On the Map: A Silver Dollar City Christmas
Located in the heart of Branson, Missouri, Silver Dollar City is a family friendly amusement park that features more than forty rides and attractions. And what makes it extra special is that its visitors are immediately transported back in time to 1880s Ozarks culture with the park’s demonstrating craftsmen, period costumes, and classic American fare.
And while we have yet to celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s never too early to celebrate Jesus’ birth—and Silver Dollar City does it like no other amusement park in America.
Transforming the 61-acre amusement park into a winter wonderland, Silver Dollar City’s Christmas festival features more than six million lights, an eight-story Christmas tree, masterful adaptions of popular Christmas plays, a Christmas light parade, and so much more. But what we love most about this festival is that you can’t help but miss the fact that this amusement park is celebrating the true meaning of Christmas: Jesus. The telling of the story of Jesus’ birth during the beautiful Frisco Sing-Along Steam Train being one of the highlights!
To help you and your family get the most out of your visit to Silver Dollar City this Christmas season, we asked Doug and Nancy Pfitzinger—a couple from Missouri who has made Silver Dollar City an annual tradition—to share their personal itinerary for visiting the park. Keep reading for their tips on planning your trip, getting discounted tickets, avoiding the long lines, and getting the most out of your day at the park. (All photos courtesy of silverdollarcity.com.)
“We are so thankful for this Christian theme park, and it’s become a wonderful start to our Christmas season,” says Nancy. “When it comes to visiting any amusement park, it can be easy to get caught up in the schedule and rushing from place to place. But for Doug and I, we’ve discovered this basic schedule gives us time to enjoy our favorite shows, savor our meals we look forward to as we sit outside in the beautiful weather, visit with friends (or strangers) while we eat or stand in line, and end our day in those comfortable rocking chairs on the Town Square as we watch the Christmas tree light show. There are things we look forward to doing and experiencing each year, and we’ve found that this little itinerary makes our trip to Silver Dollar City a truly enjoyable and pleasant experience—one we look forward to every year.”
The Pfitzinger's 1-Day Itinerary for Silver Dollar City's Christmas Festival
Planning and Preparing
Silver Dollar City’s website will tell you that the cheapest and least crowded day to visit is Thursday. Normally $71 for adults, Thursday tickets sell for only $45, but these discounted tickets must be purchased ahead of time. Among other locations, the website lists two Country Marts near Silver Dollar City where you can purchase the discounted tickets: 18128 State Hwy 13 in Branson West, or 1447 MO-248 (Shepard of the Hills Expy) in Branson. Be sure to visit the website to learn more about tickets.
Our tradition is to visit Silver Dollar City the first Thursday in November—mainly because the weather usually cooperates, and the crowds aren’t overwhelming.
The park opens at 1 p.m., but we like to arrive around 12:15 p.m. The gate opens at noon, which allows you entrance into the Main Street section of the park, but the rest of the park is roped off until 1 p.m. And so, we stand at the rope ready to make our way to the Opera House to see A Dickens Christmas Carol!
A Dickens Christmas Carol
Viewing A Dickens Christmas Carol at the beginning of our day sets up the rest of the day perfectly for us. The show is very popular—the singing is just absolutely incredible—so making the first showtime keeps us from having to wait in line later in the day.
To avoid lines entirely, you can purchase a $10 show pass that allows you to walk right into the theater. It’s well worth it for this show if you don’t want to hurry to the theater like we do when the park first opens.
Lumbercamp Falls Skillet
After the show, we love to get our lumberjack skillet meal from Lumbercamp Falls Skillet right outside the Opera House. It’s all outside, but we just love sitting on the picnic bench in the cool weather.
Browsing the Shops
After we eat, we walk around and enjoy all the shops. We particularly enjoy Christmas Hollow, where we purchase three new Christmas ornaments for our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. We love the idea of our grandson having his own set of Christmas tree ornaments when the time comes to have his very own tree.
The Living Nativity
During our shopping, we like to stop at the Riverfront Playhouse to view The Living Nativity, a 15-minute show that has many scheduled times and no line.
It’s A Wonderful Life
Eventually, we make our way to the Red Gold Heritage Hall to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. We’ve never purchased a line pass for this show, and we have yet to wait in line.
If you and your group prefer rides, the Powder Keg and Outlaw Run are two of our family favorites.
Frisco Sing-Along Steam Train
After It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s usually starting to get dark, so we make our way to the train depot and stand in line for the sing-along train ride. We get to see all the lights from the train and they have a wonderful surprise in the middle where they stop the train and tell the Christmas story! And we do love to do the sing-along with the Christmas carols on the train!
Christmas Light Parade
After the train ride, we get our funnel cake and do a little more shopping through the stores. Eventually, we make our way to the Parade route for the Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Light Parade at the end of the evening, and we absolutely love the parade!
Joy on Town Square
After the parade, we head up to see Joy on Town Square, a spectacular light show featuring an eighty-foot tree! We usually find an ice cream to eat as we watch the masterful light display of more than one million lights. We enjoy this until it’s time to go home! It’s a perfect amount of time from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
