Lindsay, Author at Laughing Lindsay

The Best Things in Epic Universe

June 10, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I want to wrap up my series on the best of Universal Orlando Resort with a look at the Best Things in Epic Universe!

The Best Things in Epic Universe

At the beginning of 2026, I started a series looking at the best things at Universal Orlando with The Best Things in Universal Studios Florida. A few months later, I shared The Best Things in Islands of Adventure. Today, I want to wrap up this series with a look at the newest theme park at Universal Orlando Resort – Epic Universe!

The Best Land

I was most hyped for the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic land heading into my visit to Epic Universe. However, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk really impressed me. I loved everything about this land! It feels so immersive. Plus, there’s dragons! Also, I really enjoyed the food here. While it did feel like the hottest land at Epic, it was my favorite.

The Best Meal

My favorite meal at Epic Universe was at Cafe L’Air De La Sirene. For starters, it feels like a nice little restaurant in Paris. The ambiance is on point. Then, the food was really good. I enjoyed the Quiche Lorraine with Frozen Butterbeer for a drink! Plus, it meant that I didn’t have to wait in line for Butterbeer! I’d like to return to try a sandwich next time or breakfast! Also, I loved the Bieraubeurre/Butterbeer Crepe!

I want to give a shoutout to the tasty BBQ I had at The Oak & Star Tavern! I enjoyed the beautiful stained glass window tree and the general vibes of this restaurant. I also appreciated the variety of sauces available.

The Best Snack Location

I had an amazing chocolate/brownie cake pop from How to Treat Your Dragon in Isle of Berk. It was an unassuming little treat on a stick that I grabbed on my way back to the room for a break. However, it was rich and delicious! I can’t tell if they still have it on the menu or not, but I highly recommend it for a little sweet treat! You can see photos of it towards the end of the Instagram Carousel below.

The Best Ride

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride the popular Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry when I visited. However, it looks amazing! I was impressed with Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment though. I enjoyed the attention to detail here and the monsters, of course!

The Best Show

While I really enjoyed both shows available in the park, I think Le Cirque Arcanus was my favorite. I just enjoyed seeing the different magical creatures being brought to life. However, I also liked The Untrainable Dragon show. I just have more of a connection with the Harry Potter world. I recommend watching both.

The Best Stuff at Epic Universe

While I’ve only spent two days at Epic Universe prior to its official opening, I really enjoyed my time there. So, what are your favorite things in this park?

Biltmore Estate Tips for Visiting

June 3, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Having just visited for the first time, I thought I would share some Biltmore Estate tips for anyone else planning a trip.

Biltmore Estate Tips

For those who don’t know, the Biltmore Estate is the largest privately-owned residence in the United States! It’s located in the Blue Ride Mountains of North Carolina in Asheville! The estate actually consists of the 100,000+ square foot mansion in addition to the grounds and gardens. There’s so much to see and do that you can easily spend several days here without leaving the estate. That being said, there were a few things I wish we had known before arriving. So, here are a few tips to help make your trip better!

Tips for Visiting the Biltmore Estate

Pay attention to the hours – We arrived around 9 AM on our full house day because the site’s hours of operations said that’s when the admission gate opened. However, we realized upon arrival that meant just the gate and gardens were open. The house and shops didn’t open until 10 AM. So, if you want to know when the house opens, look at the shop hours.
You can walk around the gardens before and after a house tour – Since we arrived an hour early, we roamed the Italian Gardens, which were mostly empty. The gardens are also open later than the house and shops. So, you can view them at your leisure.
Pre-purchase tickets – We actually had a hotel package that included breakfast and tickets that didn’t require house reservations. However, if you buy a one day ticket, then you will need to make a reservation for the time you plan to enter the home. Those reservations can sell out. So, buy your tickets and reserve your time as soon as you know what works best for your schedule.
You can’t carry much inside the house – They have free storage lockers outside the home. However, I left my hat in the car when we were touring the home. Also, pay attention to the bag size allowance of 19″ x 14″ x 9″. It’s best to just leave most things at home, in a locker, or in the car.
Bring a hat for the gardens – I strongly recommend having a hat to wear while roaming the gardens. There’s very little shade available, so you will be happy to have a hat.
Visit the house when it’s cooler – The house does NOT have air conditioning. So, plan to visit the house early in the morning before it gets too hot.
The estate is cashless – The front desk at the hotels are about the only places that will accept cash on property.
Stay for a few days – We spent two nights here and still didn’t see everything. Although, it was in spring with plenty of plants to see. I’m not sure that the colder times of the year would offer as much to see. However, I can see staying for several days during the warmer months.

Visiting the Estate

So, have you ever visited the Biltmore Estate? Do you have any tips that I didn’t mention?

Disney Animal Kingdom Resorts Guide

May 27, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I am continuing my look at the Walt Disney World hotels with the Animal Kingdom Resorts!

