How busy is the park the week before Labor Day?

[crazy8]

How busy is the park the week of August 25-29, the week before Labor Day? When we discovered the adjacent campground is completely full, my wife said we should probably cancel our trip there, as the park will doubtless be too crowded.

I would rather not cancel if we don't have to, especially because we plan to be there during the week and not on a weekend.

As we have never been there before, can somebody with experience let us know how busy the park is likely to be during the week right before school starts?

Thanks,
Crazy 8 (father of 6 kids 2-13)

[Bud Parsley]

I've never been this exact week but keep in mind that this is a lot of people's "last chance" to squeeze in a vacation before summer ends and everyone goes back to school. Plus it will be the last week Boulder Beach is open.

Summer weekends are fairly brutal, but weekdays are not nearly as bad. And this is all relative. If you're comparing summer crowds at Silverwood to summer crowds at Disneyland, or even Wild Waves (in Seattle), you won't find them nearly as bad.

I would not suggest you cancel your trip, especially if you plan your days correctly. This means hitting Boulder Beach early before the crowds get too heavy, theme park in the afternoon when everyone is at Boulder Beach. In the evening you only have one choice (since Boulder Beach closes earlier than the theme park) but it shouldn't be too bad.

Enjoy, and let us know what you think of Silverwood!

[wolfblood]

While I have never been to the park before Labor Day, I can certainly agree with Bud that the Summer crowds are not as bad compared to other parks.

My advice is...

-Try to go on a weekday.
-Get to the park early and do Boulder Beach first.
-When it get's to afternoon (and when most people migrate to BB) hit the main park.

Oh yes, if you do want to see a few shows...from my past viewings Nick Norton's magic show and the Ice Show are very nice. But if you do want to see the Ice Show you probably will have to plan your day somewhat since as I recall, they only do one or two shows a day.

One more thing, don't be surprised when you walk in the Ice Palace the first thing you enter is a large warehouse. The rink is surprisingly small and it's tucked away in the very back of the warehouse. Though you may see a few interesting things inside it, when I went to the show I saw a "Sleepy Hollow Tours" stagecoach, a sign for Boulder Beach and on the floor was a layout for a maze for the Christmas event that was cancelled a couple years back.