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[Joy]

Tinmann and I went down on Sunday. Got there about 4-ish. Drove right into "Lot C"/Stop 5. People had already begun leaving, so there was a spot open not far from the station. We walked right onto a bus. Not a lot of people there at the station. The "quarry" didn't have anyone parked there. I'm guessing Sundays, even during MM, are still some of the slower days crowd-wise.

We mostly just hung around waiting for things to get dark. Met up with and spent most the day with some friends we ran into on the train.

I'd say the longest wait we had was Powderkeg at 9pm, and even that wasn't too long and the queue wasn't even fully used.

Dunno if it was a fluke or not, but there was no music coming out of the park speakers after "closing time". So, we were able to walk around a darkening SDC and fully enjoy the night-sounds--lots of cicadas and tree frogs to hear. SO awesome.

Only modern music we heard was... UGH, at Powderkeg. At first, they had some modern country playing, which was fine with me; a lot of people in line were actually singing along. And then WHAT comes blaring across the PK station speakers???

Lady Gaga's "Let's Dance." Yeah, you read that right. I adore Lady Gaga, but she does NOT belong at SDC, even less so than the "oldies" they usually play at MM. However, this seemed to be the ride attendants "having fun" rather than a choice made by the park higher-ups. And you know, it seems as if it's always at Powderkeg that music seems to be an issue. Whoever is supervisor of that attraction needs to give their underlings a talking-to about what music they play at that ride.

Other than that, Moonlight Madness was great. For the first time, I finally got to ride PK at night and OMG it was so AMAZING!!! Also got to ride Barn Swing, but that wasn't *quite* as amazing with all the lighting (though zooming over a dark Lost River was awesome).

Didn't do the dance party since we'd already done it at the anniversary, and we wanted to queue up for PK.

Even with better weather on Sunday (far less humid than it's been), it still got pretty hot for us, even after dark set in. They didn't have ANY of the ceiling fans going in the PK queue. UGH.

So I suppose, in closing, I can just say that I had a great time on Sunday and the only issues I had were based at Powderkeg.

[betamike]

I'll be there on the last day of Moonlight Madness and then on the next day after MM.  I am curious to see if there is a big difference between the two days. 

I am bound to the days that I will be there since the City is closed for almost two weeks afterwards.  Kind of strange to think that MM ends right when the City expects the crowds to just completely dry up.  At least that was the reason I was given that they would just halt operation for two weeks in August.  Weird.

[StaceySue]

We just got back from Moonlight Madness tonight (Tues.).  My husband and I are without the kids for two days, and we are meeting some friends to do Moonlight Madness tomorrow night.  We had a good time, but the evening wasn't without issues.

We didn't go in until 7:30.  We had dinner at Grand Country Buffet first.  We ate dinner at SDC at Moonlight Madness last year, and it seems a little pointless to eat there when you have so few hours of evening to do stuff.  We just found our own parking spot near Stop 2 tonight since we arrived pretty late.

We got there, and many people were leaving.  They looked worn and hot.  I did notice Bluegrass music playing in the park.  We went to PowderKeg first, but it was shut down for whatever reason.  So, we hopped over to Wildfire.  There was quite a line to American Plunge, but Wildfire was about a 5-minute wait with two trains running.  At Wildfire, 1950s music was playing.  

We then rode the Giant Swing.  Both arms were running tonight.  We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for it.  When we did board, a light mist began.  It wasn't much, but it surprised us.  We walked around after that.  We could hear the Echo Hollow show when we got to that side of the park.  As we were standing there, they shut the show down due to weather.  Again, it was a light mist, but they said they weren't sure about the weather.  

We headed over to Thunderation, and we waited for one train in front of us to load.  They were running two trains here, as well.  After we left Thunderation, the weather was no longer an issue.  We strolled through Midtown, and checked PowderKeg.  It was running, but the line was longer than we wanted to wait for.  It wasn't horribly long, but we knew we'd be back the next night with friends.  

The lines for thrill rides were longer at about 9:00, obviously because people want night rides.  The lines were nothing like last year's, but we weren't willing to wait more than 10 minutes tonight for anything when we'll be back the next night with our posse.  

We could hear the dance party as we headed up Hill St.  When we got there, people were doing the Electric Slide.   Now, I understand that many people don't like the modern things at SDC, and that is fine.  But I thought it was nice to see families having fun together.  Parents were teaching their kids how to do the dances.  (If the parents don't know the dances, there is a dance leader.)  Families were being goofy together--making memories.  

Now, for the not-so-great part.  Leaving was a...cluster.  They were trying to do crowd control from the exit of the Marketplace--literally.  The guy was standing in the doorway trying to tell people what to do, but you couldn't hear him past three people back.   Meanwhile, people can't move at all, and people who frequent the park are wondering what is going on.  This was about 9:30 or so.  We opted to walk to Stop 2, and we have never done that before.  I tell you, we are patient people, and usually willingly wait for a tram.  But this was exceptional.  It wasn't bad walking in the evening, and it took us about five minutes.  As we walked, one tram passed us.  If you were there tonight, we were the ones with the blue and green light sabers walking to our car.  

All in all, we had a fun night.  Heck, we're going back tomorrow.  But if you were a first-timer visiting the park, I don't know how you would feel.  Why are the trams always an issue?  

