Growing up, I had what some would consider an unhealthy obsession with roller coasters. From the first time riding the Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas to watching the sun set and rise while playing RollerCoaster Tycoon, I couldn’t get enough of them. And while my dream of being a rollercoaster architect never came to fruition, another one involving my kids just became reality on a recent trip to Silver Dollar City.
I was recently invited to “America’s Best Theme Park” for the inaugural Fan Fest and a tour of the construction site of the new resort that the park first announced last year. Before the weekend was over, I knew I had to get my kids on at least one of the park’s best coasters. After the experience, I can’t figure out if I scarred them for life or created adrenaline-junkies by doing so.
Thunderation Was A Surprisingly Intense Experience That Resulted In Wild And Terrified Reactions
When looking for a roller coaster to ride with my kids (ages 5, 8, and 9), I thought Thunderation would be a great way to kick things off. Doing some research, I was under the impression this would be like one of the mine coasters I spent my summers riding at Six Flags as a kid. I was wrong. Very, very wrong!
As soon as the train left the station shortly after sundown on our first day in the park, I realized this wasn’t a coaster for small kids with a couple of small hills and a banked turn. Instead, this was a surprisingly intense thrill ride that pushed my kids to their breaking point. I’m pretty sure my 5-year-old blacked out during Thunderation’s signature helix, my 8-year-old kept yelling “Oh, man,” and my 9-year-old started crying as soon as we got off. At that point, we decided to take in some of the Harvest Festival sights and sounds before heading back to the hotel.
They’d Never Wanted To Ride Another Rollercoaster, But Then Started Talking About How Much Fun They Had
On the walk back to the car, at the hotel before bed, and then on the way back to Silver Dollar City the next morning for a second day of adventure, all three said they never wanted to ride another roller coaster. However, once we got back into SDC, and I took a solo ride on Wildfire (my favorite ride of the weekend), they started talking about how much fun they had the night before, despite being terrified.
I explained to them that the balance between excitement and fear is what makes coasters so much fun in the first place. To this day, I get all anxious the moment the lap bar (or shoulder restraint) locks into position and the train leaves the station, even if I’ve ridden a coaster multiple times already. Sure, I’m terrified and want to get off, but I know I’m about to have the time of my life. And I think they understood that enough to go on another highly anticipated coaster: the new and improved Fire in the Hole.
We Had A Similar Experience With Fire In The Hole, Especially That Final Drop
Since this was my first trip to Silver Dollar City, I don’t know what the original version of Fire in the Hole was like before the park spent $30 million reimagining it a couple of years ago. That said, the new take on the fan-favorite dark ride was legitimately one of the best experiences I’ve had at any theme park over the years. So, do you think my kids loved it, hated it, or fell somewhere in the middle?
Their experience was about the same as Thunderation, both in terms of being terrified and excited after the train returned to the station. Though the ride started calmly and slowly with its recreation of the local legend of the Baldknobbers burning the town of Marmaros to the ground, it picked up in the second half. This included a drop right in front of an “oncoming train” that scared the whole family.
Talking about the ride later on, all three kids kept going on about the terror and excitement of the state-of-the-art dark coaster.
Though Not A Coaster, Mystic River Falls Was A Massive Hit (We Rode It Both Days)
The biggest hit of the weekend wasn’t Thunderation, it wasn’t Fire in the Hole, and it wasn’t the old-timey photo my family and I took before we left Silver Dollar City. Instead, it was Mystic River Falls, the first ride we rode over the weekend (and the only attraction we rode twice). Though not a coaster, this river raft ride with the Western Hemisphere’s highest drop of its kind was a thrilling and water-soaked experience like no other.
Combining classic river raft ride staples like rapids, a spinning boat, and multiple water elements with a massive drop at the end, this ride has everything you’d want and more. Yeah, we were soaked for the better part of two days after riding this early in the morning, but what’s a trip to a theme park without having wet clothes?
Now They’re Watching Rollercoaster POV Videos And Planning Our Next Theme Park Trip
My kids, who seem to still be both scared and thrilled by the whole Thunderation in the dark situation from Silver Dollar City, have already started planning our next theme park trip, where I assume they’ll want to ride another coaster. Like any parent obsessed with roller coasters, I’ve been encouraging this behavior by showing them all the POV videos on the SDC YouTube page. So far, it’s been a lot of fun, especially when it comes to the rides they’ve already experienced. I don’t know if I can get them to ride something like The Time Traveler or Outlaw’s Run quite yet, but let’s give it some time.
Though I know it’s not the best decision to terrify your kids, I think getting them onto Thunderation was the start of something special. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us…