Who knew choking each other would earn us fastpasses?

[jenseib]

Fun Dollywood update. For the life of me, I don't remember much about it. I think there was a splash zone type place the Michael, Paige and SKIP played in and I remember Eagles. But I also remember it seem really small.
And I remember the tram from the parking lot...because I couldn't hardly understand the person talking with a thick Southern Accent. LOL!

 

[Believeinfairytales]

I remember that train - it has a name (can't remember THAT, ) but the train is from WWII, I believe. A real piece of history.

Yes, the bathrooms at Dollywood could use a little extra attention. I don't recall there being gross stuff on the walls and floors, thank goodness!

 

[Believeinfairytales]

And I remember the tram from the parking lot...because I couldn't hardly understand the person talking with a thick Southern Accent. LOL!

Hey! I resemble that remark!

 

[Run4Disney]

I'm enjoying the Dollywood trip

I think you would be an EXCELLENT blogger. You really should start your own blog.

Happy Anniversary! My husband and I will be celebrating 25 years in Sept. I don't know how that happened because I certainly am not that OLD!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I had done a little research before we went to Dollywood and knew that there was a magic shop in the park. Given that Hunter is all about tricking people by doing illusions, I knew that this would be another one of the "we gotta find that" places. As the train pulled back into the station, I told everybody that we needed to find the magic shop so that Hunter could look around. They were fine with that and said they would be on the lookout for the store.

We got off the train and there were so many people in front of us that we were taking little shuffling steps. We were also trying to pop the cinders off our clothes. I didn't want to rub them off because they'd make black marks on our clothes. So, we were pulling our shirts out and them letting them "pop". Most of the cinders fell off our clothes but there were little pieces stuck to our skin.

Finally, we finished shuffling down the depot and the first thing we saw was the magic shop! The shop wasn't very big and had mostly gag type gifts but there were some magic/illusion things in the store. Hunter went straight back to the glass case where the "real" stuff was.

One of the castmembers came over and did a few tricks for us and for the other people in the store. I think I kind of pissed him off because when the others weren't around, I asked him if they sold the string that he was using. He asked me "what string?". I told him the transparent string that he had stuck behind his ear and onto the counter. He just smiled and said he happened to have a spool behind the counter that was on sale. I told him that we had been looking for some for a while and we wanted to buy it.

Hunter continued looking in the glass counter but couldn't decide what item he wanted to buy. He ended up buying some sort of colored stick thing that changes colors when you pick a number. I don't know how it works but it's a pretty darn good trick. When we checked out, the castmember asked us if we wanted to donate a dollar to charity. I asked him which one and he just smiled and said "me". We all laughed and I paid for the items so we could go in search of some food. We were getting hungry!

The first thing we saw was a chicken something-or-other grill. The menu outside said they had grilled chicken and some kind of grilled sandwich. That sounded good to all of us until we got inside and got in line. It was grilled chicken with all sorts of vegetables chopped up with it. That's definitely not something that Hunter or Lacey wanted so we opted to find something else.

When we were sitting on the train waiting to leave the depot, Mama spotted a pizza parlor. So, we backtracked and found the pizza parlor. The building was really small and there were probably a dozen tables in all. They had individual pizzas, whole pizzas, breadsticks, a coldcut sandwich and a salad. John, Mama and I got in line while Hunter and Lacey found us a table. John ordered the sandwich. Lacey and Hunter got the individual cheese pizzas. I ordered a salad and two breadsticks. We got one large drink to share since they said you could get refills. Our total was $39 + dollars. Mama got a cheese pizza, two breadsticks and a drink. I don't remember what her total was.

To tell you how bad the food was.....Hunter barely ate all of his cheese pizza. That told me right there that it was bad......I mean the boy will eat those icky microwave pizzas that cost 75 cents. My salad even tasted funny. It was premade and all it was was lettuce, a slice of onion, two slices of tomato and a slice of bellpepper. How can you make that taste weird? I don't know but it did. John said his sandwich was just okay and Lacey ate two bites of the breadsticks. Mama ate two pieces of her pizza and a half of one breadstick. It was definitely not worth the money we paid for it!

