Looks like the flooding and high gas prices have hit SDC hard so far this year. Here's an excerpt from a June 22 article on KMBC-TV (Kansas City)'s website:
"Attendance at Silver Dollar City, an amusement park [sic-a
theme park] in Branson, is down by 73,000 this year, or 11 percent, said spokeswoman Lisa Rau. She said the biggest drop is among visitors traveling more than 300 miles, reflecting the impact of $4-per-gallon gasoline.
Rain only exacerbates the problem, she said. "The weather has felt so dangerous to people that if the forecast is not good, they don't want to venture out," Rau said. "That's all America's heartland feeling that way."
But tourism officials are also looking to regain some lost ground as the summer wears on and saw some bright spots in the sluggish spring.
Rau said Silver Dollar City is actually attracting more people so far this month than in June 2007 and is advertising online packages to attract bargain shoppers."
Hopefully they can catch up a little bit as the summer season swings into high gear, but I wouldn't be surprised if attendance numbers are a little below expectations once the year is over.
Here's a link to the full article, which is a good read:
http://www.kmbc.com/news/16679545/detail.html
