why Branson?
Filed under:Branson, entertainment, Missouri, North America, timeshares, travel,United States Leave a comment
It’s funny how Branson reminded me of two of North America’s raciest cities – Las Vegas and New Orleans – because Branson is far from racy. It’s rather the opposite and unquestionably driven by pure-hearted religious forces. You’d be pretty hard pressed to find the seedy side of life in this small, wholesome Missouri city. There are massive churches everywhere – primarily Baptist and Methodist. No casinos. No chicken ranches (brothels.)
Yet, Branson is filled with neon lights and endless stage show entertainment reminding the visitor of nights on the strip in Las Vegas. (Perhaps it was more so because we visited during the holidays and Branson is very big on Christmas and Christmas lights.)
But the fact that you can find performances going at any hour of the day, and free spontaneous entertainment at any eating venue in the city really reminded me of New Orleans and made me pinch myself several times throughout our week-long visit. Just where were we, and how did we find ourselves in Branson?
It was my husband’s choice. We take turns choosing vacation destinations and Branson was his choice. He’d heard there was good live entertainment at reasonable prices. And he was right! I’m told there are 100 choices for live entertainment daily in this tiny city of just 10,000 permanent residents. It’s no surprise that Branson hosts approximately 8 million toe-tapping visitors each year. There is lots to do, and much of it won’t cost you a bundle.
Country music is prevalent, with a heavy dose of gospel thrown in. With music greats like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles having gotten their start in gospel, it’s no surprise that Elvis and Ray Charles impersonators are big draws in Branson. We took in the Legends In Concert show at the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater. It was fabulous! As a huge fan of Alan Jackson, I especially enjoyed the performance of Doug Brewin, who didn’t miss a beat in his well-executed tribute to Alan Jackson!
We also enjoyed the Legend of Kung Fu production, which featured a troop of 65 dancers and acrobats from China who had performed during the Bejing Olympics and were definitely worldclass. (Click on the link to see online video clips of the production.) Reg and his friend Neil really liked the intimacy in the smaller “Little Opry Theater” used for the Tribute to Marty Robbins (which they thoroughly enjoyed) while I ate chocolate at a local chocolate shop. Yes, I found some terrific chocolate in Missouri! Stay tuned to a future post for that.
We had the pleasure of staying at the Wyndham Branson at the Meadows resort as I am a Wyndham timeshare owner. It was a terrific facility, and thanks to reviews on Trip Advisor, I had requested a top floor suite which gave us great views of the Ozark Foothills and lessened any noise from neighbouring suites. The atmosphere at the resort was very laid-back, just like the rest of Branson. No high pressure sales tactics like we’d found on our previous Wyndham stay in Orlando.
Please join me back here the week of December 19th for more on Branson and our taste tantalizing exploration of Missouri.
About Doreen PendgracsKnown throughout the Web as the "Wizard of Words", I've been a freelance writer since 1993. I'm currently researching and writing "Chocolatour: A Quest for the World's Best Chocolate". Also find me at my writer's lifestyle blog, DoreenPendgracs.com where I blog to educate, entertain and inspire writers and anyone interested in creative endeavours.
- Posted in: Missouri ♦ North America ♦ timeshares ♦ Travel ♦ United States ♦ Branson ♦ Missouri ♦ United States
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Doreen — congrats on making the leap to self-hosted. I am mightily impressed.
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Thank YOU, Wendy, for your assistance in getting me there!
Very much appreciated,
Doreen.
Congratulations on the migration, Doreen and great choice on adding the CommentLuv plugin!
I must say, I was quite shocked to learn that Las Vegas is among the raciest cities in the US. With all the liberal stuff going around there (if you know what I mean), I’d expect they would be a tad bit more open-minded.
That’s odd. The commentluv link didn’t show up in my first comment. Oh well.
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Glad the Comment Luv showed up on your second comment, Adeline, and thanks for visiting the new version of Travel Diversions with Doreen!
