Laughing Lindsay

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What To Do in Fall in Gatlinburg, TN

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If you ever considered visiting the Great Smoky Mountains during the fall, here’s a great list of fun things to do in fall in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN! The Smokies are a great place to visit, particularly during the fall months as you can witness the seasons change in the mountains and lots of places fully embrace nature’s beauty with their own fall festivities!

Fall in Gatlinburg

Fall in Gatlinburg

Most of my list of favorite things to do in the Great Smoky Mountains during this time of the year are in Gatlinburg. However, I am including a bonus at the end, which is worth the drive to Pigeon Forge. Without further ado, here’s my list of things to experience when it’s fall in Gatlinburg, TN!

  1. Anakeesta – Like most of the places on this list, Anakeesta is a great place to visit no matter what time of the year it is. It has gorgeous views of the mountains all over the park. Plus, they have seasonal decor that changes on top of their neat mountain themes.
  1. Take a walk around downtown Gatlinburg – The town of Gatlinburg has different seasonal statues it puts out. During the fall months, you can see adorable pumpkin people all over town! It’s fun to just walk around and view them all. There are even several themed to the businesses they are located near.
  2. Ober Gatlinburg – Ober Gatlinburg has lots of different activities you can do, depending on the time of year that you visit. I highly recommend riding the chair lift up and taking in the view of Mt. Harrison! I also recommend experiencing OktOBERfest here with the live music and tasty German food!
  1. Gatlinburg SkyLift Park – Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to visit this place as of yet. However, I’m hoping to visit this fall to take in their view of the mountains, cross the SkyBridge, and walk the SkyTrail.
  2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the beautiful National Park here. It obviously has great views for experiencing fall in Gatlinburg and abundant hiking trails.

Bonus: Visit Dollywood in Pigeon Forge to experience their Harvest Festival and Great Pumpkin LumiNights! Fall at Dollywood is one of my favorite times to visit. In fact, I have a whole other post on it you can read by clicking that link.

So, what do you think of my list of things to do in fall in Gatlinburg? Did I miss anything?

If you are planning a trip to the area during a different time of the year, here are my other posts to help you plan:

Easy Orange Dreamsicle Cake Recipe

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My mom’s birthday is this week! So, we had her over for some cake and presents this past weekend. When I offered to make her a cake, she requested this orange dreamsicle cake and provided this recipe from a lady who used to make it. I thought I would share it in case anyone else it looking for a super easy orange creamsicle cake recipe.

Easy Orange Dreamsicle Cake Recipe

Cake Mix with Add-ins

This orange dreamsicle cake is so easy to make because it actually uses a cake mix for its base. So, that cuts down on the number of ingredients you need to buy and measure. You also add in a few other ingredients to add even more flavor and moisture to the cake itself. Note: I had to search around for a box of orange cake mix. I eventually found a box at my local Food Lion. If you can’t find a box, you can substitute a box of yellow cake mix in for the orange. It would have less of an intense orange flavor, but I’m sure it would still be good.

I love that this orange dreamsicle cake recipe uses a homemade cream cheese and Cool-whip frosting as I personally don’t like frosting from a can. This would actually make a great summer dessert, but since mom requested it for her mid-September birthday I’m sharing it now. Also, I didn’t find this exact recipe on other sites.

Tips

As I stated above, my mom received the original recipe from an older lady who used to make it fairly frequently. Her original recipe left out some information I think is important. For starters, you definitely need to use two nine-inch pans for this cake. Also, I highly recommend placing the cake pans on a cookie sheet in the oven. My cakes actually bubbled up and over the rim of the pans and a little bit of cake fell down in the oven. So, learn from my mistake! Additionally, I added extra baking time since the cake wasn’t done at 24 minutes. You may want to watch yours closely as you approach 25 minutes.

Orange Dreamsicle Cake

Easy Orange Dreamsicle Cake

An easy orange dreamsicle cake recipe that uses a cake mix.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 Box Orange Supreme Cake Mix
  • 1 3 Ounce Box Orange Jell-O
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1.25 Cups Water
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Teaspoon Orange Flavoring

Frosting Ingredients

  • 2 8 Ounce Packages Cream Cheese, softened
  • 2 Cups Confectioners Sugar, sifted
  • 16 Ounces Cool Whip
  • 1.5 – 2 Teaspoon Vanilla Flavoring

