Then we headed to Dollywood. I had never been there before and I had no idea what to expect. It was so wonderfully decorated in the mountains and was so clean. It really exceeded my expectations. We had a great time.
We made it a few minutes after it opened. I was so nervous that it would be packed, but there was hardly anyone there! We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. It was amazing! First up was the Rockin' Roadway. Conor thought it was so special that he was able to drive. Only 2 people are allowed in each car, so Patrick was able to go by himself. He thought that was pretty great too!
When we talked about going to Dollywood with Peyton, he repeatedly asked if they had a carousel. The carousel is his favorite ride. So of course that is the attraction we sought first. Patrick collected maps from all of our activities and loved learning to read all the maps. Seriously, I think it might have been his favorite thing from the vacation. Patrick quickly volunteered to find the carousel on the dollywood map and then lead us all there. He was pretty proud of himself.
Next up was the sky rider. This ride went so high. Patrick said it was his favorite ride of the day. He ended up riding it once in the morning and then as our last ride of the day. Peyton and Michael also rode.
Conor rode a few of the small rides. Michael had fun captioning these rides on snapchat
We had a popcorn break next to the bald eagles
Patrick did not want to take a picture, ha!
Do you spy some bald eagles? You can't really see it in the picture, but they put a dead mouse out for the eagles and the boys stood there for about 10 minutes waiting for the eagles to eat it....ugh boys!
Peyton wanted to pose with the baby owls
Family picture
The Firechaser is advertised as their family roller coaster. Family roller coaster it was not! Not only do you go in a room with firecrackers, but then it shoots you backwards and you fly backwards for a little while. It was sort of terrifying, but then again I am a huge chicken. The boys loved it, but Patrick did say that going backwards was not fun. I agree buddy!! Michael and Patrick are in the first row in the picture below.
Another popcorn break. We got the refillable popcorn and the boys went back for 4 helpings!
We also tried the yummy cinnamon bread
Dollywood had some great play areas for the littles
Love how proud he is
Peyton being such a goofball. They went on River Battle, which is a wet ride, and Peyton got soaked. Luckily, the squirters broke for the 2 minutes Patrick and I were on the ride...score!
Patrick was on hand to squirt Peyton and Michael on the River Battle Ride
All the boys took a turn on Michael's shoulders
Knocked out
And then when both big brothers fall asleep...the little guy gets some attention and he just loves it. A lemonade half his side was the prefect treat! His expressions are priceless.
Seriously love this precious boy!
This little guy thinks bubbles are too funny!
He giggled so long at these bubbles! I caught a few moments of his precious giggles.
The boys had such a blast that we opened and closed Dollywood. Michael and I thought we would only stay for a few hours but we ended up staying from 10:15am until 5:45pm. It was a fun filled day! We drove the 10 minutes back to the hotel and then were too tired to go to dinner. We ended up just ordering from the bar downstairs and eating in the room. We rounded out the day by watching a new movie on Michael's computer.
It was the perfect family day! The boys are already begging to go on another "field trip."
