Thursday, August 15, 2013

Welcome to my Branson blog!

Whether you got here by clicking on the link in my reply to Larry the Cable Guy’s tweet or by clicking on the link I posted on GetGlue.com, thanks for stopping by to visit my blog! I hope you take time to look around and read some of the posts. You can look at the right hand column to find old blog posts, or click on the tabs at the top of the page to visit other parts of the blog. If you would like to subscribe to future blog posts, go to the right hand column on this page and enter your email address in the box. You’ll receive an email every time I publish a new blog post, with a link to the blog post.

The segment on Branson on Larry the Cable Guy’s show Only in America was good, but it only showed a part (and indeed only a few of the shows) of Branson. Larry should have probably planned a whole show just on Branson, since there’s so much to do in Branson. Branson is so much more than just the shows, although that might be enough for some folks to visit Branson. Branson also has wonderful outdoor activities, shopping opportunities, and learning opportunities. I’ll outline some of them below.

If you’re an outdoorsy type of person, there are lots of great things for you to do in Branson. If you enjoy fishing, Lake Taneycomo has some of the best trout fishing in the U.S. If you like boating or jet skiing, Table Rock Lake is for you. If you like to hike, there are several hiking trails for you to choose from. If you like ziplining, there are several zipline courses for you to choose from. If you like to play golf, there are several golf courses for you to choose from, and some of the courses have condominiums on them, so you can stay and play at the same place. There are also many mini-golf facilities and go-kart tracks for family fun.

Do you love to shop? There are two big outlet malls for you to spend your money at. In addition to the outlet malls, there is the upscale Branson Landing. If small shops are more your cup of tea, there are lots of them in old downtown Branson and other areas of Branson.

You may be on vacation, but that doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Stop by the replica of the Titanic to learn more about the people on the ship and the ship itself. Go to the World’s Largest Toy Museum to see all the toys. Stop by Ripley’s Believe It or Not to see all the strange and wonderful exhibits. Visit the Ralph Foster Museum at the College of the Ozarks to see all the displays and the taxidermied animals. And until the end of the year, visit the Veteran’s Memorial Museum to learn about our military. And of course, there are the shows, more than what I can describe here.

As you can see, Branson has an activity for just about anyone. And Branson is not just a summer vacation destination – there are activities year round. So since summer is almost over, consider a fall or a winter trip to Branson, a great destination!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Happy travels,
Diane

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Review: Greatest Adventures Miniature Golf

This mini-golf course is located on Gretna Road near the Shoppes at Branson Meadows.  I purchased full day passes for both courses for a party of 4 from Groupon for $21.00. 

We parked at the back of the building.  The doorway was guarded by two knights.  We went in, turned in our Groupon voucher and got a scorecard and a pencil, as well as golf clubs and golf balls.  The manager's name was Scott and he was very nice.  He joked with us that we had a pass for 4 but there was only 3 in our party. (My daughter would have been the fourth, but she lives in Connecticut.)

The grounds are beautifully landscaped and well maintained.  I saw nothing broken or out of place.  There are plenty of parking spaces.  Hubby and son used the restroom facilities and they reported that everything was clean and well maintained. 



This mini-golf course has 2 separate 18 hole courses.  The first course has a medieval theme.  It features castles, a dragon, and a walk under waterfall.  The holes were a little challenging and it had been a while since I had played mini-golf, but I got the hang of it. 



We went inside and rested between courses.  We bought sodas, which were $2.00 each, the going rate for sodas in Branson.  Pizza is available for purchase, along with beer.  The mini-golf course is also available for birthday parties. The walls were decorated with local high school names and their mascots.  There are also tables outside where you sit and rest and add up your score.  Several of the holes had benches nearby to rest while you wait. 

The second 18 hole course had a Egyptian/jungle theme.  There was a sphinx, a gorilla and several holes that had "sand traps."  This course was not as difficult as the medieval course and I actually beat my husband and my son!  LOL! 















