12
TRAVEL
MARCH/APRIL 2014
Surprising Silver
Dollar City
The pace of life at
the park is slow,
and everyone is
there to have a
good time.
Missouri town in Ozark Mountains
welcomes good sports
by Jan Ross,
Staff Writer
Our expectations
for Silver Dollar
City, tucked away
in the beautiful Ozark Mountains
of Missouri right outside Branson, were extremely low. Since
we are not fans of amusement
parks, if we had the choice we
would have taken Silver Dollar
City off our list completely. But
we were on a press trip, it was on
the schedule and we are nothing
if not good sports.
Lucky for us.
Silver Dollar City was absolutely
nothing like we expected, so it
turned out to be the highlight of
our entire visit. Although technically an amusement park, it is a
unique and wonderful location.
First, it looks nothing like a typical amusement park. It has meandering paths, hundreds of trees
and lush foliage. Yes, there are
rides – in fact, Silver Dollar City
has a new $10 million wooden
roller coaster called Outlaw Run
that was voted the Best New Ride
of 2013 by Amusement Today.
There are plenty of other rides if
that is your cup of tea. However,
it is not ours.
But speaking of cups of tea, Silver
Dollar City is a veritable cornucopia of culinary delights. Situated throughout the lovely rolling
hills of the park are shops, restaurants and outdoor vendors, all of
which provide the most amazing,
tantalizing and delicious food
you have ever tasted. From bakeries with fresh homemade pastries
to vendors dipping from huge
frying pans full of succotash, each
dish is more wonderful than the
last. There is even a professional
culinary school that offers a variety of classes.
If you hear music, it’s probably
from one of the 40 live daily
shows, all of which are included
in your ticket price. Bluegrass,
country, western, gospel – you
will find it all here. The wonderful performers are very professional. In between catching
shows and stuffing that delectable
food in your mouth, you can
wander around the park and
marvel at all the local craftsmen
who have booths set up to display
their wares and demonstrate
their art. From glass blowing to
pottery to leather work and even
a blacksmith, you can spend the
day learning about these talented
artisans who are delighted to talk
about their Ozark crafts. None of
them are in a hurry. The pace of
life at the park is slow, and everyone is there to have a good time.
When you’re ready for a bit of
adventure, take a tour of Marvel
Cave, located right in the park.
Silver Dollar City owes its existence to this natural cave, which
was opened as a tourist attraction
in 1894. The park was literally
built around the entrance to the
cave. The founders realized their
shops and restaurants, actually
designed to keep visitors who
were waiting to get into the cave,
were becoming very popular, and
so Silver Dollar city was born.
If you want a completely nontraditional amusement park
experience, check out Silver Dollar City. You will enjoy it just as
much as we did.