Tea Cups

Going back to Hogwarts

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Port of Entry

The Port of Entry themed area is the large and extremely attractive entrance area to the theme park. The large souvenir shop is located here, as well as all kinds of catering options. The area serves as a hub to the themed areas Marvel Super Hero Island and Seuss Landing.

Seuss Landing

The Seuss Landing themed area is dedicated to the children’s books by the famous American author Dr Seuss. Here you can meet well-known characters such as the Grinch, the Lorax and the Cat in the Hat in an environment that is as colourful as it is clearly designed and minimalist.

The Cat in the Hat

The journey leads through the events of the book, with the nameless boy narrating the ride. The cat in the hat and the fish also have their say at various points during the ride. As in the book, all sorts of mischief happens when the mother violates the house and leaves the children alone. The cat in the hat appears and with it Thing 1 and Thing 2. Chaos increasingly breaks out, which is staged quite well in the ride. The end comes quite quickly and after the chaos has been cleared up by the cat with a machine, we get off the ride.

Caro-Seuss-el und One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Seuss Landing is home to two colourful carousels. While the Caro-Seuss-el is more classic and features colourful animal characters from children’s books, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish requires a little skill to avoid getting completely soaked on the carousel. The accompanying song tells you what to do, but if you don’t listen, the fun is all the greater.

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride consists of two lengthy powered coasters from Mack Rides, but they don’t build up any speed here and are more of a high-backed railway through the area. There are anecdotes and jokes, but a ride on the two tracks is not really exciting.

The Lost Continent

The Lost Continent theme area itself is a little lost in its current form. There used to be the big walkthrough show Poseidon’s Fury and the stunt show The Eigth Voyage of Sindbad. Today, both are no longer in use. What remains is probably one of the most beautiful themed areas in the world and, with the Mythos restaurant, probably one of the best restaurants in a theme park worldwide.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade

Hogwarts Express

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme area spans both Universal theme parks in Florida. While you can visit Hogsmeade and Hogwarts in the Islands of Adventure, you can explore Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. Both themed areas are connected by the Doppelmayr funicular railway Hogwarts Express. However, a ticket valid for both parks is required for the journey. While a park hopping ticket makes little sense at Walt Disney World due to the distance between the parks, the walking distance between the two Universal theme parks is a big plus, as well as the opportunity to take a ride on the Hogwarts Express, which is a really great experience. It is also recommended to ride both routes once, as the film sequences shown are different.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

Where the Dueling Dragons once stood – two B&M inverted coasters that met several times during the ride, but in the end no longer dueled, which meant that many of the visual attractions were simply no longer there – now stands a rollercoaster with an incredibly unwieldy name, which we will simply call Hagrid’s for the sake of simplicity.

The ride on Hagrid’s begins with a long right-hand bend that takes us into the first launch area. After a short left-hand bend, we then take a right-hand bend at some speed, after which we reach the second launch area. At high speed, we then race into a passage close to the ground with numerous left and right turns before briefly taking our foot off the accelerator at Hagrid’s hut. This is where Hagrid and a Blast-Ended Skrewt await us. After this short lesson, we head back towards Hogwarts. Over the third launch section, we gather enough speed to climb a hill and immediately throw ourselves towards the ground in a left-hand bend. This is followed by a number of ground-hugging bends along a lake. After adjusting our speed a little, a right-hand bend leads us directly into a small hill and another right-hand bend takes us to Fluffy, the three-headed dog. After a short left turn over a switch, we reach another launch section. We then dive into a tunnel at full speed and then race up a long straight. Unfortunately, we run out of steam and experience part of the journey in reverse. We then come to a halt in a cave, but are attacked by the magical creatures. With Hagrid’s help, we manage to escape. After the freefall segment, the path leads us into another launch section, which takes us into a wide left-hand bend followed by a right-hand bend. Shortly afterwards, our speed is reduced to a minimum and we approach the end of the ride.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a really good roller coaster and my personal favourite at the Islands of Adventure. The overall concept of the ride is simply harmonious and the finale of the ride with the small freefall element was something I really didn’t have on my radar. I at least was blown away and can only warmly recommend a ride on this rollercoaster to anyone.

