In this report of the roller coasters I have ridden, I focus exclusively on a single theme park. Often voted in most popular lists and heralded by national media on numerous occasions, our local park Silver Dollar City has a charm like no other.
Silver Dollar City
Moving along to the best park of them all - the one that rests closest to home. Silver Dollar City rests in the Ozarks and effectively uses the terrain and the setting as its greatest appeal. Traditionally, SDC has kept the theme of 1880s in the Ozarks. That said, the park is slowly deviating from the theme in many aspects, and I've had to start looking at it differently in recent years. This is a park that I could visit, not ride anything, and still be happy.
There have been some nine coasters that I've ridden through the years. Some of these are no longer at the park - including the Runaway Ore Cart and Buzz Saw Falls. The former was a tiny, kiddie coaster, hardly worth getting on, and the former was an innovative idea that should have worked but didn't. Buzz Saw Falls was a hybrid ride - part floating like a log flume and part roller coaster. The cars had to be shielded with plexiglass for some reason, making the entire experience seem like you were closed inside. It was badly executed, but part of this ride is still being used in a newer coaster called Powder Keg.
PK is launched up the lift hill with compressed air - a much smoother launch than maglev. More importantly, though, is that the theme of the coaster is consistent all the way through the launch. It is a theme that is carried through farther into the ride than most other coasters in the country, telling of the explosive power of black powder, which could be derived from bat guano in Marvel Cave, a national landmark also located on property.
The Grand Exposition Coaster is also a kid's coaster, slightly larger than the Runaway Ore Cart. Sadly, while the ROC fit the mining theme in the park, the GEC is in an area that was built to resemble a World's Fair like the one in St. Louis in the early 20th Century. Of course, that breaks the theme of Silver Dollar City's setting - both time period and location. I don't know why they weren't more creative here.
Wildfire was a great addition to the park several years ago, becoming the first coaster there to have inversions. It remains a smooth ride and has some pretty interesting displays in the queue, all of it taking on a more steampunk aura. That's close to breaking theme, but with a little fantasizing, I can let it pass. I've also proposed a coaster based on a schoolmaster with superhero powers, but I'm afraid they wouldn't immerse folks enough in the storyline. The newest coaster on the property is Time Traveler, which also takes on a steampunk vibe. It is the "world's first spinning coaster" and allows riders to experience a technically different ride each time as vehicles can turn (at a controlled rate) 360 degrees and, thanks to the Ozarks, drops right out of the gate. There are inversions here, too. Strangely, even though guests are already supposed to be in the 1880s (according to the Water Clock at the front gate, this ride takes them back in time again, where they end up in, yes, the 1880s.
In another first, Outlaw Run is a wooden coaster that makes inversions. This is really an innovative ride that takes your breath away with a nearly-90-degree first drop and near-inversions. First-time riders may be surprised to experience the final double helix at the end. This ride, similar to one at Dollywood, SDC's sister park in the Smoky Mountains, uses restraints that make it difficult to breathe, in my opinion. If you ever brave it, I recommend it in the cooler weather or first thing in the morning, as higher temps seem to make it rougher. I also suggest the middle seats rather than the front or back for the same reason.
I never like a bumpy coaster, and that's why I used to enjoy one named ThuNderaTion (with TNT capitalized). When it was built, this ride was quite smooth, but it has developed a consistent roughness that rattles my old bones. I finally decided not to ride it after experiencing the thing dozens of times in the past. In fact, we used to ride TNT several times in a row without circling to get back in line. We also used to have a choice of riding it backwards as a couple of the cars were reversed, but that has changed due to safety recommendations. It was always interesting to be able to face other riders as this "mine train" ran uncontrollably along its track.
I had to leave the first for last, and it's hands-down also a leaving of the best 'til last. Fire in the Hole is not only the most uniquely-themed coaster in the world, but it is also the first indoor roller coaster. When I was about two - and I remember this distinctly! - I refused to allow my parents to put me on this ride. The darkness and faux rock walls just beyond the station scared me, and I threw a crying fit when they tried to get me boarded. At the time, I was happy to have avoided FitH, but later appreciated it for what it is - the only immersively-themed roller coaster on the property. From beginning to end, the visitor is told the history of an Ozark vigilante group known as the Bald Knobbers. This group, emerging directly following the cessation of the American Civil War, is said to have burned down the town of Marmaros, which supposedly sat where the Main Street area of the park is today. FitH is a depiction of the town on fire, including a covered bridge. There is so much about this ride that nods at history that I'll probably have to write an article dedicated to it - especially since at the end of the current season, it will be shuttered for good. I can only hope that the attraction being built on the other end of the park will carry on its legacy - complete with the Bald Knobber history intact. I put a video below to tell more about it for the time being, along with a video of Blazing Fury Dollywood's more-generic version of the same ride (without the vigilantes).
