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[History Buff]

We thought we saw Joel Manby at the admission turnstiles when we arrived at the City, Friday.  This man was standing nearby and ducked into the Marketplace before I made it through the ticket taker.  Can anyone confirm that he was or was not there?

[BackInTime]

Headed down to Branson on Friday morning (12/13). Hoped to hit the City in the afternoon and evening before spending all day Saturday on park. Mother Nature clearly had other ideas. It rained most of the day Friday so we just made the most of our time at the hotel and hoped for better luck Saturday. Our group of 15 arrived at the park shortly after 1:00, bundled up and optimistic for a great day. Within two minutes of passing through to gates, we learned not a single outdoor ride would be operating for the day due to cold. I believe it was about 33 or 34 degrees when we go there, not to mention a breeze of about 15 mph. I was crushed as no one in our group with the exception of my wife and son had ever experienced SDC during OTC. Fortunately, the seven kids (all six and under) were almost oblivious to the fact that we wouldn't be hitting rides all day. We did our best to make the most of the extremely cold temps regardless. Hit the Frosty show, rode the train (only engine #13 running last night), dropped into FITH and FM, took in the parade and tree lighting show and sucked down plenty of hot chocolate in between warming our backsides in several shops along the way. Gotta say, it was downright blistering cold there yesterday. The park looked deceivingly busy. Would be very interested to know what the actual numbers were. I commented to my wife on the way back to our hotel that had the rides been operating as usual, the place would likely have felt pretty empty.

Under the circumstances, it was a successful day in the City. Just wish the rest of our group would have been able to enjoy the full offering of SDC fun during OTC. Guess it gave us one more reason to do it again next year. Have a holly jolly Christmas SDC fans.

P.S. I tried to give the OR queue building a look as we passed by on the train. It was pretty dark at the time, but didn't get the impression that anything major was disrupted from the fire. Again, it was pretty hard to get a clean look though.

[History Buff]

It seems we had the same idea.  On Friday night, we made our way, through the drizzle, to the Opera House for the last Dickens show.  The middle seating was full, but the sides were virtually empty.  The actors' timing seemed a little off to me.

When the show was over, we headed to see Santa.  There was no one in line, and Mr. Claus was just standing in front of his chair, waiting for us.

Afterward, we put out the fire at FitH, before heading up the hill to watch the tree, hoping to see it again on Saturday, when all forecasts said it would be warmer and drier.   

Saturday, we arrived after noon and went straight to It's a Wonderful Life.  It is a great show, but doesn't have the same "authenticity" as Dickens.  I was impressed with the scope of the production, though.  The Times claims this is a million dollar show.  I was struck with the idea that it really wasn't very Christmassy.  I suppose the movie wasn't either, except that it happens to happen at Christmas.  I really enjoyed the music and the fact that it looked like an old Crosby/Kaye movie.

We rode FM, which has not really been changed outside of updates and maintenance.

Then we sipped our hot chocolate while watching the glass blowers.

We made the Frosty show, which was extremely disappointing.  Outside of the brutal cold, the new show is not very good at all, and the Sugarplum Fairy/Genie character is an embarrassing rip-off of the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Bring back the old show if you can't make meaningful changes.

We had to go underground with about 57 other visitors (some of whom were quite rude).  Some of them did not seem capable of listening to the guide.  I could only understand every third word our guide said, since she seemed to have trouble enunciating.  This was my first time in 40-50 years that I've ever been in the cave at Christmas.

I took some pictures of both days, but the family tends to rush me, so I didn't get as many or get to frame the shots like I would have liked.

We put out the fire a couple more times before getting back to our condo.  As I said before, I think Manby was at the turnstiles when we arrived on Friday.  I wonder if anyone can confirm that it was him.

[Parson B Ready]

Here are some pictures from last weekend, December 7-8, 2013.

https://www.facebook.com/bryan.ready.3/media_set?set=a.10201351189885759&type=1

[cheesehead57]

Nice pictures Parson.

[sanddunerider]

Parson, great pics.!!  I sent you a FR on FB......

[Parson B Ready]

It's been a busy week.  But here is the rest of my "review", though it is a bit dated now.

Even though much of the park was shut down, it was still a great weekend. We had the best seats that we'd ever had at Dickens, It's a Wonderful Life, and the train. I loved virtually having the park to ourselves.  One of my favorite things to do at OTC is to just walk alone through the park and enjoy the music and the Christmas lights.  There were some places where I could stand, and I was literally the only one there. It was so peaceful...so refreshing.

We visited Santa Claus and his assistant Clarence Peabody (AKA Terry Sanders) twice.  The first time we got a "family" portrait with Santa.  This time Grandma (my mom) got to sit on Santa's lap.  That was interesting.  The second time the youngest two got to see Santa and I got some adorable pictures of my six-month old and Santa.