It was starting to get a little busy when we left, but it's not as busy as the mini-golf courses on the Strip and on Green Mountain Drive. This would be a good mini-golf course to take a large group to - you could split the group and one half of the group could play one course and the other half of the group to play the other course.  Then everyone could go inside and eat pizza together.

Our family enjoyed playing mini-golf here. Per their web site, this course was used for a professional mini-golf tournament in 2011.  I didn't know there was such a thing! If your family enjoys playing miniature golf, I would recommend that you go to Greatest Adventures Miniature Golf. 

Thanks for reading!  See you next time!

Diane

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Review: Branson Yellow Rose Inn and Suites

This year, we chose to stay at the Yellow Rose Inn and Suites.  It's the #1 rated Branson hotel on Tripadvisor.com and we got a great deal through Priceline.com - $62.00/night and we didn't have to pay for the room until we checked in, which was very convenient.  If you want a room with a view of the pool, you have to pay extra. 

The Yellow Rose is located on Falls Parkway in a residential neighborhood.  It's just a few blocks off of Hwy. 165 and it's a 5 minute drive to the Strip.  I got my directions wrong (we went on Fall Creek Road and not Falls Parkway) and had to call the hotel to get directions.  April answered the phone and was very helpful in getting us to the hotel.

Check in was quick and efficient.  We received our electronic door keys in a handy little folder, along with a couple of information sheets. We were also given a bag of microwave popcorn. The lobby was small and tastefully decorated, but it had a computer with a printer.  




We were in room 248, which was on the second level at the back of the hotel.  The room was large and very clean.  We've stayed in hotels where there is only about a foot between the beds, but there was 3 feet between both beds.  There was a large refrigerator and a microwave. In the vanity area, there was a blow dryer and a small coffee/tea maker.  There was a huge wall length mirror above the sink.  There was also a full length mirror. 

My hubby liked the 40" HDTV - this is the first hotel we've stayed at in Branson that has HDTV's.  I also liked the nice desk and ergonomic chair, which was great for using my laptop.  The wifi had a nice strong signal and no password was needed to access it.  There was also two regular chairs.

The bathroom was small, which could be why there was a curved shower rod. The iron/ironing board is hung on the wall directly across from the toilet. If the iron/ironing board was in the main part of the room where the full length mirror is, it would be easier to move around in the bathroom. The full length mirror could then be put on the outside of the bathroom door. I kept bumping into the ironing board.  There is also no heat lamp to dry swimsuits, etc. The water pressure was more than adequate in the shower.  If you're short like me, however, be aware that the tub wall is high and you need to lift your leg up higher than normal to get in. 

The beds were comfortable!  There were 2 regular pillows, two large pillows, two square pillows, and a roll pillow on each bed.  There were 2 extra blankets in the 4 drawer dresser.  It's nice to have a dresser to put your clothes in.  I hate living out of a suitcase. The air conditioner worked so well, we had to turn the thermostat up or we would have frozen! There is also a large guest laundry, but we didn't need it, so I didn't go in there.  


The breakfast room was very large and tastefully decorated in an Italian kitchen motif.  Breakfast was very good.  It consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, biscuits and gravy, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, bagels, English muffins, donuts, and the make your own waffle machines.  At all the other motels we've stayed at, the waffle batter is in a large pitcher.  Here, however, there are individual cups of batter with lids on them, which are the perfect serving size.  They got a little watery from sitting, so I shook mine a little bit before I made my waffle.  Drinks included milk, orange and apple juice, tea and coffee.  There were two servers making sure everything was filled up and cleaned up. They were friendly and engaged folks in conversation.  Breakfast starts at 6:30 AM and ends at 10 AM, which is unusual. At other motels we've stayed at in Branson, breakfast didn't start until 7:00 AM and ended at 9 or 9:30 AM.  There is a gazebo near the breakfast room if you want to dine al fresco.  Here's a photo:

After breakfast, I took a cup of coffee outside and did Bible study in the gazebo. There is also another small outdoor dining area off of the breakfast room:

The swimming pool is an average size and the deepest depth is 5 feet.  There is no indoor pool or hot tub at the Yellow Rose, so if you want one of those, you'll have to stay elsewhere. My son swam two of the three days we were there.  The weather was rather cool this week, and although I tried staying in the pool, I eventually got out because I was cold. There is a nice sun deck around the pool with several lounge chairs and two tables with umbrellas. There is another gazebo near the pool. Here's a photo:

The grounds of the hotel are beautifully landscaped with roses (of course!) and other flowers.  Here's some photos of the grounds.




