Branson trip report 2018

We made our annual summer trip to Branson the first week in July.  We did some new things this year and revisited some favorites as well. Click on the links to be taken to that website. 

We left home on Sunday morning.  Traffic on Hwy. 44 was light, probably because it was a Sunday.  We stopped in Pacific for breakfast sandwiches, since we ate a light breakfast to avoid doing dishes.  We stopped in Lebanon for lunch at Burger King, which is close to the interstate exit.

I used the GasBuddy app on my phone to report gas prices and to check on gas prices. This is a very handy app to have whether you're on vacation or not. Thanks to the wonderful gas mileage that my new vehicle gets, we didn't need to fill up the gas tank until we got to Casey's in Ozark.

We stopped at the nice rest stop outside of Conway.  There is a room in the rest stop with brochures, catalogs, etc. and a lady that tries to steer you to a timeshare place in Branson to purchase show tickets, but it was closed since it was Sunday.  It must have been one of ex-Governor Greitens' budget cuts.

We decided that we wanted to stay on Indian Point this year.  It had been 10 years since we had stayed on the Point, due to financial issues.  We chose to stay at Golden Arrow Resort.  It had lots of great reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp.  And the price was right - we reserved online and only had to pay the first night's rent as a deposit.  July 4th week is one of the most popular summer weeks to vacation in Branson, so I like to get our reservations in early.  I made our reservations in February.

We arrived at Golden Arrow at 1 PM, which was earlier than the normal check-in time.  There was a phone set up on the porch with a number to call to check in.  The owner's wife came when I called and she checked us in.  She went over the resort rules and gave us the wi-fi ID and password.  We had real door keys since this is an older resort.

We were in unit 116, which was the end room.  We stayed in a studio kitchenette with 2 queen size beds.  It had an electric stovetop, a full sized refrigerator, and a microwave.  It was one big room with a sliding glass door and a small deck on the back.  After we got all of our luggage inside, hubby and I made a trip to the Walmart in Branson West for food and other supplies.

We put everything away and although there were some plates and pots and pans, I realized we had forgotten to purchase plastic silverware.  There was also no serving utensils, such as spatulas and serving spoons.  I told hubby that we needed plastic silverware and he said that he didn't want to drive back to Walmart.  There are a couple of convenience marts on the Point.  The closest one was at the Cottage Resort, but they were out of plastic silverware.  So I drove up to the Deer Run convenience store. Thankfully, they had plastic silverware.  There were also 2 dogs behind the counter, which I found interesting.  Since I had no serving utensils, I improvised by using two plastic knives to turn the bratwurst patties I was cooking for supper.

Monday was our day to pick up tickets/vouchers for tickets and make some other stops.  I had made reservations for the Presleys a couple of weeks before, so we stopped there first to pick up our tickets.  Our next stop was the Walmart on Hwy. 76 to pick up serving utensils and a plastic measuring cup so I could make mac and cheese.

Our next stop was Branson 2 for 1 Tickets to pick up vouchers for Pierce Arrow Decades.  After that, we went to Branson Landing.  We went to Bass Pro Shops and several of the other stores.  We ate lunch at Garfield's.

Our last stop at Branson Landing was at Parakeet Pete's Steampunk Balloon.  I found a great Groupon deal for the balloon - $11.00 for 2 people.  The son and I rode in the balloon - hubby is afraid of heights.  It was a slow ride to the top and the balloon made a 360-degree turn, which led to some spectacular views.  There was a nice breeze up that high, which cooled us off some. The ride lasted only about 10 minutes, so I'm glad I didn't pay more than I did for it. The son and I were the only ones riding on the balloon.

Our next stop was the Pierce Arrow Theatre to get tickets for Wednesday afternoon's show.  After that, we went back to Golden Arrow to cool off and rest for the rest of the day.

On Tuesday, we stayed at Golden Arrow until after lunch.  We had a Groupon deal for Wild Wood Miniature Golf.  We played there for about an hour.  It looks like an easy course, but it wasn't.  Wild Wood is an indoor golf course, so it was a good way to keep cool.

We had an hour to kill until we could go to the Branson Famous Theater to see Reza: Edge of Illusion, so we went to the Grand Village shopping center.  We visited several stores, but the one we enjoyed the most was the Dickens Christmas Store.