Moving along to the best park of them all - the one that rests closest to home. Silver Dollar City rests in the Ozarks and effectively uses the terrain and the setting as its greatest appeal. Traditionally, SDC has kept the theme of 1880s in the Ozarks. That said, the park is slowly deviating from the theme in many aspects, and I've had to start looking at it differently in recent years. This is a park that I could visit, not ride anything, and still be happy.
There have been some nine coasters that I've ridden through the years. Some of these are no longer at the park - including the Runaway Ore Cart and Buzz Saw Falls. The former was a tiny, kiddie coaster, hardly worth getting on, and the former was an innovative idea that should have worked but didn't. Buzz Saw Falls was a hybrid ride - part floating like a log flume and part roller coaster. The cars had to be shielded with plexiglass for some reason, making the entire experience seem like you were closed inside. It was badly executed, but part of this ride is still being used in a newer coaster called Powder Keg.
PK is launched up the lift hill with compressed air - a much smoother launch than maglev. More importantly, though, is that the theme of the coaster is consistent all the way through the launch. It is a theme that is carried through farther into the ride than most other coasters in the country, telling of the explosive power of black powder, which could be derived from bat guano in Marvel Cave, a national landmark also located on property.
The Grand Exposition Coaster is also a kid's coaster, slightly larger than the Runaway Ore Cart. Sadly, while the ROC fit the mining theme in the park, the GEC is in an area that was built to resemble a World's Fair like the one in St. Louis in the early 20th Century. Of course, that breaks the theme of Silver Dollar City's setting - both time period and location. I don't know why they weren't more creative here.
Wildfire was a great addition to the park several years ago, becoming the first coaster there to have inversions. It remains a smooth ride and has some pretty interesting displays in the queue, all of it taking on a more steampunk aura. That's close to breaking theme, but with a little fantasizing, I can let it pass. I've also proposed a coaster based on a schoolmaster with superhero powers, but I'm afraid they wouldn't immerse folks enough in the storyline. The newest coaster on the property is Time Traveler, which also takes on a steampunk vibe. It is the "world's first spinning coaster" and allows riders to experience a technically different ride each time as vehicles can turn (at a controlled rate) 360 degrees and, thanks to the Ozarks, drops right out of the gate. There are inversions here, too. Strangely, even though guests are already supposed to be in the 1880s (according to the Water Clock at the front gate, this ride takes them back in time again, where they end up in, yes, the 1880s.
In another first, Outlaw Run is a wooden coaster that makes inversions. This is really an innovative ride that takes your breath away with a nearly-90-degree first drop and near-inversions. First-time riders may be surprised to experience the final double helix at the end. This ride, similar to one at Dollywood, SDC's sister park in the Smoky Mountains, uses restraints that make it difficult to breathe, in my opinion. If you ever brave it, I recommend it in the cooler weather or first thing in the morning, as higher temps seem to make it rougher. I also suggest the middle seats rather than the front or back for the same reason.
I never like a bumpy coaster, and that's why I used to enjoy one named ThuNderaTion (with TNT capitalized). When it was built, this ride was quite smooth, but it has developed a consistent roughness that rattles my old bones. I finally decided not to ride it after experiencing the thing dozens of times in the past. In fact, we used to ride TNT several times in a row without circling to get back in line. We also used to have a choice of riding it backwards as a couple of the cars were reversed, but that has changed due to safety recommendations. It was always interesting to be able to face other riders as this "mine train" ran uncontrollably along its track.
I had to leave the first for last, and it's hands-down also a leaving of the best 'til last. Fire in the Hole is not only the most uniquely-themed coaster in the world, but it is also the first indoor roller coaster. When I was about two - and I remember this distinctly! - I refused to allow my parents to put me on this ride. The darkness and faux rock walls just beyond the station scared me, and I threw a crying fit when they tried to get me boarded. At the time, I was happy to have avoided FitH, but later appreciated it for what it is - the only immersively-themed roller coaster on the property. From beginning to end, the visitor is told the history of an Ozark vigilante group known as the Bald Knobbers. This group, emerging directly following the cessation of the American Civil War, is said to have burned down the town of Marmaros, which supposedly sat where the Main Street area of the park is today. FitH is a depiction of the town on fire, including a covered bridge. There is so much about this ride that nods at history that I'll probably have to write an article dedicated to it - especially since at the end of the current season, it will be shuttered for good. I can only hope that the attraction being built on the other end of the park will carry on its legacy - complete with the Bald Knobber history intact. I put a video below to tell more about it for the time being, along with a video of Blazing Fury Dollywood's more-generic version of the same ride (without the vigilantes).
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I have a couple more posts to go before we exhaust all of the roller coasters I have experienced, so stay tuned.
