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Pirates Voyage Pigeon Forge Dinner Show Review

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I recently posted a review of the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud Show and today I’m sharing my thoughts on the Pirates Voyage dinner show in Pigeon Forge as well.

Pirates Voyage Pigeon Forge Dinner Show Review

Pirates Voyage Show

Let’s jump right in by stating that the best part of the Pirates Voyage dinner show is the show! Having been to all three dinner shows in Pigeon Forge, I can honestly say this one offers the best show! In fact, it’s the only one I’ve gone to twice now! I went once in May 2022 with my mom and then again with my husband in June 2022. I really enjoyed the show each time as I had a different seat and view with each show. In May, I was on the Sapphire side and in June I was on the Crimson side. It was neat to cheer for a different team each time.

The Pirates Voyage show is very entertaining. The actors are acrobatics in every sense of the word. I can’t even begin to imagine how one learns to do the show. Plus, there’s fire and some animals incorporated into the show. Spoiler alert: my mom loved the addition of the sea lion and the birds were also neat to see.

The Food

While the Pirates Voyage has the best show, the food is just ok, if I’m being completely honest. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best dinner show food either. If you recall, I prefer the food at the Hatfield and McCoy show. However, both shows serve the same creamy vegetable soup, which you can buy a mix of in the shows’ stores. Beyond that, it’s a completely different meal. It’s actually more similar to the meal served at Dolly Parton’s Stampede with its chicken, biscuit, corn on the cob, potato, ham, and fruit turnover. The difference between the two is that Pirates Voyage comes with some fried chicken and a peach turner. Stampede serves a whole small rotisserie chicken and apple turnover.

Additionally, similar to Dolly Parton’s Stampede and different from Hatfield and McCoys is that the meal is served during the show. So, it can be difficult to watch the show and eat your food at the same time. Plus, it’s not unlimited, like Hatfield and McCoy is. However, they will bring you more to drink if you finish yours. I really enjoyed the lemonade here, as did my husband. The meal certainly wasn’t bad by any means, just know that you are going to Pirates Voyage for the show mainly.

If you are visiting Pigeon Forge and want to experience a dinner show like no other, I can recommend Pirates Voyage with its amazing show and good food. Admittedly, it is pricey so be on the lookout for discounts and coupons. However, I can guarantee it will be a dinner that you won’t quickly forget.

Margaritaville Island Inn Pigeon Forge Review

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Back in December 2019, my mom and I stayed a few nights at the Margaritaville Island Inn in Pigeon Forge, TN. While it’s been a few years since we stayed there, I thought I would give an overview and review of this resort.

Margaritaville Island Inn Pigeon Forge TN

Margaritaville Island Inn Overview

My mom grew up going to the beach in New Jersey, so I know how much she likes a beachy themed resort. That’s one of the primary reasons I suggested the Margaritaville Island Inn for our stay in Pigeon Forge. I also liked that it was located at The Island, which put us walking distance to some great restaurants and entertainment. Pro tip: go see the water fountain show at The Island. We also liked the affordable rates of this place. Plus, our stay here came with a complimentary breakfast! This was our first time staying at a Margaritaville property, but it wasn’t our last. So, you know it left a good impression on us.

Room Review

We booked a double queen standard room at the Margaritaville Island Inn and were very pleased with the accommodations. Everything looked new and had a very relaxing beach vibe. We thought the long desk was neat in case you needed to get some work done. The beds were very comfortable and we slept great. I also found the individual reading lights to be a nice touch since I tend to stay up later than my mom. We also appreciated the in-room microwave and mini-refrigerator for storing leftovers.

Overall, we were very pleased with our stay at the Margaritaville Island Inn in Pigeon Forge, TN. I can recommend a stay here (or other Margaritaville properties) without hesitation. In fact, I have also stayed at the one in Gatlinburg. You can read my Margaritaville Gatlinburg Resort Review here. I also stayed at the Camp Margaritaville RV and Lodge in Pigeon Forge in 2022. You can read that review by clicking that link. So, have you stayed at this Margaritaville resort or at another one? What was your experience like?