Reza's show was very enjoyable.  He was very down to earth and performed some spectacular illusions.  He was friendly and worked well with the children selected to perform with him.  This was our first visit to the Branson Famous Theater but it was obvious that it was an older theater.  The seats are narrow and not very comfortable.  The theater was about half full for a Tuesday afternoon, probably due to the KY3 deal (which we used) and the Groupon deal.  When we came out of the theater, we discovered that it was raining, with some pea size hail.  After we left the theater, we went back to Golden Arrow for the evening.  I went to the pool and the hot tub to relax after supper.

After lunch on Wednesday, we went to a place that I had wanted to go for a long time, the Shrine of the Holy Spirit.  It is located right next door to the Mansion Theater on Expressway Lane.  There is a chapel in the middle (which was locked when we visited), a gift shop and a bookstore (which was also closed).  The chapel is surrounded by a large wall with panels that had Scriptures engraved on them.  We stopped in the gift shop and chatted with the cashier.  I purchased a few items, including a refrigerator magnet, my favorite souvenir.

After we left the Shrine, we visited Andy's Frozen Custard for some yummy frozen custard.  We then walked over to the Tracks, where we went to the arcade and blew $30.  All we had to show from all of our tickets was a travel dominos game.  I think that was the last time we will visit the arcade for a while.

After our visit to the Tracks, we had some time to kill before the show, so we went to Tanger Outlet Mall.  There are a lot of stores in that mall.  You could probably spend a whole day shopping there.  We visited several of the stores and then left for the Pierce Arrow Theater.

The show we attended that afternoon was Pierce Arrow Decades.  It was an excellent show, covering music from the 1960s through the 1980s.  You could tell that this quartet had sung together for a long time - their voices blended very well and they had a great chemistry.  The comedian, James Sibley, was hilarious. Our son (age 21) was one of the youngest at the show and Sibley had a great time picking on him, but the son was a good sport about it and shook his hand after the show.  It was a well-paced show.  We are discussing seeing the regular Pierce Arrow show next year. The Pierce Arrow Theater is a very nice theater with comfortable seats and very nice restrooms.

After the show, we went to McFarland's Family Restaurant in the Branson IMAX complex for dinner.  We had 2 $10 certificates from Half Price Ozarks and surprisingly, they took both of the vouchers.  That cut some money off our bill.  We had great food and great service. We then visited a couple of shops in the IMAX complex and then went back to Golden Arrow.

We were hoping to see the fireworks display at Chateau on the Lake from Golden Arrow.  There was a small clearing facing Table Rock Lake across from our room, so after it got dark, we carried our lawn chairs over to it and saw not only the Chateau on the Lake display but the Hughes Brothers' display, the Hollister display, and (I think) the Branson Belle or the Top of the Rock display as well.  And we didn't have to fight traffic either.  We met our Golden Arrow neighbors and found out they were Kansas City Royals fans, so we discussed baseball for a while.  Here was our view, daytime version (ignore the large sign, this was taken from across the street):

On Thursday morning, we went to the IMAX theater to see "Ozarks Legacy and Legend" for free using a coupon I picked up at Branson 2 for 1 Tickets. The theater was nice and cool and the seats were comfy, which made me sleepy.  The movie was okay, for a freebie.  It was shown in the IMAX theater, and I remarked that Jurassic World would have looked really scary on that big screen.  After the movie, we went to Steak 'n Shake for lunch, at the location near what used to be Celebration City.  We had great service and got our food and shakes promptly, unlike the service we've received at other Steak 'n Shakes as of late. 

After our lunch, we visited Curling Vine Winery for the wine tasting.  We went to the wine tasting there several years ago (when it was Stone Hill Winery), but our son wasn't old enough for wine tasting.  He is now, so we decided it was time to revisit.  The films at the beginning were dated - in fact, they were the same ones we saw the last time we were there.  We then went into the wine tasting room.  The young man in charge of the wine tasting was very knowledgeable, however, and was able to answer any questions asked of him.  After the tour, we went back to the cabin to rest up and refresh ourselves for the evening's activities. 

We went to dinner at Montana Mike's.  There was a photographer there who wanted to take our photo, but we told her no.  The restaurant is much bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.  The service was prompt and the food was great. We had $20 certificates from Half Price Ozarks and like at McFarland's, both certificates were accepted. We would come here again. 