There weren't a lot of people at the motel this week, and it was probably because it was the last week of May.  All good things must come to an end, and so did our vacation.  We checked out early yesterday morning.  Upon our departure, we were given a small box of Russell Stover chocolates, which I devoured on the drive home. 

Hubby and son liked the motel, so it was a win-win.  We would probably go back there again. Next year, though, I hope we have the funds to stay on Indian Point.  It's been a few years, and I really like staying on the lake.  Here is the web site for the motel:  http://www.bransonyellowroseinnandsuites.com/.

There'll be more reviews in days to come.  Thanks for reading!  See you next time!

Diane

Friday, April 12, 2013

Some new ways to save



When you’re on a strict vacation budget like we are, every penny counts.  The more ways there are to save, the better, in my opinion.  I’ve discovered some new ways to save money on your Branson vacation, so I thought I’d share them with you. 

National discount websites

In the Discount Web Sites tab above, I reference Half Off Deals, which has deals for dining and shows.  The sites listed below offer deals on dining, shows and attractions.
 
Groupon is the granddaddy of all the discount sites.  Not only do they offer deals on dining, shows and attractions, they offer occasional hotel discounts called Groupon Getaways with Expedia.  As I write this, the present Branson discounts are 248 Take and Bake, LedgeStone Country Club Grille, Indian Point Zipline, and World's Largest Toy Museum and Harold Bell Wright Museum.  The last Groupon Getaway offered was at Chateau on the Lake. 

LivingSocial is another national discount site. They send out daily emails with like Groupon, but they also send emails for deals in other categories once a week.  LivingSocial is unique in that if you purchase a deal and advertise that you’ve done so via your favorite social media sites (by posting a link to the deal), if 3 friends purchase the same deal you did, your deal is free.  That’s a way to really save some money!

When you register at these web sites, be sure to select Springfield, Missouri.  The Branson deals are listed at the Springfield page.

Local discount web sites

I have a lot of the local TV/radio sites bookmarked, but most of their deals are also offered through HalfOffDeals.com.  There are some local discount web sites that are not affiliated with HalfOffDeals, and I have summarized them below.

417 Magazine Deal of the Day - These deals are offered by 417 Magazine.  You will only get an email when they're offering a deal.   

102.9 KHOZ Bids for Bargains -  No emails are offered here.  You will have to bookmark the web site and keep checking back.  

Here's a few tips. A word of warning – read the fine print on the offer before you purchase it.  If the deal expires before your Branson trip, it wouldn’t be worth your while to make the purchase.  Most of the dining deals are 2 certificates for the price of 1, but some restaurants won’t let you use more than one certificate at a time.  That’s fine if you were planning to go to that restaurant more than once, but if you weren’t, then it’s not worthwhile to purchase that dining deal, in my opinion.

Be sure to allow plenty of time for the certificates to be mailed to you so that you can have them in time for your trip.  If you have the company’s zip code, you can go to the U.S. Postal Service web site to see how long it will take for your certificates to reach you. 

If you’ve purchased certificates for shows, call the show box office once you’ve received your vouchers and make your reservations for the show time and date you want to attend.  You will need to tell them that you have radio station vouchers.  You will take your vouchers to the box office and turn them in to pick up your tickets, so don’t lose them!  Put these in your organizing folder that I told you about in my post here. With Groupon and LivingSocial, they will email a link to your deal and you will print it out.  There may be a date you have to print your deal voucher by, so don't wait too long. 

I hope these tips are helpful to you in budgeting for your vacation.  Thanks for reading!  See you soon!

