We were at the City the evening of the 26th and the afternoon of the 27th. Weather was warm, dry, and clear--NOT a good thing at OTC.
We managed to actually accomplish a few things: we saw Dickens and rode the train on the 26th and saw the saloon show and the Pickers on the 27th.
The shows were all entertaining, of course, and Dickens was mostly its usual self (except that David must have taken time off, for Tom was Scrooge--good job). I do tire of the hip-hop invasion into so many of the shows--now it's at the saloon. Never appropriate, especially at Christmas. Train ride was good (although I was surprised that, given the number of people there, they went down to one train before the end): the sound an lights were all working, and Grandpa did a great job. Greg Bailey was out of town, but the Pickers did their usual great job.
Now, all that said, it was perhaps the least enjoyable visit I have ever made to the city. Except for brief periods of show/activity, the rest of the time was spent in waiting in line. The crowds were pushy and rude. The kids telling jokes to their parents throughout Dickens was particularly irritating.
People were parking just anywhere in the lots they could shove someone aside out of line or sneak between posts or cones or maybe just create a parking spot out of an odd corner. Two people driving the same Chevy Tahoe nearly ran over my wife 3 times (she was standing behind the proper lines in a queue to board the tram) while working their way into a corner of Lot 6--blocking the walking path towards the park.
And why is it so hard to wish someone a Merry Christmas during OTC? Yes, we were there on the 26th and 27th of December, but these are the 2nd and 3rd Days of Christmas. C'mon.
Now, we tried our best to remain in the Christmas spirit--and we did get to say Hi to many of our friends there. But I honestly don't know if I am willing to return to OTC next year. Our schedules don't permit latitude: we go when we can. We found ourselves wishing that it had been 30 degrees and snowing like crazy. The crowds, the waits, and the hassles just don't make for Memories Worth Repeating.
I hate to leave a report like this, but I find myself wishing the City were not nearly so popular sometimes.