Laughing Lindsay

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Pirates Voyage Pigeon Forge Dinner Show Review

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I recently posted a review of the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud Show and today I’m sharing my thoughts on the Pirates Voyage dinner show in Pigeon Forge as well.

Pirates Voyage Pigeon Forge Dinner Show Review

Pirates Voyage Show

Let’s jump right in by stating that the best part of the Pirates Voyage dinner show is the show! Having been to all three dinner shows in Pigeon Forge, I can honestly say this one offers the best show! In fact, it’s the only one I’ve gone to twice now! I went once in May 2022 with my mom and then again with my husband in June 2022. I really enjoyed the show each time as I had a different seat and view with each show. In May, I was on the Sapphire side and in June I was on the Crimson side. It was neat to cheer for a different team each time.

The Pirates Voyage show is very entertaining. The actors are acrobatics in every sense of the word. I can’t even begin to imagine how one learns to do the show. Plus, there’s fire and some animals incorporated into the show. Spoiler alert: my mom loved the addition of the sea lion and the birds were also neat to see.

The Food

While the Pirates Voyage has the best show, the food is just ok, if I’m being completely honest. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best dinner show food either. If you recall, I prefer the food at the Hatfield and McCoy show. However, both shows serve the same creamy vegetable soup, which you can buy a mix of in the shows’ stores. Beyond that, it’s a completely different meal. It’s actually more similar to the meal served at Dolly Parton’s Stampede with its chicken, biscuit, corn on the cob, potato, ham, and fruit turnover. The difference between the two is that Pirates Voyage comes with some fried chicken and a peach turner. Stampede serves a whole small rotisserie chicken and apple turnover.

Additionally, similar to Dolly Parton’s Stampede and different from Hatfield and McCoys is that the meal is served during the show. So, it can be difficult to watch the show and eat your food at the same time. Plus, it’s not unlimited, like Hatfield and McCoy is. However, they will bring you more to drink if you finish yours. I really enjoyed the lemonade here, as did my husband. The meal certainly wasn’t bad by any means, just know that you are going to Pirates Voyage for the show mainly.

If you are visiting Pigeon Forge and want to experience a dinner show like no other, I can recommend Pirates Voyage with its amazing show and good food. Admittedly, it is pricey so be on the lookout for discounts and coupons. However, I can guarantee it will be a dinner that you won’t quickly forget.

Margaritaville Island Inn Pigeon Forge Review

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Back in December 2019, my mom and I stayed a few nights at the Margaritaville Island Inn in Pigeon Forge, TN. While it’s been a few years since we stayed there, I thought I would give an overview and review of this resort.

Margaritaville Island Inn Pigeon Forge TN

Margaritaville Island Inn Overview

My mom grew up going to the beach in New Jersey, so I know how much she likes a beachy themed resort. That’s one of the primary reasons I suggested the Margaritaville Island Inn for our stay in Pigeon Forge. I also liked that it was located at The Island, which put us walking distance to some great restaurants and entertainment. Pro tip: go see the water fountain show at The Island. We also liked the affordable rates of this place. Plus, our stay here came with a complimentary breakfast! This was our first time staying at a Margaritaville property, but it wasn’t our last. So, you know it left a good impression on us.

Room Review

We booked a double queen standard room at the Margaritaville Island Inn and were very pleased with the accommodations. Everything looked new and had a very relaxing beach vibe. We thought the long desk was neat in case you needed to get some work done. The beds were very comfortable and we slept great. I also found the individual reading lights to be a nice touch since I tend to stay up later than my mom. We also appreciated the in-room microwave and mini-refrigerator for storing leftovers.

Overall, we were very pleased with our stay at the Margaritaville Island Inn in Pigeon Forge, TN. I can recommend a stay here (or other Margaritaville properties) without hesitation. In fact, I have also stayed at the one in Gatlinburg. You can read my Margaritaville Gatlinburg Resort Review here. I also stayed at the Camp Margaritaville RV and Lodge in Pigeon Forge in 2022. You can read that review by clicking that link. So, have you stayed at this Margaritaville resort or at another one? What was your experience like?

The 5 Best Things To Do at Dollywood

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I wanted to do a best things to do at Dollywood post because I have posts detailing what you can expect to encounter during their seasonal festivals. This post will list my favorite things to do, no matter when you go!

Best Things to Do at Dollywood

The Best Things to do at Dollywood

DW is a unique theme park with lots of tasty eats, beautiful scenery, and fun experiences! So, it’s impossible to visit and not enjoy yourself. These are the things I enjoy doing whenever I visit.

