Laughing Lindsay

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Things to Do in Hershey, Pennsylvania

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I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are so many things to do in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I always assumed it was just the theme park. However, when I planned my trip back in 2021, I was happy to see there were so many options. Here are some of the things you can experience when you visit!

Things to Do in Hershey

Things To Do In Hershey

While I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number and variety of things to do in Hershey when I visited, I have to admit that I didn’t get to experience everything I would have liked. Unfortunately, things were still re-opening from the pandemic (understandable). So, while I wasn’t able to experience all of these things personally, I will give my opinion on the things I did.

Visit Hersheypark

I think I have to begin this post with the most obvious thing to do in Hershey, PA: visit Hersheypark! This is the wonderful theme park that is themed to the chocolate company! It’s one of the few parks I know of that includes admission to a zoo as well as a waterpark during the warmer months! There’s a lot to do here and you can easily spend a few days enjoying this place!

Hershey’s Chocolate World

Located right beside Hersheypark is Hershey’s Chocolate World! This is a must visit for any chocolate lover! In fact, I’ve already written an entire post detailing all of the fun you can have at Chocolate World! Again, I highly recommend spending a half to a full day here, depending on your interests. Such a fun and unique place!

Visit the Musuem

If you are a history buff, then you must visit the Hershey Story! It’s a museum filled with artifacts telling the story of Milton Hershey! They also offer some fun add-on experiences/classes here from time to time. I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to do one on my trip. However, I did enjoy visiting the museum as admission was included with our stays at the Hershey Lodge and The Hotel Hershey. You can click those links to read my reviews of those resorts.

Visit the Gardens

Staying at one of the official resorts also offers free admission to the beautiful Hershey Gardens! It’s hard to believe that the gardens were started when Milton requested a rose garden. Now, all of these years later it’s grown into this big, beautiful place! My mom and I enjoyed walking around here and just looking at everything! We especially liked the butterflies!

Get a Spa Treatment

This is one of those things that I wish I had done on my trip. I’ve actually never gotten a spa treatment. However, the idea of a chocolate spa treatment sounds appealing to me. Maybe someday!

See a Show

I didn’t realize it until we arrived, but there’s a theater as well as a few entertainment venues in Hershey, PA. You can catch a Broadway caliber show, a famous music act, or even catch a Hershey Bears hockey game! I recommend looking at the schedule of entertainment whenever you plan your trip!

So Much to See and Do

It would be easy to spend several days here and not do everything! There are just so many things to do in Hershey! So, have you done any of these things?

Spring at Dollywood

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Now that it’s mid-March you may be wondering what you can expect during spring at Dollywood. I visited last year around this time, so I thought I would share some highlights of this season at the theme park!

Spring at Dollywood

Spring at Dollywood

In recent years, Dollywood has hosted different festivals depending on when you visit. There’s the classic Dollywood: Flower & Food Festival as well as the newer I Will Always Love You Music Festival. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the park for both festivals and will highlight some of the things at each of them in this post.

I Will Always Love You Music Festival

If you are planning to visit the theme park between mid-March and mid-April, then you can enjoy the newest event at DW: I Will Always Love You Music Festival. This event celebrates Dolly’s hit song! The park will be highlighting song writing as well as Dolly’s style of music in general during this event. In 2025, I wrote a I Will Always Love You Music Festival Guide detailing what fun there is to be had during this celbration.

Since this event celebrates the anniversary of the song being written, it makes sense that there’s so many performances to catch! Plus, the regular entertainment around the park will incorporate some of Dolly’s favorite songs into their performances! Check out the park’s schedule when you are visiting to see which special performances you can catch during this event.

There’s also some special event decorations in the Showstreet area as well as Market Square! You can also find and purchase some special event merchandise! Plus, there’s some special event foods throughout the park to sample! Overall, this is a great addition to the park.

Flower and Food Festival

If you are heading to Dollywood from mid-April to early June, then you can experience the beautiful Flower and Food Festival! This is a great event as there are so many great things to see and eat! I loved walking around and taking pictures of the wonderful Mosaicultures. Plus, don’t miss the wonderful umbrella sky! You can view both of these things as well as some food in my Instagram post below!

