Category: Theme Parks

Adventureland’s third owner…

NOTE: Herschend does not own Adventureland. They plan to own it, but the sale has not yet happened. Per HFE:

“We do not currently operate any Palace Entertainment properties.  Until the sale is final, please direct any questions to the relevant property or a Palace HQ representative.” – Herschend

On March 18, 2025, Herschend Family Entertainment announced plans to acquire the Palace Entertainment U.S. properties, including Iowa’s Adventureland:

https://www.hfecorp.com/whats-new/herschend-to-acquire-palace-entertainments-us-attractions-from-parques-reunidos/

Herschend is the family that originally leased the Marvel Cave near Branson, Missouri and then opened Silver Dollar City in 1960. Today they are a large corporation that owns a number of attractions around America (and some outside of it).

Adventureland had been acquired by Palace Entertainment in December 2021:

Click to access Palace%20Entertainment%20to%20Acquire%20Adventureland.pdf

Palace Entertainment is a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain-based Parques Reunidos which owns properties around the world.

I haven’t visited Adventureland since their 21+ Halloween event in 2018 so I cannot directly comment on the final years under the original Krantz family’s ownership, nor can I comment on the three seasons Palace Entertainment has operated the park (2022-2024), but I certainly have alot to say about Silver Dollar City.

What is Silver Dollar City?

I first visited Silver Dollar City as a teenager in 1984. It was a lovely park, and I thought “I should really get back here in 40 years.” So I did, returning in 2024 and buying their low-cost annual pass which let us visit several times that year. The main reason for making the 6-hour drive to Silver Dollar City so many times last year, and twice (so far!) this year, is their special events.

Silver Dollar City has more events each year than even Walt Disney World’s Epcot does — and that’s saying something. This year, the are hosting:

  1. Spring Exposition
  2. Bluegrass and Barbecue
  3. Summer Celebration
  4. Southern Gospel Picnic
  5. Harvest Festival
  6. An Old Time Christmas

We saw several of these events last year, and their Harvest Festival had more pumpkins than any place I have ever been, including pumpkin patch. An Old Time Christmas has more Christmas lights than any place I can think of other than the discontinued Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights that used to be held at the Disney/MGM Studios in Florida.

You can take a look at this original Herschend park by browsing through my (currently) 6000 photos:

https://themeparks.disneyfans.com/SilverDollarCity/index.html

Is Herschend a good fit?

This is the question fans of (insert name of Palace Entertainment park that HFE is about to start running) have been asking online. There are plenty of folks upset with what Palace Entertainment did with their home park (see the various Kennywood groups for great examples of this), but also plenty that really liked the new energy they brought.

The same can be said for Adventureland. Many classic rides and shops and long-running entertainment offerings were removed, but the park received new rides and new paint.

What will Herschend do?

Looking at Silver Dollar City is most likely not going to be a way we can figure this out. SDC is operated as a theme park, not an amusement park. They have themed areas where the workers wear costumes to match. Even the people working in the popcorn wagon are wearing 1800s outfits. The workers on their prison-themed Flooded Mine boat attraction are dressed in black and white striped convict outfits (and, you get a gun that looks like a real gun to shoot at targets).

Flooded Mine works wear themed costumes in the park, as do all other workers.

The folks working their steam train are dressed as conductors. It is a completely different type of park than Adventureland.

The park also does its best to make things fit with the area they are in. Even the Dippin’ Dots stands are themed and not just the same modern food stand you would see at a carnival.

Silver Dollar City tries to hide modern lighting in the landscaping.

Also, while Adventureland has served beer for decades, there is no alcohol sold at SDC or its water park. Other attractions they operate in the area are also alcohol-free, though I have been told some of the hotels they run have booze. I am waiting on an official list from HFE on which of their properties allow alcohol.

When Palace took over Adventureland, I was told by management of the park that they were not really keen on having an Oktoberfest. Since that event continued as planned the next three years under Palace, perhaps they looked at the amount of money it made and decided to keep it.

Praise the Lord and Thank You for your Service!

While Adventureland has a church, SDC takes Christianity much further. Many fans of the park call Herschend a “Christian business.”