Instructions
 

Cake Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Flour and grease two 9'' cake pans.
  • Combine cake mix, Jell-o mix, oil, water, eggs, and orange flavoring. Mix until well blended.
  • Pour batter into the two greased pans. Place the filled pans onto a cookie sheet before putting it into the oven. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
  • Remove from oven when a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Frosting Instructions

  • Whip up the cream cheese with a mixer. Add sugar a little at a time until combined with a smooth consistency.
  • Add Cool Whip and mix until combined.
  • Add vanilla flavoring and mix until smooth.
  • Once cake is cooled, assemble and frost a two layer cake.
Keyword Cake Mix, Cupcakes, Easy, Summer

If you are looking for an orange dreamsicle cake recipe, then I hope you will give this one a try. Also, in case you were wondering, I decorated the edges with a vanilla buttercream frosting dyed orange.

The Hotel Hershey Review

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One of the places I realized that I wanted to visit during lockdown was Hersheypark. So, within weeks of being vaccinated last year, my mom and I drove up to visit for the first time. One of the two places we stayed at was The Hotel Hershey. I was excited to learn its historical significance and even more excited to stay there once I saw its magnificence in person.

The Hotel Hershey

The History

I did some reading on the history of Hershey, Pennsylvania prior to my trip to fully appreciate the town. I was happy to learn that Milton Hershey had The Hotel Hershey built in 1933, during the Great Depression in order to create more jobs and business in the town he built. So, The Hotel Hershey is a historical hotel. However, that doesn’t mean it looks old or dirty. In fact, it’s a gorgeous hotel with lots of beautiful touches around the resort.

The Hotel Hershey

Staying at The Hotel Hershey places you near lots of interesting places to visit. It’s located near Hersheypark/Chocolate World as well as Hershey Gardens and the Hershey Story Museum. Plus, there’s a free shuttle to take you from the resort to the park! Unfortunately, the shuttle wasn’t running when we went but it sounds really convenient. Additionally, when you stay at a Hershey resort, you are given free admission tickets to the gardens and museum!

The Hotel Hershey is one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed. The entire resort is wonderfully appointed with elegant touches throughout. It doesn’t hurt that it overlooks the gorgeous gardens, so it’s peaceful inside and out. You can’t help but feel relaxed and luxurious during a stay here. You can see for yourself in my Instagram post below.

The Rooms

My stay at The Hotel Hershey was in a two queen guest room. I was pleased with the size of the room, given the age of the resort. It wasn’t the biggest room or bathroom, but it was certainly sufficient for our stay. If there’s one thing we didn’t like about staying here, it’s the lack of electrical plug ins. My mom has a CPAP machine she uses for sleep apnea and that automatically takes one plug. Then, we have our cell phones. Due to the age of the resort, there weren’t many plug ins around the room. However, we made due and it wouldn’t deter me from staying here again.

If you stay at The Hotel Hershey or are simply looking for a tasty breakfast while visiting Hershey, I can highly recommend going to The Circular restaurant. They have an amazing breakfast buffet where you can even get Hershey Kiss waffles! Plus, you might even get a great view of the Hershey Gardens during breakfast!

If you are looking for a well-appointed and relaxing place to stay in Hershey, Pennsylvania, then I highly recommend booking a stay at The Hotel Hershey!

How to Save Money at Theme Parks

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As you might have noticed, I really enjoy visiting theme parks. However, they can be expensive. So, I’m sharing some of my tips and tricks to save money at theme parks.

save money at theme parks

How to Save on Theme Park Tickets

The first thing you probably want to know how to save money on is the theme park tickets themselves. Typically, the more days you purchase, the cheaper it is per day. However, lots of times it’s cheaper to just buy a seasonal or annual pass to the theme park. You need to do some math to calculate how many visits it will take you to break even or save money with the pass before purchasing one. However, an annual pass can also help save even more money at theme parks, as you will see.

Additionally, we are now heading into the time of the year (late fall/early winter) where you can sometimes purchase a season pass for the next year but get the rest of this year included. So, be on the lookout for those types of deals now if you are thinking about visiting a specific theme park a few times over the next year or so. Dollywood has done this in the past and I believe Cedar Fair parks may do it as well.

Save on Hotel Rooms

Another important and expensive aspect of a theme park trip can be the hotel stay. I recommend booking a room as soon as you know you are planning a trip and then look out for deals to come out. For instance, Universal Orlando will put out Annual Passholder hotel rates just a few months in advance. So, you can change your reservation to take advantage of the cheaper deal if one comes up or if they don’t, you at least have a room booked. If you aren’t a passholder at a theme park, look out for package deals with tickets included with a hotel stay.

