Enter July 9th: the most pleasant day of the entire trip weatherwise. It was still quite hot (90 degrees), but much cooler than the previous days. Plus, Silver Dollar City was our destination, and there was a surprising amount of shade in the park.
Starting out the day, happy as can be, though already tired.
We started out at the Thunderation, a crazy ride that we all loved (though it gave some of us a headache because of the intensity). The entire park is themed as an old west town (with some steampunk elements in some parts). It was literally oozing charm at every turn, and we ate it up.
We tended to hang out with Lara a lot because she moved at the same pace as us. Or our kids really liked each other, hard to say for sure. Also, Gabe is trying to eat his fist in this picture for unknown reasons.
I think most of the family made it onto this first ride together. We all split up just after, but it was a fun one to start with.
From the back you can see Ben and Jenny in there too.
Maiya posing in Devri and Gabe's photobomb.
One of the most fun toys at any theme park: the wet finger smasher.
The tragic backstory of this picture: this (very) young women forced her cousin to drink hydrogen peroxide with her. It did not end well.
And then his own sister did the same thing!
And the conniving girls finally met their match: each other.
How many Saville grandkids does it take to roll a ball?
Exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
The Grand Exposition: Area of Silver Dollar City where they have rides for kids, some of which I've never seen before.
I mean, I've seen these swings, but others were more different.
I have no idea what this is, but the kids enjoyed it.
Maybe it's caterpillar dumbo?
Quite a few of the bunch decided to go tour the Marvel Cave which Silver Dollar City was built around originally. They loved it, but due to Devri's heart condition and general unwellness, we were unable to go. Michael went, though. His 4 month later review: "It was really cool. 4 1/2 stars." Considering most of his reviews consist of "it was good", apparently it was pretty amazing.
Brian: the jellyfish of the cave
Michael: that's rocks with water dripping down
Brian: this tunnel is called "the descent into madness"
Michael: these are rocks
Alaina loved our kids. Here's Gabe giving her a hug, or attempting to.
Rachel gave her piggy-back rides sometimes.
The boat that rocks back and forth. The girls in front were especially excited, you can see it written in their forehead creases. The second row (our family) was actually excited though.
On the other side of the boat. Who's going to win?
Gabe won "most excited and/or terrified" during the ride.
These two were peas in a pod the entire trip. I'm really sad I missed Jenny also getting up on the rails with them though, because it was even better. Also pictured: Gabe limbo'ing under them.
This little roller coaster was shorter than it took to load up on it.
Part of Silver Dollar City is all of the shows that they have. This is the saloon show. A lot of us loved it, a few of us did not (sorry Shayne and your boys).
This picture was awesome enough to be included twice. I could have deleted it the second time, but I just couldn't. You're welcome. Still not pictured: Jenny up on the fence with them. I'm really disappointed in myself for being too slow on the draw.
A log flume ride where we definitely got wet. Gabe reminded me that it's called "The American Plunge", I'm glad someone remembered it. Gabe's review: "I loved that ride, it was so fun, I wish I could go on it again. 5 stars."
The girls after the plunge.
We eventually met back up as a group somewhere in there. Here Jenny is either selling papes a'la Newsies, or doing a perfect impression of an airplane. Or she's trying to get someone's attention. Probably the airplane though.
The big kids loved being able to go off together on their own with different adults joining them throughout the day. This ride, "Time Traveler" was amazing. The car would spin around while you went on loops and other things. Brian's review: "I felt like I went back in time. 5 stars." Brian's review of the line: "Took a long time. 1 star."
In 1989, the original 7 Savilles went to Silver Dollar City (we lived a lot closer in Topeka, KS back then) for a day or two. During the trip we took this tintype of the family.
33 years later, we were all back in the same place and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to recreate it. Only problem: some of us were slightly larger than we used to be. Definitely not me though, I stayed about the same.
And then we had some fun with it.
No one knows exactly who drew their weapon first, but it didn't end well.
The siblings, as rough and tough as they get.
My favorite is Alisa's expression. I can tell she's looking my way while drawing that knife and saying, "We all knew it would end this way someday little brother."