About this time, Hunter said he needed to make a stop in the bathroom so he and John set off to find one. The rest of us went shopping in a general store type store because it was sprinkling rain again. I forgot what Lacey found but she bought one little something. We went back outside since it had stopped raining. Lacey took pictures of the flowers while we waited on John and Hunter:

John and Hunter met back up with us about that time and we decided that, since the County Fair section was right next to us, we should go see what was happening over there. Along the pathway were giant vegetables and we had to stop and take pictures. Here's one of Hunter with his favorite vegetable....the potato (or rather the big fat french fry):

And, then, one of Lacey and Hunter with a giant pickle:

There were several county fair type rides in this section. One of them was similar to the tea cups at Walt Disney World but I think the ride was called something lemon twists or something similar to that. I remember thinking that they should have it under cover because everybody that sat down did a little squeal because the seats were so hot.

Mama and I decided to sit down and rest while John, Lacey and Hunter rode a ride called the Dizzy Disk. I took a picture of the flowers in the flower bed behind the bench Mama was sitting on. It reminded me of the flowers at the Caribbean Beach Resort:

Here's a picture of the Dizzy Disk sign:

Lacey's in the purple shirt on the right. Next to the girl in the white sunglasses:

Hunter waiting for the ride to start:

John waiting for the ride to start:

My sweet, demure, genteel daughter:

Then the ride started and I took video:



**Gotta stop. Be back in a little.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sorry 'bout that: I had a Judge's office on the phone.


Let's see, oh yeah, Lacey, John and Hunter were riding the Dizzy Disk and Mama and I were watching them. Mama kept saying that she couldn't believe that Hunter was riding it. I assured her that he was probably trying to impress his sister. We also talked about how it was odd that John could ride it and it not screw up his equilibrium. He has epilepsy and sometimes the littlest of things can make him feel "off". As if he isn't a little "off" all of the time. Anyhoo, they all came off the ride smiling and saying that it was a lot of fun.

Mama had been eyeing this glider swing type ride and had decided that she'd give it a try. I certainly wasn't about to go gliding in the air. You know me and my heights issues. So, I sat this one out too. There was a nice shaded area to the side that had umbrella tables so I plopped myself down to wait. And, to take pictures:

After about 10 minutes or so, they were off.

Can you believe this? Look closely at the third glider (from the right and going left) in the picture above. Yep, that's John and Hunter. Look even closer. Can you see what John is doing? Squench your eyes up tight and look very closely.......he's on the phone! What? Can't he go anywhere without getting a phone call?

Oh, and Mama and Lacey are in front of John and Hunter in the above picture. The sun was behind me and I couldn't tell from my camera screen whether or not my pictures were turning out so I continued to snap away hoping I was getting some good pictures:

They came off the ride and Mama was making fun of Lacey. There was a handle in the middle of the glider that you could turn and it make the wing/glider thing tilt a little. Lacey wouldn't let Mama touch the handle. She wasn't scared but she said she didn't want to get all wobbly or anything. She and Lacey laughed about on and off all day.

We left the County Fair section and continued our way through the park towards the area where we thought the zipline was. Hunter said he had to go to the bathroom again. We sat down in a shaded area near a theater while he went to the bathroom. But, I had to take a picture before he went:

There was a band playing in the theater and the singers were horrible. Well, let me rephrase that. Two of the singers were just okay and the other one was horrible. I mean her singing was pitchy and nasally. She better be glad that she wasn't singining before Simon Cowell or she would have been in tears by the time he got through with her. You could tell, though, that she thought she was the best singer in the world. I said something like Dolly needs to fire her to which Mama said she heard that Dolly hires a lot of family members to perform. Well, then, Dolly should disown this family member.

Without going into too much detail, let me just say that it can take Hunter a while in the bathroom when he has to do.......I'll stop right there. So, we waited.

