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

Branson - the #4 Best Vacation Rental Destination

As you may remember, my last blog post was about vacation rentals in Branson as a lodging alternative. The post caught the attention of Ashlee Centrella, who is in the Business Development - Vacation Rentals department at TripAdvisor.  She messaged me on Facebook and asked if I would share some exciting news - that Branson is rated #4 in the Top 20 Best Vacation Rental Destinations in the United States, which is not too much of a surprise since there are a lot of really nice vacation rentals in Branson.  She emailed me with a press release that I will share with you below.

BRANSON VACATION RENTALS RATED NUMBER FOUR IN THE US, 

TRIPADVISOR DATA REVEALS

Vacation rental properties in Branson received a near-perfect average review score in 2014

TripAdvisor, home to 650,000 vacation rentals around the world, reveals Branson, MO as the number four vacation rental destination in the US, according to traveler reviews in 2014.

In a study comparing average review scores* for vacation rentals by US region, Branson just narrowly came in fourth place with a score of 4.79 out of a possible five – equivalent to 96%. Branson’s romantic mountainside lodges and historic downtown condos hold numerous TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence awards, owing to their stellar review scores. See Branson, MO rentals on TripAdvisor.

Reviewers of Branson vacation rentals in 2014 said:

·         “This condo exceeded my expectations. I loved that the location felt close to town, yet away from the chaos. The owners provided a ton of information about Branson, which was really nice for us first-timers.”

·         “We enjoyed our stay at the Meadowbrook Resort. We came to see the fall foliage and were not disappointed! The screened-in patio view is the icing on the cake. It was such an efficient and well-maintained system for renting and the condo was a very reasonable cost.”

·         “Riley’s Retreat cabin was stocked with everything that we needed and easy to make reservations online. Only a 10-15 minute drive to the main strip in Branson. Sunday brunch at Dobyn’s Dining Room is a must!”

Average property review ratings in US vacation rental hotspots:

Ranking	Destination	Average review rating (out of five) for all properties in destinations from January 2014 – December 2014
1	Asheville, NC	4.84
2	Sedona, AZ	4.83
3	New Orleans, LA	4.82
4	Branson, MO	4.79
5	Palm Springs, CA	4.76
6	Wailea, HI	4.76
7	Waikoloa, HI	4.74
8	Ka’anapali, HI	4.74
9	Las Vegas, NV	4.74
10	Volcano, HI	4.73
11	Santa Fe, NM	4.71
12	Palm Coast, FL	4.70
13	Orlando, FL	4.70
14	Sanibel Island, FL	4.70
15	Siesta Key, FL	4.69
16	Estes Park, CO	4.68
17	Waldport, OR	4.67
18	Kissimmee, FL	4.67
19	Oceanside, CA	4.66
20	Marco Island, FL	4.66

To research and book vacation rentals, go to www.TripAdvisor.com/Rentals.

*Average review rating indicates the average score (out of five) given by travelers to vacation rental properties in the specified area with at least 1,000 total reviews. The score is the average of all review ratings provided for that area from January 2014 – December 2014.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Alternative vacation lodging arrangements

Are you tired of staying at hotels when you visit Branson?  Are bed and breakfast rooms too cramped?  Are lakeshore resorts too dated for your tastes?  Do you have a big family or are you vacationing with a big group of people?  I have a suggestion for you – vacation home rentals.

Vacation home rentals are different than timeshare vacations.  Vacation homes are actual homes or condos that are rented out to travelers.  Vacation homes come in a variety of sizes, from one bedroom to several bedrooms.  These vacation homes have all the comforts of home.  All you have to do is bring yourself and your gear, and then go shop for food, unless you’re planning on eating in restaurants the entire trip. 

A vacation home rental is perfect if you or a loved one has a special diet that you can’t find at a Branson restaurant. Or perhaps it would help you stay on your diet - Branson is not known for healthy food, especially with all the buffets.  If you are vacationing with a large group, such as a family reunion, it would be more efficient for everyone to stay in one location.  You can also split the cost of lodging with everyone, which could be cheaper in the long run.  Most vacation homes also have washers and dryers, which would cut back on laundry duties when you get back home from vacation. 

The best place to look for vacation home rentals is online.  I did a Google search for “Branson vacation home rentals” and came up with several pages of websites.  The most well-known website for searching for vacation rentals is vrbo.com. TripAdvisor.com has partnered with HomeAway.com for vacation rental listings. I also enjoyed looking at the homes at flipkey.com.  There are also owners renting vacation homes on Craigslist, but I’m a little leery about using Craigslist for anything after what happened to the couple in Georgia who were killed after meeting with someone who had a car for sale. 

Rental costs for vacation homes vary according to the number of bedrooms, the location, and the time of the year.  Like hotel rooms and resorts, rental costs are more expensive during the busy season, which starts Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day weekend.  Rentals are more expensive if they are located on Indian Point or near Table Rock Lake.  I did find a 2 BD home on Flipkey for $70.00/night for our selected dates. Maybe I can talk my hubby into it. Wish me luck!   