Flight of the Hippogriff

Flight of the Hippogriff is the standard model of a Vekoma Junior Coaster, which you can also experience in the park next door as Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster. Accordingly, the ride begins with a short curve out of the station and the subsequent lift hill. You immediately complete a left-hand steep curve with a subsequent upward helix, cross a short valley and a wide right-hand curve near the station. Over a hill, you cross the route you have just travelled, whereupon you lose some height in another helix. This is followed by a left-hand bend, after which the braking section awaits. Here you wait a little until the train in front of you has been dispatched at the station and you can enter it.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

The wild ride through Hogwarts begins with Hermione’s generous use of floo powder, after which we soon find ourselves in the observatory. Slight tilting effects to the side during transport provide initial excitement, as all movements are absolutely smooth – which is quite unexpected given the otherwise very rough movement profiles of the stationary Robo-Coasters. In the observatory itself, we join Harry and Ron and experience a fabulous ride over the rooftops of Hogwarts towards the Quidditch match. Meanwhile, we meet Hagrid, who asks us if we have seen the dragon, only to encounter said dragon a few moments later. Pushed by the dragon, our path leads us into a bridge, where the dragon is waiting for us as an animatronic, but we manage to escape.

Shortly afterwards, we find ourselves in the Forbidden Forest, where we immediately encounter Aragog. Hermione rushes to our aid and chases him away while we continue our escape. More spiders get in our way, but we manage to leave the forest. The whomping willow awaits us in the clearing, although we manage to avoid it quite well, it does eventually catch us and we are thrown into the Quidditch stadium. So far so good, after all it was our goal and we are right in the middle of the action – which is much cooler than the trendy muggle sport.

When Slytherin stupidly scores a goal against Gryffindor, Dementors get into the arena. Since evil plus evil stupidly still equals evil, Harry immediately escorts us out of the arena. We are separated from Harry and soon find ourselves in the Chamber of Secrets. Another Dementor chases after us and even Lord Voldemort gives us the slip. We manage to escape, but a horde of Dementors is already waiting for us. It’s getting cold, the gondola bearer’s movements are noticeably slow and a heartbeat can be heard from the subwoofers on the benches. At the last possible moment, Harry chases the Dementors away and we follow him through the collapsing entrance towards Hogwarts. In the main hall leading to the grand staircase, we meet all sorts of students and teachers and, last but not least, Albus Dumbledore, who uses Floo powder to transport us to the Room of Requirement, i.e. the station of the ride.

I was amazed. I would never have believed the Kuka robots capable of such a ride. I was also simply overwhelmed by the scale of the decorations and screens. The whipping willow in particular thrilled me so much that I could only smile for the rest of the ride. The symbiosis between the projection and the real backdrop simply works perfectly and the ride system supports this in the best possible way. The robots’ great freedom of movement in particular brings an incredible dynamic to the ride, which is also utilised perfectly and ultimately offers an absolutely wild but extremely harmonious ride through the Harry Potter universe. I’d love more of this!

Jurassic Park

Jurassic World VelociCoaster

As soon as it opened, the VelociCoaster was labelled the best roller coaster in the world by many roller coaster fans. All the more reason to take the ride with all kinds of crazy people from the Buzzed Bars Coaster Club and spend lap after lap on this rollercoaster.

The ride begins with a left-hand bend that leads us into the launch area. The velociraptors, which are supposed to chase after our train for entertainment reasons, have apparently escaped and so we now have to complete the route through the enclosure as quickly as possible. The journey begins with a very steep uphill curve, which turns into a large drop. However, we only reach the bottom after the following dive loop, which is extremely challenging. This is followed by a nice turn to the right, after which we change direction on a hill. We are now steadily gaining height, but the first velociraptor is already waiting for us up here. Taron-esque, we then wind our way towards the ground, only to continue our route in a left-hand bend. In a right-hand bend, however, we narrowly escape the second raptor. After an implied turnaround, we then enter a tunnel in a right-hand bend, whereupon we accelerate a second time.

Now we race up the Top Hat, which characterises the entrance area to the roller coaster. Whilst we turn on our own axis on the ascent, the subsequent drop is quite straightforward. A slight swing to the right then leads us into a very wide stall above the walkways, where we spend a long time upside down. This is followed by a wide Bavarian curve with a negative incline in between. After a speed hump, we then shoot through the so-called Mosasaurus Roll – a fast barrel roll – which is incredibly popular with American roller coaster fans. After a short swing to the right and left, we reach the braking section of the ride.

The VelociCoaster is a really good rollercoaster with a highly dynamic layout, but it doesn’t quite come close to its European role models Taron and Taiga. While the first part of the ride is extremely compact, the second part focuses mainly on long curves and speed; the VelociCoaster should therefore be seen more as a roller coaster with two acts, with either the first or second act being more appealing depending on your taste.

