Silver Dollar City Teases Its Biggest Secret Yet

This week opens on sad news: Dick Knoebel, the iconic owner of Knoebels's Amusement Resort, has passed away. He was one of the true greats of the family-owned park world. Mike and EB share a piece of an interview they did with him back in 2006, on the midway in front of the Phoenix, and talk about why Knoebels still feels different from every other park in the country — and why that's exactly what he wanted. From there, the news picks up: Fury 325 at Carowinds is back up and running after the park caught a foundation issue on one of its support columns during a routine inspection. Holiday World is extending Friday Night Live hours and adding two brand-new fall operating dates in November. And Mike and EB spend a solid chunk of the show gawking at a Heritage Auctions listing selling off actual Disney park memorabilia — a customized Big Thunder Mountain bench going for over $10,000, a Tomorrowland trash can pushing $2,000, and a Twilight Zone Tower of Terror chandelier that might, weirdly, be the one item on the list actually worth the price. Then there's the story the guys can't stop speculating about: Silver Dollar City has pulled its mine-train coaster Thunderation to make way for what it's calling the largest investment in the park's history, wrapped in an elaborate in-universe press release about a fictional 1880s mining company "returning to work" beneath Marvel Cave. Given the ride's footprint sits right next to the park's real cave tour entrance, Mike and EB dig into what an actual underground attraction at Silver Dollar City could look like — and why the August 14th reveal might be the most interesting theme park announcement of the year. The back half is a trip report showcase: a live in-park report on the brand new Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas, a visit to a certain small, deranged-millionaire-built park in Georgia, Flying Fox at Kentucky Kingdom, a listener's 150th ride on Wrath at California's Great America, and a family day at Lake Winnepesaukah that ends with a first roller coaster credit for a very lucky three-year-old. Also, there's some 80's pop nostalgia that you won't want to miss.