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Silver Dollar City (SDC) Discussion Thread

p. 274: New Fire in the Hole announced for 2024!

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Got to visit the park this weekend and I just have to say how wonderful the park is already. I’ll have a trip report with pics and such up soon but there was one thing I wanted to mention that I haven’t seen talked about yet. It appears that Fire In The Hole got a lot of work over the offseason. The biggest changes was in lighting. I don’t know if the lanterns were like it last season, but now it looks like it has a real flame inside. The atmospheric lighting was updated too, lot more vibrant colors. They may have even added more lighting and theming because there were many things I’ve never noticed on the ride. But I wish I could say the same about Flooded Mine. I, in my opinion had the worst ride on it yet. There were a ton of major effects and scenes broken, targets not working, many guns not responsive. The runaway saw blade scene was broke. The most disappointing thing was the loss of the tnt geyser scene. There is no explosion audio anymore, the geyser never worked, and the big water dump only happened on one of my rides. I *really* hope this ride gets some love in the future. It’s really sad the condition it is in.

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I was talking with one of the Flooded Mine workers and apparently a bunch of stuff suddenly decided to break all at once this week. They've already been constantly forced to do more with less every year. The park has had countless opportunities to replace the guns, sound system, etc, but they don't see the ROI in it, so they let it limp along. It's the Mean Streak treatment: let a formerly good ride slowly die until the guests forget what it used to be and are begging for a replacement.

 

I mean, they practically hid it with the new restaurant setup. Didn't even give it a new sign. There's no way that was simply overlooked...

 

Anyway though, Time Traveler was fun, but different than I thought it would be. Everyone seems to really enjoy it, so it's a definite hit for the park. It is the most gentle thrill ride ever built, but that's not a bad thing when they already have OR and Wildfire across the park. It's already having some typical opening issues though. It was down most of Sunday due to some kind of launch issue. Some riders were temporarily stuck on the launch apparently - nothing major and I don't think they were there too long. The restraints are also acting tricky - they keep not wanting to release on the unload platform, so they often have to pull into the station and reset some stuff to get people off. This slows everything down of course.

 

I also took my annual Marvel Cave tour which always blows me away no matter how many times I've done it. I'll post some of my photos and more thoughts later.

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Glad to hear Time Traveler is a really good coaster. Looking forward to trying it in a few months.

 

Just a little off topic, but America's Fun Park down the road just announced they are adding a second roller coaster: the Windstorm coaster from Fun Forest!

 

I heard about that park a month ago when it was announced and was intrigued to hear what rides they'd get. If it's up by Memorial Day weekend, I definitely plan on stopping in.

 

It also looks like they'll be getting one of those Interpark Super Cyclone coasters that seem to popping up quite a bit. At least 3 of the traveling fairs in New England have added them in the past few years plus a few smaller parks like Santa's Village and Como Town. Hopefully this one doesn't have comfort collars like the one with Fiesta Shows.

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An hour and forty minutes? I don't think I could have held out. Props to your boy for being able to be patient enough to put up with that. He must be a great kid. I would have whined the entire time at that age.

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^ That is a beautiful video. I don't have any 4K screens, but it looks vibrant, especially for a Missouri winter.

 

An hour and forty minutes? I don't think I could have held out. Props to your boy for being able to be patient enough to put up with that. He must be a great kid. I would have whined the entire time at that age.

During the delay, he did try to grab my arm a couple of times and get me to go further down the queue. I kept having to explain that we will ride it, just a few minutes. Helped that we stopped right at the top of the stairs from first floor to second, so we could see out the windows at the trains that were testing.

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Here's some photos from my weekend.

 

The Fun Spot is doing some serious construction. I have been curious what their scale is. I thought it might just be a few rides and portapotties, but they are in fact building some permanent structures and laying a lot of ground work.

 

Just one question: where are people going to park?

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Yup, opening weekend crowd. This is right before rope drop.

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The opening queue wrapped all the way to the dippin dots stand. It took awhile just to finally reach the entrance.

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I was hoping for a little more down here, but it's nice to have another fully indoor climate-controlled queue. Hopefully we won't be stuck down here too much in the coming years anyway.

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It is nice how well you can see the ride from the windows. It's awesome for first time riders, and fun to see the reactions.

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The top level is pretty cool, and I like the thought put into things like the lights. Need to work on that soundtrack though, the bell tolls are very shrill.

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You can hardly tell that a pathway used to cut through here. There was a dense thicket of trees here as well, and the old eating area was where the main path is now. It honestly looks like it has always been this way though apart from the fresh concrete. They blended it in with the existing park perfectly.

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Those trees are actually brand new to the park. They brought in mature trees. Bit of an issue for people exiting Flooded Mine though... they have to figure out how to get through the eating area, around the shops, and back to the FM entrance. Not easy for people new to the park.

