2024 Branson trip review

We recently returned from our yearly trip to Branson. We went a little later this year because our niece was expecting a baby and she was due on July 10. She actually had the baby a week before, but we had made our lodging reservations already, which of course couldn't be changed.

The first photo in this post was a picture in the master bathroom of the condo we rented. (Sorry about the shadow. I turned the flash off and it still had a shadow.) The phrase is what should happen when you go on a vacation. The first day of our vacation, however, was hectic.  The change oil light had been flashing on the dash the last week or so, but I had been ignoring it because the oil wasn't due to be changed until August - at least that's what it said on the label on the windshield. We pulled out of the driveway and a warning flashed on the dash - Get oil changed now.  The husband and I thought we would just go ahead and drive, but as we were driving down the road, he thought that just maybe we should go and get the oil changed.  The dealer we bought the car from was on the way to Branson, so we stopped by to get an oil change. The service advisor looked at the oil level and said that we had no oil in the car. Thank the Lord we made it to the car dealer  (or somewhere on Hwy. 44) without the engine exploding. 

The oil change put us about an hour behind on our trip. We stopped at Culver's in Eureka to eat lunch instead of St. Robert. I looked at the Hardee's next door and wished I had brought my fast food coupons. I then realized that I forgot to bring my folder with all of my printed vouchers for the shows we were going to attend and the voucher for Grand Country Buffet. This getting old and forgetful thing is not a good thing. How was I going to reprint my vouchers? We were staying at a condo in the Falls and hubby recalled they had a business center with computers and a printer in the main building. 

We stopped at Buc-ee's in Springfield. Buc-ee's didn't open until after our Christmas trip, so we had to wait until this trip to see it. The store had 100 gas pumps and so much stuff and food in the store! I did purchase a Sprite fountain soda. Buc-ee's is the only place I've seen Sprite in a fountain version. It was crowded even though it was a Monday - I'd hate to see how crowded it would be on a Saturday.

We finally made it to the condo after we stopped at Walmart to get supplies. The condo was in Building 30 in the Falls, which was very close to the road you take to the marina. When we entered the condo, there was a really musty smell like someone (the cleaning crew, perhaps?) had been smoking.  Ugh! We got everything unpacked and made supper. There was a small kitchen, so there wasn't much in the way of cooking gear. I realized I would have to go back to Walmart and purchase a cookie sheet. 

After dinner, I drove up to the Falls' main building to see about printing off my vouchers for the shows and for Grand Country Buffet. I signed into my Google account (where I have a folder called Branson 2023 with my vouchers, lodging confirmations, etc.) but I couldn't get the printer to work. So I went to the front desk and explained my problem to a nice young lady named Tabitha Reyes. She had me email the voucher emails to her and she printed them off for me. We discussed this blog, its Facebook page and our many trips to Branson and our stays at the Falls. Thank you so much, Tabitha! In fact, everyone I've ever spoken with in the Falls main building has been very nice and welcoming. 

I drove back to the condo, where my hubby informed me that the bathtub faucet didn't work in the master bedroom. I tried to get it to work but wasn't successful. The three of us had to take showers in the second bathroom the whole trip. I reported it to the condo owners, but no one ever came to fix the bathtub faucet in our bathroom. Our condo did include a voucher for 2 free tickets for a show at the Hughes Brothers Theater. We hadn't yet seen the ReVibe show there, so I called and made reservations for the 2 PM Tuesday show. 

When we woke up on Tuesday morning and got on our phones, we discovered that over 8 inches of rain had fallen in southwest Illinois where we live and the dam had failed in one of the small towns. Thankfully, our house has a crawlspace and not a basement, so we escaped the basement flooding that plagued our next-door neighbors.  

We went to the Doug Gabriel show on Tuesday morning.  Doug has been performing in Branson for many years but we have never gotten around to seeing him. I saw an ad on Facebook for the show for only $15.00/ticket. That was a great deal, so we took advantage of it. It is still available as of this writing; when you go to Doug's website to buy tickets, enter the code SUMMER for the discount. 

Doug's show was excellent. Since this was Doug's 30th anniversary in Branson, there was a retrospective of Doug's entire career. If you are of a certain age, you will remember Doug's "mufftar" guitar made from a car muffler by his dad. Doug did a wonderful Elvis tribute and I really enjoyed his version of "Malaguena." Whoever does the lighting for Doug's show is a genius. During "Malaguena," the lights changed every time Doug played a new chord on the guitar. I also enjoyed the duet he performed with his wife. And Doug spoke about his faith in Jesus during a part of the show. This show was worth more than the $15.00 we paid for each ticket. 

After Doug's show, I had a voucher from OzarksDeals.com for Grand Country Buffet to buy one buffet and get one free (no longer available), so we went there for lunch. The wait staff were friendly, but I think Golden Corral and Pizza Ranch have better buffets. I would have liked to look around the gift shop at Grand Country, but we had to leave to get to the Hughes Brothers Theater to pick up our tickets for the ReVibe show.

ReVibe features the Hughes Brothers' kids and grandkids. They performed songs from the 1940s through the 2000s. The choreography and the song selection were excellent. However, some of the kids' voices were not mature enough to sing some of the songs. The three teenage girls singing "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" by the Bee Gees was especially cringe. Their voices were too thin, and did they ever have broken hearts?  

The card pictured at left was attached to the back of every seat in the theater. This just rubbed me the wrong way. I have visited Branson for many years and have seen many shows. If I enjoy a show, I will say so on my trip review blog posts and/or recommend the show to people looking for a show.  However, I feel the card is a blatant grab for positive reviews. I did not scan the QR code.  It reminded me of when we saw the Escape Magic show in 2021 and the magician mentioned their #2 TripAdvisor rating and asked that we leave good reviews. The kids and the theater were also plugging the Christmas show by saying all dates were already 50% sold out. I guess they were guilt-tripping us into buying tickets for the Christmas show. 

After the show, we returned to Walmart to buy a cookie sheet to make breakfast the next morning. However, when we got to Walmart, there were a whole lot of people and Walmart employees standing outside the front of the store. The power was probably out. So we went to Price Chopper instead, where we bought two foil cookie sheets for cheaper than what we would have spent at Walmart. We then returned to the condo to make supper and relax for the evening.

On Wednesday morning, we awoke to a big rainstorm. In fact, it had been raining most of the night. There was a small ravine between the condominium buildings, and the rain filled the ravine and came up almost to the patio area. Branson ended up getting 8 inches of rain that day. It flooded the RV park near Branson Landing, and RV's and campers had to evacuate. We had planned on going to Branson 2 for 1 Tickets to buy vouchers for the Wild West dinner show at Shepherd of the Hills. However, we were unsure whether the show and the park would be open due to all the rainfall. So we decided not to go. We'll try again next year.

On Wednesday afternoon, we went to The Grand Village shopping center. We enjoy going through most of the stores. We discovered a new Christian bookstore there called Fig Tree Books and More where the Thomas Kinkade store used to be. The name was certainly correct as there were not only books, but t-shirts, Bibles, mugs, tumblers, and jewelry.  I purchased a metal tumbler with some of the words to one of my favorite Fanny Crosby hymns ("Blessed Assurance") and a Bible word search book for my hubby. I could have spent more time here, but my guys were ready to go to Andy's Frozen Custard.  We got to Andy's just in time before a big group of people arrived. After Andy's, we returned to the condo, made dinner, and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

On Thursday morning, we went to Branson Landing to visit Bass Pro Shops. We browsed but didn't buy anything. The son bought a few items at Bass Pro. We walked down the sidewalk and I purchased a new St. Louis Cardinals decal for my Jeep Cherokee at On the Ball Sports. I really wanted the City Connect Cardinals license plate holder, but I will put that on my birthday/Christmas list. On the Ball Sports has not only baseball items, but NFL football and hockey items as well. The sports fans in your family would like this store.

