Missouri
Marvelous Missouri: Discover the Best of Branson & the Ozarks
Program No. 1615RJ
Discover Branson, the “Live Entertainment Capital of the World,” as you enjoy five public shows, one private show with a cast Q&A and opportunities to explore the beautiful Ozarks.
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6 days
5 nights
13 meals
5B 3L 5D
2
City Tour, Workshop, Dutton Family Performance
Branson, MO
6
Program Concludes
Branson, MO
At a Glance
Join us in Branson, the “Live Entertainment Capital of the World,” as we experience good ol’ American music, theater and fun in the heart of the Ozarks. Find out the history of Branson's overnight success, the elements of its entertainment scene and the famous Branson formula of “Faith, Family and Flag.” Enjoy live theater shows, often surrounded by lectures, meet-and-greets and Q&A’s with the cast and crew. Immerse yourself in local history and natural beauty during field trips to Table Rock Lake — a reservoir built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers — Shepherd of the Hills Historic Site and Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. Plus, enjoy a private performance just for your group, as well as a dinner-and-entertainment experience.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to a few blocks; standing up to one hour; get on/off coach. Elevators and ramps available.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Enjoy six live performances, which includes one given exclusively for our private group.
- Meet with current performers and production specialists such as technicians and set designers to hear what it's like to work in the business and how they make the magic happen.
- Discover the natural beauty of the Ozarks during field trips to Table Rock Lake, Shepherd of the Hills Historic Site and Dogwood Canyon Nature Park.
General Notes
Please note, Branson has a strong culture of “Faith, Family, Flag.” Some of the performances we’ll attend may have religious undertones. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Amber Campbell
Amber Campbell is a native of LaRussell, Mo., and a graduate of Southwest Baptist University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre, with a music minor. Amber loves to perform and is raising her beautiful daughter Jade in the Branson community. She has been a featured vocalist and emcee for several Branson shows over the years, but her most rewarding experience has been owning, producing and performing in “#1 Hits of the 60’s (& 50’s too!)”
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Amber Campbell
View biography
Amber Campbell is a native of LaRussell, Mo., and a graduate of Southwest Baptist University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre, with a music minor. Amber loves to perform and is raising her beautiful daughter Jade in the Branson community. She has been a featured vocalist and emcee for several Branson shows over the years, but her most rewarding experience has been owning, producing and performing in “#1 Hits of the 60’s (& 50’s too!)”
Matt Muhoberac
View biography
Matt Muhoberac grew up in a family of professional musicians in Los Angeles, Calif. His credits as a composer, arranger, singer and musician include TV shows like “General Hospital,” “NBC Sports” and “Friends.” Matt also created musical works for commercials for advertisers including McDonald's, Budweiser, and Chevrolet, as well as for animated series including “The Addams Family,” “Power Puff Girls,” “Life with Louie” and Bill Cosby's "Fatherhood." He moved to Branson 20 years ago to raise his three-year-old daughter and has never looked back. Twelve years ago, he was a founding member of the show “#1 Hits of the 60's,” where he met his wife, Amber.
Suggested Reading List
(5 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Marvelous Missouri: Discover the Best of Branson & the Ozarks
Program Number: 1615
Taney County, Missouri including its History, the Titanic Museum Attraction, and more
Local history and information about local attractions and things to do.
Branson, MO: Travel Guide to Fun City USA
Branson is an ultimate destination for people of all ages and interests. Its attractions are as unique and diverse as you can find anywhere in America. Branson is all about entertainment as its claim to fame, and it does that extremely well. It boasts one of the most impressive live theater strips in America along Country Boulevard. Once known only for country-western, in recent years Branson has matured to feature all sorts of music, comedy, dance, and more. A major award-winning amusement park built into wooded landscapes provides thrilling rides, an impressive cave, and artisans working on-site. Lake Taneycomo provides a wealth of water recreation, and worthwhile museums range from butterflies to history. This guide to "fun city" explores all of these and more, along with food for all appetites and lodging from bargain to family to romantic. More than 70 listings, a weather profile, and a discussion of the town's livability are featured in this guidebook for those seeking a great travel destination, or looking for an exciting new hometown.