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The poles for the Christmas in Midtown aerial stuff are now "flag poles". Kinda mars the old midtown feel, but what can you do...

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Love this. Want it everywhere. Glad they have this much though.

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Still love the Flooded Mine

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One of the old SDC steam trains has been retired and is now on display across from the station.

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Awesome little shop. I had the ostrich.

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Tater patch skillet.

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This is stamped 1797. There's a good chance it is authentic.

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The steam powered lathe looks ready to go this year. This is one of my favorite off-the-beaten-track things at SDC.

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Birdle's cabin is back open after being closed off late last year. Doesn't look like anything has been done inside though... it's kinda falling apart.

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Marvel Cave is one of those things you hear about and don't necessarily get around to doing since there are coasters to ride, but it is an EXCELLENT cave. It's no wonder it got so popular that they had to add stuff for people waiting in line.

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Fun Spot/Park/Place

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What wonderful pictures of SDC and Time Traveler! And thanks for the nice construction update on America's Fun Park! I wonder if the parking lot will be in the same place it was before construction, and they just wanted to replace all the pavement? I don't know. I'm excited, mainly for the Spider, Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, and Windstorm.

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Here is my compiled footage from opening day.

Featured in the video:

0:11 Opening Ceremony at Red Gold Heritage Hall

4:15 Pre-Opening Station Tour and POV

6:33 Ride Queue walk-thru

9:10 Ground level POV of ride layout with first riders on board

13:04 New Valley Road area layout with new food and shop buildings

 

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Thanks! That is evil, and I totally approve. That was a first for me, seeing someone parked in a place that isn't a spot. That marker on your map is super far away, but there actually are a couple more lots even farther south on Indian Point Road. If you're looking on Google Maps, find Deer Run Motel. There's a road that comes off of Indian Point right across from there and runs parallel to it for a long way. That's SDC overflow parking all along there. Put that jackass at the end of that road/parking lot. Guaranteed they will never find their car.

 

That's why I will likely never be a manager of any type.

 

The first time someone did something totally stupid like that, I would be inclined to react in that manner in order to teach them a lesson. I was raised that if you broke the rules or did something stupid, that there were consequences to be had. Not sure when a big chunk of American society dropped common sense from their morals, but it seems to have exploded in the last ten or so years.

 

Now everyone makes mistakes (including myself and I have no problem admitting when I do) and I get that, but when there are signs everywhere telling you TRAM STOP - NO PARKING, then the person gets what they deserve - a basic lesson on how to not be stupid.

 

On another note, I have to say that despite the skillet dinners always looking phenomenal in PTR's from here and Dollywood, does anyone else think that Tater Skillet in the trip report looks kind of nasty? Perhaps it was just the lighting?

 

What was your take on that tater skillet Shave The Whales?

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I think a good chunk of the population don't actually have morals, they just do what they're told. Thoughtfulness is and always has been rare. I don't think people are stupider now than they were 10 years ago, it's just that it's easier to broadcast your stupidity now. A decade ago I would have pointed and laughed at that guy and maybe told some friends about him, but now I took a photo with my phone and put it up on the Internet for everyone to point and laugh. Therein is the difference.

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Thanks! That is evil, and I totally approve. That was a first for me, seeing someone parked in a place that isn't a spot. That marker on your map is super far away, but there actually are a couple more lots even farther south on Indian Point Road. If you're looking on Google Maps, find Deer Run Motel. There's a road that comes off of Indian Point right across from there and runs parallel to it for a long way. That's SDC overflow parking all along there. Put that jackass at the end of that road/parking lot. Guaranteed they will never find their car.

 

That's why I will likely never be a manager of any type.

 

The first time someone did something totally stupid like that, I would be inclined to react in that manner in order to teach them a lesson. I was raised that if you broke the rules or did something stupid, that there were consequences to be had. Not sure when a big chunk of American society dropped common sense from their morals, but it seems to have exploded in the last ten or so years.

 

Now everyone makes mistakes (including myself and I have no problem admitting when I do) and I get that, but when there are signs everywhere telling you TRAM STOP - NO PARKING, then the person gets what they deserve - a basic lesson on how to not be stupid.

 

On another note, I have to say that despite the skillet dinners always looking phenomenal in Photo TR's from here and Dollywood, does anyone else think that Tater Skillet in the trip report looks kind of nasty? Perhaps it was just the lighting?

 

What was your take on that tater skillet Shave The Whales?

 

Preach!

 

As for the tater skillet, I thought it looked like a platter of carb deliciousness.

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GAHHHHHH I just wrote a long, detailed post about our trip this weekend, but then my computer decided to restart while I made lunch.