Jurassic Park River Adventure

The Shoot-the-Chutes Jurassic Park River Adventure is also one of the best rides of its kind. The ride through the time-honoured dinosaur park is certainly one of the most famous rides in the world, which makes it all the more enjoyable when the posted waiting times go by much faster than expected.

As the ride is thankfully based on the first film, we are looking forward to an adventurous ride without divorce drama and genetically modified hyperdinos on the island of Isla Nublar. After leaving the station, a short lift hill takes us to an intermediate level, where we bob along the canal for a few metres before approaching the significant gate from the film. The gate opens, the music plays and we feel like we’re back in our childhood, so my primary school self was addressed, and so the path leads us leisurely through the Ultrasaurus and Stegosaurus enclosures. In the Hadrasaurus enclosure, we receive a warning that the raptors have broken out. Meanwhile, two dilophosaurs are fighting over the remaining coat of a park employee, enough distraction for us to take care of our own escape. As we approach a building, a small container almost falls on our heads. In the building itself, we then use the transport system inside to get to the power station. On the very long lift hill, we gain a few metres in altitude and are attacked from both sides by Velociraptors. Once we reach the power station level, we are attacked by more dinosaurs as we approach the evacuation path in a wide curve. A short lift hill brings us to the aforementioned drop, so that we can only just escape from a T-Rex that has just appeared. We now descend a good 26 metres, whereupon the obligatory splashdown takes place and the ride, which is absolutely worth experiencing, comes to an end.

Camp Jurassic and Pteranodon Flyers

The small suspended roller coaster Pteranodon Flyers is located in the middle of the children’s area Camp Jurassic, which unfortunately adults are not allowed to ride without a child up to a certain age. For whatever reason, the ride has a rather low capacity for a theme park like Islands of Adventure, which can lead to longer waiting times.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong

The Skull Island: Reign of Kong dark ride is based on the latest King Kong films. The ride is based on the concept of a safari through Skull Island, punctuated by the dangerous oversized wild animals. There are some animatronics, but the majority of the ride takes place on large screens to the right and left of the ride, while the truck is on a platform that moves in sync with the film. This is very cool and impressively realised, especially compared to other immersive tunnel attractions worldwide.

Toon Lagoon

The Toon Lagoon themed area is home to the two water rides Dudley-do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls and Popeye & Pluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges and is characterised above all by the colourful drawing style of classic American comics.

Dudley-do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls

The log flume Dudley-do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls is based on the character Dudley Do-Right from the American animated series The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, which first aired between 1959 and 1964.

Once you have squeezed yourself into the incredibly tight seats – which are equipped with individual restraints – the journey can begin. On the way to the first lift, we bob along through a nicely designed scene with some funny allusions. After the lift, we travel quite quickly through the canal before making our way through a mine. Back in daylight, we pass under the final descent once and then make our way to the next tunnel. When we have to avoid a railway in this tunnel, we set off on our first drop. Surprisingly, this takes us over a small hill and ensures that everyone on board gets wet. After a right-hand bend, we quickly enter the next descent, which is just as moisturising. After a few bends, we climb the second lift hill, which takes us right to the top. After a left-hand bend, we then split into one of the two descents, which we immediately tackle. Interestingly, the descent takes you far below the level of the final splashdown. We reach the required altitude over a hill with a crest that is always covered in spray and immediately start the splashdown. This is followed by the return to the station, whereupon our ride on this fantastic log flume unfortunately comes to an end.

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges

The Rapid River with the unbelievably bulky name Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges is one of the wettest rides of its type. The ride is characterised by its winding course with numerous rapids; however, the numerous water effects that protrude into the ride make it wet, which makes for surprised faces, especially on the lift. A great ride!

Marvel Super Hero Island

The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man

Just like at Universal Studios Japan, everything is just right on The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man dark ride. Perfectly coordinated movements interact with the video projections in the most ingenious way, leaving you speechless and amazed as you leave the ride vehicle and wanting to queue again. The electric shock scene, triggered by the villain Electro, and the scene with the anti-gravity cannon are particularly noteworthy here too; otherwise I find it difficult to describe this dark ride, as it really is simply overwhelming.

Doctor Doom’s Fearfall

The two towers of Doctor Doom’s Fearfall both house a Space Shot from S&S, while the theming inside suggests an Intamin Giant Drop, as do the rather unusual check-in areas of the towers. However, the ride itself is surprisingly fun and is highly recommended, especially in the evening (and with correspondingly short waiting times), as you can catch a great view of the beautifully illuminated park and Orlando at night.

