Branson- What to Do and Car Travel Suggestions

The Grand Country Inn has a big indoor/outdoor water park that is free to guests and $15 per person if you're not. It's a very cheap place to stay but also looks like a motel 6!!!!!!

There are lots of caves on the way down, and my kids love those. It also breaks up the trip.

Have fun!

There is the Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum, which is super fun. We also went to the Titanic museum, but that might be a little boring to the little ones. If you go through Springfield on the way, Lamberts is a great place to stop and eat. They're famous for their "throwed rolls" which is fun, and the food is good old home cooking. http://www.throwedrolls.com/ We always stop there if we can.

Hi M., When we went to Branson we did the hatchery and my girls loved it! Who would have known that feeding a bunch of fish could be so much fun. And they do have a "beach" but I don't remember where it is at. That was the other thing that we did that they enjoyed the most. It seems that the simpler the activity the more they like it. Also, the Dolly Parton thing is suppose to be great, but can cost quite of bit. But everyone I know that goes says it's worth it.

Also, the DVD player in the car is the BEST thing ever. We drive from Villa Ridge, MO to Gulf Shores, AL - 13 hours in the car (we've also done Orlando, FL) - I would go stark raveing mad if we didn't have that. We just load up on their fave movies and I try to get one current one they haven't seen. They only get new movies at Christmas, birthdays and Easter. Gives people something to buy them. The Beetoven movies are great and of course all the princess movies. Other than that we load up on books and play stuff like finding words or letters in signs to see who can get to Z first. You'd be surprised how long that can take. Good luck & have fun!!

If you like Mexican food, visit Casa Fuentes. It is a tiny place, but the food is excellent and relatively inexpensive. The service is great too!
We just got back from Branson last night. We loved White Water, the Track (bumper boats and go-carts), Silver Dollar City, the Fun Spot, and the hotel pool!
As for traveling, we had our boys read books to help them reach their summer library reading goal, watch DVD's in the van, play Nintendo DS, and play with small toys in the van. Also, a lot of snacks and small drinks.
Have a great time! We did! The traffic was a lot lighter than in year's past!
K.

Buy some cheap toys and don't let them see them. Pull a new one out every 1-2 hrs and give it to them. We took a trip to Colorado last Dec. It was 16 hrs in a charter bus full of youth kids. My girls 7 and 3 at the time did so good with the toy bag. And of coarse Nintendo DS's are a lifesaver too!! Hope this helps! And we live an hour from Branson so we go a lot. SDC is great. But so is White Water. Or you could stay in Splash Country Indoors. It's a hotel with a big water park inside of it!

We drove to Orlando a couple years ago with a 3 (girl) and 5 (boy) year old. We brought lots of movies - of course Disney since that's where we were headed. I suggest some sing along DVDs. Keeps them entertained and happy. We also had a couple of those plug & play video games and they worked with our van's DVD player. We got each of them a backpack (their birthdays were a week before we left) and filled it with coloring books & new crayons and Crayola Color Wonder books (the makers only write on the Color Wonder paper), along with a lap desk. My niece made each of them their own coloring book with free coloring pages she printed from the internet and gave them to them a few hours into our trip. I also got little Disney figures and put them under my seat (you could do Polly Pocket). A new character came out from under the seat every hour or 2 (I didn't start right away. I think there were about 8 for each of them) We also had TONS of snacks and a cooler. Remember to pack some healthy snacks so they're not stuffing themselves with junk the whole ride. I had a big container of grapes (I pulled them off the vines so you could just reach in and grab a handful) and string cheese.
GOOD LUCK AND SAFE TRAVELS!

My kids always had a travel bag, it could be a cheap reusable recycle bag or a backpack. In it went crayon's or marker's coloring books, colorforms were also a hit (those plastic forms that stick to the pages of a book) you'd be surprised but the 3 yo will love this. Also a trip to Cracker Barrel for travel toys is a good idea, they have the little colorform books for cheap and lots of other travel games. One of those weaving looms to make potholders would probably keep the 6 yo's busy. DVD's are always a no brainer, you just have to decide how to choose the movie's so there's no fighting, so before they get in the car. Redbox is at most McDonald's now and only $1, they can be returned at any location. Also lot's of snacks, cracker's, cookies, fruit snacks, box drinks, fruit, etc.

