A new museum devoted to everyone's favorite calamity -- Titanic: The Legend Continues -- has opened in Branson, Missouri. Its promoters call it "the world's largest Titanic museum attraction."

The Museum is the latest foray into all things Titanic by John Joslyn, who opened a similar attraction, Titanic: Ship of Dreams, in Orlando in 1999. That attraction has been renamed Titanic: The Experience, after a split between Joslyn and his now-ex-business partner.

Joslyn is the TV producer responsible for Geraldo Rivera's "Mystery of Al Capone’s Vault" and for a less-well-remembered Titanic special starring Telly Savales. Joslyn left Orlando with three semitrailer-loads of artifacts and exhibits, intending to permanently display them somewhere. They ended up here, in Hillbilly Hollywood, about as far from an ocean as it's possible to get in America.

From press accounts, Titanic: The Legend Continues is similar in design to its still-open Orlando rival. The new twist on this museum is that it is in a half-size, eight-story tall replica of the Titanic itself. Visitors are asked to "tour the ship," complete with replica staterooms, a full-sized Grand Staircase, and a trip to the chilly bridge to see the iceberg dead ahead. As in Orlando, each visitor is given the name of a Titanic passenger at the entrance, and then sees if he or she has survived at the exit into the gift shop. Also as in Orlando, real artifacts are hard to find here. The best that this place can offer is "the only remaining life vest known to have been worn by a survivor."

Titanic: The Legend Continues opened on March 8, but its official "launch" will take place on April 7 -- the date that the Titanic sailed from Liverpool in 1912. The "bow" of this Titanic will be christened by Regis Philbin, to be followed by the ringing of its bell at noon, a symbolic ritual that will be repeated daily.

For ticket prices and directions, call 800-381-7670. [03/11/2006]

November 26, 2009