Branson's Silver Dollar City's latest attraction, dubbed Fireman's Landing, is filled with rides, games and even a costumed mascot -- all aiming to recreate the excitement of a recruitment fair for volunteer firefighters.
The theme of Fireman's Landing is based in real history. In the 1880s, the town of Marmaros, located at the site of what is now the Silver Dollar City Square, was razed by fire.
"We looked for a story we could tell," explained Brad Thomas, president of Silver Dollar City Attractions.
In August, Silver Dollar City said it would add the $8 million Fireman's Landing, which covers nearly 2 acres and includes six rides and four play zones. The Geyser Gulch attraction, a gigantic playground with a treehouse and other climbing features, opened 17 years ago and was closed in early August. It was demolished to make way for the new attraction.
Thomas said Fireman's Landing was the result of three years of research with information gathered from those who attended the park and those who didn't about what they wanted in an attraction. The result, he said, was a vastly different experience.
Fireman's Landing includes the FireFall, an eight-story, free-fall drop ride, the Fire Spotter balloon ride, and Lucky's Dizzy Dogs, a ride with themed Dalmatians zipping around a fire hydrant. The area's mascot, Lucky the Fire Dog, is a Dalmatian, the typical fire dog.
"Lucky the Fire Dog will live and breathe at Fireman's Landing," Thomas said.
The amusement park's most recent capital expansion was the wooden roller coaster Outlaw Run, added in 2013 at a cost of $10 million.
Silver Dollar City employs about 1,500 workers at peak times. The Fireman's Landing attraction will employ 36.
Silver Dollar City's parent company, Herschend Family Entertainment, also owns the city's White Water water park, and the Showboat Branson Belle dinner cruise. The Georgia-based company employs more than 10,000, operating entertainment, tourism and hotel properties at 26 locations in 10 states.
Herschend Family Entertainment's The Dollywood Company said in the summer it was spending $300 million over 10 years on new attractions and resorts. In October 2013, Herschend acquired the Harlem Globetrotters, who will be featured in Silver Dollar City's Star-Spangled Summer, performing three shows a day for six weeks starting in June.
According to a report by IBIS World, a market-research group, over the next five years, U.S. amusement parks will see revenue growth at an annual rate of 2.9 percent, to $15.6 billion.
The nation's amusement park industry is dominated by five top companies -- Disney, Universal Parks & Resorts, Sea World, Cedar Fair and Six Flags -- which account for just shy of 85 percent of total revenue for the industry. Disney is expected to take in nearly 52 percent of all revenue generated by the sector in 2015 and controls the top five amusement parks in the U.S.
The number of amusement parks across the nation increased 1 percent per year on average with a total of 579 new locations over the past five years. Most of these parks are small and cater to a local or seasonal customer base.
According to the city of Branson's tourism tax history report, in 2014 Branson collected $11.7 million, up 4.7 percent from 2013. In 2013, the city saw the tax collection increase nearly 3 percent compared to 2012. The city's 1 percent sales tax for 2014 saw $10.7 million collected, up 3 percent from 2013 and a new record.
Garret Anderson, Branson's director of economic development, said 2015 is shaping up to be a good year. He said the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Basketball Championship acts as the unofficial start of the city's tourism season and that as of now most of the city's attractions are open for business.
In late 2014, Ballparks of America -- Branson said it is spending an estimated $15 million to turn the vacant Factory Merchants Outlet, also known as the Red Roof Mall, into a youth baseball attraction. The operation will include retail shops, restaurants, a dorm facility and two-third scale fields that replicate some of the sport's most recognized ballparks.
The company is leasing the property from Branson, which owns several large tracts of land on the west side of town on Missouri 76, the city's main drag. The park is expected to open in the summer.
Silver Dollar City's Thomas said the theme park faces competition not only in its sector but from pretty much any entertainment offering that vies for families' time and disposable income. With that in mind, the park is constantly looking at ways to keep customers engaged and entertained with established favorites and new offerings.
"We are always trying to keep things fresh," Thomas said.
SundayMonday Business on 03/15/2015