Welcome bgtgwazi, you coming for Coaster Christmas?
Branson West is always the best way to get to SDC. Coming in at 11 will be tough... that is prime time for the road to be clogged. SDC's parking system is absolutely crazy. Keep in mind that they have limited capacity in the lots close to the park, and on days like these they know that they will exceed them, so they sometimes guide people down the road to the satellite parking lots, some of which are miles from the park. This causes endless confusion for first time visitors who think they are being turned away.
If you look on google maps, there is a Bear State Bank on 76 between SDC and Branson West. The dirt area behind that bank is one of the overflow lots, for example. They also park in the empty lot across from West Branson Marine, and there's a long skinny lot south of SDC on Indian Point Road. So if you end up being flagged through the parking lots, you will likely be redirected towards one of those lots. Don't worry though, the parking is free and there are lots of shuttles.
As for coaster waits, it will be crowded, but SDC is efficient. Even on busy days, Wildfire has pretty short waits of less than 30 mins. Sometimes it's a walk-on. Outlaw Run is about the same, sometimes a bit longer. Powderkeg will stay busy at around an hour or so wait since it is such an all-around hit with a short height limit. Time Traveler is still new and extremely popular, so wait times on it can reach two hours. Thunderation is next to TT and has had a massive popularity boost thanks to it, so it can get waits ~30 mins sometimes too.
But here's the good news, just like you mentioned about DW, a LOT of people come here for the shows, lights, and other things besides coasters. This park has a lot to offer, and it was popular long before all the modern coasters and rides were added. Around mid-day, the lines will be at their longest, but as it gets dark and the lights come out, they will actually drop off. By the end of the day WF and OR are often walk-ons. There's also often a change-over in guests, as some guests come early for rides and then leave to go to Branson for shows, while other people come later just to see the lights. Lots of interesting crowd dynamics at SDC, it's more complicated than most parks.
If you are coming for Coaster Christmas, there is a chance they will give us Trailblazers (SDC's fast pass system). It's not guaranteed, and it's always an awesome event either way, but sometimes they go all-out for ACE. They've already treated us once this year though, and this is going to be a busy weekend, so I wouldn't go in expecting it. Otherwise, buying a trailblazer pass may be worth it for you if you are gung-ho about the rides. Unfortunately for this year, trailblazers can only be used once on Time Traveler due to the extremely high demand.