Branson, Missouri

We visited Branson, MO in Summer of 2025. On the trip was me, my spouse, our three kids (teen, tween, and toddler) and my MIL. While the journey to Branson from Memphis, TN caused a bit of concern, once in Branson, I still had my guard up, but I slowly relaxed. For much of the journey, esp. going in and out of small towns on two to four lane roads in Arkansas and some portions of Missouri, I thought “most of this trip feels like a sundown town.” Months later, I read the news and learned that the planned all-white town in AR (Ravenden) was one of the towns we passed through, and I knew then that my fears at the time weren’t unfounded.
Despite apprehensions on the journey, once we got to Branson, everything was fine. We stayed at Wyndham’s Bransom at the Meadows resort, went to Dolly’s Stampede, played mini golf, visited Branson Landing for dinner, and then walked from the Landing to a small show theater (Branson Hot Hits) where we enjoyed the Motown Downtown show. The Motown Downtown show was GREAT for it to be a tiny theater that you’d absolutely walk right past if you didn’t know it was there. We were there during the heat dome during that summer, and on our walk, a store owner popped out and offered us free water bottles from a cooler she had sitting outside; it was an unexpected kind gesture. Although I have no doubt there are racist jackwads in and around Branson, we didn’t encounter any issues anywhere. I get the sense that the citizens know full-well that tourism is literally their bread and butter, and they’d do well to treat everyone kind. There were also several on-site activities at the resort, as is the case at most Wyndham properties. We enjoyed out stay and likely will go back. Going to Branson, we stopped at the Lamberts in Ozark, MO, and on the way back, we stopped at the one in Sikeston (the original location). Good food at both although we preferred the food at the Ozark location. If you’re not familiar, Lamberts is the “home of the throwed rolls.” Decent southern food (Note: Southern food, not Soul.)
On the trip back, we took a different route that kept us in MO longer. I had less apprehensions on the return trip and would likely only take that route for future trips.
Tl;dr—Branson was cool. The trip TO Branson mostly through AR, be cautious.