While we were waiting, Mama called her sister and told her where we were:

I took a picture:

Lacey did a little dance (sorry, I forgot that you had to hold the camera the other way but you can see her dance if you tilt your head):



Then, Mama called her cousin and told her we were in Dollywood:

By this time, we were all getting tired of waiting. I texted Hunter and told him to hurry up! In the meantime, we took a few silly pictures:

Finally, Hunter came out. We teased him and asked him if we needed to carry him because, surely, his legs were numb from sitting so long. He didn't care for the joke too much but we thought it was funny. Behind where John and I had been sitting was a little pond. Hunter noticed that all of the floating plants looked like four leaf clovers:

***Okay, so I need to sign off again. Need to tend to some "real" business.

 

[Believeinfairytales]

Your last update had me laughing. I can't believe John was taking a phone call while on that ride! Too funny! I can't wait to ride the Dizzy Disk. It looks like fun.

The silly pictures are too funny! Esp the one of John with his shirt up. You guys are such a hoot.

And I love your Mickey shirt. I love all of the Disney gear in the pics, too. You can take the magic of the Mouse wherever you go!

 

[shelbys mommy]

I am late, but happy anniversary! I am loving the Dollywood trip! I would love to go there one day!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I would definitely follow along & I can't wait to see the link for your ebay store!

All Star Music was really nice. We loved it.

I will be sure and post when I have Disney Designs up and running. I would love to make some extra money for both the wedding and Disney vacations.

I remember that you stayed at Music. We've never stayed in a value resort and we are a bit worried. I think that's what's making our decision on where to stay so hard.

We have stayed at every value resort except for All-Star Music. Our favorite so far has been All-Star Sports (wouldnt you know it...I do have 3 boys..LOL!). We really like All-Star Sports becuase the rooms had been redone and they were really nice. The dining area at the Sports resort was really small, but was ok with us because we only ate 1 or 2 meals there. Pop is our next favorite, and they by far have the best food court!! I have heard that Pop is in the process of remodeling all the rooms...if we stayed in a remodled room at Pop..I am sure that that would be our top choice for a value resort! We are staying at Pop in December..so hopefully we will get a remodled room!! Hopefully this helps some...or maybe I just confused ya even more..LOL!!

Thanks so much for the info. I've been looking at the remodeled rooms at Pop and they look very nice.

We've stayed at both pop and ASMu. ASMu was in December and we stayed in the family suite and it was very nice. They had activities for the kids at the pool. They played wii games and watched movies. We stayed at pop in july and it was very clean and had a refurbed room. We are looking to go back in July and I am looking at ASMu for this trip as I will have my 14 yr old(15 for trip) with me and the stuff at the pool will help with entertainment at night because I also have a 5 yr old (6 for trip). I was looking at CBR for our next trip but its not in our budget right now. We could stay but that would mean a shorter trip. I would rather have more time at Disney.

At least I know that you liked both of the resorts. That helps calm my nerves. I am just so worried about a value resort.

 

[shelbys mommy]

I will be sure and post when I have Disney Designs up and running. I would love to make some extra money for both the wedding and Disney vacations.

I remember that you stayed at Music. We've never stayed in a value resort and we are a bit worried. I think that's what's making our decision on where to stay so hard.

The room we was in was small, but we were only in the room to shower & sleep so it did not matter to us. Now if we were staying for 2 weeks or more it might have been a problem, but we was there for 5 days.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Happy (early) Anniversary to you and John. People say getting married young is a mistake, but I've always been glad I did. And it's definitely worked for you and John as well. Sadly I lost my husband at a young age and if we hadn't married so young, I was also 18, we wouldn't have had the time together we did.

I loved the Dollywood update, you're right, it's hard not to compare it to Disney.

I've stayed at All Star Music and Sports and was happy with both. I'm curious about how Pop is going to compare next month. I got my wonderful blue envelope today, it sure makes the trip seem more real to me!

Terri

Thank you! I am sorry to hear that you lost your husband when you were both young. Like you said, though, at least you had time together.

It's very hard not to compare any theme park with Disney. Disney just does things so well.

Woohoo for getting your Mickey mail! It makes the vacation seem so much closer!

Enjoyed the Dollywood update. Congratulations to you and John on your anniversary (you are still a baby!). Hope you get to go away for the weekend.

