Best Theme Parks I’ve Never Been To

Now to actually talk about two of the last elite parks in the nation that I have yet to visit; Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA, and Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. My next big trips will hopefully involve either of these parks which display vastly different business models in the theme park experience.

Magic Mountain opened in 1971 and was purchased by Six Flags in 1979, making it the chain's 5th acquired park but 2nd park purchased instead of built from the ground up. Being so close to the moving making hub of Hollywood in California, it has featured prominently in all sorts of movies, TV shows, and other popular media. The most famous appearances would probably be in 1977's 'Rollercoaster' and 'National Lampoon's Vacation'. A pre-built version of the park was included in the classic videogame Roller coaster Tycoon 2 which was released in 2002.

The park currently holds the world record for most roller coasters at a theme park with a nice and even 20. Of those 20, 3 are for kids, one is wooden, and the remaining 19 are steel, but one of those includes the RMC conversion Twisted Colossus which could be considered a hybrid build. Twisted Colossus is the park's highest rated roller coaster, finishing in the top 30 of the Golden Ticket Awards top steel roller coasters list since it opened (it placed 6th in 2019).

11 of their roller coasters include inversions, with 43 total upside down moments between them. Although not the first successful modern inversion, the first successful modern vertical loop is on the park's 'New Revolution' opened in 1976 and still operating today as an ACE Landmark ride. The other notable inversions come from X2, the 1st "4D" roller coaster which opened in 2002. Apparently X2 gives an insane ride experience during which your seat flips in an independent yet controlled manner. Its inversion count is only 2 on paper, but I don't know if that includes all of these seat flips or not.

The park holds the first roller coaster to break the 400 feet barrier, Superman: Escape From Krypton. Opening in 1997, this shuttle coaster was the fastest and tallest when it opened, being the 2nd roller coaster to break the 100 MPH barrier. It missed out on being the first by about 2 months and only lost to its little sister, Tower of Terror II, which operated at Dreamworld in Australia from January 1997 until November 2019.

One of the park's icons, an observation tower named Sky Tower, opened with the park in 1971 but has been standing but not operating (SBNO) since 2014 due to a projected cost of several million dollars for the elevators comply with updated state safety requirements.

With it's record breaking and historic roller coaster collection, alongside it's place in American media and pop-culture, despite possible operational or customer service shortcomings the Six Flags brand may bring, Magic Mountain rightfully earns its spot on the short list of best theme parks in America.

Silver Dollar City is a park much less likely to be featured in pop music videos or Hollywood blockbusters, but perhaps more deserving on its spot at the top. The park opened in May of 1960. It is the flagship park of the Herschend Family Entertainment group, which acquired fellow best-park-in-America candidate Dollywood in 1976. The group also owns and operates Kentucky Kingdom, Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA, and about a dozen other attractions and resorts. Silver Dollar City offers a highly themed frontier / country adventure.

Silver Dollar City offers 7 roller coasters. Although dwarfed by Magic Mountain’s coaster count, this is an impressive collection in its own right. 1 kids’ coaster, 1 very special wooden roller coaster, and 6 steel coasters. Silver Dollar City offered a total of 11 inversions spread across 3 coasters.

Fire in the Hole is the park's historic roller coaster-dark ride blend first opened in 1972. Sadly, this ride is planning to close forever in 2023, but the park has already teased a possible replacement project. They have their work cut out for them replacing a beloved and historic family roller coaster. [[I wrote this article before the it was officially announced, but it has been confirmed that a modern yet similar new version of the coaster-dark ride hybrid, with the track done by RMC, is opening in 2024]]

The very special wooden roller coaster is Outlaw Run, the 2013 RMC ground-up installation. This was only RMC's 2nd independent project, their first complete roller coaster, their first Topper-Track installation, and their first inversion. This project would help cement RMC's place in the roller coaster industry as a successful up-and-coming manufacturer. In my opinion, this coaster also ties with Hades 360 as the first successful inversions on wooden roller coasters. Of course, Son of Beast opened at Kings Island in 2000 with a vertical loop, but I think it's safe to say that was not a successful project.

The last roller coaster to quickly single out in their lineup is Time Traveler. This is a 2018 Mack Rides "Xtreme Spinner" model. The first of only 2 such models yet to be installed. These trains sport fully and independently spinning cars, but the catch is the ride is much more intense than that of an average spinning roller coasters. The loading station of this roller coaster is situated on a hillside, which the ride immediately drops out of, 90 degrees straight down for 90 feet. The ride goes on to navigate 3 inversions and 2 launches at max speeds of 50 mph. This ride has finished in the top 30 of Golden Ticket Award's top steel roller coaster lists since its debut. I have heard nothing but the highest of praise for this roller coaster, which has probably the highest re-ride value of any American roller coaster. No two rides seem to be the same with its freely spinning cars rotating as they please. Hopefully we will see more of these installations, as its older brother, Ride to Happiness in Plopsaland, Belgium, also receives beaming reviews.

Silver Dollar City's claim as a top American theme park is in large part thanks to its theming, entertainment offerings, food, operations, and customer service. The park seems to be very dedicated to providing an immersive and quality 1880's frontier / country themed experience. the park offers 4 "signature shows" and 5 summer productions, and another 9 acts listed simply as "Live Music". The park's website also lists 13 crafts people practicing various trades for education and souvenir production. The food is probably really good too. I'm not just saying that after drooling at pictures on their website, but assuming so on account of their Herschend affiliation, which runs Dollywood, which is always in the debate for best theme park food in the nation.

Among Silver Dollar City's other various rides and attractions, you will find a truly one-of-a-kind experience. Included with admission to the park is an hour-long tour of Marvel Cave. The Natural Cavern is actually the founding attraction which the park grew around. Disney might be able to theoretically slap 12.9 Fury 325s in a brand-new park, but they can’t bring a completely authentic cavern tour to their parks. The beauty and awe of nature speaks for itself.

Both of these parks, Magic Mountain and Silver Dollar City, have wildly different business models. Magic Mountain going wide with its vast roller coaster collection, almost tripling Silver Dollar City's count. Silver Dollar City aiming for less rapid ride expansion, but maintaining a more complete and immersive overall experience.