Storm Force Accelatron

The Storm Force Accelatron teacup ride is characterised above all by its extremely large and rather sluggish gondolas. The ride is accompanied by rock music and lighting effects.

Incredible Hulk Coaster

One of the time-honoured rides in Orlando is the Incredible Hulk Coaster, B&M’s first roller coaster with a launch, although this was probably not provided by B&M but outsourced. It is the first roller coaster with a friction wheel launch.

After leaving the station, the path leads us straight into the launch cannon. The experiment goes wrong and we are shot out of the cannon straight into the first inversion of the ride; a zero-G roll. Immediately after the big descent, the track leads us into a Cobra Roll and then, without mercy, into an oversized loop. After a short dive under the park paths, we take a quick spin around the launch cannon before tackling our next inversion – a corkscrew. Over a long downhill straight, we then gain momentum for loop no. 2, which we also ride through with plenty of pressure. This is followed by two larger cornering manoeuvres that lead us into a block segment in the middle of the second loop. After another downhill section, we race through a second corkscrew and a right-hand bend before quickly approaching the end of the ride in an uphill helix.

Like many of the great B&M rides of its time, the Incredible Hulk Coaster is simply an incredible power machine. The ride is merciless and impresses with its constant high pressure in almost all manoeuvres.

Pictures Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

Conclusion Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

I really enjoyed the Islands of Adventure. Together with Universal Studios Florida right next door, the park offers an incredibly high-quality entertainment package that I would like to experience much more often. Everything is just right here. What’s more, the VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure are two of the best rollercoasters in the world within the same park.

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Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

Sea World, not SeaWorld

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History of the Sea Mammal Amusement Park Sea World

The origins of Sea World go back to the year 1958 when the Surfers Paradise Sky Gardens opened on the south bank of the Nerang River in Carrara. The park by Keith Williams became famous for its water ski shows. In 1971 the park relocated to its current site on the Southport Spit as Ski Land. With the additions of dolphin shows and other attractions the park was renamed to Sea World a year later. It is important to know, that Sea World has nothing to do with the American theme park chain SeaWorld, which currently operates three parks under their SeaWorld brand. Yet, it is no surprise that there was plenty of skirmish over trademarks during the past decades.

In 1984, the park was sold to Pivot Leisure. During the following years, the park was expanded into a resort. Together with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, Pivot Leisure developed and opened the nearby Warner Bros. Movie World in 1991 and purchased the Wet ‘n’ Wild water park next door. In 1993 the Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow jointly acquired Pivot Leisure’s interest. In 2006 Village Roadshow took full ownership of the group which led to the Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

Tour of the Park

Penguin Encounter and Sea Jellies Illuminated

After entering the park, you will find yourself directly in front of a large lake. The only available path leads us to the left and soon we stand in front of the Penguin Encounter. This indoor animal enclosure reminded me a lot of the ones to be found at the SeaWorld parks and should therefore not to be missed.

The next-door Sea Jellies Illuminated is also a very interesting exhibition, as you can see Jelly Fish in a totally different light. Albeit they are still very mysterious creatures, the different light conditions give them a very fascinating appeal.

Monorail

Till the completion of the New Atlantis themed area in 2022, the park’s Monorail got suspended. It would have been nice to take a tour on Sea World’s iconic mode of transport. Right behind the station there is a helipad. Here, you can take a trip with the park’s helicopter fleet for a rather high upcharge.

Seal Guardians

As the Seal Guardians show was to start soon, we headed directly into the large theatre. Like most seal shows around the globe, the show is very much slapstick based. The story is based on the Seal Guardians and their mission to keep the oceans clean, but of course there an evil company which wants to see them tear down SeaLab1. At the end, everything is fine, everybody had a good laugh and a person from the audience got soaked.

Nickelodeon Land

Right next door to the theatre is Nickelodeon Land. In Sea World the famous children’s network presents a bunch of rides themed to Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The most noticeable rides are Dora’s Fiesta Carousel, the Rockin’ Tug Bikini Bottom Crosstown Express, the teacups Patrick’s Jellyfish Frenzy, as well as the small family coaster Spongebob’s Boating School Blast – a standard family gravity coaster by Zamperla.

Jet Rescue

Right next to the former location of the Sea Viper roller coaster – Australia’s first looping coaster – there is the Intamin family launch coaster Jet Rescue. One year after Dreamworld opened Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster, Sea World opened Australia’s first double launch coaster featuring a very dense layout full of tight curves.