Thanks for the anniversary congrats and for calling me a baby! I love 'em both!

Wait! What? I remember when my DH was younger and we had to buy him a ball from every store. But, he was 60! And the only reason we don't buy them anymore is because they don't sell them anymore.

Too funny! Hunter was so into balls. This trip, he only got two which is probably a record for him.

Hey! Lisa
so sorry I have been very MIA!

Hope your summer has been a full and fun one! can't wait to catch up!
I have a lot of catching up to do...I just checked out what page you were on and cringed but, decided to see if you started a table of content
Thank you! Thank You!
I should be able to catch up in no time, now...I was so excited to see...so I hope you don't mind if I skip some of the chatter to catch up with you guys...and I'll be back in a day or two once I catch up

Connie

It's okay that you've been missing in action. Heck, I have been too.

Congrats on Lacey's graduation, engagement and moving home. I am also planning a wedding with my daughter and we are going to her first dress appointment on Friday.

I think it would be a lot of fun if you started a TR about your wedding planning experiences.

You know, during your "stopping making me laugh" TR, I had a feeling Lacey was very close to an engagement. Every time you wrote that she went down to the water to "check in on her peeps," I thought "this girl is in love."

So happy for her and Jesse ... and all of you.

Oooh, wedding dress shopping! I know that you are excited! Lacey wants a simple dress and we've been looking around online at different styles.

Lacey and Jesse make a wonderful pair. With all of the things that the two of them have experienced together over the last three years, they know each other very well....probably better than a lot of folks who get married.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Great pictures of the Smoky Mountains! And I have enjoyed reading about Dollywood! But, I definitely agree about how hard it is not to compare it to Disney. We went to a theme park this summer and although I tried not to I was constantly comparing the two. There is just nothing like Disney.

Oh and Happy Anniversary to you and John! 26 years...that's wonderful!! DH and I are celebrating our 15th this Thursday. I don't know where the time has gone!

I'm anxious to hear where you decide to stay next year. We've always thought about All Star Music...but the boys (and us too) enjoy Pop too much! I have read that they play movies by the pool at night at ASMu.That would be really cool!

I wish we had of had more time to really enjoy the Smoky Mountain National Park. It was so beautiful!

No matter where we go, I try my best not to compare it to Disney. But, it sure is hard.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes. 26 years and still going strong! Woohoo for you and your hubby too! 15 years is a long time to be married now-a-days.

I hate hate hate making the resort decision. I think we are going to leave the decision making up to the kids. We don't know if Lacey is going with us next year but she'll help make the decision just in case.

First....Happy Anniversary.

I am convinced that Disney ruins you for other theme parks. We went to a small one this summer (just close to home) and spent the day comparing. It was our joke..."we are SO not at Disney!" No fastpasses, employees who don't care, horrible landscaping (ie: giant thorns growing out from behind the benches where you are supposed to sit), having to figure out how to get your whole party on the same roller coaster train without help....UGH! Spoiled, I tell you!

Can't wait to see if Mama goes on the Zipline! Good for her!

Thank you!

Disney definitely does make a lasting impression. An impression that makes it hard for any other park to live up to. You may remember that we felt the same way when we went to Silver Dollar City last Thanksgiving. It's so hard not to compare.

Hey Lisa!
back again...I am all caught up on the links in your first post...Thanks! that was a great help...I will need to go back and find where you start your Dollywood post but that will be super easy now! I was able to get caught up with while waiting for Chloe this morning--I think I going to try and start doing my dissing while waiting for her. I want to start back up with their lessons this week so I need to organize my time a little better than I have been doing...

Great picture of the Dis meet...you need to photoshop you guys into it! and it will be a perfect shot!

sounds like a great day at Epcot and what fun to keep running into to Dana and family!

on to Lacey's graduation: I hate driving and riding in the rain so I feel for you! I have never driven in Atlanta (my sister lives just north of there) but my dad said he prefers to drive out of his way a little further north almost to TN and drive in the back way just to stay off the roads there. So, again I am happy to read you guys made it through safely. Helen is a beautiful little town! and I love seeing all the tubers on the river...how fun! Lacey and Jessie look great and Hunter is so sweet you can see how happy he is to see her.

