Branson Resorts

[toothlady]

I am looking to go to Branson next summer. My husband and I will be taking our 9 year old daughter. I am okay with booking a year ahead, but I want to make sure that I have a great place. Do I need to book a year ahead for June or July? I thought that we might stay at Silver Leaf Holiday Hill, then something showed up for French Quarter, so I thought that might be nice, we are Fairfield Owners, and I have considered Fairfield, but I am not sure you can choose which resort area, and I see where one of the areas is not good. Now I have read about Big Cedar, and that sounds like a great place.

Should I wait to see if Big Cedar comes up? We are interested in having nice pools, and activities at the resort. I really don't want to be stuck in traffice everytime we leave the resort. Am I dreaming about this if we come to Branson in the summer?

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[libraria99]

You would love Fairfield Meadows; you can go to this site and click on activities for a list:

http://www.geocities.com/fairfieldbransonactivities/

It has beautiful grounds, two outdoor pools, and great activities. I think Mountain Vista has activities also.
The Falls is the one you would want to avoid. It doesn't have its own activities; you have to go to Mountain Vista.

Location is great; a couple of miles south of the "Strip"; Highway 76.

 

[ace2000]

I've stayed or have seen many of them in Branson and Big Cedar is at least a notch or two above them all in overall quality. Not sure if you are trading through RCI, however Big Cedar shows up as an available trade frequently and would be worth waiting for.

As far as the rest, there are several that fall into the next tier. The Fairfield Meadows is very nice, and the other two Fairfield locations are very nice also. It all depends on the advantages you are looking for and there is a ton of information in the TUG "reviews" section. There are many options that are as good or close to Fairfield though.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[dougp26364]

I've stayed or have seen many of them in Branson and Big Cedar is at least a notch or two above them all in overall quality. Not sure if you are trading through RCI, however Big Cedar shows up as an available trade frequently and would be worth waiting for.

As far as the rest, there are several that fall into the next tier. The Fairfield Meadows is very nice, and the other two Fairfield locations are very nice also. It all depends on the advantages you are looking for and there is a ton of information in the TUG "reviews" section. There are many options that are as good or close to Fairfield though.

Enjoy your trip!

If the OP is seeing Silverleafs Holliday Hills and French Quarter, she's looking through RCI.

 

[GrampyBill]

We have been taking kids to Branson once or twice a year for 35 years. Initially, Branson can be intimidating or confusing because of the traffic but, really, everything is quite accessible. Try to glean a little knowledge every so often from some of the TUG posters who have been there. Slowley build a knowledge base as your time nears and you will be able to beat the system.

There is absolutly no equal to Big Cedar. It has hiking space, beautiful Vistas, stables, tennis, minature golf, croquet, three pools (indoor and out), lazy river, two fitness centers, marina, free paddle boats, free kayacks, cookies delivered to your lodging nightly, good restaurants, games, videos, etc.

Big Cedar is a short 9 miles south of Branson and has several alternate routes that allow easy access to Silver Dollar City, Branson Belle, College of the Ozarks, Branson Landing. Music shows are no major problem either.

Staying in town at a location such as the French Quarter works well also. A four day unlimited pass to Silver Dollar City, Celebration City, and White Water offers the ability to park hop. The nearness of Celebration City and White Water, and 7 miles to Silver Dollar City make leaving and returning to the park of your choice very easy. And you do not have to kill yourself by trying to do everthing at a park in one day.

Branson is paradise if done right. Keep asking questions so we can help prepare you to enjoy.

 

[toothlady]

Thanks so much for all your help. I have put in a search request for Big Cedar beginning June 20th of next year through the first part of Aug. The VC told me that she thought that I would get something, so I hope that she is right. I am very excited about visiting Branson. Bill, where do I get this 4 day park hopper ticket? How much does it cost?

Thanks!

 

[JLB]

I'm not sure exactly what Sturk has been smoking or what crystal ball they are using.

Many of us here have followed Wilderness Club summer availability since the place opened, and it has always been the least available Branson area resort during the summer. Some have said that you just about have to be an owner, then, a bluegreen owner, and, then, other RCI members are way down the list. I'm not sure I have ever seen a summer cabin confirmed by an RCI member who is not at least Bluegreen.

