Branson in the off-season
My very first visit to a glittering ghost town.
January 17, 2008
By Rachel Bock
It was my last winter break ever, and for months I dreamt of visiting my friends in Ecuador and lounging at their beach house. I envisioned two weeks lying on the warm sand, sipping from a coconut in the shade of a lazy palm tree.
Unfortunately, my budget put me on a tight leash.
Maybe sunny beaches were out of my reach, but luckily, a star-studded midwestern oasis called Branson was just four hours down the road.
It’s known as Las Vegas’s family-friendly counterpart, and for good reason. Nearly 7.4 million tourists flock to the strip each year to see famed performers like Dolly Parton and Mickey Gilley, the Hollywood Wax Museum, theme parks, outlet malls, kitschy flea markets, mega-churches and all-you-can-eat steak buffets.
Most of the time, cars packed with eager families inch along the seven-mile stretch. But after our four-hour drive from Kansas City, we stumbled upon something that everyone seemed to know except us.
There was no traffic. We drove past empty restaurants, closed-down theaters and deserted mini-golf courses. A neon sign below the giant statue of Yakov Smirnoff in a fur hat blowing out a stick of dynamite flashed, “Danger: Explosive laughter! See you in April!” While Andy Williams’ blue eyes still sparkled and managed to burn my soul from his billboard, even his “Moon River Café” was dark and dead. A local inn had a sign that blinked, “Live karaoke,” but there appeared to be only one man inside. The strip still buzzed with neon lights, but only a few cars cruised by.
It’s an eerie discovery coming to Branson in the loneliest time of the year. When performers are on vacation and it’s too cold to golf or ride a roller coaster, the city becomes a glittering ghost town. But we were soon to find that there were plenty of discoveries to be made when Branson was stripped of its tourists.
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