Christmas at Silver Dollar City

sanddunerider · December 04, 2017, 06:22:36 PM

The parade is nuts..! I quit watching it because of the hassle of standing.. IF I have friends with me that want to see it, We try to find an elevated area to watch from, AND we dont get any where close to the square...

sdcfan88 · December 04, 2017, 08:03:19 PM

I got lucky and wound up being "forced" to see it as I exited FITH and there was nowhere to go. I watched it from the tunnel. lol

sirwillow · December 05, 2017, 10:53:05 AM

Quote from: sanddunerider on December 04, 2017, 06:22:36 PM
The parade is nuts..! I quit watching it because of the hassle of standing.. IF I have friends with me that want to see it, We try to find an elevated area to watch from, AND we dont get any where close to the square...

there's an easy solution to that. Don't watch the first parade. skip it, go do some rides in areas away from the parade or see if they have a show you can watch during it. Then watch the second parade when the crowds have thinned out tremendously and you won't have to fight for a spot- even on the square.

Parade time isn't a bad time to check out the train, of if you have people that want other rides, it's a great time for Fireman's Landing, Expo, Barn Swing, or Outlaw Run. :-)

Gilligan · December 05, 2017, 02:36:44 PM

A good spot for watching the parade is in the expo area. When I've been there, there was just a single line of people.

shavethewhales · December 05, 2017, 02:46:14 PM

Well, SDC is certainly not in danger of falling behind the competition for Christmas anytime soon if this season is any indication. The park has been slammed for most of it from what I hear, and Black Friday was apparently a new attendance record of 26,000 or so?

It's really just been perfect this year. The shows have been top-notch for awhile now, the new lights are amazing, the food is great... there's not much left to improve except for updating the tree and some QC on the hot cocoa. I don't think they can even manage any more big improvements because the park can't handle crowds any bigger than what they are currently getting... but more on that in a different thread.

History Buff · December 05, 2017, 03:40:00 PM

The hot chocolate was fine when we visited Friday - nothing out of the norm.

Twenty-six thousand was the number we were told for Black Friday, as well. They expected 7500 for Thursday evening, but came out shy of that by a thousand or so (as long as you trust the gossip from employees). Friday was a moderate crowd, as well - not too many for comfort.

Okiebenz · December 06, 2017, 06:01:01 PM

there's an easy solution to that. Don't watch the first parade. skip it, go do some rides in areas away from the parade or see if they have a show you can watch during it. Then watch the second parade when the crowds have thinned out tremendously and you won't have to fight for a spot- even on the square.

Parade time isn't a bad time to check out the train, of if you have people that want other rides, it's a great time for Fireman's Landing, Expo, Barn Swing, or Outlaw Run. :-)
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We went on a Friday night the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and we waited until the 2nd parade. It seemed just as crazy and packed as I have seen it up on the square.

sdcfan88 · December 07, 2017, 02:19:28 PM

Never gone right around Christmas and looking to bring a first timer who has never been to the park during this event. Looking at either going the 22nd or 24th based on said persons availability and time off to go. (Friday and Sunday respectively) I already told them no way we are going Saturday due to past experiences. Which would be the better day?

sanddunerider · December 07, 2017, 02:30:14 PM

Quote from: sdcfan88 on December 07, 2017, 02:19:28 PM
Never gone right around Christmas and looking to bring a first timer who has never been to the park during this event. Looking at either going the 22nd or 24th based on said persons availability and time off to go. (Friday and Sunday respectively) I already told them no way we are going Saturday due to past experiences. Which would be the better day?

DONT go on the 24th, park is closed.

.

On the other hand, there would not be any crowd

sdcfan88 · December 07, 2017, 03:53:04 PM

Ha! Looked at the wrong week! Friday it is then.

sanddunerider · December 07, 2017, 04:25:41 PM

LOL. have fun! I wanted to JAB you hard about the date, BUT was afraid of hard feelings from other members.,... LOL... ENJOY!!

Duelist · December 09, 2017, 09:00:45 AM

We visited on Saturday December 2nd and watched the 2nd parade from the top of the climbing tower in Half Dollar Holler. We also had Snowballs at Hannah's Ice Cream parlor- a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a mug of hot chocolate. Only a dollar in our refillable mugs- good stuff!