The Bittersweet Ozarks at a Glance
The Bittersweet Ozarks at a Glance is a beautiful and unique photograph collection that portrays the Bittersweet Ozarks, collected by Ellen Gray Massey and her students, more than thirty years ago. Had the students not researched and recorded, the information from the 494 men and women they captured in words and pictures most would be lost forever for most of them have died. From 1973 until 1983, the young people published 482 articles and features in 40 issues of Bittersweet, the Ozark Quarterly.
Growing Up Hillbilly near Branson, MO
The story of Growing Up Hillbilly near Branson Missouri takes place less than ten miles from where the book, the Shepherd of The Hills was written and begins during the same year as it was published. This book will further enhance your knowledge about the people that chose to call these hills their home.
Insiders' Guide to Branson and the Ozark Mountains
For more than twenty years, the Insiders' Guide® series has been the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information—from true insiders whose personal, practical perspective gives you everything you need to know. With more than forty theaters on and around its famous Strip, Branson is proudly called the Live Music Capital of the World. But there's more to this year-round vacation destination than its shows and stars: World-class golf, theme parks, and historic sites are all within easy reach. This authoritative guide shows you how to navigate the glitz and glitter of Branson as well as the natural beauty of the scenic Ozark Mountain country.
• Countless details on how to live and thrive in the area, from the best fishing holes to the lowdown on real estate
• The inside scoop on the top shopping, seasonal festivals, and live entertainment offerings
• Comprehensive listings of restaurants and accommodations
• Sections dedicated to children and retirement
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
13 meals (
5B, 3L, 5D
)
5 expert-led lectures
11 expert-led field trips
5 performances
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
D
Stay:
Thousand Hills Resort Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel)
Activity Note
Hotel check-in available from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration. 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come to the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in.
Dinner:
At the hotel, we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner with coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.
Evening:
Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
City Tour, Workshop, Dutton Family Performance
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
Thousand Hills Resort Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel)
Activity Note
Minimal walking; indoor classroom sessions throughout the day.
Breakfast:
At the hotel each morning, we’ll use vouchers to enjoy a buffet breakfast featuring hot and cold items including warm entrees, cereals, and toast, plus milk, juice, coffee, tea, water.
Morning:
This morning we board the motorcoach with our Group Leader for a narrated driving tour of Branson with a stop at the Dewey Short Visitor's Center at Table Rock Dam. Learn local history as we travel to the Visitor Center. This visitor center opened April 27, 2012 and has been called the “crown jewel” of Table Rock Lake. We'll enjoy numerous exhibits at the visitor center which include a state-of-the-art interactive map of Table Rock Lake, beautiful artistic wall murals, and a replica of an Ozarks bluff complete with local flora and fauna. A Native American artifact exhibit and Ozarks dioramas are fascinating features of the interpretive center. An expansive cut-away model reveals the inner workings of a hydroelectric dam. The fascinating history of the Corps of Engineers rounds out the exhibits. We will enjoy a film during the visit.
Lunch:
Lunch is on your own today in downtown Branson.
Afternoon:
After lunch we board the motorcoach for the Dutton Family Theater where we will meet with the members of the Dutton Family and enjoy an entertainment lecture and workshop.
Dinner:
Dinner is included this evening at a restaurant in Branson Landing.
Evening:
After dinner, we will enjoy a fiddler workshop with a local fiddle player before returning to the Dutton Family Theater for the evening performance featuring the family singing, dancing and playing a variety of instruments.
Day
3
Sight & Sound Theater, Hits of the 60's and 50's
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Thousand Hills Resort Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel)
Activity Note
Getting on/off coach; driving approx. 75 miles; about 2 hours total, with stops. Walking up to 1 mile throughout the day; some stairs in theater.
Breakfast:
Hotel buffet please be sure to bring your Breakfast voucher.
