Coaster Community

The Coaster Community team was lucky enough to score an invite to Silver Dollar City's media preview of The Giant Swing.  This S&S creation is a heavily themed version of the Xtreme Swings found in other parts of the country and is set in the new farm section of the park back behind the Lost River.  The swing is surrounded by a large red barn and the detail found in the theming is as impressive as you can find anywhere.

The drive down was a rain filled 4 hour excursion but by leaving in the afternoon we were able to get down there early enough Friday evening to enjoy the show on the Branson Belle as part of the media package.  From the outside the Branson Belle looks like a typical riverboat. But on the inside the showboat seats and feeds 700 at a time and is an impressive site and a pretty cool place to see a show.  The showboat tour on Table Rock Lake included a great meal, a live jazz band, show tunes and ended with the comedian ­­­­Todd Oliver and his talking dogs.  When Silver Dollar City puts on an event they really go all out. 

Saturday was the heart of the event and started with an early morning ERT session on the Giant Swing, which was postponed due to cold temperatures.  Weather aside, we knew right away that this new ride would be another big hit for the park.  The level of detail that Silver Dollar City puts into their rides and park is equaled by few other parks.  They really are among the elite when it comes to THEME parks.  The Giant Swing fits right into the rest of the park, and if you didn't know better it looks as though it has been there since the park opened.  They went so far as to send a thematic painter to S&S's factory in Utah to get the painting just right for those hard to reach areas of the swing.  One of the most intriguing details is the ground you walk on around the swing, from the cobblestone effect on the concrete outside the "Barn" to "hay bales" you are walking on inside.

Our hosts decided to get us to our brunch a little early while we waited for a warm up.  Here we were treated to an all you can eat sampling from their World Fest dinning room and the quality of food is among the best from any park we've ever eaten at.  Dishes from Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean were offered up along with live entertainment from Australia as well as singing troupe from Africa.   Silver Dollar City takes their cuisine as seriously as most high end restaurants do from any major city.  In fact we feel that the selection of food at the park surpasses most of the offerings from the local Branson restaurants.  Not only should you go to the park for the Rides and Shows, you really should consider having at least one meal if not two at the park.

Next up was a front row seat at the show of our choosing.  We decided to check out the Chinese Acrobats and being that close to the action adds a whole new dimension to the show.  Many come to the park specifically for these shows, and with good reason.  However for us at Coaster Community the shows usually only provide sanctuary during inclement weather as we are usually all about the rides. This was a very entertaining show and gave us the time we needed to get the temperature to cooperate.

Since the weather was just barely warm enough to operate the ride it kept park goers away so we only had to wait one cycle prior to getting our first experience.  We got a tip from the MIG crew that facing away from the park would produce better views and they were right.  The backwards swing gave us an interesting view of the Lost River and at the apex of the swing you can bend over a see the rest of the park upside down.  The ride isn't as large as some of the others we've been on but the ride program seems to go a step or two further.  Add in the theming that surrounds The Giant Swing and you have on of the best swing rides built to date.

We made the most of the light crowds and Silver Dollar City's hospitality and scored a front row seat on Powder Keg along with a back row run as well.  It was a great way to jump back into coaster riding season.  We then took a quick front row ride on Wildfire prior to heading back to the Giant Swing for one last round of rides.

It was a quick trip, down Friday afternoon and back on Saturday afternoon.  The room we found was only $33/night but wasn't quite up to the standards we're used to.  With all of the $30 to $35/night choices we would suggest making the Rosalie on Gretna one of the last choices for your nights stay in Branson.