Silver Dollar City is one of my favorite amusement parks to visit. I remember dipping candles there decades ago when my parents first took my sisters and me. My parents went to Silver Dollar City in their 20s! My husband and I started going when we were in our 20s. And now we are so happy to get to take our kids. But it all started back in the late 1800s with people coming to check out a cave up in the Ozark mountains.
Over our Labor Day weekend, my husband treated us to a day at the park. I was a bit apprehensive about going on a long holiday weekend but this was our only time we could go. That’s especially since it’s 7.5+ hours to get there! Thankfully, we were visiting family that only lives 1.5 hours away which worked out perfectly to have free room & board (Thanks mom & dad!!!).
Luckily, my husband was super motivated about getting there when the park opened. Some back story about why this is so significant – we are known to sleep in and never leave our house when we plan. It’s the Magee way (not all Magee’s just our little family – so all you Magee’s that have it together don’t get your feathers ruffled). Anyway, he was so motivated about getting there early, he set the alarm for 6 am. SIX A.M.!!! That’s after driving 8 hours the day before. In my head I was like, “Who is this man?!”
Since we got there so early, the place was practically deserted!!! It was like we were in a surreal dream where we won the lottery and paid to not have to share a whole amusement park. We literally did not have to wait in line for Fire in the Hole. We hardly had to wait in line for anything for the first hour or two! Eeeeeee!
SAVING TIME BEFORE YOU GO
There were two main things to do before going – being dressed before going to bed, packing our gear ahead of time, and purchasing tickets online. I actually had the kids go to sleep in the clothes they would be wearing the next day. Let me explain… I’ve got 3 kids. Each kids would take at the very least of 10 minutes of dwadling while getting dressed even with me picking out their clothes ahead of time. That’s a total of 30 minutes wasted getting ready to go.
The second idea was getting all the stuff I thought we would need ahead of time. Thankfully my mom let me borrow her fanny pack. (My man wasn’t as exited at the uber attractive fanny pack. LOL) She already had some white wipes, tissue, Advil, etc in it and I just added my wallet and phone. If I had remembered I would have brought the backpack on our trip instead and packed it with bottle water and snacks. That probably would have saved us about $50! Oh well, I’m so glad because we would have missed some of the delicious treats like the GIANT fried pies(literally the size of my face)!
The last idea I have to save time before you go is to purchase tickets online before getting there. Luckily, there was a deal on the Silver Dollar City website to save $23 per adult ticket and $13 per kid ticket if we purchased our tickets online and used these before a specific date. Not only did this save us $85+ tax but also saved us a lot of time. I knew my Marine husband was on a mission to get there at rope drop and we weren’t going to miss it especially wasting time in line.
SAVING MONEY AT ANY AMUSEMENT PARK
There are three major expenses when visiting any amusement parks and Silver Dollar City is no exception. These are entry tickets, food, and souvenirs. Be sure to check on deals for tickets through their online website to save money like we did. They generally list all of the current deals and coupons going on.
Some amusement parks allow people to bring in snacks and drinks. Silver Dollar City is one of these parks(as of this writing). Glass containers and alcoholic beverages are not allowed. We didn’t remember the snacks for this trip but did enjoy the delicious food and the free ice water!
Plan you budget ahead of time for food and souvenirs. Before even entering the park, I talked with my kids about their chore money that they had earned and could spend. We checked the online Silver Dollar City APP for the location of the toy store in the park (it’s near Fireman’s Landing). Also, a heads up… be sure to wait until the end of the day for picking out toy type souvenirs because if your kids are like mine they will want to open up and play with their toys right away!
ENJOY THE GUEST SERVICES AVAILABLE!
Package pickup. For grownup’s (and kid’s) souvenirs, if you just can’t wait to get something, be sure to take advantage of the package pickup service. During the middle of the day we happened to pass by the candle store and nostalgia kicked in. See the candle dipping post by clicking here(SOON TO COME). So, of course, the kids and I did this. It wasn’t the coolest of days and we had many more rides to take so the package pickup was a perfect way to protect our little treasures.
Celebrate Your Birthday. At the time of this writing if you are celebrating your birthday within 7 days of your actual birthday SDC will gift you a Birthday Button, mini-cone of ice cream, and a mini-bag of Kettle Corn(KETTLE COOOORRRNNN MMMMMMM). There are also several 25% off discounts from many different stores at the park. Be sure to check here before you go to find out the current birthday celebration gifts.
Charging Stations. Who uses their phones like old school walkie talkies to keep up with your family while at an amusement park??? We do! And who uses their phone to take photos? Ok, all of the people in world just raised their hands. Thank goodness for the charging stations at Silver Dollar City. From the Charging Station info page – “Five stations, powered by Verizon, are located in Fireman’s Landing. Another three stations are located near the Traveler’s Stop restaurant, and three more are located near the Opera House. Please note: USB/power cords are not furnished at the charging stations.”
More Information. Click this link to the Guest Services page for more information about Accessibility, Family Amenities, History of the park, Lost & Found, the SDC APP, Parking, Recognize a Citizen, Season Pass Holders, Seniors, Sweepstakes & Giveaways, Wellness Walking, and more.
Silver Dollar City is sooo much fun! Our kids loved it so much they want to come back. I might have to check out the Christmas holiday fun coming up this year. I love the light parade, millions of lights, and a new HUGE tree that will light up with the music playing in the park. Hopefully, I’ll follow my own advice on this article and save time, money, and sanity on our next trip!
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