Our Family just got back from Branson, MO. Silver Dollar City is the best theme park I have ever visited. Branson was interesting, but Silver Dollar City was by far my favorite. This park was so amazing that I just had to visit it.
I am not a veteran theme park goer like many of you. But I have recently visited Disney, Universal and Cedar Point. And while there were some great things about them all, there were also frustrations. SDC may not be the largest park or have the most expensive or best rides, but they do offer the complete package. It’s great for what it is.
Value: As a father who dislikes spending money, I find vacations to be a kind of torture because you end up paying too much for everything. SDC is the best value I’ve paid for during a vacation.
SCENERY: Amazing. The park is located on top of an Ozarks mountain that’s covered in trees. They clearly did their best to make it look as natural as they could. SDC took great care to preserve the native trees throughout the park. The summer heat is not an issue because the park has a canopy of trees covering almost the whole area. You can also enjoy incredible views of Ozarks from the top of the roller coasters.
The theming is better than Disney/Universal. They didn’t spend billions of dollars to make it look like Hogwarts, or Star Wars. Instead, they took an authentic ozark terrain and built a replica 1880s ozark village on top, loosely based off an actual village on the property. The park was originally a primitive 1880s village, so the majority of the buildings remain authentic. The flowers and landscaping are stunning, and the seasonal summer theming was a nice addition. I’ve heard that Christmas is amazing.
Here’s another great touch. The park is located on a mountain. The roller coasters are located lower on the mountain and surround the park. The roller coasters, with few exceptions are hidden. This adds to the tranquil theme.
They don’t offer the largest or best rides. The rides aren’t as thrilling or exciting as Top Thrill Dragster or Rise of the Resistance, but the variety is solid. Each ride offers a unique and different experience. There are a variety of rides, including a wooden coaster by RMC, an indoor coaster that’s fun, and a rapid-river ride. Time Traveler was my favorite roller coaster. The train cars spin randomly so that every ride is unique.
CROWDS: I have a general opinion about theme parks: they’re the best when they’re not crowded and they’re terrible when they are. The park was surprisingly not crowded. I’m not sure if we were lucky, but we went on a weekday to avoid the crowds. I never felt herded around like cattle at Disney or Universal. Most rides had lines between 5-20 minutes. We could ride the coaster as many times as you wanted. It’s nice to not have to spend 80% of the day in line for a 2-minute ride.
FOOD: The food quality was excellent. I did not feel that I was being ripped off. It wasn’t the usual frozen food from an assembly line. Even simple foods like corndogs were made to order and by hand. You can tell they are proud of the food that they produce.
The Marvel Cave is the last but not the least. The park was originally a tour of a cave, and the tour remains included in the admission price. The cave is incredible and the “cherry” on top of the entire SDC experience. Don’t miss it.
I know I have left out a lot, but I’ve already gone on for too long. I want to ensure that this park is visited by everyone from St. Louis. How does it compare with other smaller theme parks for “park veterans”? Sincerely, I would rather spend my vacation in a SDC style park than at Disney or Universal. SDC’s experience was superior to those huge parks, and it cost a fraction as much.
