Dollywood Visit With Mia

The kid's grandmother (J's mom) came to visit. The kids call her Mia. We decided to go to Dollywood while she was here. When we bought our season passes,(yes there will be more Dollywood blog post to come)we also received some 'bring a guest free' passes (HINT: If you are getting season passes to Dollywood - which cost less than 2 visits - buy them when they are giving free guest passes with each one. This usually happens in March/April and at Food City locations.) The day started out very cloudy. By the time we got there it was looking like it was going to rain. S was hungry so we went ahead and ate at Red's Diner (a 50s style diner in the Jukebox Junction area of the park). We ordered hamburgers and fries, which are pretty good. Normal prices are high - but since I have a gold pass we get 20% off which saves $. (Gold passes also get you free parking - an $8 value - and 20% on pretty much everything you have to pay for in the park (food/gifts/etc) It rained really hard while we were eating, and we ended up staying in the diner for about an hour. (We had fun chatting with some tourists who were there.) Next we went and saw the production "Dreamland Drive In". I cannot say enough good things about that show. It was INCREDIBLE. (All shows are free with admission). It is a very sweet little story that features music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. We all loved it! Little C was dancing in the aisles! She was so happy! She tried to sing along :)! By the end of the show the weather had cleared up. It was now sunny and 72 degrees! Since it had been such a rainy day and it was a weekday, not many people were there. Last time we had hour plus waits in line...but this time the only ride that had a line was the Thunderhead (wooden coaster) and it was only a 10-15 minute wait. The kids were able to ride a lot of things. S even got to ride her first upside down roller-coaster and her first wooden coaster. S and IE got to ride their first indoor coaster. It was the first time for all 3 on a Ferris wheel! Everyone had a blast! Here are some pictures of our day.  

Waiting just inside Dollywood  
Waiting out the rain in Red's Pictures of us at Dreamland Drive In (live show) Ian Driving the 50s style cars Caroline acting goofy while waiting on her brother and sister to finish riding Blazing Fury with Mia Carousel Ride Ferris Wheel Bee Ride