Unraveling from Marvel Cave is the renowned, one and only adventure theme park Silver Dollar City.  Marvel Cave is located on the outskirts of Branson, Missouri.   In 1869 Marvel Cave was discovered on an expedition by Henry T. Blow, but was previously inhabited by the Osage Indians. Up until the mid-1960’s, Marvel Cave was used for mining.  Little did the previous owner know that when Hugo Herschend purchased Marvel Cave, it would forever change.

Starting out, Marvel Cave was simply a train ride through the cave, which soon became much more when the Herschends needed a new,unique way to attract tourism.  Starting out, Silver Dollar City was an American Frontier with a church, log cabin, five shops, and one street.  Today Silver Dollar City has blossomed into 50 stores, amusement park rides, and creative activities that the whole family will enjoy.

                   
Peering through the keyhole of Grandfather’s Mansion, you catch a glimpse of the mystique with wood floors, slanted steeply downhill.  An alleyway in Grandfather’s mansion is filled from head to toe with mirrors.  With each step you take down the rickety wood floors of this alley, you see yourself in a different perspective.  What is it like to be 250 pounds heavier, you ask? By taking seven baby steps toward the mirror you capture the moment of yourself quickly gaining 250 pounds.  The image of yourself resembles an oompa-loompa from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Moving away from the alley of mirrors, your momentum picks up as you charge down the creeky, slanted hallway, making sure not to trample any little children lost in the moment.

On your quick journey to the next room in Grandfather’s Mansion, you are slanted slanted at a 45 degree angle, forcing yourself upright, discovering what “Grandma and Grandpa’s” crooked house is like.  Lying tilted on the rock hard bed made from wood plank, you feel the uncomfortable, yet thrilling experience of Grandfather’s bed.

As you tumble out of Grandfather’s Mansion, you catch a whiff of the candy store.  The asphalt-candy aroma combination tingles your nose, attracting you like a magnet to the candy shop.  Attached to the squeaky door you have just opened, is a tiny bell that dings every time the door is moved.

Bright, smiling women in their 1800’s cotton dresses are slaving behind the counters producing mass loads of peanut brittle goodies.  The air is thick with the mixture of sugar, chocolate, and peanut butter.  Collecting a sample from the silver tray layered with leftover dessert crumbs, you grasp a small delicate piece of peanut brittle. The peanut brittle, smooth as ever, crunches in your mouth and leaves an addictive aftertaste.

Venturing from the candy store, you hear children cheering with joy, the clicking of roller coasters boosting themselves up the hills, and the occasional “Fire in the Hole” scream.  People from all across America gather in the once tiny amusement park which started from a cave.  If one were to travel back to the 1960’s, they would see Ellie May Clampet from the Beverly Hillbillies, as they filmed part of their show here.  Now that the trees have grown taller, the bridges have become more decayed, and the 1800’s school house has grown older, Silver Dollar City has still thrilling visitors with their booming business.

Taking giant leaps down the hot asphalt pavement, children frolic as they reach the edge of the petting zoo.  Too excited for the little children to take in the smell of the manure, the parents watch from afar.  The children unlatch the gate to play with the furry rabbits, and the tiny goats. They step lightly towards the goats upon the crunching hay, and line up with runny noses caused by the allergies from the hay.

Standing in the what feels like the never-ending line to get to the “Coal Miner’s Restaurant,” you finally creep close to the front of the restaurant.  Venturing into the underground cave, you discover an odd phenomenon.  As you are gathered around the table, catching whiffs of your lunch neighbor’s sweet corn on the cob, you notice your table gradually inching up further and further.  As a child with a memory of this table rising higher and higher, I can remember the tips of my eyelashes being directly across from the brim of the table.  Chanting the word “down” over and over is the only thing to make your table sink back down into place.             

Leaving the crowded restaurant filled with happiness and laughter, one usually visits the famous “Fire in the Hole” ride.  Fire in the Hole was based on the adventures of the Bald Knobbers - an infamous vigilante organization who rode around Southwest Missouri during the 1800’s causing havoc after the Civil War.

As the gates open to board this ride, it takes you on a journey of what it was really like during the days of the Bald Knobbers.  The wheels on the roller coaster turn quickly to make it up through the hill. Surrounded by the darkness of inside the ride, you see a flash of fire, as houses are being set on fire.  You smell a salty, wet, motor-engine smell as the roller coaster keeps chugging along.  The seat jiggles with each bump the roller coaster rides over. Witnessing the town being burnt to the ground, you feel the excitement of the joy rides, the horror of houses burning, and capture the noise of little children screaming as they take off soaring downhill.

The adventurous Silver Dollar City provides good family fun, adding unexpected twists to your normal theme park.  This theme park creates memories that are unforgettable.

Shelby Lewis is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photo courtesy and copyright Shelby Lewis