Written by shaylee1

I would have to agree with bbodb and drayh1 and i must say the reason is that the main MC Brian Davis who has been with Dixie Stampede was fired on his birthday last year. He made that show fun and exciting to see and now he is not there. Brian put everything into that show and he really worked hard, he always looked forward to meeting and greeting people after the show and he loved the kids that came to see the show. The only reason that Dixie did so well was because of Brian. To see him perform was seeing a true performer who really enjoyed being in the spotlight doing what he does best and that is entertain. He also has a great singing voice and has proved that in the show. It makes me very upset that they fired him and replaced him with someone else who does not have the experience much less the arena presence that Brian does. No one will ever replace what the Dixie Stampede lost.
The food is terriffic and the parking is not great, as you have to park in the back and walk to the front which can be difficult for some people.
The horses are beautiful especially Nico the gorgeous black horse ridden in by the MC.

Was not very good 5 years ago, Hope they got better!

Written by Drayh1

Went for our 25th anniversary dinner and was very disappointed. It was not a popular place that night. Not near as fun as Medieval Times. I am sorry to say that we won't go again when we can make it to Branson again, not unless we got it free.

Best Branson Show

Written by fireboyz

We have been to Dixie Stampede several times. We are not much on the shows when we go to Branson, but this is a must see. The food was great, even though you had to eat with your hands !! The Christmas show is tops!
Thanks Dixie Stampede staff for offering great family entertainment in Branson!!!

Dixie Stampede unimpressive at best

Written by bbodb

Of all the shows that we saw on our recent Branson trip, Dixie Stampede (hereinafter referred to as DS) was probably the most anticipated show (especially by the six year old daughter). The allure of horses to all of our kids is very strong so DS was definitely on our short list of 'must see' shows.

Another reason that I had some high expectations of this show is the cost. With a family of five, the cost to attend this show was about $150. (I'm sure that there are some options available to reduce the cost somewhat but I think it is fair to say that DS is among the most expensive shows in Branson.)

(Readers, please note that some show details will be discussed here. If you would prefer [b]NOT[/b] to know these details then I would suggest that you skip the remainder of this entry.)

The pre show of Jessie and James was okay – nothing out of the ordinary but not bad either. The real disappointments begin with the show itself.

I was initially concerned about our seat locations (G section, 4th row) in that they seemed to be tucked off in the corner. However, in retrospect, I can say that this was not a valid concern. The arena and show are configured in such a way that there should not be any bad seats in the house.

In no particular order, I’ll list the aspects about DS that I found lacking. (By the way, I really hope html tags work on this board!)

A) [b]The length of the show:[/b] Clocking in at about 90 minutes, DS is among the briefest of shows that we saw this week.
B) [b]The price of the show:[/b] Although I have already mentioned this, the combination of ticket price and show length left me feeling that there should have been more show for the money.
C) [b]Lack of horse display, abundance of silly people display:[/b] Building on point b, I want to see a LOT of the horses. While we did take some time prior to the show to view the horses in their stables, I want to see them in action (as much as two thirds of the show does NOT involve horses.) I would have been much happier if time had not been wasted on flag passing, human barrel racing, horseshoe (a.k.a. toilet seat)toss, and a lot of narrator effort (consuming time) to get the crowd involved.
Also, the number of riding tricks was very minimal. The Roman rider was quite good and the riders who did mounting / dismounting tricks were also quite good. More acts of this type would have made me less aware of the brief run time of the show.
D) [b]Serving and servers:[/b] I have seen this touched on previously on this board but it is worth addressing again. Serving food during any show is always tricky (see Hoop De Doo revue at Disney for a better execution of this) but DS servers seem overly intent on gaining the audience attention while the show is in progress. Needless to say, this is very distracting. Also, considering the high ticket prices for DS, it would be nice if DS paid their servers enough so they would not have to beg for tips. This would also give the narrator one less subject to talk about (thus adding available time for the show).
E) [b]Parking:[/b] Of the shows we attended during our stay in Branson, DS had by far the absolute worst parking setup. The largest problem seems to be the reliance on one entrance/exit. Traffic will not move quickly after a show so do NOT try to make another show immediately after the 5:30 pm show or you might be late.

What’s really sad about DS is that they have the making of a great show in their lobby. The story of how the DS came to exist would be the basis of a wonderful show – potentially full of horse racing and other story lines.

I know that there are many fans of DS out there and this is not an attempt to rain on your parade – just a view from someone who is not as enamored with the show as you.

BTW – I plan on writing a letter to the DS hq and see how they respond to these observations. If I hear anything from them, I’ll post the reply here…

Dixie Stampede Review

Written by Jerm

Well I am back and I had a great time at the Dixie Stampede. There were 9 of us total that went. Four in our party took small children from the second grade child on down to the children not even thinking about school yet, LOL! Everyone had a great time. We went to the 5:30 show. We missed the pre-show but was told by a very nice employee that if we wished to see the pre-show we could stay after the main show and see the pre-show for the 8:00 show. I've been to this show a couple of times before and have enjoyed it each time. This time there was some changes in the show for those of us who like to see something different and want an excuse to go back and see it again, LOL! There were buffalo which was a new element from last year's show, a comedian that interacted with the audience that I don't remember from the last time I was there, and you can see Dolly Parton on the big screen singing the patriotic song to close the show. There are many different types of animals in this show from buffalo, racing pigs, horses, etc. The show is not all about tricks with the animals and such. There is also some singing and dancing to go along with it all. The show also included beautiful costumes and sets. One of the set pieces even has dancing water in it. I also really enjoyed the costumes that had lights on them. Now about the food. Every time I've been to this show I've felt that the food has been top notch. You get to eat with your fingers which the children in our party really enjoyed. You can find the menu on the Dixie Stampede website. If I wasn't such a pig and ate everything in front of me I could have requested a "horsey bag" to bring the leftovers home with me. So if you have small children and you worry about them not being able to finish their food you can always bring it home with you. Your server will bring around the bags toward the end of the show. Also I have read where some people were concerned about seating. Three out of the 4 that had children held them in their laps and they didn't seem to mind it. The second grader sat in his own seat. I am not sure if small children could see all of the action sitting in their own seat but then again I guess they could stand up in their seat if they wanted to. We sat in the very last row at the top and we could still see everything beautifully. The very top row is bench style seating and the entry way into those bench seats can be a killer. You have to kind of squeeze in. But, you can always blame that on your children as well. :) You can tell everyone that you had a hard time getting your kids in and out of there.

:):)

Not bad

Written by Donsgal

I've been to the Dixie Stampede many times. There is a lot going on and it is a fun attraction for folks who aren't too particular about their food.

There is plenty of chow, don't get me wrong, but it is pretty unexciting in quality in taste. Oh the novelty of eating with your fingers (they do offer plastic utensils for the ultra-particular) may be fun for some, but the chicken, ribs and potatoes don't meet my expectations for taste and quality.

I also don't like the throw it on your plate atmosphere. It all seems very rushed and it's unpleasant to try to eat and watch the show at the same time. There's just too damn much going on. Every time I eat there I get indigestion because I eat too fast so that I am done "in time" (for what, I'm not sure".

The events in the arena are swell. Lots of horse back riding and such. I especially like the pig races the time I went. The singing seems pre-recorded and of course, no live musicians, which I think is really lame. In a town so full of wonderful, talented musicians, you think they would find a way to have live music instead of tracks.

Overall, it's a good place to go to ONCE or a good place to go to if you really, really like horses. I'll probably go again one day, when I feel like getting a case of indigestion.