City dwellers
$500M expansion at Missouri’s Silver Dollar City to include resort
The big dogs, Disney and Universal, operate what are known as “destination parks” in industry parlance. That is, many, if not most of their guests visit the parks as part of vacation getaways from faraway places. Regional parks such as those operated by Six Flags, on the other hand, mostly draw day-trippers from the local area. But there are a few parks that occupy a special middle ground. Sure, their visitors are largely from the region, but what they offer is so compelling, folks will drive long distances or fly in to experience them. A prime example is Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.
Beloved for its charming 1880s mining village theme, the park has been stepping up its game in recent years with additions such as the reborn dark ride, Fire in the Hole, the unique, wild, and wonderful roller coaster, Time Traveler, and expanded festivals like its over-the-top An Old Time Christmas. In doing so, Silver Dollar City has become something of a destination park in its own right. Destination parks, almost by definition, call out for on-property lodging. In late 2026, it will offer just that when it opens the Silver Dollar City Resort. The six-floor, 262-room hotel is part of a 10-year, $500-million expansion plan that will help take the Ozarks park to the next level.
The resort will be located about a mile from the park atop a mountain that overlooks Table Rock Lake. It is part of an undeveloped, 1,200-acre tract of land adjacent to Silver Dollar City that parent company Herschend Entertainment purchased a few years ago.
The hotel will include a full-service restaurant, outdoor and indoor pool, and 17,000 square feet of meeting space. It appears that the resort will not conform to the turn-of-the-century look and feel of the park. Renderings of the property show a handsome building with echoes of a national park lodge, which nicely complements its Ozark Mountains locale. The company released few other details about the resort, but its hotels at sister park, Dollywood, give a sense of what is likely in store.
“We will take inspiration from Dollywood’s DreamMore and HeartSong and apply the learnings here so that there will be more ways for families to connect and enjoy the Ozarks,” says Merrill Puckett Miller, Herschend’s chief creative officer. “All of the things that guests love about Silver Dollar City, and the magic, stories, and characters that we've created there, will come alive here.”
The Dollywood hotels are luxe and chic, but offer a down-home, comfy ambiance. Nightly rates start at around $300 and include amenities such as complementary TimeSaver skip-the-line ride passes (called Trailblazer at Silver Dollar City) and trolley service to and from the park. There are plenty of activities for children and families, including live entertainment. The food is exceptionally good at both Dollywood and Silver Dollar City (cinnamon bread, anyone?), and that carries over to the Tennessee park’s hotels. The dining at the new resort should be wonderful as well.
Along with the announcement, the company released a new logo that now identifies the property as “Silver Dollar City Parks and Resorts.” It is not located on the same campus, but nearby White Water water park falls under the Silver Dollar City umbrella. In addition to the new hotel, the park has long offered cabins and campsites at Silver Dollar City Campground.
According to Herschend CEO Andrew Wexler, the hotel has a budget of about $100 million, which would leave $400 million available for other projects. That’s probably not enough for a second theme park (although there is plenty of room to build one), but it’s a sizable chunk of change that could be used for new rides, attractions, and more.
“We’re super excited about what it all means for Silver Dollar City, what it means for this land,” says Brad Thomas, president of the Silver Dollar City Company. He spoke at the under-development site of the new resort with its stunning views of the Ozarks, the lake, and the nearby theme park. “This land is remarkable,” he added as he gestured to the wide expanse. “We can go build things a lot of different places here.”
With history as a guide at other theme park resorts, the expansion plans could include a dining, retail, and entertainment center. Or they may include additional resorts. Dollywood opened its first hotel, the DreamMore Resort, in 2015, followed by HeartSong Lodge in 2023. It has already broken ground on its third resort and has plans for more.
The company is touting Silver Dollar City Resort as the “Heartland’s first theme park resort.” Depending on how the American Heartland is defined, that’s not entirely true. Dollywood obviously offers hotels as do Ohio’s Cedar Point and Kings Island. Wisconsin and Ohio are also home to a number of major indoor water park resorts. There is no timeline for when it will open, but it is possible that the Universal Kids Resort coming to Frisco, Texas, which will include a 300-room hotel, might debut before the Silver Dollar City Resort.
The development of hotels at Silver Dollar City and Dollywood represents major investments and strong votes of confidence in the viability and potential of the two properties. They also represent a trend in the industry. Disney and Universal lead the way, but a number of other parks have been adding hotels as well. For example, the Legoland parks in California, Florida, and New York all have on-property, themed resorts. SeaWorld Orlando has announced that it plans to build hotels on its grounds. And Dutch Wonderland in Pennsylvania offers a Cartoon Network Hotel near its park.
It is also highly likely that Silver Dollar City will use a good portion of its half billion dollar development loot to create new rides and attractions at the existing park. I wouldn’t be surprised if the burgeoning park announces a major coaster or perhaps a new land within the next couple of years.
Silver Dollar City has already revealed that it will debut a new festival, Spring Exposition, in 2025 that will feature entertainment, special food offerings, and flower displays along with gardening demonstrations. The new season will also bring Night Sky, a drone and fireworks spectacular. It will be staged in a newly developed area, The Plaza. The multi-purpose space will house a performance stage and food booths that will change with the seasons and the park’s festivals.
Would you want to book a stay at Silver Dollar City Resort? Have you been to Dollywood’s hotels? Do you like staying on property at a theme park resort?
Personally speaking, I don't typically stay at resort properties (WDW's budget properties notwithstanding, and that's out of convenience). They're too expensive. I really only need a place to sleep and shower -- I'm gonna spend the bulk of my time at the parks/exploring the area. And as our cost of living -- and the costs of these parks -- keep rising, I wonder just how many people are going to booking these high-end places.