There’s no word to describe the feeling of going downhill quickly and backward on your first roller coaster ride in more than 18 months.
Exhilarating. Frightening. Shocking. Exciting.
Those were a few of the words going through my head Sunday after riding the Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City.
Not my 10-year-old daughter. She was fearless riding the Time Traveler for the second time in her life.
As parents, we want our children to become better than us. I’m proud to say my daughter is definitely more brave than I was, and she loves the thrill and excitement of roller coasters.
Those emotions took me a few more years to develop than her. I was 13 and in eighth grade when I finally conquered my fear of coasters that have loops. It’s a bit sad to admit, but I laugh when thinking about my childhood fear.
A friend of mine, Blake, convinced me to ride the Orient Express at Worlds of Fun on an eighth grade class trip. Going upside down was a terrifying thought, for no real reason, but I wouldn’t do it.
And, of course, after one ride on the legendary coaster to those in the KC area, I was hooked. My new-found love for coasters has taken me to visit the roller coaster capital of the world, Cedar Point, and other a few other amusement parks across the country.
Now, that love has been passed to my daughter, and she’s found it at an even younger age. She still has yet to ride any with huge first drops like the Mamba at Worlds of Fun or Millennium Force at Cedar Point. That’s the next step.
Her love began in August 2023 on her first visit to Silver Dollar City. She was tossed into the fire and rode Wildfire as her first coaster. The shock and terror on her face after was priceless, but she overcame the fear and pressed on with the day.
This trip, she was a bit mentally prepared for what lie ahead. So, we rode Time Traveler first. We sat backward and went for an exciting ride that twisted and turned us for a blast. We rode it two more times, and rode coasters six more times throughout the day.
The one negative to our day was the shutdown rides. The Powder Keg, our favorite coaster after the 2023 trip, was down all day. Bummed.
A few other coasters were down throughout the day. They came back but some also got shut down again. We were about to ride Time Traveler, but someone puked and the ride was closed for a while. We were about to enter the Wildfire queue, but we were told it was shut down … again.
Hopefully more rides are working on our next visit. Broken down rides are a good way to lose visitors’ interest in a park. It also makes the other lines longer.
Despite the closed rides, we had a great day and weekend. We played mini golf, walked along the Branson Landing and enjoyed a meal at Lambert’s Cafe where we caught two hot rolls.
Can’t wait for our next visit. For now, it’s time to finish her school year and then we’ll head back down south for more adventures in the Ozarks.
