2012 Trip Reviews

[mhguy77]

Not only the lights but this year the plants were really kind of in shambles this summer. It was not the heat they were jumbled into smaller areas and not as spread out and definatly not tended to as well as in the past.  I think the worst and most unforgivable offence was the fake flowers they used during a good part of the year.  At first is was fake flowers put in planting boxes on the mill restaurant a few years back but this year they spread out.   Unless you are Disney and you are depicting a fairyland and need to use oversized flowers or are decorating the inside of a ride, fake flowers stick out like sore thumbs and are offensive to the eye.

I think SDC is making a mistake cutting back on the plants in the summer and the Christmas decore as they really impact the atmosphere.
Lets hope they read this and put some effort and most importantly $ back into the decorations.

[Gilligan]

Hubs and I were there last night and noticed the same thing.  The "lushness" wasn't there with the missing plants. I thought it was just me bc hubs doesn't usually care about things like that. More later when I have free wifi.  Oh, the apple dumping was great!

[sanddunerider]

.  who went to the park this weekend? Any pics? How does aunt pollys look? ....

[shavethewhales]

I was there on black Friday and for a little bit on Saturday. The crowds were pretty bad, but as soon as the temperature dipped below 40 and the rides shut down the park cleared out in a hurry. Saw the homestead pickers, who were absolutely terrific as always, and I saw the Christmas Carol for the first time. Man, I was really missing out all those years I passed it up for having a huge line. I got in line just as the doors were opening, so even though the line was almost to the saloon I was easily able to get a seat because the building holds so many people that the initial line is actually quite deceiving. I didn't see It's a Wonderful Life, but the lines were a testament to how well it has been received. There's no sneaking in on the end of the line with that one this year, you have to be there half an hour early at least or the line simply gets cut off, and this is in a much bigger theatre.

I've described the Aunt Pollys site in the 2013 project thread. I was surprised at how big the cleared area is, but very little outside of the bulldozed area has been touched. It doesn't look like they're re-doing the area so much as just fitting in a huge restaurant.

I might be able to put up some photos tonight if I have time. I'm a little rushed with all the deadlines I have this week. Only three more weeks of my "hell semester".

[DollarCityBoy]

The wife & I attended Old Time Christmas on Friday & Saturday. Friday night was busy and COLD. We both got the Turkey Leg for Dinner, then got the Apple Dumpling for dessert. Yes, it was worth all the hype! We sat in Hannah's and ate it, while listing to the Christmas tree. We caught a performance of The Living Nativity and drank some Cider. Loved the new venue for this show. It was a great evening. Saturday morning we got to the park at 10:00 and it was nice. It was a beautiful sunny day, and much warmer than the previous Friday Night. The crowds were light in the morning, but as it got closer to sunset it picked up...big time. We were able to shop around in the morning. We had lunch at Wagon Works Grill on the square. We both got the Cheeseburger, and the fries were AMAZING! At 1:00 we watched Its A Wonderful Life. We got in line a good 45 min ahead of time, and had great seats. Its best to not compare the show to the movie; remember it is a musical after all! For dinner we ate at Marys Springhouse and ate "Aunt Polly's" fried chicken, man was it good! Shave got y'all all got up on Aunt Polly's deconstruction since he was obviously there the same time we were, so I wont go into any more detail about it. We stood in line for the Train (2 trains running). One train lost its generator, then the next train that came in broke down. So now there were NO trains running. People around us were getting irritated, but we waited & waited, because that is one of our favorite things to do at OTC. Finally they got 1 of the trains back and running and we finally got on...BUT...just as we got to the Giant Swing we stopped. We sat there for about 8 min, then it finally started back up again. Grandpa finally got to tell the story, as we snuggled up and listened in the cold, my favorite part. We ended the night by casually walking around the park, sipping Hot Chocolate (the Works of course), and watched the parade. We stood on the square and watched the tree one last time, as we headed out of the park around 9:15.
I loved that they added more of the LED icicle lights high in the trees in the square. It really looked like snow, and added one more element of magic to the area. Had a wonderful vacation, everything went perfectly the entire time.

[Gilligan]

We (hubs and me) were in the park Wed. afternoon and again Fri. morning for the Early Bird Sale.  I don't think we'll do the Fri. morning sale again.  The sales weren't that great - other than the Woodcarvers ' 30% off everything!  That was a great sale!  This year, many of the crafters were open during the sale - that was a nice touch.  Other than the WC, where the hubs scored, we purchased a cookie cutter and some Cajun sauces.  I was trying to ditch the hubs so that I could get him an etched glass mug for Christmas, but it didn't work out.