The ride starts with a launch to 60 kph and immediately settles into 270° righthand curve, which is completed extremely close to the ground. This is followed by a short camelback over the launch track that has just been passed. A slight turn to the left brings us into a small S-curve combination, which ends in the second launch section.

Here, we accelerate to our maximum speed of 70 kph. This is once again followed by a heavily inclined curve. In an alternating rhythm, we now race through a series of left and right turns, whereby we always keep ourselves close to the ground. After crossing the track a second time, we soon hit the brakes and return to the station.

Jet Rescue is a very fun coaster. Due to its formerly limited space, the ride squeezes a lot of action into a very small footprint. The tight and highly inclined curves and the overall high pacing throughout the layout make this coaster a very remarkable family ride and one of the best roller coasters in Australia.

Storm Coaster

Storm Coaster is the replacement of an old time favourite: The Bermuda Triangle. The large indoor flume ride featured two major drops and an extra-terrestrial story line which still can be experienced at its replica at Movie Park Germany – the former Warner Bros. Movie World Germany. The ride is nowadays called Area51. Storm Coaster reuses the Bermuda Triangle’s show building for the final splash down and for its station.

Once boarded, the ride starts with a small passage through the channel without any hint of theming. When reaching the end of the hall, we also reach the ride’s lift hill. Shortly after, we find ourselves at a height of 28m before plunging down a small curvy dip into the next block brake. The following steep curve downhill shot is the highlight of the ride and rushing through the valley without any mayor sideways bump a relief to everybody who ever experienced Poseidon at Europa Park. Soon after we reach the second block brake at a lofty height. Now, we drop down under the main path leading to the attraction before we take a hill and disappear into the show building. Here, we hit the water and get reasonable wet. A bit of theming to the right and left of the route makes the return to the station entertaining.

Storm Coaster is a very fun water coaster by Mack Rides. The show building features a great theming and the placement of the ride within the park was very well done. It just looks like a very huge coaster. Unfortunately, the ride is a bit spare on its theming during the ride especially when you compare it to the ride which was previously housed at this location.

Ray Reef, Polar Bear Shores and Shark Bay

Past the remnants of the Viking’s Revenge Flume Ride and the 3D Cinema which until recently was showing the Spongebob Squarepants 3D movie, we now make our way to some of the larger animal enclosures. The first one on our way is the large Ray Reef petting pool, where you can feed the rays for an upcharge.

Behind it there is Polar Bear Shores – the only polar bear enclosure in Australia. For a park like Sea World, such an enclosure should be a no-go as it does not house a marine mammal or related animal; however, it has been in existence since 2000 and you really don’t have to think twice to know that the Gold Coast’s subtropical climate is not suitable for housing polar bears.

Probably the best attraction at Sea World is Shark Bay. This large-scale area has everything you would want to see in an aquarium, and there are so many opportunities to catch a glimpse of the goings-on below sea level. Here, you can easily spend most of your time at Sea World and if you really want it or have a lot of spare money, there are many upcharge experiences to enjoy.

Castaway Bay

The area Castaway Bay consists of the upcharge high ropes course Castaway Bay Sky Climb, the play structure Castaway Bay Sky Fortress and the splash battle Castaway Bay Battle Boats. Especially, the last-mentioned attraction is a lot of fun on a typical day on the Gold Coast, as it allows you to cool down in a very efficient and drenching way.

Affinity Dolphin

The main attraction of Sea World is the dolphin presentation at the Affinity Stadium. It is a bit like a glimpse to the past, as dolphin presentation are not featured anymore in most parts of the Western world. It would be wrong by me to criticize this kind of shows, as I always enjoyed them. Yet, as we missed the first presentation, we decided not to wait for the second one in the afternoon.

Thunder Lake Stunt Show

After a view on the nearby Seal Harbour area, we headed back to the entrance area of the park for the Thunder Lake Stunt Show. The show features a competition between the Sun State All Stars (the good ones) and the Bay City River Rats (the bad ones) in wakeboarding, Freestyle BMX and water-skiing. If you ignore the trivial story with all its banter, the Thunder Lake Stunt Show is well worth seeing. Especially the fire-breathing waterborne lorry will remain in your memory. As many others, we left the park directly after the show.

Pictures Sea World

Conclusion Sea World

Overall, we had a great day at Sea World. Albeit the park is rather limited in size, it offers some very interesting animal enclosures and a bunch of great attractions. However, the park can be criticised for its high number of upcharge attractions and some of its animal enclosures. With marine mammal parks in general losing more and more acceptance by the public, it will be interesting to see how Sea World will develop in the future.