 

Short version: We went Sunday. Lined up at the rope at 9:15 (opened at 9:30). Time Traveler was not running at 9:30 due to it being too cold. We grabbed breakfast then queued up for TT at about 9:55. "Fun pic" station is a choke point in the queue - we got through it and the bottom level of TT was about 80% empty- makes you wonder how it will affect crowd control once TT is running at full capacity.

 

The first TT train of the day rolled at 10:15. We climbed on the ride at 11:15. At its best, they were releasing a train every 90 seconds. The worst time between trains that I timed was 4 and a half minutes. In the queue, we enjoyed what theming there was (less theming means less to turn off and let rot - here's looking at you, WildFire) and especially enjoyed the game of identifying the songs on the PA and why they were included on the playlist (we're still confused by "Free Bird").

 

The ride itself was awesome. My wife and I giggled the whole time, and it was the most flat-out FUN that we've had on a ride in a long time. It's just 60 seconds long, but with no lift hills or other time wasters, it's a very tight 60 seconds and felt worth the wait.

 

Now the bad: A lot of things felt the weight of daily operation. Our photo card, for example, pulled up a completely different bunch of guests and our photo was nowhere to be found. Above, I mentioned the disparity between launch times. We had some students behind us in line, perhaps 30-60 minutes behind. Their car came into the station sideways and had to pull into the loading platform to be straightened. The entire ride closed shortly after that.

 

Around 3:30 we came back to the area to ride Thunderation and the ride was still closed. While we rode Thunderation, we watched them cycle one of the trains, but the other stayed parked at the first launch until well after we were off Thunderation. As a side note, it feels strange to have a coaster right next to Thunderation. The jury is still out in my head if Thunderation is made better or worse by its new neighbor. As you would expect, about a hundred people or so remained lined up OUTSIDE OF THE QUEUE for Time Traveler, hoping that it would reopen. It did not.

 

Notes for the rest of the park: It was an average attendance day, in my opinion. We didn't get over to Powderkeg, but we waited about 45 minutes for WildFire, maybe 20 minutes for Fire In The Hole, 10 minutes for Thunderation (TT was closed, and that cleared out this area of the park), and shockingly, Outlaw Run was a walk-on in the early afternoon. I think signage might have had something to do with this. If you didn't have a map in your hand, a first-time or occasional guest would have no idea you'd have to go through an archway labeled "Giant Barn Swing" in order to get to Outlaw Run. Or that an archway labeled "American Plunge" is a regular walkway and NOT actually the queue for American Plunge... or WildFire, for that matter.

 

The map was frustrating as well. There were several times when we got turned around and the map couldn't help us- it only labels major things and all others are assigned using coordinates like "D-4," which is really confusing on a small scale map. The cartoon style map didn't always relate to real-world pathways and buildings.

 

All in, though, I still adore Silver Dollar City. I need to get out to some more parks, but I haven't seen anything outside of the Disney/Universal level of park that "buys in" to the theming as much as SDC. With their newest investments into the park, it's certainly a top-tier park in my eyes.

 

And Time Traveler? For the moment, it dethrones Outlaw Run as my new #1 coaster (although admittedly my coaster count is a pretty modest 48).

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On another note, I have to say that despite the skillet dinners always looking phenomenal in Photo TR's from here and Dollywood, does anyone else think that Tater Skillet in the trip report looks kind of nasty? Perhaps it was just the lighting?

 

What was your take on that tater skillet Shave The Whales?

 

It was alright. It's basically mashed sweet and regular potatoes with a bit of onions and spices and some sausage on top. The consistency can vary throughout the day.

 

I think the other skillets are probably better, but I wanted to try this again since it is "new".

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The family and I went to Silver Dollar City for the first time over the weekend and we came away very impressed. We went Friday and Saturday. Friday the park was not busy at all, due to a chance of rain. We had either walk-ons or very little wait for just about everything except Time Traveler. Saturday was very busy (as we expected) but we were still able to do everything we wanted to do. Some thoughts from the trip;

 

Overall - We thought the condition of the park and the theming were terrific. The park was really clean and well cared for. Being early spring we feel we didn't get the full effect without all of the vegetation and trees in bloom but we still thought it was great. Can't wait to return in late spring or summer to check it out, hopefully next year.

 

Food - We all agreed the food was excellent. The skillets were unique and worth the $. The cinnamon bread....OMG...everything I have heard is true! My wife and I polished off the whole loaf...well the kids had a little, but had to fight us for it!

 

Service - Most everyone we came into contact was really friendly, engaging and helpful. A huge difference from most other parks we have been to.