Animal Kingdom Resorts

Having already posted the Magic Kingdom Resorts Guide, Epcot Resorts Guide, and Disney Hollywood Studios Resorts Guide, this is my last resort guide for the four theme parks at Walt Disney World! Once again, I am going by Disney World’s website for this list of hotels as this is how they designate these resorts. Unfortunately, there’s no special transportation connecting these resorts. There’s just bus transportation to take you the parks here.

All Star Resorts

Disney has three All Star Resorts – All Star Sports, All Star Movies, and All Star Music. Each of them is considered a value resort and offer the lowest priced rooms on property. All of them also feature giant statues that fit the resort’s theme to designate different areas of the resort. I wrote a Disney’s All Star Resorts Overview post a couple of years ago if you would like a closer look at these three resorts. I’ve also posted a separate Disney All Star Sports Review from my solo Christmas stay in December 2024.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe/DVC resort. I’ve stayed here only once and it was almost a decade ago. That’s why I haven’t posted a separate review of it. If I ever return, I will post a review of it. However, it is typically one of the cheaper Deluxe options at Disney. It can still be pricey, especially those Savannah view rooms. It’s just typically cheaper than most of the other Deluxe resorts. This resort is built around an artificial savannah that has real animals! It’s the perfect location for animal lovers as you don’t need a park ticket to enjoy the animals here! Also, the food is pretty good here too!

Coronado Springs

Lastly, there’s Coronado Springs! This is another sprawling moderate resort that I’ve covered a few times: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review and Gran Destino Tower – Disney Coronado Springs Resort Review. It also has the distinction of being the very first Disney World resort I stayed at! It has several good food options as well! I would stay here more frequently if it didn’t have so many bus stops.

Disney Animal Kingdom Resorts

So, there you have the Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Resorts! Which one are you staying at? Do you have a favorite?

Biltmore Estate Restaurants Guide

May 20, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

If you are planning a trip and wondering which Biltmore Estate Restaurants you should eat at, this post is for you!

Biltmore Estate Restaurants

Having just visited the Biltmore for 3 days back in April, I’m happy to report that there are loads of tasty options when considering where to eat here. From the Stable Cafe in the House to the Village Social located in the Village Hotel and little places to grab a snack, there’s something for every palate! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try every restaurant on this trip. So, if I am lucky enough to visit again in the future, then I will return to this post and update with additional reviews.

I’ll start this guide by mentioning how big the portion sizes are here. We started out ordering our own entrees, but were splitting them by the end of the trip as we kept having leftovers. So, just something to keep in mind.

Stable Cafe for Luminere Dinner

I figured I might as well start with the restaurant located in the basement of the House – Stable Cafe! This is literally where the stables were located when the house was lived in! We ate here twice during our trip. Our first meal here was for dinner during Luminere. We enjoyed some fresh salads for the mains. The chicken was a little dry on my salad, but overall it was a good dish. I really enjoyed my special mocktail here for Luminere. It sweet, but the ginger cut it nicely.

The real star here was the desserts though! My husband got the Blueberry Mousse Cake. It was a good combination of sweet and tart with the lemon-passionfruit cremeux. I got the Raspberry Parline Profiterole and was thrilled with it. Once again, it was the perfect combination of sweet and tart with the raspberries cutting the sweet chocolate. This meal was the perfect way to begin our Luminere evening.

Stable Cafe Lunch

After touring the house, we enjoyed lunch the next day here as well. We split The Appalachian Sampler (pictured in the blog image above) and had more than enough food for the two of us. We enjoyed trying the seasonal Ancho Chili Blueberry Barbeque sauce with the chicken and pulled pork. I would love to try other seasonal sauces in the future. Again, the chicken was a touch dry, but the sauces really helped. The pulled pork was so flavorful it didn’t really need the sauces.

The smoked baby carrots were simple but tasty. We also loved the truffle mac and cheese. The potato salad looked like mashed potatoes but tasted as it should. My husband enjoyed the house pickled vegetables. We also tried the blackberry lemonade and strawberry lemonade. They were fine, but I think I would get something else next time. We ended the meal by splitting the Toffee Fudge Cake, which was amazing! It was rich and chocolatey! I loved it.

Cedric’s Tavern

Moving over to Antler Hill Village, we enjoyed lunch upon arrival at Cedric’s Tavern. My husband ordered the Tavern Rueben and was pleased with it. It was a good combination of flavors and a great value for the $20 charged. I selected the Lobster Roll, which had a shocking amount of lobster (1/2 pound) on it! I truly enjoyed it, but it was too much food for me. We both left this meal with a box of leftovers. We ended up finishing them later that night in the hotel room. I think it’s worth noting that the dessert menu posted online was out of date when we visited.

