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I am looking at doing a quick road trip with my kids (shortest one is about 49") sometime in August. It will be a Thursday - Sunday trip. (We could leave Wednesday afternoon if needed.) Would like to visit 2 different parks.
I'm thinking drive Thursday, park Friday, drive Friday night, park Saturday, and drive home Sunday.
We are in Springfield, MO. We prefer more theme park vs amusement park (SDC, Dollywood, Disneyland, and Animal Kingdom are some of our favorite parks.)

We've done Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, and we also do Dollywood every year.

What are your suggestions?

It has been reported that the new ride opening in 2026 is an indoor ride that will do something that no other indoor ride in the world does. Any guesses?

The Mine Restaurant will be open serving the buffet on Thanksgiving along with Molly's Mill and Reunion Hall.

There will be a renewal sale for current pass holders for the first time.
The sale begins on October 9th.
No other info has been released yet.

The 2024 ornament is Fire in the Hole.

https://ozarkly.com/stories/cherished-christmas-ornaments/

As other parks being to make announcements for 2025 and we approach the year anniversary of the Fire in the Hole announcement event, what are we thinking for SDC?

Coaster construction has begun at the new theme park being built at Lake of the Ozarks.

Anyone know what makes and models they are putting in?

https://www.lakeexpo.com/real_estate/roller-coaster-construction-begins-at-the-oasis-new-lake-of-the-ozarks-amusement-park/article_2dfa3b8c-2450-11ef-b87f-7f466df79517.html

Anyone hear anything about why Thunderation has been down the past few days?
Looking at past wait times, looks like it might have started to be down on the 26th and is still closed today.

It's that time of year again! Silver Dollar City is up for the Best Theme Park in the USA and Rivertown Ramblers is up for Best Theme Park Entertainment. Voting will go through April 22nd.

Remember, you can vote DAILY!

Best Theme Park: https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-theme-park-2024/silver-dollar-city-branson-missouri/

Best Entertainment: https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-theme-park-entertainment-2024/rivertown-ramblers-at-silver-dollar-city-branson-missouri/

If you would like daily email reminders with voting links, you can register here: https://forms.gle/CGhYFnPNSyP1rGsL8

*This form is not affiliated with SDC and is just a fan ran reminder email. Your info will not be used for anything other than vote reminder emails and you can unsubscribe if you would like.

Dollywood announced that they are replacing the launch on Lighting Rod with a fast chain lift and that they are getting new trains. The launch was cool and we got lucky to ride it every trip we took, but I don't think it was worth the amount of down time that it had.

It will close for the season on October 30th and reopen in Spring 2024. Other than the lift, the rest of the ride experience will be the same, even the same top speed.

For me, the more interesting part of the announcement is new trains. I much prefer the Outlaw Run trains over the Lighting Rod ones. The high headrest on them made them feel much less open than the Outlaw Run twins. Now without the launch, I wonder if they will be more like the Outlaw Run ones.

https://www.facebook.com/dollywood/videos/1359445871311763/

These self serve photo kiosks are going up around the City. We used them at Dollywood and loved them. With a season photo card it made it much easier to get our photos and not have to wait when people were ordering prints.

A new $2 Billion park was announced today for northeast Oklahoma. It is backed by the Mansion Entertainment Group from Branson. Currently, it is slated to open in 2026.

https://www.americanheartlandthemepark.com
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230719039822/en/American-Heartland-Announces-2-Billion-Theme-Park-and-Resort-Development-in-Northeast-Oklahoma

Has anyone noticed the new security cameras that are in the ride stations? When the train is in the station they have bright white lights that turn on and after the train has left the station, the lights turn off. I noticed it a while ago in WildFire but noticed one in Fire in the Hole on our last trip. I assume that it is a new safety/insurance thing.

There is just over a week left to vote for SDC as the best theme park.

Vote: http://silverdollarcity.com/vote

Get Daily Reminders: https://forms.gle/ZJzcJTgv4Y8ihkdg6

$30 Million in investments. They have announced the return of the furniture factory, fried fancies, new entrance/parking experience, and student housing. The ending of the video has a huge hint toward Fire in the Hole.

https://twitter.com/sdcattractions/status/1584885182083072001?s=46&t=YCUs1zYAc1ENzBn-MWyNNw

The metal detectors have been upgraded to the ones like Disney where it can clear you through bad check if nothing suspicious is detected. It's a much better entry experience compared to the old style detectors.

Yesterday, Herschend announced free tuition for all employees at all of their properties. Looks to be a great perk for workers.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/herschend-enterprises-11-000-employees-to-receive-100-free-tuition-301477917.html

Sounds like there will be fireworks on the square this Sunday at 5:00 with the tree lighting. I haven't seen any other details.

2022 passes are now on sale. They now come in Silver, Gold, and Diamond. You also now have the option to use the app to show a digital version of your pass.

VIP cups for 2022 aren't listed quite yet.

Also, National Kids Fest is returning for the summer. No details beyond that though.

It sounds like Herschend approached Silverwood about a sale. While they are saying that they do not want to sell, it sounds like they are open to some sort of partnership.

https://cdapress.com/news/2021/oct/30/silverwood-staying-norton-family/