But, yes, it is at least two notches above other area resorts, which, for a group in any area, are at least a notch above move resort areas. Most Branson area RCI resorts are Gold Crown.

Your first decision should be what type of vacation experience you want: in town/Branson and Strip, Lake, Golf. Then we can go from there.

Summer is peak for lake resorts, and a secondary peak for in-town resorts.

As always, the invitation to visit our Margaritaville dock still stands.

And I'm available by email, too. Just use the link.

 

[GrampyBill]

$85.00 for adults; $75.00 for kids. Check out the Silver Dollar City, White Water, and Celebration City websites for some good information.

Ideas:

We go to SDC about an hour before the actual park opens and have breakfast. There are several choices - Buffet or Pastry shop. We use preferred parking so that we can walk-in rather than wait for trams. Parking close makes it easy to leave and return at your convenience. We will hit the popular rides early, then leave around noon, 1, or 2. Go rest or play at the resort. Maybe go back at 7:00 for the free evening entertainment in the amphitheater. It’s always a good show. Again, the preferred parking makes access very easy.

The best time to go to Celebration City is when it opens at 3:00 pm. It’s usually hot but there are no, or short, lines for the rides. Kids can usually handle the heat and there are plenty of places for wimpy adults to sit and watch. Again, we leave after 2 or 3 hours but always return for their fun evening show and fire works. Not necessarily the same night. Just depends on our mood.

White Water is fun early but then it really gets crowded. We like going at 5 or 6 pm and staying till closing. It’s exceptionally tranquil and relaxing at that time as probably 80% of the crowd has left.

Sometimes we will go to White Water after a few hours at CC. Other times we might go to SDC evening show after a few hours at CC. The CC evening show is a must and can be done easy any evening during the 4 day period.

Other things that fit well with the flexibility of the 4 day pass are:

a trip to College of the Ozarks (great inexpensive museum and ice cream store in their lodge - sit in the rockers on the front porch and enjoy a cone.) The campus has a neat mill with waterwheel, awsome overlook behind a beautiful church, and a few other attractions.

A morning trip to Branson Landing before heading to an afternoon at CC or an evening at WW works great.

A trip to the Dewey Short Nature Center - take some tacos and buy a can of pop there and have a picnic. Restrooms are inside the air conditioned nature center. You can also take a 15 minute nature walk that emerges at the Branson Belle Landing. Browse the shops, grab a snack, and walk back to the nature center. Of, course the Branson Belle itself is a quality entertainment venue.

Stop at Chateau on the Lake and enjoy their atrium, grab some ice cream, a Latte, or Sundae at their Ice Cream Parlor. Enjoy the views especially sunset.

If you stay at Big Cedar, the resort itself will occupy many hours. The drive is a little longer to the Branson activities but it is always beautiful.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings for now. There are tons of things to do and preparing adds to the excitement.

 

[JLB]

Funny, when we have the great-nieces, like we have for the last week, and are going to SDC, or somewhere else, like we have for the last week, I stop at Wal Mart first and pick up a bunch of Wing Dings from their deli.

The girls love them, when they can get them away from me.

Then there is no talk about food at all at SDC, at least until we make it around to the funnel cake place, toward the end of our visit. We went during Blues and BBQ last month and did all eat BBQ down yonder in the big building. It was pretty good and we discovered our new favorite BBQ sauce, Ott's Hickory Sauce.

FWIW, at SDC we go in, get a soft frozen lemonade or two, and turn right. We do the train first if there is no line, so that Uncle Jim doesn't whine constantly until we do. Then, because it's there, Great American shootout. After that we keep heading that direction, to the Great Exposition and the coaster on the way to it.

Then we head to the wet area, past the Cajun Connection, do a few more little kids rides, and over to Fire in the Hole and the big rides on that side of the park.

So, we go counter-clockwise. It takes 4 to 6 hours.

Our most frequent post-SDC food stop is Pizza Hut in Branson West.

We go to SDC about an hour before the actual park opens and have breakfast. There are several choices - Buffet or Pastry shop.