On a personal note, I have started my yearly Branson vacation planning.  I’ve been comparing prices for hotels on various travel websites.  I’m hoping that we can stay at a resort on Indian Point this year.  It’s been 5 years since we have stayed on Indian Point, and I really miss it.  I love being able to look out the window and being able to see Table Rock Lake. I like vacationing close to the great outdoors, which is more peaceful than being in the hustle and bustle of the city. Being able to look out on the water soothes my soul. I found a couple of resorts on Indian Point that don’t go to summer rates until the middle of June, which is amazing. As mentioned above, summer rates usually begin Memorial Day weekend. 

Don’t forget - if you’re on Facebook, stop by and click the like button on the Branson on Your Budget page!  I update that page with special deals and other tidbits of information that are too short for a blog post. 

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!  See you again soon!

Diane

Review: Lodge of the Ozarks

We just returned from a four day trip to Branson.  We didn't have the money to do a lot of things, but we had some fun and it's always good to get away from everyday life for a few days.  Thanks to a great Groupon deal, we stayed at the Lodge of the Ozarks, which is a very nice hotel.

The photo to the left shows the front of the hotel.  The Lodge of the Ozarks is located on the Strip (Hwy. 76) across the street from the Caravelle Theater and the old Jim Stafford Theater, which is now closed and is for sale. The hotel is in a great location on the Strip and is within walking distance of two of The Tracks locations, Andy's Frozen Custard, and several theaters. There are also a couple of restaurants nearby. 

The lobby of the hotel is decorated in rustic lodge style  Here are two photos of the lobby:

Registration was an easy process, although a bit confusing.  On the right as you enter the door is a show and attraction ticket sale counter, also known as the concierge.  Some people thought that was where you checked in.  The registration desk, however, was straight ahead.  There was a registration sign, but it was hard to see.  The young lady at the registration desk swiped my debit card for incidentals.  This is the first time I've ever had to do that at any hotel in Branson.  When we completed checking in, I asked about the Golden Corral vouchers and The Tracks pass that were a part of the Groupon deal. I thought they would be given to me with our room swipe cards.  She said that you had to ask for them as some of the Groupon deals for the Lodge didn't come with vouchers. I found that strange, since the only Groupon deal I saw for the Lodge offered the vouchers. 

The hotel has a workout room and a nice, large indoor pool.  There was unfortunately no hot tub, although I saw on one of the doors of the pool a sign with spa rules and the switch to operate it.  If the hotel isn't going to offer a hot tub, then perhaps the sign and the switch ought to be removed. The pool is only 4 foot deep at its deepest point.  Here are photos of the workout room and the pool:

The hotel has interior corridors, which were nice and quiet. We stayed in room 416, which was a value double queen room. Refrigerators are only available in the premium rooms, so it was a good thing we had our small cooler. The ice machine on our floor was out of order, however, so we had to go to another floor to get ice.   Soda vending machines are available on each floor and snack vending machines are available on the first floor.  There were two sets of elevators, one near the lobby and one halfway down the long hallways.

If you didn't want to walk too far or drive to get dinner, the hotel has a restaurant called the Rafters.  We didn't go to this restaurant, so I can't give a review of it.  The hotel also has a lounge where you can purchase alcoholic drinks and limited food items. 

Breakfast was served in a room called the Club.  It was a good hot breakfast with bacon, sausage, Irish potatoes, scrambled eggs, and biscuits and gravy.  There was orange juice, milk and coffee to drink, and cereal and fruit were also offered.  The hot breakfast attendant was very efficient and gave large portions.  Friday's breakfast, however, wasn't the hot breakfast we were accustomed to the rest of the week.  It was served in the lounge and consisted of donuts, oatmeal, cereal, and toast.  There were two toasters and they kept tripping the power strip.  I wonder if there was something else going on? 

There is also a theater at the hotel and you have a choice of two shows - Club Mario, a lounge singer/comedian, or Kirby and Bambi Van Burch, two magicians. 

The hotel also has several nice sitting areas to sit at and visit.  This would be a great hotel for a family reunion or a wedding.  Each floor has a small sitting area with 4 highback chairs.  The lobby also has comfortable seating.  And there are 2 nice outdoor seating areas, one of which is pictured below:

The hotel only has 3 luggage carts, which are located at the front entrance.  You would think there would be more than 3 luggage carts for a hotel with over 400 rooms.  All in all, we had a very nice stay at this hotel. If we could afford it, we would stay there again next year. 

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Road trippin'

What’s your road trip style?  Do you hustle to get to your destination as quickly as you can (which is my husband’s road trip style)?  Or do you pull over to check out interesting places on the way?  For those traveling southwest on Hwy. 44  and Hwy. 65 to get to Branson, there are some fun detours you may want to pull off the highway to visit.  As you may know, Hwy. 44 parallels the old Route 66 and some of these places have been around since the heyday of Route 66.  These are in order of travel from St. Louis southwesterly.  I have put links to any websites that I could find for these places.

