Bourbon's waiting
Southfork Ranch lets Dallas fans live like Ewings with first-ever overnight stays
Superfans of the iconic TV show Dallas can now sleep where J.R. slept — sort of. For the first time, the show's famed Southfork Ranch, 55 miles northeast of Fort Worth in Parker, is allowing guests to book overnight stays and live like a Ewing, with access to the entire mansion and pool.
"The legendary Parker, Texas, ranch — home to countless Ewing family showdowns — provides the perfect place to reminisce about the many memorable moments J.R., Sue Ellen, Bobby, and Lucy Ewing delivered to captivated fans around the world during the show’s 1970s and 80s heyday," a release says.
Southfork provided the famous backdrop for both the series and its reboot, which aired on CBS from 1978-1991 and TNT from 2012-2014, respectively. Though interior scenes were filmed in California studios, exterior shots were filmed on location at Southfork for many years of production.
Decades later, "the most famous ranch in Texas" continues to attract thousands of visitors from around the world each year for tours of the property, which is not only home to the fictional Ewings but a shrine to '80s excess.
On guided tours of the mansion, guests see the gun that shot J.R., Lucy's wedding dress, the Dallas family tree, and Jock's Lincoln Continental.
But staying at the 5,900-square-foot house overnight means the chance to live out dreams as big as Dallas: to wake up where J.R. and Sue Ellen (or any number of his mistresses) did, to swim in the pool where family members got dunked (and occasionally turned up dead), and to check for Bobby returning from the dead in the shower.
An overnight stay has been offered just once before — to mark the show's 40th anniversary in spring 2018. The new package is available for future bookings any time, a representative for Southfork confirms.
"This overnight stay makes an unforgettable romantic getaway, proposal, wedding night, anniversary, or other special-occasion opportunity," the release says.
Of course, the Ewing experience doesn't come cheap. Accommodations are $1,978 a night for two oil barons people, with $400 for each additional guest, up to a total of six people.
Here's what's included:
- Access to the entire house and pool
- Optional trail ride
- Sleepover in the famous bedrooms of J.R. Ewing, Bobby Ewing, and Lucy Ewing
- Private tour of the mansion and ranch
- Champagne and hors d’oeuvres followed by “J.R.’s Steak Dinner”
- Screenings of “Dallas” in the Ewing living room with popcorn and snacks
- A home-cooked Texas breakfast at the Ewing family poolside patio table
- Official Southfork wine glass souvenir
The entire ranch sits on 357 acres of groomed ranchland and includes the Ewing Mansion, Southfork Ranch Event and Conference Center, Miss Ellie’s Deli, and dozens of peacefully grazing Texas longhorns and American Paint horses.
For more information, visit the Southfork Ranch website.