It only had a brief lifespan, which is too bad...because the Silver Dollar City Wet and Wild Waterslide, located directly across the highway in a wooded area from the SDC Campground office, was one of the best waterslides in the area! I remember it existing from 1978 through about 1981. It was a concrete water slide, themed with the artificial rocks that you see all over SDC...like the big waterfall behind the Lumbercamp, or the rocks along the outside of Lost River. For "citizens" it was part of the pass exchange program, and we could all get in free. A very nicely done waterslide, which vanished just about a year after Whitewater opened down the road on Highway 76. At the top of the waterslide there was a waterfall or two that splashed down on your head, and then down the chute/slide to a small pool at the bottom. I remember the boys from the diving bell got together on a day off in 1980, and enjoyed a couple of hours at the waterslide together. The waterslide was built around trees, so it was mostly in the shade, which made it different from the handful of water slides along the strip that were exposed to the sun. The waterslide complemented the campground, and I really wish they would have continued to operate it after Whitewater opened, but they did not...guess they thought they were competing against themeselves. I searched my files, and cannot find any photos. Does anyone else remember the Wet and Wild Waterslide, and do you have photos you can post?
Ah, yes. It was a fun waterslide. And plenty fast. I got a scrape about the size of a softball on my hip once, just as I splashed out of the chute into the pool.
Great topic and I was wondering when we would come around to talking about it. One of my fondest memories/traditions was grabbing a Peach New York Seltzer from the Campground general store and sipping it while I listened to the cicadas chirp. Then, we would all go over and buy a few trips pass on the waterslide. It sure beat going down onto the strip at night.
My mom would kill me if I ever let her know I told this story in public, but here goes: The lifeguards always seemed very lackadaisical (until a pretty young girl would show up of course). My mom is not a thrill seeker by any stretch and even now, she pours over an entire book while I run through the gammit of attractions. Well, one night we convinced her to go onto the waterslide, and on about the second trip, she plopped "SPLASH" at the bottom. When she came up from the pool, she was completely topless. The bad thing is...she didn't know it.
She wasn't the youngest woman at the slide that night, but you should have seen those teenager lifeguard come to life as we tried to cover her up with our towels. To make things worse, she batted us away because she wasn't sure why we were doing it. I'm glad they didn't kick us out. The next year they bulldozed the place under. Hmmmm..
I would love to see pictures of the old slides for sure, if for nothing else just to show my mom. ;D
So who was more embarrassed - your mom or you?
I was embarrassed....she was mortified!
Wish they still had the waterslide. We'd probably consider camping at the Wilderness for that instead of our usual campground in Branson.