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    • Silver Dollar City announces largest investment in park history
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    Silver Dollar City announces largest investment in park history

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Silver Dollar City released a “historic announcement” Thursday outlining the next decade for the amusement park.

    Earlier this year, Silver Dollar City broke ground on a portion of its 1,200 undeveloped acreage on the new Silver Dollar City Resort, which is expected to open in late 2026. The seven-story resort will be located west of the amusement park. overlooking Table Rock Lake. It will feature 260 themed rooms, an indoor-outdoor pool, a full-service restaurant, 1,700 square feet of meeting space and a special entrance to Silver Dollar City, President Brad Thomas told interested media and guests Thursday afternoon.

    Silver Dollar City Resort is just one part of Silver Dollar City Parks and Resort's investment. Over the next decade, Herschend Family Entertainment, Silver Dollar City's parent company, will invest half a billion dollars in the vacant land it acquired about a year and a half ago. Of the $500 million total, about $100 million will be used for the Silver Dollar City Resort, Herschend CEO Andrew Wexler told the News-Leader. Thomas said the company will announce further developments in the coming years.

    “People don’t really know the name Herschend. It’s not like Disney where you kind of know what it means,” Wexler said. “For us it’s about the local brand and the local community. Silver Dollar City is about the Ozarks.”

    Although no specific details were announced, Wexler said guests can expect Silver Dollar City's artisanal element to make its way into the resort.

    Prior to construction, extensive landscaping work must be carried out in the area where the resort will be built. Wexler said groundbreaking for the project was broken about a month ago.

    More: Silver Dollar City will host a new Spring Festival next year

    “It’s an ambitious construction schedule,” Thomas said, anticipating the resort will be ready for guests by 2026.

    Missouri Gov. Mike Parson was one of several guests at Thursday's announcement.

    “When they told me they were building this resort, it was like putting a flag in the ground and saying, 'We're here to stay. We believe in what we do when it comes to family entertainment, and we'” “I’m here forever,” Parson said at the site Thursday. “What a great statement.”

    Discussion about opening a Silver Dollar City resort has been going on for nearly 20 years. Wexler said when he was hired as a consultant by Herschend Family Entertainment in 2007, he was specifically tasked with developing a hospitality strategy for the company's theme parks. But just a year later, in 2008, the financial crisis scuppered these plans. A few years later, Herschend partnered with Dollywood to open Dollywood's DreamMore Resort & Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 2015. After the success of DreamMore, the company began exploring other, new ideas.

    Herschend Family Entertainment owns several well-known attractions throughout the Midwest, including Silver Dollar City, Dolly Parton's Stampede, Showboat Branson Belle, Dollywood, Kentucky Kingdom & Hurricane Bay and Pink Jeep Tours.

    The last 12 months have been busy for Silver Dollar City staff and fans. In March, the amusement park introduced its brand new roller coaster, “Fire In The Hole.”

    Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience, covering everything from the history of the Ozarks to the LGBTQIA+ community in Springfield. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].

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    Kathleen William
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