
Looking for a fun family getaway over Labor Day? Consider Branson!
Branson, Missouri is one of our family’s favorite places to visit. In fact, after spending at TON of money going to Disneyworld earlier in the year my husband and I agreed, “Why did we spend all that money in Orlando when we could have just gone to Branson?”
There are a few reasons why we love Branson:
1. Old fashioned values.
Everywhere you go in Branson there is wholesome, family fun. Most of the shows are great for families. The service people there are friendly and courteous. And there’s a special, patriotic flare to the city that I haven’t seen anywhere else.
2. Awesome activities.
In Branson the question isn’t, “Is there anything to do?” Instead, we always ask ourselves, “What should we do this trip?” We previously enjoyed the Titanic Museum, shopping at Dicks Old Time 5 & 10, and visiting the Amish Country Store. Most of the time we just visit Silver Dollar City and then head back to Little Rock, but on our most recent trip we decided to enjoy a few more attractions. We also chose to stay in the hotel we’ve been looking at with longing since our first trip to Branson. (More below!)
3. Amazing lodging.
We’ve never had a bad stay in Branson. There are many places to stay at reasonable prices. We’ve enjoyed the The Suites at Fall Creek, and most recently we stayed at our new favorite place: Chateau on the Lake.
4. Price.
The hotels and attractions at Branson are a lot cheaper than Disneyworld, and personally we find them just as much fun!
Want to go for Labor Day? (Or anytime?) Here are my recommendations:
Chateau on the Lake
We fell in love with this Cinderella castle the first time we drove by Table Lake. The kids were so excited when they found out we were finally going to stay there!

We stayed for two nights and spent one whole evening in the pool. The water was perfect and the view was amazing.

The resort is just as beautiful in the inside as it is on the outside. The room with the double beds had plenty of room for us and our three little kids. (We had one bed and they had the other!)

My kids’ favorite part was the cookies and milk that was waiting for us in the room. We weren’t there when Mr. Teddy visited, but the kids were so excited about the treats!

We had a busy day ahead of us in Branson, but with a view like this I found myself dawdling just a little. If only I could wake up to this every day!

Our family highly recommends Chateau on the Lake. We didn’t get to enjoy the kids play area or the spa (yet!), but we want to make sure we do that next time we return.
Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City is an amazing theme park. To me it’s Mayberry come to life, with some thrill rides thrown in for fun!
Silver Dollar City is comparable to Knots Berry Farm, but it has more unique details such as artisans who blow glass and who demonstrate how to make a log house. SDC has the same level of darling details as Walt Disney World, and it also has some amazing roller coasters that my husband and older kids love. (I love them, too, but I’m usually hanging out with the little ones.)

The lines at Silver Dollar City are FAR shorter than Disneyworld, especially if your visit starts in the morning. There is free parking and a shuttle, but we pay the minimal cost to park closer. (It’s a short walk from the paid lot.)

There are a half-dozen areas around the park that have kids rides and play areas, and we’ve never been able to do them all in one day. This is perfect place for those with kids of varied ages, like us. Our favorite things to eat are the ice cream with strawberries and the Barbecue was great, too!

At Silver Dollar city the big ones don’t get bored either! They have some amazing roller coasters. There is even an app that you can download for your phone that will give you the wait times for the rides before you get in line.

We bought season passes to the park. Branson is a three hour drive from where we live in Little Rock, and we’ve discovered that if we go twice it pays for the passes!
Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede
Have a group? Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede is a great place to visit! It’s a dinner theater full of great food, exciting action, humor and fun!
I have to admit I was blown away by the amazing horsemen and women at the Dixieland Stampede. I was expecting some prancing and dancing, but it turned out to be so much more! (Rings of fire! Aerobatics!)
For days (weeks!) after going to the Dixie Stampede my kids talked about the horses, the fire, and the races. They waved their flags and cheered on their favorites during the show and mimicked that when they got home. I was impressed by how much of an impression the show made!
Of course while we were watching the show we were also EATING. Below is a picture of all the food you get! There is far more than one person can eat, and they do pass our doggie bags for you to take your leftovers home.
Also, if you’re on a limited budget, small children can sit on their parents laps. With our group we had 5 adults and 5 lap sitters and everyone was happy and full!

Also, before you go in to the show, you get your family photo photo taken. I love ours! I was also pleasantly surprised that the photo package wasn’t too expensive ($30). I gladly bought ours.

