We are booking our first Branson vaction with two children 7 %26amp; 2. We are looking at hotels with waterparks, does anyone have any recent reviews of the three listed above. I have read pretty many negative views on Welk but not too many on either Grand Country or Castlrock. Any help is appreciated. Also does anyone know if it is cheaper to book tickets and hotel all at once or get tickets somewhere else. I am hoping to spend less than $1000 for family of 4 , Dixie Stampede, Branson Bell, Chinese Acrobats, SDC, possibly the Ripleys Believe it or Not.
Castlerock, Welk Resort Or Grand Country Inn
Castlerock is still not open. They were originally scheduled to open last fall, but their status right now is ';Hiring.';
You can also check the 1branson.com forum for info on the other 2 places.
If it were me, however, I would consider paying a lot less to stay at a hotel or condo. The benefit of a condo for your family would be that you can do some of your meals ';in'; instead of going out. And many condos have a pool in the complex. There are some nice ones by owner (like Sandy%26#39;s http://www.homeawayconnect.com/calendar.aspx?propertyid=133271%26amp;cid=5) that you can find on www.vrbo.com, www.homeaway.com, www.vacationrentals.com, and www.vacationhomerentals.com, or try Hunter%26#39;s Friend Resort (http://www.huntersfriendresort.com/).
Then visit White Water and get the Park Hopper pass with SDC. Or, get the SDC season pass and get discounts to White Water ($5 off per ticket).
OR...get the Super Park Pass and visit both parks anytime during your visit ($118 per adult and $98 per kid).
The season passes also come with a discount for the Branson Belle (50% off noon and 8 pm cruises), $5 off Dixie Stampede tickets, and other ones as well (like $5 off Ride the Ducks, which your family would really enjoy - I know we do!)
But if you prefer a toned down version of White Water - a few slides and a big pool - instead, try the AquaPlex for only $4/person.
As far as buying a package with lodging and tickets - don%26#39;t worry about going that route. Many of the seasoned Branson lovers recommend purchasing your tickets directly from the theatre. You can find a Ripley%26#39;s Believe it or Not coupon (and many others like mini-golf, etc.) here: www.sunnydayguide.com/branson/br_coupons.php. Even though it says it expires 3/31/09, it will be refreshed to a new expiration date later, so bookmark the page and print your coupons before you leave.
Have a great time!
Castlerock, Welk Resort Or Grand Country Inn
Wow, Girlfriend....You covered it all.......
Not much else to add, except,,,
Stay away from the discount booths around town,
They are a high pressure time share sales..
Just tell them you are locals, they will leave you alone,,,
A good place to take the kids is the museum at the college of the ozarks,,,
Ralph foster museum,
It is free for them and $4.00 for adults,
www.rfostermuseum.com/
And one of the best restaurants around branson is at the college as well,,,
http://www.keetercenter.edu/dining.asp
And a fun place to eat with free singing , IS Mels hard luck diner,
It is a 50%26#39;s themed diner where the wait staff sings while they serve,
there has been two of the singers who made it to American idol,
It is located in the grand village shopping center, next door to the grand palace theater on the main strip(76)
And don%26#39;t forget to check out the branson landing,
Great food and shopping, and a fountain show with fire and water,,,
www.bransonlanding.com/
Sometimes I think I should change my name to Mrs. Frugal. ;)
Oh, and if you want to hit the go-karts, go to http://www.bransontracks.com/cart/gocard.asp and get a Go Card and get your credits at 50% off.
And I have read that Moonshine Beach should be open by the time you get there in June. Our boys love it - just be aware that it is a beach of small pebbles and not sand (at least that was 2 years ago before it flooded - I don%26#39;t know how they are repairing it).
And I did notice that the Sunny Day Guide had a coupon for the Acrobats, too.
