Silver Dollar City installs calming rooms for children with special needs

BRANSON, Mo. (KY3) -Theme parks can be a lot of fun, but for some individuals with special needs, all the noises and excitement can be a bit overwhelming.

Silver Dollar City recently opened family calming rooms where people can go and take a time out. If you have a family member that needs to take a break from all the excitement, you can head to one of these calming rooms.

Here’s how it works, you call the number that is posted on the side of the building, and security will give you a code. You punch the code in, and you can enter the calming room.

Once you come in, you can sit in a rocking chair or bean bag. The lights are dim, and the walls are soundproof to make it a nice quiet space to play with some toys or read a book or sit and take a time out if needed.

There are so many cool features, including a train mural with different textures made by Silver Dollar City craftsmen. This is all to ensure everyone can enjoy the park.

“We saw more guests coming through the park with Autism Spectrum needs,” said Sawyer Nichols, Marketing Coordinator at Silver Dollar City. “That’s when we thought it’d be a good idea to reach out to Mercy and use some of their expertise to craft a room that’s a little bit more conducive to the environment we get that a theme park can be a little bit overwhelming for some folks. So to provide just a calming space for families where they can slow down throughout their day.”

Silver Dollar City and Mercy partnered together to build the calming rooms. This allows families to have a safe space to go. If a family needs to get away from all the excitement, they can go in and stay as long as they need.

“There are no time limitations for families once they get on Park,” said Nichols. “Once they enter the room, they’ll just put that it’s occupied with a little slide on the outside, and then they’ll stay in here as long as they want.”

There are two calming rooms on different ends of the park.

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