Old Branson V.s New Branson

[Murphy77]

Please share on here some of your favorite memories,stories and photos. My point being is what is really compared to the new Branson V.S. Old laid back fun and music show Branson,Mo. I know there already may be a thread that is very similar to this one. I think that this may just be a reminiscing thread. I think that sounds good . Ok let it roll !!!!.

[shis1]

I'll take 'old Branson' over the 'new Branson' anyday! I miss taking a leisurely walk thru Mutton Hollow, stopping in at all the little shops. I miss Boxcar Willie, Mel Tillis, the Gingham Goose and the Calico Cow! And all the real crafters you'd see at SDC, plus all the great music that 'used' to be out there!
Well, our favorite music show wasn't a part of 'old Branson', so guess there is some 'good' in new Branson too!

[Cheesecake]

Originally Posted by shis1

I'll take 'old Branson' over the 'new Branson' anyday! I miss taking a leisurely walk thru Mutton Hollow, stopping in at all the little shops. I miss Boxcar Willie, Mel Tillis, the Gingham Goose and the Calico Cow! And all the real crafters you'd see at SDC, plus all the great music that 'used' to be out there!
Well, our favorite music show wasn't a part of 'old Branson', so guess there is some 'good' in new Branson too!

Ditto almost.
Our favorite music shows of old are gone...Tillis, Pride, Vinton...lucky Andy and Mickey are still there....
I miss the old ducks and the rotten old bleachers where I sat and fed them and watched that ratty old pirate ship...hehehe....
Yup...there was something special about old Branson...new Branson is an eternal theme park with traffic.............I love to love it and not go very often.
We are local enough that we drive through....occasionally ...

And...shopping is shopping...........anywhere.

I liked Branson when it was gasping for each new breath and it was a small town with a dream...when it finally inhaled and inflated...........it lost it's charm for me.

[NotJLB]

If by New Branson you mean developer failures, abandoned properties, high unemployment, highly depressed property values, foreclosures, disloyal employers . . . .

why would one want to compare?

I know, I know, reality sounds sooooo depressing.



(Blue Springs here)

[NotJLB]

Originally Posted by Cheesecake

I liked Branson when it was gasping for each new breath and it was a small town with a dream...when it finally inhaled and inflated...........it lost it's charm for me.

Yet, 33957 posts!!!!

Something must be holding your interest.

[Cheesecake]

Originally Posted by NotJLB

Yet, 33957 posts!!!!

Something must be holding your interest.

Not that it's any of your business, particularly....I'll explain that 10 years ago...I found some amazing friends here..in Chit Chat...they have gotten me through a Son in the Military, a Grandson in the Military, and Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, Korea and Kazakhstan and...then...two surgeries with my Mom a husband after a heart attack (where the folks here actually called and/or sent him things...).......

I've been here for them, and them for me, and we've laughed and cried and mourned together.

We have visited together................

I am not here as a poster child for the economy in Branson, I am here for myself and my friends, who are now my friends for life.....and are in my email, and on Facebook, Twitter and the new Branson website........we don't hang out for any other reason, together, than for camaraderie ...

I hope that helps you to understand, that lots of us don't do everything for money or status...we do it cause we love each other....and we plan to stay together, regardless.

[Jalva2]

I won't choose between the two. There are things about old Branson that I miss; but there are things about new Branson that I love. I'm glad I've been lucky enough to experience both.

Old things I miss: Foggy River Boys; actual theming on the American Plunge and its predecessor; Rube Dugan's Diving Bell; waterslides everywhere; the old lakeside units at Rock Lane Lodge; Wooden Nickle restaurant; Mutton Hollow; Sammy Lane Pirate Cruise.

New things I love: Branson Landing; Grand Village; Clarion Palace Inn; Tanger; Thunderation; Lost River; Andy Williams (he wasn't there yet in my definition of Old Branson); Pirates Cove; ability to do everything I want without getting stuck in traffic on 76.

I could add lots more to both categories.

[rjw1991A1]

Boy, did this thread ever head south in a hurry!!!

Now, for my "old" Branson memories. The first time my wife and I visited was in 1977. The "strip" wasn't even there. We did stay in a motel on W.76. The 76 Inn I believe. Don't know what it is now, if it is even still there. Apple Tree mall was a Wal Mart. The God and Country theater was a movie theater (we saw Star Wars there). I think the only shows were Presley's and the Baldknobbers. We didn't go to SDC because they were closed on Monday, and Tuesday. We did go on the old boat ride on Taneycomo where the pirate came out to rob the boat of it's gold being brought back from the gold mine. I think the only shopping was the little stores in down town Branson.
Very laid back, and just enjoyed being in the Ozark Mountains, and not in the "big city".
Skip forward to 1991. I returned to Branson to fish a trout tournament on Taneycomo in February. Haven't missed one since!!! I thought the wife, and then kids , 8 & 4, would enjoy the "new" Branson. All the shows, attractions, great family time. They did!!! So, this is my 20th year of what I call "new" Branson, while others consider "old" Branson as the time I started visiting my"new" Branson.
My memories are of the annual R.A.W. trout tournament, the three or 4 trips per year with the kids. The anniversary long weekend trip with my wife. Many long Thanksgiving weekends with the family.
I'm hooked, and I don't know of , or want a cure. I live here because I have to, I love Branson because I want to!

