AS THE WORLD TURNS' teen set heads to Branson, Mo., on the air this week, but the cast filmed on location in the showbiz mecca during the week of June 4. Alexandra Chando (Maddie) called Weekly to dish the food, the company, and the joy of Go Kart racing.

"I'm down in Branson, baby!" Chando confirmed with a laugh on the day after their June 5 arrival. "I was done filming at 11, so I have the day free. Jake (Silbermann, Noah) and Van (Hansis, Luke) are done, too. Jake and I just had lunch and we're going to go to the pool and lay out a bit. I have to get rid of my tan lines for my Emmy dress. Then we're going to go Go Kart-ing."

For the trio of New York-based actors, Missouri is definitely a bit of a change. "Branson is like no other place that I've been before," admitted Chando. "It's not like New York City."

Silbermann was quick to contribute from the background: "It's like Times Square!" he joked, drawing chuckles from Chando. But she could not deny the Southern hospitality. "Everyone's so nice down here and very friendly," she assured, before signing off.

On June 6, she called back to gloat (and rightfully so!). "Let's just put on the record that Alex beat both Van and Jake," she beamed. "The track here is amazing. It's not circular. It spirals up five times, and then you make a sharp turn and you go down a couple of hills, and then do another spiral. It's pretty crazy!"

After beating the pants off the boys, "Everyone else was still shooting, so Jake and Van and I went to dinner. We had a nice romantic dinner, the three of us," she giggled, adding, "They fry the bread here. We found it very interesting that there was fried bread."

Her early wake-up call was probably not as interesting. "I woke up at 5:15 a.m. and Jen (Jennifer Landon, Gwen/Cleo), Jesse (Lee Soffer, Will) and I all got on the bus," Chando shared. "All of our scenes were in the woods, so I doused myself with bug spray. Jesse and I had three scenes. We did our first two scenes in one take and then our third scene took us seven takes because I had to run and fall, the lighting kept getting messed up and there was noises and wind. The fifth time I actually slipped and fell!"

Don't worry, she's no worse for the wear (just check out her Emmy dress for proof). "We're not getting into that much trouble," Chando promised.