For travel, a friend said that she took Charlie & the Chocolate Factory on a road trip and when they talked about a candy in the movie, she handed that candy out to all the kids. For example, she had Wonka bars for when they ate Wonka bars in the beginning to search for the golden ticket. Our 3 y/o isn't quite old enough for that, so for our big trip this summer we're going to take her to the store and let her buy a new video just for the trip, and take some of hers that she hasn't watched much lately.

We live near Branson and love it! I want to take our daughter to the toy museum, but we haven't done it yet because she's at the stage where everything is "mine". White Water is a nice water park owned by the same family who owns and operates Silver Dollar City and Celebration City. Ride the Ducks is always fun, and you can go downtown (just before you get to the mall at The Landing) and ride on the train. You can see what is playing at iMax; I've seen some that I thought our 3 y/o would like. Grand Village is neat too. On a beautiful day, we like to shop at The Landing, more for the setting than for the prices, and get lunch at Garfield's there. We always go to the Tanger Outlet mall though - we almost always find something there. Do not miss out on Cakes and Creams for dessert - it's the BEST! Have fun!

Leave really really early so they sleep. :)

On the way there stop at the Exotic Animal Kingdom and do that. It's Awesome. (Im not sure if it's on your way) Take the shorter tour through the park and then park and go in to see the caged animals. My kids LOVED it.

At Branson:

Kirby Van Birch magic show. Call ahead and try to get front row seats.

Dixie Stampede is totally Awesome. My boys are 17 and 18 and they still love it. The food is really good and the show is fun.

Ride the ducks.

Ride the helicopter.

Ripleys Museum

Waltzing Waters

Theres a really cool put-put on the lower side of Branson but I can't remember the name. I think it's "Pirates Cove" something.

When you drive into the main strip on the right there is a huge guitar or fiddle on a building. It's a smorgasboard and then inside there is a little mall and another put-put. But the put-put is neon black light. It's pretty cool too.

There are two "laser tag". That was my kids favorite thing to do. And they love to do it with YOU! Anything your kids LOVE to do with YOU. Seize it! They may be a little to young yet but it is sooooo much fun.

My kids also just loved walking down the strip and stopping to get ice cream and taking in the sites.

(The Branson Belle was fun but when we went my boys were around 12 and they thought it was kind of boring) Great for bigger people.

I hope you have a great time.

L. (H. now)
I've been to Branson over 20 times in my life and I love it.

Good morning M.! Branson is our family's favorite vacation spot. We go there at least 3x/year or more! In fact, we have ownership in a campground called Treasure Lake Resort where we stay when we are in Branson. Anyway, we have grandchildren about your kids' ages and they always enjoy going to White Water (outdoor water park) and Grand Country has an indoor water park. There's also the race tracks - can't remember the name for some reason - where there's go carts, bumper cars, bumper boats, and other activities. We have gone to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and there are some outdoor miniature golf places on 76 and on (I think it's) Green Mountain Drive. Depending on how long you'll be staying, you can make several of those options into one-day activities. Also, if they like movies, there's a great IMAX theatre there on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. There's a fish hatchery below the nearby dam that is an interesting place to go to, and the Butterfly Place (kind of a zoo for butterflies) is really great, too. I'm sure you'll find lots of exciting things to do - there's a lot to see and do in Branson! (Does that sound like a commercial or what??) 8-)

We just went to Branson a couple of weeks ago. I would highly recommend doing Ride the Ducks. My almost 3 year old loved it and so did we actually. If you don't know what it is you can look it up online. It is basically a tour but it is an anphibious vehicle and it is a blast when they take it from the land to the water. There are several marina's where you can rent boats or jet skis by the hour or for half or whole days. We also went to Dixie Stampead and that was really fun. There is a resturant called Hard Luck Diner that was really fun to go to. The servers and cooks are singers and will just pick up a microphone and start singing. My daughter really enjoyed that place.
Have a great vacation!