Morning:
Following breakfast we'll board the motorcoach for the Sight & Sound Theater for a behind-the-scenes exploration led by theater staff. As we venture through the massive theater, we’ll see the centers for many aspects of the live performance experience and gain insight as to how such things like the light and sound booths work. We’ll learn how this technology can be manipulated with ingenuity in order to create a truly unique theater-going experience. Through this, we’ll get a better idea of the sheer complexity of what goes into production of a theater show, and even get to see the scene shop, which is filled with custom set pieces made by theater craftsmen!
Lunch:
Lunch today is served at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we travel by motorcoach to the Clay Cooper Theatre for a private speaking engagement with Matt Muhoberac & Amber Campbell, the producers and owners of the #1 Hits of the 60's and 50's too. We learn their story and what goes into producing their popular show. Next we enjoy the afternoon matinee of this toe tapping performance followed by a private cast meet and greet after the show.
Dinner:
Dinner served tonight at a local restaurant.
Evening:
After dinner we return to Sight & Sound Theater for the evening performance of "Noah". One of the most captivating stories in the bible, the show is filled with special effects and live animals. **Please be advised that this performance does end with a prayer.
Day
4
Shepherd of the Hills, Ozark Musicians, Clay Cooper Country
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Thousand Hills Resort Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel)
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motor coach; driving approx. 20 miles roundtrip; about 1 hour total, with stops. Walking up to 1 mile total throughout the day; some stairs in theater.
Breakfast:
Hotel buffet please be sure to bring your Breakfast voucher.
Morning:
This morning we board our coach with our local group leader for the Shepherd of the Hills Homestead for guided exploration of the Historic Site. Harold Bell Wright, a young Christian Minister visited the Ozarks in 1896 for health reasons and fell in love with the area. He published the novel The Shepherd of the Hills in 1907 depicting the life of the native people. The book was so popular that it is considered to be the start of the Branson phenomena attracting people from all over to see the people, community and landscape that Wright so beautifully described.
Lunch:
Lunch today at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We return to the hotel to enjoy a private afternoon of entertainment and discussion of folk music from the Ozarks with the local performers. During this session, we’ll see and hear various instruments and how they are played, as well as listen to some stories as to how local folk music became popularized in the area or theater show depending on schedules.
Dinner:
Dinner is included this evening at a local restaurant.
Evening:
Tonight we travel by motorcoach to the Clay Cooper Theatre for the Country Express Evening Show. See the stars (and the couple you met this morning) perform music for everyone: country, rock, gospel and patriotic. The singers, dancers and musicians put on one of the top shows in Branson.
Day
5
College of the Ozarks, Dogwood Canyon, C.J Newsom Show
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Thousand Hills Resort Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel)
Activity Note
Driving approx. 20 miles roundtrip; about 1 hour total for the day, with stops. Walking approx. 1 mile throughout the day; some stairs at field trip locations.
Breakfast:
Hotel buffet please be sure to bring your Breakfast voucher.
Morning:
This morning we board the motorcoach for the College of the Ozarks. Upon arrival we are met by College staff who will take us on a guided tour of the campus. The private Christian College offers over 30 academic majors and is unique in that in charges no tuition for full time students due to generous donations and an invigorating work program for students.
Lunch:
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch we set out aboard the motorcoach and travel to the Dogwood Canyon Nature Preserve where we enjoy a guided, narrated open-air tram tour with park staff. Nestled in the Ozark Mountains the park is located in Lampe and offers 10,000 acres of towering bluffs, waterfalls, handcrafted bridges and wildlife.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant we’ll enjoy a choice of plated meals for our farewell dinner together, with coffee, tea, water included; other beverages available for purchase. Share some of your favorite experiences from the program with new Road Scholar friends.
Evening:
Following dinner we board the motorcoach for the Americana Theater for our final performance of the week. We take in C.J. Newsom's Classic Country & Comedy Show. Following the show we enjoy a private meet and greet with the cast.
Day
6
Program Concludes
Location:
Branson, MO
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 10:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
Hotel buffet please be sure to bring your Breakfast voucher. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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MEALS
13 Meals
5 Breakfasts
3 Lunches
5 Dinners
LODGING
Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.
