[TRAVEL] Anyone gone to Branson, Missouri?

YES

Been there twice./

silver Dollar City is amazing, I enjoyed it as a child... and there is ALOT of mini-golf and go-karts so if you enjoy that type of stuff this is the city for you.

They also have a new mall near the river and they still have like 3 outlet malls there.

I stayed @ the holiday inn near Radisson last time, it was nice and I had a great time.

I suggest that you stick to the outside roads, the middle road has so much traffic youll be stuck there for a long time.

I heard Yakov was funny (never got to see it) and its a really friendly place to walk around (alot of people do).

 

My in-laws are going next week. They're retired.

 

Yes. Silver Dollar City is nice enough. Never been to White Water. Table Rock Lake is beautiful and trout fishing in the White River is great. Shepherd of the Hills is a good play (though not nearly as good as the book). Stay away from the town itself. It sucks.

 

Hmm, wouldn't be my first choice. Seems like the vacation getaway for Ned Flanders.

I've been once a long time ago. It was ok, good shows and stuff...from what I remember anyway.

 

I went there like 4 years ago. I remember it being a place with hokey tourist attractions and shows that older folks would like.

There was this train ride called the Branson Scenic Railway which took us through the Ozark Mountains. So yea, that was about it.

http://www.bransontrain.com/

About 50 miles away, is Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It is called the "Switzerland of the Ozarks." I really enjoyed that place the most out of my visit to the area in general.

I even got to stay in a 200 year old haunted hotel.

 

Table Rock is one of the cleanest lakes I know of. You can see your feet when you look down from chest deep water. Cool though - as in refreshing if it's hot outside. Rent some jet skiis or a boat and tube and/or skiis.

There are a bunch of shows but I assume you aren't 70 years old.

There are trout fish hatcheries around there - Bennett Springs is one we been to more than a few times but I think there are others much closer. IF you can get there on release day, its good fishing. Otherwise you better be pretty good and very patient to catch the smarter ones.

Stay at some condo or cabin on the lake and that will give you something to to enjoy while you have your morning coffee or evening beverage.

 

ANDY WILLIAMS?!?!!

 

Chateau on the Lake near Branson is fabulous, a bit pricey but worth it. The views are hard to describe. Branson is not just for "old" people, kids love it. If you like blue grass, you will be in heaven. I am not much of a country music fan, but I really enjoyed the shows. There is a good deal of variety. Tony Roy is the best Elvis impersonator I have ever seen, sort of like time travel. Unreal.

 

I live in Springfield, Missouri (about an hour away from Branson). I've only been to Silver Dollar City a few times, the rides that I went on were pretty cool. Since Silver Dollar City is on the edge of some hills, when you get to the "top" of the ride you get a pretty good view, plus they mix a few of the rides with the water park.

The caves looked pretty neat. Its basically a ride in a jeep through caves.

I thought the outlet malls suck. The pricing is about the same as "sale" price at the mall and about the same selection.

This area has had a lot of flooding, I believe that Table Rock is pretty high right now and is not as clean as it usually is.

I haven't been to any of the shows, Shephard of the Hills... Yakov... etc, they don't seem worth the $70-something tickets. Ripleys' Believe it of Not, may be entertaining for the family, I think tickets are like $20 adult $10 child. It's on the "strip" which is insanely packed and is only two lanes... this will be a pain for you.

You may want to look into the Branson Landing if you are looking for "nicer" and pricier places to eat/shop/stay.

You could always go to casino's ... less than an hour away.

 

I've only been for work reasons. I'd go back on vacation...when I turn 80. Some restaurants were closing by 7 pm because the clientele was already in bed.

 

So you'd waste it on going to Missouri? Might as well go to Delaware.

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i can think of at least 1.8 million other places i'd rather go on vacation than branson, missouri.

why not a national park instead? yosemite, yellowstone, grand canyon, big bend... there's tons of great outdoorsy places. how bout doing some hiking/bike riding/white water rafting in colorado? or go to the beach... south padre, port a, or maybe even destin, fl (only about a 9 or 10 hr car trip). or head to tampa and hit up busch gardens... i remember loving that place when i was a kid.

i just think it would give your kids a big step up in life if they could say that they've never been to branson, missouri.

/rant

 

I went with the family last year, actually.

Didn't do any of the shows (I agree they're overpriced) but still had a blast. I stayed in a condo overlooking a hill down to Table Rock Lake and the view was spectacular.

I'm also a coaster enthusiast, and from my condo I could look up and see a rollercoaster (Wildfire) on the hill to my right. Amazing.

Silver Dollar City is a top notch theme park especially for those who enjoy the "theme" part of theme park. Not a Six Flags style park, where they focus on a bunch of tall huge rides on a big slab of concrete. The parks is tucked into the trees. In fact, the coaster sticking out on the side of the big hill is the most you can see without actually entering the park itself. Still, it has at least three absolutely top notch roller coasters in addition to some other rides as well. If you enjoy the "country" scenery you can spend all day in the park watching the demos of frontier life craftwork, etc. Pretty interesting, and I'm NOT a country guy usually.

Outside the park we did the hatchery, which the kids loved and the train ride which was pricy but pretty nice. Good food in the area too.

So yeah - since you're taking your kids? Fun place to go. If it was just the wife and me? Probably not so much. Still, I had a good time.

 

What's close to Alaska? Lil Pun? Branson? I guess close is a relative term, but I wouldn't consider them close.

 

Branson makes Salt Lake City seem like a nightlife hotspot.

 

Be sure to catch the Wayne Newton lip-synching concert. If you really really lucky, you might catch a Tom Jones look-a-like night at the local karaoke bar.

Oh, and Bingo Night is every night from 4-7. BYOT (Bring Your Own Tea) of course.

 

I hear it's really hot with the retired Baptist set...

Have fun.