flyaway
11-27-2006, 12:01 PM
Trip review Nov 23 -26, 2006
Well- I write a lot of trip reports for various message boards and I write details – so hope this is not too long for you – just move on to a shorter one if you do not care for details. I will be happy to try to answer any questions any of you might have after you read my report.
I decided at the last minute to take my parents (ages 76 and 80) to Branson. Hubby stayed home to hunt! Thanksgiving night we stayed at the Radisson Inn (next to Moon River theater). It was nice enough – not “swanky” but clean…..not as nice as some Hampton Inns that I have stayed in. It was the only “nicer” type hotel I found with a room available on Thanksgiving night. I originally had a room for the next 2 nights at the Hampton Inn near the Shepherd of the Hills area and found a Fairfield Condo that was actually less expensive for those 2 nights – which worked out great since my son was driving down from Whiteman AFB for Friday night to stay and visit with us. The Fairfield (the Meadows units) was extremely nice – I highly recommend it. Very large den and kitchen area – nice comfy bed in the separate bed room. It IS a time share but since we were not a part of the timeshare package we were not forced to do a tour – but I saw several tours going on every few minutes – they moved some folks thru there! I DO recommend staying there – the Meadows location is just south of Falls Creek Road near the Welk theater – so it is not too far off the beaten path.
Thursday am on our arrival to Branson, we stopped first at Tickets 2 for1 to see what shows were available from our list we were interested in seeing. I was able to get tickets ($14 each for 3) for that day for the 2:00 SIX show (MY favorite of the weekend! – see my review under shows) and for the 10:00 show on Friday for Clay Cooper (another wonderful show!) (again, $14 each for 3). We wanted to also see Mickey Gilley and Andy Williams – but those are not discounted so I bought those at the theater and got good seats for all – saw Andy Williams Thursday night (I reviewed it under the Andy Williams thread) and saw Mickey Gilley Saturday night. I would have loved to have see the Gatlain Bros and Lennon Sisters since we were staying near their Welk theater but the timing did not work for us.
The weather was unseasonably warm – being from Louisiana we were used to that but had expected to need coats and gloves while there. We used jackets a few times but it was a beautiful sunny warm weekend which suited us just fine.
After seeing SIX we drove to eat Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Corral --- we were all very disappointed – I SO wished I had gone across the street to try McFarlands! My parents were familiar with Golden Corral as they had one in Chattanooga where they lived and were not too impressed with it – I told them I’d read nothing but good about it on the message boards – but I have to say it was NOT up to standard and not worth the $14 Thanksgiving price at all. Their dressing and gravy WAS good – I do have to give them that – but on the table sign it says “largest in the world” and the one in Chattanooga is much larger than this location – so not sure why they are touting that….. oh – well, tummies full anyway we checked into the Radisson for the night.
That evening we drove next door to the Andy Williams show – I will not review it here since I reviewed it elsewhere.
Friday am we ate breakfast in the room, checked out and left the hotel in time for our 10:00 Clay Cooper show. We all really enjoyed that show – he is very talented – his 3 year old son is adorable – his pretty wife is very talented as well. Clay sings every bit as good as any country singer on the radio – I highly recommend him and was glad to hear he will be moving into the Mo Brandley theater next year – so he must be doing quite well out on his own. I read on the forums where he used to be a lead singer for the Country Tonite show.
For lunch we drove to Mel’s Hard Luck Diner as recommended on these message boards. It really is a cute diner and the entertainment was really great. The waiters and waitresses take turns walking among the tables and singing songs – most have a cd to sell. There is a lot of talent among that staff. We enjoyed our food and prices were fine. I had the chili and thought it to be very good.
The Diner is located in the Grand Village Shopping Center (access from the yellow route and turn onto Glory Road to enter the parking lot and avoid Hwy 76 strip traffic). It is located in between the Clarion Hotel (it looks really nice) and the Grand Palace theater. I enjoyed strolling thru some of the Christmas shops after lunch.
Then we drove to the Fairfield resort to check in – thankfully they had one unit available early so we were able to get settled. My mom has terrible chronic back problems and the long car drive about did her in – she was ill during the Andy Williams show the night before so really needed to relax this afternoon. We all rested waiting on my son’s arrival. When he arrived (he brought his girlfriend as well) we went for supper at Dana’s BBQ – we just beat the crowd by going at 5:00 – it was delicious – we had the pork and catfish plates – everyone loved the food. We then drove to The Landing – we wanted to see the Fountains as we’ve been to Vegas and LOVE the Bellagio fountains there – the same engineering firm designed these. Although on a much smaller scale, the Branson fountains are a lot of fun and are really pretty – these fountains have added color and fire to the show – the Star Spangled Banner was especially beautiful. They are certainly not as moving or as majestic as the ones in Vegas – but for a smaller version they are WELL worth seeing. We loved the Landing – wonderful shops and all decked out for Christmas. I would have loved to have stayed and walked around but mom really needed to get back to the room – even though the Landing does have a trolley for those who do not want to walk around. I had seen enough to know that I WILL be back!