Culinary speaking we were able to enjoy Hot Chocolate with the Works (marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a candy cane)--OMG! One thing I don't understand is why they they only have certain stands that have "the works".  Why can't they do that at all of the hot chocolate stands.  I feel sorry for those who may not even know that "the works" exist.  Some people have complained about the quality of the Hot Chocolate.  Every cup we had was delicious, except for the last one on Sunday night—it was a bit watered down.  I'm not sure why it wasn't as good.  More importantly, I was able to enjoy an Apple Dumpling on Saturday and Sunday.  They looked at me a little weird  when they asked if I wanted Ice-cream with my Apple Dumpling and I said yes, even though it was only 17 degrees!

The only real disappointment for me (other than going home), was that I was hoping to see the Gifts of Christmas Parade one last time.  SDC has advertised that this will be the last year for the parade.  I was hoping to see it again, but understandably it was canceled due to the weather.

Of course we stayed at Homestay Inn.  Sunday night we were the only guests there.  I thought it was fitting that a member of SDCFans was the last guest to check out for the season.  I'd like to thank Cherie and the staff for taking care of us.  They had the full spread out for us for breakfast, even though we were it.  We were disappointed that we weren't able to see Paige, but we understand that she was sick, so hopefully next year.

Even though it was cold, and the weather was disagreeable, it was still a great trip. Looking forward to next season.

   

[Parson B Ready]

Gilligan-I think the kids are going this weekend 12-14.  I forgot, I cant go this weekend. This is the weekend of our Church play "Walk Thru Bethlehem"  Hey Parson. If your not doin anything this weekend (evenings), come on out!  http://www.mmbc.net/wtb.htm

Qwed94--thanks for the invite.  I hope your event went well. Unfortunately, I didn't see the post until it was over.  But thanks for thinking of us.

[sanddunerider]

WELL??  how about it... city was open an extra day today.....  anybody here go....?

[Gilligan]

WELL??  how about it... city was open an extra day today.....  anybody here go....?

Not me, but I wish it was!  The weather forecast didn't look to bad for Branson - a high of 58.

[Ozarks Gal]

We didn't, but had some friends who made it there on Wednesday. They said the crowds were pretty light (which didn't surprise me at all).  We'll be going down with some friends tonight (Thursday). Weather should be perfect.

[Duelist]

I'm sorry for the PTB but we were there Saturday and it was great!  Cold rain but small crowd let us walk right into A Christmas Carol and sit on the 5th row.  Same thing happened for my wife and kids at It's A Wonderful Life. (I chose to ride and see the Saloon Show during that time).  We ate the buffet with the ham and got free prime rib for the lower price.  They were seating everyone in Reunion Hall.  The only outdoor ride running was Thunderation and i rode it 4 times.  Once I was sitting as the person farthest back on the ride and I was in the third row of seats   .  Rode Fire in the Hole twice and the first time we were the only four on the ride.  Only got to 37 for a high so it was cold but festive.  We arrived a little after 12 and stayed until about 8:45 so we were there for a full day.  Beats last Christmas when we went on a day with a crowd around 25,000.

[sanddunerider]

duelist.. glad you had a good visit..   sound like you were able to do whatever you wanted to...  nice long day for you....

[qwed94]

Havent completely decided what Im going to do yet. Im off till day after Christmas, then I have to work Thurs & Fri. Then Im off again till Jan 2. Kathy cant go, she will babysit most days. Im debating making a one day trip to the City.  just me. I really want to see what the weather is supposed to be like next Monday.  If its warm enough for the coasters to run. I might try to go. Otherwise---there is next year.

[biscuitcreek]

We went the evening of 12/20. Got to parking lot 3 about 5:40 and made it to the 6:00 pm saloon show. We really enjoyed this year's saloon show -- a combo of Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas adapted to the SDC theme. Thought it was much better than this year's regular saloon show. I would say the saloon was full although there were a few empty chairs here and there.

From there we walked in the cold, light rain to the Riverfront Playhouse for the Living Nativity. The newest member of the Sons of the Silver Dollar was the singing narrator/angel. Our favorite singing narrator was playing a wise man. The middle section was about 3/4 full. After that we made a brief -- very brief -- stop by Frosty and then left. Most of the food stands (including hot chocolate stands) were closed. My husband was going to get a hot chocolate with the works but out of the 2 stands we found open, neither had the works.

I think the outdoor theaters need some flaps to roll down on the sides to help protect people from the wind and rain when it's really cold. Would also help to have flaps on one side of the trams. It's not so bad to sit on a wet seat when the weather is warm but definitely unpleasant when the temps are below freezing.