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Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

p. 275: New resort announced as part of a $500 million development plan!

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My family will be at SDC next month for 2 days and I was curious if they have a child swap program like some of the other parks do for the rides our 2 boys won't want to ride?

No, there is unfortunately no such program. Trailblazer Pass is your only option if you're not wanting to wait. However, except for Outlaw Run and Wildfire, everything is pretty kid-friendly. There are three family coasters; Powder Keg and Thunderation have a 42" min height when riding with a parent, and Fire in the Hole's minimum is 36" with a parent. Wildfire has excellent operations, and the queue can be out the front door and still take under an hour, even on Saturdays in the summer. So Outlaw Run's really going to be your only long wait, and this year there's just no getting around that.

Powder Keg will also have an hour + wait.

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My family will be at SDC next month for 2 days and I was curious if they have a child swap program like some of the other parks do for the rides our 2 boys won't want to ride?

No, there is unfortunately no such program. Trailblazer Pass is your only option if you're not wanting to wait. However, except for Outlaw Run and Wildfire, everything is pretty kid-friendly. There are three family coasters; Powder Keg and Thunderation have a 42" min height when riding with a parent, and Fire in the Hole's minimum is 36" with a parent. Wildfire has excellent operations, and the queue can be out the front door and still take under an hour, even on Saturdays in the summer. So Outlaw Run's really going to be your only long wait, and this year there's just no getting around that.

Powder Keg will also have an hour + wait.

I meant the only long wait for a ride kids wouldn't want to or can't ride. If we want to talk long waits in general, Lost River of the Ozarks and American Plunge are frequently over an hour too, but those are both very family-friendly.

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http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_4403168c-c4a9-11e2-b2ae-0019bb2963f4.html

 

Silver Dollar City announced this week this will be the final year for one of the park’s most successful and well-attended festivals, KidsFest. The information was first posted on the theme park’s website, and was confirmed by spokeswoman Lisa Rau Wednesday afternoon.

 

“KidsFest, as we know it, is going away after this year, but we will be bringing something back next year that will be bigger and better in the summer of 2014,” Rau said. “We are going to revise, revamp and reintroduce a new family summer festival in 2014.”

 

The festival has been a major part of the park’s summer activities for more than 20 years. The festival drew tens of thousands of locals and visitors each year. “Summer is one of the most important times of the year for us at Silver Dollar City, Rau said. “We’re going to emphasize family fun in a new, exciting way next year.”

 

In addition to the dozens of rides and attractions the park has to offer, like the giant Barn Swing, WildFire, PowderKeg, RiverBlast, Fire in the Hole, Lost River of the Ozarks and American Plunge, this year’s swan song will feature “Chris Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience,” which has been featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Late Night With David Letterman.”

 

Also on tap is “Wacky Science with Professor David Willey.” Willey, an instructor of physics at The University of Pittsburgh, has been featured on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” 20 times and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest fire walk. During the show, Willey will perform “wacky” and educational science experiments for children of all ages.

 

A half-dozen different championship cloggers will also perform throughout the festival, along with character meet and greets featuring SpongeBob and Patrick Star, Tom and Jerry, Dexter and Dee Dee, the Backyardigans, George Jetson and Astro, Scooby Doo and Shaggy, Team Umizoomi, Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble and Dino, Yogi Bear and Boo Boo and Dora and Diego.

 

Also returning for this season is “Great American Country Nights” in Echo Hollow. Great American Country and Silver Dollar City are once again joining forces to present the nation’s only live stage version of the popular television show, Wednesday through Monday evenings.

 

“This year, we have tremendous momentum with our $10 million Outlaw Run,” Rau said. “We plan on keeping that momentum going next with a new family summer festival that is going to still be big fun for everyone.”

 

KidsFest is set to run daily from June 8-July 21. For more information, visit silverdollarcity.com.

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I am hoping to make it out to the park this Saturday and Sunday. Is there a line to be led to Outlaw Run when it opens or is it just run there when the drop the rope?

People start lining up in front of the rope about a half hour before opening. No one will lead you there; it's run as you can. Most people will take the Hill St. path past Wildfire, but it's faster to take the Main St. path by Grandfather's Mansion and the waterfall. On a Saturday, be prepared to wait even if you're there at opening. On Sunday, it's a bit better, but unless you get there really early and go straight to Outlaw Run on the most direct route, you'll be waiting even at opening. Outlaw Run is simply the biggest thing to happen to the park in years, and it's peak season for Branson.