Well I'd suggest dvd's of their favorite cartoons. Also if they have a leap frog that could be taken along. suggestions for cartoons would be try scooby doo or looney toons. If you can find some maybe muppet babies or seasame street. Even dora if they like it. plus if you can't stand the cartoons try headphones for the kids.

While in branson try the go carts or miniture golf. Or I think there maybe be a petting zoo but it has been several years since i've been there. maybe try the tours of some of the caves. I think it is called the caverns and they have a tram that takes you through the caves.

I agree with what the others are saying to do. Since I live right down the road from Lambert's, get there early
or be prepared for quite a wait. Between 230-4 is good. More than 1 tour bus, you will be waiting at least an hour. Branson Landing is great if you like to do a little shopping. Several very good restaurants also. My daughter loves the Butterfly Palace. She thought it was funny when a butterfly actually landed on my mouth! You can stay as long as you like. I'm not sure if they still have the mirror maze or not. We love the Branson Bell also. It is a lunch/dinner cruise on a paddle boat at the lake. It also has a variety show with music and other entertainment. Todd Oliver and his Talking dogs are on this if you have seen them on the tonight show. White Water if you are up for a water park. Country tonight is a good family show. Shepard of the HIlls.
In the car we like to play the license plate game and VW Bug count. Or have them look for a specific item, i.e. blue cars, horses.

Find some games that the whole family can get involved in while you are in the car...you will have to adjust some of them a little bit to make them do-able for a 3 year old...but maybe things like " See who can find something along the road that is red...blue..yellow... You get the idea. Or..."who can find a truck, a cow,a farmer in his field". Anything to make the miles go by and give them something to concentrate on.
I would also pack plenty of snacks...coloring books...books to read...and make frequent stops to let them stretch their legs and run off a little energy.
Good luck and enjoy Branson..it is WONDERFUL!!!
R. Ann

You HAVE TO see the Dixie Stampede!!! It's our favorite, the only show we'll see again in Branson! Awesome entertainment and awesome dining--soo much fun!

My daughter & I loved the Dixie Stampede. They have horses in the show, kinda a cowboy show with a big arena and you eat dinner. It's fun. Also, I've seen the Liverpool band. It a Beatles thing. My husband liked it, it didn't do that much for me, but that was all before my time. I don't know if they still have the Ducks but they use to be fun. The kids would like it. We loved the Acrobats of China that was our big show ticket that we went and saw the last time I went. They might enjoy the dancing waters place I can't remember what it's called. It's a cheap thing to do and it's a calming activy. They have a really nice IMax theather too. That's all I can think of that your kiddos would like right now. I'm sure other people will have some great suggustions too.

we use the color wonder books and markers for trips only so that gives the kids something new and they really enjoy coloring with them. They are a bit pricey but are a lot of fun and they don't color on anything except that special paper so there won't be a mess in your car with them.
As far as movies just take their favorite ones.

The DS Lite video game systems are wonderful too. We have 2 of them and they can play each other and even text each other and ever since we got them the kids are content and we don't have to take a lot of other stuff and the batteries last a long time but you also need to get the car charger for them. They are the best handheld system out there. I play it once in a while too and is pretty cool especially the mario games. My nieces are 10 and 7 and weren't into video games but they also got the DS for Christmas and they love it and it is in their car most of the time and keeps them busy. My kids will ask how far we are going and if the trip is over 10 minutes they are packing up their DS to take along. I like them better than other handhelds we have had because you don't have to buy 2 of the same game for them to play each other. The system has wireless system link and if one person has the game then others can join in multiplayer without owning more than 1 of that same game and sometimes when we are at meetings or in the waiting room at the hospital there will be other kids there with their DS and they all join together and play and is kind of fun for them to play with other kids too. They don't reach like the internet but if in the same house they can connect and not have to be in the same room.

If you haven't been to Dixie Stampede that is a great show. It is more expensive than the others but is a dinner show and the kids really enjoyed it.

there's already lots of good answers about places to go. So I'm going to focus on the actual trip: please avoid the crayons! Both of my vans ended up with crayon artwork on the seats & side walls! It was a nightmare. + they melt in the heat. I try to stick with colored pencils for travel.

