Our family had planned on attending Ace's Coaster Christmas, but mother nature had other plans. Due to in-climate weather, the event was canceled. But SDC graciously offered complimentary weekend tickets to anyone registered for the event. So with the promise of free SDC tickets, vacation days already requested off for work, and knowing this weekend would be our only opportunity to see OTC this year, we decided to go anyway. The Interstate from St. Louis to Springfield (I-44) was in really good shape, as was 65 from Springfield to Branson. I usually take the Ozark Mountain High Road, but given the amount of snow and the fact that so much of that road is elevated, I decided to take Shepherd of the Hills Expressway in to town—that road was a mess. It was snow-packed all the way to Homestay Inn. By the time we hit it, Highway 76 was mostly clear out to the city. There were a few slick-spots, but no real problems. We arrived at the City at about 4:30pm. It was right about dusk. As you have seen by some of the pictures (I will try to post some more soon). The city was just beyond gorgeous. Given the small crowd (around 2,300 on Saturday) they only used the one lot for parking, but we parked in the preferred-parking lot. It was cold (21 degrees) and we didn't want to have to wait for a tram. We actually lucked out and had a bus pull up at the disabled drop-off and he had room for us. He commented (tongue-in-cheek) that some folks had complained that they were only using buses and not any trams! We picked up a Pathfinder to check out the show schedules. It's a Wonderful Life was getting ready to start, so we walked right in and sat center stage. By the time the show started, I'd say the auditorium was bout 1/2 – 2/3 full. The show was good. The production, given the small space, was quite impressive, the use of scrims, video and smoke was very effective. One song that really stuck in the kids heads was (Monty Python's) “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, sung by Clarence the Angel. The kids broke into a chorus of the song during a trip through The Flooded Mine (one of the only two rides open that weekend, the other was the carousel). Since we were the only people on the ride at the time it was no big deal. But, it was rather humorous listening to the two boys singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” at the top of their lungs while floating through The Mine.
I'd say about 1/3 of the park was shut down due to the snow and coldness. The park was offering the general public discounted tickets ($30) if they came over the weekend. The Grand Exposition was completely roped off as was Wilson's Farm, Midtown, the path to Wildfire/AP, and the path up the hill to Powder Keg. The Skillets were closed as were many of the food stands. Some shops were closed, most notably the Woodcarvers and Christmas Hollow. Seemed ironic to have Christmas Hollow closed, but I'm thinking that it might have had something to with snow on the accessibility ramps. Geyser Gulch was open on Saturday but roped off on Sunday; and Half-Dollar Holler was closed (with the exception of the carousel).
The sing-along-steam train was also open both days (though it was shut-down for a time on Sunday due to ice in the brake lines). We rode Saturday night. We were able to walk right on and sit in the middle car. When we stopped we were right in front of Grandpa. Best seat ever. But when the train moved, it was ccooolllddd, with snow blowing in your face off the roof of the train car in front of you. It started sleeting when Grandpa started telling the story. But it was as beautiful as ever.
On Sunday we arrived in time for the 2:00pm worship service. We (our family) were the only ones there, other than the Parson, Linda (piano) and the guest speaker and his wife. Grandma is always bragging about how well her grandsons are able to sing, so they were invited to sing “Silent Night” as a special during the service. After the service we rode the Flooded Mine, and then saw the new Frosty show. It is much better than the previous one (IMO). Shorty Hatfield still plays “Chris” and the same girl plays “Holly” but the new program features a new character-- the Sugar Plum Faerie. If you've seen the city's rendition of “A Christmas Carol” the new Faerie is very similar to the “Ghost of Christmas Present,” and she adds another dimension of humor to the show. In the new show, the Sugar Plum Faerie helps the kids bring Frosty back to life. It was really a fun show. Though, if they ever asked me, I'd still tell them to bring back TINKER!!! After Frosty we went to see “A Christmas Carol”. Walked right on in, sat center stage, best seats ever. And the show was fabulous as usual.
Well, I've got more to share, but I'm home now and I have to work tomorrow so bed-time beckons.
To Be Continued....
