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We'll be there tomorrow (Mar 16).  Hoping that the warmth there today will stick around a bit!

It will be me hubs and 2 kids.  The youngest can now ride powderkeg for the first time, so I am thinking we will be over that way quite a bit, unless he decides that he liked TNT better!  Excited to get there!

What will attendance be at the park? 
How crazy are we for taking our kids and having nothing to do with OR (kids aren't tall enough)?

Does anyone know if they changed the refillable mug policy?  I am assuming I can bring the ones we always have and they will be refilled, but what about this year's mug, will it be good for this season only?

I have never been there on opening day, and have all of a sudden gotten nervous that the new coaster is going have thousands of people there. 

Any other changes to the park that are going to actually affect the experience this year?

yes, see if they answer that question dollar...

Since the pizza place is not general knowledge yet...  Is it? 

Or did I miss the official announcement..?

Someone replied to the FB post that it would be at Crossroads Pizza, near OR.

Interesting.

We aren't taking the year off but most of our trips will be one day, down and back type.

However, we are taking our FIRST real family vacation this year, also going to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/GSMNP.  The kids will be 5 and 7 and we are looking forward to that.

Our family didnt get passes for about 10 years (HS, College years) and we resumed getting them after the first grandkid could go. Made the return all the sweeter.

Son being tall enough to ride TNT and daughter getting a sense of direction in the park.

I think our early year trips were the best.

Quick review of a quick trip.
Went to the City on Sunday (23rd).  Parked at stop 3.  Turnstile lines were a bit jammed as it was right at 1:00.  Kids and menfolk went directly to TNT. Mom and I went to the School and got our ornaments and '13 passes. Met up at HDH. Took the kids up for the Carriage ride which was quite nice. Went through Grandfathers. Rode the flooded mine and TNT again. Train was broken down, FITH line was back to nearly the saloon. Back to HDH for the kids and men while Mom and I went shopping quickly (got dri fit style tshirts for the kids for 5.00). We all met up, decided that since we had all already seen the tree and parade it was a good time to hit the road back home. So we were out of the park by 4:30.  As we were leaving the turnstiles looked quite busy.

Hope everyone had a very  Merry Christmas.

Thank you!

Going to work on getting a cabin booked and start making plans!

Thanks Swoosh! Great information!

Looks like the family vacation for next summer is going to be in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg.
We are in the very early stages of trip planning and thought it wouldn't hurt to ask how many of you have been and get your opinions.
We will be there in July 2013, planning to rent a cabin. Want to spend some time in the National Park and otherwide enjoy nature a bit.
Can you see Dollywood in a day? We are also probably going to do the waterpark too.

At the time we travel the kids will be 5 and almost 7.

Thanks in advance!

Interesting that you mention the near-hostility those who are waiting for the parade can show.  Full Disclaimer:  our family has no interest in the parade, has never seen is, and has no intention of doing so.  So when we try to get through the the crowds and get accused--out loud (very loud)--of trying to usurp their places to see it, we try to tell them we have no desire to see the parade, just want to get around or stop for a minute to get our bearings.  The usual reply is a sneer and a "Hurry up!" 

Not very Christmas at all--nor very Christian.  If we could avoid the route, we would, but it circles around the whole city.  It is one of the reasons why, despite how much I love Christmas, OTC is no higher than my 3rd favorite festival at SDC.

I should mention that a very nice mother, who was near us and had kids several years older than mine asked her children to let mine stand in front of them since they could see over my kids. But for the most part the entire park seemed in a poor mood as a result of the parade.

We were also there on Saturday.
While we waited in traffic to get to the park, it wasn't intolerable. From the 465 intersection, paying to park and getting to a spot took 25 minutes (The exact length of Prep and Landing).
Although we parked near stop 1, we decided that it looked easier to just walk in, and we were correct. The little gate that used to be the season pass entrance (where you enter through the Ozark Marketplace) had turnstiles open with no lines, so we buzzed right through. Electric car and stroller rental was a madhouse and thankfully we have no need for either. It was about 1:45, so we decided  to take  a quick restroom break and head on down to get in line for Santa. We did that, and after his arrival at 2:30, we were done and had our pictures in hand by 3:10, not too bad. Went to geyser gulch to wait for the next Frosty showing (my kids should have that thing memorized but they still love it), watched Frosty at 4 while having a snack, walked through Jingle Junction, and went to the measuring station. The youngest finally got his blue armband! (That means 42inches) so we headed to TNT. We had a moderate wait, but it was worth it. Decided to check the train line; after seeing that, we just let the kids play in HDH for a while. The train line was going down the corkscrew path. I can't imagine how long that would have made the wait time. While the kids were in HDH, I snuck up to the bakery. The line was terribly slow. I wish they had a way to have a cinnamon bread line so those not getting it aren't in line not moving because no bread is ready.  So after finally getting the kids a cookie, we went to FITH. The line was quite quick and the seats were dry. Grabbed a drink and a corn dog and headed for the square. The kids ate and watched the tree. It was nearing 6 so we decided to walk around a bit more. However people were lining up for the parade and apparently felt that letting people get through to get to stores may result in losing their spot, so that was short lived. We got some taffy and decided to find a parade spot of our own. We ended up on the TNT side of the long flower bed. There I witnessed a parent let their child climb on and pretend to ride the display reindeer as they took pictures and laughed. Not surprisingly the child broke some of the antlers off and no one in their party made any attempt to correct that. I nearly bit my tongue in two. The parade was okay, I don't know that it was worth the rude shoving behavior that over took a lot of the guests, and we probably won't make an extra effort to watch it again. After the parade we rode TNT two more times with no wait and it was an incredible closing to the trip. We got back to the car around 8. Traffic flow leaving the city was smooth and we were on the road in no time.
Most importantly the kids had an incredible time.

Hi paige! We're here! Things are wonderful so far!

Since the rest of the family is snoring away I'll post a quick review of yesterday...
Got there at open, park seemed particulary fresh and clean. Rode AP twice in a row, fith twice, pk was closed so we hit hdh for a bit, lroto was up next, and we walked into the exit side (they were boarding and deboarding from the same side), went to gg, the bubble show, fm, tnt twice, more hdh and headed out. Attendance was the lowest I have seen it since I was a kid. No lines on rides, no lines for food or drink. Seating at shows still available at showtime. We did all of the above mentioned between 930 and 130. Simply amazing with my kiddos in tow. It was hot but not terrible when we left.
As we shopped in the afternoon the heat was getting bad but still not intolerable
A pretty good storm rolled throught here in the evening.
More tomorrow as we are here until wed!

Like I said, I blame myself for not reading the label before purchasing. I made an assumption that it was maple syrup (since that is what the bottle said) and not maple flavored syrup (as the ingredients indicate).

And if the bottle had cost the equivalent of imitation syrup and not a premium maple syrup I probably wouldn't be quite as irritated.

I used to buy their pepper jelly, haven't for a while, and now probably won't. 

To spin this in a more positive direction: Are there any of the jarred/bottled SDC products that anyone loves? Apple butter?

Every fall I buy several of the honey "straws" for the kids sore throats. And have bought a jar of honey there and that was excellent.

It does say made FOR Silver Dollar City. I knew it wouldn't have been made on site.
Just think it is odd for them to put their name on a product like that. I don't know if the merchandising people don't have to choose vendors that will uphold a certain standard, but wouldn't think they would enter into a contract for products that were subpar.

Or maybe this really is the stuff they are using on-site in food service. I hope not...