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites Review

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Back in February, when I Dined with Orcas, I stayed at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites. So, I thought I would give you a brief review of my stay there.

Dockside Inn and Suites

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort is technically two hotels – Dockside Inn and Suites and Surfside Inn and Suites. Each is considered a “Value Resort” thanks to their typically low rates. They are across the road from one another, but each has their own unique theming and amenities. However, they do share a bus to/from the parks. The bus goes to Surfside first and then Dockside. Additionally, Surfside is the smaller of the two resorts. I’m hoping to stay at Surfside later this year for the first time, so this review is going to focus on Dockside.

Dockside Inn and Suites Room

My mom and I stayed at Dockside Inn and Suites for four nights. Upon entering the resort, we both remarked how nice it looked, especially for the price paid. Dockside Inn and Suites has a very relaxing sitting on the beach vibe. It was also comforting to know that this is a newer resort, so we didn’t have to worry about it being outdated or rundown. The room itself was simple yet stylish, perfect for us as we aren’t fancy people. I will say that I was surprised by how nice the room was considering how affordable the rate was. I will note that we booked a standard view room and was given a pool view, which is considered an upgrade. Personally, I’m not a fan of pool views since they tend to be loud. However, we were so busy this trip that it didn’t really matter.

Pros/Cons of Staying Here

As I mentioned above, this is a bigger value resort. However, I was surprised to find school groups staying at our resort since I hadn’t realized that school field trips had resumed post-pandemic. My biggest complaint about staying at Dockside Inn and Suites has to be the noise. I don’t know if it’s due to the school groups or not, but we heard noise through the connecting door to the room beside us every night of our stay. We also heard some people running up and down the hallway and experienced long waits for the elevator. So, just something to keep in mind if you decide to stay here is the possibility of groups staying here and the accompanying noise.

Another aspect I was impressed with was the affordable food options found at the resort. The food court was often crowded at the beginning of the day and towards the end of the day with those groups. However, we enjoyed all of the food we had here and were pleased with the affordable prices. I highly recommend grabbing some chicken and waffles for breakfast if you stay here!

2023 Update: Dockside Inn Two Bedroom Suites

I wanted to update this post to include a little review on the two bedroom suites. I went back for a second stay in December 2022 with my mom again. This time, we booked the suite for one night. The price was great for an on-site hotel. There was plenty of space for the two of us. However, we encountered the exact same problems I mention in my Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites Review. There was lots of noise to be heard. Once again, we encountered groups staying here. This time, it was for a sports competition. Additionally, the main bedroom is colder than the rest of the suite with the air directly over the bed. However, it was ok for a one night (literally 8 or 9 hours) stay. You can see pictures of our suite in the Instagram post below. Additionally, you can read my more in-depth Endless Summer Suites review here.

Is it worth it?

Dockside Inn and Suites is a great deal for staying on-site at Universal Orlando. It includes park transportation along with early theme park entry. I also enjoyed the easy going vibes. I just wish it didn’t garner tour/sports groups, but that’s to be expected with a reasonably priced resort hotel.

Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud Show Review

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If you’ve gone anywhere near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, then you’ve probably seen the advertisements for the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud. I saw them for over a decade before I finally attended the show in May 2022 because I didn’t understand the appeal from the ads. However, I’m here to review it and tell you why it’s now one of my favorite meal experiences in the area.

Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show

Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show

Being from far southwestern Virginia, I loathe the stereotype of Appalachian people being dumb folks. So, I will admit that some of the advertising (in addition to the price) kept me from trying the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show for several years. I honestly expected to witness some depiction of dumb rednecks feuding and didn’t have any desire to see that. However, when I watched the show I was happy to discover that it’s not that. While it doesn’t follow the true history of the family feuds, it also doesn’t necessarily mock fun of the people either. In fact, I really enjoyed the addition of the music and clogging in the show as they are true to the area.