On a serious note, I could tell that some were not thrilled to take so much time out of a really fun day to take pictures, but they were so good natured about it and knew that it was important to me (and I hope others as well). Looking back at the day, I already don't remember many of the rides, but this time with my family I will remember forever. It meant the world to me that everyone went along with it, so thank you to my siblings and parents!
Ma and Pa
Who would have guessed that Devri would also be into dressing up in old costumes and posing for pictures? We all didn't see that coming.
Hey little lady.
Here we were whispering sweet nothings to each other. Or making out, hard to tell for sure.
Since we had an "old timey" picture with Devri's parents from Knott's Berry Farm in 2017, we decided we should also have one with my parents. They were good sports about it, as always, and we had a great time picking out outfits and weapons/accessories.
I can't tell if dad is ready to me or Devri, but most likely me. He likes her more.
We seriously know how to take a serious picture. Especially Gabe.
But also how to have fun with it.
Not sure if Michael is trying to shoot some incoming bandits or his own father. Probably his father, he likes the bandits more.
Waiting at Mystic River Falls. We were able to get most of the family together for this one.
We thought it was going to be a classic river raft ride...but it turned out the be the best one any of us have ever been on, and I think ever will be on. The white water part of it was really fantastic, but near the end of the ride, the entire raft gets put onto a giant elevator that takes you up 80 feet and drops you into the biggest waterslide I've ever seen for a huge drop. Seriously, we can't overstate how amazing it was and you probably have to ride it to truly appreciate it, but maybe this video might help you get an idea of what it's like.
Rachel's review: "It literally took you up a giant elevator and the raft went down a giant slide. It was amazing! It was like nothing I've ever seen before for a raft ride. 5 stars."
Gabe really wanted to do this water ride with water guns all around on the boat and the shore, so Devri took him.
They loved this ride. Devri's review: "It was so fun that I'm wondering how we can go back to Missouri so you can ride it too. 5 stars." Also 5 stars from Gabe.
It was right across the way from Mystic River Falls.
It was really good to be wet this day, since it was still quite hot, and they went 2 or 3 times in a row.
Also not pictured in here was the Powderkeg ride that literally took the train of cars and moved them to another track for the actual ride. It was probably my favorite I rode all day, which is actually difficult to say since there were so many amazing rides there. I didn't even get to all of them.
Ah, my old friend. We meet again.
What wasn't pictured the entire day was Devri's electric scooter that we rented. Due to the (seemingly always mentioned) heart problems, we decided it was best if she rented one so that she could enjoy the day more, and it was one of the best decisions made that day. I know she felt ridiculous, but it really helped save her that day.
At the end of the day, we were able to gather the grandkids on a huge rocking chair. You can almost see the rocking chair in this picture.
Despite how it looks in this picture, the kids really had fun with it all and didn't complain too much.
To be honest, when Alisa and Jared surprised us with their location for the 2022 Saville family reunion, we had some serious doubts about Branson, MO in July. Anyone who has been to Missouri in July knows why (unless they enjoy the feeling of swimming in their clothes). On top of that, when Devri started having health problems in March, we just didn't know if we could even make it work. While we had a lot of fun with everything else leading up to this day, it was truly our day at Silver Dollar City that won us over for the trip. The entire park was full of charm and amazing details (which is what Devri and I especially love).
Anyone who follows this blog knows how much we love Disney parks, and while they still are our parks of choice just due to the quality and attention to detail in everything there, Silver Dollar City now has a special place in our hearts that's near the same level as Disney. They were really efficient with their ride loading and unloading (excepting that tiny roller coaster) and have a lot of really fun and unique elements throughout the entire park.
We had only two regrets for this trip: 1) that we didn't go to Silver Dollar City instead of the waterpark. The waterpark was fun and great, but it was just another water park like any other, and Silver Dollar City was much more fun. And 2) we wish that Branson was much easier to get to. If there were quick flights directly there, I have a feeling we'd make it a yearly or bi-yearly tradition. That's an easy 6 stars for Silver Dollar City.
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