Village Social – Breakfast

We had a breakfast package that allowed us to enjoy breakfast both mornings of our trip at the Village Social, which I highly recommend. I absolutely loved the Pecan Waffles I ate both mornings. On the second morning, my husband and I actually split an order of the waffles and an order of biscuits and gravy. This restaurant is fantastic because they will physically split your dishes on two separate plates for you! So, that was super helpful! Although, I see that the online menu now lists a Blueberry Waffle instead of the Pecan. I’m sure it’s great too!

One thing to note: There was a 25 minute wait for a table for two people here on Saturday morning, versus no wait on Friday morning. So, maybe send someone ahead to get on the waitlist on the weekends.

Village Social – Dinner

This was our last dinner here and it was really good. We split the Fried Chicken. The chicken was good and moist with the added hot honey (although, not really spicy). The smashed red skin potatoes were good too. I even ate some of the estate pickled coleslaw! Overall, it was a good dish that I don’t regret eating.

I was tickled to be able to get the Luminere mocktail Nightfall here again. My husband got a coconut mocktail that was tasty. For dessert, I got a strawberry rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream. I was pleased to see that it didn’t contain an artificial red strawberry slush, but was kind of natural red/brown. I was also happy that I could actually taste the tart rhubarb. It was a good dessert. My husband enjoyed a cake, but we can’t recall what it was. Unfortunately, they don’t have the dessert menu posted online.

The Creamery

One of the last places we stopped at on our visit was The Creamery, located in the Village. I got an amazing banana pudding milkshake! My husband got an orange creamsicle float that was pretty good. We also grabbed a pastry for the road. I got the mixed berry and he got ham/cheese. Both of those were really tasty, even hours later when we ate them at home after a long drive.

Biltmore Estate Restaurants

As I stated above, this is not an exhaustive look at all of the restaurants on property. Rather, it’s an overview of where we’ve eaten so far. If I make a return trip, I will come back and update this post with more locations – like the Dairy Bar or The Dining Room at the Inn. So, where do you enjoy eating when visiting The Biltmore Estate?

Are Dollywood Guided Tours Worth It?

May 13, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I want to examine if the seasonal Dollywood Guided Tours are worth your money and time.

Dollywood Guided Tours

Last year, I was lucky to take several guided tours while visiting Dollywood. I already posted my I Will Always Love You Tour at Dollywood Review, Dollywood Summer Festival Tour Review, and Dollywood Christmas Guided Tour Review. Today, I want to talk about those experience more generally and to help others decide if they should book a guided tour.

What the Tours Include

You can see which tours are available during your trip and what they include on the Special Experiences page on the website. However, in general, the tours attempt to include some festival entertainment (like reserved seating for a show during IWALY or reserved standing viewing of the drones/fireworks during the summer) along with a snack and/or beverage. They also sometimes include rides where you can skip the lines. All of them come with a tour guide or two that tells you about the park and the offerings you get.

I will say these are best for people without mobility issues. They tend to involve a good bit of walking and Dollywood has a few good hills. I also don’t know that I would recommend them for children as there can be lots of listening.

Pros

You get a brief guided tour of the park – It can be helpful for people who don’t know much about the park or its offerings to learn from a park employee.
Skip some lines – It was awesome to ride the train during the Christmas tour without waiting in line. You have to read the fine print though as not all tours offer rides and it seems like the rides offered can differ from year to year.
Some reserved seating – Again, you have to read the fine print to see what the tour includes. However, you sometimes get a reserved (near the front) seat for shows that you don’t have to stand in line for.
Snack and a drink – Often, it’s a festival goodie. However, at Christmas we received a mini cinnamon bread and hot chocolate. I’d consider it an added bonus, not exactly a selling point.
Adds something for experienced visitors – It can be a fun way to do something different if you have visited the park before.
Can be good for solo trips – If you are visiting the park alone and feel more comfortable in a group, this is the perfect opportunity to join a group.

Cons

Added expense – These tours are an added expense on top of a park ticket. Plus, they went up $10 from 2025 to 2026. Currently, they are $89/person with a small discount available for some passholders. So, not exactly a budget friendly event.
Takes up time – If you want to visit the park at your own pace, this isn’t for you. You don’t really have much time to stop and enjoy the scenery or take pictures. I don’t recommend this for people who are visiting for the first time on the first day. Maybe the second day or return trip.
Limited offerings – The specific rides/shows offered varies from festival to festival and even year to year. So, read the site carefully to see if you are interested in most of the things listed before spending the money.
You can do most of the things on your own – Most of the tour experiences can be had on your own. The real perk of these tours is the guide and the ability to skip the line or have reserved seating.

Are Dollywood Guided Tours Worth It?

I think the value of any purchase is subjective. However, if you have children, are a first time visitor, have mobility issues, or on a tight budget, then I don’t think it’s worth it. If you are a return guest who navigates the park easily with room in the budget, then go for it! So, have you ever taken a tour at Dollywood? Did you think it was worth it?