Laughing Lindsay

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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?

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:

Summer at Dollywood 2022

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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!

Summer at Dollywood

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.

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.

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

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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

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.

Disney World Epcot Sunshine Seasons Lunch

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.

8 Tips for Going to Disney World Alone #DisneySMMC

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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

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:

  1. Do a little research. This is YOUR trip. Research something that interests only you and then plan to do it.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!
  7. 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.
  8. 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.