[shavethewhales]

I'll most likely be there this weekend. I'm bracing for the worst since it'll be the middle of MM and probably one of the most crowded weekends of the year. Good thing Deer Run has a shuttle so we can avoid the inevitable parking frustration. When are they going to figure out that using the overflow lots first is just not worth the frustration it causes guests?

[History Buff]

I honestly believe they are trying to push the necessity of paid parking.  We are now down to one lane going into the parking complex, with signs telling us that the other lane takes us to the paradise of "quicker" parking.  Not exactly a covert little con they have started.  Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.

[Ozark Outlaw]

Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.

Hush! Don't give them any ideas. 

[Joy]

I'll be there on the last day of Moonlight Madness and then on the next day after MM.  I am curious to see if there is a big difference between the two days.

Hey, cool! I'm gonna be there the last day/night of MM, too! Maybe we'll run into each other!

[Swoosh]

Ugh.  Ok, so call me a "SDC Annual-Pass Snob" but I will be so glad when Kidsfest is over, the "tourists" are gone and things settle down and become more quiet at the park.

I went to SDC today and I remembered why I despise Kidsfest so much.  I honestly cannot stand the "tourists".  They're loud, they're annoying, and they're in such a big hurry the entire time that they don't allow themselves to have a good time.  I had one idiot yell at me because I didn't double up with another single rider on ThuNderaTion.  Granted I was already on the train and the lap bars were locked.  He just continued yelling at me and the other person (a teenage boy).  I finally just told him to stop.  I was like "what is your problem guy" and he started up again and I cut him off and said, "You know what, you have a Silver Dollar Day" and just left it at that -- the train was finally moving out of the station.  I just don't get it.  This isn't Six Flags or Cedar Point, the park is not about the rides, it's about the experience and I just feel like the park is sort of wh0red out during Kidsfest and especially Moonlight Madness and the innocence of the park is lost.  It comes back during the next festival, but GD "tourists" are annoying

[StaceySue]

Dang, Swoosh.  You're posting late.  Did you just now get out of the parking lot?

[Parson B Ready]

I feel your pain Swoosh.
When it's Deer Season...you shoot deer.
When it's Duck Season...you shoot duck.
When it's Rabbit Season...you shoot rabbits.
But whe it's Tourist Season...How come we can't shoot them?

(I saw this quote somewhere recently. But I cannot for the life of me remember where.  If it was someone on this site, my apologies, please take credit now).

[betamike]

Hey, cool! I'm gonna be there the last day/night of MM, too! Maybe we'll run into each other!

Cool!  I'll be the guy with a camera permanently stuck to his face.  

I tend to agree with KidzFest (see, I made it hip with a "z").  The time machine quality of the place sort of disappears during this season.  Not sure why I keep planning my trips to fall on those dates.  I'm a very "casual" rider of the thrill stuff and tend to prefer the ambiance and slower experiences so once both of those disappear, I get frustrated at seeing the business opportunity of something like KidsFest.  

I am glad that the City does devote other seasons to adults though.  Starting to wonder if I shouldn't just skip the MM day altogether and enjoy my time there on the next day.

[Junior]

Whew! Between parking issues and rowdy crowds with Kidsfest, it's sounding pretty rough out there! The SDCFans.com folk are devoted, and are vocal when disappointed. I'm sorry to hear some of you have had bad experiences. I'm looking forward to Harvestfest time, how about you?

[Ozark Outlaw]

Whew! Between parking issues and rowdy crowds with Kidsfest, it's sounding pretty rough out there! The SDCFans.com folk are devoted, and are vocal when disappointed. I'm sorry to hear some of you have had bad experiences. I'm looking forward to Harvestfest time, how about you?

Absolutely! The middle of October the leaves will be changing colors, the temperature will be cooler, and I will be enjoying several slow days at Silver Dollar City.

[History Buff]

Just watch this become an option for a season pass add-on - $25 gets you unlimited preferred parking for the year.

Hush! Don't give them any ideas. 

And for providing that service, I shall be awarded a lifetime parking spot right up front!!!

[biscuitcreek]

Husband and I went to the park on Friday July 23.  We parked in the small lot near tram stop 4; 2 trams were waiting.  Got into the square about 10 minutes before opening so we headed to Sullivan's Mill and used our coupon for some Cinnamon Bread; yummy but I just wish hot bread was available early in the morning.  We went over to River Blast and rode it twice.  We did get soaked.  Then we walked over and joined the line for the opening of Lost River.  Noticed that the Riverfront Playhouse was closed.  Thought that was odd because it usually has some show like Veggie Tales in it during Kids Fest.  Had to wait about 15 minutes to ride.  From there we walked over to FITH but it was closed.  Not sure why.  We didn't stop to talk to the 2 employees who were standing by the closed sign.  As we walked by the saloon a citizen was out begging people to go in for the show that was getting ready to start -- plenty of room left.  We went on over to the American Plunge and waited in line about 10 minutes.  From there we went over to the apple butter cabin and used the coupon for an apple turnover; it was tasty but it was not hot, either.  Went on over to Thunderation and walked right on to the ride.  Left at 11:30 because we had to be in Springfield that afternoon.  We did have to wait about 10 minutes for a bus to ride back to the lot.   

We were surprised at how light the crowd was on Friday morning.  We've gone several times on Fridays in May and those days are always wild with all of the school groups.  We had hoped to make it back for MM on Friday or Saturday but it didn't work out. 

Our next trip will be in August.  Already looking forward to it.