Lindsay, Author at Laughing Lindsay

Starting Over with the Blog

July 21, 2022 By Lindsay 2 Comments

After almost four years of complete silence, you may be surprised to find new content on Laughing Lindsay. In fact, I am a little surprised too. However, I decided that I am starting over with the blog and taking it in a new direction.

In The Beginning

Way back in the summer of 2009, I published my first blog post. It’s a very short post that essentially states that I’m starting a blog to review and giveaway items. Prior to starting the blog, I was an avid review blog reader and had entered many giveaways. However, I was a tiny bit annoyed that I didn’t see anyone my age in the category and figured that I could fill that gap.

For years, I built the brand by delivering new content almost daily. I featured hundreds of different items over the course of several years and was proud of the work. The blog also helped me acquire necessary items during and immediately following college. Then, it became my outlet when I lost my father and allowed me to grieve by sharing about him and reading comforting comments from readers.

Burnt Out

However, I became burnt out by feeling like I always needed to be working on new content. Often times, it didn’t feel like all of the work (taking pictures, writing posts, advertising giveaways, notifying winners, etc.) was worth the small item I received in exchange. In short, my heart wasn’t in it anymore and I couldn’t/didn’t make time for it. So, I quit blogging. However, I kept paying the bills to maintain it in case I ever wanted to come back.

Starting Over with Laughing Lindsay

That brings me to now. I am once again noticing a hole in the market. I have come to realize that lots of people write about Disney Parks. While I love and really enjoy visiting those parks, I would argue that it’s an over-saturated market. However, there is far less content to consume about other theme parks and destinations. So, once again I’m going to attempt to fill the gap I see in content by starting over with this site and making the content myself.

I don’t have a set schedule in mind yet but I have a whole page of blog post ideas ready. It’s mostly travel content with a few personal posts (such as this one) sprinkled in thus far. I realize that most of my old readers joined for product reviews and giveaways. However, I hope you will stick around and continue reading as I think I might be able to provide some value to your life. I’m not 100% set against covering products (particularly travel related ones), but just know that this isn’t going to be a pure review/giveaway site anymore.

So, did I miss anything over the past four years? 😉

Summer at Dollywood 2022

July 18, 2022 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

If you are planning a summer vacation and are wondering what all there is to experience during the summer at Dollywood, then I’ve got you covered! From the new Roadside Attractions around the park to the delicious foods and awesome drone show, there is lots to do during Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration!

Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration

During the 2022 summer at Dollywood, Dollywood has Roadside Attractions around the park to fit the theme of a summer road trip! These attractions include a Bubble Foam Zone (one for children and one for adults), Lazy Loungers (chairs to lounge in), Giant Spinning Tops (to sit on and/or spin), the Largest Bean Can, Noodle Takeover (a beautiful rainbow of hanging pool noodles), and the gorgeous Kite Sky (to replace spring’s Umbrella Sky)! It’s lots of fun to simply wander around the park to look and play with these things.

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Summer at Dollywood Food

Another wonderful part of the fun of summer at Dollywood is the food! I personally recommend trying the Mountain Berry Lemonade, BBQ Burger, and Cookies and Cream Liege Waffle! My husband really enjoyed the Melon Delight, which is a great dairy-free way to cool down on a hot day! We both purchased a Tasting Pass and enjoyed walking around the park selecting different foods to try throughout the day. You can see most of the things we enjoyed in my Instagram post above. Although, be warned that some of the locations sold out of items before we got to try them around dinner time. Also, note that most dining locations close before the park does so get snacks for the drone show early.

Summer at Dollywood Entertainment

Dollywood is known for having some great entertainment, so it should come as no surprise that summer at Dollywood is no different! For instance, they have the Gazillion Bubbles Show Aurora returning this summer and it is definitely worth seeing! It’s hard to explain, but it’s a neat bubbles/laser show that allows you to sit in air conditioning for 40 minutes! You can also catch the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration shows Hydro Jive Junction and Liquid Beats.

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Lastly, you can’t miss the amazing Dollywood’s Sweet Summer Nights 3D Drone and Fireworks Show, shown in my Instagram post above! It was our first drone show and it won’t be our last. It was neat to see all of the drones in the sky coming together along with the music. Plus, there’s a fun Summer Nights Dance Party prior to the drone show that gets you in the mood. It’s a wonderful way to end a summer day in the Smoky Mountains!

You can enjoy Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration until August 7th!

If you are planning a visit to the park during another season, here are my posts to help you:

Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour #DisneySMMC

February 20, 2017 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

If you are looking for a new experience at Walt Disney World or you are only visiting for a short time, then you should check out the Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour.

Disclosure: As an attendee of the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms, I received a complimentary tour for myself and a guest (my husband).

Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills

Last May, I was lucky enough to attend the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Following the conference, I was able to set-up a VIP tour for myself and a guest. So, I scheduled my tour to take place during my Disneymoon on a Sunday. I’m happy to finally report on our experiences on the Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP tour.

There are actually two options for the Ultimate Day VIP Tours. There’s the Ultimate Day for Young Families and the Ultimate Day of Thrills. We opted to go with the Day of Thrills as it is geared more towards teens and adults in terms of rides on the tour. Both Ultimate Tours involve you and a group of other guests being led around the parks with a couple tour guides. These guides are very knowledgeable and friendly. Plus, they act as a fastpass for you to get on the rides. The tour lasts around 7 hours and it includes lunch along with special transportation between the parks.

At a price of $299 on top of a park-hopper ticket, the VIP Tour services are definitely not for the budget conscious. However, if you have only a limited time to enjoy the parks and want to make sure to hit up your favorite rides, then this is a great option. It’s also a good option if you are wanting to experience Disney World in a new way. It was fun to be led around by the tour guides who knew so much about the place. Plus, you get to go backstage to between parks. Oh, and you don’t have to stress about planning ahead of time.