I think they pretty well covered it, but to answer your original question..If you still want to do the indoor waterpark thing. I would go with Grand Country for the age of your children
It has been about 3 years since we did so, but we have taken our grandsons to Branson and stayed at Grand Country Inn 3 or 4 times. Not a fancy hotel, but we were always pleased with the accomodations. Always clean. We purchased packages through Grand Country. They have a buffet, an ice cream parlor and a pizza restaurant on the property...foood is decent. The boys enjoyed the arcade on the property, they gave us discounts on the theater shows there on the property and I believe they offered Silver Dollar City tickets in the package. If you purchase season passes to Silver Dollar City, I believe you can get discounts to Dixie Stampede, Branson Bell and your room rate at Grand Country.
I’ve heard both positive and negative reviews for Welk. It does not have a water park. It has pools. You should be able to get a full condo with a living/dining room, kitchen and bedrooms.
Grand Country has an indoor water park but it is small. I’ve heard many complaints about the rooms not as nice as other hotels and older kids feel the water park is too lame for their tastes. Your kids will probably be content with it.
As posted, Castle Rock has not opened yet. This will offer an indoor water park.
If you want more than the resort pools and want a water park but don’t want to pay the price for White Water, I would suggest you check out Branson’s Rec Plex. This is city owned so it is priced at a steal. The price a family can attend is about the same as one White Water admission. Water sprays and water slides too.
If you are not familiar with vrbo, vacationrentals, vacationhomerentals, as listed by Canyon Retreat, they are listing portals where private owners, managers and resorts list their vacation condos, homes %26amp; cabins for rent. Thank you for posting about my condo but the link is wrong. I think you were trying to link to my vrbo listing. Instead you listed my availability calendar. My vrbo listing is www.vrbo.com/133271 or directly at www.meadowbrook-resort.com.
Silver Dollar City (SDC) theme park is not your normal nothing but rides theme park. . The admission price seems high but this park can fill up a lot of your vacation. We take our grandkids about 4-5 times a year, 2-4 days each time. You’ll have to get on their site to decide if season passes would be your best bet with the additional benefits they offer. If not, I would suggest either buying vouchers 2 days for the price of 1 from www.reservebranson.com and/or take advantage of SDC’s offer of going in after 3 pm and getting in free the next day. After the park closes, they have a 1 ½ hour show. It is outdoors and you can spread out so if the 2 yo wants to dance or sleep they can. (Our grand kids always danced in front of their seats and stay awake for the whole show. Of course they fall asleep immediately when they hit the stroller.) Water fun is also available for the kids there so looking for an inclusive water park in your lodging price may not be needed between your lodging’s pools and SDC. Most place offer pools. Some also have toddler pools. You can always add the Rec Plex and White Water into your schedule.
I would spend your money on Ride the Ducks instead of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. If you want a museum your kids may enjoy, take them to Ralph Foster’s Museum located at the College of the Ozarks as listed above by Fordarama. Check out the college website. This is a free tuition and working college. Go when you can see a live milking demonstration, the mill is running, view the antique tractor and green house buildings, and tour the campus. Last year the adult ticket price for Ralph Foster was $4.50/adult, under 17 free. Take your camera for some fun photos of your kid’s reactions to the taxidermies wildlife displays. After standing 5 minutes staring at the full sized adult moose with her arms crossed, my 2 yo granddaughter last year finally announced “I no like moose” before walking away. You can spend most of the day at the college and most is free. Keeter Center is a little pricey. I would suggest you dine there at lunch time to save on costs.
Don’t waste your time buying a package or something tied to only their choices. There are coupons everywhere but follow the advice and not go to the ticket booths. Most are time share and vacation club traps. If you want 2 tickets for the price of one, go to www.branson2for1tickets.com to see what shows they offer. You buy your tickets once you get into town. They carry only some of the shows. Other places have this same name but they are not Branson 2 for 1 Tickets. They are timeshare traps. The only place these are available is immediately west off of Hwy 65 on the corner of Hwy 76 and Roark. It is on Hwy 76, on the southwest corner of the intersection. This intersection has a traffic light so it is easy to find.
