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My favorite possession is the picture of my family taken during our first ever ride on American Plunge. The look on my then 4 year old's face is priceless to me! 

If you're trying to just get to the observation deck without riding WF, go down the steps and straight through the shop. You end up at the observation deck!

Thanks, this is what I was trying to ask, I should have been more clear in my post! Thank you! 

Sorry to confuse you, sanddunerider, I've never actually ridden WF, I'm too big of a chicken.  I guess I should have mentioned that in my post. I just wanna watch those who ARE brave enough to ride. Thanks for the info. 

I guess I never realized there is a viewing platform for Wildfire. How do you get to it?

We spent 3 consecutive days at SDC last July, and were there at rope drop every day. It was blazing hot, but the crowds were tolerable, and the lines were moderate. Hands down, the busiest days we have ever spent at SDC were last May, on a Saturday when there was a regional band competition going on, and there were about 100 school buses in the parking lot! The crowd level on that day was horrendous. lines were so long it was miserable. The second busiest day was last October, during fall break (Thurs/Fri) where there was wall to wall people and horribly long lines. My husband and I go every year around our anniversary in April, and if we go during the week, we can walk on any ride and stay on until we've had our fill!

We have two kids, ages 9 and 5. This is what we do:

1. We carry a backpack into the park, full of necessities.

2. We freeze bottles of water several days before we leave for SDC. We keep them in the cooler or fridge at the hotel, and every morning as we head out to the park, we put several bottles into the side pockets of our backpack, and as the frozen water melts throughout the day, we have cold, fresh tasting water. (I know, you can get free water in the park, but let's be real here, it tastes NASTY!)

3. On days we are going to do water rides, we wear our "wet clothes". Swim shorts and light cotton t-shirts for my guys, nylon running shorts and light cotton t-shirt for me, swimsuit and nylon shorts for my daughter. We wear our tennis shoes into the park, but change into water shoes/flip flops when we are ready to ride the water rides. We store our backpack in a locker, ride the water rides until we are soaked to the bone and have had our fill, then we make our way back to the locker, change into dry socks and shoes, and go on about our day. Our clothes dry quickly, and we don't have to worry about walking around all day in wet shoes! We also make sure we have ziploc bags in the backpack to store any wet stuff in.

4. We stay at Deer Run! The free shuttle is a lifesaver. It drops you off at the entrance to SDC. It picks you up at the exit at SDC, and basically drops you off at your motel room door. 

5. Best advice ever: Get to the park at rope drop, leave by mid-afternoon. Go back to your hotel room and swim/rest/cool off. Go back to the park after dinner.

6. I get in line for shows up to an hour early, and my husband takes the kids to do a couple of rides while I'm waiting. That way, the kids don't get restless and bored.

This is all I can think of right now! Hope this helps someone!

The first thing we do is hit the bakery. 

NE Oklahoma, 210 miles to Branson, 3.5 hour drive, with a bathroom break in Springfield.

I'm new, btw, so hello, everyone!