I heard that they recently added a new part to the show. They are calling the new high-flying contraption a Billy-copter. I’m sure the new addition brings even more fun to the show and I’ll have to head back to check it out.

The Food

This is my first dinner show review on the blog, but it was my third dinner show experience in Pigeon Forge. So, I can safely say that the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud has the best food of all of the dinner shows in the area! Everything here tastes amazing! You get fried chicken, bbq pork, the creamy soup that is found at all of the dinner shows in the area, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pudding for dessert!

Plus, it’s all you care to enjoy. So, if you want more of something, your waiter will bring it to you! That great hospitality seems fitting for this show set in the Appalachian mountains. My mom and I asked for more dinner rolls and pulled pork as they make great little sandwiches! Another thing that sets the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show apart from the other two shows is that you eat your meal before the show. We preferred being able to enjoy the meal prior to the show as we didn’t feel distracted. I recommend arriving early to give yourselves time to eat and ask for seconds before the show begins.

While I realize that a dinner show is expensive and not something many people can afford to do often, the food is really good here. Plus, you are paying for the experience of a show and a meal. So, to me it’s worth it. Plus, you can usually find a coupon if you look around online or find one of those coupon books around town.

Dine with Orcas SeaWorld Orlando Review

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One of the post ideas that inspired me to re-start the blog is a review of the Dine with Orcas at SeaWorld Orlando. I did this dining experience with my mom back in February of this year (2022) and had a difficult time finding current reviews on it. So, I’m doing a blog post on it in case someone else is searching for a more recent review of it.

Dine with Orcas

The Food

As I stated above, this is a review of my Dine with Orcas experience at SeaWorld Orlando from February 2022. One of the biggest changes to this experience in recent years is the food. Prior to the pandemic, it was a buffet. However, as of this writing it is a seated meal with a menu of entrée selections. Everyone begins with a basic yet fresh house salad along with your beverage. Then, you are served your entrée along with a dinner roll, yellow rice, roasted vegetables, and herb roasted potatoes.

I chose the Pan Seared Salmon (my food is on the left in the collage above) and was pleased with it. My mom enjoyed her Herb Roasted Beef and stated that it was good a few times. My salmon had a good taste and wasn’t dry; as is often the case with fish served to the masses. The corn salsa gave it even more flavor then eating plain fish. The roll was really good as were the vegetables. The potatoes were probably the least exciting part of the meal, but they weren’t bad.

Finally, a plate of desserts to be shared (seen in the collage on the right) was brought to the table. Seeing as it how was just two of us, that was plenty of food. However, we did have to discuss who got to eat which dessert since there wasn’t two of each type. I would have preferred less variety so that both of us could have tried everything. Either way, you can’t leave this meal hungry!

Dine with Orcas Show

Moving on to the actual Dine with Orcas portion of the review, the show was somewhat short and sweet. I recommend arriving a little early as they appeared to seat people as they arrived. We were able to get a front row seat since we arrived early and we got to begin eating our meal before the show started. Some people arrived late, got a seat towards the back (probably still not a bad seat though), and appeared grumpy that they were served their meal towards the end of the show.

The show was probably about 20-ish minutes, so not too long for little ones to sit through. The show itself was filled with lots of fun facts about orca whales as well as neat tricks. It was simply amazing to be that close to such a huge yet graceful creature. The trainers even stayed after the show to talk with diners and answer any questions they had.

Overall, the Dine with Orcas experience at SeaWorld Orlando is something my mom and I will remember forever. My mom absolutely loved the experience and she can be hard to please. I also think it would be a great way to get out of the sun and enjoy a meal in the park if nothing else. While it can be a pricey meal, it is definitely a unique experience you won’t get at home.