Silver Dollar City’s Old Time Christmas Festival

Silver Dollar City presents one of the nation’s most spectacular holiday festivals, profiled in 2003 as one of the top 10 places in the country to have a bright Christmas by USA Today and the A&E Network, and spotlighted in the Wall Street Journal. An Old Time Christmas features a dazzling Holiday Light Parade, a dramatic five-story Special Effects Christmas Tree, and a popular musical production of the famous classic, A Dickens’ Christmas Carol.

During An Old Time Christmas, the theme park is transformed into an evening wonderland with over four million lights and 1,000 decorated Christmas trees. The colorful Holiday Light Parade, with brilliant musical floats, glides through the streets of the City each evening. The animated float Santa’s Sleigh leads the Holiday Light Parade of floats such as Santa’s Toy Shop, Jack-in-the-Box and the Little Engine That Could. Another popular feature lighting up the Square is the five-story Special Effects Christmas Tree, which glows with over 250,000 lights coordinated to blaze with the musical movements of Christmas songs.

Silver Dollar City presents its biggest show ever, A Dickens’ Christmas Carol, an original adaptation of the famous classic by Charles Dickens, with elaborate sets and two flying systems for stunning visual effects. Elements include flying spirits, vanishing ghosts, revolving scenery, pyrotechnic special effects and scenic projections. The production presents the heartwarming Christmas story with a wise-cracking Ghost of Christmas Past and a musical emphasis. A Dickens’ Christmas Carol showcases a talented cast of 14 actors, accompanied by a live band.

A returning favorite feature of the festival is the re-creation of the ancient town of Bethlehem, which fills the Red Gold Heritage Hall with themed sets, musicand handmade crafts from Israel. The Living Nativity is staged upon a two-story theater-in-the-round, presenting an inspiring look at the story of the birth of Christ.

Each evening at 5:30 p.m., guests join together on the Square for the lighting of the five-story Special Effects Christmas Tree. Silver Dollar City‘s unique creation, the Special Effects Christmas Tree presents classics such as “Carol of the Bells” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” in a spectacular light and sound show. The performances begin with the tree-lighting ceremony and continue every 15 minutes until park closing.

The tastes of the season are in abundance throughout the park, from a Prime Rib Buffet at the Mill Restaurant to traditional favorites such as Turkey and Gravy with Cran-Apple Raisin Dressing. Festive holiday treats include old-fashioned Chocolate and Marshmallow S’Mores, Gingerbread Cookies, Apple Dumplings with Cinnamon Ice Cream, Hot Wassail, Cappucino and creamy Hot Chocolate.

Holiday shows include Cedric Benoit and the Cajun Connection performing in a Cajun-style holiday show, and the rollicking Christmas comedy “Frontier Fa-la-la-la Follies” in the Silver Dollar Saloon. The Cumberland Quartet and Keith Allen, appearing as “Redkneckers,” return in “A Christmas Homecoming.”

Especially for kids, Tinker, the 17-foot Talking Christmas Tree talks, sings and interacts with kids. Santa himself is available to hear requests, and kids can make ornaments, create Christmas cards and decorate Christmas cookies. Guests are invited to join in the singing of Christmas carols at the historic Wilderness Church and ride the Silver Dollar Sing-Along Steam Train.

During An Old Time Christmas, Silver Dollar City is open Wednesdays through Sundays November 6 – December 5, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturdays, noon to 10:00 p.m. The park is also open on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on November 26, noon to 10:00 p.m. The park is open Thursdays through Sundays December 9 – 19, openDecember 22-23 (closed December 24-25) and open December 26-30, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturdays, noon to 10:00 p.m. For ticket information and schedules, call 1-800-831-4FUN.