New for 2006, Silver Dollar City Presents The Grand Exposition with 10 New Family Rides, New Festival and New Additions to All Festivals
Plus the Moscow Circus, a Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience!

In a project that is the theme park’s biggest expansion ever for kids, Silver Dollar City presents an all-new $8 million development for 2006 – the Grand Exposition, adding 10 new family rides, nearly doubling the number of rides at the park and increasing ride capacity more than 50 percent. Also new is Southern Gospel Picnic, the Midwest’s largest gathering of Southern Gospel artists, and new for World-Fest is the Moscow Circus, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. New for Kids’ Fest, the live stage show Jim Fowler’s Wonders of the Wild LIVE! presents dozens of live native and exotic animals from grizzly bears to pythons, and the Extreme Parrots show features colorful performing birds. Throughout the season, the internationally-awarded 1880s-style theme park presents music and entertainment, demonstrating craftsmen, themed rides and foods from festival specialties to home-cooked feasts.

Debuting in Spring, 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 the World’s Fairs and Expositions of the late 1800s. Rides include the five-story Wave Carousel for high-flying adventure, the ship-themed Mighty Galleon which sends riders nearly 60 feet in the air, the multi-dimensional Electro Spin ride which travels 55 feet in the air as it spins, the twirling tea cups of the Royal Tea Party with a center control for interactive fun, and the fast paced Racing Regatta.

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Coming in 2006: Silver Dollar City’s Biggest Expansion Ever for Kids
The Grand Exposition
10 New Family Rides in an All-New Area

In a project billed as Silver Dollar City’s “Biggest Expansion Ever for Kids” the number of rides on the theme park is nearly doubling and rider capacity is increasing by more than 50 percent. New for 2006, Silver Dollar City presents The Grand Exposition – an all-new development with 10 family rides showcased in an expanded, two-acre area of the theme park.

The $8 million Grand Exposition brings the total number of rides at Silver Dollar City to 21 and increases ride capacity at the park to nearly 13,000 per hour – up 5,000 riders per hour. It is an addition that families say they want, according to Silver Dollar City General Manager Brad Thomas.

“As a critical part of our business practice, we conduct surveys and focus groups asking people for a variety of input,” Thomas said. “In conducting extensive research with moms, they told us they want more rides they can ride together as a family. So instead of adding one new major ride, we decided to add 10 new family rides that bring the park’s ride capacity up more than 50 percent.”

The theming of the new area is inspired by the world’s fairs and expositions of more than 100 years ago with decor and details closely adhering to authenticity in colors, artwork and atmosphere of the era. From the high-flying swing ride to a family-sized coaster, there are seven rides that parents can ride with their kids, and three rides that smaller kids ride alone.

All 10 rides are being designed and manufactured specifically for Silver Dollar City in Italy by the 100-year-old Zamperla company, known worldwide for their craftsmanship and for designing rides for the Disney parks. The rides are styled to match the Grand Exposition theme, recreating the excitement of the magnificent expositions that showcased the technological wonders of the late 19th Century and combined imagination, technology and entertainment.

“As the traveling expositions drew people from hundreds of miles around to marvel at the latest mechanical innovations and American ingenuity, Silver Dollar City’s Grand Exposition is in keeping with our hallmark of bringing the past to life,” said Thomas. “We’ve chosen the theme of a very grand and exciting era that evokes the elements of the expositions of the late 1800s.”

Grand Exposition rides include the five-story Magnificent Wave Carousel for high-flying adventure; the ship-themed Mighty Galleon which sends riders nearly 60 feet in the air; the multi-dimensional Electro Spin which travels 55 feet in the air before spinning up another 55 feet the opposite directions; the twirling tea cups of the Royal Tea Party and the soaring Elephant March, both with controls for interactive fun; the fast-paced Racing Regatta and the Grand Exposition Coaster.

The Grand Exposition, which opens in Spring, 2006, is the largest addition of rides added at one time in the park’s history. Major rides at the park include last year’s explosive launch roller coaster PowderKeg, profiled as one of the top-ten rides for 2005 by the Wall Street Journal and named the Best Family Thrill Coaster on the Planet by Thrillride.com; and the multi-looping, multiple inversion roller coaster WildFire.

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