Looking forward to keeping up and hearing about Dollywood...we love Dollywood; no, its not Disney...but my kids have always loved visiting in fact Danny and I were talking about the need to go back soon. So, I need to see where I can fit that one in along with Dayne's schedule (I know he will want to join us) if and when we do go.

Have a great day! and a very wonderful anniversary to you and John!!!

Oh! and I noticed you ticker...the PoP! we loved it there; we have stayed so far at POFQ, ASSp, and PoP...we loved POFQ and PoP. ASSp was very nice but loved having the bus system all to the PoP and not having to share with the other resorts! and the themeing was just so Disney...looooved it!
can't wait to hear what you guys decide...
Connie

Whew girl, you really did have some catching up to do!

I just joined and am so happy to see so many members from Louisiana! I loved seeing your location, bc I grew up in Paradis/DesAllemands! Looking forward to reading more!

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Yep, we have quite a few Louisiana residents here on my thread. I hope that you'll continue reading along and feel free to post. I love me some chit-chatting.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay wedding in Georgia!!! MAYBE I'm happy, since *I* got married in Georgia. I know some good photographers that are affordable if you need any suggestions. Big Lots is also a good place to look for wedding stuff... you can get cheap decorative things there... Oh, has she seen the unity candle replacement thing with the sand??? Since she's thinking of a "beach theme" that might be pretty cool. If you don't know about, but the pastor will take white sand and pouring it into a vase as a base (Representing God as the foundation of your marriage) then each of them having a color of sand to represent them, then then the pastor and the couple all pouring their sand in the vase together. Now the vase is full and you can't separate the sand, just like you can't separate a man and woman in a marriage- they are one. Its really awesome. Then, you take a white candle and melt down wax to seal the top of the vase.

Okay... sorry for the hijack! I can't wait to see if Mama did the Zipline! And what is your boss thinking?? Doesn't he know your public is WAITING!!?!?!?!! ?

Oh my goodness! I can't believe that you talked about the sand in the vase. That's exactly what Lacey wants to do! That and the colors are the two things that she has definitely decided on.

I may have to hit you up on photographer recommendations. There is a guy that attends church with Lacey (guess I should have said attended) that does photography for the church. Maybe he'll offer to take pictures.

Don't forget to give us a link to DisneyDesigns! Are you going to create a "store" within Ebay or are you going to set up your own online store?

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!


I would definitely read a blog about Lacey's wedding plans.

Did Mama really do the zipline?!?!??!

I am counting on the Dis to help provide customers for Disney Designs. I think I may start out selling the items on ebay. I already sell stuff under mickeystoontown and have for years. But, it's just random stuff. My sister and niece do a lot of shopping on Etsy which is a site for homemade and vintage items. I may check them out as well.

Thanks for the Happy Anniversary congrats!

I am enjoying your Dollywood update so far. I don't think we did Journey to the Center of the Earth when we were there. We'll have to look into that next time... and remember to lean up, too!

You didn't miss much on the tour bus. It is neat to look at, but not the end of the world if you had to skip it. Much more fun things to do!

I know what you mean about comparing Disney to Dollywood. There is no comparison, but we always have a good time there because it is usually slower paced and a lot less crowded. Still no Disney, though!

Can't wait for more!

Oh, and happy anniversary!

And one more thing: I can't wait to see what you put for sale on Ebay. I love Disney themed stuff!

First off, thanks for the Happy Anniversary!

Second, you should definitely do Journey to the Center of the Earth. It's jerky but it's good. They even incorporated smells into it like Disney does on Soarin'.

There I go again.....comparing everything to Disney.

 

[jenseib]

Hey! I resemble that remark!

LOL! Sorry.

Happy Anniversary Lisa!

Those last few silly pictures cracked me up. I love John's pose.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Very interesting to see these details of Dollywood. Can you imagine raising 10 kids in a cabin that side? I'm sure they all spent plenty of time outside!

I can't imagine that at all! I bet they did stay outside all the time. I know I would rather be outside than crammed into that one little house.

