Another Thanksgiving Weekend, Another Trip to Branson ... COMPLETE 3/17 - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Soon it was time to head back to Silver Dollar City. As mentioned, we didn't try to get there as soon as they opened today (11:30), I think we arrived around 2 or 3. We decided to start out at the other kid's area, the one we didn't get to do yesterday, so that Joshua could do a few things he would like right off the bat. At the entrance to that section is the building that houses the Living Nativity show, and outside they always have a really nice nativity scene on display. We noticed that this year they had a new one:
We moved on to the ride area, and I think the first thing we did was the swings. Jay didn't want to ride so I went on with Joshua. This was his first time on the grown-up version of this and he wasn't too crazy about it.
(My face is behind the leg of the person in front of us, but you can see Joshua with his jacket hood up, gritting his teeth until it's over
I think we all rode the teacups next, then I went with Joshua on the "Dumbo" ride:
Seems like Joshua wanted to ride the pirate ship, but we nixed that because I knew he had no idea how intense it would really be. Maybe next time, who knows.
Before we left this area we went to the very back corner where the little kid rides are. It won't be long before Joshua's too big for these:
blurry but funny...
On the way out of this area, Joshua wasn't happy about leaving the rides, so he agreed to ride the small roller coaster. Jay went with him, and either I messed up the picture or I never tried to take one. The coaster track is similar to Goofy's Barnstormer. I guess since the crowds weren't that big they were letting the coaster go around three times for each ride. I think Joshua liked it, but one time around might have been enough for him.
After the rides we decided it was time to find something to do inside. We agreed on the cave tour and went to get in line. We could have made the very next tour, except that Joshua said he had to use the bathroom. So I held our place in line for the next tour while Jay took him. After quite some time they came back, and while waiting we learned that the next tour was going to be a lantern-light tour. It sounded cool, but they didn't allow children under 8, so we wouldn't be able to go. It was going to be a while until they had another regular cave tour, so we had to find something else to do. When we left the building to go back into the park we hit a major traffic jam in the central plaza area. They were having the tree-lighting ceremony so there were tons of people crowded around. The problem was that there was no traffic control and people were pushing and shoving everywhere. They could really take a lesson from Disney in this regard. Jay did manage to get some pictures during all the madness:
Finally we escaped the crowds and decided to get something to eat for supper. We didn't want to have another buffet so we started thinking about our options. Jay mentioned that he liked the place we ate at last time, the Lumbercamp, because it had seating upstairs where we could get out of the cold air, at least to some extent. We walked that direction, but coming into the area of the Lumbercamp I saw one of those skillet meals for sale and decided I really wanted one of those. So I got the beef stew in a bread bowl. It was good, but not as good as the regular skillet meals I've had before. Jay and Joshua ordered food from the Lumbercamp and we all went upstairs to eat. I think Joshua had a corn dog, and I have no idea what Jay got. I wasn't happy with the seats this time - several of the tables were so dirty I wouldn't sit at them, and the clean seats I finally found were kind of far away from the space heaters, so we warmed up only slightly. Mainly we warmed up from the food.
After supper, there really wasn't anything else left for us to do. We had decided just to save the cave tour for another trip - Jay and I had gone on it last year while my parents took Joshua with them, so we didn't mind too much. It was dark now and getting too cold to do many rides. About the only priority thing left to do was the train ride, so we headed toward the train station. The line was very long when we arrived, but we went ahead and got in line anyway. Finally the train came, but there were so many people in line we ended up having to wait for the next one. That was okay since we knew we'd be leaving after this.
Jay didn't take any pictures this year on the train, so I'll just briefly give a description. You start out going down the tracks past various light displays, and they are playing Christmas songs in the hopes you will sing along. Once the train gets to the back section of track, it stops. A man is portraying "Grandpa" and he reads the Christmas story from the Bible. While he is reading, the pieces in the large nativity scene behind him light up one by one. They are also playing Mannheim Steamroller music in the background, then as the song ends the nativity pieces turn off. Then the train heads back into the station to pick up the next group. As usual, we all enjoyed the ride, and I was glad for Joshua's sake we finally got to ride, or else he would have complained about it forever!
