Photo TR: Silver Dollar City's An Old Time Christmas

[Shavethewhales]

Every year now for the better part of the past two decades my family has visited Silver Dollar City on the weekend after Thanksgiving for the Old Time Christmas Festival. It's always been a special trip for me, and this year was even more special as my three year old nephew was finally big enough to understand what was going on and enjoy a few rides. I took him on his first roller coaster ride on The Grand Exposition Coaster.

 

The weekend after Thanksgiving is always a big weekend for the park, but this year with temperatures reaching into the 70's and low gas prices the park was just simply slammed. On Saturday they came within about 500 people of reaching their all-time attendance record, which I believe was just set earlier this year. They were parking people up and down the roadway leading to SDC in random open grass lots that I didn't even know they had after visiting for decades.

 

However, one of the things that really makes me a huge fan of SDC is that even with the place jam packed, we managed to find lots of things to do and left very happy - all three generations of my family. My parents knocked out a lot of their Christmas shopping, my brother watched the homestead pickers (SDC's resident bluegrass band), my nephew enjoyed the kiddie rides, I wandered around some between various rides, shows, and craftsmen, and well all rode the train and flooded mine together a number of times.

 

There are two things you really have to do at OTC: see the tree light show on the main square, and see the Dicken's Christmas Carol show. SDC's version of Dicken's is the best I've seen anywhere. It's probably better than Broadway.

 

The food at SDC is, of course, exquisite. There are two restaurants that I don't think I've really seen get mentioned here much, so I want to point them out to anyone who plans to visit soon or in 2015. On the right hand side of the main square as you are coming in, there's a tall mill-themed building. The upper part of this building on the ground level is the Mill restaurant, while a small staircase that's easy to miss out in front leads down to a themed passage way that leads down to the mine restaurant. Both of these restaurants are a very similar all-you-can-eat buffet, I guess the theming is the biggest difference. I'm rather partial to the mine restaurant down below myself.

 

I'd go on about SDC's rides, but you guys should already know they have a fantastic line-up. Outlaw Run just has to be experienced to believe. It's one of those rides that no footage can ever do justice.

 

Onto the photos. I'm too lazy and tired to think up captions right now, so I'll let them speak for themselves. Sorry they're all out of order and that my camera sucks with night photos of Christmas lights.

[Woodie Warrior]

Nice pictures. Was at the park Thanksgiving weekend as well. The parade this year was pretty awesome and much more professional looking than the older one, although that one was good too.

 

Yeah, last year on the same weekend we had to park in a giant grass field owned by the park behind a bank. They did run shuttles though so parking there wasn't that bad.

[palmerleeberry]

I have to say that you lucked out to attend Silver Dollar City for their Christmas Season on a day with summer like weather ( I wish I could say the same when I went to Kings Island on Halloween weekend and the temps were near freezing with 25 mph winds. I decided to go bowling and catch a movie instead ). I'm sure with the warmer weather they even had their water rides running ( or not if they were already closed for rehab, but the Flooded Mine would be the exception unless the water froze over).

 

I don't think I ever visited a park during their Holiday Lights Event, but I bet with all those pretty, bright lights around it'll make you feel like you are in a wonderland.