“With the 1880s styled, award winning, Silver Dollar City, the majestic Titanic Museum Attraction, and dozens of other attractions, Branson offers a choice of exciting activities that would be the envy of any family travel destination, let alone one its size,” said Annette Wood, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Branson Tourism Center. “Although its mix of attractions contains “national brands” and others not exclusive to Branson, many Branson attractions, including The World’s Largest Toy Museum Complex, Dicks 5 & 10, and The Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure can only be seen in Branson,” she added.
The World’s Largest Toy Museum Complex is a combination of six museums and other collections, occupying two buildings, and over 26,000 square feet of exhibit space. The “World’s Largest Toy Museum,” is just one of those museums and has over 1 million toys from the 1800’s to the present, including model trains, planes, cars, dolls, superhero figures, Disney and much more.
The complexes’ other museums include “The National BB Gun Museum” containing hundreds of BB Guns; “The Harold B. Wright Museum” displaying the original manuscript of the best-selling book, “The Shepherd of the Hills,” along with his personal collection of furniture and paintings; “The Stearnsy Bear Museum;” and “The World of Checkers Museum.” Recently added is the “Paul Harvey Museum,” dedicated to the memories of the much –loved newscaster which was put together by his son, Paul Harvey, Jr. It’s contained in a replica of their 1950’s home featuring many of the actual toys, furniture, and personal items owned by the family.
Dicks 5 & 10, is like walking back in time into the old time “5 & 10” with an important difference. It’s not just the 175,000 plus items in the store and the fact that you will find things that you can’t find anywhere else. The store is set up to make a nostalgic shopping experience part of a unique, memorable, and exciting adventure not available anywhere else in the world!
Throughout the store, there are various displays and collections including among other things, the area’s largest arrowhead collection, World War II aviation prints, large scale model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, a baseball ‘Wall of Fame’ containing 60 feet of original autographed pictures of players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Cy Young, a suspended train track with a train that is “running” around the main part of the store plus much more. It also has one of the largest assortments of “Old Time” candy in Branson including such goodies and oldies as “‘Big Hunk Candy Bars,” “Abba-Zaba,” “Rocky Road,” and novelty candies such as “Wax Lips” and “Nickle Nips,” along with a full selection of regular candy.
As its name implies, the Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure offers much more than just butterflies. Oh, its aviary is filled with thousands of beautifully colored butterflies from tropical rain forests all over the world, fluttering about in an environment of lush greenery and beautiful flower beds, but that’s just the beginning.
In the “Living Rain Forest Science Center” you will get a close-up look at some of the inhabitants of the rain forest including geckos, poison dart frogs, giant cockroaches, salamanders, chameleons, and “Harry,” the Butterfly Palace’s blue-tongued skink! The adventure continues with the twists, turns, and illusions of the “Emerald Forest Mirror Maze;” weaving through the “the tangled web of rope ‘vines’ while navigating around rocks and fallen pillars under a giant “Banyan Tree;” educational videos in the “Rain Forest Theatre,” and more.
For more information about these and other Branson Attractions, please call one of Branson Tourism Center’s Branson based Travel Planners at 1-866-593-9740. They will be delighted to answer any questions you might have about Branson as well as assisting with reservations and tickets. There is no charge for this service and they are available daily, except Christmas Day.