| Previously known as Branson USA (1999–2001) | |
 | |
| Location | Branson, Missouri, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°38′52″N 93°17′45″W / 36.64765°N 93.2959°W |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | May 1, 2003 |
| Closed | October 25, 2008 |
| Owner | Herschend Family Entertainment |
| Operating season | May until October |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 30+ |
| Roller coasters | 3 |
| Water rides | 2 |
Celebration City was a theme park located in Branson, Missouri, United States. It was themed after America in the 20th century, with areas based on Route 66, Small-town America in the 1900s, and a beachside boardwalk in the 1920s. As a "sister park" to Herschend Family Entertainment's Silver Dollar City theme park located nearby, It was meant to continue the day where Silver Dollar City's 19th century theming left off. It opened in the afternoon into the evening, with the operating day capped off by a laser and fireworks display.
The park featured many rides, shows, and attractions. Its operating season ran from May until mid-September.
History edit
An amusement park named Branson USA was opened on the site in 1999. It struggled in its early years and closed in 2001. Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation purchased it in 2002 with plans to redevelop and reopen it. It was reopened as Celebration City in 2003, after a redesign and expansion the Branson Courier reported had a cost of over $40 million. It was equipped with a laser, water, and fireworks show, a wooden roller coaster, and a brand new log flume ride in 2008.
On October 24, 2008, Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation announced that the park would not reopen for 2009, due to unmet financial expectations. It closed on October 25, 2008. Herschend continues to operate the nearby Silver Dollar City and White Water Branson parks; in announcing the closure, the company stated "...the company is already exploring various new development concepts for the site including an aquarium, other family attractions, retheming the current park and also, destination retail and dining."[citation needed]
Rides and attractions edit
| Name | Area | Mfr. | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zydeco Zinger | Main Street Square | Fabbri | Wave Swinger | |
| Muskrat Scrambler | Cajun Country | L&T Systems | Wild Mouse | |
| Lafitte's Pirate Ship | Cajun Country | Fabbri | Pirate Ship | |
| Ozarka Splash | Cajun Country | Hopkins Rides | Log flume | formerly known as Cypress Plunge |
| Gator Bait | Cajun Country | Huss | Airboat | |
| Catwoman's Whip | DC Comics Super Hero Adventures | Mondial | Shake | |
| Joker's Jukebox | DC Comics Super Hero Adventures | Wieland Schwarzkopf | Polyp | |
| Lex Luthor's Invertatron | DC Comics Super Hero Adventures | Moser's Rides | Super Loop On Top[1] | |
| Beach Bang-Up | Pontchartrain Beach | Reverchon | Bumper Cars | |
| The Big Easy | Pontchartrain Beach | Vekoma | Ferris Wheel | |
| Zydeco Scream | Pontchartrain Beach | Vekoma | Boomerang | |
| Dizzy Lizzy | Pontchartrain Beach | Fabbri | Boomerang | |
| The Jester | Mardi Gras | Vekoma | Hurricane | |
| Mega Zeph | Mardi Gras | Custom Coasters International | Double Out and Back wooden hybrid | |
| Krazy Krewe | Mardi Gras | Fabbri | Cataclysm | |
| Mad Rex | Mardi Gras | Chance Morgan | Wipeout | |
| Jocco's Mardi Gras Madness | Mardi Gras | Sally Corporation | interactive dark ride | |
| Spillway Splashout | Mardi Gras | Hopkins Rides | Shoot the Chutes | |
| Skycoaster | Mardi Gras | Skycoaster Inc. | Reverse freefall swing | |
| Mardi Gras Menagerie | Mardi Gras | Chance Morgan | Carousel | |
| Pepe Le Pew & The Swings de Paris | Looney Tunes Adventures | children's swing ride | formerly known as Zinger Swinger | |
| Daffy Duck and the Backlot Tour Bus | Looney Tunes Adventures | Zamperla | Crazy Bus | formerly known as Jolly Jitney |
| Tazmanian Devil Rumble in the Jungle | Looney Tunes Adventures | Formerly known as Cajun Crawler | ||
| Yosemite Sam and the Wild West Wheel | Looney Tunes Adventures | Zamperla | Ferris Wheel | formerly known as The Little Easy |