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Quick trip report. My DW and I went to SDC as chaperones for a school trip Monday. We hadn't been there since July of 2011, so we were pleasantly surprised by the changes. Ten thoughts, arranged in random order:

 

1) First and foremost, Outlaw's Run is the best roller coaster I've ever been on, period. When you perch atop that first drop and can't see the entire track until you're actually falling, you know you're in for an exciting ride. It just kicked Worlds of Fun's Prowler off the top of my woody list.

 

2) The new Tom Sawyer area is really nicely themed. We didn't ride the ride, but it looks pretty nifty. The whole area looks great.

 

3) We braved the park this time without benefit of a map (the group sort of charged in before we could grab one and after that we decided to challenge ourselves). This park is really tough to navigate without a map- just wanted to throw that out there. Lots of twisting and turning walkways, and lots of dead ends. Outlaw's Run was the most difficult to locate. The direction signage hadn't yet been updated, so they painted directions on the sidewalk. Due to the twisting pathways, however, we quickly got lost. We ended up over by Powder Keg and had to ride it just to find Outlaw's Run from the top of the lift hill!

 

4) With this addition of "real" coaster number four (I still count "Fire in the Hole" as a fun dark ride rather than a true coaster, even though I gladly accept the coaster credit), SDC elevates in my mind to a top tier theme park, right up there with Universal and any Disney park. They have always had the theming to back this up, but I've had to go elsewhere if I was really wanting a day of exciting rides. Outlaw's Run completes the set- one killer extreme woody, one extreme looper, an excellent launch (with a rather unique loading system), and a really fun mine train (I've always loved Thunderation for not having to bother with an initial lift hill).

 

5) SDC is a workout. Period. I always forget how steep those hills are until the fifteenth time I am climbing them.

 

6) We always discover something new at SDC. This time it was a little bread bakery sort of by the train station. They serve little cream cheese pastries for 80 cents. 80 cents! We ended up eating three apiece, and spent about 5 bucks doing it. What other theme park lets you do that?

 

7) We had a group meal ticket which promised an entree, side dish, and drink at any non-buffet restaurant. We decided to brave the brick oven baked pizza by the Tom Sawyer area, and were told that our ticket limited us to an 8" pizza and a drink, despite the fact that other menu options were the same price (including the calzone that I wanted to try). If they want to use this option more often, they need to be a little more clear as to what's included.

 

8) I realize this was a little early in the season, but there were very few operating shows. I don't know if they plan to run some more headliner shows later this season (2011's acrobats in the Opera House was breathtaking and was quite simply the best theme park show I've ever seen), but these are welcome diversions and great alternatives to the musical groups in other venues of the park.

 

9) If you go, please stop and talk to some of the artisans! To my DW and I, this is the charm and lifeblood of SDC- the crafters and artists creating the candy, soap, ironwork, woodwork, glass, pottery, and countless other things in the park. They love to demonstrate and love to talk with you about their craft. Let's see Disney do that!

 

10) We didn't do the Marvel Cave this time, but we should have. The cave is simply mesmerizing, and would be worth the price of admission all on its own. If you come to SDC, PLEASE carve out 60-90 minutes to tour the cave, or you're missing out.

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  • 3 weeks later...

What was your guy's favorite part of the ride? Could someone please tell me what the Wave Turn or Wallcrawler feels like, and same with the double barrel roll. Is it more of just a stunt, or does it really stand out as an element when you ride it. I did hear some great reports about tons of hangtime on the second roll, but then others just said that it never stood out that much, but still a good element nonetheless.

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The twist and turn is awesome because you are going SUPER fast through it.

 

The barrel rolls are freaking amazing because you dangle out of your seat.

 

The drop is probably my favorite part of the ride.

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Not sure which element the "wall crawler" is (wave turn?) but for me the twist & turn through the lift and wave turn are the best parts. The twist & turn is great because you get sustained airtime at the apex which then gets amplified when the train moves laterally downward for quick directional change. The wave turn is entirely unique in that it's basically an airtime hill turned on its side with a bit of reverse curvature to give simultaneous airtime on both the rider's axis (up from the seat when the rider is sideways) and the true vertical axis from the ground up (anyone with a better understanding of physics feel free to clean this up).

 

The first drop of course has extreme ejector air but it doesn't feel like it lasts as long as on El Toro or Voyage's drops. The barrel rolls are the perfect climax to the ride but don't have the amazing contrast of forces as the twist & turn or wave turn.

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Hey guys! Went to the park this week and I thought I might share a quick trip report.

