Wichita to Branson under $2500 Family of Four
Hello again, Mamas!
Our family recently took a road trip to Branson, Missouri, from Wichita, Kansas with our two boys. We are a budget-friendly family around here, so I thought I’d share how we took a Jam-packed adventure for under $2500 – and I’ll even throw in some ways on how you can reduce that price!
Branson is around a 5-hour drive from Wichita. While we two reliable vehicles, both of them are getting up there in miles, so we felt it was a better long-term investment to rent a vehicle (and we got some extra packing room out of the deal ). We took off on a Wednesday morning in a mini-van we rented for the weekend from AVIS . Costing us just under $300 for Tuesday night pick up to Saturday evening drop off.
Our first stop was 2 ½ hours in at Big Brutus . For those of you who don’t’ know, Big Brutus is the largest electric shovel in the world – used for mining coal in southeast Kansas. Our boys love everything construction, and everything considered to be “giant”; so this was a must see. The kids enjoyed stepping inside the ginormous shovel bucket and climbing all the way to the cab of the machine. Dad enjoyed the mechanics of it all and made sure to include in-depth explanations of each part of the machine as we made our way through. Cost to get in? Free! As residents of Kansas we were able to utilize our Sunflower Summer passes. Each kiddo picked out a shirt and small souvenir to commemorate the trip. Total for this stop: $30
TIP 1: Did you know the State of Kansas offers FREE family passes to over 100 attractions throughout the State? As long as you are a resident of the state and have at least one child enrolled in a public school K-12; your family is eligible for free passes that go straight to your phone! These passes are only good during the summer months – so use them up! Sunflower Summer App
TIP 2: Give your kids a souvenir spending budget and help them track their spending. For our oldest, he wanted to know how many places with gift shops we would be stopping at – 5 in this case – and how much that meant he could spend at each location. When then helped him Our youngest has less of a grasp on the value of money (and pretty much thinks I can just reload my card anytime I want!). So, we opted to just follow what big brother was doing, and have a set limit for each stop.
Our next stop? The Titanic Experience. Here, each person is given an audio device that allows you to have a walking guided tour at your own pace. There are different tracks for different ages (kid friendly and adult). The boys enjoyed pushing the codes into their devices each time a number was found; however, I’m not sure that they actually took in any of the information. Along the tour you’re able to see fun facts about menus of different classes, the names of the dogs abord the ship, replicas of furniture (and some authentic recovered furniture). The coolest thing according to my boys? The ice block. Cost to get in: $140 for four tickets; we again stopped at the gift shop. Total cost for this stop: $100.
TIP 3 – If you book directly through the experience site, the cost is $35 per person (under 4 is free). We were able to grab a Groupon which brought our cost down to $20 per person.
TIP 4 - After our trip we learned about the family pack - so make sure to check that out for possible savings too if you have two kids over 4!
Rounding out our day of travel and first two adventures, we checked into our Vrbo. This was our first experience using Vrbo (or any similar platform). I have to say, I was not impressed. To clarify, our condo we stayed in was great, the owners were easy to work with, the rooms were clean, everything was functioning and in order. My disappointment came with all the hidden fees. We thought we would be saving money by finding a $100/ per night condo, and buying food to cook in the condo verses eating out the entire trip. Well, with all the fees, we ended up spending closer to $200/ night and buying food to cook. Total cost for the Vrbo condo: $576 for 3 nights plus our $100 grocery bill
TIP 5 - We should have gone our normal route! Normally we stay at the Drury Inn. The Drury offers breakfast and dinner included in your $140/night fee. It's not gourmet, but our kids eat it and its wallet friendly! This is definitely an area you can save money.
Day 2 started off with a bang! We went to the new-ish Wonders of Wildlife aquarium in Springfield. To call this an aquarium feels like an understatement. Its more like an entire eco-system experience. From sharks and jellyfish to a bear and crocodiles -you really do see it all! We spent three hours wondering our way through the multi-level (yes, there is a 3 story tank!) building. This was a hit with the kids and the adults - an adventure worth every penny! We took advantage of the Johnny Morris billionaire discount (ha!) and bundled this with the Lost Canyon Trail tour. For both attractions we paid $230. We also, of course hit the gift shop for an attraction total of $275.
