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[okiebluegrass]

they should bring back the balloons and take out one of the little kiddie things from GE

[shavethewhales]

^I think at this point there's enough demand for more kid's rides, not less. As for the balloons, I've heard that the old ride has been left to rot and probably won't operate again. It's been sitting in a back lot unprotected all this time. I believe you can see it if you know where to look when driving past. It's more likely that they would buy a similar ride brand new from Zamperla. They still make a Balloon Chase model ride, which may actually be the same model as the old one. Does anyone know for sure? I thought SDC's version was made by Chance, but I always confuse these details.

[Hollwood]

SDC's was a Zamperla, but it was custom made. The "off the shelf" version can be found at almost every "Camp Snoopy" or "Toon Town." They look to plastic for SDC so I hope Zamperla can duplicate if they decide to go that route. SDC still has a fiberglass shop at M&C, so the balloons themselves are salvageable. All that would need to be replaced is the drive tower, wich can be seen from 76.

[Swoosh]

^I think at this point there's enough demand for more kid's rides, not less. As for the balloons, I've heard that the old ride has been left to rot and probably won't operate again. It's been sitting in a back lot unprotected all this time. I believe you can see it if you know where to look when driving past.

Unless they moved them somewhere else on the lot, they were not in their "spot" the last time I drove by.  Take that for what it is worth...

[History Buff]

When it comes down to it, what difference is there in the balloon ride and and any other turning/flying ride?  These rides just don't have the true nostalgic appeal of, say, a diving bell or a flooded mine, and they don't have the thrill factor of a roller coaster or a giant swing.  I can pretty much drive in circles on the top level of a parking garage and receive the same effect.

[Swoosh]

"spinning rides" add movement to a "dead" section of the park.  It is amazing how much life even one moving attraction can add

[DianaGail]

I agree with more kids rides. The twins are finally tall enough to rude pretty much anything, but Anna is only 18 months old.  The ladybugs bore her.  I'm not even sure a what the point of having that ride is. I see many 45 minute wait times for the frogs in the near future. 

[Ozark Outlaw]

When it comes down to it, what difference is there in the balloon ride and and any other turning/flying ride?  These rides just don't have the true nostalgic appeal of, say, a diving bell or a flooded mine, and they don't have the thrill factor of a roller coaster or a giant swing.  I can pretty much drive in circles on the top level of a parking garage and receive the same effect.

For me it is all about the nostalgia! I grew up as an early 90's kid, and the Balloon Ride was my favorite! Sure, it's just a ride that spins around in a circle. Sure, it's not much different than the Dumbo ride at Disney World. But, as a kid I thought it was really neat, and there is a nostalgic side of me that would love for the newer generation of kids to experience such a simple thrill. Plus, if Silver Dollar City plans on doing some renovations, they might as well bring it back anyway.

[okiebluegrass]

Nostalgia. Purely Nostalgia. We rode those baloons when we were kids and wish that our kids could ride em too

[Junior]

Ah, now you know how I feel about the tree house, stagecoach, float trip, diving bell, rainmaker, and other "lost" rides and attractions!

[Ozarks Gal]

Nostalgia. Purely Nostalgia. We rode those baloons when we were kids and wish that our kids could ride em too

Exactly! The balloons weren't really in-theme anyway, but the nostalgia of that particular ride is what I'm attracted to.

[Hollwood]

Not in theme? Tom and Huck is a story about exploring... Hot air balloons fit theme perfectly! Just as River Blast is today!

[History Buff]

Want them to be more interesting?  Install them in the cathedral room of Marvel Cave to commemorate the hot air balloons that have been launched there.  Now THAT would be interesting.

Junior, I agree:  those were the nostalgic times, when creativity trumped cookie cutter rides and attractions.  That's all I ask for...well, maybe not ALL, but you get the idea.

[shavethewhales]

Nostalgia. Purely Nostalgia. We rode those baloons when we were kids and wish that our kids could ride em too

Exactly! The balloons weren't really in-theme anyway, but the nostalgia of that particular ride is what I'm attracted to.

Heh, sometimes I think we are too rigid on what constitutes "in-theme" at SDC. There's a certain amount of kitsch involved. SDC came close at times to being a true frontier town, but there's always been an edge to it, and the balloons fit within that to some degree. I mean, hot air balloons have been around since 1800 at least. Obviously they wouldn't be flying around a little Ozark town, but that's where the kitsch aspect comes in.

As for History Buff's comments, I think at this point it has to be conceded that there will be an increasing number of off-the-shelf flat rides installed around the park. At one point, even the balloon ride was kind of a sore thumb for the park's ambiance, but if it were still there now I don't think it would clash nearly as much. We talk every other week about how the park is changing in that aspect, but I still say that there's a right way to do it that keeps the SDC spirit more or less in tact while giving the current market what it wants. Look at TGS for example - a revolutionary (at the time) level of theming for a simple S&S screamin' swing, with a whole area full of interesting little perks around it. It's all about putting these rides into a 'place' instead of just a bunch of rides.

[Joy]

I believe the balloon ride was inspired by Tom Sawyer Abroad, in which the characters travel the world in a hot air balloon. The Wil Vinton claymation "The Adventures of Mark Twain" was based around that book. Excellent film, BTW. It's on Netflix streaming, if you ever wanna check it out. It's what raised me on Twain stories as a child in California.