YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Silver Dollar City announced March 28 that it will delay the opening date for BuzzSaw Falls, its new coaster ride, to May 16.
The grand opening of the ride, originally slated for the park's opening week of April 7, was in response to the nature of the ride and the challenges presented by the building site.
"A coaster ride like BuzzSaw Falls has never been done before," said Mike Hutcherson, senior vice president and general manager of SDC, in a news release.
"The very innovative nature of this ride, coupled with the extremely challenging site a mountainside have forced us into extending the horizon of final delivery," he added.
Hutcherson made the decision to change the opening date after analyzing all aspects of the project, from safety certification, to theming, to landscaping, the release stated.
"We knew last fall that a spring opening date was aggressive for a ride designed with such cutting-edge technology. While we anticipate we'll be running boats in early April in the certification process, we've opted not to open to the public until we believe we will present only the highest quality experience that Silver Dollar City can deliver to our guests," Hutcherson said.
BuzzSaw falls is a one-of-a-kind ride with a first-ever engineering design by Premier Rides of Maryland. A "liquid coaster," the ride is a departure from traditional wheeled coasters, which trace their history back to the 18th century, the release stated.
The ride utilizes a free-floating boat on a high-speed run that becomes an actual rail coaster in equal parts of wet and dry experience. It travels at speeds up to 51 miles per hour with a 9 1/2-story drop and a 6 1/2-story drop.
Silver Dollar City will open April 7 with World-Fest, featuring performers from all over the world, including Brazilian acrobats and masked dancers and drummers from the African Republic of Togo.
World-Fest runs April 7-May 9 and Silver Dollar City will be open Wednesdays through Sundays throughout the festival, then seven days a week throughout the summer.
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