SDC is a place where, if you sneeze, someone will say “bless you” instead of “gesundheit”. Entertainment in the park will share Christian stories, or offer prayer requests at the end of the show. Their Christmas event actually says Christmas, and features a living nativity show as well as a stop on the steam train to hear “the true story of Christmas.” The park even has a church with Sunday service.

The Wilderness Church serves as a history display, and real church.

Each day starts with a flag ceremony, recognizing veterans. Many shows will ask veterans to stand and be recognized. This is not specific to SDC — it is common at many of the attractions in the Branson area. For this reason, all of this may just be “because the park is there” rather than “because Herschend owns it.”

What about the cinnamon bread?

If you have seen anyone commenting on this acquisition, you might have seen references to cinnamon bread. Cinnamon bread appears to be the “Dole whip” of Silver Dollar City (and also at the sister park, Dollywood, which originally was a second SDC). There can be long lines to buy a fresh loaf of this stuff. The park even has an express lane at the shop that sells it JUST for buying loafs!

Clara Belle’s world famous cinnamon bread can create long lines to buy it.

Fans of it are hopeful this might make its way to the Iowa park.

What does this mean?

Nothing. We know nothing but there is an intent to buy the Palace Entertainment parks. We can only look at other properties SDC has acquired to look at changes they made — and, changes may be localized and not apply at any other property. (For instance, alcohol being served at one Herschend property did not mean it would be served at all of them.)

Time will tell. Meanwhile, Adventureland has already had two different general managers since they took over the park, so another change of boss may not be as disruptive as it was the first time it changed.

More to come…

More Missouri and Silver Dollar City photos…

New photos from attractions in Missouri have been added to the Misc gallery:

https://misc.disneyfans.com/OtherPlaces/Missouri/index.html

This includes Sight & Sound Theatre (very well-themed and detailed), Ozark Hills Winery, and stops at interesting eateries such as The Pie Safe, Brason Walkers (zombie themed walking tacos) and more.

The Silver Dollar City gallery has also been updated bringing the count to over 6000 photos (so far):

https://themeparks.disneyfans.com/SilverDollarCity/index.html

And a bunch of VR360 photos have been posted to the “Branson in VR” Facebook group and the “Park Hopping in VR” Facebook group, as well as new VR360 videos being added to the YouTube channels for each of those.

Check ’em out… Much, much more VR stuff to be added as I get time.

Branson and Silver Dollar City photos added

Two of my galleries have been updated with new photos:

Branson Missouri photos, including A Tribute to the King, Retromania, Branson Landing water show, Masters of Escape, and much more:

https://misc.disneyfans.com/OtherPlaces/Missouri/index.html

And new Silver Dollar City photos:

https://themeparks.disneyfans.com/SilverDollarCity/SilverDollarCity2025/index.html

Also, new VR photos have been posted to Branson in VR and Park Hopping in VR on Facebook, and new VR videos are showing up on the YouTube channels for each one. Here’s a VR walk from the entrance of Silver Dollar City to the old Fire in the Hole, then over to the new Fire in the Hole.

…with many more scheduled to post.

Top 10 articles in 2024

Yep, dozens of visitors still end up at this blog! Huzzah.

I am a bit late on this update, but if you compare the Top 10 articles of 2023 to this year, you will see something interesting. It appears this site is slowly attracting Silver Dollar City visitors. This makes me happy, since this is a park I knew basically nothing about. I had visited one time as a teenager in 1984, then finally got back in 2024. Since it is just a “short” 6-hour drive down the road, I am now kicking myself for not making the trip sooner. It is far more affordable than most of the other theme parks I have visited.

Anywho, here is the list of the Top 10 most-viewed from 2024.

To be continued…

Silver Dollar Adventureland?

As rumored, Herschend has purchased the Palace Entertainment assets from Parques Reunidos. Herschend runs Silver Dollar City and Dollywood, among other places. Here is their website:

https://www.hfecorp.com

Iowa’s Adventureland was sold to Palace Entertainment a few years ago, and rumor of them getting rid of it has been circulating for awhile now.

As soon as more news floats around, I’ll see what stories I can share…

Silver Dollar City “An Old Time Christmas”

The Disney/MGM Studios was epic at Christmas time when it had the “Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights”, but that has been gone for years. If you want a Christmas light fix, check out Silver Dollar City in Missouri. They basically said “hold my (root) beer” (no alcohol in the park, you see) and put up 6.5 million lights — more than what the Disney display had.

