Celebration City Closes, Possible Redevelopment Planned

[History Buff]

I hope that it's just an extension of hours and not the whole MM package.

I'll second that!!

[marolinesdad]

OK Zephon, DocSpeleo, & Copper...  What have you heard about the new MM for next year?

[DocSpeleo]

What's going on? The world is falling apart!
lol
Here's my two cents...

two cents.

Well, I cannot divulge any information under penalty of death or being tossed in the sinkhole to fall 300 ft to the bottom of the Cathedral Room... a fate that only few have ever suffered.


or possibly I have been too busy to gossip and hear whats up...

I'll let you decide.

[Zephon]

I haven't heard anything about MM.  Been very busy, long hours, making the change over from HW to DCC.  It would seem to me though that it will be pretty much like it was this past year...shops, restaurants, and rides open, but very limited on shows.  Maybe they will have some of the bands, with those entertainers starting their days in the mid-afternoon.

As for CC, it's sad that it had to close because I hate to see any HFE venture end in failure, but IMO it was a bad investment from the start.  Purchased mainly to keep undesired competition from buying up the land, I don't understand how they expected to make money on it.  A carnival, albeit with a facelift, is still a carnival, and not the draw they were 50 or 60 years ago.  And I feel they made the same mistake with Wild Adventures in Georgia and wonder how long it will be before they dump it.  Maybe the new direction on the CC land will be towards the resort possibilities that they mentioned in their announcement of a few weeks ago.  It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

[sdcforever]

Here's what I know about MM for next year.  Copied directly from SDC's website:

"2009 News:

Calling all Night Owls! You’re going to love Silver Dollar City’s newest evening event, Moonlight Madness happening July 21 through August 9, 2009 when you can enjoy Silver Dollar City rides under the Ozarks’ skies until 10 p.m.! Ride on into the night on PowderKeg, Lost River of the Ozarks, American Plunge & more!

Summertime Spectacular! Kids of every age find added fun at Silver Dollar City from June 6 through August 9 during America’s Largest Children’s Festival! Enjoy a huge magic show full of surprises, a VeggieTales production you can ONLY see here, and an all-new live percussion and dance performance act never seen before in the United States! Plan your family’s visit now to KidsFest 2009.

Season Passes On Sale starting November 1 at the 2008 pre-season price! ORDER BEFORE December 30, 2008 and receive the best rate of the season. Our season passes remain the best value in town at less than the price of 2 days of admission. Get in on all the fun all year long with the best value – the 2 Park SUPER PASS with super benefits & now super savings. These benefits more than pay for the price of your season pass! Order online or call 1-800-888-PASS (7277)."

From that little blurb it sounds like it's just extended hours, and nothing more.  It's not a new festival since it coincides with KidsFest.  KidsFest runs from June 6 through August 9 while MM is from July 21 through August 9.

Again, check out the site for yourself:
http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/sdcattractions.aspx

[shavethewhales]

So, at the current moment nothing is really planned to leave CC, but surely the final concept will involve a lot less rides. Anyone want to hodge some bets now at what will stay, what will turn up elsewhere, and what will leave completely?

 I'm pretty sure OzCat, the ferris wheel, the go-karts, and Roaring Falls will stay, and maybe the mini-golf course as well unless it's in the way.

The Oribiter could turn up anywhere - I almost think it could go to SDC but I don't know if they'd risk the GP noticing. SDC doens't really need it anyway.

The two steel credits and Chute D' Shutes will probably be sold off. They're way below chain standards, and they're really not worth keeping for the future developments.

Fireball will probably be sold as well, seeing as it's too sub-par for SDC and DW, and WA already got a nice frisbee. If they tried to strip the lights off and throw it into SDC or DW I'd be a bit enraged.

Everything else will probably depend on space issues and exactly what the final plan is. There's not much else to worry about other than the flyers and the S&S double shot, which were both highly enjoyable rides.

[sdcforever]

^I tend to agree with you on all of your guesses.  I feel positive that Roaring Falls will stay, being a sizeable $5 million investment.

I am curious to see what will happen if something like Fireball or Orbiter ends up at SDC.  I really hope they alter any rides that will move to SDC.  It's not like SDC and DW getting the same ride.  It will really stick out if they don't make an effort to change the theming of a ride that they move from CC to SDC.

[CJR]

^^ I'll take a stab at it.

I see Oz Wildcat, the ferris wheel, bumper cars, mini-golf, go-karts, RF, and the S&S (It's a small space) staying without any issues.

I think the scrambler, flying circus, the carousel, The Stinger, and Thunderbolt will probably stay.

Things I could see just about everything else leaving.

Obviously, the Celebration Theater will probably stay.  The boardwalk will probably retain the atmosphere.  The laser theater will probably become some sort of attraction, maybe the aquarium?  I'm not familiar with the HFE aquariums, so I don't know.

I find it funny that they're willing to spend millions to reinvent a park they failed to poor investment in.  If they would've taken the money they plan to spend redeveloping the land and used it to make the park better, CC would have been awesome.  They can blame the theme if they want, but I say it was a lack of investment.  Now they're going to spend TONS of money to redevelope a site that I believe didn't really need to be redevloped, just invested in.

[oldsdcer]

Keep ozcat, move the carousel to the GE and get rid of the rest.

[saladdays]

I really hope some of the kids rides end up somewhere.  The best part of CC to me was a lot of rides my young kids could enjoy.

[Tom]

Keep the kids ride?  Why?  Unless things have changed since last year, I thought that the kids rides were terrible. 
I hope that you guys who are thinking that the Oz Cat is staying are basing your observation on a strong rumor or fact. You have given me hope!  I rode Evel Keneval(sp) last weekend and was reminded how much I love OC.  I can only hope that Prowler will finish off our trio of supurb smaller woodies in the state.

[Swoosh]

Prowler will be anything but "small" - unless you are meaning "height" which is overrated -- see SOB if you don't believe me.

[Tom]

I love "small" wooden coaster.  My definition of "small" is a reaction to what is seemingly the coaster's industry definition of "big." My first favorite "small" coaster was Outlaw in Des Moines.  Then, through the late 90s, I rode a lot of the great mega woodies like Texas Giant, Mean Streak, Beast, Rattler, and the Missouri piece of over sized crap- The Boss.  I keep coming back to these smaller coasters that have speeds of 50 MPH, less than 100 feet tall, and a lot of tight corners.

[Swoosh]

Well Prowler is actually rather long and spread out so I don't think small will fit it -- but I see what you are getting at.

The land footprint of this coaster has to be seen to be fully appreciated.  It's bigger than I thought it was going to be.

[KBCraig]

What's the chance of SDC ever extending their hours to get some of that evening action? Wasn't that ostensibly the reason for CC in the first place?