We got to the park later than I hoped Wed. afternoon.  We had to park in Lot 5, but the tram wait wasn't too long.  Lot 5 is not good for handicapped parking - it's sloped!  On the way out of the park, we had to wait five rounds to get on a tram.  They kept bringing busses, and I can't climb on one yet (stupid broken knee thing).  Finally, one of the workers called for a tram for us.  We stood in line probably 45 min. while everyone behind us were able to head out.  They really need to work the kinks out of this for disabled folks.

We splurged and ate our way thru the park this trip - something we seldom do! Started at Delilah's (warm and fresh pastries), had a campfire skillet at Lumber Camp, apple dumpling and cinnamon ice cream, turkey leg, fries, and a sausage kabob.  Did I tell you we ate our way thru the park?    I still don't like the wassail - I tried it again, but everything else was fantastic! 

Lots and lots of people in the park.  Since we got there later than expected, we didn't have too much time to do all the things we wanted.  I know that sounds crazy, but I wanted to be set up on the square right before sunset to capture the right light to take photos.  The weather was great, the park was beautiful (but not as much as in the past), the Homestead Pickers are still the jewel of the park IMO, and we had a great time.  We got lucky and walked right into "It's A Wonderful Life" while looking for the bathroom (seriously!), and watched the parade.  We made a last circle thru the park and left.  The line for the train was really long, and I was getting cold, so we opted out.  And, yep, some of my photos turned out pretty nice.  Although, I'm sure the people on the bench by us thought I was nuts - taking a photo ev. trying to find the right light.   

[Junior]

Thanks for the reviews...glad you had fun! can someone post PICTURES!

[Gilligan]

I'm trying, Junior, I'm trying...hope to have it finished soon.

[sanddunerider]

Thanks for the reviews...glad you had fun! can someone post PICTURES!

LOL!!!  right junior!!

We are just like the Energizer Bunny,!!  we just keep waiting, and waiting...........LOL!!

[Gilligan]

Okay!  We'll see if this works!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90510472@N03/

[How-doFolks]

Great reviews! And thanks for the pics!

[Junior]

Ahhhh, photos! Thanks!

[tiffanylynnt]

I was there Nov. 17.
It was my sister, mom, dad and I.
We got there about 30 min after they opened. I got a huge smile on my face the second I saw the tree! I almost cried, not kidding lol. Pure Heart was singing and there was a horse drawn carriage. We got a Walking Taco for my sister. She hardly ever eats anything and is never hungry, but the second we get to The City, she acts like she's starving to death. We wandered around and looked at the shops until we made it over to Red Gold. "Its a Wonderful Life" is REALLY good! It made me cry... I didn't like the seating though, me and my sister had to change seats several times because we're short and couldn't see. I don't like how the seats are basically straight in front of each other. There isn't much slant to the seating. After that we wandered around some more until Dickens'. My sister and dad went and saw the saloon show while my mom and I stood in line for Dickens'. We met up in The Opera House completely by accident. I promise we weren't saving seats, like the people next to us did, and made us move half way down the pew, twice, because they had a party of like 45 people (I'm exaggerating, but that's exactly what it seemed like). It made me mad because I thought you weren't supposed to save seats...? Saving for one or two people is fine, but when we find a good seat then have to move halfway across the venue so you can sit by people you're not allowed to talk to during the show anyway, not cool. My dad and sister said the saloon show was really good. They said it was funny. After Dickens', we went and got fried chicken and did some people watching. Then we wandered towards Main Street looking at the lights. We found a good spot for the parade and watched the tree lighting. Is it just me, or is the parade shorter than past years? I still smiled the entire time; my face hurt lol. After the parade, we went shopping in both gift shops on the way out then eventually made it back to the hotel.
I bought an "Its a Wonderful Life" sweatshirt and we stopped in Springfield on the way home. At least 7 people asked me if I was in that show at SDC lol. I denied it several times, but then I thought about it: maybe I could practice for when I really am in a show at SDC! Then I started telling people I was in the show lol
We all had a great time, and plan on going back for one of our friend's birthday in December. I plan on taking a friend, my sister is taking her bf and the friend who's having the birthday. We don't want the vouchers to go to waste!!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4099337810535.2151400.1495599105&type=3
(album should be public, if not, let me know)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4079514234958&set=vb.1495599105&type=3&theater
(parade, if not public, let me know)

[Junior]

Tiff, thanks for the photos and video...looks like a fun trip!

[Parson B Ready]

Is it just me, or is the parade shorter than past years?

Thanks for the pics and the video. The kids and I watched the video of the parade.  All of the floats seemed to be present.  We'll see for ourselves in a few days. Thanks again.