We recently re-visited Branson, MO. We have been there many times in my lifetime and have brought our children there to visit your fair city as they have grown up. Progress is taking its toll however…
The kids were small the last time we took them on Sammy Lanes Pirate Cruise and we were sad to learn it was no longer there. The Branson Scenic Railway doesn’t have the outside appeal it did before just because Historic Downtown Branson right around it no longer looks historic. What price are you willing to pay to make a profit? Branson is losing something with some of these modern additions. Tradition seems to be dying these days…
My husband thinks the city got ripped off purchasing the Fire and Light show. Why not have the fountains dancing all the time for the hefty price tag!! The short show we saw was not very impressive but maybe it is cooler to see at night when the fire is going… We don’t know… We were busy watching the evening shows at Celebration City and Silver Dollar City. Those shows were AWESOME. There was both water and fire at the Celebration City light up the night show. We were very impressed with that.
The main point I would like to make is that when you go in and change some things like you have to create Branson Landing you are sacrificing the simplicity that Harold Bell Wright wrote about in The Shepherd of the Hills novel. When you take away and don’t relocate attractions like the Sammy Lane Pirate Cruise and you deface areas such as the one around the Historic Branson Railway Station you lose part of what made you special. Look at the Rockaway Beach area… It is a sad sight to see today… One day Branson could suffer the same fate and you will be left with a bunch of ugly buildings and it will be impossible to recover the beauty of the Ozarks. Jaylynne, Andale, KS