Only a couple more Brandcation posts to go! Bet you are all glad I am wrapping up them up, eh? This post is dedicated to our generous Brandcation sponsors who provided swag (gift items) to us as well as giveaway items for our little contests and 80’s party while we were on Brandcation Blog Cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN.
Wow. That’s how I’d describe the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. It surprised me how sobering it was to walk through the museum. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it considering the Titanic was a tragic event but most museums I have visited only had certain exhibits sharing an devastating event in history briefly and intermixed with more fun and informative facts of joyful times. Know what I mean?
The museum was set up so visitors lined up to board the Titanic. Boarding passes and hand held audio devices are handed to each passenger. The unique thing about how this is done is passengers are given a boarding pass with the name of a real passenger who traveled on the Titanic. The boarding pass tells the story of the passenger. At the end of the “voyage” visitors find out if they survived their journey.
The name on my boarding pass? Emily R. and I cannot seem to find my boarding pass to give you more information. It’s not the first time I misplaced it either. I know one of my daughters got to read it. The whole purpose behind the boarding passes is for us to leave the museum and share our passenger’s story with others, especially our children, so they are not forgotten. The last Titanic survivor has died and only their offspring are left to carry on their legacy. By visiting the museum we help keep that legacy alive.
Inside the Titanic Museum
First class stateroom.
The infamous staircase.
The bridge.
On the deck there was a wall of ice we could touch and “troughs” of water along the edge of the deck. The same water was the same temperature the passengers of the Titanic would have experience upon being submerged into it.
Speaking of water, in the third class section of the Titanic Museum there was a stair well going up featuring water pouring down into the third class section.
The Memorial wall.
The Titanic Crew
And the crew certainly out did themselves during our visit to the museum. We were given VIP treatment that day. They served us a scrumptiously delicious breakfast buffet that everyone raved about.
The crew was funny, knowledgeable and very courteous.
We were even privileged to meet Mary Kellogg Joslyn, co-owner of the museum with her husband John Joslyn. She gave a short presentation that we thought was inspiring.
Brandcation Blog Cabin Bloggers at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge
Photo courtesy of Kim at Brandfluential. All other photos are courtesy of the Titanic Museum, as no photos are allowed to be taken inside the museum by visitors.
A picture speak a thousand words and these do. Visit www.titanicpigeonforge.com for more amazing photos and coverage of the Titanic.
Companies may have provided media rate or media tickets to assist in facilitation of this article. Experiences are all real and all opinions are my own.
The other day I mentioned Dollywood’s Wild Eagle, but there is so much more to Dollywood than just roller coasters. Though Dollywood has several of them.
I Heart Dollywood!
I loved Dollywood and if I am honest everything I saw and experienced made me wish my family was there with me to experience it too. It was like that with every event we attended last weekend. That’s how family-friendly all of the attractions in Pigeon Forge were and to me Dollywood had an old-time feel to it – from the coal steam engine, horse wagon shop and even a metal forge/black smith’s shop for signs etc. All things that are right up my alley.
Dollywood has plenty of shops, restaurants, a museum, crafts, quilt shops, roller coasters and other rides to keep the whole family busy for the day (last Friday – can’t believe a week has gone by already!) There was plenty of things for people of all ages, including family pets. This month is Gospel and Harvest Festival and the day we were there we saw a line up of people and the majority were senior citizens. A group of bloggers took in a show and said it was awesome as they learned about the history of music.
Doggywood
Doggywood is a place to leave pets while visitors enjoy Dollywood for the day.
The great thing about Dollywood is you can stay and play as they have their own log cabins for accommodations. Dollywood even has a water park called Dolly Splash. The parks and cabins are close together eliminating long drives going back and forth between the three of them.
If we were to go to Dollywood as a family I would want to take more than just a day to visit as I think it would take at least a couple of days to go through everything.
The neat thing about Dollywood’s restaurants is they have a gluten-free menu and a whole program geared towards allergy education for select kitchen employees, which even includes certification. This is very unique and important to families suffering from allergies.
The rest of their eateries – a bakery, a sweet shop and more – provide tasty lots of food. I had to get a couple of photos of my husband’s favorite desserts but neglected to get a photo of our lunch at Granny Ogle’s Ham N’ Beans.
