• What to know if you go

BRANSON, Mo. — The bow of the Titanic rears above the spray of waves, the fatal iceberg jammed in its black and riveted iron flank.

JOHN S. STEWART/STR (ENLARGE)
First Class maid Jaynee poses for a photo in front of the full-scale reproduction of the Titanic's grand staircase in the Titanic Museum.
JOHN S. STEWART/STR (ENLARGE)
Work on the hotels, shops and restaurants lining the pedestrian area of Branson continues.
JOHN S. STEWART/STR (ENLARGE)
Visitors enter the ship replica through an iceberg.
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The Titanic attraction, officially named "The World's Largest Titanic Museum Attraction," opened in March.

Museum owner John Joslyn is a former television producer who dove to the wreck in a submersible in 1987 and produced the documentary "Return to the Titanic ... Live."

Joslyn has been a collector of Titanic artifacts and opened a smaller, similar attraction in Orlando, Fla., that he sold to build the Branson museum.

The Titanic building looms above Missouri 76, Branson's Strip. The 100-foot-tall building recreates the bow of the ship, complete with a pool at its base that sprays water as though it were cutting through the ocean.

Enter through an iceberg

The entrance is through a mock iceberg tip that juts out of the ship's side. Inside, visitors take a 90-minute walk past more than 400 artifacts and reconstructions of the ship and the life stories of many of its passengers.

The grand staircase from first class is rebuilt, as are first- and third-class cabins. Visitors step out on a darkened deck chilled to feel like the fateful night in April 1912 and can barely make out the outline of an iceberg ahead under a field of stars.

Joslyn said he has been coming to Branson for years and decided it made more sense for his attraction to be here, rather than Orlando.

"I love the Branson demographics," Joslyn said. He said both the families that tend to come in summer and the older visitors in the spring and fall have an interest in the Titanic story.

Visitors are expected to number 7.6 million this year, Branson tourism officials say. That would be a 4 percent increase, double the national growth in vacation travel that the Travel Industry Association of America forecasts this year.

Branson is not about to turn its back on its country music roots. But to appeal to aging baby boomers and more families with children, there are more pop music attractions this year, including Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater Complex, opening in April and presenting 1950s and 1960s rock.

Silver Dollar City theme park

Theme parks are also expanding. Silver Dollar City, a mix of crafts and rides with a late 19th century atmosphere, is spending $8 million to add 10 rides in a new area called the Grand Exposition that echoes the era of world's fairs and expositions.

Also opening this spring is Branson Landing, a shopping mall with a marina and boardwalk on 95 acres on Lake Taneycomo. About 80 percent of an expected 100 stores and restaurants, including Belk Department Store, will be ready for the development's May 26 opening.

Later this summer, a Bass Pro Shops, the Springfield-based hunting, fishing and outdoors retailer, will open at Branson Landing, followed by a Hilton Hotel in October.

A convention center and a second Hilton are due to follow in 2007.

If You Go...

BRANSON: Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, http://www.explorebranson.com or (800) 214-3661.

GETTING THERE: Located in southwest Missouri, 35 miles south of Springfield.

TITANIC MUSEUM: 3235 76 Country Blvd. and Highway 165; http://www.titanicbranson.com/ or (417) 334-9500. Adults, $16.95; children 5-12, $9.95. Open daily, 9 a.m.-11 p.m.

DICK CLARK'S AMERICAN BANDSTAND THEATER: 1600 West Highway 76; http://www.dickclarksbranson.com/ or (417) 332-1960. Shows — including Paul Revere and the Raiders, Gary Lewis & the Playboys and "Original Stars of American Bandstand" — open April 21. Adults, $39; children 12 and under, $20.

BRANSON LANDING: Located in downtown Branson, near Business Highway 65 and Main Street; http://www.bransonlanding.com/. Opens May 26. Mall includes Belk Department Store, restaurants, marina and boardwalk on Lake Taneycomo. Bass Pro Shop will open later this summer.

SILVER DOLLAR CITY: Amusement park; http://www.silverdollarcity.com/ or (800) 475-9370. New attraction, Grand Exposition, opens this spring. Hours vary. Adults, $43; children, 4-11, $33; seniors, 62 and over, $41.