Even though we’ve been to the Dixie Stampede twice already, our kids can’t wait to go back!
Ride the Ducks – Branson
Our last trip, we wanted to do an attraction that we’d never done before. We picked Ride the Ducks. I like the idea that we’d be riding in an old WWII vehicle, and I knew my kids would love that their “bus” could go into the water.
Starting off, we bought all the kids a duck whistle ($3 each), and they loved them.

The kids smiles were huge as we rode through town. They loved waving and “quacking” at all the cars that we passed. They felt like we were in a parade.

Before we went to the water, we went to a special exhibit of WWII vehicles. I’ve only included a few photos here, but they were cool! There were at least two dozen types of old military vehicles. Our driver was fantastic, too. He shared a lot of history about the various vehicles, with a touch of humor. No one was bored!


After seeing the military vehicles it was time to head to the lake.

The view of Table Lake on our trip down to the water was amazing!

But as pretty as the view was, the best part was seeing my daughter’s glow as she drove the Duck in the water. In fact each of the children had a chance to be “captain” of the vehicle during our ride. That was a nice touch! And they were even able to print up a Captain’s certificate at the end of the ride.
There was also an awesome museum of military history when you disembarked. Because I had the little ones I didn’t get to look around as much as I would have liked. I’d love to go back!

If you’re looking for a place to go on Labor Day weekend–or another time during the year–I highly recommend Branson. In fact … we’re planning on heading up there over Labor Day weekend. Maybe we’ll see you!
For more information:
Visit the Explore Branson website
and like them on Facebook.
Labor Day Weekend Specials
See you there!
*This post was sponsored by Explore Branson, and I was provided compensation for this blog post. Thank you for supporting all my blog collaborations.

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I live and teach in Branson and I agree! It’s a wonderful place!
Andrianna, What are your favorite things to do??
I have a six-year-old son and he likes to go to the fish hatchery and museum near Table Rock Dam (both are free!). There are also some great hiking trails near the dam. My son is obsessed with animals so he likes to visit Wild World Branson (near the WalMart on Hwy 76). We go boating a lot on Lake Tanneycomo and Bull Shoals Lake. A short drive away in Lampe, MO there is a fantastic blueberry farm, Persimmon Hill Blueberry Farm, where you can pick your own berries. They also sell amazing blueberry muffins called Thunder Muffins. Popular shows this year in town have been Buckets ‘n’ Boards and Jonah at the Sight and Sound Theater.
I don’t think you’d ever run out of things to do!
I forgot to mention Promised Land Zoo is a favorite along with the shows at the IMAX. See… I told you there was a ton to do! 🙂
Oh, we’re going to have to try out all those places. THANKS!!
We visited Branson once when the kids were younger and have always wanted to go back. There is just so much to see and do and we never got to do to Silver Dollar City or Dixie Stampede which I’ve heard so much about.
Looks like an amazing vacation!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Oh, you have to get to Silver Dollar City … and the Dixie Stampede. My kids loved them both!
Branson has been on my bucket list for a long time. But, it just got bumped up a notch or two. I knew about Silver Dollar City, but have not heard of the Dixie Stampede. LOVE Dolly!
Thanks for giving us the inside info, Tricia. Glad your family had such a great time, too. 🙂
You’ll love it, Kristin!! We go 3-4 times a year. Maybe we can meet up sometime!
Wow! I had no idea all that was there!! Looks so fun!
It is fun!
As a Hoosier transplant, we are enjoying exploring the Branson area too. We live in Ozark, between Branson and Springfield. Our daughter has lived down here since 2000. She and her husband highly recommend the College of the Ozarks Museum in Hollister, which houses the Beverly Hillbillies truck, etc. Just outside of Branson is the Henning Nature Center/ Preserve donated by Paul Henning. We love going to the Table Rock Lake area and picnicking near the lake- lots of shade and shallow areas for the Grands to wade and play in the water. We love Sight and Sound Theater; we took our 2 and 5 year-old grandkids last year to Joseph, and they hardly moved or made a sound in the 2+ hours we were there. We enjoy fishing on the docks at Branson Landing; it’s free with a valid fishing license. The fish hatchery is great; you can buy food and feed the fish. Adults enjoyed it as much as the Grands. Have fun on your next Branson vacation.
I’ve never been to the museum at the College of the Ozarks, although we did LOVE their Sunday brunch. I’ve never been to the Sight and Sound Theater. That sounds great! I was worried about it because our kids are 3, 4, and 6, but it sounds like they would do fine!
My husband and I love Branson. We have been there 4 times in the last 15 years. We are a 7-8 hour drive, we live in Columbus, Indiana. We went there for our 25 wedding anniversary and fell in love with it.
It’s only 3 1/2 hours for us. I’m thankful! I love it, too!