Coaster Community

This was our second visit to Coaster Christmas at Silver Dollar City in the last three years and it couldn’t have been better.  We drove down Friday afternoon and got to Branson early enough to do some shopping, eat dinner and visit the park before it closed.  Janessa is a big fan of the Stone Hill Winery so we stocked up on wine and then ate a quick dinner at Dana’s Bar-b-q.  I’ve written about the bar-b-q nachos previously and my recommendation still stands.  After checking in at Deer Run we were in the park at 7pm.  The temperature was in the low 50’s so it wasn’t bad at all.  This was going to be our first night rides at Silver Dollar City and the lack of people also gave us a chance to enjoy the Christmas lights. 

Once inside the park we took a few minutes to watch the Christmas tree on Main Street.  350,000 lights can create quite a show.  We then scurried over to Wildfire and walked right on to the 2^nd row.  The cool air and dark surroundings made this one of our best Wildfire rides to date. 

Next up was a ride on Powder Keg and this was our only wait of night.  After 10 minutes we were in the back row and launching into the dark.  I continue to waffle on which row I prefer and after this weekend my preference is in the back of the train. 

Fire in the Hole was right there so we walked in and jumped right into the front row.  It’s always nice to see this ride with the holiday décor.  We got a bit wetter than we would have liked though.

A Coaster Christmas favorite of ours is the Smores that SDC serves up between two chocolate chip cookies.  We warmed up over the marshmallow roasting coals and then sat down to munch on one of the best theme park snacks in existence. 

The Giant Swing was looking awfully lonely in the dark so we took a swing on it and got a nice view of the park at our apex.  This pretty much finished out our riding for the night.  We spent the rest of the evening check out of the lights and doing a little window shopping. 

An empty Geyser Gulch gave us a reason to take a quick break and see what we’ve been avoiding all of these years.  This area is usually really wet, which is why we’re always walking past it.  We found it to be enjoyable even for silly adults like us though.  Lots of climbing, shooting and general wackiness. 

Saturday
This was the actual day of the event so we started the morning making use of ERT on Powder Keg and The Giant Swing.  ERT didn’t start until 10:30 because the park didn’t open until 11:30 and this was a nice change of pace.  The early morning ERT sessions that we’re used to can get a little tiring.  I believe that we racked up 8 rides on Powder Keg and 2 or 3 on The Giant Swing.  Two train operations on PK gave everyone multiple shots at the front row.

After the park opened we raced over to Wildfire and took a 2^nd row and back row ride on it.  Each ride was only a one train wait. 

Being the pigs that we are we then stopped to have a quick snack at Flossie’s Fried Fancies.  I had a foot log corndog with a tub-o dipping cheese and Janessa got a skillet bowl with sausage and potatoes.  We’ve stopped at this place before and it’s awesomeness continues to impress our appetites. 

We then took a leisurely stroll through the park and made our way back to Geyser Gulch and this time we had a group of silly adults on hand.  After a few minutes acting like a kid we made our way up to the Flooded Mine.  We walked right on.  At the end of the ride I found out that I was riding with team cheat.  Janessa racked up over 200,000 points along with Brandon and Jeff.  They are claiming sharp shooter status and I’m claiming shenanigans.  Is it even possible to hit 2000 targets?  Maybe if you have a machine gun. 

Since Jeff worked the train at Worlds of Fun he made us all ride the train at Silver Dollar City.  This was pretty much our only wait on Saturday. 

Somewhere between Geyser Gulch and the train we snuck in a ride on Thunderation, which was only a two train wait for the back row. 

Janessa had been waiting to find a wassle cider stand without and line and she was in luck when we made our way back to The Grand Exposition area.  I don’t usually dig cider but I’m willing to put this wassle stuff into the awesome category.  It’s like drinking apple pie. 

We didn’t actually ride anything back in The Grand Exposition and then made our way back to Thunderation for another ride near the back. 

The event lunch was looming so we stumbled across the Swinging Bridge and took a quick walk through Grandfather’s Mansion, which made our empty stomachs a little queasy.  I never would have imagined slated floors throwing me off. 

We popped into Molly’s Mill Restaurant for our afternoon buffet and presentations.  The food was as good as you’re going to get in a park and I wasn’t even able to eat everything that I carried back to the table. 

The notable information from the presentations included a new Shoot-the-Chutes ride for Celebration City and an addition to Silver Dollar City that will excite ACE’ers just in time for Coaster Con in 2009.  No details were given about the 2009 addition but I’m assuming that it’s a coaster.

After lunch we packed up and drove back to Kansas City.