BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwaonline.com
How much, exactly, is 6.5 million?
In days, it’s 17,808 years.
In miles, it’s 20 trips from Earth to the moon and back.
In Christmas lights, it’s “every board of every building” in Silver Dollar City. And someone checks every single one of those lights every single day of the holiday season.
“In the early hours of the morning, before the sun is up, our lighting team combs every pathway of the park, binoculars in hand, to audit our 6.5 million lights,” said Dalton Fischer, communications manager for the 1880s Branson, Mo., theme park. “Any significant issue will be resolved during this time period, before the park opens to the public later in the day, [but] folks on our lighting team are constantly scouring the park during our hours of operation.”
It’s not just lights on the buildings, either. One of the first things visitors see is an eight-story Christmas tree with thousands of lights that depict angels, shepherds, ornaments and snowflakes, all synced to classic carols.
And “just steps beyond Town Square, the park’s most concentrated light display, Christmas In Midtown, glitters and glows with more than 1.5 million lights,” Fischer added. “That’s 145 miles of the brightest bulbs illuminating the center of The City with festive photo ops fitting for a Christmas card.”
Next year, Silver Dollar City will debut a second massive Christmas tree, he revealed.
“This one will be six stories tall, but it will be a real fir tree,” explained Fischer. “Our current eight-story tree, as beautiful as it is, is artificial, and uses LED light technology to display and project images around the tree. We know there are folks who love the natural beauty of a real tree, so by listening to our guests, our new second tree will have a wonderful home in The Plaza, a new area opening in 2025.
“It’s always important that we understand the market and truly know what our guests are looking for.”
It takes years of research and planning, then months of hands-on work to create Christmas at Silver Dollar City, Fischer says.
“The transition to An Old Time Christmas starts all the way in early July, as our team begins dressing every board of every building in ‘The City’ with strands of LED lights,” he said. “Contrary to what folks may think, we actually take down every single strand of lights at the conclusion of An Old Time Christmas. This is imperative, as the UV rays from the sun will slowly fade the color of lights, and the lights might also be chewed up by squirrels and chipmunks.
“The heaviest lift comes between the week we close Harvest Festival — Oct. 26 this year — and the opening of An Old Time Christmas [Nov. 2],” he added. “It’s all hands on deck as our crews forklift in our largest displays, and our visual teams hang the hundreds of wreaths and miles of garland throughout The City’s streets and buildings.
“Around 200 people make the six-day transition happen.”
Fischer says every family who comes back to Silver Dollar City during the holidays has its own “traditions” or “staples.”
“For some, it’s watching our nightly tree lighting, followed by Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Christmas Light Parade,” he mused. “For others, no visit to the festival is complete without a ride on the Frisco Sing-Along Steam Train or watching a performance of ‘A Dickens’ Christmas Carol.’ Some families may find joy in sharing cups of wassail inside Christmas In Midtown.”
This year, his prediction for the hot new thing is an interactive nutcracker-styled bubble wand.
“When the button on the wand is pushed, bubbles fly from the head of the nutcracker and a chomping sound is heard,” he explained. “But the real fun happens when your wand is in close proximity to another’s — [and] bubbles fly from the other person’s wand!
“Plus, scattered around The City are multiple places with Christmas props where [your bubble wand makes] bubbles fly from the set piece, accompanied by some favorite Christmas carols.
“Our ‘citizens’ spend tens of thousands of hours planning, prepping and decorating,” Fischer said. “An Old Time Christmas is just a testament to their craftsmanship and keen eye for detail.”
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FAQ
An Old Time Christmas
WHEN — Extended this year through Jan. 4
WHERE — Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo.
COST — $92 with multi-day discounts available
INFO — silverdollarcity.com
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FYI
‘Best Theme Park Holiday Event’
An Old Time Christmas has won USA Today’s “Best Theme Park Holiday Event” six times and is in the running again this year, with voting through 11 a.m. Dec. 2 at 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-theme-park-holiday-event-2024/. The winner will be announced Dec. 6.