  1. Take a train ride. Did you even visit Dollywood if you didn’t ride the train? You will see and hear the train making its way around the park during the day and it’s an integral part of the park. In fact, the park had its early start around the train. You have to ride it at least once! It is a neat way to see the park and the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains.
  2. Eat cinnamon bread. You have to visit The Grist Mill to try the infamous cinnamon bread. Although, you can also pick up a loaf at the DreamMore Resort, it feels more special when you pick one up at the Mill and eat it in the park. If you are craving a more substantial meal, I recommend trying Aunt Granny’s at least once.
  3. See a show. Dollywood has some of the best theme park entertainment around. There are different shows to see based on the time of the year you go. However, they are known for the Dreamland Drive-in show which you can catch anytime of the year. It has a cute story with music everyone can enjoy. At the very least, it’s a great way to get some air conditioning on a hot day.
  4. Walk around the park and enjoy the sights. Dollywood has to be one of the most beautiful theme parks. The mountains serve as the backdrop and create picture worthy scenes no matter the season. Another fun thing to look at is Dolly’s old tour bus!
  5. Ride a ride. To be honest, I have taken at least one trip to Dollywood and didn’t ride a single ride. However, they do have a good selection of rides. I like the Dragonflier and enjoy riding the Demolition Derby a.k.a. bumper cars with my mom.

So, there you have the 5 best things to do at Dollywood no matter what time of the year you go. If you are wondering about their season events, here are my posts on those:

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites Review

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Back in February, when I Dined with Orcas, I stayed at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites. So, I thought I would give you a brief review of my stay there.

Dockside Inn and Suites

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort is technically two hotels – Dockside Inn and Suites and Surfside Inn and Suites. Each is considered a “Value Resort” thanks to their typically low rates. They are across the road from one another, but each has their own unique theming and amenities. However, they do share a bus to/from the parks. The bus goes to Surfside first and then Dockside. Additionally, Surfside is the smaller of the two resorts. I’m hoping to stay at Surfside later this year for the first time, so this review is going to focus on Dockside.

Dockside Inn and Suites Room

My mom and I stayed at Dockside Inn and Suites for four nights. Upon entering the resort, we both remarked how nice it looked, especially for the price paid. Dockside Inn and Suites has a very relaxing sitting on the beach vibe. It was also comforting to know that this is a newer resort, so we didn’t have to worry about it being outdated or rundown. The room itself was simple yet stylish, perfect for us as we aren’t fancy people. I will say that I was surprised by how nice the room was considering how affordable the rate was. I will note that we booked a standard view room and was given a pool view, which is considered an upgrade. Personally, I’m not a fan of pool views since they tend to be loud. However, we were so busy this trip that it didn’t really matter.

Pros/Cons of Staying Here

As I mentioned above, this is a bigger value resort. However, I was surprised to find school groups staying at our resort since I hadn’t realized that school field trips had resumed post-pandemic. My biggest complaint about staying at Dockside Inn and Suites has to be the noise. I don’t know if it’s due to the school groups or not, but we heard noise through the connecting door to the room beside us every night of our stay. We also heard some people running up and down the hallway and experienced long waits for the elevator. So, just something to keep in mind if you decide to stay here is the possibility of groups staying here and the accompanying noise.

Another aspect I was impressed with was the affordable food options found at the resort. The food court was often crowded at the beginning of the day and towards the end of the day with those groups. However, we enjoyed all of the food we had here and were pleased with the affordable prices. I highly recommend grabbing some chicken and waffles for breakfast if you stay here!

2023 Update: Dockside Inn Two Bedroom Suites

I wanted to update this post to include a little review on the two bedroom suites. I went back for a second stay in December 2022 with my mom again. This time, we booked the suite for one night. The price was great for an on-site hotel. There was plenty of space for the two of us. However, we encountered the exact same problems I mention in my Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites Review. There was lots of noise to be heard. Once again, we encountered groups staying here. This time, it was for a sports competition. Additionally, the main bedroom is colder than the rest of the suite with the air directly over the bed. However, it was ok for a one night (literally 8 or 9 hours) stay. You can see pictures of our suite in the Instagram post below. Additionally, you can read my more in-depth Endless Summer Suites review here.

Is it worth it?

Dockside Inn and Suites is a great deal for staying on-site at Universal Orlando. It includes park transportation along with early theme park entry. I also enjoyed the easy going vibes. I just wish it didn’t garner tour/sports groups, but that’s to be expected with a reasonably priced resort hotel.

New Blog Feed Email Servicer

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Having been out of the blogging game for so many years, I feel like I am so far behind. For instance, I didn’t know that Feedburner (owned by Google) had discontinued sending emails until a nice lady at Follow.it emailed me to tell me and offered to help. So, now we have a new blog feed email servicer!

Disclosure: Follow.it has a free option that is available to everyone, but they offered me a $10 account credit to link to them in a post.

Feedburner Replacement

I had used Feedburner ever since I started blogging way back in 2009 on a free Blogger site! So, I was shocked to learn that Google is essentially leaving the service behind by terminating its feed email subscription service. I wanted to continue offering a way for people to receive my feed in their inboxes as I hope at least some of my old subscribers stay with me. I also didn’t want to pay a bunch of money to move the almost 1,000 emails from the old feed.

Thankfully, Follow.it stepped in as a Feedburner alternative with a free option! So, the nice people at the company helped me get an account set up last week. Then, they moved all of the confirmed email addresses to their site this morning. That means if you were previously signed up for Laughing Lindsay emails, your new emails will look a little different. Additionally, this new blog feed email servicer comes with some other options to receive my posts, beyond just emails! So, you can sign up to receive my feed wherever is most convenient for you!

I’m excited to introduce my readers to this new service and hope we like it. If you are receiving this in your inbox, I hope will stay subscribed for my future tips and adventures!