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This past Saturday the hubby and I were able to sneak off to the park childless with the sole purpose of riding every ride. Can you believe I've never ridden Powder Keg before? Wow - I give that ride two thumbs and two big toes up. 'Twas awesome, folks! Unfortunately, I ended up busing a tendon on my arm that's marked in a rainbow of colors from my forearm to my wrist. Hurts like crazy and it looks pretty scary. I think it's when put my arm down and held on to the side of cart while going around a corner. Dang... now I know better.

Snack: Hot apple cider and an apple dumpling. Pretty good overall and the price was just fine. My hubby thought the cider was a little watered down.

I am annoyed with Christmas so early, but I wasn't there to soak up the atmosphere. I wanted my rides and my park food, and we were outta there. We didn't even stay late enough for the lights to come on. lol It trips me out seeing elves so close to Halloween. Kinda like they forgot to take off their costume.

For being the first day of the Christmas bonanza, I didn't think it was super crowded. A big crowd yes, but not bothersome.

I look forward to going AFTER Thanksgiving when I'm ready for the Christmas atmosphere.

Made it to SDC yesterday. So glad we watched the weather and chose Sunday over Saturday. It was lovely!

Got there about 2, parked right next to a tram pick-up, and off we went. Stopped to get a strawberry smoothie and take a potty stop in the main building only to find that concession stand is now gone and all new clothing displays set up. This was the only place to get one of those wonderful strawberry smoothies btw.

Our 2.5 dd had "choo choo train" on the brain, so we went straight there. My smoothie-craving dh got in line to see if he could get a drink at the stations' concession stand, but the line moved insanely slow. I felt bad for the two guys running it - two windows, two guys, and ONE register. Finally got a drink and the train arrived. The ride was great. The actors are fresh and ready for a new season. Is the redhead Irish? I detected an accent being fought off.

After the train, we crossed over to HDH where we rode the carousel twice. Line was short and operator was friendly. DD is only 34", so she couldn't ride the LS, and I wouldn't set her loose in the treehouse just yet. We spent a great deal of time in the sand area. She loved it and it was a nice shady area for parents to chill. The only thing I don't like about HDH is that I miss it being a nice little pit of wildlife. Seems like the park is turning into lots of tree tops... I miss the breaks in buildings and attractions.

The smoothie search continued. This took us around the park... twice. No strawberry smoothies, only one guy with the strawberry ice stuff. Poor dh was bummed, but we got two mug fulls and headed to the GE.

The frogs. The bugs. Oh my! DD really enjoyed them this time (hasn't been on them since last fall). The operators were all friendly and lines were short.

On the way out I had to get some taffy since I read so much about it on here. It's pretty good and I'm sitting here munching on some now. I bought some Wildfire taffy since I love hot stuff and ya'll said it would burn a hole in your mouth... Well, four pieces down and it was warm at best. I think some of ya just have wienie taste buds. 

It's nice to see the park spruced up for another season. I found the employees all very pleasant and refreshed. Can't wait for everything to get in full swing!

Went over the weekend... here's my hubby's blog post about it: http://bransoninfo.org/silver-dollar-city-at-christmas/

At least twice for each festival. We try to go once as a family and then again just my husband and I. We went several times during Kids Fest because we were so bored over the summer. lol

Going tomorrow (that's why I popped on here... catch any good vittles lol)!!! Can't wait!!! My toddler l-o-v-e-s their Christmas decor.

Just over the MO/AR line... so about 25 minutes. 

I love Thunderation for that reason. This past weekend I rode it for the first time in the very first seat. So sad that I haven't done this before - I remember as a teen wanting to only ride backwards. lol I've been on that ride too many times to count and yet have never jumped in the front seat. It was the best ride I've ever had on that coaster! I held out my iPhone the entire ride to get a get video. I'll get it up on YouTube soon.

4?! We got ONE with each pass and they expired a couple of weeks after we got them. 

How often can you get bring a friend tickets? I could have sworn, years back, that they sent out these tix each theme (ie KidsFest, Christmas).

I saw him this past weekend at the stand where you get strollers and wheelchairs. College of the Ozarks is right there, I bet he's doing his classes there still. I don't know the guy, but I was sure rooting for him. He's a true example of a fine Ozarks boy.

I'm in AR and in the Ozarks area, schools return the week of Aug 19.

I would imagine it takes time to shift out of the Kids Fest. I thought it was as detailed as Christmas, lots of details.

We got our season passes mid-April and have been four times since. Last weekend was the busiest of the trips. I read on FB that some people waited 3+ hours just to get into the park. We came in around noon and went straight in. The tram lines were long, so we just walked (from lot 5 - it was my husband's idea of a "healthy choice") and ended up walking back at the end of the day. We took two family members with us so we could ride the rides (toddler in tow). Wildfire was pretty much no line which was GREAT being that I haven't been on a mega coaster since 1998 (Batman at SF) and I was able to ride it multiple times. We were going to take turns riding FiTH, but the line was looooong - longest I have ever seen. We were able to ride quite a few rides with no more than a half hour wait.

Being a clogger, I just couldn't keep my feet still while walking around. lol There was some GREAT bluegrass! We have yet to actually sit down and take in any shows other than the saloon - which our daughter l-o-v-e-s. We pit stop alongside theaters here and there until she points in a new direction.

While I'm thinking of it... where the heck were the Irish dancers during World Fest??? Lots of musicians and singers, not as many dancers as I recall.

We were super bummed that the kids area - now River Blast - is completely different than the last time we went. We were looking forward to the balloon ride and carousel. Of course, the last time we were there was 2000 before this year. lol The park does feel a bit more like SF than SDC with all the rides, but they do a great job of fitting everything in and not killing the true SDC atmosphere all together.

For our daughter, the Grand Expo is great! She loves the frogs and butterflies... just if we could fit in those darn rides! lol We don't mind waiting for these since it's all she can ride right now.

I don't know if we'll make it in much during Kids Fest. I have several friends who will be clogging and will want to see them, but I know the park is packed then and I really don't feel like fighting the crowds. I'm already looking towards fall. lol

So there's my random review... 

We got our season passes mid-April and have been four times since. We have bought: bbq buffet at the mine once, one funnel cake, one skillet bowl, twisted tater on a stick, one pop with the purchase of a souvenir mug and four pop refills since, one ice cream float in the saloon, and three frozen lemonades. The prices aren't that bad, but if you notice, we don't usually eat meals there. We typically eat a big meal before we head to SDC and snack through the park.

Having a toddler, I sure hope they never stop us from bringing in food/drink. It's so much easier being able to whip out a snack for her (or a bottle of water for myself) than stopping what we're doing to find something at a stand. I think being able to bring your own things make the trip affordable for families. I love going through the parking lot in the tram seeing families around their car having a picnic. I grew up doing this as did my husband. It makes it affordable. Affordable = MORE trips to SDC!

There are a few things that are just plum outrageous. Compared to other theme parks, though, I am very pleased with the pricing. The food quality is what I would expect. I'm happy it's not carnival fare, it's actual food!