Silver Dollar City sets another attendance record

Silver Dollar City ended 2019 with record attendance, capping off a decade in which the theme park invested $100 million into its operations.

Lisa Rau, spokeswoman for Silver Dollar City, said attendance in 2019 was 2.22 million. That beat the previous annual record of 2.18 million guests set in 2018.

The new record comes as Silver Dollar City enters its 60th year. In a news release issued this morning, park officials said $100 million in capital investments were made during the 2010s. That figure also recently was cited by Branson economic development specialist Jonas Arjes for Springfield Business Journal’s economic outlook issue.

Most recently, Silver Dollar City spent nearly $30 million on a new area called Rivertown, which is anchored by the $23 million Mystic River Falls that’s currently under construction. A replacement to Lost River of the Ozarks, Mystic River Falls is slated to open this summer.

In 2018, Silver Dollar City launched its $26 million Time Traveler roller coaster, spurring the first of the back-to-back attendance records.

“During this last decade, we presented many fun and exciting additions,” said Brad Thomas, president of Silver Dollar City Attractions, in the release. “We anticipate this next decade will be even more exciting with even larger and bolder announcements and additions.”