After arriving back at the station, we made our way up to the exit. We stopped in the Hospitality House gift shop, as Jay had a request from a co-worker to pick up a shot glass for his daughter's collection. He picked one out, and I think he got Joshua a trinket or two. I looked around at the shirts, but amazingly didn't get one - I think I've burned out on T-shirts as souvenirs lately. My big memory from this shop is having to wait so long for Jay to check out at the register - I leaned up against one of the T-shirt racks/bins since I was so tired. Finally he paid for his items and we made our way through the second exit gift shop, where we let Joshua pick out a Cars T-shirt that was on sale - we saved it for a Christmas gift, and he had forgotten all about it! I never did find anything to buy here either, so we made our way to the tram stop and on to the car.
After arriving back at the resort we got ready for bed and also tried to start packing up as many things as possible, then fell into bed to get a little sleep before having to drive home in the morning.
Next up: Day 4, Heading Back Home (Almost Uneventfully)
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Thanks for the TR!
It is nice to hear about Branson - we may go there someday, too.
You seem to be very good at stretching your $$ - I, for one am not very good at that. We could all learn something from you. I'm gald it has been a nice trip -- I used to live in Jackson, so I know how LONG the roads can get in Mississippi.
Oh, and I think they set up that buffet line like that on purpose, to discourage people from going back for seconds! Oh, to be in the world again!
Sorry we will just miss you at WDW. But, you will be there for Independence Day, so I am sure it will be extra wonderful magic!
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small world ... But that's the worst part of driving to Branson from here, the boring delta highways! Straight and flat and nothing but fields to look at. Oh yeah and the ginormous tractors driving right down the 2-lane highway, making it impossible to pass until they have a chance to pull over. Oh the joys of road tripping!
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Oh, and I think they set up that buffet line like that on purpose, to discourage people from going back for seconds!
It was rather discouraging, but golly gee whiz, I paid for a buffet, I'm going back for seconds!
Re: the saving money thing ... ha! That's all pretty much going out the window for our WDW trip this summer. I have such a long list of things to spend money on. That's my weakness - trading pins, T-shirts, postcards, pressed coins, park music CDs, souvenir books, etc. Maybe since we're flying this time around and I know I have to keep the weight limit down I will try to be a little better. But I'm still thinking of doing the old bag-in-a-bag packing technique just in case I do go a little overboard. These smaller trips we take, that makes it a little easier to not buy so many souvenirs, knowing that Disney is waiting ...
Okay, so here's the boring and depressing day: time to load the vehicle and head home. We had started organizing last night so it wasn't too hard, and we were soon checked out and leaving the resort. As usual, there are no pictures for the driving days - maybe one day I will do better - I bought a digital camera with my birthday money just to take on trips so I can take tons of pictures, so maybe next time!
Morning break: Harrison, Arkansas welcome center - restrooms and distribute snacks to everybody
Unplanned stop: side of road - Joshua had been watching a DVD in the back seat, and this portion of the drive was the really winding, mountain roads. He started complaining about his stomach hurting, but I didn't pay him any attention because he tells me that every day! But a few minutes later, he started wailing and crying. I should have known what that meant, but I didn't say anything. Yep, a couple of minutes later, he starts throwing up. So I tell Jay to pull over. It wasn't that much of a mess, although it took a while to make sure everything was clean before heading on. Needless to say, the DVD player remained off for the rest of the drive, just to be safe. Jay keeps saying, even now, that Joshua was sick. But I know it was just motion sickness, because he had the same complaint when we rode in my parents' van last year, both coming and going, again watching a DVD. At first I thought it was just riding in the van, which had a smoother ride, because I also felt slightly queasy. But now I'm going with the DVD/winding road combination. Next time we know to turn the movie off during that part of the drive and just watch the scenery.
Lunch: McDonald's in Conway, Arkansas, then gas up at the Exxon next door
Afternoon stop: rest area just before reaching Lake Village, Arkansas, distribute snacks one last time
Next (and last) stop: our house in Clinton. We unloaded our things and crashed for a little while, before we started cleaning up and putting things away.
Joshua getting sick was definitely not pleasant, but at least the rest of the drive was uneventful, and now I've got a plan for future trips!
Conclusion
I was really looking forward to this trip, our third year in a row to visit Branson over Thanksgiving weekend. I was hoping to have had somebody go along with us for the fun, but having the extra space in the 2-bedroom unit all to ourselves was pretty nice.
