We were told by many people that if we made it to Branson, Missouri the Silver Dollar City Theme Park was a must. The admission fee wasn't cheap for a family of five but it turned out to be money well spent. We all had a great time over the last day and a half. I say "day and a half" because when you buy a day ticket it is actually good for the day prior starting a 3pm until close and then the next full day. We used up every minute of time. Needless to say, now we are all totally wiped out!
Back in 1894 Branson's first attraction, the Marble Cave, opened to the public. It was named as such because some of the early explorers in the 1880s thought the cave was full of marble. Over time geologists determined there was actually no marble in the cave so the name was changed to Marvel Cave. In 1960 a theme park was started above the cave. Today, Silver Dollar City is a major theme park which combines family fun with the timeless appeal of crafts and a dedication to preserving the 1880s Ozarks culture. In addition to several roller coasters and water rides, the park also has several shows and craftsmen demonstrating trades such as glass blowing, knife making, blacksmithing and candle making to name a few. This park is laid out well, is very clean, and like the Disney parks you can't see anything behind the scenes.
On the first afternoon we all managed to hit the best rides and even made it to the Magic Show and their end of the night Great American County Nights Show. We're not big country music folk but it was a very good show and we appreciated the emphasis placed on God and county (the USA not the music). We were also very impressed with the time taken to thank our military veterans.
Of course the next morning we were one of the first cars (the FIRST RV) in the parking lot and one of the first to ride the most thrilling coasters. Tanner and Sterling have always loved thrill rides but it is Peyton (now over 48") who has become our latest daredevil thrillseeker. One of our family favorites was the Powder Keg ride which we went on 3 times. This ride is explosive, shooting you from 0 to 53 mph in 2.8 seconds. It was so hot and soooo humid that the water rides kept us coming back for more soaking sessions. We were able to convince the kids to see a couple more shows as well, Veggie Tales Production and the saloon show. Another way we cooled off was by taking the 1 hour tour of Marvel Cave. This cave was very impressive. The entrance to the cave, the Cathedral Room, is the largest cave entrance room in the United States. For a recent anniversary they brought in 5 hot air ballons and flew them inside the Cathedral Room. We descended down into the cave over 500 feet (almost 600 steps). It was quite an adventure which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Did I mention we are all exhausted?