We walked to the town square to see if it had been affected by the flooding the day before. There was water in the base of the fountains, as you will see in the photo below. 

We went back to the condo to have lunch and freshen up before our last show of this visit.  We went to the Dustin Tavella - Now I See show with a voucher from OzarksDeals.com, which is no longer available. Dustin is an illusionist who won America's Got Talent in 2021. He is a friendly, outgoing guy who did some amazing illusions, interspersed with storytelling. For one illusion, he had people call out numbers and had everyone add up the numbers on their phone calculators. I don't know how he did it, but the sum was the same number as the 8-digit number printed on everyone's tickets. Later, he changed the serial number on a dollar bill. How did he do that? Toward the end, he mentioned how he ended up in Branson. He said he and his wife adopted two boys and during his residency in Las Vegas, he had to cover their eyes so they wouldn't see the debauchery that takes place in Vegas. He was looking for a new, family-oriented place to hold his show and so he found Branson. Dustin also talked about his Christian faith. This was my favorite show on this trip. I would highly recommend this show. 

After we left Dustin's show, we went to Danna's BBQ for dinner. Hubby and I both had the yummy Piggy Melt with French fries. The son got nachos with only cheese. As mentioned before, he is a picky eater. We then went back to the condo to pack up to return home. 

We didn't do as much this trip as previous trips, but we enjoyed getting away anyway. We are still debating about a Christmas trip this year. We've seen almost all of the Christmas shows already. 

Don't forget that this blog has a Facebook page where I post Branson deals and articles about Branson.  Here's the link:  Branson on Your Budget. Click the follow button so you'll get the latest deals right away. 

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

2023 Branson Christmas trip review

This Christmas tree was in front of the Titanic Museum.

We recently visited Branson for our annual Christmas season trip. We stopped at Wally's in Fenton, MO on our way to Branson. The bathrooms were squeaky clean as usual, but I was disappointed that the red and green lights over the stall doors that indicated the stall was occupied had been removed. Maybe the red and green lights offended someone?  Or maybe it's just too hard to change out the light bulbs when they burn out. 

Our first stop in Branson was at the Branson 2 for 1 Tickets location on Hwy. 163 next to the White Oak Station gas station. We wanted to purchase vouchers for the "Awesome '80s" show since I couldn't find any discount tickets for that show. One of the gentlemen behind the counter was Santa Claus' double. This location of 2 for 1 is a lot easier to get in and out of than the location on Hwy. 76. 

Our next stop was the condo we reserved. I found a great deal on Airbnb - the owner had just bought the condo and he was running a deal where the first 3 people to rent the condo got 50% off the rate. I was the last person who got the 50% off deal.  The condo was located across from the Thousand Hills offices on Wildwood Drive.  This condo was a walk-in and it had a walk-in shower in the second bedroom, which my husband used since he has difficulties getting in and out of a tub.  We had issues accessing cable TV on the smart TV in the living room (old people problems, I know), but the owner came by and made sure he fixed it. The kitchen had lots of cooking equipment, including a blender and a crockpot. This condo even had a bidet in the master bedroom, but whose crazy idea was it to put mirrored closet doors across from the toilet? The condo we stayed in the Foothills during our summer trip to Branson had the same master bath setup, but the tub was across from the closet doors. 

On Saturday morning, our first excursion was to Tanger Outlet Mall.  I made some purchases at Bath & Body Works (it's much bigger than our B&BW) and purchased a small backpack at Vera Bradley Outlet with my 25% birthday coupon. We then stopped at the Americana Theater to pick up our tickets for the "Awesome 80s" show that afternoon.  

After lunch at the condo, we headed to the Americana for the 2 PM ”Amazing ‘80s” show. I struck up a lovely conversation with a couple in the lobby, in which we discussed Branson, and this blog and its associated Facebook page.  We then started talking about the St. Louis Cardinals and baseball. 

You’re probably thinking, “Why did they see a non-Christmas show during a Christmas season trip?” The answer to that question is that the show isn’t open during our summer trips to Branson. The show itself was pretty good.  We recognized most of the songs, and the choreography and costumes were great, although the female singers were a little flat in places (in pitch, not chest). There was interesting trivia about the songs and the artists on the video screens.  We were happy to see this show once, although we would probably not see it again.

Since that day was my birthday, we decided to go to Florentina’s Italian Ristorante for dinner. We had a voucher from OzarksDeals.com.  The son offered to pay for the dinner as his birthday gift to me. He mentioned to the waitress that it was my birthday. I ended up with a piece of cheesecake for dessert.  As always at Florentina’s, the food and the service were great. If you love Italian food, you can’t go wrong with Florentina’s. I think it’s even better than Olive Garden.

Oops, I forgot to take a photo of the cheesecake before I took a bite.

After dinner, we went back to the condo to rest up and give our stomachs time to digest all that pasta before going to the “Christmas Wonderland” show. This show is in the King’s Castle Theater, which we had not been to since we saw the debut of “Anthems of Rock” there back in 2020. If you enjoy Broadway musicals, you will probably enjoy “Christmas Wonderland.” There were lots of costume changes and the choreography and singing was very good. There was a tall guy with an Irish accent who played Santa and was also in other musical numbers. During intermission, he also filled in at the concession stand. “The Irish Tenors and Celtic Ladies” is also playing at King’s Castle and I’d be willing to bet that our Irish tenor is in that show as well.

On Sunday morning, we watched our church’s worship service which was streaming on Facebook. We then ate lunch at the condo and drove to Promised Land Zoo (“PLZ”).  We originally bought our OzarksDeals.com PLZ voucher for our summer Branson trip, but we ran out of time to go during that trip.  The voucher was good through December 31, 2023, so we decided to use it on our Christmas Branson trip.

We went to the booth, turned in our vouchers and were given a code to use to access the drive-through part of the tour. Since it was a damp day, there weren’t any animal demonstrations. We went to feed the parakeets and did the walking tour.  We then went back to the car to do the drive-through tour.

For some reason, we had a difficult time finding the keypad to enter the code that would open the gate. The son finally spotted it. Perhaps an arrow and a sign pointing out where the keypad is located would be helpful. There is a person in the booth for the “Let There Be Lights” tour that opens the gate – I guess we were thinking that there would be someone in the booth for the drive-through tour.

Hello, Mr. Llama, what can I do for you?

Once we got through the gate, the drive-through tour was very enjoyable, although some of the roads were kind of bumpy. The best part of the tour was when the animals came up to your car. The hill leading out of this part of the park to get to the exit is very steep – you have to floor the gas pedal and speed up the hill to get over it. We drive an SUV so this wasn’t hard for us, but someone with a sedan or a minivan would probably have problems getting up over the hill.