We took it easy the next day (Saturday) – my son and girlfriend drove over to The Chateau Resort to look around – it really is pretty with beautiful views of the mountains, the lake and dam. They left, after lunch in the condo, to visit The Landing on their way back home….later told me they really enjoyed walking along the Boardwalk which goes along side the lake…very pretty. That afternoon we relaxed – Dad and I walked around the resort area. About 5:00 we drove to Mickey Gilley’s theater and got a wonderful parking spot to beat the crowd after the show – it worked perfectly too! We ate at Gilley’s Texas Café next door and were immediately seated at 5:30 – again beating the crowd – when we left about 6:30 there was a room full of folks waiting to be seated. We really enjoyed the food – we ate Mexican and it is the “American” type that we really enjoy. We walked over to the theater and browsed the gift shop, purchasing a few things – visited with folks we met who live not too far from us – and were seated at 7:00. The pre-show video began about 7:15 and gave the life story of Mickey – very interesting. His show was good – I was not too familiar with his songs – being more of a Jerry Lee Lewis fan myself – but still enjoyed the show – Joey Riley was hilarious! I might make his show on my next visit – he is very talented as well on that fiddle! We enjoyed this show and were glad we finally got to see our Louisiana boy.
On leaving, I turned right onto the Strip, instead of left, and was able to turn left onto Shepherd of the Hills Hwy – to go the longer way to our condo – but I am sure it took at least an hour less in time! That traffic on the strip was at almost a standstill bumper to bumper – whew – so glad I did not have to spend time in that mess!
I had heard this was the WORST traffic nightmare time of the year to go – and I do believe it! The only other time I’ve been to Branson was a few days after July 4, 2005, and that was for one night only – we stopped on our way to see our son. We saw Shoji that year and really enjoyed it but were not impressed with anything else in Branson – but that year I had not really read much about the shows so we did not know what else to see or what to do – we just kinda walked around without a plan and got stuck in Hwy 76 and Shepherd of the Hills traffic!!!!! Not a good thing to do with MY husband! He swore he’d never return and I was not too keen on it at the time.
My parents have never been to Branson; my dad is a big country music fan – they had a lot of friends make bus trips but my mom was never able to travel on a bus and could not go – so when family plans changed and it happened that this Thanksgiving instead of a huge family gathering it would be just my husband and my parents, the idea hit me to take them to Branson, if our son could drive down to meet us! It worked out great. Dear hubby was glad to be able to spend all weekend in the woods hunting.
I read on the message boards about what to see and do – studied maps like crazy to get a feel for the lay out and know what the colored routes meant and how to avoid strip traffic. All that planning worked and I enjoyed myself SO much that “I” am planning to return next summer with friends and/ or our kids and their families – much to my husband’s dismay! LOL! If we stay out at one of the resort areas near or on Table Rock Lake he will be just fine – and he can just go into town for a show or 2 and a good meal or 2. I am looking forward to spending more time window shopping in the areas I found this trip…..and catching more shows. I found out I like more country music than I thought I did!
One thing that really impressed me is what a clean town Branson is – and how “all-American” it is. They really are patriotic – something you just do not see in bigger towns and cities. I appreciated how many of the shows took time to salute the Veterans and have them stand up (my Dad loved that as that is really rare elsewhere). They seem to hold family values dear and all the shows we saw and many others advertised seem geared to entire families, no matter what age. As a grandmother I really appreciated that – knowing I can bring my kids and their kids and not worry about what to see or do. Not too many tourist towns like that anymore. And one more thing I found impressive – the shows all “help” each other by having some of the newer acts in town do a stint in their show to help get them known – that IS impressive – trying to help the “competition”. It does help those of us not too familiar with some of the lesser known acts in town – we get to see some of them and then want to return or go buy tickets to the new guy’s show. I love that! And in several theaters this week some of the other stars were in the audience – the main attraction always introduced them and said a little about their show, giving them free advertising.
I have to say I am so glad I went this year and came away with such a positive impression of Branson – so glad I was able to change my first impression. I will be trying to muster up a lot of business for Branson now!
Happy Holidays to you all and to those still planning a trip – do plan ahead so you CAN enjoy your time there even more!
