Laughing Lindsay

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Dollywood Seasonal Events Guide

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Since Dollywood is opening for the 2024 season tomorrow (March 8th), I thought I would do a nice Dollywood Seasonal Events Guide. This post will highlight the various limited time festivals happening at the park this year. I will also link to separate, more in-depth posts on what to expect during each season of the year!

Dollywood Seasonal Events

Dollywood Seasonal Events

Over the past several years, the park has really invested in their seasonal festivals. In fact, in 2024 there’s only a few days the park is open without a festival going on. Each of these experiences is unique and fun. However, if you are wanting to see a certain festival then it’s important to plan your trip around the dates of the event and the park operating calendar.

I Will Always Love You Music Festival

The I Will Always Love You Music Festival was new for 2023. However, it’s slated to return in 2024, beginning on Saturday March 9th and going until April 14th! This is the only festival I haven’t experienced at Dollywood. It seems to focus mainly on the music and show productions around the park. They also seem to fully embrace the life and style of Dolly Parton. It looks like a neat addition to the park.

Flower & Food Festival

The Flower and Food Festival is the one most people think of when they consider a spring break trip to the park. I enjoyed my one visit to the park for this event and highlighted it in my Spring at Dollywood post. I loved looking at all of the Mosaicultures around the park. Plus, the food was pretty good! This year, the event kicks-off on April 19th and goes until June 9th.

Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration

My post Summer at Dollywood 2022 was my return to blogging. So, you know it’s must be something good to inspire me to start this blog back up. My husband and I really enjoyed trying the different foods here and the delightful drone show! They also have lots of bright decor around the park. The Summer Celebration is happening from June 15 to August 11th this year.

Harvest Festival

I think fall at Dollywood is one of my favorite times to visit! I love seeing all of the autumnal decor in the daytime and then seeing the park light up for the Great Pumpkin LumiNights. DW embraces the beauty of fall in the Smoky Mountains with their Harvest Festival. It’s not about Halloween here, but rather simple and beautiful fall! I’ve been lucky enough to attend this one several times! In 2024, it will be taking place from September 9 to October 28th!

Smoky Mountain Christmas

Last but certainly not least it’s Christmas at Dollywood! I’ve visited this one a few times as well. Pro tip: check the weather forecast if you are visiting this one as it could be really cold or a little warm, you never really know what to expect. This festival features lots of gorgeous decor and amazing lights! Smoky Mountain Christmas is a great time for all! It will be happening from November 1 to January 5, 2025!

2024 Dollywood Seasonal Events

Well, there you have the full list of special limited time events happening at Dollywood in 2024. Each festival is included with the price of admission. Plus, each event highlights the beauty of the location during that time of the year or embraces the public love for Dolly. So, which of these events have you attended or have you been eyeing?

Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival Tips

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Last year, I took a solo trip across the country to visit the great state of California. While there, I had the pleasure of experiencing Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival! It was towards the end of the event last year, so I didn’t write a post. However, this year’s event kicks-off in just a few days. So, I thought I would do a little guide with tips for anyone out there planning a trip!

Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival

Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival

For those who don’t know, Knott’s Berry Farm is a theme park in California. In fact, it’s just minutes away from Disneyland! I visited Knott’s while staying at the Sheraton Park Hotel, however I considered staying at their hotel. The fact it was undergoing refurbishment and didn’t have a working restaurant is the only reason I didn’t stay there on that trip. However, if I go back I’d like to stay there and explore that area a little more.

For those interested, you can read the full boysenberry history on the theme park’s blog. I recommend reading it if you plan on visiting. Suffice it to say: this hybrid berry is what started Knott’s Berry Farm and why the boysenberry festival is an annual tradition to this day!

2024 Festival

Something to keep in mind whenever visiting non-Universal/Disney theme parks is that other parks aren’t always open everyday or have their festivals going on every single day. That being said, the Boysenberry Festival will be taking place everyday between March 8 and April 7 and then weekends only until April 28. So, if you want to experience the festival, there’s a small window to catch it.

Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival Tips

  • Visit early – I visited on the last weekend of the festival last year. I pre-purchased a shirt and pin for the festival online. However, upon entering the park I discovered that they had sold out of all but a few festival shirts. So, I wasn’t able to get said shirt and received a refund. If specialty merch is important to you, I encourage you to visit early in the festival for the best selection.
  • Arrive early – I went on a Friday in May (they extended the festival last year) and was shocked by the crowds! Apparently, it’s a massively popular end of the year field trip for lots of California schools. I rope dropped the park and still encountered long lines for everything. My advice is to rope drop one important ride and maybe go on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Also, pay for the skip the line offering if rides are important. Also, grab food early as lines got long.
  • Check out the entertainment schedule – Granted, I attended a day that was considered part of the extension. However, I was disappointed to learn after planning my trip that Knott’s didn’t have some of the regular festival entertainment on the day I attended as it was seemingly reserved for the weekends. I’ve heard good things about the shows at this park, but I was unable to experience them for myself.
  • Make a plan – This festival is known for fun food offerings. So, I highly recommend examining the menus and watching YouTube videos for food reviews to make your selections before you visit the park.
  • Buy the Festival Tasting Card – I purchased the Boysenberry Festival Bundle last year, which included admission to the park as well as 3 food items from the festival. That made for a fun lunch and seemed like a good value to me. The regular 6 Festival Tasting Card seems like a great value as well.
  • Download the app – The official app has a map along with show times.

Why I would go back

As you might have noticed, I encountered some issues when I visited last year. However, the food was really good. In fact, thanks to this trip I learned that I loved a new berry. So, now I get excited whenever I stumble upon something with boysenberries in it and buy it. Ha! I wouldn’t mind going back on a weekday in early March or April to get the full experience. Have you ever experienced the Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival?

Disneyland Character Dining Guide

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Over the course of two trips last year, I was able to experience almost all of the Disneyland character dining options! So, today I’m going to provide a guide to those meals!

Disneyland Character Dining

Disneyland Character Dining

Avid Walt Disney World goers will be surprised to learn that there are only 4 character meals at Disneyland! Granted, several of those serve a couple of different meals. However, aside from different times and different food, it’s the same characters. Although that does make it easy to do a character dining guide since it’s only the four different restaurants to cover.

Minnie & Friends Breakfast in the Park

First up, it’s the only in-park character meal. The Minnie & Friends Breakfast in the Park is the Plaza Inn Character Breakfast that I reviewed last year at Disneyland park. It’s only available during breakfast hours as the restaurant becomes a quick service restaurant known for its fried chicken for lunch and dinner. The food here is basic breakfast items. However, it’s really a character-palooza! The only guaranteed character is Minnie Mouse. After that, it’s a random assortment of characters! It’s fun as you never know who you’re going to meet! I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys meeting characters. It’s where I met Max in the photo above. You can click to read my full review above.

Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast

DCA doesn’t currently have its own character dining experience. However, if you walk over to the Grand Californian Hotel, you can enjoy Mickey’s Tales of Adventure breakfast or brunch! I loved my Storytellers Cafe brunch in May of 2023. My mom and I had some fun at the character breakfast at Storytellers Cafe in September 2023. If you get to choose, I would go with brunch as the food is much better and more interesting. However, both meals provide a fun time with the characters! Unfortunately, dinner here is just the buffet without the characters. I’ve heard good things about the meal though.

Goofy’s Kitchen

You can enjoy breakfast or dinner with characters at Goofy’s Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel. The fun breakfast started my trip off on the right foot last May. Then, my mom and I enjoyed her birthday dinner here in September! I love the variety of foods found here at both meals. Plus, who doesn’t love waving a napkin in the air as characters dance by? It’s perfect for guests staying at the hotel. It might also be worth a walk over from the parks since it’s the only character meal option for dinner.

Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures

Lastly, there’s the uber fancy and expensive Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure at Napa Rose at the Grand Californian Hotel. This is the only character meal I haven’t yet experienced at Disneyland. However, it’s also the most expensive at $135/adult! Yikes! Granted, it’s a three course meal including a tower of appetizers, a main entree, and desserts. This is marketed as being more of an event than simply a meal. You get to spend more leisurely time with the princesses instead of having them rush around the restaurant to greet guests quickly. It sounds like it would make for a lovely, memorable experience.

Disneyland Character Dining

As I stated above, there’s only four restaurants offering a character meal currently. So, it’s pretty easy to summarize the options. Most of those options are for breakfast though, with only Goofy’s Kitchen available for dinner. Also, the princess breakfast sounds amazing but comes with a not so amazing price tag.

Which one should you pick? I think you should eat at the one that is wherever you are spending the day. If you are at DCA, then head over to Storytellers Cafe. If you are at Disneyland park, hit up Plaza Inn. If you are staying at Disneyland Hotel or want dinner, then Goofy’s Kitchen is the answer. So, which of these have you dined at?