The Magic House - Also known as the St. Louis Children's Museum, this fun place for kids of all ages is located in Kirkwood. There are lots of hands-on activities so you can learn about science.  Don't forget to touch the electrically charged ball and get your photo taken!

Purina Farms -   Purina Farms is located in Gray Summit and is operated by the Purina Pet Food company.  Your family can learn how to properly care for your pets and you can see the Incredible Dog Team do incredible stunts.  You can even see farm animals there, and learn about how Purina makes pet food.  Best of all, admission is free!  Reservations are encouraged, so click on the link to find the phone number.  

Meramec Caverns – Also known as "America's Cave," this cave is located in Stanton. It's the largest commercial cave in the state of Missouri and is the largest cave west of the Mississippi.  This cave is 58 degrees all year long.  You can take a guided tour or just browse in the gift store.  There is also a camping area, you can canoe in the river, and there is a zipline as well. 

Cuba, Missouri – Cuba is known as the “Mural City.”  It also boasts the world’s largest rocking chair, which would make for some great photos. There's more to do in Cuba than just view the murals and the rocking chair, however - click this link to find out.  http://cubamomurals.com/2009/05/20-things-to-do-in-cuba-missouri-route-66-mural-city/ You could also spend a night at the Wagon Wheel Hotel, the longest operating hotel on Route 66. 

St. James, Missouri – St. James is home to two wineries.  You can take tours at the wineries and sample some wine. If you’re driving, don’t sample too much! 

Lebanon, Missouri – If you or someone you love enjoy working jigsaw puzzles, pay a visit to Missouri Puzzles, which boasts all kinds of jigsaw puzzles.  Lebanon is usually where we stop for lunch on the way to Branson, since there are lots of fast food restaurants and other restaurants. 

Strafford, Missouri – Strafford is the home of the Wild Animal Safari, which is a drive through animal park. You can purchase food to feed the animals and take photos.  

As you travel south on Hwy. 65, you can stop in Springfield at Bass Pro Shops where you can purchase anything for the outdoors you might ever need.   If you didn't get your fill of animals at the Wild Animal Safari, you can visit Dickerson Park Zoo to see even more animals.  Fantastic Caverns is America's only ride through cave. 

Ozark is further down Hwy. 65, about halfway from Hwy. 44 to Branson.  If you haven't yet gotten your fill of caves, or you're a Civil War buff, you can visit the Smallin Civil War Cave.  And if you're hungry after all this exploring, you can visit Lambert's Cafe, home of the thrown rolls.  

I hope you have enjoyed our trip down Hwy. 44 and Hwy. 65.  Is there anywhere that you like to visit on your way to Branson?  Please feel free to comment below. 

Thanks for reading! See you next time! 

Diane

Taking the family to the show

So you’re vacationing in Branson, you have a big family and want to see a show, but are freaking out about the cost. I can’t say I blame you – there is only hubby, me and the 17 year old son and I freak out about the cost too.  Have no fear – BOYB is here to save the day.  Several shows in Branson offer family passes, where 2 adults and up to a certain number of kids get in for one price, which is usually a lot cheaper than paying for separate tickets.  Here is a listing of several shows that offer family passes.  If the name of the show is underlined, you can click on it and go directly to that show's website to purchase tickets.

Duttons – Family pass not available on website; you must call the box office and request it

Presley’s Country Jubilee

Grand Country Theatre

Baldknobbers - Family pass not available on website; you must call the box office and request it

If the show you want to see isn't listed here, call the ticket office and see if they offer a family pass.  Once you purchase the pass, call the show’s ticket office and make reservations for the show you want to attend, especially if you have a large group or little ones that will need to sit close to the stage.

There are some shows with reduced ticket prices for teenagers (age 13-17).  I wish there were more.  If they’re not legal adults until they’re 18 (i.e., not able to vote or join the military), then it’s unfair to make them pay an adult price for a seat, in my opinion. This will be the last year that we will be able to take advantage of teenage ticket prices, as my son turns 18 in August. :(  Here’s a short list of shows with reduced prices for teenagers:

Sight and Sound (Jonah)

Shoji Tabuchi

Hamners’ Unbelievable Variety

Magnificent 7

Patsy Cline Remembered

Clay Cooper Theater (all shows except Haygoods)

Duttons
Starlite Theater (kids under 4 years old are free here)

Again, if the show you show you want to see isn't listed here, call the box office and inquire if they have a special deal for teenagers.

If the show you want to see doesn’t offer discounted tickets, visit Branson 2 for 1 Tickets to see if they're selling vouchers for the show.  They have over 75 shows on the list of shows they offer.  You can purchase 2 tickets for the price of one, and if you have an odd number of people in your party (like we do), you can purchase as many vouchers as you need.  Some shows will not let you make advance phone reservations for seats without having purchased the 2 for 1 vouchers first (the Duttons are one show that comes to mind). In addition, some of the radio station vouchers, Groupon and/or LivingSocial deals will allow you to buy more than one deal, but make sure you read the fine print to see if you can use more than one deal at once.   

That's all for now! Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Diane