We started our tour at Magic Kingdom. Our group rode Splash Mountain first thing. However, I didn’t want to get wet that early in the day. So, we sat that one out (yes, you are free to sit out rides by waiting in a gift shop or by the ride exit). We also sat out Space Mountain. We rode Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

The site linked above outlines a typical tour, but they do say that tours can change based on attraction availability. During our particular tour, Pirates of the Caribbean was down. So, we got to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice to make up for it. I thought that was a nice trade-off.

After the Magic Kingdom, they whisked us away to Epcot where we enjoyed lunch at the Sunshine Seasons. Then, we got to ride Soarin and Test Track! Following our short trip to Epcot, we headed over to Hollywood Studios. There, we sat out the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We also tried Toy Story Midway Mania for the first time and enjoyed Star Tours again.

All in all, it was a fun but busy day. The Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour is perfect for someone wanting to make sure they get to experience all of these fun rides in one day or visit.

Five Star Notebinder and Ultimate Tech Backpack Review

July 28, 2016 By Lindsay 76 Comments

It’s hard to believe, but it’s back to school time and this year, I’m heading back to the classroom with the new Five Star Notebinder!

Disclosure: I was provided with Five Star®products for review and Five Star® is providing the giveaway items. All opinions are my own.

Five Star Notebinder

Being a teacher means that I adore school and office supplies. Needless to say, I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to get my hands on the new Five Star Notebinder and the Ultimate Tech Backpack for the upcoming school year. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint.

The Five Star Flex Hybrid Notebinder is a the multi-tool of organization. Its stylish cover folds over and lays flat like a notebook. This is great for small spaces and transportation purposes. It’s not bulky like binders typically are.

The real magic of the Five Star Notebinder is the fact that it works like a binder. The Notebinder has rings that can be opened to add paper and dividers. It comes with 80 sheets of paper but can hold up to 200 sheets. It also comes with 5 pocket dividers. So, it comes with the necessary items for organizing the Notebinder but you can also customize it to fit your needs.

I love my Notebinder. I like that the rings are sturdy without being metal things that clamp shut. These seem safer to me as they are plastic that snap into one another. I also love that the Notebinder is thin like a notebook but more useful like a binder. It’s a beautiful thing! I can’t wait to put mine to use this school year.

Ultimate Tech Backpack

You may recall that about a year ago exactly, I introduced you to the Expandable Binder and backpack from Five Star. I am still loving my binder and using it to store my coupons. I also received the Expandable Backpack, which I love. This time, I was sent the new Ultimate Tech Backpack! It seems similar to the backpack I already have in terms of appearance and quality. However, this backpack has padded compartments that protects laptops and other technology.

The backpack also features 3 external cord ports for listening to music and charging devices. The main compartment expands up to 4 inches and it will fit laptops up to 17 inches! Wow! What a great laptop backpack! Plus, I’m loving the cobalt blue color.

Five Star continues to make high-quality durable products that you can’t find elsewhere. They continue to impress me with their creative products and bright designs. I think both the Five Star Notebinder and Ultimate Tech Backpack fit the brand perfectly as they are useful and pretty!

8 Tips for Going to Disney World Alone #DisneySMMC

July 12, 2016 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I’d like to share my own personal tips for going to Disney World alone. These tips come from having visited Disney Parks 5 times with another person and once by myself as an attendee of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in 2016.

Disclosure: I received discounted lodging, park tickets, meals and experiences as an attendee of the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

Tips for Going to Disney World Alone

When I told some people that I was going to Disney World by myself, they seemed surprised. While Disney is known for creating family entertainment, many may not consider the fact that attending a Disney Parks by yourself is actually just as awesome! I mean you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to at the Most Magical Place on Earth! How could you be sad?

So, here are my tips for going to Disney World alone:

Do a little research. This is YOUR trip. Research something that interests only you and then plan to do it.
Have a loose schedule. Book your FastPasses in advance and have an idea of what you want to accomplish on YOUR trip to Disney World alone. If you do # 1 and research and then # 2 to plan a little bit, you won’t have to walk around the park wasting your precious time alone.
Don’t be afraid. Going to Disney World alone means that you can ride that ride that no one else in your family wants to go on. It also means that no one is there to make fun of you or what you choose to do. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that most people don’t even seem to notice that you are alone. So, go ahead and do what makes you happy.
Go at your own pace. If you want to ride as many rides as you can, then go for it. If you’d like to take a slower pace and enjoy the scenery, then do that instead. Do what feels right.
Go off schedule. Have a loose schedule, but don’t feel like you have to stick to it… Unless you are in to that sort of thing. If a certain restaurant catches your eye or nose, check it out. If you see something you’ve never noticed or done before, then by all means do it now.
Enjoy the resort. Personally, one of my favorite parts of any trip alone is the time to relax alone. Disney has some of the best resorts to do this in. Jump in and enjoy that big comfy bed all by yourself!
Do something you wouldn’t normally do. This could include getting a spa treatment, trying a new dish, riding a different ride, anything. Just try stuff.
Enjoy! Enjoy being able to do whatever you want while you are at a Disney Park. Do a little or a lot. Just enjoy the trip!

I will admit that I had some reservations about going to Disney World alone. I was afraid that it would be weird or I wouldn’t know what to do. However, I had a blast! I loved being able to just roam around Magic Kingdom without keeping up with someone else. I liked being able to change my plans at a moment’s notice without having to discuss it with someone else. Visiting Disney World alone was freeing and exciting. I hope I can take another solo trip to a Disney Park someday.