Making Family Memories at Silver Dollar City with Chuggington

This post is sponsored by Chuggington and Silver Dollar City.

Let me start by saying planning vacations is not my forte. I’ve been known to wing it and that generally leaves something to be desired at the end of the trip. 

Silver Dollar City is a dream come true for me! It is an internationally awarded 1880s-style theme park located in Branson, Missouri and has absolutely everything you could possibly want to create lifelong memories with the whole family. There are over 40 thrilling rides and attractions, live shows and concerts, 100 resident craftsmen demonstrating America’s heritage crafts, 18 award-winning restaurants and 60 unique shops – all sitting atop one of Missouri’s deepest caves. You guessed it, you can even explore the caves!

You can easily go back to the park three days in a row and still have areas to explore. And now through July 24, National Kid’s Fest featuring Nik Wallenda’s Zirkus and Chuggington Adventure Depot is at Silver Dollar City so you will definitely want to make plans to be there for the majority of the day.

I was extra excited to take my three year old son, Jaden, to Silver Dollar City for this trip because this boy LOVES the hit series Chuggington. With characters like Wilson, Koko and Brewster starring as young trainees learning to ride the rails through exciting adventures of teamwork, friendship and fun in the traintastic world of Chuggington, even I get excited to watch the show! Right now at Silver Dollar City you can explore Chuggington’s all new immersive attraction, Chuggington Adventure Depot. Jaden was able to step into his very own trainee Chugger and he chugga-choo choo’d all around his favorite Chuggington locations — The Roundhouse, The Ice Cream Factory and The Repair Shed.

Chuggington Adventure Depot at Silver Dollar CityHis love for the show and the characters grew so much in those moments as he imagined himself along side them in exciting adventures as he made lap after lap around the room. It melted my heart to watch him engulfed in the experience.

After exhausting himself chugging around with friends, he decided to camp out at one of the train tables where he was able to get creative and build tracks with the Chuggington toys. It’s pretty obvious by now that we left with several dynamic colorful Chuggington trains to play with at home. Thankfully they are also super easily available online at Amazon, Target, and Walmart because we will be surprising many of our friends with train sets for their upcoming birthdays!

White Water Water ParkWhite Water at Silver Dollar City

Our next adventure was Silver Dollar City’s White Water. With 2 million gallons of fun and 13 acres of water rides, slides and waves there were SO many activities and features Jaden was able to explore! The park was so beautiful, so clean, and so full of happy guests enjoying the hot summer day in the refreshing water. Jaden made a point to tell me his favorite areas of the park were the Aloha River and Coconut Cove. He also made it very clear that he would like me to make cheeseburgers ‘like the one at White Water’ from now on. I was surprised when he didn’t mention the chicken tacos I ordered at the park considering he ate them, too. Everything was so delicious! We have already carved out a day on our next trip to splash around at White Water for more fun in the sun. 

The Showboat Branson Belle

The Showboat Branson Belle was the grand finale of our vacation. Jaden referred to the boat as ‘the mansion on the lake’ if that helps you picture it! On the cruise, we enjoyed a delicious three-course meal while exploring the beautiful waters of Table Rock Lake. Jaden loved having the freedom to checkout the beautiful scenery from all four levels of the boat. Not to mention, when it was time for the show to start, the entertainment was so lively and captivating that neither of us could take our eyes off the stage! We both absolutely loved it.

When we got back to our hotel that night, we were even able to see the final Showboat tour of the evening. It was like a scene from a movie. The boat was all lit up from the inside out, reflecting perfectly on the calm water underneath the bright moon. You could feel the energy from miles away. We were quietly captivated on our balcony as it slowly disappeared on its return to the dock. It was a beautiful moment we will cherish forever and the perfect end to our trip.

On the way home to Kansas City all Jaden could talk about was the Chuggington Adventure Depot. As you can imagine after a weekend full of making memories, I was ready for a quiet, relaxing ride home too. Thankfully, you can stream Chuggington on DisneyNow, HULU AND YouTube which made it so easy to let him watch the show while I enjoyed some quiet time as we traveled back to reality.

We already have plans to go back to Branson to experience National Kids Fest again before they are gone! Their final day at the park will be July 24th so needless to say we are thankful the drive is so short so we can create new memories without any of the hassle of long distance travel. We will absolutely be returning to the Chuggington Adventure Depot. We also plan to make it to Nik Wallenda’s Zirkus. I can picture Jaden’s face in awe of the acrobats flipping through the air along with human pyramids, trick bicycling, and dangerous high-wire acts! He will be stunned in amazement.

If you couldn’t already tell, I think Silver Dollar City is truly a magical place. It has everything you could want in a family friendly vacation and it’s just a short drive from Kansas City. We can’t wait to go back next month and create even more memories together!

Sarah McGinnity
Sarah grew up in Manhattan, Kansas (Go Cats!), she moved to Minnesota where she met her husband, Shea. Realizing how much she hated snow in May, she convinced him to move to Kansas City in 2010. Together they have lived in Midtown, Waldo, the Plaza, and now Overland Park. Sarah is mom to 10-year-old, Henry, 7-year-old Clark and 5-year-old Lucy. She has her master’s in urban administration and is passionate about making Kansas City a more equitable and supportive community. In between the crazy, she likes to drink coffee, run, hike, travel as much as possible, and experience all things Kansas City!