When my mom and I visited last year, it was a rainy day. However, it was still nice to walk around the park and take pictures. We really enjoyed getting a sampler pass and trying all different kinds of foods from the festival. You can see even more food in this other Instagram post:

Spring Fun

As you can see, there’s lots to see, hear, and eat when you take a spring at Dollywood visit! So, do you have plans to visit during either of these festivals? If not, I highly recommend visiting during summer at Dollywood! Additionally, Christmas in the park is awesome as is their Great Pumpkin Lumi-Nights!

Spring in Orlando Theme Parks

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I know that lots of people plan trips to align with school breaks. So, I thought I would do a post highlighting the various festivals happening during spring in Orlando theme parks!

Spring in Orlando

Spring in Orlando

March and April tend to be very popular times to visit the theme parks since lots of kids have school breaks. So, many of the theme parks have special events to give the crowds more to experience as well as to draw more people in. Here’s a look at those special events happening in spring in Orlando in 2023!

Flower and Garden Festival

Walt Disney World hosts the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival every spring and it’s one of the most beautiful times to visit this park. In years past, I have loved walking around the park and viewing the topiaries. Disney brings out some of the same topiaries every year, however they also refresh a few and add a couple new ones every year. So, it never gets stale. This year, they added a Princess Tiana and Encanto topiaries! Plus, there’s loads of beautiful landscaping around every corner!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the food at this festival. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much experience in eating food at this festival as I do with Epcot Festival of the Arts. However, in 2019 I really enjoyed the grilled street corn and would love to eat it again! This festival does a great job of highlighting fresh, in season fruits and vegetables.

Not to be out done in the entertainment category, Disney also hosts the Garden Rocks Concert Series during this festival. Some of the performers I’d be quite excited to see. Others, I’m not as familiar with, but I’d be happy to give them a listen. Note: the last concert is on July 3rd.

If you are heading to Walt Disney World between now and July 5th, I highly recommend spending at least half a day at Epcot just for this festival.

Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando

I already wrote an entire Universal Orlando Mardi Gras 2023 Guide. So, you know that I’m a huge fan of this fun spring event. I also wrote a review of the Mardi Gras Float Ride and Dine add-on last month. If you are planning to visit Universal Orlando Resort between now and April 16th, then you too can experience Mardi Gras at UO! Unfortunately, the last concert has already taken place here. However, there’s still the awesome parade and great foods to try!

Spring at SeaWorld Orlando

Lastly, SeaWorld Orlando is hosting the Seven Seas Food Festival on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until May 7th! If you are visiting this weekend or next, then you may also catch their St. Patrick’s Day Celebration as well! The park will also be celebrating Cinco de Mayo during the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. Both of those events will add some food and entertainment to the park.

Last year, I tried some tasty food at the Seven Seas Food Festival and really liked it. Unfortunately, we missed the Seven Seas Concert Series as we were tired from a full day in the park. The concert series is a mix of well-known artists, smaller bands, and tribute bands! I recommend looking up the schedule if you are heading there before May 7th.

Orlando Theme Parks in Spring

As you can see, all three theme parks celebrate spring with a special festival. So, which is your favorite spring in Orlando festival?

You can check out my other seasonal theme park guides here:

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras 2023 Guide

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Universal Orlando Mardi Gras is one of my favorite events at the resort. I love the parade and chance to try different foods. So, here’s my review/guide to the 2023 event.

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras

You can experience Universal Orlando Mardi Gras in 2023 from February 4th to April 16th. It’s the perfect excuse to visit the resort during spring break or to head down during the cooler months. This year’s theme is International Flavors of Carnaval, which alludes to the fact that there are foods from all around the world to try. The parade theme is Mythical Creatures.

International Foods

New this year, UO announced that it was going to have an International Flavors of Carnaval spin the event. This means that they have food booths around the resort featuring food from several different countries! New this year is the addition of a few food booths in Islands of Adventure and City Walk. I think it’s great that the party is expanding out of Universal Studios Florida so that there is more to enjoy.

Unfortunately, with a jam-packed schedule including the Float Ride and Dine experience, I didn’t get to try many of the delicious foods. I was able to try the Fried Green Tomatoes Po’ Boy and Beignets though. The Po’ Boy was really good. The beignets were a little small, but also tasty. I would totally eat both of these things again. Last year, we tried to King Cake and enjoyed it. My mom is still kind of sad that we didn’t make time to get another one this year. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Parade

As usual, the parade is amazing! I viewed the parade twice in 2023 and enjoyed it both times. I loved seeing the mythical creatures this year. From unicorns/pegasus to dragons and phoenix, the parade is a sight to behold. There are some old school, traditional UO floats too, like the gator I got to ride. The combination of the old and new makes for a memorable parade.

