Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[anonymouscactus]

Great report, thanks for typing it up and glad you had a good time.

 

This made me laugh way too hard... like something out of a sitcom.

 

When I called to ask if the rooms had been updated recently, the guy who answered the phones said he didn’t know, because he’d only been there a few years.

 

lol.

 

Glad you got to experience Cinnamon Bread, etc. Good to know about the moonshine place, we were going to go but parking was a shitshow the day we drove by so we just gave up. I also had no interest in the other stuff on the "strip" when we went.

[tinaalsgirl]

About the concrete on Powder Keg: you are correct. The ride previously on that land was Buzzsaw Falls, which was a prototype water-coaster hybrid thing. It started in the water then the back half was coaster. Next time you ride PK, take note of the two different types of track on the coaster. The track that has a "zig zag" pattern is the original track; the rest is what was put in when building Powder Keg. You can see one of the old Buzzsaw Falls boats as decoration on the roof of the PK queue building.

 

Glad you found a good resort to stay at! If you come to Branson again, a resort I'd like to recommend at least looking into is Still Waters Resort. It's down on the lake off of the main road (Indian Point Rd) to the park, so it's a short drive to SDC from there. My family and I stayed there in December 2012, so we didn't get to enjoy all the extra stuff that the resort has that's open in summer, but the two-bedroom condo we got was reasonably priced; the resort often has package deals that include tickets to SDC (which is what we did). (EDIT: They also have free shuttles between the resort and the park)

 

But all that stuff we didn't get to do because it wasn't summer? OMG. I've been itching to be able to go there in warmer weather, 'cause they have, like, 3 pools, mini-golf, various watercraft to take out on the lake (like paddleboats and stuff), and other stuff that I can't remember right now. But it all comes included with your room/suite, so if you come mostly for SDC but also want to do some fun stuff like mini-golf and what-not, you never have to go on the Strip if you don't want to (I haven't been on the Strip in several years; SDC has always been the priority of our visits).

 

Not surprised by your report of lack of masks in the city.... The other day, Branson had a city meeting to discuss whether or not to have a mandatory mask requirement for the city. The participation/public comments portion was... ridiculous. Some local reporter live-tweeted it and... yeah, again I'm not surprised you saw few masks in-city.

[prozach626]

Thanks!

 

That's interesting stuff about Buzzsaw Falls. I just did some more researching. I remembered something about S & S converting the ride from an older ride, but I didn't know what. Did the reservoir ever get filled for Powder Keg? The concept art shows water there with fountains jetting up.

 

I'm also curious about the themeing with the rear spike behind the launch area, with the broken track up top. It looks like the fake damaged areas are bolted onto a legitimate piece of track. Was this some kind of defective track that was decided to be used as themeing?

 

Powder Keg is neat on its own. The history makes it even more interesting.

[sdcfan88]

I'm also curious about the themeing with the rear spike behind the launch area, with the broken track up top. It looks like the fake damaged areas are bolted onto a legitimate piece of track. Was this some kind of defective track that was decided to be used as themeing?

 

Powder Keg is neat on its own. The history makes it even more interesting.

 

The maintenance crew once told me its actually functional as a safety measure in the event of a rollback.

[Rick Tengle]

Not surprised by your report of lack of masks in the city.... The other day, Branson had a city meeting to discuss whether or not to have a mandatory mask requirement for the city. The participation/public comments portion was... ridiculous. Some local reporter live-tweeted it and... yeah, again I'm not surprised you saw few masks in-city.

 

In Branson, they Kansas City is as liberal of New York City, they even think Springfield is liberal

 

https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article244274647.html

[tinaalsgirl]

Did the reservoir ever get filled for Powder Keg? The concept art shows water there with fountains jetting up.

 

No, sadly I've never seen it with any kind of water feature. I think it was planned, as the concept art showed, but I guess the idea got axed for some reason.

[DBru]

Thanks for the report, Zach! Looking forward to my visit to SDC next week. It’ll be my first since Outlaw Run was new, too! Temps at the time were in the 40’s and the thing was barely making it though that last barrel roll...so riding it with temps in the 90’s should definitely be interesting.

 

Were ride ops allowing people to request certain rows?

[Canobie Coaster]

Great report Zach! I agree Silver Dollar City did an excellent job balancing safety and efficiency. It was quite shocking to go from high mask compliance at Silver Dollar City to zero masks anywhere on the strip.

 

Were ride ops allowing people to request certain rows?

 

Every ride except Thunderation allowed you to request/wait for a specific row. The crew at Thunderation was loading front to back, no exceptions.

[PKI Jizzman]

Great report, thanks for the write up. Glad you really enjoyed Outlaw Run, I was nervous you might be turned off if it was running a bit more intense than you remembered. That's a funny mention of the ride length re: Orion. Sounds like you had a nice place to stay! Happy to hear it was a well worth it trip.

