I’m still on a high from this experience and want to go back! We were there on a Wednesday afternoon and the following day — the first day of Silobration. It was fun to experience both!

A lot of people have asked if it’s all it’s cracked up to be. My short answer is yes! It would be a great day trip, or weekend trip if there’s an event going on. The best way I can describe it is Disneyland for women. There were lots of men there, too, but it’s probably not Disney for most of them. The grounds are impeccable, the wifi is free, the staff is over-the-top friendly and it all just makes you downright happy. Everywhere you look is a beautiful scene. There are tons of photo ops and with all the whites, blacks, woods and natural light, it’s nearly impossible to take a bad photo.

Austin and Dallas are each less than two hours away, so it would be a perfect add-on to a trip to those cities (which is what we did). You might be underwhelmed/disappointed if you went to Texas just for Magnolia, unless you’re a super fan or plan to explore other parts of Waco. You do you.

PLANNING A VISIT

I was a little overwhelmed when we arrived and wanted to make sure we did everything possible! I instantly made a little checklist and tried to plan out our days.

The coffee shop opens at 7:00 am
The bakery opens at 7:30 am
The Silos gates are open from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

We nearly had the place to ourselves from 4:00-6:00 pm on a Wednesday (and several of the people who were there were only there because they were setting up for Silobration). The line in Magnolia Market got long, but the food trucks had absolutely no lines.

We spent seven hours total at the Silos between the two days we were in town. It’s a great place to shop, walk around, eat a meal and play a yard game. We would have needed much less time to explore had Silobration not been going on.

If you are just going for one day on the weekend, I would recommend getting there early so you have time to experience everything you want without feeling rushed. If you are going during the week, I would think you could either arrive early, or show up for lunch and stay until dinner to get two delicious meals. We loved everything we tried from the onsite food trucks!

One of the coolest parts of Magnolia is the green lawn with bean bag chairs and lawn games. It makes the whole place feel very family friendly!

MAGNOLIA MARKET AT THE SILOS

Magnolia Market is a large store with home goods, Magnolia apparel and decor. It’s beautiful and we bought way more than I thought we would — we drank the juice, literally and figuratively.

MAGNOLIA SEED + SUPPLY

Magnolia Seed + Supply is a small store located in the gardens with gardening tools, seeds and planters.

SILOS BAKING CO.

The bakery is located just outside the gates and opens at 7:30 am. I highly recommend the blueberry muffin crumble and shiplap cupcake!

Pro tip: If the line is too long, check the Silos Baking Co. airstream inside the Silos gates!

MAGNOLIA PRESS

The coffee shop is also located outside the gates and opens at 7:00 am. We were there on the first day it was open! An employee told us that the other half of the building will someday be a furniture warehouse.

Pro tip: The back patio has a walk-up window if the line inside is too long.

MAGNOLIA TABLE

The breakfast and lunch restaurant owned by Chip and Jo is located less than 10 minutes from the Silos. It’s a little confusing to get there, but once you’re there, there is plenty of parking and the staff is so nice. You can hop online before you go to get an idea of the current wait time. It opens at 6:00 am — we showed up just after 7:00 am, waited in line for a few minutes to put our name in, and then were quoted a wait time of 30 minutes for a table for two — but we only ended up waiting six minutes before being seated.

They use a texting system to let you know when your table is ready, which gives you a moment to check out the Take Away + Market or order a coffee, juice or pastry from the outdoor patio.

The food was delicious! I ordered the kids breakfast and it was the perfect amount of food. Our only complaint was that our food was warm, not hot.

Pro tip: If you aren’t able to make it to the restaurant, there is a Magnolia Table food truck at the Silos!

SILOBRATION

I’m so glad our visit overlapped with Silobration! Chip and Jo sure know how to throw a party (case in point: FREE Jeni’s ice cream).

Because of Silobration going on, there was live music on the outdoor stage, a ferris wheel and vendor fair that gave us more activities to do and was why we were entertained for several hours.

We were only there for Day 1 of Silobration, and before we went I was really nervous about the crowds, but it was not crazy at all. I’ve seen more people at our local farmers’ market. The longest line was for Magnolia Market. There were also lines to get into the bakery (Silos Baking Co.) and coffee shop (Magnolia Press). But the lines move quick and there were no lines for food at any of the food trucks — even at lunchtime!

Chip’s mom and dad (with name tags on) were at the entrance in the afternoon welcoming, talking and taking photos with guests. It was fun to chat with them and snap a pic!

We did not see Chip or Jo, but according to their social media they did make an appearance, just not when we were there. How cool would that have been???

WHERE TO STAY

We stayed at Hotel Indigo, which is just two blocks from the Silos. The parking and wifi are free — we loved our one-night stay there.

WACO

We did not visit the Gaines’ Little Shop on Bosque, take a Waco tour or see any of the Fixer Upper homes. There is a Dr. Pepper Museum just a few blocks from the Silos as well. Those are things you could do to extend your stay! Chip and Jo also have three vacation rentals you can stay in (or at least drive past), are renovating a hotel and recently purchased a castle — so it’s safe to say there will be even more to do in Waco in the coming years!

our trip to Magnolia (Waco, Texas)