Showtime on 'The Branson Belle'

There are many shows (over 100 daily) in Branson, but the Branson Belle Showboat is unique since it's show takes place on Table Rock Lake. The show package includes a 2 hour cruise on the lake, a three-course meal, & variety acts during your meal & then a main show after the meal is finished. There are two cruises daily, one at 4:00 pm & one at 8:00pm. We chose the 4:00 pm sailing which (as well as being cheaper than the evening cruise, although still not cheap but definitely good value for money!) meant that we had a great view of the lake for the entire cruise. We arrived just before the meal was due to start & so only had a few minutes to look around 'up deck', but this, & the very hot weather, worked to our advantage since there was hardly anyone around & so we could explore everywhere. We were also lucky enough to meet The Captain who very kindly invited the girls to have their photo taken in his cabin in front of the tiller - cool!

The tables were arranged in long rows around a central walkway & all faced forward with seats on one side only, providing everyone with a great view of the stage. The compare for the cruise sang a couple of songs & introduced the boat's resident band before we watched a short film about the boat & its unique launch from the 'dry dock' (if you could really call it that - more like an area beside the lake) which used a few thousand bananas to provide biodegradeable lubrication that didn't pollute the lake as oil/grease would have done. Apparently, the launch speed (12 mph) was the fastest that the boat will ever travel! Some other facts about the boat include: Christening date: April 13, 1995, Length: 278 feet, width: 78 feet, height: 112 feet (to top of stacks), weight: 2,500,000 lbs, speed: 11 mph (peak) 6 mph (average), draft: 7.5 feet, capacity: 700 passengers, & two paddle wheels (16 feet wide & 24 feet diameter each).

Our meal comprised three courses, starting with a salad which was followed by a main course which included steamed vegetables with beef, & Chicken Cordon Bleu, (to make sure that we got beef, chicken, & ham!) & then a really nice Raspberry Torte desert. After a short break whilst the tables were cleared, the boat's 'house quartet' performed a number of songs (including a composition that included more than 80 songs in 5 minutes). They were followed by a Russian husband & wife acrobatic team that performed an impressive routine which at one point included the husband jumping off the stage & spinning around in a huge circle whilst hanging from a 'silk' sheet attached to the top of the stage with his wife clinging to him & being thrown further out over the audience! The headlining act was hilarious! It was a guy called Todd Oliver & his talking dogs. Obviously the dogs didn't really talk (hope I haven't ruined the illusion) but were rather used as live ventriloquists dummies. It looked like the dogs may have been wearing a muzzle with a movable, false, lower jaw so that it looked like they were talking, but they could also have been trained to open their mouths when given a signal. It was difficult to tell from where we were sitting but the dogs looked like they could talk, the guy was very funny, & when one of the newly trained dogs didn't want to participate as trained it was made to look like it was part of the act.