Well- I write a lot of trip reports for various message boards and I write details – so hope this is not too long for you – just move on to a shorter one if you do not care for details. I will be happy to try to answer any questions any of you might have after you read my report.
I decided at the last minute to take my parents (ages 76 and 80) to Branson. Hubby stayed home to hunt! Thanksgiving night we stayed at the Radisson Inn (next to Moon River theater). It was nice enough – not “swanky” but clean…..not as nice as some Hampton Inns that I have stayed in. It was the only “nicer” type hotel I found with a room available on Thanksgiving night. I originally had a room for the next 2 nights at the Hampton Inn near the Shepherd of the Hills area and found a Fairfield Condo that was actually less expensive for those 2 nights – which worked out great since my son was driving down from Whiteman AFB for Friday night to stay and visit with us. The Fairfield (the Meadows units) was extremely nice – I highly recommend it. Very large den and kitchen area – nice comfy bed in the separate bed room. It IS a time share but since we were not a part of the timeshare package we were not forced to do a tour – but I saw several tours going on every few minutes – they moved some folks thru there! I DO recommend staying there – the Meadows location is just south of Falls Creek Road near the Welk theater – so it is not too far off the beaten path.
Thursday am on our arrival to Branson, we stopped first at Tickets 2 for1 to see what shows were available from our list we were interested in seeing. I was able to get tickets ($14 each for 3) for that day for the 2:00 SIX show (MY favorite of the weekend! – see my review under shows) and for the 10:00 show on Friday for Clay Cooper (another wonderful show!) (again, $14 each for 3). We wanted to also see Mickey Gilley and Andy Williams – but those are not discounted so I bought those at the theater and got good seats for all – saw Andy Williams Thursday night (I reviewed it under the Andy Williams thread) and saw Mickey Gilley Saturday night. I would have loved to have see the Gatlain Bros and Lennon Sisters since we were staying near their Welk theater but the timing did not work for us.
The weather was unseasonably warm – being from Louisiana we were used to that but had expected to need coats and gloves while there. We used jackets a few times but it was a beautiful sunny warm weekend which suited us just fine.
After seeing SIX we drove to eat Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Corral --- we were all very disappointed – I SO wished I had gone across the street to try McFarlands! My parents were familiar with Golden Corral as they had one in Chattanooga where they lived and were not too impressed with it – I told them I’d read nothing but good about it on the message boards – but I have to say it was NOT up to standard and not worth the $14 Thanksgiving price at all. Their dressing and gravy WAS good – I do have to give them that – but on the table sign it says “largest in the world” and the one in Chattanooga is much larger than this location – so not sure why they are touting that….. oh – well, tummies full anyway we checked into the Radisson for the night.
That evening we drove next door to the Andy Williams show – I will not review it here since I reviewed it elsewhere.
Friday am we ate breakfast in the room, checked out and left the hotel in time for our 10:00 Clay Cooper show. We all really enjoyed that show – he is very talented – his 3 year old son is adorable – his pretty wife is very talented as well. Clay sings every bit as good as any country singer on the radio – I highly recommend him and was glad to hear he will be moving into the Mo Brandley theater next year – so he must be doing quite well out on his own. I read on the forums where he used to be a lead singer for the Country Tonite show.
For lunch we drove to Mel’s Hard Luck Diner as recommended on these message boards. It really is a cute diner and the entertainment was really great. The waiters and waitresses take turns walking among the tables and singing songs – most have a cd to sell. There is a lot of talent among that staff. We enjoyed our food and prices were fine. I had the chili and thought it to be very good.
The Diner is located in the Grand Village Shopping Center (access from the yellow route and turn onto Glory Road to enter the parking lot and avoid Hwy 76 strip traffic). It is located in between the Clarion Hotel (it looks really nice) and the Grand Palace theater. I enjoyed strolling thru some of the Christmas shops after lunch.
Then we drove to the Fairfield resort to check in – thankfully they had one unit available early so we were able to get settled. My mom has terrible chronic back problems and the long car drive about did her in – she was ill during the Andy Williams show the night before so really needed to relax this afternoon. We all rested waiting on my son’s arrival. When he arrived (he brought his girlfriend as well) we went for supper at Dana’s BBQ – we just beat the crowd by going at 5:00 – it was delicious – we had the pork and catfish plates – everyone loved the food. We then drove to The Landing – we wanted to see the Fountains as we’ve been to Vegas and LOVE the Bellagio fountains there – the same engineering firm designed these. Although on a much smaller scale, the Branson fountains are a lot of fun and are really pretty – these fountains have added color and fire to the show – the Star Spangled Banner was especially beautiful. They are certainly not as moving or as majestic as the ones in Vegas – but for a smaller version they are WELL worth seeing. We loved the Landing – wonderful shops and all decked out for Christmas. I would have loved to have stayed and walked around but mom really needed to get back to the room – even though the Landing does have a trolley for those who do not want to walk around. I had seen enough to know that I WILL be back!
