Silver Dollar City plans new park

BRANSON, Mo. -- Silver Dollar City Corp. plans to build a $40 million theme park in Branson that will highlight life-changing events of 20th-century America.

It will be called "Celebration City," says Mel Bilbo, chief executive of Silver Dollar City. It's targeted to open next spring in the southwest Missouri resort town.

The park will feature colorful and entertaining 20th-century events that changed people's lives, such as the onset of electricity, development of the automobile and the creation of new technology.

"Our lives were forever changed by the new frontier of 20th-century civilization and technology," Bilbo says.

Celebration City will include a 10-story wooden roller-coaster, along with more than two dozen other rides, as well as games, restaurants, shows and a nightly outdoor laser show.