Recently named #1 in the USA Today Reader's Choice 10 Best Theme Parks, Silver Dollar City once again steps into the national spotlight.
Long a convenient and affordable local favorite, this Branson, Missouri, theme park has seen a growing number of families and thrill-seekers traveling far and wide to discover its increasingly impressive attractions.
New rides and improved facilities are just the beginning. With the recent acquisition of a large swath of gorgeous lake-front property in the rolling Ozark Mountains, Silver Dollar City seems poised for a grand transformation to put even big-name parks on the coast to shame.
Closer Than Others
Located within day-trip distance for one-third of the U.S. population, Silver Dollar City has always been more accessible than more well-known theme parks on the coasts.
While it's long been a primarily local favorite, Silver Dollar City has benefited from the road trip boom in recent years, with thrill-seekers finding that this closer-to-home park has more to offer than its famous competitors.
“Located in the Heartland of America, [Silver Dollar City] is within an 8-hour drive from Dallas to Chicago,” says Dalton Fischer, communications manager at Silver Dollar City Attractions. “We have seen increases from those markets as our guests choose to travel in their vehicles.”
It's making a dent in visitor numbers once overwhelmed by nearby cities in the Ozarks, like Springfield, Northern Arkansas cities like Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Rogers, and larger Midwestern cities like St. Louis and Kansas City.
Sarah Gilliland, theme park enthusiast, Travel Editor at Wealth of Geeks, and writer at On The Road With Sarah, first visited the park as a kid living nearby. However, she recently chose to travel much farther to bring her own family to visit the park.
“[Silver Dollar City] has changed so much since I was a kid!” Now traveling to the park with family in tow from Birmingham, Alabama, Gilliland says, “It was worth the travel time of about 8 hours. We travel farther than that to visit Orlando regularly.”
Rides, Attractions
Travelers from far and wide are finding a lot to love in this 1880s-themed amusement park, including an increasingly impressive array of attractions, rides, and events to complete with the best.
After enjoying rides at some of the biggest-name amusement parks in the country, Gilliand particularly raved about the rides at Silver Dollar City. “When I tell you [the Time Traveler coaster] was the best I've ever been on, I mean it. It was so fun; I laughed and screamed the entire time.”
The park is even making bold moves to improve its offerings. After a decades-long history, the park is retiring the original fan-favorite “Fire In The Hole” ride to make way for new attractions and “paving the way for continued growth and new adventures at Silver Dollar City,” said Brad Thomas, president of Silver Dollar City Attractions.
“There will be exciting announcements in the future!”
Upping the Ante
New rides are just the start. Adding new spring and summer street festivals and themed holiday celebrations has drawn both crowds and national acclaim.
Silver Dollar City's “An Old Time Christmas” is a cherished favorite, a five-time winner of USA Today‘s 10Best Readers' Choice award for Best Theme Park Holiday Event. Six and a half million twinkling lights await guests alongside daily live holiday shows, festive foods, and more than one thousand decorated Christmas trees.
Then there's Silver Dollar City's gorgeous new piece of land. Eight hundred acres of rolling hills with direct access to Table Rock Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in the region, spells transformational change for the park.
While Silver Dollar City has yet to reveal its plans for the newly acquired property, it represents the park's next step to topple competitors: making bold moves.
A Genuine Experience
While the park grows and gains unprecedented popularity, it's not likely to outgrow what has always made it such a fan favorite: its authenticity.
No frying on a flat blacktop here! The park is built into the landscape of the rolling hills of the Ozarks, with old-growth trees shading attractions while natural waterfalls and rivers flow among rides.
Visitors can even tour Marvel Cave during their visit to Silver Dollar City. This is the area's original attraction, with its Cathedral Room among North America's largest cave entrance rooms.
Silver Dollar City prides itself on its attention to detail in the guest experience. Every element recalls the area's history, creating an immersive visit. Barbeque spends hours in the smoker before making its way to guests; cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are handmade in Eva and Delilah's Bakery; even rides are named after historical events and characters that shaped the story of the region.
Its uniqueness from other theme and amusement park experiences is one that guests notice immediately. “It feels less like a corporate, overly-produced experience and more like… a people-focused experience,” says Gilliand. It's a difference worth coming back to experience again and again.
As fans wait for Silver Dollar City's upcoming announcements, its unhurried and uncomplicated real nature will always set it above the rest.
This article was produced by Explorers Away and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/midwestern-theme-park/
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