We got up, got ready and headed over to breakfast at Shoney's. The waitress was not as smiley as we are accustomed to in Tennessee, but it was a hearty breakfast as we prepared for a full day at Dollywood. Unfortunately, I found a splinter in my finger and tried my hardest to get it out, but failed miserably and it was hurting a little. Everyone yelled at me to leave it alone, so I finally did.
After breakfast we made it over to Dollywood. We drove through the parking lot and saw no cars, so we were wondering if it was even open. Well, it was and it had the perfect amount of people ... practically none. I had bought the tickets online before we arrived in Tennessee, so I was all set with ours. Fortunately, Jackson and Addison were free.
Immediately after passing through the turnstiles, a sweet Dollywood employee overheard me asking about their baby care center and gave me directions to it. I headed right over to it and was able to change Addison quickly, quietly and cleanly. It was lovely. I love theme parks that care about moms with young children (Disney has them too). It really makes my life easier.
My mom took Addison and got directions to the first aid station, so I could get my splinter out. It was the first time I had ever visited a first aid station in a theme park. It was quick and painless, almost enjoyable.
Eventually, after caring for Addison and me, we finally were able to get on a ride and we chose Smoky Mountain River Rampage. Jackson was actually able to ride, but he was seriously afraid and only started to ease up after my mother and I got soaked. He didn't love the ride, but he visited the family clothing dryer with us to see if it could dry us up a little bit. It failed and we just looked like a group of idiots standing in a box. Unfortunately, a lot of attractions were closed because of the light crowd.
We decided to keep the ride action going and went over to the Rockin' Roadway. Jackson was able to ride on this too and he shared a car with TK. He kept reminding him to, "Go easy, Daddy. Go easy!" I rode in a car with my mom and tried to wave at them the whole time, but Jackson was too focused on having a calm ride that he didn't notice. He was done with rides after that and walked right by all of the children's rides. The adults rode Demolition Derby and gave each other whiplash, but we had a great time laughing. My dad and I got Jackson on the carousel and he cried the ENTIRE TIME. That was about as much fun as a root canal. After that, we gave up on rides for Jackson. Instead, my family spent $100 on all of the carnival games. They came out with a very expensive stuffed Minion and a giraffe, and a Florida Gators football.
For lunch, we went to Miss Lillian's Chicken House because we went to Aunt Granny's the last time we were there. The food was pretty tasty and I really do love that macaroni salad is a side dish in a lot of Tennessee restaurants. By this time, Addison was getting pretty cranky, so I walked her around until she fell asleep. Then, TK, Uncle George and I rode Blazing Fury, which wasn't all that exciting. It needs an upgrade. TK and I rode Firechaser Express and that was a lot of fun. It went forward and backward. As we walked out from Firechaser, TK tried his best to convince me to ride Wild Eagle. I watched it go around and it looked intense. I finally said yes and we got right on with no wait. I screamed the entire time and it was kind of cathartic to be able to scream at the top of my lungs. TK loved it and convinced Uncle George to ride it with him. It was one of the best rollercoasters that I've ever experienced.
When we were done with the rides, we looked for some snacks and headed toward the front of the park. I picked up some Peach Amaretto Pecan Honey Butter because the salesman was really good at his job and the honey butter was delicious. My aunt got her funnel cake, my dad got a float and TK got a sundae. There was an apple pie there that was 25 pounds and once slice was $18.99. It was monstrous. We made one last loop through the souvenir shop and then we were out. We had a long, tiring, yet really fun day.
After breakfast we made it over to Dollywood. We drove through the parking lot and saw no cars, so we were wondering if it was even open. Well, it was and it had the perfect amount of people ... practically none. I had bought the tickets online before we arrived in Tennessee, so I was all set with ours. Fortunately, Jackson and Addison were free.
Immediately after passing through the turnstiles, a sweet Dollywood employee overheard me asking about their baby care center and gave me directions to it. I headed right over to it and was able to change Addison quickly, quietly and cleanly. It was lovely. I love theme parks that care about moms with young children (Disney has them too). It really makes my life easier.
My mom took Addison and got directions to the first aid station, so I could get my splinter out. It was the first time I had ever visited a first aid station in a theme park. It was quick and painless, almost enjoyable.
Eventually, after caring for Addison and me, we finally were able to get on a ride and we chose Smoky Mountain River Rampage. Jackson was actually able to ride, but he was seriously afraid and only started to ease up after my mother and I got soaked. He didn't love the ride, but he visited the family clothing dryer with us to see if it could dry us up a little bit. It failed and we just looked like a group of idiots standing in a box. Unfortunately, a lot of attractions were closed because of the light crowd.
We decided to keep the ride action going and went over to the Rockin' Roadway. Jackson was able to ride on this too and he shared a car with TK. He kept reminding him to, "Go easy, Daddy. Go easy!" I rode in a car with my mom and tried to wave at them the whole time, but Jackson was too focused on having a calm ride that he didn't notice. He was done with rides after that and walked right by all of the children's rides. The adults rode Demolition Derby and gave each other whiplash, but we had a great time laughing. My dad and I got Jackson on the carousel and he cried the ENTIRE TIME. That was about as much fun as a root canal. After that, we gave up on rides for Jackson. Instead, my family spent $100 on all of the carnival games. They came out with a very expensive stuffed Minion and a giraffe, and a Florida Gators football.
For lunch, we went to Miss Lillian's Chicken House because we went to Aunt Granny's the last time we were there. The food was pretty tasty and I really do love that macaroni salad is a side dish in a lot of Tennessee restaurants. By this time, Addison was getting pretty cranky, so I walked her around until she fell asleep. Then, TK, Uncle George and I rode Blazing Fury, which wasn't all that exciting. It needs an upgrade. TK and I rode Firechaser Express and that was a lot of fun. It went forward and backward. As we walked out from Firechaser, TK tried his best to convince me to ride Wild Eagle. I watched it go around and it looked intense. I finally said yes and we got right on with no wait. I screamed the entire time and it was kind of cathartic to be able to scream at the top of my lungs. TK loved it and convinced Uncle George to ride it with him. It was one of the best rollercoasters that I've ever experienced.When we were done with the rides, we looked for some snacks and headed toward the front of the park. I picked up some Peach Amaretto Pecan Honey Butter because the salesman was really good at his job and the honey butter was delicious. My aunt got her funnel cake, my dad got a float and TK got a sundae. There was an apple pie there that was 25 pounds and once slice was $18.99. It was monstrous. We made one last loop through the souvenir shop and then we were out. We had a long, tiring, yet really fun day.
