Coaster Community

May 7, 2006

Even though the skies looked threatening, Silver Dollar City drew a huge crowd for the last day of World Fest, 2006.  We started our day a little later than we had planned, after a 30 minute traffic jam getting into the park we hit the front gates around noon. The sun was starting to peek through the clouds as we stopped to get a few photos of Wildfire from the parking lot. It seemed like thousands upon thousands of people were in the park today, creating long lines for everything including rides, food, restrooms and of course the shows.

We learned a major lesson in theme park going on this visit. Always call ahead to find out the park schedule! We had planned on spending Sunday and Monday in the park.  We found out about half way into our day on Sunday that they were in fact closed on Monday, so that put us in a bind to get everything done by closing time Sunday. Our park experience suffered from our bad planning, but we can’t blame that on SDC. The park was well-staffed for the crowds, the restrooms and walkways were generally clean throughout the day, and all the staff members we encountered were very nice. Some that we talked to said they were glad the park would be closed Monday, and they looked like they needed a break! But that didn’t dampen their spirits with the park guests.

Our first order of business was to get in our first-ever ride on Powder Keg. We waited about 25 or 30 minutes and we got a spot near the back of the train. The launch definitely has character, with all the sound effects and pyrotechnics, not to mention the speed and power you feel as it hurtles you up and over the first drop. After the thrill of the launch this coaster gives you a couple seconds to get your bearings as you ascend the lift hill in the middle of the ride. You can get a nice view of Wildfire from there, too bad we couldn’t take a picture! Then comes the last drop, fast and steep. Overall this is a really fun ride, the perfect addition to the park.

After Powder Keg we high-tailed it to our favorite ride in the park, Wildfire. We love Wildfire, from lift hill to final break, front row, back row or somewhere in the middle it’s a great ride. My favorite element is the first drop; the speed is so intense I feel like I’ve left my stomach at the top of the lift hill. This coaster is deceptively tall, because it sits on the side of an Ozark “mountain” a lot of the track sits high above the towering oak trees. This makes it seem impossibly high as you swoop through the inversions. We never waited longer than 20 minutes to ride Wildfire, since they were running two trains and the operators are pretty speedy with loading and unloading people. It’s been two years and several coasters since we rode Wildfire and we were pleasantly surprised at how much we still liked it. It’s definitely still in our top 5.

We also took a spin on Thunderation which was about a 30 minute wait. There was only one train running and several people in front of us rode by themselves. The ride operators didn’t seem to make an effort to pair up single riders and this really slowed down the line. Although it’s a pretty moderate coaster thrill-wise we still have fun every time we ride it. I think all the tunnels and terrain loving turns add a little something extra to this mine train ride.

After that, we stopped off at Buckshot Annie’s for some succotash skillets which were mighty tasty. Later we sampled some of the European desserts in the Freight Barn. Silver Dollar City always has great food, and during World Fest there are a million more choices to tempt you. Jamaican, Mexican, Greek, Italian; they have it all and more at World Fest.    

We finally made it into the Grand Exposition around mid-afternoon. We had to fight major crowds going into this area, because everyone and their brother was waiting in line for the Moscow Circus and it really clogged the walkways.  As you probably know, the Grand Exposition was just opened this spring and features 10 new rides. The entire area is very nicely themed, and it’s quite a departure from the rest of the park. Freshly painted trellises, formal flower gardens and sculptured landscaping, as well as a few patriotic statues are scattered throughout the area. It feels like a Victorian-era town square merged with an old-fashioned fair. It is very urban compared to the rest of the park, but it’s not short on charm.

We were only able to ride the Wave Carousel because we were short on time. We waited about 20 minutes to ride it, although it seats a lot of people, it takes forever to load. Due to long lines at all the other rides, we decided to try them on our next park visit. We hope that the long lines were just because of the amount of people and not because of operational issues like loading times.

This area seemed to be a big draw for families with younger kids. There are some kiddie rides, like the Happy Frogs, Ladybugs and Wings of Wonder, but there’s plenty of mid-level thrills for older kids and adults too. We were disappointed we didn’t have time to ride the Electro-Spin Disko or the small Grand Exposition Coaster, but we’ll be sure to take a spin on our next trip.

With so many new thrills Silver Dollar City is really a destination park, and we hope everyone has the chance to check it out this year. We hope to head back in June for the Bluegrass & BBQ Fest and hopefully for the Christmas season. We’ll definitely plan ahead next time!