After we left PLZ, we made our way to Andy’s Frozen Custard for a treat. The son and I got the special Andy’s sundae that is a fundraiser for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s 87 & Running Foundation. After all, Branson has been selected as the Chiefs’ official vacation destination. And after the Rams left St. Louis, we became Chiefs fans.

We went back to the condo for dinner and to rest up before attending the final show of the trip.  We had seen Clay Cooper’s regular show but had never seen his Christmas show, so we decided to check it out.

There was a pre-show skit titled “Just Horsin’ Around” produced by and starring Matt Gumm, the all-around talented Branson entertainer. It took place in an Old West saloon and was very funny. 

The first half of Clay’s show was all country music. The second half of the show was Christmas music. All the music was great and the dancers were great as well. Clay has a live band backing him in contrast to the other two shows we attended, which used tracks for the accompaniments. Clay is very personable with the audience members and the interactions were one of my favorite parts of the show. If you don’t want to be singled out for any interaction with a show member, however, maybe you should sit closer to the back of the theater.

Monday was our shopping trip day. The Black Friday sale at Bass Pro Shops usually starts on the Monday before Thanksgiving. We were disappointed to discover, however, that the $10 hoodies we always buy didn’t go on sale until Black Friday.  Hubby did purchase two nice flannel shirts and the son bought a Henley thermal shirt and a pair of jeans. I purchased a pair of Christmas pajamas with a bass on the shirt and the inscription, “Happy Bassmas.”

We went next door to the souvenir store to look around a bit.  It was raining, so we only walked up to the main square to see the Christmas tree.  We wanted to go into the store with the Christmas trees for charity, but they didn’t open until 11 AM. 

Our next stop was the Grand Village shopping center.  We visited Dickens’ Gift Shop, but we didn’t find anything we really wanted. We looked around the toy store.  We went into the Christmas store, but it was too crowded for hubby. He has a bad foot/ankle and he was afraid someone was going to step on it.  We wanted to eat lunch at Mel’s Hard Luck Diner, so we stood at the front door, along with a lot of other people, until the doors opened at 11 AM.

Lunch at Mel’s was as good as it always was. We decided to order our favorite onion rings as an appetizer rather than an additional side. I ordered a bacon BBQ cheeseburger, and it was huge!

After we left Grand Village, we went to Price Chopper to pick up some pastries for an easy breakfast on Tuesday morning before our drive home. We went back to the condo for supper and started packing up to go home.

We had a great time, but hubby and I discussed it, and we believe this will be our last Christmas season trip to Branson.  We’ve seen all the Christmas shows we’ve wanted to see except for Dolly’s Stampede and that’s out of our price range. We would rather spend our vacation budget on one Branson trip per year. 

Thanks for reading this very long review! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Diane

 

2023 Branson summer trip review and a retrospective

This year is the 20th anniversary of our first trip to Branson. Our son was 6 years old the first time we visited Branson.  He's now 26. Time sure flies, doesn't it?  For this blog post, I've compared what we did 20 years ago to what we did this year.  I've separated the review into categories.  

Lodging

2003 - We stayed at Crow's Nest Resort (n/k/a Dooley Lodges & Resort) on Indian Point. There weren't many websites to research places to stay in Branson on the Internet 20 years ago.  And we had dial-up Internet, too, which made the process slower.   When we got to the cabin, I thought I was back in the 1950s. The cabin consisted of one large room with beds and the bathroom on one side and the kitchen/living room on the other. And there was no clock in the cabin - we had to drive back into town and go to Kmart to buy one. 

2023 - We stayed in a lovely condo in the Foothills subdivision in town, across the street from the Thousand Hills golf course. It had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and it had a lovely little patio in the back. Here is the listing: Foothills condo.

Attractions

2003 - We visited Silver Dollar City, Celebration City, Hollywood Wax Museum, and Ride the Ducks.  Celebration City was a theme park that was open from 4 PM until 10 PM. It was located on Green Mountain Drive near its intersection with Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. Ride the Ducks was shuttered after the tragic accident that killed 18 people. 

2023 - This year, we visited the Veterans' Memorial Museum.   This museum contains exhibits beginning at World War I through Desert Storm.  We enjoyed viewing all of the exhibits. They were very well done. The lady who checked us in was very friendly and bubbly.  There are walls that list the names of all of the soldiers who were killed in action in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and other conflicts. We reviewed the names on the walls to see if we could find the names of any of our relatives, but we were fortunate enough not to find any. At the end of the tour (or at the beginning), be sure to ask for the Military Trails of Missouri passport, which contains pages for all of the military museums, memorials, and Civil War battle sites in Missouri that you can get stamped when you visit each attraction. We used a deal from OzarksDeals.com for admission to the museum, and you can see that deal here. 

We also visited Retromania.  We are fans of 1980s music and we listen to 80s on 8 on Sirius XM. The 80s was the decade of my young adulthood - I turned 21 in 1982. Retromania contained a free-play video game arcade, a black light mini-golf course, the Slashers haunted house, the 80s movie theater, the 1980s museum, and the New Wave Cafe.  There were escape rooms available but they cost extra, so we didn't go through them.  We had a Groupon deal for Retromania (which you can find here), but I wouldn't pay the full admission price. We only spent about an hour here, most of it in the video game section. 

Shows

2003 - We didn't attend any shows in 2003. We were not sure how our son would behave in a show.  

2023 - We went to "Queen Esther" at the Sight & Sound Theater and the Showboat Branson Belle this year. We really enjoyed "Queen Esther." The set piece was impressive, with various sections that moved and scenery that came up out of the floor.  You could almost believe that there was a real elephant on the stage.  The acting and singing were superb.  (The photo above is from "Queen Esther.") There are no discounts for Sight & Sound, but paying the full price is well worth it. 

We also went to the Showboat Branson Belle. I've been wanting to go there for years, but I couldn't talk hubby into it.  The son is a picky eater and we didn't want to pay for his food if he didn't eat. We made the son pay for his ticket so if he didn't eat, he would lose his money and not ours. The only things he did eat were the roll and the dessert.  He missed out on the salad, the tender roast beef, the chicken thighs, the green beans, and the garlic mashed potatoes. Hubby and I split the son's meal.  

The show was hosted by magician Christian James. He performed a pre-show during dinner and performed small tricks. After dinner, there was a 40-minute break where we could go out on the deck and view the lake.  The show performers performed some songs on the fourth deck. The show contained popular songs from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. There was a medley of Elton John music and a montage of movie songs. The performers were talented singers and dancers and we enjoyed the show very much.  

I reviewed the Branson and me page on this blog to see what we have done the most in Branson.  We have seen the Haygoods 5 times in three different theaters. We have seen the Duttons 3 times. We have been to Silver Dollar City 8 times. We have been to Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery 6 times, and it is currently closed for remodeling. We have seen the Andy Williams Ozark Mountain Christmas Show, the Hughes Brothers Christmas Show, and Rick Thomas's Mansion of Dreams show twice each. We have stayed in condos at the Suites at Fall Creek 5 times. If you want to see all the things we have done in Branson over the years, click on the Branson and me tab above. 

Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!

Diane

2022 Branson summer trip review

The Titanic with its 4,000 flag display for the 4th of July.

 

This is a review of our 2022 Branson summer trip.  The links on the names of the activities will take you to any deal that we used on that activity.  Please keep in mind that if you read this at a later date that the deals may no longer be available. 