Fun Dollywood update. For the life of me, I don't remember much about it. I think there was a splash zone type place the Michael, Paige and SKIP played in and I remember Eagles. But I also remember it seem really small.
And I remember the tram from the parking lot...because I couldn't hardly understand the person talking with a thick Southern Accent. LOL!

The eagles are still there and I'll be posting pictures of them in the next installment. I don't remember the splash zone but I do know that they have a separate water park.

You are too funny about the Southern drawl. John has a thick Southern drawl and he talks so slow. I can finish a whole story before he can get out two sentences.

I remember that train - it has a name (can't remember THAT, ) but the train is from WWII, I believe. A real piece of history.

Yes, the bathrooms at Dollywood could use a little extra attention. I don't recall there being gross stuff on the walls and floors, thank goodness!

The bathroom cleanliness left a lot to be desired. All of them had a funky smell to them.

Hey! I resemble that remark!

Me too!

I'm enjoying the Dollywood trip

I think you would be an EXCELLENT blogger. You really should start your own blog.

Happy Anniversary! My husband and I will be celebrating 25 years in Sept. I don't know how that happened because I certainly am not that OLD!

Thanks for the anniversary wishes! You and I were just babes when we married weren't we?

I am seriously thinking about starting a blog. When in the world I will find the time to do it I don't know. I do think it would be fun though.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Your last update had me laughing. I can't believe John was taking a phone call while on that ride! Too funny! I can't wait to ride the Dizzy Disk. It looks like fun.

The silly pictures are too funny! Esp the one of John with his shirt up. You guys are such a hoot.

And I love your Mickey shirt. I love all of the Disney gear in the pics, too. You can take the magic of the Mouse wherever you go!

I have no idea why the picture of John on the phone won't rotate. It shows that it's rotated on photobucket but it shows up sideways on the Dis?

The phone call was from John's friend, Mark. He's the guy that calls every time we are out of town. It never fails! He is always laughing at us and asking if we ever stay at home. Little does he know we are home more than we are away.

John is a hoot! He and Lacey kept coming up with silly poses and these were just two of them.

I definitely take the Disney with me no matter where I go. As a matter of fact, I have on my silver Mickey bracelet right now.

I am late, but happy anniversary! I am loving the Dollywood trip! I would love to go there one day!

You're not late. Today is our actual anniversary. Thanks for the anniversary wishes.

Dollywood is a nice place to visit. It's definitely more laid back than Disney.

The room we was in was small, but we were only in the room to shower & sleep so it did not matter to us. Now if we were staying for 2 weeks or more it might have been a problem, but we was there for 5 days.

The room size and bus situation are two of the things that have me worried about a value. But, I know I'll suck it up 'cause I'll be in Disney!

LOL! Sorry.

Happy Anniversary Lisa!

Those last few silly pictures cracked me up. I love John's pose.

No need to apologize sugar pie, honey lamb, sweet cakes (trying to think of every Southern name to call you.)

Thanks for the anniversary wishes! Hopefully, we will get to go out of town this weekend.

John and Hunter are always acting goofy. Throw Lacey in the mix and there's never a dull moment.

 

[teedee]

I just love your red mickey shirt! Did you get it at Disneyworld? I've never seen one like that, but I'd love to find one.

Terri

 

[charming23]

Great updates on Dollywood. It looks like such a beautiful park too bad it is not kept up as well as it should be.

Happy Anniversary to you and John.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I just love your red mickey shirt! Did you get it at Disneyworld? I've never seen one like that, but I'd love to find one.

Terri

I found the shirt at Sears about 2 years ago. They run really really small. It's a large and it fits pretty snuggly. I love it though!

Great updates on Dollywood. It looks like such a beautiful park too bad it is not kept up as well as it should be.

Happy Anniversary to you and John.

It is a beautiful park. The only parts that weren't kept up were the bathrooms and we didn't care for the food at all.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes!

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Lisa. I'm with you...no way I was getting on the Dizzy Disk--and I'm not even afraid of heights.

Lacey cracks me up with her poses every time I see a new one. And what is with John and "exposing" himself lately.