Winter in Colonial Williamsburg Guide

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Last year, my husband and I took a last minute trip to experience winter in Colonial Williamsburg. For the purposes of this post, I am going to define winter as the months of January, February, and March. So, if you are looking to take a trip during the first quarter of the year, then this post is for you!

Winter in Colonial Williamsburg

Winter in Colonial Williamsburg

My husband and I visited Colonial Williamsburg in March last year, which is technically considered late winter here. They seem to begin their spring activities in early April. I didn’t realize when we initially planned our trip that it being March would have much of an impact on the trip. Nonetheless, I am glad we went and I was happy with the results.

Pros

  • Fewer people – We never encountered crowds on this trip. Coming from the theme parks, this was a breath of fresh air! We loved being able to walk around and see everything without feeling rushed by other people. It was also nice to just take a walk down the street as a couple without running into anyone. It made for a peaceful and romantic getaway.
  • Cheaper accommodations – I didn’t realize it when we booked this trip, but we actually got a pretty good deal on the tavern room we stayed in. However, when I looked at busier times of the year, the room looks to be more expensive. I can’t blame them as that’s exactly what other places do now. However, it is a nice perk of going during less crowded times.
  • Special events – They will host some additional events for Presidents Day, Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March). They also have some special homeschool days during the winter (and a few in September). It looks like they might also host some special Valentine’s Day meals at the taverns.

Cons

  • Fewer places open – Since there are fewer people visiting during this time of the year, there are fewer places open. For instance, not all of the taverns were open to eat at during our trip. Additionally, I don’t think all of the houses were options to stay in during our trip. There also seemed to be activities that weren’t available during this trip. We are planning to go back when it’s warmer so we can do the ghost tour, which isn’t offered during the colder months.
  • Weather – This was one of the colder trips I’ve taken. We stayed bundled up most of the time and were glad to enter the buildings to hear the people talk. If you plan to go this time of the year, I recommend taking a warm coat, gloves, scarves, and hats.

We enjoyed our trip to Colonial Williamsburg during the wintertime. Have you ever gone then? What was your experience like?

Winter in Orlando Theme Parks Guide

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I feel like I just started this seasonal theme parks guide series, but it’s my last post. I just did Christmas in the theme parks, so now it’s time for winter in Orlando theme parks! FYI: I will be considering January and February as winter for this post. As in, the period of time after the holidays but before the spring festivities start.

Winter in Orlando

Winter in Orlando

If you aren’t familiar with the theme parks, you probably wonder why I’m doing a separate post from the holidays guide. That’s because there’s a couple of months wherein the holidays are over but the parks are still open and have some special events! Typically, the crowds are smaller during this time of the year. So, the parks host special events to draw people in.

Winter in Disney

The Christmas decorations usually come down in January, around/after the marathon weekend. You enter the half of the year where the Magic Kingdom looks normal without any holiday decor. The majority of the parks are somewhat quiet and feature special After Hours events to entice people to visit. I plan to visit in February and attend an event at Magic Kingdom, so be on the lookout for a review of that experience. However, in previous years it was a great time to ride the rides with minimal waits.

The other big thing that happens in January and February in Walt Disney World is the Festival of the Arts at Epcot! You know from my Epcot Festival of the Arts Guide that I love this event and it’s my favorite seasonal event at Epcot. The weather is cooler, which makes it easier to enjoy the food around World Showcase. Plus, there’s lots of fun entertainment to enjoy. Festival of the Arts ends on February 19th and Flower and Garden begins February 28th this year! So, technically your winter trip could coincide with either or neither of these fun festivals!

Winter at Universal Orlando

Once again, we encounter another one of my favorite theme park events. This time, it’s at Universal Orlando resort and I’m talking about Mardi Gras. I posted a Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando guide previously, but suffice it to say it’s a fun time! The event begins the first weekend in February and goes until the beginning of April. Since it’s so long, I’m covering it in both winter and spring guides. I highly recommend riding on a float if you can. If not, enjoy catching some beads when you watch the parade.

Winter at SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld tries to draw in visitors during this time of the year with several limited time special activities. For instance, there’s an Inside Look event taking place over two weekends that offers a behind the scenes look at how the animals are taken care of at the park. Just for Kids Weekend takes places one weekend in January. There’s also an Elmo’s Birthday celebration lasting one whole week. Additionally, from February to May, they have the Seven Seas Food Festival! We enjoyed a few food items from it one time and think it’s good for any foodies in the area.

Where are you headed?

So, that’s an overview of what you can expect to experience in the Orlando theme parks in January and February. Are you visiting any of the parks this winter?

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