 

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Click here for the next report of the Hell Yeah, Schabelteah! Tour

Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19 / Sea World

If I could turn back time

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Branson, Missouri is a very interesting town. The Vegas in the Bible Belt simply stands out for its immense number of tourist traps, country theaters and hotels. Bible faithful Christians definitely get their money’s worth and go to the top with the big musical show in the Sight & Sound Theatre. Yes, the audience in Branson is different and this is also a good thing, as this way, the tourist stronghold is at least halfway tolerable. I was looking forward to two days in the amusement park Silver Dollar City.

History of Silver Dollar City

When the Marvel Cave was explored for lead ore in 1869, the potential of the area was of course still little known; after all, the first expedition did not lead to any findings. But as the miners were sure that one of the hall ceilings contained marble, another expedition was started in the year 1882. Admittedly, instead of marble, only limestone and a huge amount of guano (bat poop) was found. After four and a half years, the mining was over and the area was sold.

William Henry Lynch acquired the cave and a square mile of surrounding land in 1989, in order to guide tourists through the cave a few years later. After some initial difficulties, the cave has now been open to visitors without interruption since the early 1900s, making it one of the oldest tourist destinations in the Ozarks. After the death of William Lynch, his daughters took over the business before vacuum cleaner salesman Hugo Herschend leased the cave for 100 years.

After his death his wife Mary and their two sons Jack and Peter took over the business. After the construction of a funicular railway at today’s cave entrance, the focus shifted to the area around the cave to attract more tourists. With the reconstruction of a typical 1880s Ozark Village, the foundation stone for today’s Silver Dollar City theme park and the Herschend Family Entertainment Group was laid.

And this is exactly what one enters immediately after leaving the parking tram. In a deeply immersive way you are immediately transported back to the 80s, more precisely 100 years before my year of birth. In this area, you will find the craftsmen in the different manufactures, regardless of whether candles, fudge, jam or all imaginable wood and glassware, everything is produced in front of the eyes of curious passers-by.

Tour of Silver Dollar City

Time Traveler

The first attraction on our round trip takes us on a time travel as well, although a more modern interpretation of it. Steam punk has gone all the way to Silver Dollar City and on board is the company Mack Rides. The roller coaster manufacturer from the Black Forest surprises with its most innovative roller coaster so far, the Time Traveler. The concept of a revolving gondola roller coaster is by no means new – but the design is definitely.

After having taken a seat in the train with its four gondolas, the trip can start right away. Slowly, one is carried out of the station before one immediately gets into a 90° fall. The passengers that up to now only went forward and backwards are rotated by an eddy current brake that is installed on one side, whereby no ride is the same as the other.  27m further down the ride takes us through a valley, before we climb up a dive loop and see the world in all imaginable positions upside down. With momentum we now follow the terrain along the roller coaster Thunderation in slight swings. A turning curve leads us into the first block brake of the ride, where we also come to a stop and the rotation slows down to a minimum.

It doesn’t take too long and our train is accelerated on the launch track ahead, but unfortunately the rotation starts jerkily. Over a high banked turn we are now rapidly heading for the next element in a steep curve. In a 95ft high loop we now experience the world upside down for a second time, which is a breathtaking feeling. This is followed by a fast driven turn, which immediately leads into the third inversion element of the ride. The corkscrew marketed as Zero-G Roll is not of bad parents and convinces all along the line. After another turn and a small hill we reach the second launch section, which gives the train the necessary energy to reach station level. A turn, reminiscent of a dive loop, and a steep curve leading up to it mark the finale of the ride, before we immediately find ourselves on the braking track and soon at the station.

The Time Traveler is a very special roller coaster, which convinces with its breathtaking setting in all points. The layout is simply unique and stands out by the elements used; the not quite jerk-free first launch is the only weak point of the ride, which convinces the family audience of the amusement park like no other roller coaster.

Thunderation

To the sounds of a country version of If I Could Turn Back Time, we go straight to the neighboring roller coaster Thunderation, where I would have loved to have fulfilled my wish for a time travel. Until a few years ago, the second, as well as the fourth car of the five-unit trains ran backwards. Nowadays, however, all eyes are directed to the front, which unfortunately makes this very special mine train from Arrow a little less special.

