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[Viking000040]

We (2 50 something adults, no kids)are planning to spend a few days at SDC during the first week or so of Dec. and have a few questions.  We know the park opens at 1PM and stays open until 9 or 10.  Do the eating places stay open as well (the buffets in particular, but all of them in general)?  Do the rides stay running?  What are the average temperatures like for the first half of Dec?  Are the free Christmasy things around Branson worth going to?  What other tips or suggestions can you give us. 
Can any of you tell us about "The Cabins at Green Mountain", as that is were we are staying?

Thanks, Eric

[sirwillow]

Hope I can help a little.

First thing- I would strongly recommend going to SDC on the Weds or Thurs evening if at all possible.  At the very least DO NOT GO ON SATURDAY!!  The crowds are enormous on the weekends, so go on a weekday if there is any way possible to do it.

There will be eating places open throughout the park throughout the whole night.  There are some that will close a bit early (in particular the buffets close a couple of hours before park closing as I recall), but there are still plenty of options for food.  Most of the walkups stay open til closing time, with a few staying open a bit later (e.g. funnelcakes), and that's true of a lot of the other eateries as well.

As long as temperatures don't get to cold, all of the rides will continue to run.  Generally the only time you're going to have to worry is if it's getting close to freezing, which it can do that time of year.  But as long as it's in the 40's or above you won't have any problems.  There won't, of course, be any water rides open.

Temperatures can vary.  It can push near 60 for a high sometimes, and also get down close to 0, so be prepared for anything.  Generally though you should be ready for a high in the upper 40's to 50 and lows in the 30's somewhere.  Be sure to watch the weather forcast though, and even then be prepared for anything.  We had one time that they swore it would only get cold on us and it dropped 3 inches of snow while I was working on the train.

I haven't been to much of the Branson Christmas stuff, as I was usually working, and when I wasn't I live the other direction.  The Shepherd of the Hills lights are pretty neat though- it's a one hour drive through with hot chocolate at the end that can be a lot of fun if you're into that.  The "Branson Gift of Lights" actually costs more money and is a shorter drive.  And lots of great Christmas shows throughout town, but I'm honestly not even sure what is free.

Not familiar with the cabins offhand either, but they are listed on hotels.com and I've found their reviews to be a pretty good indicator overall, and it gets good marks there (4.5 out of 5- the only negative I saw being someone who apparently didn't realize that ants live in the woods.  lol)

[Viking000040]

Thank you very much!  You have been very helpful.  We are planning to be at the park on Wed, Thur and Fri so we will miss the weekend.  We can do the buffets for lunch and quick service for dinner, so that will work. 
Thanks again!

[shavethewhales]

Great advice sirwillow! Couldn't have said it better myself. Those days should be great, and I feel like going in December the park just feels extra special even if the crowds set in.

This winter looks to be super mild, so I'm expecting everything to be open. Sometimes it drops down to 40 in the late evening and things start shutting down, but that just pushes the crowds out so that the rest of the park is more enjoyable.

The Mill & Mine restaurant is the best in the park, no matter what the season, but I think they have a special holiday buffet that's even better than usual.

[sdcfan88]

I have a bad feeling this Christmas event will be horrifically busy again this year as it was last year. Especially if this mild weather pattern continues as it is being forecast. When I was there yesterday it was badly crowded like a busy Saturday. A lot of the major rides had 30+ min waits at one point. With the exception of the water rides.

[Viking000040]

Thank you all for the info.

[Dewayne]

Everyday chain drop is at 1PM and closes at 9PM, except SAT, Thanksgiving, and black friday. SAT chain drop is at 11AM and close at 9:30 PM. Rides will run all day and night from open to close unless the temps drop to the certain temp each ride can operate above. Temps start getting too low at 47. 47 is what it needs to reach for OR to start test runs. Regardless of temps, some rides/attractions will always stay open. Those are: Train, flooded mine, HOH treehouses, sand play, grandpas mansion, cave, petting zoo (closes at sunset), ball pit, and swinging bridge (closes at sundown).

Temps could vary. Nobody can predict it except meteorologists. No regular man can expect it to be a certain temp, only hope. Idk what you mean by the other things you said that arent words. I dont stay in cabins. They are expensive and not as good as a hotel.

[Tmboote]

Temps start getting too low at 47. 47 is what it needs to reach for OR to start test runs.

I'm pretty sure it's actually 37....

[Dewayne]

Look on the website. OR cant start unless it hits 47, the highest low temp for stopping rides.

[Tmboote]

Look on the website. OR cant start unless it hits 47, the highest low temp for stopping rides.

Here is a link to the weather guidelines for rides in case you haven't seen them Viking:
http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/Attractions/Rides/Ride-Temperature-Guidelines

It says that Outlaw Run operates at 37 degrees.

[mhguy77]

Often during December Saturday hours will be extended.

[Viking000040]

Thank you very much for all the great information!

[tinmann620]

For those without your reading glasses~
Fire-in-the-Hole        32 degrees
Fireman's Flyer            32 degrees
High-Low Silos*    32 degrees
Thunderation            32 degrees
Outlaw Run®**    34 degrees
Electro Spin            35 degrees
Elephant March    35 degrees
Fire Spotter            35 degrees
Fire Wagon Frenzy    35 degrees
Happy Frogs        35 degrees
Ladybugs            35 degrees
Lucky's Dizzy Dogs    35 degrees
Magnificent Wave Carousel    35 degrees
Mighty Galleon            35 degrees
Racing Regatta    35 degrees
Royal Tea Party    35 degrees
Up The Ladder            35 degrees
Wings of Wonder    35 degrees
FireFall                    38 degrees
The GIANT Barn Swing    38 degrees
PowderKeg®            40 degrees
WildFire®            40 degrees
Grand Exposition Coaster    42 degrees
*High-Low Silos also will not operate if temperature is 102 degrees or higher.
**Outlaw Run® will not begin operating for the day unless temperature reaches 37 degrees.

[anon42]

sirwillow, when you say crowds can be "enormous" can you give me any idea how bad enormous is?  We once went to Disneyland the first week of January when schools were out and many of the lines were an hour (and it wasn't uncommon to get near the front of the line and they'd tell you the ride was down after wasting 45 minutes).  Like that sort of enormous?  The only time I've been to Silver Dollar City was a couple years ago in late August.  We went on a Saturday and crowds were what I'd call "moderate".  There were a lot of people there and we had to park quite far away in the lot, but line times were not prohibitive to ride anything.

We are not looking specifically to visit SDC so aren't looking for the very best time to visit or anything.  It's that we'll be passing by it on the road on the Wed before Thanksgiving and the Saturday after so are wondering if it's worth trying to stop to see the Christmas festival or if the crowds would be too miserable.

[sanddunerider]

Wed before wont be too bad,
the sat after, with good weather will be pretty busy..