[shis1]

Don't remember the Apple Tree Mall building being a Walmart......That must have been during the time span that we didn't visit Branson. (Those were the years our girls thought it wasn't 'cool' to go to Branson with Mom and Dad . And they weren't old enough to stay home without us! So rather than make them go to Branson with us, we took vacations to other areas that they were willing to go to with us)

[ggh]

There are things I love about both the old and new.....

Boys and football games on the edge of Lake Taneycomo, an Ice cream cone at the DQ downtown, floating on a raft on Taneycomo, while camping in tents with the cousins (and meeting the boys), fishing from the docks, wild strawberries in the ditches all the way to SDC on 76 (although I don't miss the traffic that moved so slow we could walk/eat and keep up), the outdoor Corn Crib Theater ...

Faster and safer roads to and from, go karts, shopping, more choices to eat, more shows to see, more places to stay, ...

But there are a few things that haven't changed, what I still like best is meeting the people of Branson, the natural beauty of the hills, the dogwood blooming in the spring, and colors in the fall.

[Barb]

[QUOTE=shis1;696484] (Those were the years our girls thought it wasn't 'cool' to go to Branson with Mom and Dad .

I remember those years also. Now that they are out on their own with families, I get You went to Branson without me.

As for old Branson I miss the lake resorts and being close enough to walk down to the lake & old down town. I miss taking the pirate ship never failed to get a laugh from the kids going for the first time.

For the new Branson can't say I have any have to dos as yet. Guess I just need to go more often.

[shis1]

[QUOTE=Barb;696487]

Originally Posted by shis1

(Those were the years our girls thought it wasn't 'cool' to go to Branson with Mom and Dad .

I remember those years also. Now that they are out on their own with families, I get You went to Branson without me.

As for old Branson I miss the lake resorts and being close enough to walk down to the lake & old down town. I miss taking the pirate ship never failed to get a laugh from the kids going for the first time.

For the new Branson can't say I have any have to dos as yet. Guess I just need to go more often.

One of our dds is now bringing her dh and 2 sons to Branson! Guess she liked it better than we thought!

[82corvette]

Originally Posted by shis1

I'll take 'old Branson' over the 'new Branson' anyday! I miss taking a leisurely walk thru Mutton Hollow, stopping in at all the little shops. I miss Boxcar Willie, Mel Tillis, the Gingham Goose and the Calico Cow! And all the real crafters you'd see at SDC, plus all the great music that 'used' to be out there!
Well, our favorite music show wasn't a part of 'old Branson', so guess there is some 'good' in new Branson too!

All that stuff plus the old Sammy Lane ship, Briarwood Lodge cabins, all the little shops and flea markets all before becoming a giant retailer mess.

[Hootie]

How well we remember our first trip to Branson, MO a two lane highway all the way from Illinois. Remember quite well the Holiday Inn just as you came into Branson on the strip and that would have been when hotel cookin was a delight and the pool was hidden between hotel front and back sections that you entered only from outside. Of course we treated ourselves to the Waffle House and Farmhouse in old downtown Branson then go down to the muddy Lake Taneycomo and feed the ducks. Entertainment was the Baldknobbers and Silver Dollar City, Lost Mine Ride and the Marvel Cave......wow what fun. The kids always got a tee-shirt from the souvenier shop on the strip and we walked the complete strip west to east but then it was not far to walk then. Does anone remember the outside flea market sort of thing called Archie's? There was no Krispy Kremes, Cakes & Creams, Outlet malls or Dixie Stampede just good clean fun. And oh-yes hope all of ya appreciate havin that wonderful Skaggs Hospital because back then it was hardly a hospital let alone a trauma center but then we did not have all the health issues we do today, right?

Will always cheerish those memories but do enjoy The Landing even with all its problems but then I am not a City of Branson taxpayer.

[Suselit]

I have enjoyed reading about the good memories you all have of Branson. Remembering and sharing our History is very important.

I am a current Branson-goer. I love Branson and I love the Shows. To me, Branson IS the Shows. That's the big attraction for me and my husband.