In 2024, we took a dinner (and show) cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle. We had just begun visiting Silver Dollar City and had no idea — initially — that this paddleboat was owned and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment, owners of Silver Dollar City. In addition to the paddleboat, they also owned and operated the Pink Jeep Tours. We did to know that either, but since there was a pink jeep promoting the tours parked near the dock for the paddleboat, we looked it up.
…and that led me down a rabbit hole looking up what all HFE opened and operated – such as the Harlem Globetrotters, which were an iconic part of growing up as a kid in the 1970s.
But I digress. You can find photos of that visit here:
For 2026, Silver Dollar City renamed it to Silver Dollar City’s Showboat, and completely changed the entertainment lineup. They took the in-park group, Rivertown Ramblers, and expanded it into a much longer show for the new experience.
Photos of a 2026 visit can be found here:
I also have some VR videos (stationary scenes, and walk around movies) taken in 2024 and 2025 shared over at Branson in VR on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@BransonInVR
Since this is the first year under the new name and show format (even the food experience changed), here are a few quick comparisons:
Entrance Sign
But, there were still plenty of references to the old name:
At first we assumed they just had not gotten around to updating them, but later we were told it was “bad luck” to rename a ship, and thus, while the attraction is now known as “Silver Dollar City’s Showboat”, the boat itself is still the Showboat Branson Belle.
Any nautical folks out there want to confirm this tradition?
To see some VR photos (in case you get motion sick watching VR video), those can be found in the Branson in VR Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bransoninvr
…but now I have a dilemma.. Obviously, I put photos I take at Silver Dollar City into my Theme Parks gallery, where you can currently find over 8500 photos from that park:
https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/themeparks
…and anything else in the area that was not part of Silver Dollar City would go into my “Other Places” gallery for that state/city:
https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Missouri/Branson/index.html
…but with the attraction now having the Silver Dollar City name, should I move it? After all, I’d put all the Walt Disney World waterparks in my Disney World gallery, and I’d certainly group CityWalk into the Universal Studios galleries.
I am not sure that just “owning” something would qualify, since Pink Jeep Tours has no Silver Dollar City branding, but if the attraction says “Silver Dollar City” right on its official name, it kinda feels like it belongs in the Silver Dollar City gallery as part of the resort. Likewise, when the new hotel/resort opens net year, that probably would go there as well, rather than in a Branson Lodging area in the other gallery.
Comments if you have them — mostly, where would YOU expect to find it if you ended up in my galleries looking for photos from there?
Cheers…