I don’t know how long you are staying but a lot is available at very affordable prices. SDC allows you to take in food so you can take in your kid’s snacks too for more savings. Eat out lunches when the prices are a little cheaper. Carry in pizza, food from the grocery deli’s or make your own meals if you have a kitchen and eat your evening meals as a picnic or where you are staying. You can really have fun yet stretch your dollars in Branson.
I just found out Welk Resort will have a water park. Not open yet. The only search I found said it is scheduled to open 3/20/09, subject to change. This opening date was not on the resort%26#39;s site, so I have no idea on accuracy.
Castlerock opened last weekend (March 7, 2009). I stayed there with my husband, 5 y/o daughter and 8 y/o son for two nights. They enjoyed it very much. We had the hotel to ourselves one night! Had the waterpark to ourselves as well. It%26#39;s not highly advertised yet.
I would stay here again. We liked the room with a bunkbed in a cave-ish area. It had its own TV so the kids could watch cartoons.
I would not plan to spend a whole day at the waterpark. Not enough to be entertained that long. 2 big slides, lazy river, pool and area for little ones to play.
There%26#39;s a pirate putt-putt not far away - could probably walk to it.
If you stay there soon, realize it%26#39;s newly open and there are going to be glitches. But the staff was nice and made up for any goofs. The lifeguards are the NICEST you will ever meet.
Funny enough, we also spent a night at Grand Country. It has two slides and a larger waterplay area. It has a lazy river, area for little ones to play, a pool, and 2 hot tubs (where I spent most of my time). The lifeguards here were not vigilant like at Castlerock. However, there was more water activity for the kids at this place. Still not sure a whole day here, either. This place is older. It was very clean but very dated. Of course we just came from a room no one had probably ever slept in.
We very much enjoyed the Dixie Stampede. We sat second row up on the North side. We paid $5 extra to sit lower, and I would spend the extra again. My daughter received a flower from one of the contestants (horse rider in the North vs the South tournament part of the show) and my son got to do a lasso thing. Not important to sit in the ';bottom of the U'; of the stadium, as the show was designed for all to see and participate in.
We did Branson Belle a couple of years ago. The dog show guy was hilarious. But the food and staff were terrible. I won%26#39;t do it a second time.
My children saw the animal show at Grand Country last summer and really enjoyed it. You mentioned packages - they offer some kind of package if you stay multiple nights.
Don%26#39;t do Ripleys. It%26#39;s a lot of reading and not a lot of exhibits. We thought my 8 y/o son would enjoy it... but he didn%26#39;t. The 5 y/o can%26#39;t read, and spent the whole time tugging me into the next room.
Hope this helps. Mostly stream of consiousness here... just got back and hadn%26#39;t put my thoughts together formally - but will leave a review for Castlerock later.
To clear up any confusion...The Welk Resort Waterpark is open. They feature a splash-a-torium detailed as a ';10,000+ square foot water park open year round, and features an outrageous, 100 foot, indoor water slide, indoor/outdoor pool, locker rooms, and a large indoor/outdoor hot tub. Plus, a totally awesome indoor/outdoor ';Splash-Zone'; where staying dry is impossible. Free to our owners and guests, we invite you to join us in Branson this year for some wet and wild fun!!';
CastleRock, previously known as The Atrium Inn, has just recently opened their waterpark. Their water park is described as ';a climate controlled, 84 degree indoor water park. Finally, a truly weather-proof vacation destination the whole family will love. Everyone will find something to love with 3 water slides 1,000 gallon tipping bucket, splash pool, state of the art arcade and more!';
Grand Country is the oldest waterpark in town, but it is also consistently a favorite with guests.
Hope that helps.
Just thought that I would let you know...we stayed at Castle Rock and it was the most horrible experience. Been to branson hundreds of times and this is by far the worst stay we have ever had. Wire was poking out of bunk bed(they were not sturdy) and when asked for another room,they were not nice. I told them that the children were not sleeping where wire was poking out...it could have easily strangled one of them. It was in loop like a hangman%26#39;s noose. we have never had any trouble in Branson, but be warned DO NOT STAY here. Too much money and not friendly. We have stayed at Grand Country Inn about 2 years ago and it was fine.
