News: Silver Dollar City announces The Grand Exposition

Posted at 11:34 AM EST (1634 GMT)

Nov. 8th, 2005 -- Branson, Mo. - In the tradition of the magnificent expositions showcasing the technological wonders of the late 19th Century, Silver Dollar City presents an all-new development for 2006 – the Grand Exposition! An $8 million expansion in a new region of the theme park, the Grand Exposition recreates the pageantry of a triumphant American tour of discovery, including 10 new family rides that soar, whirl and fly.

As the traveling expositions of the 1880s drew people from hundreds of miles around to marvel at the latest mechanical innovations and American ingenuity, the Grand Exposition is a streetmosphere of excitement. The area will be a colorful destination where exposition-goers experience the collaboration of imagination, technology and entertainment. From elaborate gardens and dancing fountains to the grandiose calliope and the high-sailing ship Galleon, the Grand Exposition is a collection of attractions and technological wonders.

“The Grand Exposition opens a whole new region of the park encompassing two acres, where guests are transported back in time to experience the golden era of discovery and excitement of the World’s Fairs and Expositions in the late 1800s,” said Brad Thomas, Silver Dollar City General Manager. “In keeping with our hallmark of bringing the past to life, we’ve chosen the theme of a very grand and exciting era, one which evokes the elements of the St. Louis World’s Fair and P.T. Barnum’s Traveling Expositions, which came through Missouri in the late 1800s.”

The new rides are being manufactured and styled in Italy specifically for Silver Dollar City, and will have a capacity of 5,000 passengers per hour. Rides include the five-story Wave Swinger for high-flying adventure; the ship-themed Galleon which sends riders nearly 60 feet in the air; the multi-dimensional Spinning Disk ride which travels 55 feet in the air as it spins, the twirling Tea Cups with a center control for interactive fun, the fast-paced Regetta, and a family roller coaster. Several rides with nature themes offer excitement for smaller kids.


The Grand Exposition will open in Spring, 2006.

NEW FESTIVAL in 2006: Southern Gospel Picnic

An all-new festival is a glorious gathering of harmony, food and fellowship, bringing together the rich harmonies of gospel music and the home-cooked spread of an old-fashioned picnic on the grounds, as Silver Dollar City presents Southern Gospel Picnic, August 31 – Sept. 10. Gospel greats such as Jeff & Sheri Easter, The Crabb Family, The McKameys, The Kingsmen and Gold City are featured, along with golden fried chicken with all the picnic-style fixings. Music continues under the stars as Southern Gospel Nights is presented each evening.

New Festival Features Throughout the Year

• Also new for 2006, the popular spring spectacular World-Fest brings in the world-renowned Moscow Circus, with stunning acrobatics and visual pageantry, and the Zunyi Acrobats of China for their first U.S. performance. Hundreds of dancers, musicians and even stilt walkers from around the world perform. World-Fest runs April 6 – May 7.

• Bluegrass & BBQ, the Midwest’s biggest bluegrass and barbecue gathering, returns with the musical feast of American bluegrass music and an even bigger spread of all-American barbecue. Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs performs in a special concert May 28, and IBMA Entertainer of the Year Cherryholmes performs. Bluegrass & BBQ runs May 13 – June 4.

• Kids’ Fest features Jim Fowler’s Life in the Wild, a stage show with live native and exotic animals such as grizzly bears, alligators, wolves, tigers, leopards and pythons. Also new, Extreme Parrots perform and the popular K-9 All-Stars return for the festival, June 9 – August 20.

• The Festival of American Music & Crafts brings back the Salute to the Great American Cowboy with over 500 musicians and craftsmen filling the park. Country star Ricky Van Shelton performs in a special concert September 16. The festival runs September 14 – October 28.

• An Old Time Christmas presents one of the nation’s most acclaimed holiday events with the Gifts of Christmas Holiday Light Parade, the popular show A Dickens’ Christmas Carol, and over 4 million holiday lights. The festival runs November 4 – December 30.