Huge Cinnamon Roll
25 lb. Apple Pie for $80
Dolly Parton
It was very impressive to learn Dolly Parton is very involved with her parks and attends specially planned events centered around her visit to Pigeon Forge. The fact is we just missed her most recent visit. Boo hoo.
One last thing, we truly experienced southern hospitality and friendliness from Dollywood employees.
Companies may have provided media rate or media tickets to assist in facilitation of this article. Experiences are all real and all opinions are my own.
I have never been to a dinner show before, but that all changed a week ago when we attended Dolly’s Dixie Stampede while at Brandcation. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but I loved it!
Denise our host from Dixie Stampede was not only helpful and friendly, but funny as well. She set us up for complimentary photos, a mug and dinner.
Dixie Stampede Pre-Show
The Dixie Stampede had a highly entertaining pre-show with a bluegrass/jazz band. The show itself was funny and the music was fantastic. Here’s a glimpse of it below since I was able to get several video clips of it….but for some reason YouTube isn’t allowing me to upload them so I can embed them into my post. So I’ll post some photos instead. Mountain Rukus even proved to us that they could play contemporary pop music in bluegrass style.
This is the table of ladies I sat with during the pre-show as we enjoyed a non-alcoholic beverage.
We sang to well known songs and clapped loudly as the musicians of the band, Mountain Rukus, displayed their singing talent while playing the banjo, fiddle, violin and bass.
The Dixie Stampede Floor Before the Show
Dolly’s Dixie Stampede Dinner Show
The dinner show was very good. It was different from what I expected, but not in a bad way. I don’t want to give away all the surprises so I am not sure how much to tell. The dinner was as listed on their website and video:
A Mouth-Watering Tender Whole Rotisserie Chicken
Delicious Hickory Smoked Barbecued Pork Loin
Dixie Stampede’s Original Creamy Vegetable Soup
Scrumptious Homemade Biscuit
Hot Buttered Corn on the Cob
Tasty Herb-basted Potato
Dixie’s very own Specialty Dessert
Unlimited Pepsi®, tea or coffee
They even offer a vegetarian plate that includes:
Country Garden Vegetable Pasta
Dixie Stampede’s Original Creamy Vegetable Soup
Scrumptious Homemade Biscuit
Hot Buttered Corn on the Cob
Tasty Herb-basted Potato
Dixie’s very own Specialty Dessert
Unlimited Pepsi®, tea or coffee
We were fortunate to be able to visit during the Dixie Stampede’s 25th anniversary season. The actual show was very family-friendly and interactive as the audience was divided into two teams – the Union and the Confederates. We cheered and clapped for our respective sides. People from the audience were invited to participate in the show’s events too. Children shooed chickens in a race, girlfriends and boyfriends rode stick horses as they joined the cast center stage. This will be the first time I’d ever allow my children to “boo” anybody because it was all in good old fashioned fun! See a video here.
I’ll say it again, don’t just take my word for it, experience it for yourself! You are in for a couple of surprises if you do!
A huge thank you to Dolly’s Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for welcoming us and giving us a fun-filled evening!
Companies may have provided media rate or media tickets to assist in facilitation of this article. Experiences are all real and all opinions are my own.
Brandcation Blog Cabin not only brought us awesome accommodations and views but also awesome treats too! Cabin Fever Vacations worked with Gigi’s Cupcakes Pigeon Forge to surprise us shortly after arriving with a lovely array of yummy cupcakes! Flavors included, blackberry, red velvet, carrot cake, banana nut, chocolate, white wedding cake, mint chocolate, strawberry. These cupcakes were topped with delectable cream cheese frosting. They were so tasty that the ladies bought more for our 80’s party on Saturday night! Seriously these were so moist and delicious it was nearly impossible to stop at one! I definitely plan to treat my family to some of these yummy treats when we visit on our family vacation next year or have some shipped here for the next birthday we celebrate since there are no Gigi’s Cupcakes here in Illinois.
I haven’t been to a theme park in a very long time. I went on a virtual ride of Dollywood’s Wild Eagle, America’s first winged roller coaster, before I left for Brandcation and I think I freaked myself out a little. Try it and you’ll see what I mean! All you adventure seekers will love it, I’m sure!
