Silver Dollar City & Branson, Missouri

Hello! Today I wanted to go back and revisit our vacation a couple weeks ago by covering an eventful day Scott and I spent in Branson, Missouri. Fun fact, Scott was born there!

Any time we go home to see his family, we do our best to plan a full day in Branson. In fact, the last time we were in the city, we joined a lot of his family for a fun weekend stay in a condo near the main strip.

This trip, however, we had a distinct mission to see a theme park Scott practically grew up in.

Silver Dollar City is an 1880’s-themed experience that fits Branson’s vision as a family-friendly vacation destination with good ‘ol Southern charm.

Silver Dollar City opened in Spring 1960, and has been entertaining crowds and running strong ever since. Many, many years ago, both of Scott’s parents dressed in colonial wear and worked in the park!

Considering we were paying a visit in mid-June, I didn’t think to bring much besides shorts and tank tops for days of exploring. I didn’t take rainy weather into account, and I was uncomfortably chilly with an on and off sprinkle of rain and wind. The very first thing I did when we walked into the main entrance was purchase a rain jacket!

They didn’t have my size or color preference, but I didn’t care. I was so thankful to have it and not have to pay a fortune (it was around $18)! Stylin’ I know.

Conveniently, the first stop on our schedule into Silver Dollar City was inside a theater to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform a show. Scott used to work for the organization (lightyears ago!), so we may or may not have had connections for seats right in the front and center.

We have seen the Harlem Globetrotters perform a handful of times now, both in Detroit and Orlando. It was neat to be able to go to one of their shows, and not necessarily a game that we’ve seen before.

I figured there might be a chance one of us was going to be pulled on stage for embarrassment when we were in the very front by a friend. Much against my will, I was selected to participate in a dance contest with Globie (the mascot).

Even though I am a former professional dancer, this truly caught me off-guard. I took a few deep breaths, played along with the themed music, and busted out my best robot dance. Looking back, I totally would have won with the worm instead. Ahhh, next time.

Once the show got rolling, I thought my minutes of embarrassment would be over. Nope! One of the players, Stretch (an impressive 7’4″), pulled me back out to participate in a trick shot. I told him I had already been on stage, and he thought it was funny to select me anyways.

Good times.

The show was great! It’s always interesting to see what these tricksters are up to. If you ever get a chance to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform in your home city, I would definitely recommend taking the opportunity to go with your whole family!

(Thanks for the tickets – and embarrassment – Frank!)

By the time we got back outside, I was thankful to see the rain had cleared. It’s a charming little park to walk through!

I didn’t snap photos of our food, but we purchased popcorn, specialty park meals, and unique snacks like rare jerky flavors throughout the day.

We took our time walking as much of the park as we could over the next few hours.

At that point in time, we were grateful for the tiny bit of rain we experienced earlier, as it scared a lot of the crowd away. We barely waited in any lines for rides, including the popular roller coasters. We got absolutely soaked on a few of the water rides (hello, rain jacket!), and I sat out on riding the bigger, faster coasters back-to-back with Scott.

Ahhh, roller coasters. I think they’re a blast, but I get extreme motion sickness. I have a true love-hate relationship with them, and quickly become the best purse and bag holder you’ll ever go to a theme park with. 😉

Scott was great at taking rests with me in between rides, too. I guess I’ll keep him around.

Silver Dollar City always proves to be a great time. I’ve been twice now, and Scott has been… well, twice plus one hundred times. If you ever need suggestions on things to do on the park grounds or in the area, give us a shout!

Before we knew it, it was time to boogie back to our car in order to grab a quick dinner and get to the main strip for a show.

 

Sight & Sound Theatre (Jonah)

Scott and I are lovers of the arts and theater, and we always try to sneak in a show whenever we visit Branson. We have been to the Sight & Sound Theatres together once before, and knew they would put on a spectacle.

Sight & Sound is known to bring shows to life. They take classic Biblical stories and characters like Noah, Daniel, Jonah, and Jesus, and put on an elaborate musical production around each that tells the story and message of Scripture. Last time we saw Noah, and this time we were looking forward to Jonah.

Each show features a spectacular set, special effects, original music, live animals, and a Scripture-based story that keeps you on on edge throughout the entire performance. They really do a wonderful job!

After the show, Scott wanted to drive over to The Landing for a walk before heading home to Scott’s dad’s house.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that shops were open past 10 p.m., and we found two huge new attractions that spiced up the nightlife!

(… besides this friendly gorilla.)

If we had more time, we would have taken advantage of the hot air balloon rides and zip lining put on by Parakeet Pete’s. Both looked like such a fun and not-so terribly scary rush!

 

Previous posts on this vacation:

• Friday Favorites #96: Week of 6/26

• Downtown Historic Eureka Springs 

• Revisiting Where Scott Proposed (Eureka Springs, AR)

• Bass Pro Shops Headquarters & Downtown Springfield

 

Well friends, I better run. I have just a few hours to get the house ready for company this week. I’m excited to be picking my mom up from the airport this afternoon, and will be checking back in tomorrow morning for What I Ate Wednesday.

Have a great rest of your day!