We left for Branson at 8:15 AM on July 2.  I wanted to stop in Fenton to check out Wally’s, the new super gas station, but as usual, hubby was in a hurry and didn’t want to stop.

 

We usually stop somewhere on our way to Branson to grab a bit to eat to tide us over until lunch and on this trip, the stop was St. Louis Bread Company (known elsewhere as Panera Bread) in Eureka, Missouri. This Bread Co., however, was not the cleanest Bread Co. I have ever been in. There were gnats flitting around the soda machine, and some of the tables were dirty.  Plus, it seemed to take forever to get the breakfast sandwiches we ordered.  Hubby made a crack that perhaps the chicken had to lay the egg before they could cook it for our sandwiches. After we finally got our sandwiches, we had to wait for about a half hour for the rain to let up so we could continue on our trip. About three days later, I got an email from Bread Co. apologizing for how long it took to get our orders.  If they had sent me a survey, I would have let them know about the Eureka store.

 

We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel in St. Robert.  After that, we made our usual stop at the rest stop outside of Conway.  I looked for the Best Read Guide and the Sunny Day Guide so we could read the articles and look through the coupons, but apparently, neither of those guides are being printed anymore.  There were plenty of other brochures and guides to pick up.  If you stop there, be sure to pick up the cards to buy one entree and get one half off at McFarland’s, Florentina’s Ristorante Italiano, and Heroes Tastes and Taps (formerly Montana Mike’s).  The Travelhost brochures are still being printed.

We rented a condo this summer at the Suites at Fall Creek.  One of the reasons I selected this condo is that it would allow us to check in at 3 PM rather than 4 PM.  It was a ground-level condo; however, it did have a flight of stairs going down to the front door. Hubby has bad knees and I try to find a condo with no stairs, but sometimes, it's hard to find one. I started looking this January for our July trip and the condo we rented last year for our July trip was already booked.  People really want to travel this year. 

We got everything into the condo from the car and I started unpacking our bathroom supplies.  I noticed there was no toilet paper on the roll by the toilet.  There were no spare rolls under the sink, so I looked in the second bathroom but there were no spare rolls there either.  I searched all of the drawers, closets, and cabinets but couldn't find any spare rolls of toilet paper.  So I called the condo owner. Apparently, the previous renter of the condo had taken all the toilet paper and the housekeeper was supposed to refill it but forgot. So the head housekeeper brought over some toilet paper.  I looked in the cabinet to check out the coffee.  The container was there, but the coffee was not. The previous renter must have stolen that too.  

We turned on the TV to discover that we didn't have Bally Sports Midwest or ESPN to watch our beloved St. Louis Cardinals.  I spoke to the condo owner.  I didn't ask her to, but she went above and beyond the call of duty to have a tier added to the cable package so that we could watch baseball.  That really elevated our experience. 

On Saturday night, we went to the Baldknobbers show at the Branson Famous Theater.  We had seen the Baldknobbers years ago at their original theater, which was torn down (along with the hotel) for the WonderWorks attraction.  We were disappointed in this version of the show, however. The vocalists and musicians were good, but the comedy was flat.  Droopy Drawers was very much missed.  It rained while we were in the theater; it was the only time it rained while we were there.  It was very warm while we were in Branson, which made it difficult to do many outdoor activities.  

On Sunday morning, we watched our church's live streaming service on my laptop.  After lunch, we went to Grand Village to look around the stores that were open.  Some of the stores at Grand Village don't open until Tuesday.  We then went to Walmart and Price Chopper on the Strip for supplies, and then went back to the condo to make supper.  We relaxed at the condo the rest of the evening. 

On Monday morning, my son and I went to Tanger Outlet Mall.  I behaved myself and only bought a couple of items at Bath & Body Works and one item at the Vera Bradley Outlet Store. I was looking for the bookstore I went to last year, but it wasn't there anymore.   We then picked up our show tickets at the Clay Cooper Theater.  On Monday afternoon, we saw the Dean Z: The Ultimate Elvis show.  (Note: we bought vouchers through KKOZ, but they aren't running deals presently.  The link is for OzarksDeals.com.) We had seen Dean Z's Christmas show in 2020 and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to see his regular show, but Dean's regular show wasn't running the week we were there last summer. The July 4 show was the only show that Dean Z was performing that week, so we got lucky. 

 

Dean Z is an excellent Elvis impersonator.  He has the moves and voice down pat.  He is very personable and interacts very well with the crowd. Dean has an excellent live band and there are no accompaniment tracks.  Before the show, a video played and Dean explained that he would be performing with a live band and that he wouldn't be performing to tracks.  His all-girl backup vocalists, the Deltatones, were also very good and one of the Deltatones is Dean's wife.  Matt Gumm, who you may know from other shows at the Clay Cooper Theater, was the drummer and he was great.  We enjoyed this performance so much that we bought the DVD of the show.  There was a long line after the show to get Dean's autograph and have your photo taken with him.  

We left the theater and decided what to do for supper.  We saw that the parking lot at Florentina's was unusually empty, so we decided to go there.  Our waiter was very attentive, as always.  I got my usual, the lasagna.  We used the buy one entree get one half-price card I referenced earlier. We then went back to the condo to relax.  Our condo was located on a pond and there was a beaver that walked into the yard area and ate the grass.  We went up to the parking lot at the main building of The Suites at Fall Creek to attempt to watch the fireworks at Chateau at the Lake.  We saw where people were parking at the Wyndham sales building across the road - we may try that next year.  

On Tuesday, July 5, we went to Coral Reef Mini Golf to play mini-golf.  There was some remodeling since the last time we were there that made the facility look nicer, and the air conditioning was working correctly - it wasn't as humid as it usually is.  It was crowded that day. Everyone must have had the same idea.  

After we were done playing mini-golf, we went to Beyond the Lens.  We waited in line to get our tickets and make our reservation for the FlyRide movie experience.  This is an interactive experience with video games to play, photo opportunities, and lots of learning experiences.  We enjoyed our visit.  The FlyRide movie experience was really awesome.  There are shelves for you to put your belongings in before you strap into your seat.  You need to hold on tight, for your seat moves up and down and back and forth.  You will get a whiff of various smells, one of which I think was lavender.  The landmarks were glorious.  That movie is the closest I will get to many of those landmarks. 

After the FlyRide movie, we went to the gift store and I purchased my usual refrigerator magnets. We also purchased the photo package, which included 2 8" X 10" photos, smaller photos to be cut to size, and placed in the clear magnet and key chain which were included.  The photo package included a link to the photographs taken by the cameras in each exhibit.  You waved a special card in front of the scanner below the camera and the camera would take your photo.  This attraction, I believe, would be better for kids above the age of 5.  

After our Beyond the Lens experience, we visited Andy's Famous Custard for sundaes. However, it was so hot that we had to eat our sundaes in our air-conditioned vehicle.  We then went back to the condo and relaxed for the rest of the evening. 

On Wednesday morning, we visited the Creation Experience Museum.  I have been wanting to visit this museum for years, and hubby finally said we could go.  No vouchers are needed for this activity; it's free, but you do have to make a reservation to take the tour.  Love offerings are welcome. The link is for the museum's website.  This is the back of the sign, but a dinosaur welcomes you to the museum.  The current museum is small, but there are plans for a bigger facility once enough funds are raised.  

