 Photo used with permission from CoasterGallery.Com |
 Christmas at Silver Dollar City |
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When I was growing up, Silver Dollar City was my home park. Along with Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and Six Flags over Texas, this was where my family went for a quick vacation at least once a year. All three parks had their own unique identity back then and all three were very different from one another. Worlds of Fun, at the time, was an elaborately themed interpretation of the Jules Verne novel, Around the World in 80 Days, and it featured the most up to date, sophisticated high tech rides. Six Flags Over Texas was one big giant celebration of the Lone Star state and was notorious for being home to the scariest roller-coaster in the country at the time, the Runaway Mine Train. And Silver Dollar City was the hillbilly place with all the Baldknobbers and craftsmen and shows and food, and it had by far the most fun and unusual rides. These three parks occupy the bulk of my childhood memories, and together they formed the foundation of my fasincation and love for roller-coasters and amusement parks that continues to this day. When I was 27 I moved away to Minnesota. My family has continued to go to Silver Dollar City at least once a year since then. But time has not been kind to Worlds of Fun nor Six Flags Over Texas. Both parks have been stripped of the elaborate theming and many of the classic rides that gave them their unique identity and made them such important annual destinations for me and my family each year. But Silver Dollar City has not fallen victim to corporate undermining and still occupies a special place within my family's heart. In fact they visit now more often than when I was a kid! So when I made the decision to move to the Ozarks and closer to home, I was elated to realize that I would also be coming home to Silver Dollar City! You don't know how much this means to me. Ever since I moved to Minnesota 16 years ago, I have been a man in search of a home park. Me and Valleyfair, well, we never really got along. To me, Valleyfair lacked character and seemed to be a token metropolitan park with no support whatsoever from its corporate parent, Cedar Fair. I rarely went there more than once a year, if that. In fact, I considered Arnolds Park in Iowa to be my home park. So coming home to Silver Dollar City, a park I grew up with and loved, means the world to me. My house in Holiday Island, Arkansas, is just forty five minutes, door to door, from Silver Dollar City. Cindy Stout and I visited on a Monday in early June, with temperatures extremely comfortable in the 70s with no humidity. Because I live in Arkansas, we were able to avoid the congested and colorfully tacky drive through Branson, although we toured the area a day earlier. Branson has just about every tourist attraction you could possibly want, but thankfully I'm closest to the only place I'm interested in, Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City is as close as you can get to taking a step back in time, back to the days when roving bandits, called Baldknobbers, ruled the area with their brand of vigilante justice. To fully understand and appreciate Silver Dollar City, you need to understand the historical significance of this area. Taney county in Missouri was home to some of the most vicious fighting of the Civil War. By the end of the war, no more than 50 people lived there. Government had ceased to function and anarchy ruled the area. Taney county would remain this way for the next two decades. The homestead act led to an influx of citizens, and by 1885 over 6000 citizens had moved into the county. These new citizens demanded law and order, but locals were used to turning their heads to criminal activity. Taney County became known as a haven for outlaws, who also flocked to the area, and in the 20 years after the Civil War over 40 recorded murders took place without a single man being convicted. Fed up with lawlessness, a small group of citizens banded together and formed a secret society, one that would do what the government had failed to do: protect the citizens of the area. This vigilante group became known as the Baldknobbers, so named for the bald mountains, or knobs, where their secret meetings were held. The Baldknobbers' swift brand of vigilante justice included murder and quickly inspired fear among local outlaws, but also brought outrage from local citizens who decryed the complete breakdown of law and order in Taney County. Eventually Governor Marmaduke ordered the group to disband. The original band of Baldknobbers did, in fact, die out, but their notoriety inspired offshoots in other counties, who also took the name of Baldknobbers, and whose reputations were much worse. The Christian County Baldknobbers gained the most notoriety and, unlike the original Taney County Baldknobbers, this group soon degenerated into a true vigilante group, searching for excitement rather than righting wrongs. The mask they wore has become associated with all Baldknobbers. It was a black skull, with holes cut out for the eyes, nose and mouth, and had red horns at the top. This gruesome mask terrified citizens who were victims of the Baldknobbers. Eventually the government intervened and put an end to these roving lawless bandits, but the reputation of the Baldknobbers was sealed. The events were front page news in papers across the country and gave outsiders the impression that the hillbillys of the Ozarks were a violent breed. In reality the Baldknobbers were not much different than many other vigilante groups that sprang up all over the country after the Civil War. The legend of the Baldknobbers lives on in the Ozarks through novels like The Shepherd of the Hills and, of course, at Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City is home to several historical pieces from the 1800's and in fact considers itself the third largest city in the state. The citizens of Silver Dollar City all dress in period costume, and many of the craftsmen, merchants and other citizens truly recreate what it was like living in the Ozarks during