We had enjoyed staying at Falls Village last year. We were right in town, so there was not too much driving involved, and the rooms were nice and large. It was so funny to see that we were in the exact same building as last year, and it was extremely nice to have a room on the entry level, and not have to worry about climbing up and down the stairs.
What new things did we experience this trip? Freezing cold weather, even during the middle of the day! We hadn't realized how fortunate we had been on our two previous trips until now. At Silver Dollar City, we finally saw the Saloon show, and got to eat one of their buffet meals. Jay experienced after-Thanksgiving Day shopping in all its glory. We had a yummy meal at Bandana's BBQ. Other than that, everything was a repeat of previous trips, but naturally that's because we loved those things so much.
What did we still miss? Plenty, of course! There are a few attractions in town that we haven't toured yet. We haven't seen several of the musical shows at Silver Dollar City, as well as their presentation of A Christmas Carol. I'm trying to decide, if we go back next year, if we should skip Silver Dollar City and just take in the sights around town. They are getting a new Noah's Ark show that looks like it will be quite a spectacle, and I've read about a Christmas dinner and show at the Dogwood Canyon Nature Park that sounds nice.
What would we do differently next time? Possibly try to stay at Big Cedar again, especially if we want to go to the Nature Park. Maybe focus on some of the shows instead of Silver Dollar City, and take a year off from the park. Maybe. I'm still hoping to be able to go earlier in the week, since Joshua has the whole week off from school. That would enable us to miss the majority of the traffic, which is the only negative aspect I see about Branson. But that would depend on Jay deciding he'd like to take some of his vacation days at that time. Who knows? Stay tuned ...
It's been fun sharing this with you, I hope you enjoyed reading it. At the risk of completely boring you to tears, pretty soon you'll be able to read the trip report for our next outing, which is to ... Branson (yes, again! ). I'm taking Joshua the week after he gets out of school in May (Jay had to save his coveted vacation days for Disney World, so it's another Mom and Son trip, just like two years ago). I just couldn't bear to let a May go by without what has come to be our traditional visit. Hopefully I can get started on (and finished with) my next Branson trip report before it's time to leave for Disney World, but I'm not counting on it, so it may be a while! Thanks for sticking with me through all this!
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Jay went with him, and either I messed up the picture or I never tried to take one. 
The coaster track is similar to Goofy's Barnstormer. I guess since the crowds weren't that big they were letting the coaster go around three times for each ride. I think Joshua liked it, but one time around might have been enough for him. 
So I held our place in line for the next tour while Jay took him. After quite some time they came back, and while waiting we learned that the next tour was going to be a lantern-light tour. It sounded cool, but they didn't allow children under 8, so we wouldn't be able to go. 
It was going to be a while until they had another regular cave tour, so we had to find something else to do. When we left the building to go back into the park we hit a major traffic jam in the central plaza area. They were having the tree-lighting ceremony so there were tons of people crowded around. The problem was that there was no traffic control and people were pushing and shoving everywhere. 
They could really take a lesson from Disney in this regard. Jay did manage to get some pictures during all the madness:
Once the train gets to the back section of track, it stops. A man is portraying "Grandpa" and he reads the Christmas story from the Bible. While he is reading, the pieces in the large nativity scene behind him light up one by one. They are also playing Mannheim Steamroller music in the background, then as the song ends the nativity pieces turn off. Then the train heads back into the station to pick up the next group. As usual, we all enjoyed the ride, and I was glad for Joshua's sake we finally got to ride, or else he would have complained about it forever! 
But a few minutes later, he started wailing and crying. I should have known what that meant, but I didn't say anything. Yep, a couple of minutes later, he starts throwing up. 
So I tell Jay to pull over. It wasn't that much of a mess, although it took a while to make sure everything was clean before heading on. Needless to say, the DVD player remained off for the rest of the drive, just to be safe. Jay keeps saying, even now, that Joshua was sick. But I know it was just motion sickness, because he had the same complaint when we rode in my parents' van last year, both coming and going, again watching a DVD. At first I thought it was just riding in the van, which had a smoother ride, because I also felt slightly queasy. But now I'm going with the DVD/winding road combination. Next time we know to turn the movie off during that part of the drive and just watch the scenery. 
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