We were supposed to be there by 10:15 AM for the 10:30 AM tour, but we got there at 10:00 AM and there just happened to be 3 slots left for the 10:00 AM tour.  Our tour guide's name was Drake and he was very knowledgeable and personable.  There was a little boy who kept touching things he wasn't supposed to and Drake was very patient with him.  Drake started with the beginning of the universe in the book of Genesis and took us all the way through the crucifixion of Christ. There were lots of artifacts and displays to look at.  Here is a photo of a cutaway of Noah's Ark:

There was a movie about crocodiles at the end of the tour.  After that, we went into the bookstore.  I purchased the usual refrigerator magnet and I signed up for the newsletter. Warning:  if you do not believe in the Biblical view of creation, this museum may not be for you.  We enjoyed the tour very much and would visit again.  

We were hungry, so we went to Pizza Ranch on Hwy. 248 for lunch.  There is a buffet with pizza (of course), breadsticks, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a nice little salad bar. Soda was included with the buffet, which is better than Golden Corral since you have to pay extra for soda there. There was also a soft serve ice cream machine.

After we stuffed ourselves at Pizza Ranch, we headed to Branson Landing. We always go to Bass Pro Shops to buy t-shirts and/or other clothing.  It was busy, so we had to park a ways away from the store.  But there was a little shuttle that took us a little closer to the store.  It was free, but tips were requested.  Bass Pro was the only store we went to since it was too hot to walk around much.  We then went back to the condo to relax before we went to Danna's BBQ for dinner. I got a Piggy Melt, which is pulled pork on rye bread with cheddar cheese and onions, and an order of French fries. 

After dinner, we got a phone call from my sister-in-law, who had gone to our house to check on our cat Sox.  She found that Sox had crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Sox had been sick for a while so it wasn't totally unexpected, but it was so sad that he had to die alone.  

Some observations:  The Jim Stafford Theater and the Caravelle Theater have been torn down.  The sign for the Jim Stafford Theater remains, however.  The St. Louis Bread Company building that is being built across from Dolly Parton's Stampede is still not finished. The Branson Center Stage restaurant is closed. 

Despite the heat and our cat dying, we had a nice trip and I can't wait until November for our Christmas season trip to Branson.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

2021 Branson summer trip review

We made our annual summer trip to Branson this year from July 2 to July 8.  We left on the morning of July 2.  Hubby likes to leave so early in the morning. It's like he's in a hurry to get to Branson.  I am too, but at most places, you can't check in until after 3 or 4 PM.  The traffic on Hwy. 44 wasn't too terribly bad, although it probably would have been bad in the afternoon with everyone headed to the Lake of the Ozarks. 

We usually eat a light breakfast before we leave and stop in the city of Pacific at either McDonald's or Hardee's to grab a breakfast sandwich.  However, neither restaurant was open for dine-in.  So we went through the Hardee's drive-thru and ate in the car in the parking lot. We stopped at the McDonald's in Lebanon for lunch, and they were open for dine-in.  

We stopped at the Conway rest stop.  I looked for the Best Read Guide in the area with all of the tourist information, but I couldn't find one. I did get a Travelhost magazine and other assorted brochures. We stopped at the Huck's in Ozark to fill up the car.  We arrived in Branson at 1 PM, which was an hour too early than the 2 PM arrival time I arranged with the owner of our condo.  So we drove to Walmart in Branson West to get groceries and other supplies.  

For this trip, hubby wanted to stay on Indian Point.  The last time we stayed on the Point was in 2018 when we stayed at Golden Arrow Resort.  Golden Arrow is now closed, however.  With the exception of our Memorial Day weekend trip last year when we stayed at the All American Inn, we have stayed at condos for the last few years.  We enjoy the comfort of not staying in a hotel room and our 24-year-old son enjoys having his own bedroom.  We booked a condo at Eagles' Nest Resort, which is the condo resort closest to Silver Dollar City.  The streets of the resort were all named for birds and our condo was on Woodpecker Lane.  It was a very nice condo and we especially enjoyed the screened-in porch that went across the back of the unit.  If you are interested in seeing where we stayed or in booking it for yourself, you can see the listing here.  

On Saturday morning, I wanted to go to Tanger Outlet Mall. I enjoy shopping at the Vera Bradley Outlet Mall and the Reebok outlet store. I was happy to discover that Tanger opened at 9 AM.  Last year, due to COVID, it didn't open until 11 AM.  The hubby and son insisted on going with me - I guess they thought I was going to stay there all day.  I shopped at Bath & Body Works, Vera Bradley, and Reebok. Then the son and I bought root beers at the A&W restaurant - they still have root beer that comes out of the spigot rather than fountain soda.  Hubby decided that he wanted a new pair of shoes too, so we went to Famous Footwear.  After that, we stopped at the Mickey Gilley Theater to pick up our tickets for the Texas Tenors.  We went back to the condo for lunch and to hang out for a while.  I had picked up a Branson Insider magazine at the theater and saw a 20% off coupon for the Escape Reality Magic Dinner Show.  I didn't have to cook dinner and we would see a show while saving money - that was a win-win for me. I called and made our reservation.  

We had to be at the Branson Central Theater at 4 PM. The first course started at 4:30 PM.   It was a three-course meal with salad, beef and gravy and a chicken breast, two entrees, roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables, and a brownie for dessert.  My son, who is a finicky eater, only ate the roasted potatoes and the brownie, so hubby ate his salad and we shared his beef and gravy.  The food was very tasty.  

The show was supposed to start at 5:45 PM, but it didn't start until 6 PM.  It was an enjoyable magic and illusion show, but I think the Rick Thomas show and the Reza show are much better than the Escape Reality show.  This show might be better on a bigger stage.  At the end of the show, Garry told the audience that the show is rated #2 on TripAdvisor and asked us to post good reviews.  This turned me off.  If I really enjoy a show, I will post a review, but I don't like being asked to do so.  Wanting to post a review has to be natural and not forced.  

The next day was July 4.  We viewed our church's Sunday morning service on Facebook Live, then ate lunch at the condo before heading to town.  I had bought 2 vouchers for the Branson Ferris Wheel from radio station KKOZ.  My hubby is afraid of heights, so the son and I went on the Ferris Wheel.  The view was lovely from the top of the Ferris Wheel.  We bought the photo package because the photo was actually very good (see above).

After we went all the way around once, it was time to get out of the car, but the attendant asked if we wanted to ride again.  I did, but the son didn't - the arcade at the Tracks was calling his name.  We went there for a while, but it was really crowded.  So we decided to go to Andy's for frozen custard.  The Andy's coupon from the St. Louis Cardinals calendar that we've used in past years, however, no longer works at the Branson location.  But the frozen custard was as great as ever.  After Andy's, we went back to the condo for dinner and to rest up for our Silver Dollar City visit the next day.

On Monday, we went to Silver Dollar City.  We wandered around the stores on the square until the opening ceremony.  The son and I rode Fire in the Hole.  We then saw Sadie's Wild West Traveling Revue in the Boatworks Theater, which is the saloon show in a more outdoor location.  We then rode the train, which was entertaining as always.  We then went to lunch at what we thought was the Reunion Hall, but it turned out to be Molly's Mill.  We then went to the Grand Exposition area.  Our last stop of the day was to see Down by the Riverside at the Dockside Theater.  The Rivertown Ramblers were energetic and talented and I really enjoyed this show. 

