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By Mandy Phillips
If there is one attraction in Branson that has the ability to suddenly transform me into a squealing, giggling 14-year-old girl again, it's the Hollywood Wax Museum. This place is filled with movie set recreations complete with life-size wax renditions of the characters; somehow, that combination made me lose a full decade of maturity within about three minutes of walking through the door.
The wax museum started off with a walk down the yellow brick road toward the Land of Oz as we met Dorothy & friends, complete with the Wicked Witch, Flying Monkeys, and more. Each area of the museum is designed to reflect the movie or television show from which it was drawn, so this area featured Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" playing on the speakers. We quickly found ourselves walking down a city street, and I realized that we were surrounded by various classic movie gangsters. I have to admit, I didn't know who most of them were as I'm not too terribly versed on the gangster movie genre, but I did recognize the sound and sight of tommy guns firing across the "street" I was standing on. I was in a bit of a hurry to move on to the next area!
I was glad we did because here we encountered among many other sets one that was devoted to Gone With the Wind. The wax figures were great, and one of my favorite scenes from the movie was playing in the background. Although it was hard to tear myself away from the Gone With the Wind scene, we walked along through several other sets, including a tribute to Star Trek and a sandy Baywatch scene.
We stepped up into a room that featured a really great set dedicated to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The chair next to Johnny's desk was empty, and with Bill Cosby grinning behind the chair, it made for a really great photo opportunity. We walked past the Ponderosa Ranch as we encountered the men of Bonanza, then headed into the country saloon. There, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire were singing next to a piano while Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Hank Williams strummed and sang on the balcony over the saloon. Another great photo opportunity was presented at the bar of the saloon, where an Old West bartender looked eager to take our orders.
Plenty of modern movies were represented too, including Pirates of the Caribbean, several Batman movies, Titanic, Terminator, and more. As we continued through, we came up to the Monster Chamber. There is a bypass option for those with small children or anyone who doesn't want to head down into the dungeon, but as a horror movie fan, I was quite excited. Down in the chamber, we met all of the main villains of scary movies I loved growing up, including Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie, The Exorcist, and many more. One of my favorite displays in the entire museum featured The Silence of the Lambs' Hannibal Lector - in blazing orange jumpsuit and that creepy "cannibal" mask - locked up in a cell next to Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
We exited the Chamber and made our way along when we came upon a "stadium" setting dedicated to sports heroes. Branson is located in St. Louis Cardinals country, so of course "Big Mac" Mark McGuire was there along with several others. We headed into the Presidential Gallery, where we encountered Commanders-in-Chief that including Abraham Lincoln, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and many others. The next room featured several music icons, including one of my favorites: Cher!
The following room featured a phenomenal depiction of The Last Supper, and featured a dramatic voiceover and surprising animation that included the use of lighting and a "hidden" figure. Plan to stay in this room for a few moments to watch and listen. The final room was designed in the style of a church, and featured Elvis at the pulpit as his gospel recordings played in the background.
The Hollywood Wax Museum was exceptionally fun, and I could definitely see both adults and children of all ages enjoying themselves (like I said, I was completely acting like a child!). The wide spectrum of movies, television shows, and other pop culture icons that are represented will bring back memories to everyone. I had a hard time staying in one room too long because I couldn't wait to see what was up next. And, of course, I loved the Hollywood Wax Museum because I'll always have that photo of me and "Patrick Swayze" getting snuggly!