Like the Time Traveller, Thunderation’s wild ride starts right after leaving the station. In a right turn we slowly but surely pick up more and more speed. After a short straight we immediately whiz through a left turn before we enter a steadily tapering right turn spiral. This then leads into a short tunnel, whereupon we race over a short hill. A right-hand bend close to the ground on the slope is the highlight of the ride. After a short left turn we are slowed down in a block brake, whereupon the lift hill of the ride is waiting for us. We are now leisurely going uphill again. At the top we immediately enter another left turn, which soon falls off unexpectedly steeply. After a short ascent and a right turn we are at the station level, where we now come to a halt in the braking section in front of the station.

Thunderation is a great Mine Train, which like all late Arrow Mine Trains is characterized by its very intense ride. The layout is incredibly impressive due to its hillside location, even though the ride after the lift hill could have been a bit longer.

The Flooded Mine and Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train

Fans of rustic theme rides will get their money’s worth with The Flooded Mine. On the way through the Flooded Mine of the local Country Prison you try to stop the prisoners from escaping. You can aim your pistols at various targets, but a ride without using them is much more fun.

Right next to The Flooded Mine is the station of the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train. The big small gauge steam train takes you through the Ozark Mountains and the amusement park for about 20 minutes. In between, the train is robbed in a show interlude by several inexperienced bank robbers. A wonderful fun, which you should not miss by any means.

The Grand Exposition and Fireman’s Landing

In the children’s area The Grand Exposition we meet numerous rides from the Italian manufacturer Zamperla. Here, little amusement park fans can experience their first roller coaster ride on The Grand Exposition Coaster or take one lap after the other on one of the numerous roundabout rides. In addition to a boat swing, there is also a wave swinger, a teacup carousel, a Regatta ride, as well as a Disk’o and several smaller carousels from the manufacturer.

Firefall

The children’s area that I find particularly interesting is Fireman’s Landing, where there are other classic round trips in a coherent atmosphere. The most interesting attraction is the S&S Double Shot Firefall, which was previously located in the nearby amusement park Celebration City. When the sister park closed in 2008, the ride moved from one location in Branson to the other. The ride itself convinces with its great airtime and should therefore not be missed by anyone.

Giant Barn Swing

Passing the construction site of the new rafting ride Mystic River Falls we are now heading towards another attraction from S&S, the Screamin’ Swing Giant Barn Swing. This oversized swing transports the passengers with compressed air to a very remarkable height, from which you should have a great view of the new rapids ride, as well as of the nearby roller coaster Outlaw Run.

Outlaw Run

Outlaw Run is the first wooden roller coaster from the manufacturer RMC, who previously gave the old wooden roller coaster Texas Giant from the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park a new life as a steel roller coaster with its I-Box solution. As with the New Texas Giant, visitors can expect a wild ride over numerous breathtaking elements, many of which were first installed on this roller coaster.

The ride on Outlaw Run begins immediately with the lift hill of the resort, which takes you up to a height of 107ft. After a small dip, the train speeds over a narrow hilltop, whereupon, detached from our seat, we fall a good 162ft to the ground in an 81° steep gradient. After a pressure-laden valley we immediately shoot up a steep left turn, which immediately changes into an over-banked inversion at the top of the hill. In another left turn we race through the valley and instantly take a series of turns that lift us out of our seats at all times. In a twist & turn we experience for the first time the feeling of lateral weightlessness on a roller coaster before we enter the next valley. Over another curved airtime hill we approach the finale of the ride. Following a flat Airtime hill we spiral up close to the ground in a double Heartline Roll. Shortly afterwards we reach the braking section of the layout, whereupon our ride ends in the station.

What a ride! Outlaw Run is definitely not a roller coaster for weak stomachs, as it is a pretty tough one. The many airtime moments and at the same time incredibly pressure-packed valleys make for a breathtaking ride that you will never forget. The two inversions at the end of the ride are also a novelty for a wooden roller coaster, which can make you feel a bit dizzy. The ride is simply awesome and should be experienced by every roller coaster fan!

Tom and Huck’s River Blast and Fire in the Hole

On our way back from the dead end around the roller coaster Outlaw Run we come across the very slick interactive water ride Tom and Huck’s River Blast, where you can follow the paths of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Another highlight in Silver Dollar City is the dark ride Fire in the Hole. The ride deals with the fire in the mining town of Marmaros, which was created from the guano mining of the Marvel Cave. A vigilante group called Bald Knobbers is suspected to have burned down the village. More details are not known, but in the end the park decided to tell this story. Passing several scenes, the path leads us uphill in a big oval, whereby you watch the inhabitants trying to extinguish their village before you cross a collapsing bridge and the ride becomes a roller coaster. A second descent follows as one avoids an oncoming train. Under the yell Fire in the Hole you crash into a warehouse for dynamite, which fortunately could be extinguished. The watering slows down the train, shortly after you’re back in the station.