We stopped at the ice cream shop in the main square for ice cream. After that, it was time to go back to the condo.  We had an easier time finding our car this time than we did during our last trip to SDC.  

On Tuesday, we went to Grand Village and did a little shopping, because we wanted to go to The World's Largest Toy Museum, but they didn't open until 10 AM.  Actually, the only places in Branson open earlier than 10 AM are restaurants.  We bought a Groupon deal that is almost always available.  The museum is actually in two buildings.  There is a BB gun museum - I have never seen so many BB guns in one place in my life.  There is a room with nothing but board games.  There is a large Barbie display.  If you played with a toy as a kid, it's probably here.  If you plan on going to the Toy Museum, prepare to spend at least two hours here, if not more.  After we left the museum, we went back to the condo to eat lunch and relax before we went to see "Jesus" at the Sight & Sound Theater.

We went to the 3:30 PM show at Sight & Sound.  The Sight & Sound productions are always excellent and high quality.  We picked the 3:30 show because we wanted to use our voucher for McFarlain's.  However, by the time we got to McFarlain's, there was a 45 minute wait time.  My hubby didn't want to wait that long, so we left McFarlain's and decided to go to Florentina's Italian Restaurant instead.  But the wait time for Florentina's was an hour.  We decided to try for Florentina's Wednesday night after we saw the Texas Tenors (since it was a 2 PM show) and we went to Pizza Hut on Green Mountain Drive to order a pizza, which took about 20 minutes, which we took back to the condo.  It appears that all the restaurants are short of help and so it takes longer to get seated and eat. 

On Wednesday, we went to Branson Landing.  We did some shopping at Bass Pro Shops (where I got another new pair of shoes), looked around at a couple of other stores, and then we went to Garfield's at 11 AM for lunch.  After lunch, we went to our favorite indoor mini-golf place, Coral Reef Mini Golf, on a Groupon voucher that is always available. Then it was time to go to Mickey Gilley's theater to see the Texas Tenors.  We have wanted to see the Tenors for years but their show schedule never lined up with our vacation schedule.  We bought a voucher from OzarksDeals.com that is now available again (but in limited quantity).

The Tenors were excellent singers and very personable.  It was a very enjoyable show.  They performed "God Bless the USA," and everyone stood up.  I wonder when we started standing up for "God Bless the USA" like we do for the Hallelujah Chorus, though.  Before the show, there were some older ladies behind us whining about the fact that there were so many people sitting together.  I had asked about social distance seating when I made our reservation; however, it appeared that things had changed.  The older ladies moved from behind us to some empty seats across from us.  

We tried Florentina's again after the Tenors and the wait time was only 15 minutes.  A lady sat down next to me and asked, "Weren't you at the Tenors?" I replied that we were, and she realized that she had been at "Jesus" with us too.  We got to talking, and she said she was from the state of Washington and that this was her first trip to Branson.  A newbie! Later, I stopped by her table on my way back from the bathroom and told her about this blog and its Facebook page.  I gave her the card with my Cardinals blog information on it and wrote the link to this blog for her on the back of the card.  If you're reading this, I am so sorry but I have forgotten your name.  I hate getting old and forgetful. 

The next morning, we left Branson for home.  We had a very enjoyable trip and I am already planning our November trip to Branson.  Thanks for reading! 

Diane

2020 Branson Christmas trip review

In Branson, even the Titanic
wears a mask! 

We recently returned from our record third trip to Branson this year. We love Branson at Christmas time, and we found some great deals, some of which are still available - just click on the link and you'll be taken to the deal. 

We arrived in Branson on a Friday.  For those wondering about masks, yes, masks are required everywhere in Branson. You must wear them unless you're eating or drinking, or at your seat during a show. There are large signs (like the ones on the highway that warn of detours) that state "FACE MASKS REQUIRED."

Our first stop when we got to Branson was at the Walmart on Branson Hills Parkway.  It was packed.  We got to the condo (the same one where we stayed for our June trip) and unpacked all our stuff. We went to Montana Mike's for dinner. We were seated on the bar side and there was a guitarist playing and singing. He was very good and he took requests. The waiter told us he was one of the performers from the tribute shows at the IMAX. It made for a very enjoyable meal.

After dinner, we went to the "Let There be Lights" drive-thru tour at the Promised Land Zoo. We had purchased the OzarksDeals.com voucher, but it would be worth the full price. There are lots of beautiful light displays. At the end of the tour, you can park your car and go to the gift shop to enjoy free hot chocolate and see Santa. You can purchase items at the gift shop. I purchased a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" long-sleeved T-shirt.  We saw a reindeer.  I kept calling him all the names of Santa's reindeer until he finally stood still and allowed me to take his photo.  

On Dasher, on Donder, on Comet -
oh, just what is your name?

It rained for most of the day on Saturday. I went to the Tanger Outlet Mall in the morning. I wanted to go to Bath & Body Works and the Vera Bradley factory outlet store. I had to wait a bit to get into B&BW.  They were only letting in so many people at a time.  I had no problem finding parking at B&BW, but when I tried to get a parking spot near Vera Bradley, I had no luck. I circled the parking lot for 20 minutes. I guess everyone figured that since they couldn't do outdoor stuff,  they may as well go shopping. I gave up and went back to the condo.

We went to Wonderworks Saturday afternoon. We had a Groupon for the VIP package, which is no longer available. If we hadn't had the Groupons, I wouldn't have gotten the VIP package. All the VIP package is an activity book where you find the answers to the questions and when you complete the answers, you take the book to the cafe on the first floor. for a prize - it's just a bag of popcorn. There are 10% off coupons in the book for the cafe and the gift shop. You could probably purchase the VIP tickets for the kids so they could do the activity book and the regular tickets for the adults. There were also lockers you could rent so that you could dump your coat.  We enjoyed Wonderworks, although we old folks didn't even attempt the rides. There was a booth where you could test your pitching skills.  I discovered that I would never make it as a major league pitcher.  It was crowded, although everyone wore their masks.  there was a photographer who took photos, although there was no pressure to purchase the photos.  There are cafes on the first and fourth floors.  

We went to Florentina's Italian Ristorante on Saturday evening. It was excellent, as always. The menus were paper rather than regular menus, and the tables were socially distanced.  I had my Florentina's favorite, the lasagne.  That evening, we saw the Hughes Brothers Christmas show and it was fantastic. Unlike most of the other Branson Christmas shows (half regular/half Christmas), the Hughes Brothers show is all Christmas (except for a rendition of "Simple Gifts" in the second half - I never thought that was a Christmas song).  The first half of the show was secular (non-religious) Christmas music, and the second half of the show was sacred (religious) Christmas music.  I loved the second half of the show where Santa talks about teaching the children that Christmas is about Christ and it wouldn't be Christmas without Him. Santa also spoke about the colors of Christmas and what they stood for.  If you weren't in the Christmas spirit after leaving the show, you surely are related to Ebenezer Scrooge. No bah humbugs here, just lots of Christmas cheer! 

The activity on Sunday was Silver Dollar City. We took advantage of the $45 flash sale that SDC held earlier in November. We usually park in Lot C, but we couldn't choose where to park - we either had to park in the paid parking lot or the lot where you were directed to park (which turned out to be a problem later). We couldn't find the tram stop, so we walked all the way up to the park entrance. We had to wait in line to get our temperature taken before we could enter the park.  We were issued wristbands if we passed the temperature test.  