Save on Theme Park Food

Again, I’m going to point out that lots of theme park seasonal passes give you discounts here. The percentage of discount often depends on your level of pass. For example, Universal Orlando gives food/merchandise discounts at just their hotels to the two lowest tiers of passes while higher tiers receive discounts in the parks as well. SeaWorld Orlando and Dollywood give their higher tiers free parking and bigger food/merchandise discounts.

If you don’t have a pass, you can save money at theme parks by being frugal with the food. For instance, you can sometimes split bigger meals with people from quick-service style restaurants. You can sometimes bring in outside food to the parks for a picnic in the park. Alternatively, you can leave a park and eat from a cooler in your car or even make a meal in your room. You can also plan to eat just one big meal in the park to cut costs. I know that some parks even offer an all-day dining package that you can purchase to enjoy a meal in the park every 90 minutes!

Save Money on Theme Park Merchandise

Some of the tips for saving money on merch is the same as the food. As you guessed it, lots of annual/season passholders get discounts on merch. So, be sure to use those discounts if you have them. Beyond that, be on the lookout for signage indicating sales and deals inside the park itself. For example, I have seen Dollywood markdown out of season shirts inside the park. If you don’t mind holding onto something until next year, that can save a good bit of money. Additionally, you can sometimes find deals on merch online. Amazon and ShopDisney are good sites for finding discounts on Disney merch. You can definitely find little trinkets at dollar stores and save them for trips with kids instead of paying big prices in the park too.

Theme parks tend to be expensive, but with some time and effort, you can save money at theme parks. If you don’t mind planning in advance or making your own food, then a theme park vacation can be affordable. Do you have any tips I didn’t mention?

The Best Breakfast in Pigeon Forge, TN

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There are lots of places to grab a bite to eat in the morning in the Great Smoky Mountains. However, here are my five favorite places for the best breakfast in Pigeon Forge, TN!

Best breakfast in Pigeon Forge

5 Favorite Breakfasts in Pigeon Forge, TN

You can’t drive too far in Pigeon Forge without running into a pancake place. So, there are loads of options for your morning meal here. However, these are my personal favorites that I frequent when I’m in the area. So, in no particular order, here’s my list for the best breakfast in Pigeon Forge.

  1. Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and Farmhouse Grill – My mom thinks they serve the best breakfast in Pigeon Forge and requests we go here every trip. I also really enjoy eating here. I love their Banana Foster Waffle and get it every time I eat here. We both love that their meals come with apple fritters, apple butter, and apple juleps! There are technically two restaurant buildings here, but they seem to offer very similar menus. We typically go to the second building as it tends to have shorter waits. After a meal here, we like to walk off some of the calories by perusing the barn. Mom always purchases some apple butter to bring home and I sometimes grab some of their baking mixes.
  1. The Old Mill Restaurant – I just enjoy the general atmosphere of The Old Mill and enjoy walking around the shops if the restaurant is busy. I also like that the meals come with orange juice and banana nut muffins! In fact, I think the muffins were the star of the meal when I last ate here! I really enjoyed my Cinnamon Raisin Pecan French Toast and my mom liked her biscuits.
  1. Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe – This place is an experience! Where else can you enjoy chicken and waffles while surrounded by singing chickens?! I went here with my mom and she still brings up the singing chickens from time to time. It was really neat to watch the animatronics come to life with the music. It certainly made the wait for food seem shorter. My mom enjoyed eating here so much that she even bought one of their t-shirts!
  1. Five Oaks Farm Kitchen – I love the thick “ring-baked” griddle cakes here. I also think the huge cinnamon rolls are amazing! Both of these items are in the photo collage above. Fun fact, the people who own this restaurant also own one of my favorite Gatlinburg breakfast places: Crockett’s Breakfast Camp! They have a very similar menu. So, if you want huge pancakes or cinnamon rolls, you have two good options depending on where you are.
  1. Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin – My last one on this list is another restaurant that has multiple locations! I like the variety of pancakes Flapjack’s offers. Plus, they actually put some flavors in the pancake batter rather than just putting a bunch of stuff on top. I really enjoyed their Reese’s peanut butter cup pancakes as it was like eating candy for breakfast!

As you can probably tell, it would be nearly impossible to crown one restaurant with the title of best breakfast in Pigeon Forge. However, I think a top 5 is a good compromise. So, have you ever eaten at any of these locations? Did I miss your go-to breakfast in the Smokies?