There are loads of opportunities to have fun in Branson, and just as many opportunities to have some great food as well. Silver Dollar City or White Water are legendary around the world for their fun factors, for example, and there is great food to be had at restaurants like the White River Fish House and The Keeter Center at College of the Ozarks. But what if you are looking for great food AND great fun at the same time? You are in luck – because Branson, Missouri, is home to Dixie Stampede!
If you have driven down Highway 76 (known around town as The Strip), chances are that you have seen the huge theater designed to resemble a Southern mansion. This eye-catching theater is the home of Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, one of Branson’s most popular shows! In fact, Dolly Parton has been known to say, “It’s the most fun place to eat in Branson – I guarantee it!”
In an era where dinner theater is nowhere near as popular as it once was, Dolly Parton has brought it back in the form of her Dixie Stampede show in both Branson and Pigeon Forge. Dolly owns the show, and World Choice Investments LLC manages it. This company is a joint business venture between The Dollywood Company, Fred Hardwick, and Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, a name that is well known around Branson! The first Dixie Stampede Show opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in 1988, not far from where Dollywood is located. The Branson location of the show made its debut and opened to the public in 1995.
The Dixie Stampede show starts with all the guests being seated in a ‘Carriage Room,’ where an opening act is performed. This can be anything from acrobatics to juggling to singing to playing music and dancing – you never know what you might get! After this act, guests then file into the main theater for a Wild West performance featuring 32 beautiful horses and their riders that will wow you with tricks like Roman Riding and jumping through a fiery hoop! There will also be music, dancing, and some friendly ‘North and South’ competition that encourages audience participation.
And don’t forget the food! This is dinner theater, after all. You get an amazing five-course meal along with the show! The meal, which is made fresh on site for each and every show, consists of a whole rotisserie chicken, hickory smoked barbecue pork loin, creamy vegetable soup, homemade biscuit, corn on the cob, herb-basted baked potato, an iced apple turnover, and Pepsi products, tea, or coffee. The vegetarian option is identical, except that the meats are replaced with ‘Country Garden Hillbilly Pasta’. And here is where the food gets fun – there are no dining utensils, so you have to eat with your fingers! Dixie Stampede is the whole package – great food and great fun, all at an affordable price and conveniently located in Branson. So the next time you are wondering where to get some fun with your food (or vice versa!), look no farther than Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede!
