I have solved the dilemma. This came to me in a dream while I was riding the new "Route 66 Coaster" at Silver Dollar City (It was nothing to write home about, by the way.).
The Silver Dollar Line, in conjunction with Doc Harris Enterprises, announces the newly re-engineered "Time Train", an experience to take guests into Silver Dollar City during 1960. What will SDC look like in 1960? you ask. Well, lets see:
First, the train will travel through a "time tunnel" to transport visitors to the future (1960, a symbolic year). Once there, in an area away from the current park, we walk through the Hospitality House, which is now the Hospitality Arcade.
On the other side, the band stand (formerly the gazebo), rocks with popular music of the past decade (50's). The "square" now hosts classic car shows every weekend, with local car clubs showcasing their babies. The Main Street buildings have transformed through the years and now boast their new storefronts and signage, including lots of neon. Hannah's is still Hannahs, but now it's a rockin' soda fountain complete with jerks. Other shops reflect some changes. Costuming is also different now. The Mine and the Mill are now the Mine and Mill Pizza Parlor, Roller Rink, and Bowling Alley, in which guests may rent skates. A more current firetruck is on display on the other side of the square, along with a victory garden in the place of the old homestead.
Working counterclockwise through the condensed version of the park, we find a newer, hipper candy store. The Flooded Mine is now the Flooded Mine mini-golf (a pay-to-play attraction). ThuNderaTion is now the ThuNderaTion Raceway, where guests can drive period cars around a track.
Ice skating is offered at the cannery (a smaller version of the original), and the Grand Exposition has been replaced by a street carnival with the best rides from Celebration City filling the area, with the CC Carousel taking the place of the Wave Carousel. The carnival can even rotate its rides throughout the year so the experience continually changes.
The Lost River and Geyser Gulch have now become the LR and GG waterpark, with any number of waterslides and attractions (White Water is a thing of the past.). Geyser Gulch is also the location of the new Adventure Mountain ropes course. The Riverfront Playhouse is updated as a dinner theater. Even the newest ride at SDC gets a makeover in 1960. Tom and Huck's Riverblast is now an enclosed laser tag area. The Giant Swing is a display of modern agricultural techniques.
Fire-in-the-Hole is now a dark ride that simply slowly takes guests through fire, local, and Silver Dollar City history, ending in a walk-through experience. The Opera House is now a movie theater showing classic movies on the big screen (the only place you can see old movies on the big screen). And Powder Keg is now a big chat pile with a track through it that guests can sled down.
Wildfire is now a gas station and drive in restaurant where guests can order from carhops or step inside a great old hamburger joint. The Saloon is now a biker bar (just kidding). American Plunge eventually gets a position here, too, now as a white water rapids ride with a huge plunge at the end. Oh, and grandfather's mansion is rebuilt in its approximate space (to ADA standards), and is now Great, Great, Great Grandfather's Mansion.
Shops can be interspersed strategically as in the 1800s park. The whole thing, as I said, is a condensed version with all kinds of tongue-in-cheek nods to the original. A book will be published called Spot the Differences in which readers can compare pictures of each time period (Volume Two will be a contrast between the real 1960 and the "future" 1960 of SDC.).
Guests to SDC will have free admission to this new section, but will still have to pay to play golf or laser tag, skate, bowl, see a movie, or enter the waterpark. On the other hand, the general public also will have access to shop in the area, but they will be charged for tickets to ride any of the carnival rides, etc. They could also enter SDC on this side, by purchasing a pass and boarding the train to go back in time.
The train will plummet through another time tunnel to get to the current station, at some time playing Huey Louis while going "Back in Time".
Methinks the train will not be enough to accommodate the number of guests wanting to travel back and forth through time, so we may need to think of a barnstorming idea, in which guests can ride ski-lifts to the new area and back, getting a great view along the way.
Naturally, features in this new area would be able to remain open when SDC closes for the evening or for the season.