Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

[blk_mamba]

I need some help or advice about how to tackle SDC. I am planning a visit on a Sunday in a few weeks. From what I've been seeing the park has been slammed. I can only go for that one day so I need some advice about how to tackle the major coasters and other unique can't miss attraction. Any advice would be helpful.

[Chiselphane]

I always try Powder Keg first, as it's often temperamental and usually has the longest line even when not.   Then Time Traveler which also frequently has a long line but it moves pretty quickly (and I really like the queue music, I asked the gift shop about a CD of it and they said no plans because of licensing cost).  The other coasters at your preference, although Fire in the Hole sometimes gets lengthy waits as well.  It never fails to surprise me how short the waits are for Outlaw Run, even when the park itself is otherwise busy.    I generally tend to follow this pattern for coasters: Powder Keg, Fire in the Hole, and Wildfire in one clump, because you head down an almost shockingly steep hill to get to them and you don't really want to go back up that hill multiple times in one visit :)   Then over to Outlaw Run, then to Time Traveler and Thunderation.  

Study the map ahead of time!  SDC does not have the most intuitive layout and that's understating it.  The flip side is it rewards exploration, there are lots of little touches and details that are so easily overlooked especially if you're laser focused on the next thing you're heading to.

I would NOT wait over an hour for Mystic Falls unless you have literally nothing else to do, the elevator and big drop are great but for a one day visit there are better uses of your time IMO.    If the wait time is less than that, then sure go ahead.  Not saying it's a bad ride by any means, just that the throughput has been abysmal in our experience.

The cave and Grandfather's Mansion are still closed which is a bummer but makes sense, so you can leave them out of planning at this time.  Not visiting the cave frees up a big chunk of time.

[tndank]

Trailerblazer passes are also an option. 

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Go at opening, generally always good advice, but in this area, on a Sunday, it's especially true. Powder Keg has the slowest line. Generally the order I recommend going in is Powder Keg, Mystic River Falls, Outlaw Run, Giant Barn Swing, American Plunge, Wildfire, Time Traveler, Thunderation, Firefall, Fire in the Hole. That'll get you on all the major rides. Anything else generally doesn't have a huge line.

[blk_mamba]

Thank you all for the advice.

[sdcfan88]

Construction fences are up around the old Waterboggan Tower area. Looks like the pandemic hasn't put their expansion projects on hold after all.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Are they finally tearing down that old tower? That thing's been SBNO almost as long as Hannibarrels.

[DoinItForTheFame]

14 hours ago, ytterbiumanalyst said:

Are they finally tearing down that old tower? That thing's been SBNO almost as long as Hannibarrels.

I’m hoping they repurpose it for a different attraction! 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

If they still can. Maybe we can get Conneaut's structural engineer to look at it once they're done with Blue Streak.

[sdcfan88]

On 5/1/2021 at 1:05 PM, DoinItForTheFame said:

I’m hoping they repurpose it for a different attraction!

The skeleton of the Waterboggan Tower is metal so they could simply strip it down to the frame removing all the old wood and then rebuild around it and reuse the tower as a dark ride element for a small coaster. Think Mystery Mine at Dollywood.

[DoinItForTheFame]

22 hours ago, sdcfan88 said:

. The skeleton of the Waterboggan Tower is metal so they could simply strip it down to the frame removing all the old wood and then rebuild around it and reuse the tower as a dark ride element for a small coaster. Think Mystery Mine at Dollywood.

That's an amazing idea!!!

[A.J.]

We're not sure of the nature of this announcement today...

 

EDIT: The Harlem Globetrotters are coming back!

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Fun! They put on a good show at SDC a few years ago.

[sdcfan88]

Yeah not surprised they came back. lol Their presence seemed very popular before.

 

[sdcfan88]

Heres a photo put out of the construction fence that was recently put up. It now extends all the way down and around Firemans Landing and extending behind part of the smoking area in front of the old Waterboggan Tower. Let the speculation begin. lol

[prozach626]

Whatever it is, it's sure to be the most exciting amusement park attraction added in Missouri for years to come, as history has proven.

[Jaykethekid]

An account I follow on Instagram said that they messaged the park regarding that construction area and that they were told that it's nothing more than a path widening project to improve this area's crowd flow for one of the seasonal event's later in the year. Now, take it with a grain of salt because, you know, anyone can and will say anything on Instagram. I'm not too familiar with Pumpkin Nights as i haven't visited during that event yet, but didn't SDC announce that they were going to expand the event more into this area of the park? Though, if the construction fence goes all the way around Fireman's landing, then that makes it seem like its much more than a crowd flow project, however. I guess only time will tell...

[ytterbiumanalyst]

That area does bottleneck pretty bad, and better pathways there would alleviate the other bottleneck near Echo Hollow (not nearly so bad post-Time Traveler, but still). Honestly even if that's all it is, that is a great thing for them to be doing. The scope of that wall, though....

[sdcfan88]

Funny thing is they didn't put up a fence when they made that new pathway for the debut of Pumpkin Nights. Why do so now? Though for all we know they could finally be demo-ing the tower which would necessitate the need for one, nothing more, nothing less.

[mwg]

From looking through the fence and the view from FireFall, it does look like they are widening the pathway and possibly the area where it meets up with the main pathway. 
My first thought was that it couldn’t be too major since the wooded path would need to be reopened for the fall. 
I do wonder if we will see the previous Christmas tree return in the Plaza area this winter. 

[AerialSk8r]

What is the scoop on the lap belt restraints on Outlaw Run? I know they were installed after the tragedy on the Texas Giant several years ago...but are they still being utilized in addition to the lap bar?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yes. Still the same seat belts. Nothing has changed.

[Woodie Warrior]

So word on the street is that many longtime entertainers at the park have been recently let go, including a large chunk of the Christmas Carol cast. Apparently the park has run into copyright claim issues considering the music featured in both major Christmas shows are all songs ripped from pre-existing musicals (which I assumed the park had licensed years ago, but evidently not). It seems like Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life are gone for now, which is not only a disappointing loss to the Christmas festival, but also seems like a crowd issue, considering the 1,000ish people at a show each hour will now have to find someplace else in the park to spend their time.

[tndank]

Wonder if that will carry over to Dollywood. I liked the crazy Wonderful Life show they do. 

[TEDodd]

2 hours ago, tndank said:

Wonder if that will carry over to Dollywood. I liked the crazy Wonderful Life show they do. 

DW has had problems before. They had a license to play some songs in the park and got in trouble for performing them in a show because they didn't have a license for that.
Here's one https://www.wbir.com/article/entertainment/dollywoods-response-to-song-lawsuit-yeah-we-used-it-but-we-did-nothing-wrong/51-08f13219-2155-4279-ae11-988c92271d2e