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well I live in Branson and although there arent many big names there are good shows with live bands.
Ive seen many since I moved here and all had a live band and are very good
As far as gambling. that is one thing branson does not need. with the meth problem thats the last thing
they need. but thats just my opinion.
I agree. Just traveling on the freeway one passes many casinos so why would one travel all the way to Branson to gamble. By that time they are gambled out. Let Branson keep it's charm of old time living and showing how people lived back then. That would all be lost if not for places like Branson.
Many people are disappointed with SDC's choice to focus on being an amusement park rather than a theme park. But that's what happens when a family owned business goes corporate. The entertainment was the best thing about the place. Most people who are amusement park enthusiasts are going to go to 6 Flags in St. Louis.
I worked at Silver Dollar City in the 1980s and it was fantastic. Nothing like it is now.
As for the rest of Branson, it has fallen into a weary sameness. Nothing much stands out and makes you go "wow". When choosing a music show, most people opt for "whatever is close" to where they are staying. I would love to see something extraordinary happen but I'm not holding my breath.
20yrsinBranson
Parallels what happened to Knott's Berry Farm in CA decades ago - the transition from theme park to amusement park. Not to my liking as something always gets lost but that's the way it is for coming generations - out with the old and in with the new. Pity!
I agree. Just traveling on the freeway one passes many casinos so why would one travel all the way to Branson to gamble. By that time they are gambled out. Let Branson keep it's charm of old time living and showing how people lived back then. That would all be lost if not for places like Branson.
The only place that has kept its "old timey" flavor is the Shepherd of the Hills Homestead (if you don't count the zip line LOL). Otherwise, Branson is pretty much like any tourist town now. Nothing really special about it. We have gotten so far away from our "gee haw" Ozark Country roots. I am not sure if that is a bad thing or a good thing but it was what made us different/special. Now we are much the same as 100 other midwest tourist "destinations" overrun with franchise restaurants. Branson is really sweating the low tourism numbers that have come out during the past few seasons. Gas prices, weather problems, etc., all add up after a while. So many business owners are hurting. *EVERYTHING* is for sale in Branson because people want out.
Yes there is a big meth problem here. I doubt that gambling could make it any worse. We need to take a look at what people are spending their money on and duplicate that. Gambling pulls in millions of dollars every year. It's the only thing that is going to keep Branson alive during the next decade and nobody wants to admit it.
The only place that has kept its "old timey" flavor is the Shepherd of the Hills Homestead (if you don't count the zip line LOL). Otherwise, Branson is pretty much like any tourist town now. Nothing really special about it. We have gotten so far away from our "gee haw" Ozark Country roots. I am not sure if that is a bad thing or a good thing but it was what made us different/special. Now we are much the same as 100 other midwest tourist "destinations" overrun with franchise restaurants. Branson is really sweating the low tourism numbers that have come out during the past few seasons. Gas prices, weather problems, etc., all add up after a while. So many business owners are hurting. *EVERYTHING* is for sale in Branson because people want out.
Yes there is a big meth problem here. I doubt that gambling could make it any worse. We need to take a look at what people are spending their money on and duplicate that. Gambling pulls in millions of dollars every year. It's the only thing that is going to keep Branson alive during the next decade and nobody wants to admit it.
20yrsinBranson
Every place must be saying the same thing and when all is said and done one can't travel 100 miles before them come upon another casino. The country will be swamped with them. Just got back from Dallas and saw 3 or 4 casinos. Of course, the Indian country has them since that is how they make most of their money and the government lets it be tax free for them. Not sure if other places can make a go of it though.
I went to CO and they have turned their old gold camp cities into gambling meccas. Couldn't even find a parking space less than 4 dollars so we just left. So sad, not at all like it was when I was little and we went there to learn something about our history.
I just may work and our kids will be worse off for losing something special.
When the casinos moved into South MS, a lot of thought that it would be great. We thought they would bring tourist dollars, more jobs etc. All it brought was higher rent and way more check cashing places and title loan businesses. Yes they have some good food and even a few good concerts but we have no beaches left. At least that is how it is in Biloxi. Gulfport has managed to only have one so far.
I am not a fan of the bluegrass music but that is what Branson is known for and it should stay that way. If the casinos came in it wouldn't be as family friendly anymore. I think Branson as a whole is still a nice place for families to come and spend time relaxing.
Remember when they tried to change Vegas into a more family friendly city? Look what happened there---down the tubes and rightly so. It's not a kid friendly atmosphere or family friendly either. It went back to it's original template.
We did stop at the biggest casino---Winstar. They allow people to smoke and it was so bad to breath for a non-smoker. No way could I have eaten there in the restaurants. They are building huge hotels around it though so they must be making a ton of money.
I did see a pawn shop down the road. Sad for gambling addicts. I find it hard to even play the penny slots. I can't stand to put any money into a machine and not get anything out. LOL We do buy lottery tickets each week and that is all the gambling we do.