We drove around the parking lot of the Best Western next door to get turned around to go back on Hwy/ 76 and I noticed that there were two parking spots where you could plug in an electric car to charge it up.  This was the first time that I have seen electric vehicle charging spots in Branson. I'm sure there are more. If you know where are vehicle charging parking spots in Branson, please comment below. 

Our show for Thursday evening was Presleys' Country Jubilee.  We saw this show 2 years ago and really enjoyed it, so we thought we'd see it again.  I found no ticket deals for the Presleys, but their prices are reasonable.  We went to the 7:15 PM singalong with Clayton, which is held in the balcony upstairs.  Clayton is an excellent pianist and he knows how to work a crowd.

The Presleys' show is a great mix of music and comedy.  The musicians and vocalists are extremely talented and the music is great without being slick.  Herkimer and Cecil were hilarious, as always.  It started to rain and storm heavily during a Herkimer/Cecil routine and Cecil said, "I didn't call for any sound effects!" He didn't miss a beat.  The house was packed for a Thursday evening. We enjoyed the show and were glad we went.

After the show, we went back to Golden Arrow and caught some of the Cardinals game on TV while packing up some of our belongings for the trip home the next day.

We left Golden Arrow for home on Friday morning.  I left behind the serving utensils for the next guests since we didn't need them at home. If we stay at Golden Arrow next year, I'll make sure we bring serving utensils and measuring cups. 

Traffic was once again light on Hwy. 44 on our return home. We had a great time in Branson and we'll do it again next year! 

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

That rainy day feeling again

If this were a perfect world, it wouldn’t rain when you’re on vacation in Branson. It would only rain after 10 PM and every day would be bright and sunny.  Then you could have all the outdoor fun you wanted.

Most people, however, have to schedule their vacation when their work schedule dictates.  As such, the weather may not cooperate with your plans when you’re in Branson.  So it’s always good to have backup plans for a rainy day.  Below are some ideas for rainy day activities in Branson.  Click on the underlined and bold words and you will go to the website for that activity.

The IMAX entertainment complex -   The IMAX complex is located on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, close to its intersection with Highway 76 (the “Strip”). The IMAX theater not only shows adventure movies in IMAX format, it also shows new releases in the IMAX format.  Avengers: Age of Ultron probably looks awesome in IMAX format.  The IMAX complex also has some small retail shops you can shop in.  You can have a good home cooked meal at McFarland’s Restaurant.  The Little Opry Theater is also in the IMAX complex, and you can see some fun shows there.  You could spend a whole day at the IMAX complex.

Museums – The Branson area has several museums that you can visit.  You might even learn something you didn’t know before. 

The Titanic museum is located at the corner of Gretna Road and 76.  There are lots of exhibits and it takes a while to walk through. You can have your photo taken on the Grand Staircase.You will be given a card with a name of one of the Titanic passengers and you can find out at the end whether your passenger lived or died. You can’t miss the building – it looks just like the front half of the boat, and the infamous iceberg is also there. 

The World’s Greatest Toy Museum and Harold Bell Wright Museum is a brightly colored museum located on Hwy. 76.  It has a collection of all the greatest toys.  The Harold Bell Wright Museum is a separate museum (with a separate admission) in the same building.  Harold Bell Wright wrote the book The Shepherd of the Hills, which started the Branson tourism industry over 100 years ago. 

The Ralph Foster Museum is located on the campus of the College of the Ozarks, which is a short drive south from Branson.  This museum has 3 floors with all kinds of interesting items, including the car from the Beverly Hillbillies TV show.  In addition, the admission price is a bargain - $6.00 for adults and free for high school age and under  If it's not raining too hard,  you can also tour several of the other buildings on campus.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium – Have you ever seen a two-headed calf?  Or a Cadillac with a heart shaped hot tub in the trunk?  You can see these and even more exotic items at Ripley’s.  You can’t miss the Ripley’s building – it looks like it was split in two by a New Madrid fault earthquake. 

The Branson Auto and Farm Museum – The men in the family will enjoy this museum, since it has classic automobiles and farm implements for them to drool over (not on).  Some of the classic autos are for sale, so you ladies might want to make sure that the credit cards are safely locked up.   

Hollywood Wax Museum – This building is located on Hwy. 76.  Look for King Kong climbing up the front of the building.  As its name indicates, there are wax figures of lots of famous people in the museum.  In the same complex with the Wax Museum are the Castle of Chaos and Hannah’s Hall of Mirrors.  You can buy a combo ticket for 2 or more of these attractions. 