There were no indoor shows - they were in all the existing outdoor theaters, except for the saloon show, which was in an outdoor area called the Plaza Stage, which was behind the Red Gold building.   The show was shorter than what we were used to seeing, although that was good because it was mighty cold sitting back there.  There were very few trees to block the wind.  

We wandered around the park and visited various stores and craftsman demonstrations in order to keep warm.  You could use your refillable mugs, although you were given a cardboard cup and paper straw, and you had to pour it in the refillable mug.  The paper straw wasn't very sturdy and fell apart if you didn't drink your soda fast enough.  

We went to the Rivertown Smokehouse for dinner.  There was a wait to get to the counter to order but you got your food as soon as you ordered it.  The BBQ meat was very good, but the side dishes weren't very big.  

We wandered around some more until it was close to the time for the tree lighting at 5:30 PM.  There were boxes painted on the asphalt on the parade route that showed you where you couldn't stand, for social distancing.  Unfortunately, people crowded along the length of the parade route and ignored the signage.  The SDC folks should really patrol the parade route and tell people who are in the boxes they're not supposed to be in to move out of them.  

The tree lighting was spectacular.  The animatronics were just gorgeous and the music was perfect.  There were lots of oohs and ahs from the crowd.  The tree lighting was only about 15 minutes, and we waited for the parade.  It was the same parade that we had seen a couple of years ago, but we enjoyed it anyway.  

After the parade, there was a mass exodus (including us) out of the park. I wanted to stop for a souvenir (I wanted a 60th-anniversary magnet), but hubby was tired, so we trudged out to the area where the trams were waiting. An employee asked where we were parked.  I told her that we were directed to the left to park, so she told us to go to tram 5.  The trams are socially distanced (every other row) and cleaned after every trip.  

We got off of the tram at what we thought was our stop.  We walked around for 20 minutes trying to find our vehicle.  I remembered that the Maps app on my Apple phone has a function called Parked Car.  I pulled it up to show my husband.  "This blue dot is where we are. The blue dot with the car on it is where the car is." It was across the road, about 100 ft. away.  We went back to the tram stop and talked to the driver.  He took us to the parking lot where our car was and dropped us off.  We drove back to the condo, tired from a long day.

Monday was our last day in Branson, and it was shopping day.  I went to Walmart on Green Mountain Drive to pick up something to make for dinner Monday night and something quick for breakfast on Tuesday morning.  I also bought heel cushions for my shoes as my left heel was killing me after our hike through SDC and the parking lot the day before.

Our first stop was Grand Village.  We enjoy looking through the boutique stores.  Hubby bought another Branson sweatshirt.  I bought a perpetual desk calendar at the Thomas Kinkade store.  There were some beautiful trifold Christmas cards at the Kinkade store that I really wanted, but they were $20 and hubby thought they were too expensive.  I found a Christmas themed mask at the Peter Engler store.  And we always enjoy browsing at the retro toy shop and the Kringles Christmas store.  

We had an OzarksDeals.com voucher for Mel's Hard Luck Diner at Grand Village (no longer available), so we went there for lunch.  Sarah Joy was our waitress.  She was very sweet and attentive.  We ordered the onion rings for an appetizer and they were the best onion rings I've ever had - crunchy and firm on the outside and tender on the inside, and just the right temperature.  I had a bacon BBQ cheeseburger and fries.  The waiters and waitresses sang and our waitress had a very lovely voice.  We left her a nice tip.

Our next stop was Branson Landing.  Bass Pro Shop had a Black Friday week sale.  We parked in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot, but we had to park a far distance from the side door.  Two of the Black Monday specials were $10 hooded sweatshirts (hubby and I both got one) and $10 fleece jackets (hubby got one).  We walked to the town square to look at the huge Christmas tree there and watched the fountain show.  We had a coupon from our St. Louis Cardinals calendar for BOGO free for Andy's Frozen Custard, so we stopped there on our way back to the condo.

After we finished our sundaes, I decided it was early enough in the afternoon to go back to Tanger Outlet Mall to see if I could find a parking spot so that I could go to the Vera Bradley store. I had to wait outside in line to get in - they were only letting so many in at a time.  I had a 25% off birthday coupon and I had birthday money from the attorneys I work for, so I wanted to use it.  I found a tote bag, a mask with polar bears on it, and I got a free ID card case for my birthday present.  I then walked over to the Reebok store next door, where the whole store was 60% off. I got a new pair of comfy shoes to wear.  It's really hard to find size 8W athletic shoes and I got this same pair of Reeboks during my Christmas trip last year.  

That night, we saw Dean Z's Rockin' Christmas Show at the Clay Cooper Theater.  It was Dean's first Christmas show of the season because of his and his wife's bout with COVID. We enjoyed this show very much. It was high energy, the band was hot and tight, and Dean has Elvis' moves down to a T. It was not a first half regular music/second half Christmas music like a lot of the Branson shows - the non-Christmas music was interspersed in between the Christmas songs.

Dean's back-up band has a 4 man brass section, a keyboardist, a guy playing string bass, a guitarist (Dean's brother), a drummer (who turned out to be Matt Gumm - he has a show at Clay's theater) and 3 backup singers called the Deltatones (one of whom was Dean's wife). I really liked how he kept acknowledging the band and asking us to applaud for them. That's a sign of a classy performer. Not only did Dean have Elvis' moves down pat, but he also did a great Mick Jagger imitation, lip and all. Dean didn't forget the true meaning of Christmas - he and the Deltatones did a beautiful acapella rendition of "Silent Night." I now want to see Dean's Elvis show next summer when we return to Branson.

If you're on the fence about visiting Branson because of COVID, don't be afraid to visit.  There is a mask mandate with no current ending date.  Everyone in the stores, the restaurants, and the theater workers are all wearing their masks.  Seating in theaters is socially distanced - it is recommended you call the theaters to make reservations so that you and yours will have seats, especially for popular shows such as the Haygoods and the Hughes Brothers.  If you're worried about staying in a hotel and being around others, rent a condo or a cabin. That way, you can cook your own meals if you don't want to go to restaurants.  We live in Illinois and Missouri is the only place we can actually eat inside a restaurant these days.  This has been a rough year for a lot of folks.  A vacation does a lot to lift everyone's spirits.  If you can't get to Branson before Christmas, most of the Christmas shows and Silver Dollar City are open through the end of the year.  

Thanks as always for reading! It is always appreciated. Don't forget to follow this blog's Facebook page for deals and news on Branson.  From our family to yours - 

   

2020 Branson trips review

Yes, you saw that title right - trips, as in plural.  We have made 2 trips to Branson already this year, approximately 2 weeks apart. The first trip was on Memorial Day weekend.  The second trip was this week (June 8-12).  

The family camp that we usually attend on Memorial Day weekend was canceled due to COVID-19. We decided since we couldn't go to the camp that we would go to Branson instead. The reason I didn't report on the Memorial Day trip right after it happened is that we live in Illinois and at that time, Gov. Pritzker strongly urged Illinois residents not to go to other states because of COVID-19.  I didn't want to get turned in for leaving the state.  

Earlier this year, I left a job that I'd been at for 18 years for what appeared to be an excellent opportunity. However, my position was eliminated during the third week of May because of COVID-19.  We decided to go ahead and take the Memorial Day trip anyway.  I needed a rejuvenating trip to the Ozarks. 

