Grand stage
BRANSON, Mo. – Nearly everyone who’s a regular visitor here has an “I-remember-Branson-when” story. Here is Bob Allen’s version: “When I first came down here, the only things in Branson were the Presleys, Silver Dollar City and bait shops.”
Branson started as an Ozark fishing hole, with the Presley family setting up a metal building on Highway 76 in 1967 to provide wholesome entertainment for the sportsmen who used the man-made lakes. That simple start multiplied into about 50 theaters, earning Branson the title of America’s live music capital.
The evolution is continuing today, and Allen is a part of it.
Allen grew up in Springfield, Mo., where he was friends with Payne Stewart, the pro golfer who died in a plane accident in 1999. Now he’s the club pro for Branson Hills Golf Co., which is putting the finishing touches on the Payne Stewart Golf Club, a tribute to his friend.
“Each hole of the course tells a story about Payne’s experience on the tour,” Allen says. “The golf course is $27 million, with five sets of tees from 7,400 yards. We can host national events, everything from Tiger to little tigers.”
The public course will be the 12th in the Branson area – joining John Daly’s Murder Rock as the latest additions – and cements Branson’s role as a golf destination.
Add the upscale shopping at the new Branson Landing, the recently opened convention center and a second Hilton Hotel, and it’s easy to see why Branson’s backers are bullish about its future.
And don’t forget the new full-size airport scheduled to open next spring, says Dan Lennon, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce.
“With the new airport, it starts to be more practical for people to fly in,” he says. “With those further-out markets, Branson becomes a weekend getaway.”
Branson’s annual visitation grew 5.2 percent last year, to 8.39 million people, Lennon says. Over the past two years, total growth was 14 percent while the rest of the national tourism market was seeing 2 percent annual increases.
Lennon emphasizes that the culture Branson was known for is alive and well. You can still find cornpone humor at the Presleys and Baldknobbers shows, motels still offer “2 for $32.95” in the off-season, go-kart tracks and water slides still line Highway 76, and traffic this summer will crawl as the commercial strip fills with gawkers.
But now you can shop for fancy undies at the Victoria’s Secret at Branson Landing, or try out a new boat at the Bass Pro Shop dock on Lake Taneycomo.
“The thing that brought the people in the ‘60s and ‘70s – the Ozark Mountain experience – that still happens, we’ve just added these higher amenities,” Lennon says.
“Fifteen years ago, you’d have the Lawrence Welks. With the boomers, you have Dick Clark, the Acrobats of China, the Liverpool Legends.”
Branson’s live music scene has a new player this season. The $65 million Sight & Sound Theatre will open May 24 with a stage area of 26,550 square feet, the equivalent of more than five basketball courts.
The stage, largest in North America, is 300 feet long and wraps around three sides of the 2,085 seats, giving the audience the feeling of being inside an ark – with all the animals – for a production of “Noah – The Musical.”
Sight & Sound Theatres is the nation’s largest professional Christian theater company. Its headquarters theater in Lancaster County, Pa., is one of the most popular live theaters on the East Coast, with an annual audience of more than 800,000.
Founded in 1976 by Glenn and Shirley Eshelman, the company produces epic biblical stories. About 100 live animals, 200 “animatronic” animals and 45 human actors will be used in Branson to tell the story of the journey of Noah and his family.
“It sometimes called ‘Christian Broadway’ in Pennsylvania,” says Joan Chowning as she ushers a visitor into the Branson theater, where trainers were working with the live animals.
“The employees all profess to be Christians. But we welcome the unchurched, as well as the churched, at our theaters.”
Admission for both is $49 an adult, $25 for a teen and $15 for children.
Silver Dollar City also continues to evolve, from a re-created Ozark mining town built above Marvel Cave to a quality theme park in a landscaped setting with rides and a full schedule of live entertainment.
The biggest new attraction this season is at Silver Dollar City’s sister park, Celebration City, where Roaring Falls, a $2 million water adventure, makes its debut this spring.
General manager John Fitzgibbons gives a blow-by-blow description of the new ride: “Twenty passengers go up five stories in a boat, which falls in a 55-degree drop, ending with a splash that gets everybody in the boat, and everybody on the land nearby, wet.
“It has an Amazon theme, with crocodiles and hippos and fossilized rocks. There’ll be fog and a mister going, and Amazon noises.”
Celebration City, which is entering its sixth season, has about 30 rides and attractions, including three roller coasters and a Ferris wheel. The park closes each evening with “Ignite the Night,” which uses three projectors to display images on a water curtain, along with lasers and fireworks and music.
“We have a 50-foot Elvis walking on water and singing,” Fitzgibbons says. “There’s a dance party on the Great Lawn. We get kids, parents and grandparents up and dancing.”
Silver Dollar City, which is a short ride away from Celebration City, also has a full schedule of events with Bluegrass & Barbecue, May 10-June 1; National Kids Fest, June 7-Aug. 10; Southern Gospel Picnic, Aug. 28-Sept. 7; National Harvest Festival, Sept. 11-Oct. 25; and An Old Time Christmas, Nov. 1-Dec. 30.
Lisa Rau, spokeswoman for Silver Dollar City, says the park uses continuing feedback from customers to update attractions and facilities.
“The bottom line is: We are not the boss, the guests are the boss – mostly Mom,” Rau says.
“Roaring Falls is exactly what they wanted: A big, get wet, whole family, thrill ride.”