A major attraction based on the Titanic will open this summer in Branson. The interactive, walk-through
"Titanic: The Legend Continues" is located on the former site of Thunder Road go-kart track at the corner of Missouri 76 and 165. The bow of the ship-shaped building will rise 28 feet above the highway with smokestacks reaching 75 feet. Inside, visitors will walk through full-scale sets including the Grand Staircase and the Verandah Cafe.
The year-round, 17,000-square-foot attraction will display more than 400 Titanic artifacts that survived the sinking, including deck chairs, jewelry, dinnerware, life jackets, menus and personal letters — plus more than 100 photographs taken by passengers.
For Titanic buffs, there will be attention to details including the pattern of rivets on the outside of the ship. Costumed ship characters will greet customers when they enter, but then will continue at their own pace.
There will be hands-on activities for younger guests including a refrigerated iceberg that kids can touch. They also can try sending SOS telegrams or steer the ship around icebergs using new computer imaging, he said.
The artifacts that will be in Branson were not recovered from the sea floor. The items either were taken off the ship by passengers or crew members or were found floating in the debris field.
"We have a leather trunk that was found floating that had a purse and a silk blouse in it," John Joslyn, the builder of the attraction, said. "We also have a watch that was recovered from someone who perished that stopped when ship went down...We think it's very important to be respectful to the Titanic and always take under consideration that people's lives were lost there."
People who visit Titanic exhibits are most interested in learning about the 2,200 people on board, the 1,500 who perished and the 750 who survived, he said.
"When you think of the ship, it was 900 feet long, and it functioned like a floating city with various classes on board," Joslyn said. "The stories are so rich and vibrant. It has a certain mystique to it I've never seen in stories before. The Titanic is an everlasting story."