter those days and any tips you have about plan of attack or about the park in general.

Thank you so much in advance

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Most schools here go back mid-August (my kids go back the 17th), so that's still going to be peak summer. Best plan of attack is Powder Keg first, because of its 42" height minimum and temperamental nature. Then do American Plunge and Lost River next. After that, you can really proceed as you will. Outlaw Run is the best coaster in the park, and you'll want to ride that several times for sure.

 

Take the cave tour. Eat cinnamon bread.

[sdcfan88]

In regards to Project 2018 I'm just gonna leave this here:

http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Silver-Dollar-City-reveals-a-few-details-about-new-attraction-435913793.html

 

Again this keeps getting emphasized:

The park calls it the biggest attraction EVER. It says will by more than double in size than any other attraction.

 

Wildfire is their biggest and most expensive coaster overall. I am very anxious to see how project 2018 will top it, I keep going back to Helix just due to the manufacturer and its layout being similar as the closest thing to compare this to.

[RyanTPM]

My bets are definitely on an extreme spinning coaster using trains similar to the ones they tried on Blue Fire a while back

[prozach626]

^Unfortunately, this is also my guess.

[Jaykethekid]

^Unfortunately, this is also my guess.

 

Now watch, you guys bash this project for possibly being a spinning coaster, but when it opens, it will be called the best thing since sliced bread. I don't think SDC nor Mack rides could make a dud project.

 

 

I visited the park this week and there were a few things I'd like to mention.

 

- Outlaw Run must've had its seat belts drastically shortened. For me, the seat belts were a good 5" too short to latch. I'd understand not fitting if I gained weight, but I haven't. I still easily got a green light on the lap bar and I fit in all the other rides the same I have been for years. Saw many people get denied from riding. Talked to one person on the train who may have been 5'8", 185 lbs who said he couldn't fit because of the seat belts, so it's not just me experiencing it. It also seemed to slow down dispatches a lot because I never saw the ride running when we were in the area. They'd be trying to squeeze people in the seat belts for a good 2-3 minutes. That had to be the most restrictive ride I've seen, quite worse than even Lightning Run at KK. Really disappointed me, but didn't ruin my trip.

 

-While we were there, a wooden walkway had been constructed from the metal structure presumably the exit ramp for the 2018 project. They also were doing lots of welding around the station. Also, the mysterious structure in the middle of the ride is started to be covered up and there is some weird framing around the building. There is also some supports visible, don't know when they were put up, that show at least one inversion on the ride. Now seeing the ride in person, it looks a lot more compact than it does in the pictures. I bet you this will end up being the American version of Taron.

 

-Operations were crazy fast while we were there. Wildfire had the fastest. They would be ready to dispatch as soon as the other train got to the cobra roll. Very impressive. Quite a change from the last few years were the train would always stack for at least 3+ minutes because one operator pulled every single kid off the train and would have to recheck the train after every kid. Though, that one operator is gone, and I'm glad to see that.

 

-Got to ride flooded mine 5 times in a row with out getting off. I love that they dont make you walk around to ride again on that. It was in a pretty good condition too. Most effects and animatronics were working just fine, even saw some things that I didn't even know existed.

 

- I did notice that the park was unusually dirty. There were empty cups, straws, paper scattered through the paths, in the queues, in gardens and planters. A lot of the bathrooms were filthy too. TP scattered everywhere, water all over the floors. Bodily wastes on the floor too. Also worth mentioning that there were like 3 or 4 bandaids on the stairs by River Blast or whatever it's called that were there for all 3 days. It was just really gross stepping in trash like constantly. Even at the beginning of the day, the parking lots were just scattered with trash.

 

-The fireworks at night were really good. I don't know who the pyrotechnics company who did them is, but they did really good. It was an extremely loud show.

 

-Overall I had a nice time while I was there. Outlaw Run is giving me the motivation to drop some pounds if the seat belts stay the same way they are, so that's a plus. It was a nice time in the park!

[Shavethewhales]

Now watch, you guys bash this project for possibly being a spinning coaster, but when it opens, it will be called the best thing since sliced bread. I don't think SDC nor Mack rides could make a dud project.

 

I concur.

 

Thanks for letting us know about the new supports! I've been wondering when the first inversion would start to take form! There's so, so much to be revealed about this ride still. That article brings it all back. Sure, it's easy enough to get world's firsts with a crazy spinning coaster, but they are going way beyond that. I can't imagine what they are doing to spend this much. It's not like a typical mack looping coaster, even with spinning cars on a hillside, would cost more than ~$16 million, and they are saying they are spending twice that.

 

From what I'm hearing, they are having some small staffing issues or something again. Stuff like trash detail and the tram operations are starting to slip again. I'm sure the heat is hurting the older employees, and the labor market is super tight for the low-level jobs.

[prozach626]

^Unfortunately, this is also my guess.

 

Now watch, you guys bash this project for possibly being a spinning coaster, but when it opens, it will be called the best thing since sliced bread. I don't think SDC nor Mack rides could make a dud project.

Watch all you want, there are many of us who are wishing for a traditional helix type coaster over a spinner. Could the spinner be great? Maybe, but I know myself well enough to know I have preferred non spinning coasters to spinning coasters at this point. I don't see how speed or extreme elements could enhance my enjoyment or make the experience less nauseating. Continue to make as many snide remarks as you feel is necessary. If the coaster ends up spinning and I end up loving it, I lose nothing.

 

Sucks you couldn't fit on Outlaw Run.

[Condor]

If this thing is as large as we're being led to believe (possible 4,000-5,000 foot track length?) and it is in fact a spinner we could be looking at a layout split into two sections. A milder section where cars spin and we might see some theming from the concept art, and then a more intense helix-like second half following a launch where the cars lock into place and you experience it forward or backward. This is obviously pure speculation.

[Shavethewhales]

^This coaster is already well along on construction. The station is nearly complete sans the actual coaster parts, and you can see that there is only going to be one track. It's probably not going to be anywhere near 5,000 feet long. None of SDC's coasters are very long, and "biggest" doesn't mean longest or even tallest anyway.

 

I still think there will be more to it than a complete free spin all the way through. There are already coasters like Laff Track that go straight for the fast sections and then free spin later on, and then there's cobra's curse with its controlled spinning, etc.

[Condor]

^I clearly did not suggest there would be two tracks. And I don't necessarily expect it to be Helix length. That's merely one way to interpret the line from the article stating that this coaster will be "more than double the size of any other attraction." Something like a longer Cobra's Curse that may incorporate a launch is exactly what I have in mind.