Branson has a reputation as a cheesy town (and it totally is)
Same is true of places like Wisconsin Dells and Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach. Most people go those places for the carnival atmosphere and shows -- but a vacation is what you make of it. Our vacation style is more art museum and national parks and hanging out at the resort a day or two, but we've had a great time in all those places, partly because their original appeal was the local scenery, which is still there. We stay at a resort well off the main drag, and I can still find nature trails and art galleries and little quiet museums in or near all of them. Myrtle Beach has two state parks right in the area; the beaches there are less crowded than right in town, and if you go around sunset, when the state park pier is closing, you can see sharks down below, waiting for people to gut their fish and toss the entrails! In my experience, while "family vacation spots" most
advertise the carnival aspects, because that's where the money is, there's something interesting there for everybody, if you poke around a bit. Wisconsin Dells does not really advertise their little "Indian mounds" park (and it admittedly is nothing compared to some other places --although it's got bigger mounds than are left on the Beloit college campus, and they brag about theirs), however if you're interested in that sort of thing you can track it down.
The advantage of Disney World over other vacation areas used to be that you didn't have to poke around much to find something for everyone, and it was all right there in the exact same spot, instead of a short drive apart. At Disney, you don't have to coordinate rides between the kids on the beach here and the old fogies at the art garden there, and you don't have to worry about whether every group has a driver with a car, either. The only concern there is keeping track of the littles and making sure they're under the authority of someone responsible. It's the perfect place for kids responsible enough to roam on their own a bit, but who don't drive yet. But at the moment I'm afraid the Disney parks are the ride fests that so many people have always assumed they were, and have little appeal for the rest of us.
Haven't been to Silver Dollar City, but the last time we were at Disney World (2016), I remember thinking Dollywood understood the "theme" part of theme park further than Disney does anymore. Athough I must admit I haven't been to Dollywood in over twenty years, so maybe they've lost the plot as well.
But somehow I suspect not.