When traveling with that age group, I found what always/always worked was a goody bag for each child. I bought toys/activities at the Dollar Store, chose fun & healthy snacks...& wrapped it all in tissue paper. Once each hour, the kids were allowed to pick a prize from their bag....if the activity did not last an hour - then the kids had to trade & share. It worked beautifully many, many times! & part of the fun was reaching into the bag (without looking) & trying to guess what it was! Oops, I did keep the snacks separate...in a different bag which they all pulled from.

Oh, & just thought of two of our favorite activities: we regularly use ROAD TRIP BINGO & ROAD TRIP SCAVENGER HUNT. I just either design it using clip art or draw & copy my own. I try to use items I know we'll see on the way: a brown cow, an Oreo cow, a red truck, a billboard for Silver Dollar City....& the best part is that when the kids are older you can up the ante & go for specific items - like a purple Harley, a Swift big rig, Canadian license plate,(& for the teenagers...we've even gone gross: a man picking his nose, etc.!) We even count the McDonalds or WalMarts!

Have a blast! We have season passes to Silver Dollar City & have been going for 21+ years with the kids in our family. If you purchase season passes, then you receive free one-day passes too. The free passes are good several times each year, & the earlier you buy them....the better the deal! So by buying 4 season passes, 8 of us go at least 3-4 times each year.....what a wonderful family tradition. My sis & I began going when we were children (in the 60s when the park 1st opened)...& we've been taking our children regularly since 1988!! We do this with our Mom, & are looking forward to doing this as Grandmothers ourselves....but as we keep telling our 21 y.o.s -please not any time soon!

We, too, will be traveling with our 6 year old granddaughter. However,we only have to travel about 3+ hours. We just get her some crayons and crayon books. And some books to read. Also, we stop fairly often. But for you I would probably get some younger and funner dvd's. My four year old granddaughter likes Care Bears. However, I think VegeTales are good, too. We will also go to SDC in July and a few days in August. My best to you!! God Bless you!!
K.

Sorry no suggestions

But if you are staying in a hotel ask if they are doing any gas reimbursement incentives. Some of the chain hotels are doing a promo if you stay in Branson, to help promote business. I'm not sure which ones are doing it or if it's still going on but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

As far as shows, try one of the magic shows, they captivate the little ones. We went to the "Noah" show and it was great, they have matinees too. Take them to Moonlight Beach one day, its clean, fun and free. Water is clear so they can see the minnows. There is the fish hatchery at the dam, they can feed the fish. It's free too. The twins will love the minigolf parks, there is several to choose, I suggest the Pirate one because they get a toy bag at the end. Check local coupons for discounts. Go shopping one day at the Landing and take them to the Buildabear shop. My kids love that. You can get a bear for around $10, but they get access to the virtual world, like Webkins. There is a playground in the main square, great shops. TAKE THEM TO DICKS, downtown, old time dime store. There is an old time candy store across the street from it. It's awesome, kids love it. There are a couple indoor swimparks there but I havent' been to them. There is the IMAX theatre thats a fun bigscreen. Make sure its not a movie that will cause motion sickness, pick a kidshow. I am thinking of stuff for little kids. We go alot. Hope this helps.

We travel a lot with our kids on holidays and go on fishing and camping trips. We found a product that helped us heaps. It clips to your car interior light. It lets the kids play games, read books and eat their food in the back with the light on when it is dark outside. It doesn't distract the driver either. (you can buy it online at www.lightshield.com.au)

Some great things to do in Branson:
Butterfly house (very cool!!!)
Water parks (always a hit)
The big mall thing with a fire and water show on the hour

Car ideas:
Magnets and cookie sheets... they can play!
Travel/mini magna doodles (Target has them)
Download kids shows from PBSkids.com and/or buy a few Sesame Street DVDs
Have kids find colors, alphabet letters, etc as you go (you can even have them play bingo that way!)

Good luck!