Dark ride… Bright memories.

Who doesn’t love a dark ride attraction? If that’s you, hate to hear that because we LOVE em! So much so, our closest one is a must see and do at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. The only thing that comes a close second is the food found at the Mill Restaurant located to the right just past the park entrance. Great food, amazing service and worth every penny for all you care to eat Fried chicken, catfish, meatloaf, all the sides and a nice selection of desserts.

The stop at the Mill fueled us up well for the day of walking around this amusement and entertainment staple of the Ozarks. Along with the great food, the weather was perfect and the crowd was modest so getting around was very nice and not overrode with too many people elbow to elbow. A seriously great day for Alicia, Kaitlynn and myself. Especially since we discovered our favorite ride has had some TLC applied to since our last visit in 2019.

“The Flooded Mine” is a dark ride that takes you on a visual story of the “towns” work camp for those who didn’t do right by the towns agreed upon forms of civility. Thus these miscreants were sentenced to hard (and soggy) time in the mine.

It’s also a game as you can compete with your fellow flat bottom boat riders in shooting infrared targets all throughout the ride with your six shooter that has a realistic weight and feel, yet not so realistic cable that attaches it to the boat. Candidly though, they don’t work that well. That’s fine however as our trio is far more interested in the aesthetics of the ride than taking out the red and white bullseyes. The video below will show you why those looms are so wonderfully entertaining and fun!

The denizens of “The Flooded Mine” have had some much needed grooming and freshening done since our last visit.

There’s so many more memories and stories I could share about this long overdue visit. I may share more of those from this April 10, 2022 visit (primarily how proud Alicia and I are of Kaitlynn who really let herself live a little by experiencing so many new things) but for now I’ll wrap up with this…

The greatest experiences collected are the MEMORIES that overflow the Toy Box… yet there’s always room for more!

Now, Go Play! Jim – 4/11/2022

Author: Jim Bumgardner

Jim's Toy Box features programming that is inspirational, uplifting and motivational all the while offering encouragement to those who wish to make the most of this life in preparation for the next.

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