Silver Dollar City takes top spot in USA Today poll

Silver Dollar City ranked first on a USA Today poll of the best U.S. amusement parks.

The Branson attraction won over No. 2 Cedar Point, of Sandusky, Ohio, in the 10Best reader poll that ran June 22-July 20. The recognition was announced Friday.

On the 10Best list, Silver Dollar City owner Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. had another of its theme parks place in the top 10. Dollywood, the park operated in partnership with Dolly Parton, ranked No. 6.

Results from USA Today's 2020 10Best poll:
• No. 1 Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri;
• No. 2 Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio;
• No. 3 Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia;
• No. 4 Kings Island, Mason, Ohio;
• No. 5 Busch Gardens Tampa, Tampa, Florida;
• No. 6 Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee;
• No. 7 Knoebels, Elysburg, Pennsylvania;
• No. 8 Kennywood, West Mifflin, Pennsylvania;
• No. 9 Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California; and
• No. 10 Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Silver Dollar City last month opened its newest ride: the $23 million Mystic River Falls. The replacement to Lost River of the Ozarks was announced in August 2019. Mystic River Falls is the anchor of the $27 million Rivertown district, which also includes the $4 million Rivertown Smokehouse, according to past reporting.

The Branson attraction in 2019 set an attendance record of 2.22 million visitors. Silver Dollar City’s An Old Time Christmas attraction last year won the USA Today 10Best vote for the top theme park holiday event for the third straight year.

The theme park this year has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials pushed back the seasonal opening date to June from March, and both employees and visitors have contracted the virus since the park’s launch earlier this summer.