Tea with Mrs. Nesbitt: Smoky Mountain Christmas

It was time for another day at Dollywood for a Smoky Mountain Christmas! We started out the day from the hotel of course, and there was a pretty okay continental breakfast there, not really anything there for Mom and Fruit Loops for Maddie. No worries - soon we'd be eating a feast at Dollywood.

Before going to Dollywood this year, we were looking at peak seasons, just to see how crowded the park would be. Yesterday was pretty quiet, according to predictions, and today and tomorrow would be the worst. And wouldn't you know it? These were spot on accurate. For some reason, the day after Christmas is emptier, while the next day is jam-packed. We arrived at the parking lot, and it was just a huge line on the main road, and then this massive amount of cars at the gate, and then the big line of people to get on the tram... it was going to be a challenging day. Or so we thought.

The plan was to see shows today, largely. Mom was wanting to see this one at the Pines Theater to start out with, "Twas the Night Before Christmas." It started in a half-hour, and the line was already down the street for that one - no exaggeration. There were so many people there! That's why we turned to the Front Porch Cafe which was right there nearby the end of that line, and we waited for a few moments to get in for a bite to eat. Later, that place would have a huge line too - but we got there just at the right time. So we sat and enjoyed a great meal there. Maddie and I got street tacos, while Mom got a gluten-free burger with all the trimmings. Mom and I even shared a dessert, an egg nog cheesecake. There wasn't a crust, and there were crumbs that you could pour over it for texture - it was marvelous.

We had the bar low for what we thought we'd be able to do today, just because of crowds. After we were done eating, it was just about time for a show to start right behind us, "Christmas in the Smokies." It's a ginormous theater, and sure enough, we were able to walk right in there and get pretty good seats. Later, we'd hear others have difficulty getting into this show, so I think we picked the right one to visit. The show is my favorite of all the shows done here, with just some wonderful versions of songs such as "Heirlooms," and "Hail Favored One! The Lord is With You." It's about a fifty minute show, and despite crowds today, it was like this all day - sitting and relaxing indoors, watching great performances.

We walked along the park after this, and found ourselves inside that mill there on the lake, the one with a really nice gift shop inside. It's just good to walk around in there and see the decorations and seasonal products. Mom tried on a sweat shirt there, but it wasn't quite right. Maddie and I were taking pictures and exploring.

After the show, the thinking was we hit the restrooms for a bit, and Maddie and I could go over and visit the bumper cars. Remember the crowds though? Yeah, the lines were pretty big, even for that. But Mom remembered something before packing for this trip. Way back on June 9th, we were in Dollywood on the bumper cars, and there was this amazingly kind employee named Gary who gave us these passes that would let us hop on any ride without having to wait on line. And Mom remembered to pack these too - there were three of them, and yes, Maddie and I bypassed the lines and used two of them to ride twice this afternoon. It was a madhouse, more than usual, with just that one kid who has no idea what they are doing, blocking up traffic and causing chaos, but it was fun. Maddie got some good hits in, and we all had such a great time as always.

After that, we made our way over to the Pines Theater again, thinking that perhaps the line would be just as bad - but it wasn't at all! We got there just as early as last time, and got right in there without any troubles at all. We had excellent seats, and even had time to get some popcorn from the concession stand. We remember this show from before too, but it was good.

Next, we went over to see the "Heart of the Holidays" show, which is basically a review of a collection of Dolly's Christmas favorites, performed by different singers on the stage, one of them being Dolly's cousin. The singers are fun, and the presentation is well done with just a comfortable feeling of friends and family gathering together to sing Christmas songs. The whole audience was singing along for "Circle of Love," and that was nice.

We walked out of the theater, and it was already dark outside! It was so packed in the park today, and yet we managed to do everything without waiting outside in any lines... except this one thing. And that's okay, because waiting in line that long at a bakery? That's pretty funny. You see, Maddie wanted this velvet cake whoopee pie that they have there for the holiday season, and so I opted to get in line with Mom. Maddie went around the entrance area snapping photos of the lights as we continued our wait. Eventually we got there, and yes I was worried about them being out of the whoopee pies, especially after such a wait. And there weren't any to see there, whereas everything else you could see lined up. Were they out? And just as we got up there, sure enough, a baker placed three in the display. The woman in front of us got two of them... and yes, that's right: Maddie got the very last one!

It was savedit for later - this dessert was huge! In fact,Maddie had plenty to share with me and yes, it was delicious. But there's enough for tomorrow too! That's how big this thing was. Was it worth the wait? Yes. To see the smile on her face, to remember this story, and how there was just one left. And sure, it tasted pretty good too!

Mom and Maddie wanted to do some shopping at the Emporium after this, and that place was so crowded! But they were enjoying themselves as they looked around for some clothing items to wear. In the end, Mom got a hoodie and Maddie got a sweatshirt, and they look great in them. I'm thinking about getting something tomorrow, but we'll see!

So you could imagine the journey back to the car - crowded. We were able to escape from the parking lot a little more quickly, but traffic in Pigeon Forge is definitely at peak too. It's just a busy time, but despite the crowds, we really made today work. God made it work. I must give credit to Him, because we have had a lot of favor with just walking on to rides and walking into shows that have had really long lines and wait times. We've managed to do just about everything we want so far - I think we might be back tomorrow night, perhaps, as there are three things Maddie would like to do. Four, if you include stopping for ice cream!

Anyway, we got back to the hotel, and we were tired. We watched the latest episode of "What If...?" and then read from "I Shall Wear Midnight." It was time for some sleep after that!