We took it easy the next day (Saturday) – my son and girlfriend drove over to The Chateau Resort to look around – it really is pretty with beautiful views of the mountains, the lake and dam. They left, after lunch in the condo, to visit The Landing on their way back home….later told me they really enjoyed walking along the Boardwalk which goes along side the lake…very pretty. That afternoon we relaxed – Dad and I walked around the resort area. About 5:00 we drove to Mickey Gilley’s theater and got a wonderful parking spot to beat the crowd after the show – it worked perfectly too! We ate at Gilley’s Texas Café next door and were immediately seated at 5:30 – again beating the crowd – when we left about 6:30 there was a room full of folks waiting to be seated. We really enjoyed the food – we ate Mexican and it is the “American” type that we really enjoy. We walked over to the theater and browsed the gift shop, purchasing a few things – visited with folks we met who live not too far from us – and were seated at 7:00. The pre-show video began about 7:15 and gave the life story of Mickey – very interesting. His show was good – I was not too familiar with his songs – being more of a Jerry Lee Lewis fan myself – but still enjoyed the show – Joey Riley was hilarious! I might make his show on my next visit – he is very talented as well on that fiddle! We enjoyed this show and were glad we finally got to see our Louisiana boy.
On leaving, I turned right onto the Strip, instead of left, and was able to turn left onto Shepherd of the Hills Hwy – to go the longer way to our condo – but I am sure it took at least an hour less in time! That traffic on the strip was at almost a standstill bumper to bumper – whew – so glad I did not have to spend time in that mess!
I had heard this was the WORST traffic nightmare time of the year to go – and I do believe it! The only other time I’ve been to Branson was a few days after July 4, 2005, and that was for one night only – we stopped on our way to see our son. We saw Shoji that year and really enjoyed it but were not impressed with anything else in Branson – but that year I had not really read much about the shows so we did not know what else to see or what to do – we just kinda walked around without a plan and got stuck in Hwy 76 and Shepherd of the Hills traffic!!!!! Not a good thing to do with MY husband! He swore he’d never return and I was not too keen on it at the time.
My parents have never been to Branson; my dad is a big country music fan – they had a lot of friends make bus trips but my mom was never able to travel on a bus and could not go – so when family plans changed and it happened that this Thanksgiving instead of a huge family gathering it would be just my husband and my parents, the idea hit me to take them to Branson, if our son could drive down to meet us! It worked out great. Dear hubby was glad to be able to spend all weekend in the woods hunting.
I read on the message boards about what to see and do – studied maps like crazy to get a feel for the lay out and know what the colored routes meant and how to avoid strip traffic. All that planning worked and I enjoyed myself SO much that “I” am planning to return next summer with friends and/ or our kids and their families – much to my husband’s dismay! LOL! If we stay out at one of the resort areas near or on Table Rock Lake he will be just fine – and he can just go into town for a show or 2 and a good meal or 2. I am looking forward to spending more time window shopping in the areas I found this trip…..and catching more shows. I found out I like more country music than I thought I did!
One thing that really impressed me is what a clean town Branson is – and how “all-American” it is. They really are patriotic – something you just do not see in bigger towns and cities. I appreciated how many of the shows took time to salute the Veterans and have them stand up (my Dad loved that as that is really rare elsewhere). They seem to hold family values dear and all the shows we saw and many others advertised seem geared to entire families, no matter what age. As a grandmother I really appreciated that – knowing I can bring my kids and their kids and not worry about what to see or do. Not too many tourist towns like that anymore. And one more thing I found impressive – the shows all “help” each other by having some of the newer acts in town do a stint in their show to help get them known – that IS impressive – trying to help the “competition”. It does help those of us not too familiar with some of the lesser known acts in town – we get to see some of them and then want to return or go buy tickets to the new guy’s show. I love that! And in several theaters this week some of the other stars were in the audience – the main attraction always introduced them and said a little about their show, giving them free advertising.
I have to say I am so glad I went this year and came away with such a positive impression of Branson – so glad I was able to change my first impression. I will be trying to muster up a lot of business for Branson now!
Happy Holidays to you all and to those still planning a trip – do plan ahead so you CAN enjoy your time there even more!