[prozach626]

Were ride ops allowing people to request certain rows?

 

We asked a few times for specific rows and we didn't have any issues or push-back. We only asked when the rows we wanted weren't filled yet.

[sdcfan88]

I went to the soft opening for Mystic River Falls. Here are a few pictures below...

Sorry for the quality on a few of these as I didn't have my DSLR with me for this trip.

 

Overall the landscaping is very well thought out and beautiful. The combination of the real rocks and concrete work was very nicely done. The water features and shrubbery really top it off. Once it all grows in here in a few years this should recreate the "in the woods" experience the old Lost River ride had. (which I know people were fond of) There is a sort of half exposed mine shaft that leads to the tower drop and the only real negative in the design is they didn't recreate the cave finale that the old ride had. Other than that as for getting wet the water itself was lukewarm like pool water and the boats do move a lot quicker and toss you around more than the old ride. The lift is very interesting as it lifts and rotates you around to the slide drop. You are about the same height as the Barn Swing or the old Waterboggan ride. The drop itself is very gentile for those wondering. Overall very nicely done.

Edited July 25, 2020 by sdcfan88

[Canobie Coaster]

Nice report! Is this one of those rapids rides where you're guaranteed to come of soaked (like Popeye or Infinity Falls) or is it luck of the draw who gets drenched?

[sdcfan88]

From what I understand it depends greatly on how full the boat is. I was alone so I only got my back and legs partially wet.

[Chiselphane]

Anyone visited recently and can comment on general crowd levels? Overall attendance seems to be down but first hand experience is always better. Putting together a visit for the Fall festival.

[DBru]

Nice report! Is this one of those rapids rides where you're guaranteed to come of soaked (like Popeye or Infinity Falls) or is it luck of the draw who gets drenched?

 

When I rode there were 4 of us and we all got absolutely soaked. Water *aggressively* pours over the side of the boat with every rapid.

 

There were definitely points when I thought we might sink and drown. Super fun though! Lol

[prozach626]

There were definitely points when I thought we might sink and drown. Super fun though! Lol

Great quote!

[DoinItForTheFame]

Are they still selling trailblazer passes at the park??? - I can’t find them online anywhere.

[coasterbill]

I'd never ride that ever because it's a rapids ride but it looks fun for people who are into that kind of thing...

[prozach626]

It's fun at the moment. After that, you have to walk around with swamp ass and blistering soggy shoes.

[TEDodd]

It's fun at the moment. After that, you have to walk around with swamp ass and blistering soggy shoes.

Obviously appropriate dress is helpful. Shoes that won't get/stay soggy, pants & shirts that dry quickly.

 

Does SDC have a dryer nearby? DW has one near the rapids ride and (I think) the log flume. They had one near the water battle too.

[Chiselphane]

Does it have a foot bar like some rafts do, where you can at least have a chance of keeping your shoes dry?

[tinaalsgirl]

I know people joke about wearing Crocs, but if you like to ride water rides at theme parks as well as like your feet to feel relatively painless after a 12hr day of walking around a park... I very, very highly recommend Crocs. I actually started wearing them after looking for suggestions for footwear to wear to SDC so I can ride the water rides but not have squishy feet afterward. Several different Disney boards came up with everyone raving about Crocs. I got myself a pair and now I've been wearing Crocs nearly exclusively for over a decade now.

 

I did open-to-close, seven days in a row of Disney World in my Crocs, and I came home with only a single blister, and it wasn't the shoes' fault. I cannot recommend them enough.

[dankeykang]

 

Does SDC have a dryer nearby? DW has one near the rapids ride and (I think) the log flume. They had one near the water battle too.

 

Yes, there are a couple of $5 dryers right next to the entrance.

 

Does it have a foot bar like some rafts do, where you can at least have a chance of keeping your shoes dry?

 

There is a small foot bar a few inches above the floor, but it's not very large in diameter. If the raft was loaded with the full 8 people there probably wouldn't be room for everyone.

 

Anyone visited recently and can comment on general crowd levels? Overall attendance seems to be down but first hand experience is always better. Putting together a visit for the Fall festival.

 

Crowds this afternoon were extremely light, everything was a walk on.

[TEDodd]

I know people joke about wearing Crocs, but if you like to ride water rides at theme parks as well as like your feet to feel relatively painless after a 12hr day of walking around a park... I very, very highly recommend Crocs.

 

That was my main though when I said shoes that don't stay wet.

 

Water shoes, like for rafting, would also work though really good ones cost more. Sure $10-20 versions exist, but so do $100+ versions.

[prozach626]

I've been wearing Crocs nearly exclusively for over a decade now.

You're talking about wearing them exclusively in parks, or everywhere? Because...