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[HikerDan]

I. don't think its War Eagle Crafts Fair related. Maybe it is, locals fleeing.

Howdy chittlins, the line of cars stretching from SDC to Branson was people heading west trying to get into SDC. We drove east from SDC and there was hardly another vehicle on our route. 

After the aborted attempt at visiting the city, we had a quick breakfast in Branson and proceeded into Arkansas for a wonderful nature hike/walk around the Tyler Bend area of the Buffalo National River.  Stopped in Harrison for lunch late afternoon and caught a movie called "Argo" at the theater in Ozark early evening. 

Beautiful fall foliage right now and the movie was very good.

[sanddunerider]

Branson did have there 2nd annual hot air balloon festival sat..... the way i understood it, flew ballons early sat, and then they had evening events also....... maybe spectators went to the city during the day?

I also know Marty Stuart was at the RFD for fri-sat nites only...??

I know i looked at the wbcams friday nite-sat-sat nite and it was bumper to bumper EVERYWHERE!!!  sure glad i was 4 hours away.

[chittlins]

Made a trip to the City today (saturday) and was met by an enormous crowd in the parking lots at 10:00 AM; an extreme and unusually large crowd swarming the place early.  With us living close by and having other options in which to spend our day we decided to forsake the hordes and leave the City without ever having stepped out of our car.

We drove towards Branson from SDC and was absolutely dumdfounded by the line of cars amassed and attempting to make their way towards Indian Point Road---the line stretched all the way past Shepherd of the Hills and into Branson on past the RFD TV Theatre.

Maybe some type of unannounced corporate event happening at SDC today.

Too bad for the folks from out of town just wanting to visit the place for a day and try to have a good time; some of those people had to of spent hours just trying to get in the parking areas by noon.

Anyone have an idea why the place was so oversold today?  It's not the OTC yet.     

Have heard from other folks I know that Branson had a major increase in visitors since mid-week -- lots of motels with "no vacancy" signs on the strip, lots of folks camping at the State Park. 

How many schools in the area have fall break? It seemed that quite a few of the folks at Great Wolf Lodge last week where there for this. Fall breaks are typical of year around school formats. My kids go to one of the two year around elementary schools in Fayetteville. Its great because we get breaks in what's typically not peak seasons.

[mammalone]

I don't have a real long review but some points: 1. Yes it was crowded comparable to day after Thanksgiving. Kudos to SDC for marketing the autumn experience. 2. Apple dumpling with cinnamon ice cream is like nothing else. 3. The fall foliage is incredible and brings the city alive. 4. Outlaw Run looks amazing.

[Gilligan]

Spot on about the crowds on Saturday!  Great day in the park, but waaay too crowded!  Walked, looked, and ate. More to come tomorrow!  Finally home and going to bed!

[Swoosh]

Was it crowded this weekend at SDC too?
WOF had a record setting attendance day on Saturday.

[Gilligan]

Was it crowded?  Oh, geez!  Buckshot Annie's had a line all the way to Main Street!  Street shows had an audience 6 people deep! Yup, it was crowded..

[sanddunerider]

Did anybody figure why so many people? besides Fall Festival and Balloon Rally in town? was there anything else going on....OR just that time of year?

[mammalone]

I think it was just everyone taking in the fall festival at SDC. We went and checked out the balloon deal and it was lame. My niece was even bored.

[Gilligan]

I think it was a combination of peak fall foliage and expected warm temps.  Saturday got up to 82.  Shepherd of the Hills had the largest crowd I've seen in years - I would call it a "almost full house".  There were also many, many buses in town.

[HikerDan]

My wife and I like to try and figure out the trends of the crowds at places like SDC and many other places we enjoy visiting--so that we can plan around the busiest times. Wow, I've never been more incorrect in thinking the City wouldn't be all that busy this past weekend.

But, looking back I guess we've never actually visited SDC in late October as we're always hiking or camping during our free time in October.  Also, we almost always visit on sundays or mid-week when we can. 

I e-mailed the SDC website because I just had to know what their take was on the massive crowd saturday and they echoed what Gilligan said in the previous post:

Danny,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.  Attendance is very unpredictable.  We did not have any corporate event scheduled for October 20.   Some contributing factors for our high attendace would be very nice weather, some schools were closed for conferences and the popularity of the Harvest Festival.  We are sorry you encountered such heavy traffic, but hope you will visit in the near future. 