 

Rides - Great selection overall. Truly something for everyone. Some highlights;

 

Outlaw Run - Wow! What a great, fun intense coaster. The drop was crazy! Really outstanding air time as well. The zero G rolls were a perfect way to end a fabulous coaster. Moved into my Top 5 overall. 10/10

 

Wildfire - Really fun, solid ride, as expected. Really smooth for a almost 20 year old ride. No head banging at all, which is always a huge plus. Great location and views added to the experience. Can't go wrong with a B&M, at least I haven't yet. 8/10

 

Powder Keg - Good ride. Liked the launch and was fun overall. One thing I didn't care for were the seats. They were not comfortable to me at all. 7/10

 

Thunderation - Really good mine train. Probably the best I have been on. Nice layout and really good speed, especially for a MT. The ride was also pretty smooth, except there were a couple spots on the second helix right before the lift hill that were pretty rough. 7/10

 

Fire in the Hole. Really fun little ride. The unexpected drops got the kids attention 6/10

 

Barn Swing - Good ride. Pretty cool going through the barn. Not as intense, or fast as Riddler here at SFOT, but not much is. Still really good 7/10

 

Time Traveler - This ride exceeded my expectations, by a lot. I had been worried about the "spinning" since it was announced. As mentioned, it rotates more than spins and that rotating turns a coaster with some fairly basic elements into one of the most fun coasters I have ever been on. Not the best coaster, but definitely one of the most fun. The family loved it also! It was my son's first coaster with an inversion and he came off the ride with a huge grin! I really like that it will be a different ride and experience each time. 9/10

 

We arrived before rope drop and made our way to TT both mornings. Friday we waited an hour and 20 minutes, but that was apparently due to some media event. Once they opened the ride it took abut 25 minutes to get on. Saturday it was about a 20 minute wait. The rest of the time the app was showing anywhere from 90-150 minute wait time, or the ride was down, which it was during late Saturday afternoon.

 

Marvel Cave - So glad we did this. What a fantastic experience...and in a theme park, no less.

 

We also rode Flooded Mine which was fun, but the kids prefer Justice League. Actually I do too, but it was a unique, cool ride.

 

The train was awesome! The kids enjoyed the "robbery" and I enjoyed getting some looks/pics of Outlaw Run.

 

The Fireman's Landing area was really well done. The kids really enjoyed the play area, and I didn't hate it either.

 

I can't say enough good things about SDC. Top to bottom just a first class park. We are already thinking about heading back up sometime, but it is a 7.5 hour drive for us. Not sure when we will be back but was have some unforgettable memories to hold us over until we do!

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Glad you had a great time! Sounds like you got to do everything you wanted, and you hit the two most important things: cave and cinnamon bread. Agreed on Justice League as well; that's a fantastic ride, and the one I think Six Flags actually does better than SDC.

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Really happy to hear positive impressions on Time Traveler. From the sounds of things, because it’s a controlled rotation it doesn’t feel so much like a typical spinning coaster? My concern would be over spinning and getting a little nauseous, but with that addressed, the thought of taking an inversion sideways sounds really awesome to me. I really appreciate that the park and Mack have taken some risks with a new iteration on the rotating train concept, and it sounds like this is maybe the best version yet. For people that have ridden, is there any apparent consistency in how an element is typically taken in terms of the car's orientation, or is there enough rotation to vary each ride completely?

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The cars definitely do not spin. They rotate slowly. If they spun like I was originally thinking they would, when it was announced, I wouldn't have made it without getting off sick.

 

The ride is different every time. We had the good fortune to get the front seat on both of our rides and they were entirely different. On the first launch, we launched sideways first ride. The second ride we launched just about straight backward. The inversions were totally different as well.

One of my favorite things about this coaster is it will be new and different every time.

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On another note, I have to say that despite the skillet dinners always looking phenomenal in Photo TR's from here and Dollywood, does anyone else think that Tater Skillet in the trip report looks kind of nasty? Perhaps it was just the lighting?

 

What was your take on that tater skillet Shave The Whales?

 

It was alright. It's basically mashed sweet and regular potatoes with a bit of onions and spices and some sausage on top. The consistency can vary throughout the day.

 

I think the other skillets are probably better, but I wanted to try this again since it is "new".

 

Thanks for the review!

 

After checking out all of the dining options at the park on their website, I can see that I am going to have a hard time whittling my choices down! Other than the cinnamon bread (must try), I thought that the fry bread sandwiches, sausage medley skillet, pretzel brat on a stick, grilled chicken and cheese grilled cheese and maybe even the pork rinds all look quite appealing.

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^ LOL...no way I could eat all of that, Bill...even if Michael and I share. We do have two day tickets, but you're right in that could be tough in even two days.

 

That's why I need the expert opinion from SDC vets on here to tell me what they think is best.

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