the period. At one point in our visit Cindy and I walked into a small section of the park called McHaffie's Homestead and we literally walked in on an 1800's family who were just sitting down for supper! The place was so authentic - there was a sign outside noting the building's historical significance - and everyone was so in character, it really threw us for a loop. It was bizarre and uncomfortable, we truly felt like we were intruding! There are too many historical things in the park to mention, but the one thing that stands out in this park is that nothing in this park stands out. Everything seems in place. The attention to detail is so overwhelming that you could spend the whole day just walking around looking at all the houses and buildings and walkways and bridges and paths and historical pieces and the astounding attention to detail, right down to the last log on Buzzsaw Falls. I feel so sorry for people who come here with tunnel-vision, running only from ride to ride without paying any attention at all to the amazing aesthetics that surround them. Every ride is incorporated into the park so well that it looks like it has been there always, like it would be ridiculous for it NOT to be there! There were times when Cindy and I found ourselves standing right next to a ride entrance and not even knowing it! The landscaping and design of the park is so intricate that it's very easy to lose yourself in the environment and find yourself lost without any sense of direction. I think this is something that only the very best parks in the country can do - to immerse you so completely in an otherworldly environment that you forget all about your cares and just lose yourself in the day. It is impossible to come to Silver Dollar City and not eat your way through the park. From the humongous pecan sticky buns and oversized cinammon rolls and pastries, the bakery at the front of the park is simply irresistable! I have never seen such perfectly prepared, and perfectly BIG, napoleons before in my life. The pecan sticky buns we had were delicious, but I really don't think there's a thing here that's bad. Cindy and I made absolute PIGS of ourselves, and you know what? We were pissed that the apple dumpling stand had closed down early! The place serves hot apple dumplings with homemade cinammon ice cream. How can you NOT want that? I also lamented not buying any barbequed ribs while they were being smoked outdoors on the Riverside Ribhouse grill. I was simply too full for a full rib meal. But not too full to get an ear of freshly roasted corn drenched in butter. I am powerless when it comes to roasted corn. I also passed on some yummy looking bread bowls, despite the lady at the counter waving us in when Cindy and I pressed our noses up to the glass to have a lookey. And I think the hardest thing I passed up was an open face chili burger. EVERYBODY was getting one, and me not wanting to buck conformity felt obliged to get one, too, but I was already solemnly committed to another Silver Dollar City specialty: the skillets. The skillets at Silver Dollar City are a thing of beauty, works of art. Giant, open face skillets cooking a heavenly melange of meats and vegetables, right out in the open, in front of God and everyone. It's like the devil tempting Eve with the apple, how could she resist? These skillets are awesome, and it doesn't matter which one you get, you can just tell they're all delicious. There was a potato and veggie one that included squash, that one looked really good, but when it was time to eat I couldn't figure out how to get there. Another skillet had grilled chicken and vegetables, that one looked good. And a cajun place had one with jambalaya, that one looked good. For the record, I had the fajita skillet for lunch and a ham and vegetable skillet for dinner. Cindy had a sausage and potato skillet for lunch and I don't know what she had for dinner because by that time I just wanted to either die or be bulimic and couldn't focus on anything else. The point is, this park makes great food. I am a downhome country cooking diner loving kind of guy, and Silver Dollar City has the best downhome country cooking of any park I've ever been to. The prices are family friendly, meaning you won't go broke. There is so much variety here and so many food choices everywhere you turn, I defy anyone to leave this park hungry! Speaking of families and prices, this has to be the most affordable family park in the country. How many giant theme parks offer free parking and a tram ride to the front gate? I think that alone typifies what this park is all about, good impressions. I don't know of another theme park I've been to where I had a good impression even before I entered the park! Cindy even said "I like this place already and we're only in the parking lot!" I also think this is one of the friendliest parks in the country. All the employees are dressed in period costume, but the attitude and friendliness they exhibit isn't scripted. Many of the ride ops would ask where you were from and if you were having a good time, and they took it upon themselves to arrange things so that families and friends could ride together at the same time. I found that incredible! A lot of the employees were funny, most of them were very talkative, and I didn't meet one who wasn't friendly. I think that, much like Disneyland, the environment here lends itself to families who are here just to have a good day, with none of the line cutting, vulgar language or bad behavior you see at many other parks. It's a wonderful atmosphere! The rides at Silver Dollar City are too numerous to mention, but the one thing they all have in common is you're not likely to find them anywhere else. That's what I love most about this park, it's originality. The rides here seem to take the best elements from other rides and expand on that, making them better and more unique. Thunderation is just a wonderful mine train that gives riders the option of riding forward or backward! In addition, the ride starts with a helix and ends with a lifthill! The backward position is so fun and produces such unexpected sensations I doubt I'll ever be able