The three-story Fritz’s Adventure indoor adventure park lets active families engage in challenges that would otherwise be outdoors, making this place a hit especially in winter or rainy weather. Climbing walls, a three-story rope course with a zipline, two underground tunnels, a life-size water tower with slides, suspension bridges, a maze made from shipping containers, laser games and even an...

Silver Dollar City is the theme park for people who are allergic to theme parks. A re-creation of an 1880s Ozarks town, it’s nestled in a lovely wooded setting, with staff dressed in period costumes, more than 100 craftsmen demonstrating their skills, about 60 specialty shops selling crafts and accessories, more than 40 live shows daily ranging from bluegrass and...

The Track Family Fun Parks opened its first go-kart track in Branson in 1981. Thirty-two years later, the locally-owned company has four different locations (three of them on Highway 76 alone) offering 14 different go-kart experiences for all different ages. Track 4, the one I’ve listed here, has the awesome Heavy Metal Rise reaching over four stories, as well as...

The Vigilante Extreme ZipRider takes all the worry out of ziplining. Instead of the harnesses and platforms inherent in tree canopy ziplining, here you just take the glass elevator up Inspiration Tower, sit comfortably in a special harness and then fly up to 50 miles an hour for a half mile. You do not control the speed, and the ride...

This 13-acre White Water “beach” right on the Strip offers more than a dozen rides and slides (including a 7-story, 6-slide thrill ride), the KaPau Plummet featuring a 70-degree plunge through two 240-foot slides followed by a spiraling loop, a giant wave pool, Splashaway Cay (a kind of water playground with slides, walkways and geysers), and Aloha River Hula Hula...

Seriously, I haven’t a clue what Bigfoot has to do with Branson. But Bigfoot on the Strip is located, as its name suggests, on Highway 76, where it fits in almost unnoticed among the many other weird and wonderful attractions that line this busy road. It offers six attractions geared to various ages and risk takers. Those seeking thrills will...