Silver Dollar City Budget

we hit the park a couple times each year. Consistently, for 2 adults & 2 teens, we spend anywhere from 30-40 for lunch. We purchase a thermal souvenir cup so it can be refilled & use it all day. We also ask for cups of water at each soda fountain station....the water is free & I feel it's cleaner than the water fountains.

Some families carry backpacks or haul coolers in wagons. We just load up our purses & pockets with snacks. Beef jerky, granola bars, etc are typically what we carry into the park.

We love the skillets down by Thunderation (rollercoaster). The options are tasty & it's a fav with the entire family. One bowl will feed an adult & a child. We usually add a smoked turkey leg to that order. :) The buffet in the Mine Dining/Boarding House....at the entrance... is pricey, but a ton of food options & very filling. Oh, & during each festival, they have a special food barn filled with great food/desserts.

& speaking of desserts, that's our downfall. That's where the park sucks up our $$. When the kids were little, they wanted to try all of the food. Now they'll hit one splurge for the day....& that's pretty much it. Danged proud of the kids for learning how to travel wisely & frugally!

With a 5 & an 8yo, I bet you'll be busy! It's a great park & we've been enjoying it for 45+ years now! Birthday #50 is coming up for me, & I remember going as a toddler! I am proud to say that we were there for the 50th anniv party...& took all of the kids/adults in the family. Silver Dollar City is truly a family fav for all of us. :)

Oh, & that ride with the screen is long gone! Check out the website & look over the rides before you go. In the past 5 years, the park has almost doubled the # of rides....making it a pleasure for kids of all ages. A best bet would be to check out the performance schedule, plan your shows for the day, & then hit all of the rides in that specific area of the park. Doing all of one zone (at a time) is pretty much the only way to see the whole park in 1 day. We then hit our favs on the 2nd day.

Hey!! & don't forget to tour the cave & ride the train!

We just got back from Silver Dollar City. Our dd is kind of picky, so we went to a place that does pasta and paid 11 for me and her. It can get pricey, for sure. We brought our own snacks, which helped. I also brought a couple of bottles of water that we kept re-filling at water fountains around the park, which definitely cut down on drinking costs.

Food was definitely our biggest expense, and we splurged on ice cream as well. We took cash and I'm sure we spent around 60 dollars on food between the three of us, and that was with us sharing the treats like funnel cake and strawberries and ice cream. Our only souvenir was a shot glass from the glass blowers shop, an old-timey photo and candy from the candy store.

We stayed at a condo with a kitchen, so we left around 3:30 to take a nap and have dinner before going back, which made lunch our only big meal at the park 2 days in a row. We also did the 2 day deal that our hotel offered, so our food costs were for the 2 days and we did not buy drinks there. They offer souvenir mugs that you pay like, 10 or 15 dollars for and then a small fee to refill, so that's a possibility. But since I carry a big bag anyway, it made more sense for us to bring our own water bottles to refill.

Have a great time! If you go to the silver dollar city website it will give you a map and give you a schedule of things going on.

when we went we bought the mugs that you can refill for cheap. well worth the price we paid. especially if going for 2 days. seems pricey at first. we have used them for years, still have them many years later. If you eat a good breakfast before hand you shld do okay. we have in past taken bread and old cuts to take. left in car and went back later for sandwiches. We also buy kette corn, fills you up, get alot and good for you too.

I am the ultimate cheapskape and refuse to pay what theme parks want for anything. When we go to Silver Dollar Park we pack sack lunches and bring refillable water bottles. Years ago we would buy two of their vegetable medleys and split it; that worked until the kids got old enough to eat an entire one themselves. Another year we went to the pizza place, where it's priced by the child's age. But now we just bring sandwich fixings, go back to the van and tell the kids to eat up because they won't be getting snacks. My kids are used to this so really don't expect boughten snacks.

K.