| Tweety's Tweehouse | Looney Tunes Adventures | Zamperla | Jumpin' Star | formerly known as Frog Hopper |
| Technicolor Tweety Balloons | Looney Tunes Adventures | Zamperla | Samba Tower | |
| Bugs Bunny Barnstormers | Looney Tunes Adventures | airplane ride | formerly known as Beadsville Airport |
Former rides edit
| Name | Area | Opened | Closed | Mfr. | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates 4-D | Cajun Country | 2000 | 2003 | The theater stopped screening this film in 2003 in favor of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride.[2][3] | ||
| SpongeBob SquarePants The Ride | Cajun Country | 2004 | 2005 | SimEx-Iwerks | motion simulator | |
| Batman: The Ride | DC Comics Super Hero Adventures | 2003 | 2005 | Bolliger & Mabillard | Inverted Coaster | Dismantled in 2007 and relocated to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, refurbished, and renamed as Goliath. It was reopened on April 18, 2008. |
| Pontchartrain Flyers | Pontchartrain Beach | 2000 | 2005 | Chance Morgan | Aviator | Removed for spare parts. |
| Road Runner Express | Looney Tunes Adventures | 2000 | 2005 | Vekoma | Junior Coaster 207M | Formerly known as Rex's Rail Runner; removed by Six Flags in 2009 and was moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain in California and refurbished there. The ride is still called Road Runner Express and it reopened on May 28, 2011. |
| Bayou Blaster and Sonic Slam | Mardi Gras | 2000 | 2005 | S&S Worldwide | Space Shot and Turbo Drop | Bayou Blaster started at the bottom and shot riders to the top, while the Sonic Slam lifted riders to the top slowly, then dropped riders free-fall style to the bottom. The ride was removed in 2008 and taken to Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor in Queensbury, New York, where it was refurbished and installed as Sasquatch. The ride reopened on May 10, 2009. |
| King Chaos | Mardi Gras | 2000 | 2005 | Chance Morgan | Chaos | Removed earlier in 2005 and seen in the boneyard. |
| Voodoo Volcano | Mardi Gras | 2000 | 2005 | Chance Morgan | Inverter | Removed earlier in 2005 and seen in the boneyard. |
Since the park closed, some rides have been moved to other locations, and some remain in place. They included:
- Accelerator, a S&S double shot tower, installed by Ride Entertainment Group[4] (which has been moved to Silver Dollar City as Firefall)[5]
- Bumble Bee, a kiddie ride frog hopper
- Chaos, a Chance Rides ride(removed)
- Electric Star Wheel, a Ferris wheel
- Fireball, a swinging claw ride
- Flying Aces, a kiddie ride
- Flying Carpet, a Cliffhanger ride
- Flying Circus, a Larson Flying Scooters ride (which has been moved to Wild Adventures)[6]
- Freefall, a milder version of Accelerator
- Frisco Line, a kiddie train ride
- Jack Rabbit, a steel roller coaster (Built by E&F Miler Industries in 2003 which has been moved to Fun Spot Kissimmee as Hurricane.)
- Orbiter, Flying Carpet ride
- Ozark Wildcat, a GCI wooden roller coaster built in 2003. It was demolished on December 15, 2015.
- Paris Wheel
- Roaring Falls, a Shoot-the-Chutes ride, it opened in 2008 and was relocated from Geauga Lake
- Route 66 Speedway, a large go-kart track
- Scrambler (which has been moved to Wild Adventures) [6]
- Shoot-D-Chute, a log flume
- Stinger, a Wisdom Rides Tornado
- Slick's Slightly Used Cars, bumper cars
- Swing & Twirl
- Thunderbolt, a steel roller coaster (relocated to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park as Cliffhanger)
- Vintage Carousel, a carousel
References edit
- ^ "Soriani & Moser Super Loop On Top". www.flatrides.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Six Flags New Orleans: Rides". October 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 25, 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
- ^ "Six Flags New Orleans - 2005 Map". Themeparkbrochures.net. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
- ^ "Projects". Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ http://amusementtoday.com/backissues/May-2015-LoRes.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b "Wild Adventures making big plans for 2010". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-10-08.