to force myself to ride in the forward position! Water is heavily incorporated into the majority of rides here. Fire in the Hole is a dark ride/mine train roller-coaster hybrid with wonderfully funny scenes and fast-paced action. It includes two surprisingly thrilling drops and finishes with a very wet splashdown at the end! Cindy and I mistakenly sat in the front for our last ride and were hideously drenched in the face, sentencing poor Cindy to the role of hag for the rest of the evening. Buzzsaw Falls is another roller-coaster/water ride hybrid. This was the only ride in the park I didn't care for. I thought the trains were dangerously hard to get in and out of. They have no traditional leg room and it was very awkward, and more than a little degrading, trying to slip and and slide your way down into the seat. I also HATED the fact that I got absolutely drenched even before the ride began! Once the ride op released our car, a wall of water came pouring over the side and absolutely soaked me. I hate getting wet for no good reason! My favorite three water rides in the park were the American Plunge log flume, the Wilderness Waterboggan, and the Great Shootout at the Flooded Mine. The American Plunge was wonderfully themed. It was a very long ride and took riders through caves with great animated scenes and a good fakeout or two. The drop at the end was very long and surprisingly very wet! It took us awhile to dry out after that one! The Wilderness Waterboggan was my first ever waterslide, and I was PETRIFIED! I have shied away from waterslides, one because I have skin that is chemical sensitive, and two, because I am certain I would be flipped over and flung to my death! I don't know what came over me to actually suggest that we ride this - I think I was just caught up in the atmosphere - but by the time we got to the top of the stairs I was shaking and my heart was in my throat! The ride turned out to be an absolute THRILL A SECOND and I started screaming for joy halfway through. This is also a great waterslide because it has toboggans rather than mats and doesn't leave you drenched! The smile of the day came when we rode the Great Shootout at the Flooded Mine. This is the finest interactive water ride in the country! It's also the best shoot-em-up ride I've ridden too! You sit in traditional boats fitted with laser guns and ride through a flooded mine filled with hundreds of moving targets. What makes this ride so unique and wonderful is that many of the targets actually do something when you hit them, just like at a shooting gallery! We rode this many times, and I redeemed myself from losing to Cindy at Indiana Beach by beating her handily on this one. There are plenty of other water rides, including a river raft ride that consistently generated some hilarious screams as people entered an undoubtedly very wet cave. There is also a HUGE interactive water area called Geyser Gulch which features the world's largest treehouse and has a ton of water guns and targets! There are two very special attractions at Silver Dollar City that should not be missed. Unfortunately one of them we missed! Marvel Cave is a beautiful cave that I remember loving. It is enormously popular and is just one in a long line of special things that makes this park so unique and enjoyable. I can't believe we didn't do it, I'm kicking myself for it, but there simply wasn't time! The other special attraction is the train ride. This is another enormously popular ride. It features a beautiful train and a lovely long ride through some gorgeous scenery. The conductor had some very funny lines and even scolded us when we failed to look away at a man bathing outside without his britches on ("y'all should be ashamed of yourselves") and the train robbery is actually very good. I do think this would be one opportunity for the park to incorporate the Baldknobbers into the ride! I bet a lot of people would love to see that! Finally, let me say a bit about Silver Dollar City's newest roller-coaster, WildFire. This coaster took me by complete surprise! I think I've ridden every steel version of B&M's floorless and non-floorless coasters, and this is one of their finest. The seats are extremely comfortable, and I liked getting sprayed with "Wildfire" upon leaving the station. This is the first non-floorless coaster that feels like a floorless! The first drop, particularly from the back seat, is probably my favorite first drop on any steel coaster! It has enormous airtime! And the rest of the ride is enjoyable as well - the inversions are big and sweeping and not spaced too far apart. I really like the overall pacing of the ride, in fact I liked everything about it! It has just enough to pack a punch and make you want to ride again! I was not expecting much at all from this ride and instead came away with a top 20 coaster! There are so many more things at this park that we didn't even see. There are craftsmen and shows and wonderful kids attractions and SO much more food to eat. I'm only sorry I didn't participate in the cobbler eating contest they were holding at the front of the park. I have always wanted to stick my face in a pie and blow! We ended our day at Silver Dollar City with what else, a skillet. The park was getting ready to close and we sat down at a table - who knows where, just another pretty place in the park. I fell in love with a little boy who was running around having fun just a few tables away from us. He was maybe three or four years old and had the most gorgeous blonde hair and a very expressive face. And he could not stop smiling. He was just about the cutest little boy I have ever seen. He looked so happy I couldn't take my eyes off him, and finally I told Cindy to look at him, too. We watched him for at least ten or fifteen minutes, and the entire time he was there he never once stopped smiling. He was the happiest little boy in the world. I watched him intently and suddenly I thought to myself, that's me. That's how I feel today. Like a little boy running around with a smile on my face. There's no place like home.
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Email: MarkinArk@earthlink.net