Shopping – You can shop and stay dry at Tanger Outlet Mall.  There is a Books-a-Million store at Branson Hills that I could spend all day in, since I love to read. 

Grand Country complex – This complex is connected to the Grand Country Inn on Hwy. 76.  Look for the giant violin.  There are many activities in this complex, including the Grand Country theater, the indoor miniature golf course, the waterpark, the new Fun Spot with games and activities, Papa Grand’s Pizza, the fudge store and a souvenir store.  Also located in the Grand Country complex is the Grand Country Buffet, which in my opinion is the best buffet in Branson. At the front of the lot near the street are an ice cream shop and an outdoor miniature golf course, although if it’s raining, it probably won’t be open. 

Shows – Lots of shows in Branson have morning and afternoon matinees.  To save money on last-minute show decisions, visit Branson 2 for 1 Tickets on Hwy. 76 (the purple building), purchase your vouchers and head to the theater to get the tickets.  Who knows – when the show is over, the rain might be done. 

When we visited Branson last year, there was 1 day that week that it rained all day.  I looked at the Accuweather forecast for Branson for next month, and it appears that it will be raining at least part of every day that we will be in Branson.  I was hoping to go to Silver Dollar City since we haven’t been there for 5 years.  Hopefully, the weather forecast will change before we get there. 

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Twice is nice

Branson has so much to do that you can’t possibly fit it all in one trip.  (That is, unless your trip is at least a month long.)  But there are some things in Branson that we enjoy so much that we’ve done them more than once.  Click on the names highlighted below and you’ll be taken to its website, which will open in a new page.  You wouldn’t want to leave this page, would you?  :)

Attractions

About every other year or so (if we have the funds), we go to Silver Dollar City.  The admission fee to SDC is more expensive than Six Flags, but SDC is a much better experience than Six Flags.  SDC’s tag line is “You have a great past ahead of you,” and you won’t find a better place to learn about how things were done in the old days.  Watching the glass blower and the blacksmith work is fascinating.  There are rides and shows for young and old.  Food prices are more reasonable than Six Flags, and with a season pass, you can get a discount at some food places inside and outside of SDC.  Be sure to get there for the park opening in the morning when the U.S. flag is raised and the veterans are honored.  It always brings tears to my eyes. 

A fun and free activity is the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.  There are aquariums with all sorts of fish that you’ll find in the Ozarks.  Presentations are given by the rangers. You can take guided hatchery tours.   Make sure you bring quarters for the fish food vending machines (and small cups to put the food in) and feed the hungry fish outside.  There is trails that you can hike on too.

Another great place to visit is the Ralph Foster Museum located on the campus of the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, which is about 5 miles south of Branson.  This museum contains items from the collection of Ralph Foster, a radio pioneer in southwest Missouri.  The museum contains Indian artifacts, an extensive firearms collection, and the car from the Beverly Hillbillies TV show, among other things.  There are 3 floors of this museum to explore. 

Shows

We enjoyed seeing the Duttons so much that we saw the show 2 years in a row.  This family act is not only extremely musically talented, there are some funny skits as well. 

We hope to see the Haygoods for the second time this year at their new venue, the RFD Theater.  The Haygoods are young, enthusiastic, and very musically talented.   People of all ages enjoy the Haygoods’ show. 

Dining

We love dining at McFarland’s Restaurant in the IMAX complex on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway.  It’s down home cooking at reasonable prices.  The food is delicious and the portions are satisfying.  If you go to McFarland’s, be sure to ask your hostess to seat you at the “special table.” 

The Grand Country breakfast buffet can’t be beat.  If you leave there hungry, it’s your fault, not theirs.  There is a wonderful selection of all types of breakfast food to suit everyone’s tastes, including a made-to-order omelet station.  You could eat so much at this breakfast buffet that you wouldn’t need to eat lunch.  

We enjoy dining at the Steak ‘n Shake on Highway 376, across from the old Celebration City location.  The prices are right, the restaurant is clean, and the service is fast and friendly. 

We have also been to the Denny’s on the Strip for breakfast twice.  The service was fast and friendly and the food was great.

If you've been to Branson, what are some of the places you've visited more than once?  Leave a comment below and let me know!  Until next time -

Happy travels!

Diane