Photos from this event have been added to the Theme Parks gallery:

http://themeparks.disneyfans.com/SilverDollarCity/index.html

I have also been posting VR/360 photos to my Park Hopping in VR Facebook page and VR/360 videos to my Park Hopping in VR YouTube channel.

Explore!

Silver Dollar City Harvest Festival photos

My Theme Parks gallery now has over 2500 photos taken at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. The most recent batch features their Harvest Festival, featuring thousands of pumpkins, special lighting, and more.

You can find these photos here:

http://themeparks.disneyfans.com

I did a bit more sorting to the photos as I learn the layout of this park. I still have virtually no understanding of where one “area” ends and another begins, beyond the obvious areas like “Grand Exposition” (which has a big sign as you enter it), “Fire District” (also a sign) and now “Wilson Farms” (another sign).

Eventually, I’d like to group all the photos by the area they are in. According to the map…

…it looks like I have much to learn:

  1. Fire District
  2. Grand Exposition
  3. Homestead Ridge
  4. Hugo’s Hill Street
  5. Main Street
  6. Midtown
  7. Rivertown
  8. Valley Road
  9. Wilson’s Farm

Nine areas shouldn’t be too difficult to learn, should it? But at Silver Dollar City, most of the areas look like Frontierland to me, and I have yet to “learn” the subtle differences so I can recognize one western building selling corn dogs form another western building selling corn dogs.

Everybody needs a hobby…

In VR…

As I began sorting nearly 200 VR video and photo files from a recent trip, I decided maybe I should find a place to upload them. So…

For other VR photographers and videographers, I have also set up some similar Facebook Groups so we can all share our work:

Logos by Tanjalin.

Why you want a Silver Dollar City season pass instead of day tickets

I remember visiting Silver Dollar City as a teenager in 1984. Forty years later, I returned. Here is what I learned.

The late 1800s theme of Silver Dollar City is like stepping back in time, but so is the entire theme park experience. The first shock is that parking is free. Today, most theme parks charge more for parking your car than an entire theme park ticket would have cost just a few decades ago. You can, of course, pay for closer parking, but if you are showing up early, you’ll be parked right along the border of the first tier of pay parking, so keep that in mind. They also have shuttles (the “Welcome Wagons”) to take you to the front entrance, in case the five minute walk is too much for you.

When it comes to admission, the prices seemed kind of high. As of 2024, the ticket costs where:

  • Adult (12-64) – $89 (2-day for $109, 3-day for $119)
  • Child (4-11) – $79

There are significant savings when buying a 2-day or 3-day ticket, as expected.

Silver Dollar City also offers season passes (not “annual” passes). A season pass is good for going during that season (2024), so if you bought one three weeks before the end of the season, you’d only get to use it for those three weeks.

The 2024 Season Passes were priced as follows:

  • Diamond – $279
  • Gold – $219
  • Silver – $159

The entry-level $159 pass gives you “unlimited visits” and a 10% discount off food and beverages. It is clearly cheaper to buy this pass if you planned to visit two times during the year, but if you were just going to go a few days in a row, and that is all, a day ticket is cheaper. (Just keep in mind, if you ate $100 of food, the pass would save you $10 off that, so depending on your food habits, your break-even might come sooner.)

It is the $219 and $279 pass that interested me, because they come with bonus “Bring-A-Friend” tickets, each good for a specific date range. For example, the Gold pass gives a bonus ticket:

  • March 28-May 10
  • May 11-June 7
  • June 8-July 12
  • August 5-18
  • December 2-30 (but not on a Saturday)

For Diamond, you get those dates, plus…

  • August 22-September 16

…and, Diamond also includes access to their White Water water park, and includes two bonus tickets for that as well.

You can also buy discount tickets (only one per day) for $40 if you have Gold, or $20 if you have Diamond.

Why does this matter?

Let’s say Mom, Dad and Daughter are going to Silver Dollar City one day, and one day only. If they buy tickets, it would be:

  • Mom – $89
  • Dad – $89
  • Daughter – $78

That is $256 before taxes and service fees. The full price will be $280.50 with taxes ($20.50) and online service fee ($3.00).

