Silver Dollar City TR 8/8

[corn4ahead]

So we decided to take a few day getaway to my grandparents' house in Springfield, Mo which is about an hour from Branson. Of course, one of the things we had to do was SDC. We had done SDC once before in 2003 I think it was but it has been awhile and I was quite young then so I didnt remember much. The last time we came, we went to Celebration City and it was a fun little park and I was quite disappointed to see it close but oh well. Anyway, back to the TR.

We pulled into the parking lot around 10:15 CST and I was very pleased to see that they have a tram service. I really wish KI still had this as it is a nice amenity. We got into the park and then headed straight to Wildfire. Wildfire is such a great ride. It is inversion after inversion after inversion. It's such a short ride but it does so much in that little bit of time. I gotta say, the view from up there is unparalleled. We rode once in the front then once in the middle. Great underrated ride. 9/10

Then we headed to Powder Keg but the line was quite long and we wanted to watch the show in the Saloon right next door. We decided to come back to PK later. The show was pretty funny and the best part had to be when my dad got called up onstage to be a performer. LOL!

Anyway, after the show, the line at PK had really slimmed down. We waited about 25 minutes. Firstly, when I had been to SDC previously, Powder Keg was Buzzsaw Falls. It was an ok water coaster but nothing too special. I got to say, what S&S did to transform the ride is nothing short of spectacular. All the effects and scenery was incredible. The ride, WOW, it was an out of control experience. The launch was so forceful and the first hill EJECTED you out of your seat. Im talking Maverick-esq ejector air. Every hill gave a large pop of air. The helixes and turns had great lats. Those S&S lapbars are amazing. They are so comfortable and loose but yet you feel very secure. Powder Keg is my new most overlooked ride 10/10.

Wow, Im still getting over PK lol. After that, we went over to Fire in the Hole which is more of a dark ride than a roller coaster but still fun none the less. I did enjoy the splashdown at the end though. 6/10

Then we continued onto the big barn swing. For some reason the were only running one side so the wait was like 45 minutes. We would have never waited if we would have known they only ran one side. Skyhawk is much higher anyway.

Next was the Lost River of the Ozarks rafting ride. What a fun ride. We didnt get too wet but it was good for laughs. I would say it is more exciting than WWC though.

After this was lunch and we just decided to get a few of the skillet platters. Boy, they were delicious and to be honest, pretty reasonable in price too. I wish KI would revamp the quality of food. After lunch we decided to hop on Thunderation.

Thunderation is a new breed of minetrain. It is a terrain hugger and a GREAT one at that. As soon as you pull out of the station, you are speeding down the first hill. Boy, does this thing get up to speed too! It was smooth as butter. Once it got to the bottom of the hill/mountain we were on, a chainlift brought us back to the station, or so I thought(because im used to AE), the dang thing threw us into another rather large drop. It was exciting! I would rate Thunderation a 7/10.

I must say, we were getting tired at this point but it really cooled off so we headed to the Grand Exposition part of the park. We went on all the little Carnival rides that they had and we did have a blast there. Unfortunately, we looked up and it was looking like a storm was brewing.

We saw the storm and really wanted to get another ride on PK so we hurried over there. No sooner did we get there did they close it due to lightning. I was so disappointed. I didnt get my second ride on it. . We then headed out of the park and grabbed some kettle corn and sasperilla. Once we got to our car, it started to pour so I guess we had great timing.

Overall, SDC is a great park. It is definitely more of a theme park but has 3 really well hidden gems. Wildfire and PK have worked their way into my top 10 for sure. Great rides. If you are passing through northern Arkansas or Southern Missouri, make sure you make a pit stop at SDC!

[DaveStroem]

We were just at SDC a few weeks ago. It also became one of our favorite parks.