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Just got back last night.  Tent camping with hundreds of Boy Scouts at the Wilderness was a blast.    Was so busy preparing for the campout that I forget to check the forum.

The recent green trams and other park entrance memories got me thinking.  Is it my imagination, or did the water clock drinking fountains used to have wooden handles?  I seem to remember them having a very natural wood look, different from today.  Anyone have any pictures of how they used to look?

I must say I see both sides of this.  The street shows are great and entertaining.  There is often a huge wait in line to get into the various indoor shows, so impromptu street shows are a nice bonus for the guests.  However, the foot traffic in the park is already congested during peak attendance and sidewalk traffic often grinds to a halt during performances.   I remember on one visit urgently trying to get my child to a bathroom through a crowd that was completely blocking the sidewalk between us and the restrooms during a street performance.  Not fun.

That said, more themed city citizen characters moving around the park, doing funny ad-lib and interacting with the guests would be awesome!  If the characters were flamboyant enough for guests to want pictures with them to share on social media, that would be even better. (hint hint)   

I just saw the announcement and I really like the concept, especially the historical "hook" of the need for volunteer firefighters in the city after the burning of Marmaros to the ground.   I'm looking forward to some great theming in the new area similar to FITH.  The artist conception also looks great with its "decorated for an old fashioned fair" look and feel.   We'll miss GG, but this has the potential to be a very worthy replacement that doesn't seem out of place. 

Does anyone know if the dock-side water cannons will be re-purposed anywhere in the new area?   They already resembled fire-fighter equipment, so I think they would be a natural with the new FL theme, though they would require quite a bit of room.

We'll be visiting SDC next month and my youngest (age 14) wanted to invite a friend his age from his troop to join us.  His mother told us her son had never been to SDC before and presented our invitation to him.  Afterwards, she told us that when she described SDC as an 1880's themed amusement park, he got VERY excited and couldn't wait to go because he loves all that "cool retro stuff!!".  He thought she said 1980's.

(Yes, he's still excited about going with us, even after she corrected his misunderstanding.)

Looks like I will be bringing the boys to the BoyScout Out on sept 20.  Wife won't be making the trip (claims to be allergic to tent camping), but on the upside we will be introducing the park to another scout we're bringing along.

My mother dug up a couple of old group shots:
The first is circa 1978.  The second is circa 1971.  If you see yourself in either of these, identify yourself.

LOL.  We posed for many of these when I was a kid.  Every time I see one being sold on eBay, I always check to see if my family is in it. I know the odds are astronomical that I'll every find myself, but you never know. 

We've tent camped there a few times during special SDC Boy Scout Weekend events.  Found the property to be clean and enjoyable.  The bathrooms were cleaned (and stocked with TP) and the showers nice and hot. 

Do try to avoid the pads/sites that border the main road as the traffic going by can be distracting in the evenings.  Other that that, no problems on my stays.

Hello all,
I have a lifetime of SDC memories, including those I am now making with my own children (the 4th generation to visit the park).  Reading others' posts has helped my own park memories flood back.  For now, I'll share my own magical childhood memories from the 70's.

One of my first solid memories from when I was very young was "Granny", who made the lye soap.  I remember her being so nice.  I had found a huge walking stick insect (well, huge for a child) in the park and Granny carefully wrapped it in paper and placed it in one of her soap boxes so I could take it home. 

I do remember when "Jim Owens Float Trip" and "The Flooded Mine" were the only two themed 'mechanical' rides in the park.   The float trip was great fun with some nice thrills, like skirting the large whirlpool and the various dangers in the canyon (who remembers the tipping outhouse?). 

The flooded mine was simply awesome and cutting-edge for the time (easily as good as another popular park's pirate ride).  The "Mine unsafe; Enter at own risk" theme was perfectly executed outside and in the queue area, which made the ride wonderous and more exciting.  I do miss the original stone mountain roof that was ominously littered with destroyed mining equipment.

As I write this, I'm realizing why the Flooded Mine has always been my favorite ride.  SDC was expertly themed as the 1880's mining town "Marmaros" with discarded and/or repurposed mining equipment placed around the town (more so back in the day when the park was smaller).  In my young mind, this made the Flooded Mine the functional center of the park.  I recall looking at all the massive mining equipment scattered around the outside of ride and trying to imagine what catastrophe could have happened to throw the pieces of equipment there and into the other areas of the town. 

So many more childhood park memories from the 70's, but this post will get quite long so I'll briefly highlight in no particular order…

• Getting my own floppy hillbilly hat to take home, just like the kind worn by all the cool people who 'lived in' in the park.
• Using a hand-cranked jig to make my own length of rope in the town square.
• Hand-pumping water that flowed "uphill" in the slanted room in Grandfather's mansion. 
  