As long time readers of this blog may know, we usually take our summer trip during the July 4th week. Thankfully, the firm that I left in February is hiring me back for my old position.  I don't start until June 15 and I didn't think that they would let me go on vacation two weeks after my restart date.  So we decided to go this week instead. 

Rather than comment on each trip at length, I thought I would use categories and split each category by the date of the trip. If you see a word in bold print, that is a link to the Groupon deal or in the lodging section, or to the condo we stayed at.  

Lodging

Memorial Day trip

Since this was a last-minute trip and we wanted to spend as little as possible, we decided to stay in a hotel.  We found a good deal on Priceline for the All-American Inn.  It is located off Hwy. 165 next to the Yellow Rose Inn, which is now a Ramada.

We chose this hotel for its location, its price, interior corridors, and a free breakfast buffet. However, due to COVID-19, the free breakfast buffet was not offered, but we could get room service if we wanted.  The room was a typical hotel room.  Our room was room number 101 - we must have been the first to reserve a room. The hallway was warm, so I turned on the hallway air conditioner.  The room was warm when we checked in, so I turned on that air conditioner as well.  The owner should have done this before we checked in, I think.

The only other problem we had was the shower.  The water was scalding hot.  We let it run for a while, hoping it would cool off, but it never did.  I had to use a washcloth to wash off with, and I decided to wait until we got home to wash my hair.  

June trip

We had our usual condo reserved for the July 4th week. I would have asked the owner if we could switch weeks, but this week was already partially booked, so I had to cancel.  I did find a very nice condo on TripAdvisor.  The son was happy that the TV in his bedroom had a PlayStation 4.  

The condo was located in the Greens at Thousand Hills, near the golf course.  It was located right off of Green Mountain Drive, and it was close to everything without being on the Strip.  It had a lovely kitchen with granite countertops and there was even a Keurig machine.  All I had to do was bring my favorite K-cups.  There was a small outside patio with a barbecue grill.  We enjoyed our stay at this condo. 

Shows

Memorial Day trip

We only saw one show during this trip - Anthems of Rock, at the King's Castle Theater.  It was the first performance ever of this show, which was exciting.  In all our years of visiting Branson, we have never been to the opening night of a show.

We had never been inside the King's Castle Theater before.  It had medieval decorations in the lobby.  The seats were very nice and comfortable, and the seating area was huge.  Social distancing was maintained, and there was no one else sitting in our row but us.  

The singers were very good and the choreography was excellent.  The music selection was from the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s.  The video screens showed the album covers of the songs that were being performed. There wasn't a live band - there was a backing track.  That may matter for those of you who dislike shows without a live band. There were a few songs during which one of the singers played an electric guitar on stage, however. If there had been a live band, there wouldn't have been room for the dancers.

June trip

We had bought tickets for Rock 'n Roll Royalty, but it was canceled because of a cast member having emergency surgery. We didn't know it was canceled until we arrived at the Americana Theater. Since we bought our vouchers at Branson 2 for 1, they did not have our phone number to let us know the show was canceled. We took our tickets back to 2 for 1 and exchanged them (and added some funds) to see the Hughes Brothers show on Thursday night.

On Wednesday night, we saw Raiding the Country Vault at the Americana. The music was very good and the tidbits on the slides about the country artists were very interesting. However, the grammar Nazi in me (I'm a legal assistant) cringed at the typos on the slides - for example, Tammy Wynette's title slide read Tammy Wynett and Charlie Daniels read Charlie Danials. There was no intermission and no meet and greet after the show.

On Thursday night, we saw the Hughes Brothers Show.  This is my favorite show that we have seen this year.  The harmonies, the musicianship, and the choreography were all top-notch.  The first number was "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman. My son is seldom impressed by musical numbers but after that song, he told me, "That was amazing!" There was even a little comedy thrown in.  The kids, young and older, were very talented as well.  If we go back to Branson for a Christmas trip, we are going to see the Hughes Brothers' Christmas show.  There was an intermission and there was also a meet and greet after the show, although the performers stayed on the stage and the audience members stood on the floor. 

Attractions

Memorial Day trip

We didn't visit any attractions on this trip. There were very few attractions open. The son and I did go to Simply Red Salonspa to get haircuts. At that time in Illinois, a dog could get a haircut but humans could not. I hadn't had a haircut since mid-February and my hair was super long. 

June trip

We visited the Titanic Museum for the first time since 2006. I found a good deal on Groupon, which is still available.  Our reservation was for 9 AM. We had to wear masks and stay 6 feet away from other visitors. We opted to use the audio tour players. If memory serves me, you used to have to pay extra to use the audio tour players. We went because the violin that was played on the deck of the Titanic before it sank was on display, and I wanted to see it. My third class passenger (Sophia Abraham) survived, but the passenger and crew member that my hubby and son had did not. l purchased a very nice jacket in the gift shop for only $30, and of course, I had to purchase a refrigerator magnet, which is our go-to souvenir.

Restaurants

Memorial Day trip

We went to Saint City's Sports Bar & Grill Friday evening.  We had a Groupon for this visit, which is still available. It was the first time we had eaten inside a restaurant since the end of February - in Illinois, you still can't eat inside a restaurant. The food was great, the tables were 6 feet apart, and the employees all wore face masks.  The son and I played pool while we waited for our food. 

We went to Branson Landing on Sunday and had lunch at Garfield's. The employees wore masks but we were not required to wear masks. 

On Saturday evening, we went to Florentina's Italian Ristorante, one of our favorite Branson restaurants.  We had an OzarksDeals.com voucher, which is unfortunately no longer available.  The tables were all spread out 6 feet apart and all employees wore face masks.  There were paper menus.  The food and service were excellent as always. 

On Sunday evening, we went to Crazy Craig's Cheeky Monkey Bar on a Groupon that is still available.  The food was great and the service was good, but someone was smoking cigarettes or there was smoke from the BBQ smoker and I am highly allergic to cigarette smoke.  

June trip

Since we were staying at the condo, we ate there for dinner.  The only time we went out for dinner was Thursday evening when we went to the Grand Country Buffet.  We hadn't eaten there in a long time and we'd only had the breakfast buffet.  Due to COVID, only one of the buffets and salad bars were open.  The food selection would have probably been better if not for COVID.  That was the only thing that disappointed me.  The employees all wore masks and only every other table was used.  

Other fun stuff

We went to Coral Reef Indoor Mini-Golf on both trips on a Groupon deal which is still available.  The golf course has been redecorated in a Jimmy Buffett-style theme.  There is a very large chair for novelty photos.  You can purchase show tickets at Coral Reef.  There was a mini-arcade. Drinks are also available for purchase.  

We also visited Grand Village and Branson Landing. I visited the Tanger Outlet Mall twice.  The IMAX complex will not be open until July 1.   Silver Dollar City and White Water are opening to the public on Monday.

If you're still trying to decide whether or not to visit Branson this summer, I would encourage you to go.  The traffic is lighter.  Employees of all restaurants, shows, and attractions are wearing masks, and sanitizing methods are being employed.  Visitors do not have to wear masks unless they want to, except for some of the stores at Tanger Outlet Mall.  There are lots of hotel rooms and vacation lodging available.  Most stores are open for shopping. Let the beauty of the Ozarks calm and soothe your soul, like it does mine.  

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Diane