People start lining up to view the parade pretty early. I’d recommend lining up 45 minutes early if you want a good spot up front. The parade times can vary, so be sure to check the app for the time. Also, it helps to make eye contact with the bead throwers if you want to catch lots of beads!

Concerts

One of the major perks of visiting Universal Orlando Mardi Gras is the chance to attend a concert! These concerts are included with the price of admission! So, it’s a neat way to experience a concert without paying concert ticket prices or dealing with trying to get tickets. On the Saturday we attended we got to see Patti LaBelle in concert! My mom was excited to see someone she grew up listening to.

It appears that most of the concerts this year are on Saturdays in February. However, there is a random Friday and Sunday as well as two concerts the first weekend in March. So, if you are visiting on a weekend before March 6th, check out the concert schedule to see if you can catch someone interesting performing! Also, make note that the nights with concerts have different parade times.

Tribute Store

Universal is in the habit of making a new tribute store for every season. This year’s Mardi Gras Tribute Store is pretty cool! Each room has a different vibe and I love it! It’s so much fun to just walk around and look at everything. Plus, you can grab some cool merchandise or food! My mom purchased a zip-up hoodie this year. I may have also purchased a t-shirt. You can also buy some beads here if you didn’t catch enough free ones in the parade.

Daytime Entertainment

A neat daytime treat is that you can see the parade performers in the park! I saw the jazz band out performing last year. This year, I saw the gator people on stilts during the day. So, keep an eye out if you want a unique photo opportunity.

Mardi Gras Fun

As you can see, there’s lots to see, do, and eat if you visit Universal Orlando during Mardi Gras. So, have you ever attended? What were your favorite parts?

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

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Earlier this month, I visited Tampa, Florida for the first time with my mom. While there, we were lucky enough to experience Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay! Today, I’m going to give you my review of this fun event!

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a seasonal event held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from mid-January to early March. It includes special food items and entertainment! We visited the park on Sunday and Monday. I can honestly say that the park felt like it was missing something on Monday without the event going on. So, I definitely think it’s worth it to visit when a seasonal event is going on.

Event Special Food

One of the biggest pros of attending during a special event at the park is the additional food options. Personally, I found the park to be lacking in the food department. The park mainly offers chicken tenders, hamburgers, and pizza at its restaurants. So, the addition of the event food booths really gave the park some much needed food diversity.

We purchased an event food and beverage sampler for our visit. It was worth it as the food was a little pricey at the booths when purchased individually. Plus, the sample sizes were pretty small. So, it was easy to eat a whole card’s worth between the two of us. I also appreciated that the booths opened around noon, instead of later in the evening unlike SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas event did last year.

The food options were mostly good. I liked the sausage Po’ Boy, even though it had a bit of a kick. It was too spicy for my mom. She preferred the jambalaya. We both liked the muffuletta, but thought the sandwich was really small. We tried most of the desserts with varying degrees of success. The beignets were undercooked and doughy. The cupcakes sounded exciting, but the flavors didn’t exactly match the given descriptions. They tasted good, but didn’t match expectations.

Mardi Gras Entertainment

We were able to experience all three entertainment add-ons for Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. First, we listened to the Sweet Beignet Brass Band while enjoying our food. It was nice to listen to as we relaxed in the middle of a busy theme park day. Then, later in the day we caught the parade. Having experienced Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando though, this parade was just ok. It began with a guy on a decorated bike and two ladies carrying a sign. Then, some people on stilts came through as well as the band. So, it was fun, but we were used to floats.

Immediately following the parade, three ladies got up on the “Bead Balcony” and tossed beads out to the crowd. This seemed slightly dangerous as everyone is going for a few beads. My mom and I managed to grab a few beads and then quit.

Overall Impressions

I think that Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay really adds something to the park. It gives much needed additional food options as well as entertainment. However, you may be a touch disappointed if you go in expecting the caliber of another theme park’s event. Keep your expectations in check and be careful catching beads and you’ll have a great time.