Sincerely, 
Debra
Silver Dollar City Customer Service
2800 W Hwy 76
Branson, MO  65616
1-888-455-1383


   

[Gilligan]

Friday the weather was cold and windy (I don't like cold and windy!), so we made the decision to go to the park Sat. instead. We try to avoid weekends, but the weatherman called for sunny, warmer weather Sat. I'm not sure if Friday would have been any better.  IT WAS CRAZY CROWDED!  Hubs and I got there early (real early!), waited for the park to open and headed straight to Delilah's Bakery!  WHOA!  BASE HIT!  DANG GIANTS! Sorry, got sidetracked!!! Hubs and I usually share his fav cinnamon roll, but it was so fresh and good, I decided to risk it and get my own sticky bun instead of sharing with the hubs!  YUM! Sometimes the pastries are hit and miss, but they were spot on today!  We sat for about an hour watching the staff make pastries.  Then the Pastry Nazi (lady with the hat and clipboard) showed up banging things around and growling at everyone. It was unfortunate that this took place in front of the public.  I love Delilah's!  We walked around Main Street enjoying the sights until a crowd formed to watch the guy with the trick horse.  I couldn't see a thing, but he had quite a crowd!  We made our customary stop at the Woodcarvers and Hubs blew his budget on tools!  *sigh*  The furniture shop had some remodeling.  It was much easier to walk through - the aisles were free of clutter.  It wasn't long before we realized that we needed to move quicker because the crowd was growing.  We headed to Aunt Polly's for a last meal before it's gone.  The ham, beans, and cornbread were awesome! The family next to us was commenting on how good the chicken dinners were.  Sorry to see this place go!  This was one of the very few "non-busy" food areas.  It's also one of only two places on park that sell lactose-free ice cream so I'm doubly sad to see it go.  We headed straight away to the train mostly to see the progress on OR, but the wait was too long, so we skipped it.  We'll be down again Veteran's weekend for the 5K, so I'll check it out then.  We walked thru "Best of MO" to check out the arts and saw Buck Taylor.  Hubs was more interested in the guy that made museum replica bows.  I'm wishing I would have bought a pair of moccasins.  Cool exhibits in that building!  The crowd was getting ever thicker, so we decided to grab a spiral potato stick thingy (that was good!) and head to Echo Hollow for the stunt show.  I have mixed feelings for the show.  It was definitely entertaining, but not something that I would want to see over and over again.  I was really glad to see Echo Hollow so full!  I hope they bring back Headin' West in a year or so. As we walked out of EH, the walkways were wall to wall people.  I mentioned earlier that the line for Buck Shot Annies was clear up to Main Street.  We looked at each other and decided it was time to leave!  We stopped at Hospitality House to pick up a Sarsaparilla and headed out the gate.  I couldn't believe the line of people waiting to get in.  We left at 2:00, played mini-golf, grabbed dinner at La Hacienda (a great place, by the way), and headed to Shepherd of the Hills to see the play.  All in all, we had a great time.  I didn't get to take the photos that I hoped for bc. it just wasn't working out.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was as I haven't been to happy with it lately.  I did have a real frozen lemonade, but missed the apple dumpling!  I forgot about it until we were at the gate. Hubs offered to go find one for me, but it would have taken forever. I really do wish that the Fall Festival wasn't dominated by the cowboy theme (sorry Duelist!) I would rather watch the crafts makers and artists and listen to mountain music. 

[sanddunerider]

Gilligan----  We love to eat at La Hacienda...(fajita for 2, easily feeds 3).....If you stay at Homestay, you also get a `10% discount  there,,

sounds like you had a full day, even with the crowd.

[Gilligan]

Gilligan----  We love to eat at La Hacienda...(fajita for 2, easily feeds 3).....If you stay at Homestay, you also get a `10% discount  there,,

sounds like you had a full day, even with the crowd.

Sand, you are right!  I've said for a long time that La Hacienda is the hidden jewel of the Ozarks!  While we were there, the trick horse guy came in and was recognized by quite a few people.  He spent time talking with each group that waved to him. We were impressed by his kindness.  I would definitely stay at Homestay if I didn't have my own condo.  I send everyone to Homestay that asks me about a place to stay.

I can't wait for the 5K!  Any day at the City is a great day!

[OutlawRun]

Hello, SDC Fans!

Our family was at the park on Saturday (10/20/12) & Sunday (10/21/12).  As others have mentioned, the park was absolutely packed on Saturday.  The crowds were considerably less on Sunday.

We had a really good weekend.  Our girls loved the trick horses.  Our six year old now thinks she is "Pastor" and does all the tricks herself.     Perfect weather, lots of great music and food.  The lines for the rides weren't too long.  All in all, it was a great time at SDC.

A few things were a little disappointing on this trip...  First, Red Gold Hall was not open.  I remember from years past that the wild mustangs were in Red Gold Hall, along with some trick riders.  This year, the mustangs were in a small corral.  Honestly, we were disappointed with the Stunt Show.  Too much screaming by the mayor's daughter (it really became annoying), and too much fighting for our tastes.  We missed "Headin' West" too.  It's a shame the The Opera House isn't being utilized for an impressive production this year.

We're already looking forward to our next visit in 2013!

-Tim