Celebration City

Celebration City
Previously known as Branson USA
	Interactive map of Celebration City
Location	Branson, Missouri, U.S.
Coordinates	36°38′52″N 93°17′45″W / 36.64765°N 93.2959°W
Status	Defunct
Opened	May 1999; (27 years ago) (Branson USA); May 1, 2003; (23 years ago) (Celebration City)
Closed	2001; (25 years ago) (SBNO until 2003); October 25, 2008; (17 years ago)
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 closed in 2008.

The park featured many rides, shows, and attractions. Its operating season ran from May until mid-September.

History

The property was originally developed as the Mutton Hollow Craft and Entertainment Village, which opened in 1970 and was themed after the 1907 novel The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright.^[1] As tourism in Branson grew, the attraction was expanded in 1992 and 1996 to add music venues and carnival rides. These changes failed to attract visitors, and the attraction filed for bankruptcy in 1997.^[2] The property was foreclosed upon and purchased by Bob Wehr, the founder of Aaron's Automotive Products.^[3]

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

Since the park closed, some rides have been moved to other locations, and some remain in place. They included:

Accelerator, an S&S double shot tower relocated from Barefoot Landing, 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

↑ Cushman v. Mutton Hollow Land Dev., Inc., Missouri Court of Appeals 782 S.W.2d 150, January 5, 1990.
↑ Buckstaff, Kathryn. "Theme park seeks protection", Springfield News-Leader, April 25, 1997, page 10A.
↑ Buckstaff, Kathryn. "Mutton Hollow fetches $2.5 million", Springfield News-Leader, December 10, 1997, page 12A.
↑ "Projects". Ride Entertainment. Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
↑ "Missouri" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (2): 6. 2015-05-01.
1 2 "Wild Adventures making big plans for 2010". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

External links

[1] Cushman v. Mutton Hollow Land Dev., Inc., Missouri Court of Appeals 782 S.W.2d 150, January 5, 1990.

[2] Buckstaff, Kathryn. "Theme park seeks protection", Springfield News-Leader, April 25, 1997, page 10A.

[3] Buckstaff, Kathryn. "Mutton Hollow fetches $2.5 million", Springfield News-Leader, December 10, 1997, page 12A.

[4] "Projects". Ride Entertainment. Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.

[5] "Missouri" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (2): 6. 2015-05-01.

[Wild-6] 1 2 "Wild Adventures making big plans for 2010". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

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