Hello all. I love this site and rediscovering my favorite park through others' eyes.
I'm coming back this fall with the family and my excitement for my upcoming trip has rubbed off on a coworker who has decided to go to SDC with her husband for the very first time in a few weeks for their anniversary (no kids yet)! As they have never been to SDC and I want their first visit to be as enjoyable as possible, I put together the following list of tips to give them. I welcome your input as to if these are all still accurate and if you have any to add.
Here they are, in no particular order...
1. Silver Dollar City's website (
www.SilverDollarCity.com) has a lot of important information regarding hour of operation, daily shows schedules and special events. These vary by date, so be sure to review the website before your visit.
2. Also, Silver Dollar City's website has good information regarding the park's many shops, exhibits, restaurants and rides as well as a very useful 'Frequent Asked Questions' page (
http://www.silverdollarcity.com/services/faq.aspx) that you should consider reviewing beforehand, especially if this is your first visit to the park.
3. Expect a lot of walking in the park, so wear comfortable shoes. Also, check the future daily forecasts on
www.weather.com for Branson, MO prior to your visit so you can pack appropriate clothing.
4. The admission gate and town square areas open at 8:30 each day before the rest of the park's scheduled opening time. You can take advantage of this to arrive early and avoid the bulk of the traffic from visitors arriving later when the park opens.
5. If you do arrive early, there is usually live entertainment in the town square and, weather permitting, a very patriotic flag raising ceremony before the park is opened. Also, the Molly Mill restaurant in the town square opens at 8:30 each morning and serves a wonderful breakfast buffet.
6. A tour of Marvel Cave is included in your park admission. These tours are very popular, leave at scheduled times and can each include only a limited number of persons. If you want to be included on a cave tour, be sure to stop at the Cave Information Desk in the Hospitality House building as you enter the park and ask about that day's available tours.
7. The traditional cave tour a one-hour walking tour which includes 700 stair steps and a difficult stair climb to exit, so visitors should consider doing it when they are rested and their energy levels are high.
8. The Sullivan’s Mill bakery bakes fresh breads and cookies daily that often sell out before the end of the day, including very popular small loaves of cinnamon bread. You are allowed to purchase your bread at the Mill early in the day while it is still being made and then pick it up later that same day after it has been baked.
9. Similar to Sullivan's Mill, many of the popular items in Eva & Delilah’s Bakery are made fresh daily and may be sold-out before the end of the day. Keep this in mind if there is a favorite treat you really want.
10. The shops in the park can take your purchases to the "Ozark Marketplace" building at the park exit so you can pick them up as you leave. The service is called "package pickup". Ask your shop-keeper about it and when the cut-off time for the service will be that day.
11. If you ride the Steam Train, the best seats are in the middle two cars, looking out the right side windows.
Thank you in advance for your help.