 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

I was in Branson last week with family enjoying our stay at a condo next to Table Rock Lake. Fortunately, we had a day planned for Silver Dollar City, and I requested that we go on a Tuesday with the hopes of running into lighter crowds.

 

We arrived at the park thirty minutes early, and I took in all the sights and sounds of the main square while everything was roped off. I was quickly absorbed in the 1880s setting and was impressed at how unique Silver Dollar City is. Their attention to little details scattered throughout the park really add up. The opening ceremony before the rope drop was also a nice touch.

 

I made the mistake of waiting at the rope drop next to Grandfather’s Mansion thinking it would lead me on the fastest path towards Outlaw Run. I realized my mistake when I noticed thirty people ahead of me brisk walking when my path connected with another near Riverblast.

 

I still managed to be the third train of the day for Outlaw Run, and I chose the back row. The ride was quite a rush, and it cracked the #1 spot on my list. The train never let up, and the ejector air on the first drop was extreme. The final barrel rolls were a sensation I’ve never felt on a coaster before and they were probably my favorite element on Outlaw Run. The head-choppers on the drop under the lift were a surprise as well. A fantastic coaster overall and an excellent addition to the park.

 

My next stop was Powder Keg, and again I chose the back row. Like Outlaw Run, there was lots of airtime to behold. I recall more floater air on the second drop with heavy ejector air on the first. The ride was a walk-on when we arrived.

My second ride on this later in the day was an unfortunate experience. This go-around had the longest wait of the day (at ten minutes) and I managed to sit in the front row. I got caught in an uncomfortable position as I was stapled with the lapbar, and my pelvis rubbed against it the entire ride. However, the excellent first ride of the day made me forget this later on.

 

Wildfire was next.

I managed two rides throughout the day on the front row, and the line was practically a walk-on each time.

I was shocked at how intense and forceful this ride was. It’s probably my new favorite B&M. This is truly an underrated coaster.

 

Thunderation was another surprise as well. I wasn’t expecting it to pick up so much steam heading out of the station. Another fantastic terrain coaster.

 

Fire in the Hole needs a facelift, but I found it rather adorable and a good escape from the heat. I wasn’t expecting the drop into the water and I walked away drenched, but it was welcoming once I started to walk around in the hot air.

 

I was lucky enough to be the last person allowed on the 2:30 tour for Marvel Cave, and this attraction really added to the charm of the park. Walking around in the “redneck air-conditioning” was also a blessing, and the cathedral room was quite a sight. Totally worth it, and you shouldn’t miss out on this when visiting Silver Dollar City. It’s a unique experience you can’t get at another theme park.

 

Overall, I walked away from the park thinking it was on the level of Disney and Universal when it comes to themeing and experience. The small details in the park such as the craftsmen, FOOD, scenery, shade, and stores all add up. It’s now one of my favorite parks in the country.

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My first glimpse of Outlaw Run.

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I believe this was the first train of the day.

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Lines picked up after my first ride, and this was the most crowded I saw it that day. My second ride was nearly a walk-on in the middle of the afternoon.

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Common shot of Wildfire.

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The cathedral room of Marvel Cave. This is the first flight of stairs you encounter.

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What sensation do you exactly get on the barrel rolls? Is it just a smooth inversion, or do you feel like "floating through the air" or something?

 

Also, what is the strongest moment of airtime on the ride? Is the air as strong as on Toro and Skyrush?

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What sensation do you exactly get on the barrel rolls? Is it just a smooth inversion, or do you feel like "floating through the air" or something?

 

Also, what is the strongest moment of airtime on the ride? Is the air as strong as on Toro and Skyrush?

Um, it is smooth AND you feel like you're floating through the air.

 

Sorry, I can't really describe the airtime. No moment of airtime really stood out to me. I mean, I guess the sideways airtime hill was cool, but it wasn't the best moment of the ride.

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What sensation do you exactly get on the barrel rolls? Is it just a smooth inversion, or do you feel like "floating through the air" or something?

 

Also, what is the strongest moment of airtime on the ride? Is the air as strong as on Toro and Skyrush?

 

The barrel rolls are very fluid, but the second one in particular, if you're towards the back of the train, has you dangling upside down from the lapbar. Scared me the first time, can't lie about that.

 

The airtime is strong throughout the ride, and because each element is so unique, it's almost hard to tell what's the "strongest". The first drop has a significant punch without a doubt. I'd have to say the curve/drop through the lift, followed by the wave turn, is probably the best chunk of the ride in terms of air. They're taken at a ridiculous speed, and the airtime in both is different than anything I've felt before.

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