Showing Lodging For:
- Sep 21, 2025 - Sep 26, 2025
- May 11, 2025 - May 16, 2025
- Jun 15, 2025 - Jun 20, 2025
- Sep 21, 2025 - Sep 26, 2025
- Oct 12, 2025 - Oct 17, 2025
Participant Reviews
Based on 11 Reviews
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Much more here than "attending: shows! Backstage tours - meeting with cast members - learning a bit of what it takes to make a "fiddle" and how it differs from a violin - all in all a very enjoyable, entertaining and informative program.
— Review left October 23, 2024
I have answered your email asking for our remarks on the trip Marvelous Missouri Oct 6-11th, 2024
VERY DISAPPOINTED......How can you erase Sight and Sound show at the last minute? ONE phone call and you would know that the theater was dark the entire week we were in town. We were told when we arrived at the hotel that several changes to the itinerary. Thousand Hills Hotel is a disaster! Breakfast was not worth the 'free' cost. Room service was what ever they felt like, DO NOT DISTURB was ignored and they came into my room....others requested room service and were ignored. Hotel employees were rude, the concierge desk was unmanned all week...when we asked to talk to her, she is quite rude and was not about to help us with our concerns. Asking for the manager got us no where....he's not available, etc. Rhode Scholar offers so many wonderful trips. We paid premium price and didn't get everything we signed up for. This was my 1st with you, I doubt I will have a 2nd trip with you. I can't trust you to give us the trip as advertised. Rosemary
— Review left October 14, 2024
Want to hear live country music, meet the producers and musicians, and visit The Ozarks? The "Marvelous Missouri" trip is for you!
— Review left October 13, 2024
This Branson experience was another awesome Road Scholar program shared with good friends. We're eager to make plans for another one soon!
— Review left October 13, 2024
Over the years we had heard so many stories about Branson as a music and entertainment center so we jumped at the chance to tour the area with Road Scholar! The selected shows offered quite a variety of music genres. Adding to our appreciation of the shows were the private one-on-one interviews arranged by our guide with the performers and theater owners about their careers and why they choose to stay in Branson. To round out the program, we toured the Dogwood Canyon Nature Preserve and the Historic Site Shepherd of the Hills Homestead, both of which enriched our experience of the area. A lot packed into one week and many travel memories brought back home!
— Review left September 6, 2024
This Road Scholar trip to Branson was even better than we expected. We will certainly entertain taking more of them.
— Review left October 22, 2023
If you like live musical entertainment, meeting the performers, going backstage, and other included tour opportunities in Branson, Missouri, this is the experience for you! Yes, I would do this Road Scholar program again!
— Review left October 21, 2023
If you’ve never been to Branson, Missouri then this trip would be one to go on. You’ll get a real feel for how musicians and performers prepare each day before their performances. You’ll go behind the scenes at Sight and Sound as well as the musical performances scheduled on the tour. The meet and greet by the performers is enlightening to say the least. The tour guide, Mark Miller has a wealth of knowledge unmatched by any tour I’ve been on. Enjoy.
— Review left May 13, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed the Branson Show Biz trip. I met and mingled with wonderful fellow-travelers and I had the good fortune to have Yvonne as my leader/instructor. Thank you one and all! Blossom Hatoff
— Review left November 18, 2019
I loved the fact that I didn't have to get tickets or get myself to the
theatres. Everything was taken care of for me. Loved it!
Dot
— Review left June 19, 2019
Fifth Road Scholar trip. For the wonderful people I met, the upbeat performances and for the behind-the-scenes insight; glad I went.
However:
1. Felt like we spent too much time "between" trip elements - hanging out in gift shop or craft areas.
2. Most meals were OK; a couple were quite good. But one "sandwich" lunch in particular was poor.
3. We spent a LOT of time sitting in our hotel meeting room in the basement. While comfortable - could feel claustrophobic after a few hours. Also - the room was a long rectangle. The display screen used at one end for a couple of Power Points was small. This meant that many of us could neither read the slides nor see the images well.
— Review left June 8, 2019
