The Roller Coaster Alley crew made a recent visit to Silverwood and Boulder Beach, and we’ve got a lot to share, so let’s jump right in!
We’ll start off with the big news for 2025: the seismic upgrades made to Tremors roller coaster! You can read our previous article for all the details of these changes, but to quickly recap, there were three major things done to “reawaken” the ride: Millenium Flyer trains, two train operations, and 208 Retrak (aka. RMC I-Box track). These are things we have long wished for, so there was a lot of anticipation and hype within our group to finally get to experience all of this after many years of hoping and wishing and begging and pleading.
First we’ll cover the addition of a second train. This is something we have dreamed about since our first rides on Tremors in 1999, and we could not be more pleased with the result. We’re told that the queue for Tremors now rarely stretches past the first major switchback. For us, it was almost always a walk-on during both days of our visit. Standing in the station while one train dispatches and the other one quickly rolls in to fill its spot, is a true thing of beauty.
Above you can see the cubby’s have been expanded to accommodate for the two-train operations. Once one train rolls out, the doors are flipped so riders from the next train can grab their items.
Next let’s discuss the new trains. Most, if not all, Custom Coasters Inc. (CCI) wooden coasters came standard-issue with trains from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) – Tremors being no exception. Millennium Flyer trains from Great Coasters International (GCI) have replaced many of these old PTC trains over the past 25+ years, and they give the ride a much needed boost of comfort (see Ghostrider for exhibit “A” in that regard). Here, the result is every bit as good. The padding is extra comfy, the ride is nice and smooth, and the open-air seating is amazing. A simple lap bar also helps to ensure extra fast loading and unloading.
In fact, at one point during our visit, one of the trains was pulled into the maintenance shed to be worked on. And even with single-train operations, the cycle time was noticeably better than before, and vastly better than Timber Terror next door. In short: chalk up the new trains as another big success from our perspective.
And finally, the icing on the cake: RMC track covering the entire length of the coaster layout. And we mean all of it – the station, brake run, lift hill, bunny hills, tunnels, you name it, it’s now got RMC track. Much of the ride previously had 208 Retrak, but it’s fantastic having nearly the entire ride covered. Only one section of wooden track remains at the far turnaround, and that is where the original stretch of RMC “Topper Track” was installed many years ago.
You can see here in the photo, that the RMC Topper Track remains in place. It’s a small technicality for us coaster nerds, but enough for us to say we will still be able to truly call this a wooden coaster! In any case, 100% of the coaster layout is RMC track, and whether it’s I-Box or Topper Track, it’s smooth from start to finish.
All in all, our expectations were surpassed with Tremors 2.0, and we look forward to many more years of riding this coaster. Our only complaint is that we wish this could have been done years ago, but we digress. Better now than never! The only thing left is for Silverwood to give Timber Terror this same treatment…hint hint!!
Speaking of Timber Terror, this coaster got a little TLC over the winter as well. Although Tremors is getting all of the attention, we can’t overlook the fact that the worst part of Timber Terror from recent years has been corrected. Yes, we’re talking about that first drop (especially the bottom of the drop), which was really showing its age! This section now has RMC track and is far more comfortable than it ever was. We hope to see more of these upgrades in the years to come.
Moving on to some other updates around the park, Eagle Hunt has a few changes that we couldn’t help but notice – first and foremost being a new sign out at the front of the queue, to nicely compliment the massive eagle statue.
The queue has some additional landscaping this year, along with some shade canopies. It all looks great!
The area feels a lot more complete. And although we have not seen the queue ever use more than maybe 10 yards of this extended space, it’s still great to see it touched up like this.
We also noticed that the white prototype rafts from last year have been replaced with a new fleet of yellow ones. We’re told these are another iteration of prototype rafts. The color is a bit jarring, but the ride itself on these new tubes seemed more or less the same from last year.
Over at Toddler Springs, the flooring was replaced with a newer material this year. Our kids aptly called it “Lego” floor due to the way they thought it looked. But don’t worry – it doesn’t feel like stepping on Lego at all!
A final comment from our time in the water park – across the board at Boulder Beach, the water temperature seemed much warmer – even comfortable in most places! We’ve always felt in years past that the temps felt way too chilly, so this was a welcome change. Only Eagle Hunt still felt a bit colder than we would prefer – although still nothing compared to its first day!
Moving on to the entertainment lineup, Silverwood continues to impress yet again. The magic show in particular had some new surprises.
In addition to the usual top-notch acts of illusion, this year added some aerial acrobatic performers to the mix.
The two performers added a fun and unique twist to the show that we really enjoyed!
Note that on the day we attended, we got to see Nick Norton’s apprentice magician. Nick performs on Thursdays through Mondays, while his apprentice takes over for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It was still a great show, and we highly recommend seeing it even if you’re there on a day that Nick isn’t on stage!
We also took a trip aboard the Silverwood Central Railway for the robbery show.
The show is fun as always, and was mostly familiar to us from recent years.
The show continued to feature the second stop across from the Country Carnival area, in addition to the usual stop out by the mine. We’re still not entirely sold on this aspect – it’s nice for something different, but very hard to see what’s going on unless you’re in specific spots on the train.
Be sure to check this sign when you first enter the park and snap a photo, so you’ll know which shows are playing at which times. That way, if you’re aiming for one train show vs. the other, you won’t miss it. The schedule changes from day-to-day, depending on weather, park hours, and other factors. That said, we would recommend either one. Sometimes, we even prefer the version without the mine show as a nice change of pace. Those are often less crowded, and take up less time from your day to experience.
Food around the park was largely unchanged from last year. Sadly, that means the Tandem Jump still remains off the menu at Lindy’s…and no, we’re not over it yet!
Thankfully, the rest of their food continues to be top notch, including their burgers.
Boulder Beach kept the Hawaiian rice bowls that were introduced last year. We’ve tried a couple different options, and they’re all great – something different and unique that you can’t get anywhere else in the park.
These parfaits are a great snack option as well.
Over at the High Moon Saloon, we’re very happy to see that Silverwood took our advice from last year and now serves their Monte Cristo sandwich with powdered sugar and a side of jam! Well, okay, maybe we can’t take all the credit there, but we will anyways!
The ice creamery is offering something new-to-us which is a “to go” root beer float. We didn’t try one, but it looked like a fun idea! You simply squeeze the soda bottle until the soda overflows on top of the ice cream in the cup.
Our preference remains to get the the massive 5 scoops of ice cream…still being sold for only $8. Best way to end the day!
We’ve said it a million times and we’ll say it again – if you aren’t stopping at the coffee shop to get one of their amazing pastries in the morning, what are you even doing??
The gas station just outside the park is finally open, and looks great!
This is seriously a very welcome addition to the area.
We also noticed the building at the far south end of the airstrip remains only partially constructed. This was intended to be a Scarywood haunt, and we hope at some point down the road to see that happen.
Last but not least, we have a special announcement! During our visit, we were invited to join “The Silverwood Show” podcast for an interview with hosts Jordan Carter (left) and Sara Meddock (center). Chris (right) was able to join in and discuss all things Silverwood, including some history of the Roller Coaster Alley site, favorite memories over the years, and a few of our best insider tips. The episode should be out in a couple weeks, so head over to their site to subscribe and listen! We hope you enjoy it, and we are very thankful and honored to have been a part of their show.
We’ll end with a final shot of Stunt Pilot – still our favorite coaster, but it’s got some serious competition with Tremors 2.0. They might be tied for #1 now! And with that, we’ll wrap it up for this update!
Planning a trip to Silverwood this year? Be sure to check out our Silverwood Trip Planning Guide to help you get the most out of your visit. Also, maximize your time in the parks by using our Silverwood and Boulder Beach 2-day itinerary!
Have you been to Silverwood and Boulder Beach yet this year? What do you think of Tremors 2.0? Let us know in the comments below - we love hearing from you!
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
Here is the youtube link of the “The Silverwood Show” podcast show that Chris was on to watch the podcast show video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbFWWXeAWmM&t=356s
Thanks Nick! Hope you enjoyed watching it!
I did enjoy it and I am the one requesting music-audio files for Silverwood, Scarywood & Boulder Beach WP to listen to and put them on my Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 park, maybe Planet Coaster 2 park.
Tremors is so much fun, love it and will always do it whenever i go to silver wood
Agree wholeheartedly!