Powder Keg

The Powder Keg roller coaster has an equally interesting history – even if only from an engineering point of view. Before it became the unique launch coaster of today, it was a water roller coaster for several years. The roller coaster was opened in 1999 under the name Buzzsaw Falls. The prototype from Premier Rides had a longer whitewater ride before it changed into the roller coaster part. A longer helix led towards the lift hill, where after a short ride in lofty heights the final shot was waiting. However, just four years later the ride was already rebuilt. The manufacturer of the new hardware became S&S Power, which means that the visitor can now expect a powerful blast of compressed air.

The journey starts with a transfer track leading up to the side of the launch track. After arriving at the launch track, the train now moves to its starting position, hooks into the catch car and waits for its release. At some point a warning siren is switched on and a traffic light switches from red to green. The launch rapidly brings us up to 64 mph, whereupon we climb a hill. Accompanied by delicious airtime you glide into the valley below you. In a wide right bend you approach another airtime-laden hill. A slightly over-bent curve joins, followed by a third hill, which bends to the left at its apex. After a speedy curve the track profile suddenly changes, whereupon you ride the track of the former water roller coaster at a breakneck speed. Then after a wide curve the lift hill of the layout follows. At the top, the rail profile changes again. While the water roller coaster would have started its final shoot down at the same level as the launch section, we now bend a bit further to the left and plunge down the big slope of the roller coaster. This is followed by an extremely intensive helix, which however also describes the final part of the ride. Shortly afterwards we find ourselves in the braking section of the ride.

Powder Keg is a really fine roller coaster. The launch, the plentiful airtime and the nice pressure in the curves and valleys characterize this roller coaster, even if the finale is a bit too much anti-climactic. All in all, however, the roller coaster is a guarantee for a good mood.

American Plunge and Wildfire

Just like the neighboring whitewater course American Plunge. Although the ride basically consists of a slightly longer concrete tunnel and a single and extremely wet shot, the ride built by O.D. Hopkins is definitely worth a ride.

Right next door is the entrance to the last roller coaster of the park. The B&M Sitting Coaster Wildfire is the top dog in Silver Dollar City since the year 2001. With its location directly on one of the slopes of the park the ride looks even bigger, which is underlined by the skilful use of the terrain.

The trip begins with a short dip out of the station, where you dive under the large viewing platform. On the other side of this platform the lift hill of the roller coaster is added, which takes you up to a height of approximately 120ft. After a predrop, a wide curve follows, whereupon a slope with a height difference of 155ft descends. As is typical for B&M, strong G-forces await you in the valley before we approach the first inversion of the ride. In an Immelmann we change direction, whereupon we make our way towards the huge loop. In a wide curve close to the ground we rush towards the Cobra Roll, which we pass through as usual. This is followed by a sweeping over-banked turn, which releases you just as sweepingly into the final corkscrew of the track. A helix introduced close to the ground then sends you into the final brake of the layout. Shortly thereafter you’re already back at the station of the roller coaster.

Wildfire is my favorite roller coaster in Silver Dollar City. The ride is simply terrific and is enhanced by the setting directly on the hillside and surrounded by the Ozark Mountains. Besides, Wildfire is actually my 600th roller coaster I’ve ridden – a milestone I wouldn’t wish otherwise.

Marvel Cave

After all the roller coasters and rides it is now time to take a closer look at Marvel Cave in a one hour guided tour. Over the huge Cathedral Room we first go deeper and deeper into the cave. In the following rooms, the history of the cave is then more and more explained. After several narrow passages, whereby one should always take care of one’s head, the old funicular takes us back to the daylight. The Marvel Cave is basically the highlight in Silver Dollar City and should not be skipped.

Echo Hollow Amphitheatre

This brings us to the end of the report. The day is coming to an end and the rides are now all closed. However, Silver Dollar City wouldn’t be Silver Dollar City without adding a little more to the fun. In the Echo Hollow Amphitheatre the big show at the end of the day is just beginning.

Pictures Silver Dollar City

Conclusion Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is a beautiful amusement park that can rightly be called the best amusement park in the world. The park offers a great mix of roller coasters, rides and shows that you can rarely find anywhere else. Accordingly, the park’s target group is a bit different – during my visit in April, it consisted almost exclusively of pensioners or families with younger children. In other words, Silver Dollar City is a theme park for everyone.

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Silver Dollar City / Texas Round-Up Day 6 to 8