Just got back from Dallas and saw 3 or 4 casinos. Of course, the Indian country has them since that is how they make most of their money and the government lets it be tax free for them. Not sure if other places can make a go of it though.
My earliest memory of Silver Dollar City is that you parked in a gravel lot just north of the "swinging bridge" that leads to the water mill. There was no entrance fee. There was not even an entry, per se. The "city" existed solely to give you something to do while waiting to go on the cave tour. As it developed into an "1880's" theme park I remember wondering how long they would be able to keep that up. Thirty years ago there was still a connection with parents and grandparents who remembered making lye soap, going to the blacksmith, grist mills, steam trains, and one room country churches and schools. Today that connection is nearly gone and that "theme" is as interesting to the current generation as, say, life in ancient Byzantium.
As for shows, there were the Baldnobber's downtown and the Presley's out by themselves in the country. As long as the audience outnumbered the performers (often they did not), they would have a show. Theaters and performers have come and gone ever since. The only real top tier act ever to stay is Andy Williams. The theme that Branson is dying, or already dead, has been recurring every three or four years at least since the early 70's.
But it may really be different this time, for where are the acts of ten, or twenty years ago that people remember fondly and will pay to see again? The kind of mass appeal that an Andy Williams, or even a Roy Clark, had is not even part of our popular culture anymore. Entertainment is so fragmented that even very successful acts are little known outside their own circle of fans - and not even they remember them after a while. Who is the 90's equivalent of Ray Stevens, Roy Clark, or Mel Tillis? What successful comedian these last couple of decades has the kind of broad appeal of Yakov?
There may be fewer nationally known acts in the future, but if the past is any indication there will still be plenty of talent coming along to fill a Branson theater. After all, who knew anything of the Baldnobber's? Or the Foggy River Boys? Or Soji Tabuki of all people? And as those acts come, develop, succeed, get old, and finally leave we will still be here talking about how Branson is dying.
I didn't see them in Dallas. I saw them from the highway on the road to Dallas. The biggest at the border of TX and OK. Winstar casino. Then another one in OK and I think 2 more in KS.
Maybe Dallas has some but I think by the time ones gets to their destination they would be gambled out. Maybe the law has something to do with it since I didn't see them in the big cities, only in the country but very visible from the highway. Might have to do with zoning but I have never researched it. Might have something to do with smoking. Winstar was full of smoke.
My earliest memory of Silver Dollar City is that you parked in a gravel lot just north of the "swinging bridge" that leads to the water mill. There was no entrance fee. There was not even an entry, per se. The "city" existed solely to give you something to do while waiting to go on the cave tour. As it developed into an "1880's" theme park I remember wondering how long they would be able to keep that up. Thirty years ago there was still a connection with parents and grandparents who remembered making lye soap, going to the blacksmith, grist mills, steam trains, and one room country churches and schools. Today that connection is nearly gone and that "theme" is as interesting to the current generation as, say, life in ancient Byzantium.
As for shows, there were the Baldnobber's downtown and the Presley's out by themselves in the country. As long as the audience outnumbered the performers (often they did not), they would have a show. Theaters and performers have come and gone ever since. The only real top tier act ever to stay is Andy Williams. The theme that Branson is dying, or already dead, has been recurring every three or four years at least since the early 70's.
But it may really be different this time, for where are the acts of ten, or twenty years ago that people remember fondly and will pay to see again? The kind of mass appeal that an Andy Williams, or even a Roy Clark, had is not even part of our popular culture anymore. Entertainment is so fragmented that even very successful acts are little known outside their own circle of fans - and not even they remember them after a while. Who is the 90's equivalent of Ray Stevens, Roy Clark, or Mel Tillis? What successful comedian these last couple of decades has the kind of broad appeal of Yakov?
There may be fewer nationally known acts in the future, but if the past is any indication there will still be plenty of talent coming along to fill a Branson theater. After all, who knew anything of the Baldnobber's? Or the Foggy River Boys? Or Soji Tabuki of all people? And as those acts come, develop, succeed, get old, and finally leave we will still be here talking about how Branson is dying.
Well in some ways that is fine with me. I hope you don't "pave paradise and put up a parking lot." You can't beat the scenery in your area. Branson has had to expand and put in roads to support the cars. I remember the horrendous traffic jams when the shows got out with just the one main road through the city. More roads are fine but the scenery is sacrificed to do that.
Branson does play to the niche crowds----military families and shoppers coming in to go to the outlets. I loved taking my mother to see the Lennon Sisters since she watched them on TV each week. Acts like that are wonderful for the older crowd. You won't ever run out of "the older crowd" when we are all getting older.
I think it is great the way it is but understand it needs to change somewhat. I just hope it never loses it's downhome charm.
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but thats just my opinion.