You misread my comment in the post. I didn’t say Las Vegas was racist! I meant it was racy, as in wild and crazy, very liberal minded, and other things described in the dictionary definition: suggestive, naughty, sexy, spicy, ribald; indecorous, indecent, immodest, off-color, dirty, rude, smutty, crude, salacious. You’ll find all of the above in Vegas, plus a lot of good stuff, too! But you certainly WON’T find the smutty, crude stuff in Branson. Most of the entertainment is very family oriented and many shows reflect Christian values. Some may find that too “hokey,” but as long as you know what to expect when you arrive … you won’t be disappointed!
Who would have thought… Branson, Missouri. I would love the the Legend of Kung-Fu show. I grew up on Kung Fu movies. By the way, I never heard of Branson until the Simpsons. I thought you might like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOJ1vmjffyc
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Cute video, Dennis.
We flew into Springfield, MO, and I thought it was the home of The Simpsons. But I soon learned that the Simpsons are actually based in Springfield, Illinois and not Springfield, MO. I kept my eye out for Homer anyway, but no show!
Thanks for dropping into the blog.
I’m just commenting because I finally can. Love the new look of the blog. Great post about your trip.
Thanks, Suzanne. Nice to have you here.
Yes, there is still a glitch in the software for this blog that is being ironed out. If people click on the “comment” tab to leave a comment, they may inadvertently be transferred back to the original site for this blog. But if they click on the tab where it indicates the “# of comments” at the top of each post, they will be directed to this spot. Hope to get the glitch ironed out today. Stay tuned!
Hey Doreen, left you a comment over on my blog regarding ironing out commenting issues.
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Thanks, Vernessa. I’m going to have to set aside some time to get the comments feature of the blog figured out, as I notice that if someone clicks on the “Leave a comment” field, they are still being directed to the former version of my blog on wordpress.com. If they click on the “# comments” field, they are brought to the correct place. I’m assuming the Jetpack plug-in is the culprit and will have to delete that and install a new plug-in to facilitate comments. In the interim, I hope everyone will bear with me.
I knew you’d love Branson, Doreen, just as I did when I visited in May 2010 with my husband. The Springfield airport wasn’t open yet, so we flew into St. Louis and rented a car. We had no idea what to expect, except for bluegrass music (which we both adore) and were delighted to discover this rare treasure of a vacation destination. Great bluegrass at the fest in Silver Dollar City. One of the groups was from Newfoundland, believe it or not! (They were outstanding, btw.) We also took in a few other shows (Mo Bandy, Mickey Gilley and Six. A week wasn’t nearly enough time there! We’re planning to return soon. Maybe we’ll see you there.
Wouldn’t that be totally awesome? To meet up in Branson?
I’d love to go back in the summer when Branson Landing is warm and hospitable. That cold wind was sure blowing when we were there.
Thanks again for the tips for Branson. We really enjoyed our visit, and like you … would like to go back.
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Newsflash: There was a tornado in Branson in the wee hours of the morning of Feb 29, 2012. Good thing that Branson closes down for Jan & Feb each year, as there were very few people in town when this happened. Here is the news blurb I rec’d via e-mail courtesy of the Tri-City Herald:
[A powerful storm system that produced multiple reports of tornadoes has lashed the Midwest, roughing up the entertainment resort town of Branson and laying waste to small towns in Illinois and Kansas. An apparent twister rolled through Branson just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 29 and seemed to hopscotch up the city's main roadway, ripping roofs off hotels and damaging some of the city's famed music theaters dangerously close to the start of the heavy tourism season.
"We were blessed with several things - the time of year and certainly the time of day, when people were not in their vehicles or outdoors," said Mayor Raeanne Presley. She noted that during Branson's peak season, up to 60,000 visitors would have been in the city on any given day and staying in many of the hotels that were damaged.
"If it was a week later, it'd be a different story," said Bill Tirone, assistant general manager for the 530-room downtown Hilton hotel, where windows were shattered and some rooms had furniture sucked away by high winds. Hotel workers were able to get all guests to safety. ]
I am glad you had such a nice time in Branson! In response to your latest post, I wanted to add that Branson shows and attractions are up an running at full speed! We encourage everyone to visit this year as we know it will be a great season!
Thanks for the update, Liarra!
We were just talking about Branson on the weekend, and I was telling friends what a great place it is to get high quality shows and meals for such favourable prices. We’ll definitely be back!