Our Trip To Branson 9/10 - 9/13 - Detailed and Long

[amy129]

I'm not sure where the proper place to put this is because we did so much while at Branson. So I just picked a forum, but if this isn't the right place for this, please move or delete.

We headed down on Wednesday the 10th, stopping at Lambert's in Ozark, MO to eat, and then getting to Branson and checking into the Green Mountain Inn around 6 PM. Besides some stains on the carpet, the room was clean, had a nice television, plenty of hot water, and was bright. We would have liked a deadbolt on the door, there was the knob lock and chain. But we didn't really feel unsecure staying there.

We got out and went to the Apple Tree Craft Mall which is a great stop. There seemed to be a lot more empty booths this time than what we remembered in the past, but still tons to look at. We had to make a quick stop by Wal-Mart and then back to the motel.

Thursday morning, we ate breakfast there at the motel. They offered donuts, toast, cereal, waffle (make your own), milk, and juice. It was ok for a free breakfast. Then we headed out for a little sight seeing. First, we went to the chamber of commerce and picked up a gas buster card. Then, we drove around and noted other places we would like to stay next time. We took a look at some of the resorts as I had called Stillwater and could have stayed there for just $20 more for our entire stay with their special offers at this time. There are so many places to pick from!!! We also went to downtown Branson to Dick's 5 and 10. I can see how you could spend a lot of time in that place. Great finds!!! We grabbed some lunch at McDonalds and went to Stockstill park. Our kids (ages 3 and 5) played for about 30 minutes on the play equipment there. Then, we all spent the next 2-3 hours playing in the little creek there. What a great place!!! Around 2 PM, we went back to the motel so we could give the kids a bath and let my 3 year old take a nap. At 4 PM, we headed over to the Dixie Stampede. What a great show that is!!! The preshow is a must see!!! When I heard it was a "juggler", I was a bit skeptical, but he is really great and so funny!!! My kids even enjoyed it! The show was just as good. I don't think my 5 year old blinked the whole time. Ha! My 3 year old loved it too, but during some of the skits, she would become bored a little. She loves animals and as long as there was horses or some animals to see, she was loving it!! But we didn't have any trouble keeping her in her seat. The food was equally good and tons of it! Make sure you go there hungry! Each person gets a whole small chicken, a piece of pork loin, biscuit, soup, corn on the cob, 1/2 baked potato, and all the tea or pepsi you can drink. The only negative I can say about this show is that at some times, it can get quite dark and hard to see to eat. They take your picture prior to going in and during the show, they come around offering them. We liked them, but they were $35 for both of the photos that they took (one of our family, then one separate of the kids). We just couldn't afford that. But our server was very nice and entertaining as well. Before the show, it was fun to walk by the horses and see them. When the show is over, I'm not sure it wouldn't be a good idea to just wait and take your time walking out as it can be slow go getting out of the parking lot. I would definitely recommend the Dixie Stampede. We left there hoping to take the kids to Kid Kountry, but they were closed. VERY disappointing. So, after driving around a little bit more, we just went back to the motel, and got in bed early that night.

Friday, we ate breakfast at the motel again. Then, we went to the Fish Hatchery at the dam. My kids loved that so much!!! They got to feed the fish, see the other animals in the building, and watch a short movie. It was all really great. Then we went to the Branson Landing and bought tickets to Ride the Duck. We had some time to kill, so we just walked the landing a bit. It's such a nice area.. a bit fancy and pricey, but fun to walk and sight see. We had rode the "Ducks" on 76 a couple of years ago, so we wanted to do this one this time. This duck ride gave a lot of history on downtown Branson and went out on Taneycomo. Both of my kids got to drive, so they thought that was the neatest thing in the world. The driver was great (Captain Trapp) and we had a lot of fun. After this, we just could not decide where to eat. So, we drove back to Ozark, MO to eat at Lambert's again. I couldn't believe that we did that, but it just sounded so good and it's not that far back. Lamberts is just so outstounding!!! When we got back, we went to the Tracks to check on the little amusement rides. We found a bunch of kids horsing around and not very willing to help us out. We were told that the rides opened at 4:30, but it was 5:30 and none were going at either location. So not sure what was going on there. So the kids settled for an ice cream cone at Andy's. That is great ice cream (frozen custard). YUM!! Even on a full stomach, it was still good. Then, we went back to the motel to go swimming at the pool. My husband first had to skim the pool because it was quite dirty. We went ahead and used it, but it was pretty dirty. We didn't swim long. We also packed up what we could as we were checking out the next day.

Friday morning, we headed to Silver Dollar City after checking out. We were a bit worried as there was an 80% chance of rain. But we had perfect weather. It was cloudy for the most part, but not one drop of rain. We got there at 9 AM, just as they were singing the National Anthem. Silver Dollar City is just such an amazing place! From the wonderful hospitality and friendly workers to the rides, shows, shops, and scenery. It's fun for all ages!! We left there around 5:30 PM and we were all wore out!! My 3 year old was asleep before we got her buckled into her carseat. And my 5 year old wasn't far behind. Just after we got in the van, it started to sprinkle and really started to rain hard as we were leaving the parking lot. Which I have to add that they have changed the parking lot and entry/exit. But we had a 3 hour drive and it rained hard on us the whole way. But I'd rather do that than have it rain out our vacation. We had perfect weather for our little trip!!

Thanks to everyone here who gave us some great advice and shared their experiences to help make our trip even better!!!

[DalmationDad]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a good time and timed the weather perfectly.

Originally Posted by amy129

The only negative I can say about this show is that at some times, it can get quite dark and hard to see to eat.
Actually, this is a good thing, as it creates the perfect opportunity to steal from your neighbor's plate



When the show is over, I'm not sure it wouldn't be a good idea to just wait and take your time walking out as it can be slow go getting out of the parking lot.
Waiting is a good idea. Traffic is always bad.

[lindiet]

Thanks for the review! It sounds like your family had a great time.

[zmom]

Great review. THanks!

[christnme]

Wonderful review...when is your next trip to Branson?

[Country Gal]

Thanks for the wonderful review.......enjoyed it!

[nannac]

Amy.....Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I really enjoyed reading it, and can't wait to get back to Branson!

[CHRISTISAM2001]

Thanks for the great reviews!!!! Glad yall had a great time!!

[StaceySue]

Great review! I always love reading about everyone's Branson adventures.