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Did you
know that Branson's Silver Dollar City was built around Marvel Cave? Many people
come to the park and never realize they walk right by the sinkhole entrance as
they make their way from the turnstiles to the Hospitality House. Top 10
Reasons Marvel Cave is the coolest way to spend an hour 10. It's cool! A
comfortable 60 degrees year round, plus it's really COOL to see. 9. It is rich
with history that will amaze and inspire you to explore more. 8. You enter the
Cathedral Room, a sinkhole that is the largest cave entrance in the US. 7. Your
kids get to imagine what it must have been like for the first explorers to
visit the cave with lanterns and leather bottom coveralls (to slide down the
rocks). 6. You get to see bats...if they're hanging around! 5. You'll see
amazing cave formations including the Liberty Bell and Blondie's Throne. Plus,
you'll learn about how water erosion formed the cave and see how it carved out
curvy and steep passageways. 4. You'll see a beautiful underground Waterfall.
3. You'll visit amazing rooms in the cave including the Shoe Room, Cloud Room,
and the Mystic Pool Room. 2. You get a workout climbing your way down, but
you'll ride most of the way back up via the red Cable Train. 1. After emerging
from your 55-minute trek, go get some ice cream from Hannah's Ice Cream Parlor
? you've earned it. The Early Days of "The Devil's Den" Around 1500
AD, the Osage Indians were the first to discover Marvel Cave, and named it
"The Devil's Den." In 1541, Spanish explorers entered the cave hoping
to uncover riches and possibly the fountain of youth. Then, in 1869 explorers descended
into the cave looking for priceless mineral deposits. One by one, the miners
lowered themselves over 200 feet down into the vast unknown blackness.
miners returned to the surface having failed to discover the lead ore they
sought, but convinced that marble could be found inside the cave. Their report
sparked the interest of area locals who decided to rename the cave, Marble
Cave. It was not until 1927 that the cave's name was changed from Marble to
Marvel Cave. In fact, no marble was ever mined from Marble Cave, only bat
guano. A tour of Marvel Cave is always included with your Silver Dollar City
admission. It is a wet limestone cave, complete with formations that are still
alive and growing! To begin, you will travel 300 feet below the surface and
enter the Cathedral Room, the largest cave entrance room in the United States.
After descending nearly 500 feet below the surface, how do you get back up to
daylight? In 1957, cave operators installed a unique cable train designed to
take cave visitors up the half mile, 1070 foot climb back to the surface.
Silver Dollar City theme park has events and activities all season, and with
such a long list of things, you'll want to snag updates from their panel of
moms running the MomsBlog at silverdollarcityblog(dot)com to get the inside
scoop on shows, lodging and mega fun kid stuff. Plus you can pose your personal
travel and kid-related questions directly to the Moms themselves.