Some people are Disneyland people.
Some people are Six Flags people.
Some people are Sea World people.
There's probably even a few Worlds of Fun people out there.
As for Ellie and Ethan, it seems that they are Silver Dollar City people.
That became very evident several months back when we made the suggestion of going to Silver Dollar City for Ellie's birthday. The overjoyed response of both kids made it very clear that is what we were going to do. Therefore, for Ellie's birthday a couple of weeks ago, we headed to Branson for a three day, two night vacation that would include two full days at Silver Dollar City courtesy of our fancy new season passes.
Basically from the time we arrived at our condo on Sunday, both kids were anxiously awaiting their entry into Silver Dollar City. After a full day of swimming and belly full of pizza, it was finally time for Ellie and Ethan to head to bed for the night with the promise of a trip to SDC awaiting them the next morning. Before we knew it, the next morning had arrived and it was time to make our way to the park.
Once we arrived at Silver Dollar City with my parents in tow, the first thing we did was seek out some craftsmen to watch. While both the woodcarver and the glass blowers were off for the day on Monday, we at least got the chance to enjoy watching a blacksmith create his wares. Before too long, the kids got antsy just watching craftsmen create things and Ellie, in particular, was ready to ride a ride. Her ride of choice? Mystic River Falls.
Since our trip to SDC last year, Ellie has mentioned Mystic River Falls and her desire to ride it again on multiple occasions. In fact, it's not farfetched to call it her favorite amusement park ride of all time. What was exciting about this trip though was the fact that Ethan was now tall enough to take part in the action. Therefore, after taking in a few more sights, our family split off from my parents and got in line for Mystic River Falls. For the record, the lines for this ride normally are about 40 minutes in length. Somehow though, we got in the shortest line ever and were on the ride within 10 minutes!
Once our wild river rapids ride was over (and we checked poor Ethan for a concussion), we decided it was time to eat a quick lunch of some tasty BBQ before continuing on our journey through the park. It's evident that we all have our favorite things about Silver Dollar City. For example, Ellie loves Mystic River Falls and Ethan adores Grandfather's Mansion (a twisty-turny funhouse). As for me though, I think my favorite part of this trip to SDC was Nik Wallenda's Zirkus.
The Zirkus, which took place in the Silver Dollar City Opera House, consisted of a variety of different acts to enjoy. There were trained poodles, various contortionists, tightrope walkers, and a very enthusiastic clown. While I was certainly enjoying myself, that was not the case for Ethan. In fact, the little man was so tired that he fell fast asleep on my shoulder for nearly the entire performance. No worries though as he did wake up just in time to tell "Blippi" (the circus clown) how much he enjoyed seeing him.
After we made our way out of the Zirkus, Ellie and I made our way to the legendary Fire in the Hole roller coaster which is celebrating its final year of operation at Silver Dollar City. While I wasn't sure how Ellie would handle a roller coaster, I was happy to see that she loved it. In fact, the second we got off, she was already asking to ride again. Sadly though, it wasn't a great time to do so. Instead, we went to go meet up with Bethany, Ethan, and my parents near the RiverBlast ride where my dad and Ethan had actually gotten drenched in what is known as the world's largest water fight. The pride that both guys showed as they got off the ride soaking wet was well worth it though. I honestly wish I had a picture of it!
Before we knew it, the time had come for us to leave the park for the day and head back to our rental house for the night. Never fear though as the next day would come soon enough. After an enormous breakfast with my parents, the four of us said our goodbyes to them and headed back to Silver Dollar City for one more day of fun.
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| PANCAKE!!! |
As soon as we arrived, we made our way to the American Plunge where two straight trips down the log-flume ride left us soaking wet. Since we were already drenched, we figured there was no time like the present to take a ride on Mystic River Falls. Following our further drenching on Mystic River Falls, we decided to take a family trip on Fire in the Hole before making our way to Marvel Cave.
Now, you may be thinking that Marvel Cave is yet another ride at Silver Dollar City. However, if you're thinking that, you'd be mistaken. The park was actually constructed adjoining a massive cave which happens to give tours each day and Bethany and I were bound and determined to take the kids down into a cave. After a quick snack and bathroom break, we took our place in the line and patiently awaited our cave tour. Finally, the time had come and we began our journey down hundreds of stairs to the caverns below.
Not long after we entered the cave, our guide asked the group of 40 if anyone was celebrating a birthday. Low and behold, this day marked Ellie's actual birthday and as such, he led the crowd in a rousing chant of "Happy Birthday, Ellie!". With that, we descended deeper and deeper into the cave. Along the way, we actually reached an area where our guide turned out all of the lights in the cave and lit a single candle for light. While Ethan wasn't fazed by that at all, Ellie found herself clinging a little tightly to my legs and that point. It also didn't help that she was cold. Once the lights were turned back on, we proceeded to head even deeper into the cave, going through some tight areas in the process. Eventually, we reached the other end of the cave and proceeded to climb up multiple flights of stairs until we finally reached the train car that would take us the rest of the way to the surface.
After disembarking from the train, Ethan and I made a quick run to the bathrooms as the little man had needed to go potty for at least half of our time underground. Following that, we headed to the kids' area of Silver Dollar City and spent some time riding various ride with the kids there. Finally, the time had really come for us to consider heading home as we knew that we had a three to four hour car ride ahead of us. However, we let the kids talk us into one more ride on Fire in the Hole before leaving the park. That being said, it really wasn't a hard sell.
Not long after we got in the car, Ellie was already talking about coming back to Silver Dollar City again. In fact, she's brought it up at least once a week since then. She and Ethan have even tried to convince me that we need to drive to Branson some day while Bethany's at work. Even though I love SDC, I'm not convinced that we should do that...yet.
#DaddyWrite
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