TIP 6- You can find promotional ticket pricing on the Conservation Attraction page. The promotion we used is currently (June 23, 2023) no longer listed, but there an Explorer Pass which includes all 5 conservation attractions,
On our way back to Branson we hit Lambert's Cafe - home of the throwed rolls! This restaurant is not what I would call budget friendly. We spent just under $100 to feed the 4 of us for lunch. It is however, tasty and a fun environment. If you haven't been, waiters do actually toss rolls at you, bring around family style appetizers while you wait on your food, and just an overall upbeat atmosphere. This was the one "eat out" spot we hit - and it was well worth it.
Day 3 brought even more adventures - We hit the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail. This was a great way to start the morning before the sun got too hot! We followed a paved path for 2.5 miles winding through hills, admiring gorgeous views of the canyon, waterfalls and wildlife, and a cave, all while riding in a golf cart. Oh! Did I mention there is a bar in the cave? Yup! You can pull on over for a quick beer and be right back on the trail. This was definitely a hit if you enjoy scenic views! This attraction was included in our Wonders of Wildlife bundle. We did hit the giftshop and spent $30.
TIP 7: Because this a "go at your own pace" attraction, it can easily take some groups hours to complete and can get bottlenecked in areas - even at 8:30am we ran into areas that we found ourselves waiting on others to take photos so we could also get "the shot". I definitely recommend going first thing so you can be the first on the trail and avoid the crowd.
Next we hit what might possibly be the coolest place to take kids between the ages of 4 and 13 who love to be active. Fritz's Adventure Attractions was nothing short of amazing! So amazing we were here for 5, yes 5, hours and our children would have probably stayed longer if we didn't have other reservations already made. Here is why - legitimate indoor ropes courses, underground tunnels, suspended airplanes, cargo net towers, and half-pipe challenges! Here's what's even better- all the obstacles are made large enough that mom and dad can join in on the fun too! My husband and I were quickly reminded of our childhood and yet simultaneously our body's old age. There are a few pricing options to pick from - three levels- one for smaller kids that includes indoor attractions but does not include the indoor ropes course or the tree-top course; one for the 42" and taller crowd that includes all indoor attractions including the ropes course, and a 48" and taller option that includes the tree-top course (indoor and outdoor ziplining). We chose the middle level which cost us $40 / person. Total cost for this stop: $160.
TIP 8 - Make this a whole day event. You and your kids will not be bored. Like ever.
Our last stop of the trip was a highly anticipated one! The Branson Scenic Railway. Our oldest is obsessed with trains and has been begging to ride a train- and this was our chance. A 40 mile round trip into Arkansas, you get to see the gorgeous mountainscape that graces the Branson area; including two tunnels and a trestle bridge. We chose to ride in the Dome car which means our tickets were a little pricier than had we chosen a coach car. We spent $100 in tickets and $25 in snacks on the ride.
TIP 9 - If you are going and crowds seem slow, buy your tickets in person and opt for Coach tickets. Because there were so few passengers, they let everyone sit in a dome car and wonder throughout the train as they wanted. You can definitely save a few $$ here! However, if you are going during a high-traffic weekend, the extra money to reserve the dome seats are worth it!
If you've been keeping track that brings us to a total of $1795 for three jam-packed days of fun. Not included that we also spent money on
-Gas - $120
- Mom and Dad's Daily Starbucks - $35
- Go Kart tracks, putt putt, and batting cages - $50
-2 mile walk along Table Rock Lake - Priceless!
Thanks for reading - we hope that our adventure helps you and your family to book and enjoy an on-budget adventure! If you have any Branson Tips of your own - leave them in the comments!
Love,
Mama of Misters
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