Branson Bound in July 08

[amywilliams]

My husband and I are taking our kids on their first "official" family vacation and are interested in ideas for children ages 2 and 3. We took our 3 year old to an amusement park last year and she did almost every ride (except the ones where she was flat out too small) including 2 roller coasters. Both kids are pretty daring so any suggestions will be great!! I'm thinking cheap yet fun enough to keep them occupied and tired out by the end of the day....

[Tyann]

I just posted this in your other thread.

Our boys, ages 2 and 4, enjoy mini golf tremendously. If it's raining, check out the glow-in-the-dark indoor course at Playtime Pizza. It's really simple, but very inexpensive. My boys also like their pizza buffet and ice cream. If you go on a Friday night, they have a special. However, all of the other games are geared towards ages 6 and up.

Also go to Moonshine Beach. It's $4 per car for the entire day, and they have a really neat playground set, as well as shower houses and a pavilion. However, bring a cooler with snacks and drinks since they have nothing available. If you have water shoes, those would be a good idea. The beach is sandy, and then is fine rocks once you enter the water.

And then Silver Dollar City would be a lot of fun, too! Ages 3 and under are free, so you would only need to pay for you and DH. Get the 2 days for 1 ticket at www.BransonTourismCenter.com or go in after 3 on the first day and get in free the next day. Two short trips will be more enjoyable. Bring extra clothes for after Geyser Gulch, and either bring or rent a stroller.

Then White Water would be another fun thing for them to do. Again, 3 and under are free, and Branson Tourism Center has good ticket prices. If you want to still do a water park type thing, you can try the AquaPlex for only $3/kid and $4/adult.

[StarsRUs]

Ditto on everything that Tyann said. Those are some great suggestions.

Silver Dollar City (to us) would be a must. It has so many great things for any age to do. The kids would love it.

Have a great time!!

[jillybeanz]

My granddaughter is coming down this weekend for her first visit to memaws, she is 2 1/2, I was thinking a neat thing for her to do as well, would be visit the Build A Bear shop down on the Landing, it will giver her a lifetime souvenir of her first visit to memaws, dress the bear with a Branson shirt, lol and when I was down there the other day the prices seemed pretty reasonable. Just a thought to kill two birds with one stone, fun and a lifetime souvenir eez, i sound like a pitch person for Build A Bear, lol..... enjoy your trip down to Branson!!

[fordarama]

Don't forget celebration city,
I love it, The park plays cool 50's music all thru the park,
It has a fair atmosphere, a lazer firework show every evening, they don't open till after 3...
I think the little ones would like it...
Also you can get a city hopper pass that feature three parks , or two out of three parks,
silver dollar city, white water, and celebration city...
You can also get 50% off of the showboat branson belle,,,,,,,with the hopper pass, if you get your ticket for the boat at the same time as the hopper pass...
I love the branson belle..........

[maryinecho]

Don't forget about "Ride the Ducks". I personally feel this is a must do for every 1st timer to Branson. And Dixie Stampede is so much fun, also. My kids love both of these things.

[HappyPappe]

You will have a wonderful "first famiily vacation" in Branson. If you want to do a show, you could do Dixie Stampede and that would include dinner and a show. And the kiddos could sit on your lap.

We have 3 year old twins and have taken them to Branson since they were 3 months old. They are growing up in Branson every month. Check out the Butterfly Palace too, you can usually find a coupon on the large map that you get from your hotel.

As someone else suggested, get a 3 park hopper and enjoy celebration city, SDC, and white water. That would sure tucker them out every day.

Hope you enjoy your vacation.

[Tyann]

If your kids are at least 36" tall, you can't miss Kids Kountry at Track #3. It's all kids rides for the 3 to 4 footers - train, ride, teacups, ferris wheel, go-karts, and more. You can get a bracelet that will let them do anything they want for 2 hours. Check http://www.bransontracks.com/track_maps.asp. Here's DS1 last summer: