6. Six Flags Saint Louis

Image: Six FlagsThis place is a part of theme park history. An entrepreneur named Angus G. Wynne had an ambitious plan for family entertainment. He wanted to build parks around the concept that Texas has had six different nations, thus the six flags in the name. The attractions at the first park highlighted the state’s eclectic nature.

Then, a railroad company (!) bought Six Flags and built two more properties, the one in Atlanta and Six Flags Saint Louis. The location, actually located in Eureka, is the last of the three original Six Flags locations. The Pennsylvania Railroad's owners, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the Texas theme would work better outside the state of Texas. They were so accurate with this philosophy that virtually no one who has ever visited a Six Flags knows about the meaning of its name.

The park that calls itself Missouri’s Coaster Capital has changed so much since it opened in 1971 that none of the original lands remain. Imagine Walt Disney World without Adventureland or Tomorrowland. It’s the same situation, only this park opened a few months earlier.

Despite all of the changes, Six Flags Saint Louis is a generic Six Flags with very little special to differentiate it from others. I happen to like Six Flags, so I don’t see that as a positive. If you can only pick one for your vacation to the Midwest, however, it’s not the best choice.

5. Silver Dollar City

Image: Silver Dollar CityHomer Simpson once told his son, Bart, that Branson, Missouri, is “like Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders.” While the place has become a major tourist destination today, Silver Dollar City’s opening occurred long before the town’s transformation.

During the 19th century, a man named William Lynch bought Marvel (formerly known as Marble) Cave and planned to build a town around it. Half a century later, his family would sell a 99-year lease to the Herschend family.

A widow named Mary worked with her sons to turn the cave into a tourist attraction, something that nobody else had managed. Eventually, she built a frontier town overlooking the Ozarks, just like Lynch had planned but failed to do.

The most famous ride at Silver Dollar City is Fire in the Hole, a steel roller coaster built in 1972. The attraction even has a sibling, Blazing Fury at Dollywood, which was once known as Silver Dollar City, too. But you'll really visit the park for the theming, which is the second-best, in my opinion, surpassed only by…

4. Holiday World

Image: Holiday WorldI often say that Disneyland was the first themed land in the world. Whenever I type the words, I feel a bit conflicted. One other park has a claim to this title, and it's located in Santa Claus, Indiana. Yes, workers there have heard all of the jokes about the town's name. A gentleman named Louis J. Koch felt frustrated that kids would visit the city, only to learn that Kris Kringle wasn’t there.

Koch built a modest themed land based on Santa Claus. It had a toy shop, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The toys for sale were available by mail order, too. Describing the early days of Holiday World as a theme park is a stretch. People have better amusement attractions and holiday decorations in their backyards today, but it was something special at the time.

Around the time that Disneyland opened, Holiday World began to charge admission…but only for adults at first. Children still got to visit Santa’s workshop for free back then. Over the years, the park has evolved into a larger operation that’s combined with a water park, Splashin’ Safari.

I wouldn’t say that Holiday World is on a par with the top three Midwestern parks in terms of rides, but its history elevates it. And The Voyage is a genuinely phenomenal wooden roller coaster.