Last week, we took a quick trip to Branson for a long weekend together. Traveling with a toddler to any town can be kinda tricky but finding a few things that are the perfect entertainment for them will make your trip so much more successful. It will take a little research to plan a successful travel trip to Branson with a toddler, but it’s not hard to find toddler fun anywhere!
I’ll admit, we did not do any research until we hit the road, which was a little tricky on the backroads of Arkansas and Missouri, so it might not be the best method, but it kept me from stressing to early and over planning.
Our itinerary for the weekend included:
- Sunday – leave when he gets up and drive to Branson, plan one thing to do in the evening
- Monday – outlet shopping, one show/entertainment
- Tuesday – fun breakfast and drive home
As you can see, we did not have big plans, but our main goal was to get in the Christmas spirit, make some memories together, and knock out a little shopping with better deals that we can find online. We accomplished all three of our goals on the first night, so everything else was just gravy!
Highlights from our Branson trip with a toddler
- Easy meals with food they will always like
- Promise Land Zoo – plan for half a day
- Branson Landing in the evening – plan around the watershow times
- Dixie Stampede – every time
- Tanger Outlet Mall – Disney Store and kids clothes
- Leave space for naps in the car or hotel room, everyone will be in a better mood if the grumpies don’t get invited on vacation!
- TIP – look at those walls of brochures around you at any travel stop or hotel lobby. Snag the Discounts book and look at any pamphlet for a place you intend to go before you go. They are full of discounts for all kinds of things whether its a free appetizer, money off an excursion or a free coupon book for the outlet malls.
Here’s what our time together practically looked like:
- Sunday | Day 1 – Little Man woke up at 4:30 am, so hitting the road early was not a problem. We stopped along the way at a couple of detours that had been on my radar. I love the lookout over Devil’s Backbone as you come out of Marshall. There is a coffee shop there on the side of the road that is a great pick me up and with a little bit of fall color still on the trees, the view across the valley was perfect. We had planned to stop for lunch at the Neighbor’s Mill in Harrison, but they are closed on Sunday so we kept going.
- The big surprise of the day was that we drove right through the Buffalo National River area and pulled off at Tyler’s Bend for a stop in the Visitor’s Center and more stamps for our National Passport! With all of that, we still got to town by noon and had to fight the Sunday lunch crowd.
- Once we saw that the weather was going to turn cold with precipitation the next day, we decided we needed to do a little research and plan to enjoy our 77-degree day as much as possible.
- I totally fell victim to the giant billboard I saw as we pulled into the parking lot for lunch and we Googled the Promised Land Zoo. It looked like a fun option with all the animals to see and interact with. Little did I know it would be the perfect destination for us. They have a 2-mile drive-thru safari that has big animals. If you hit it like us we didn’t have anyone behind us so we could take our time. Towards the end, there is a pull-off spot with a playground, petting zoo, and herpetarium with snacks and small animals. We spent a full hour outside letting him run around and play. It was perfect. The weather was sunny and he was living his best life. It really was the most perfect kid spot. After we finished, we went back to the original spot and parked and got out to walk through the “foot safari” and enjoy more animals. It was the perfect afternoon together and we wandered around until the late afternoon
- We checked in to our hotel. I got our room set up for bedtime and the weekend and then headed off to the Branson Landing. Here’s we saw a couple of options. Shepherd of the Hills had a fun North Pole Adventure event and drive-through light show, we could go late to Silver Dollar City and stay as long as we wanted and have access the next day since it would have been after 5, or go to the Branson Landing. We chose the landing because it was free to walk around. If the weather was going to cooperate the next day, I think we would have done Silver Dollar City so we had 2 days with the admission price, but paying for things was not what we wanted to do.
- Branson Landing was a great option. Little Man fell asleep on the way and slept while we walked around for an hour. We bought a few things and made dinner plans. But the real fun came with the hourly water show and then 3 times a day they have a bonus show. Little Man loved it. He sat in his stroller in an opening by the stairs and just kept saying “moh moh” when it was over.
- Before we went back to the hotel, we found a drive-thru lights display in town and took our time looking at all the dinosaurs, choo choos and animals light up among the traditional scenes. This was another spot where he could get out and sit in my lap and ride with us slowly as we looked at each display. None of them are really “worth” the money but sometimes on vacation, you spend money on senseless things!
- Monday | Day 2 – we knew there would be rain and potentially yucky weather all day so our plan was to be as flexible and sensitive to all the things as much as possible
- A quick breakfast at the Pancake House was perfect. It was like a homestyle diner, the staff was super baby-friendly, and we could stuff our bellies for a late lunch since we were headed out to shop.
- One of the main things I wanted to tackle while we were there was a big chunk of my Christmas list and tackle we did. One tip – look at all those walls of brochures and get the discount book that’s yellow and red. It has a ticket for a free coupon book at the Tanger Outlet Mall and will help you save more money on top of their great deals. We bundled up as we went store to store and fill the back of our car with lots of gifts!
- We had a late lunch at Psaghettis. I wasn’t that impressed with the food, but the environment was why we went. They have a fun trolley and arcade area.
- After lunch, we all went back to the hotel for a nap, and then it was off for our evening entertainment
- Dixie Stampede was a hit. Little Man loved all the horses, especially when they went fast on the trick rides. But all of it was perfect. He sat in our laps and ate off our plates and enjoyed seeing all the animals and getting to clap to the music and cheer for our team.
- Mom and dad drove through for hot chocolate on our way home and if the roads hadn’t been bad, we probably would have found more lights to drive through.
- Tuesday | Day 3 – was a travel home day, but we had until noon until we needed to leave.
- Morning options were to go back anywhere we missed, grab a big breakfast, and then play if there was time at the Top of the Rock.
- Lunch options were the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks (their food is the best!) or Arnie’s Barn at Top of the Rock. With a little snow on the ground, it was a beautiful morning toodling around before we hit the road.
I didn’t really know about Branson until I went to college in Arkansas. But, Branson is just a fun place to help get in the Christmas spirit. The lights, the colors, the sounds it’s all so festive. And, if you are headed there with a toddler, I’d recommend not leaving without experiencing the Promise Land Zoo and Dixie Stampede, everything else will just be extra fun!