Diane

P.S.: We have our vacation week to Branson set up and lodging has been reserved.  We will be staying at the Branson Yellow Rose Inn this year.  The Yellow Rose is the #1 rated hotel on TripAdvisor.com and I got a great deal at Priceline - free cancellation and we don't have to pay until we check in.  I can't wait! :)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

There's an app for that

Most people (myself included) have smart phones and tablets and use them to access the Internet.  People download and use apps for games, social media, photos, etc.  You may be reading this blog post on a smart phone or tablet using the Blogger app.  But did you know that there are apps to help you plan your Branson vacation? 

I searched both the Google Play app store (Android) and the Apple App Store (iPhone) to find Branson apps.  The Google Play website was the most user friendly when it came to searching for Branson apps.  There was a search function and all I had to do was type in "Branson, Missouri" and I got a page of apps.  Click on the link here to go directly to that page.  The Apple App Store was a little more complicated.  I had to go to the Travel page, and then click on B, and finally find a page where the app names started with Br. That was only for those apps that actually had Branson in their name; I had to do some digging to find other Branson apps. Read on to find apps that may be helpful for you. If you want to go the app page, just click on either the Android or iPhone link next to the name of the app.

Attractions

Silver Dollar City - Android; iPhone - Free

This app will be handy when you visit Silver Dollar City.  The screenshots on Google Play indicate that there is a map, descriptions of rides, etc.  It would be easier to use this app on a smart phone than to try to shuffle a map, show schedule, etc. You can also use this app for information on White Water and the Showboat Branson Belle.



Branson Attractions + - Android only - Free

Don't know what attractions you'd like to see?  This app has a map with attraction locations marked.  You can choose what you'd like to look at on the map. 


Lodging


Myer Hotels - Android only - Free

The Myer chain of hotels are the Best Western Center Pointe Inn, the Best Western Music Capital Inn, the Comfort Inn at Thousand Hills, the Comfort Inn West, the Comfort Inn Branson Meadows, and the Holiday Inn Express. The Myer group also runs the iBranson ticket service, which can be accessed on this app.

Branson's Best - Android only - Free

This app shows rooms, reservations, etc.  Branson's Best is part of a group of hotels and these hotels have apps too.  Click on the name to access the link to the app:  Savannah House, Whispering Hills Inn, Camden Hotel, and Brookwood Inn.


Branson Hotels + - Android only - Free

This is a sister app to the Branson Attractions + app listed above, with a map locating hotels with names and addresses.


General Information

Choose Branson - Android only - Free

This app is sponsored by 411BransonMo.com.  It has good general information and allows you to buy show tickets from your phone. There's a Facebook tab and you can post photos on the app's timeline from your phone.  The screenshot shows that this app has the Trip Advisor seal of approval. 


Branson - iPhone only - $.99
This app has tabs for Shows, Museums, Attractions, and Outdoor.  There are category listings for each tab.

Spotlight Branson - Android, iPhone - Free

This app has tabs for Features, Food and Drink, Attractions, and Special Events.  This app hasn't been updated since May of 2011, so download at your own risk. 



Branson & Beyond Traveler - iPhone only - $1.99

I wish I had an iPhone so I could download this app - it's not available for Android, which is the operating system on my smart phone.  :(  The description is awesome.  This app would be very helpful for the first time visitor to Branson, and it appears to be well worth the $1.99 it costs.

Shows

Pierce Arrow - Android only - Free

If you're a Pierce Arrow fan, this is the app for you.  There are videos to watch, pages on each performer and schedules.  You can use this app to buy tickets too. It hasn't been updated since 2011, so you may or may not want to download it.


Grand Country - Android only - Free

This app is good for the whole Grand Country complex - dining, shows, hotel, shopping, etc.  You can make reservations with this app as well. 



There are other apps available, but they haven't been updated in over a year, so I don't think they'd be of much help.  The Branson Lakes Chamber of Commerce should have an app, but they don't.  If you know of other Branson apps I haven't covered, please feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!  See you next time!

Diane