I recently had the opportunity to visit the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson, MO and wanted to share my experience with you guys!

 

I received complimentary admission in exchange for an honest review.

 

I recruited my friend Debbie to come with me – this kind of attraction is best with a friend who is totally ready to take a bunch of silly photos with you. It’s a great rainy-day activity, and will appeal to a pretty wide range of ages. (I don’t think small children would get much out of the experience, but kids old enough to recognize the celebrities and enjoy getting their photo taken will probably enjoy it.)

 

It’s almost impossible to miss the Hollywood Wax Museum as you’re driving down Highway 76 in Branson, which is the main street where most of the live music shows are located. In addition to the eye-catching King Kong above, the exterior features a Mt. Rushmore-style sculpture featuring classic stars:

 

 

There are a few different options for Branson Hollywood Wax Museum tickets available.

They’ve recently changed their pricing structure so instead of one set price, it varies a bit depending on the time of year. For example, a Tuesday in January when Branson is pretty empty will be significantly cheaper than visiting on the 4th of July.

You can buy a ticket for just the Wax Museum, which at the time of posting starts at $23.99 ($13.99 for kids), or you can purchase an All Access Pass that also includes admission to Hannah’s Maze of Mirrors, the Castle of Chaos 5-D ride/game experience, and Shoot for the Stars Mini Golf, all of which are on-site and range from $13-16 each if purchased separately. The All Access Pass currently ranges from $33.99-$39.99 ($19.99 for kids), so you get a lot of extra entertainment for just a few dollars more! I even have a Branson Hollywood Wax Museum coupon that you guys can print out – it gets you $2 off each All Access Pass for up to six people! Score!

 

The BEST Option for Branson Wax Museum Tickets!

BUT WAIT! Are you also planning to visit the new Branson Aquarium at the Boardwalk? They’re owned by the same company as the wax museum, and they offer a combo ticket that’s a really good deal! It’s called the Five’r ticket and for some reason it’s listed here on the aquarium’s website but not on the wax museum website! You get the aquarium and everything listed in the All Access Pass above and the price ranges from $44.99-64.99 for adults and $19.99-$24.99 for kids. The child pass being basically the same price a the All Access Pass is an amazing deal since regular child tickets for the aquarium are usually $15.99! (Adults are $29.99-$34.99) So even if you’re *only* planning to do the wax museum and the aquarium without visiting any of the smaller attractions, it’s still an amazing deal.

 

What to expect at the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson

We went fairly late in the evening and wound up spending about two hours in just the Hollywood Wax Museum, but hopefully I can return at another time and write about the other three attractions. They all get good reviews on TripAdvisor, and your pass is good all day so you can always do one attraction in the morning, come back for another in the afternoon, and two more in the evening.

 

 

The Hollywood Wax Museum has exhibits spread out across two floors. (You can choose stairs or elevator to access the upper level.) Most rooms feature celebrities that all fit a certain theme, from classic Hollywood with Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland to country music superstars including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. I like that they offer wax figures from a pretty wide range of eras and genres, so your teens can get just as excited about Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift as grandma does about taking a photo with Frank Sinatra. (Or hey, maybe it’s Grandma who’s the Bieber super-fan and your 10th grader is into Old Blue Eyes. You get the idea!)

 

A few more classic stars:

 

Most of the wax figures have informative signs nearby, which was a nice feature.

 

As you tour the museum, be sure to keep an eye out for stations with props that you can hold or wear to enhance your photos. These were a fun addition!

 

 

These costumes made our Star Trek photos way more fun to pose for!

 

 

Pro Tip: Take a second to make sure your photos turned out well before moving on to the next room. The lighting in some areas is fantastic, but in others it’s REALLY hard to get a good shot. (The Zorro room was the hardest because you had weird light, white walls, and black costumes!) I didn’t really look through photos until I got home, and it was heartbreaking to see some like this:

 

So close to being cute, but not in focus!

 

There’s an option to bypass the “Monster Chamber”, which features figures from horror films and shows. It’s a small area – maybe a dozen characters total – and not super spooky, but I like that they offer the option to skip it, especially for those visiting with small children.

 

 

We got some of our favorite photos in this area, though!

 

I told Debbie to amp up her fear face and got this next…

 

New boyfriend. Can’t resist a tall dude.

Probably not what this pumpkin prop was intended for?

A quiet evening in with my boys.

 

We had a big dance party in the pop star room, only realizing later that the museum employees could probably see it on the security camera. Oops?

As a related side-note, you’re totally allowed to pose with the figures and it’s ok to touch their clothing, but they ask that you not touch their face or hands. they do have security cameras throughout the museum to be sure people aren’t damaging the wax figures since so much goes into creating them.

The ticket guy we talked to LOVED that we had such a good time taking a billion pictures and playing around with props. I guess they’ve had some people just walk through and look at the figures and then leave ten minutes later saying it was boring. We had a two hour laugh-fest and I took almost 500 photos on my phone. (Not sure how many more were on Debbie’s.) It’s all about how you approach it!

 

For some reason I LOVED Pink’s sparkly silver toenail polish!

I’m not entirely sure why Hugh Hefner was in the pop star room, but I happily borrowed the bunny ears from his station for photos with pop stars.

 

There is a restroom about halfway through the museum – definitely appreciated that we didn’t have to go alllll the way back out! I had a few minutes to kill while waiting there, so I took a few too many photos with Marilyn and Elvis, who were right next to it.

 

Just hanging out with Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.

 

I resized most of my photos to help this page load quickly, but I uploaded this one in a much larger size so that you can click on it and see Marilyn close-up in much better detail.

I mentioned John Wayne above…

 

 

It was right about the time we hit him that I figured out that Snapchat filters worked on the wax figures. THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING.

 

 

I only tried Snapchat but I’m sure Instagram and Facebook filters would work, too. Totally expands your options!

I’ve run out of helpful tips to share, so let’s close things out with a few more photos with musicians…

 

Breaking news: I am not as cool as Beyonce. 

 

 

…and a few other random celebs!

I ran into a small problem trying to pose for the classic Titanic photo with Leo. #TallPeopleProblems

(I just Googled and it said he is 6 ft tall so why am I like 3″ taller?)

 

 

When Channing Tatum won’t stop flirting with you.

Couldn’t resist the photo but I was not feeling this whole wedding dress situation! Sorry, Clooney.

 

For more info and photos, check out the Hollywood Wax Museum on Facebook, Instagram, and their website, and read recent Reviews of the Branson Hollywood Wax Museum on TripAdvisor!

Have you ever been to a wax museum? Which celeb would you love to pose with?