• Candle Dipping our own candles.  Always made each visit, but never burned them.
• Enjoying the best tasting apple butter on our biscuits at Sunday breakfast back at home after each visit.
• Watching Dad shooting firearms at the Gunsmith shop.
• Speaking into the "talking railroad bucket" by the tracks on the edge of town and expecting an answer because you just knew it was connected to another person's bucket deep in the woods.
• Walking (running) under the fatal-looking traps over the entrance of Herman the Hermit's Tree House warning you to stay out, and without any safety netting over the entrance bridge.
• Being amazed by all the crazy inventions in Herman the Hermit's Tree House.
• Exiting the Tree House through the creepy, cold, pitch-black infinity room full of stars.   
• Waiting while Dad bought a humorous cowboy carving each visit from his favorite woodcarver. 
• Watching the long lines to ride "Fire In The Hole" the year it opened…  and being too terrified to ride it.  I could brave flooded mine shafts in a boat, but being trapped in a burning city was another matter. 
• Watching the mule-powered sorghum mill in the town square.  (It was in another area of the park on a different visit, but I cannot remember where. The Deep Woods, perhaps?).
• Riding the Flooded Mine the first year the falling rubber rocks "cave in" effect was added.  Boats had to stop in the middle of the ride in a queue waiting for their turn to be under the new effect.
• Waiting forever to ride the new Rube Dugan's Diving Bell the year it opened, and getting to (being told to?) play in the nearby playground while our parents stayed in line.
• Being so proud of myself for finding the hidden switch on the dock used by the Rube Dugan guides to control the 'faux' diving bell that would visibly head out into the lake, submerge and eventually return to create the illusion for those waiting in line that the Diving Bells were real.
• Waiting in stop-and-go traffic for what seems like hours when Highway 76 was the only road through Branson to the park (and sometimes hearing Dad use his bad words) .

Thanks! Actually, already knew that one and have the rooms booked.  And they we're kind enough to offer to add my co-worker's room to my reservation.  They're great people on the phone and I'm Looking forward to staying there for the 1st time.

Hello all.  I love this site and rediscovering my favorite park through others' eyes.     I'm coming back this fall with the family and my excitement for my upcoming trip has rubbed off on a coworker who has decided to go to SDC with her husband  for the very first time in a few weeks for their anniversary (no kids yet)!  As they have never been to SDC and I want their first visit to be as enjoyable as possible, I put together the following list of tips to give them.  I welcome your input as to if these are all still accurate and if you have any to add.

Here they are, in no particular order... 

1. Silver Dollar City's website (www.SilverDollarCity.com) has a lot of important information regarding hour of operation, daily shows schedules and special events.  These vary by date, so be sure to review the website before your visit. 

2. Also, Silver Dollar City's website has good information regarding the park's many shops, exhibits, restaurants and rides as well as a very useful 'Frequent Asked Questions' page (http://www.silverdollarcity.com/services/faq.aspx)  that you should consider reviewing beforehand, especially if this is your first visit to the park.

3. Expect a lot of walking in the park, so wear comfortable shoes.  Also, check the future daily forecasts on www.weather.com for Branson, MO prior to your visit so you can pack appropriate clothing. 

4. The admission gate and town square areas open at 8:30 each day before the rest of the park's scheduled opening time.  You can take advantage of this to arrive early and avoid the bulk of the traffic from visitors arriving later when the park opens. 

5. If you do arrive early, there is usually live entertainment in the town square and, weather permitting, a very patriotic flag raising ceremony before the park is opened.   Also, the Molly Mill restaurant in the town square opens at 8:30 each morning and serves a wonderful breakfast buffet.     

6. A tour of Marvel Cave is included in your park admission.  These tours are very popular, leave at scheduled times and can each include only a limited number of persons.  If you want to be included on a cave tour, be sure to stop at the Cave Information Desk in the Hospitality House building as you enter the park and ask about that day's available tours.

7. The traditional cave tour a one-hour walking tour which includes 700 stair steps and a difficult stair climb to exit, so visitors should consider doing it when they are rested and their energy levels are high. 

8. The Sullivan's Mill bakery bakes fresh breads and cookies daily that often sell out before the end of the day, including very popular small loaves of cinnamon bread.  You are allowed to purchase your bread at the Mill early in the day while it is still being made and then pick it up later that same day after it has been baked. 

9. Similar to Sullivan's Mill, many of the popular items in Eva & Delilah's Bakery are made fresh daily and may be sold-out before the end of the day.  Keep this in mind if there is a favorite treat you really want.

10. The shops in the park can take your purchases to the "Ozark Marketplace" building at the park exit so you can pick them up as you leave.   The service is called "package pickup".  Ask your shop-keeper about it and when the cut-off time for the service will be that day.

11. If you ride the Steam Train, the best seats are in the middle two cars, looking out the right side windows.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Much LIke FM, The exterior has undergone little change in the last 30 yrs.

Hello, just found this wonderful site and am trying to catch up on past posts.  I was searching the Flooded Mine messages for an answer to a nagging question about why/when the exterior of the FM has changed so much.  First, some context... My first visit to SDC as a child was the year before FITH was opened (1970?) and the family returned each summer for several years through at least 1977.  Sadly I didn't return until my honeymoon in 1992 and have since been back several times with my own children.

Back in the 70's, the FM exterior resembled a stoney hill top with a sole wooden tower which pumped running water into a long wooden sluice.  I cannot find my honeymoon pics, but in all my pics with my kids, the FM exterior now looks more like a man-made structure made up a collection of buildings and ventilation pipes.   I've always wondered when and why the change took place.

And, for the record, I'll pick the FM over FITH