A Gold pass is $219 and it lets you buy an extra ticket for $40. For a party of three, Dad could buy a $219 pass, then use a Bring-A-Friend ticket for Mom, and $40 ticket for Daughter, making it cost $269. That is not a savings for this one trip, but clearly would be after a second visit versus single day tickets.

However, the Diamond pass includes a floating Bring-A-Friend ticket that can be used any time during the season — which means Dad could buy the $279 Diamond pass, then use one Bring-a-Friend for Mom, and the bonus Bring-A-Friend for Daughter, getting them all in for $279 ($303.30 after $23.30 in tax, and $1.00 in fees).

That means that the price difference of buying individual tickets ($280.50) versus a Diamond pass ($303.30) is just $22.80! If you buy meals in the park, the 20% discount Diamond gives can easily recover that. A $50 meal saves $10 right there, plus the Diamond (and Gold) pass come with a refill mug that gives you free drinks that first day (or pay $10.99 extra to upgrade it to “free drinks any time you visit all year”). Wowza.

If you absolutely knew you will never be coming back to Silver Dollar City, and absolutely know you don’t be spending more than $105 or so on food for three all day, then day tickets may be cheaper. But once you have that 20% food discount, it makes every meal purchase feel that much better.

And, if you are the type that would have bought the “drink al day refill mug” anyway, that’s an $17.99 savings because you get one with the pass.

It’s a tremendously good deal. I had no intention to buy a season pass for Silver Dollar City, but once I did the math, it just made sense. Just sitting and eating twice saved more than the tiny price difference from day tickets to season pass!

And now it means a road trip weekend gets cheaper, since Dad has a season pass, and if the trip is during a different Bring-A-Friend time, Mom will get another free ticket, and Daughter can get in for just $20.

And, considering the high cost of the separate attractions all around Branson, Missouri ($27 just to go to the amazing Butterfly Palace), having a Silver Dollar City pass gives cheap access to live entertainment, rides, discounted food and more.

Hope this helps… Photos from Silver Dollar City will be coming to my Theme Parks gallery as soon as I have time to sort them.

Until then…

Recording restrictions at Silver Dollar City

“It is better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission.”

Grace Murray Hopper

Although there is logic to this famous quote, I prefer to follow the rules when I am at a theme park. Many rules are there for safety reasons, after all. Other rules are there just because that is what the owner wants on their property. Fair enough.

If you do a bit of searching, you will find countless tales of folks getting kicked out of parks — or even having their annual/season pass revoked — for rule breaking. Others, however, freely break rules and share their exploits on YouTube and never get caught.

A big rule that gets broken is “no video recording.” You can find many mainstream YouTubers that frequently share videos taken in attractions that have signs clearly posted saying “no video recording.” Sometimes these are recorded at special publicity events where influencers are invited, or at a special before or after hours “coaster party” where they allow it, but generally they are just rule breaking. And often they know it —they will even include clips of the signs that say “no video recording.” 😉

I have been documenting theme parks through digital photos and video since 1996. When I visit a new park, I reach out to them to get clarification on the photography and video restrictions. Before a recent trip to Silver Dollar City, I watched many YouTube videos taken on pretty much every ride in the park. But, I did not assume this was allowed.

I contactedthe park for clarification — specifically about RiverBlast, a boat/water ride they had which is a version of a ride that is being installed at Universal’s upcoming Epic Universe park.

Thank you for reaching out to us. We greatly appreciate the email.

Regarding your request, River Blast is considered a ride at the park, so cameras and selfie sticks are not permitted on the ride, along with chest mounts and wrist mounts.

We definitely encourage you to take photos and videos of our park in guest-accessible areas. Regarding our rides, recording and photography are permitted only on the Frisco Silver Dollar Line steam train (so long as you keep all parts of your body inside the train cars) and Flooded Mine (same as the steam train).

Monopods and selfie sticks are typically fine while walking around the park so long as they don’t interfere with other families enjoying their day at the park.

Please let me know if you have any other questions I can help you with.

Thank you!

Silver Dollar City Communications Manager

So there you go. The only two rides they allow recording on are the Frisco Silver Dollar Line steam train, and the Flooded Mine shooting gallery boat ride.

If you see other videos that were clearly recorded during normal public hours of the park, you are likely just seeing rule breakers 😉

The more you know…