Dollywood’s Wild Eagle roller coaster was a highlight for me as I went on it three times, even though in all the photos I look terrified…and I was. I haven’t been on a roller coaster since I was 14, but the fact that I attempted something different and something that had to do with heights was huge for me since I am afraid of high places. I am a play it safe, non-adventurous kind of gal.
The first ride I had my eyes closed except for the initial climb. The second time I opened my eyes a bit and during the third ride I only had my eyes closed for the huge dip and loopdy-loos. There’s something about being upside down that gets to me. It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time. Though I must say I felt very safe strapped in the seats seats. They felt very secure and Dollywood staff made sure we were securely fastened, which I really appreciated. I worried about my glasses falling off because they shifted a bit but they stayed on.
Dolly’s Wild Eagle opened in March of this year and has already hit 1 million rides according to a staff member at the photo desk. Impressive, eh? Dollywood Splash will be opening their first water coaster in spring of 2013 – little insider info.
Wild Eagle Compared to Other Roller Coasters
Joy from Joyful Musings went on three roller coasters at Dollywood and we asked her to give us the comparison break down and here’s what she said:
Companies may have provided media rate or media tickets to assist in facilitation of this article. Experiences are all real and all opinions are my own.
Brandcation Blog Cabin was called Blog Cabin for a reason. While we were in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee we stayed at a log cabin managed by Cabin Fevers Vacations called Mountaintop Lodge. Cabin Fever Vacations offers a unique blog cabin experience. The cabin is privately owned by a family but rented out during the times the family is not in the area. The cabin is three floors high and can sleep up to 34 people! It’s beautiful!
Cabin Fever Vacations even surprised us on the first day with Gigi’s Cupcakes to welcome us to Pigeon Forge.
The Accommodations
The top floor housed most of the ladies in an open room with cots, a futon and several queen sized bunk beds. That floor also included four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The middle floor contained a full kitchen, dining and living rooms, as well as two bedrooms with private baths.
The lower level had four bedrooms, two private baths, the laundry room and game room which also housed two additional futons. I had one of the bedrooms and roomed with Jenn from Life with Levi. We didn’t see much of each other but she was a nice roommate.
Each level has it’s own balcony – front and back – where you could rock in a rocking chair, sit and enjoy the view, just chit chat with friends or soak in a hot tub.
The cabin was beautiful with a rustic style of decor. It was really spacious. The only thing it lacked this weekend was a few extra bathrooms! Six bathrooms for 34 ladies was a little challenging at times but we did it!
I love that there are many different sized cabins and that Cabin Fever Vacations is able to accommodate any size family. Large families like ours could actually stay all together, which is so much better than hotel accommodations!
The View
The view from the back balconies was of the Smoky Mountains and it was stunning. In few days or so it would have been splashed with the colors of fall.
Don’t just take my word for it check out the video below:
The Road to the Cabin
The road to the cabin is a winding road, obviously since the cabin is on the mountain – wouldn’t want to see it in the winter! Though I am sure they are very good about keeping it clear and well maintained for any type of weather they experience.
The Atmosphere
The cabins were very close together but the atmosphere was very quiet. Though we may have changed that at certain points of our stay! Especially during our 80’s party! The people I met were were friendly in the cabin area
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You may visit Cabin Fever Vacations at their website, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and even Pinterest. They have an awesome social media presence.
I truly cannot wait to plan a visit to go back with my family. I know they will love Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Companies may have provided media rate or media tickets to assist in facilitation of this article. Experiences are all real and all opinions are my own.
Got little ones? Want to start saving for their college education? Then you’ll be interested to know about this $10000 Sweepstakes from GradSave, after all it’s never too early to start saving for college:
Be sure to read more about eligibility rules and prizes here. Odds of winning depends on how many entries received.
“I was compensated to share this information. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
After the success of last week’s Avenger party, my children are very excited about The Amazing Spider-Man coming out on DVD too. They’ve been asking me to watch Thor, The Avengers etc. with them. Now that I have Captain America under my belt they are eager to introduce me to the rest of the movies in the series. We may get to watch one of them this weekend depending upon if I get my posts done up for the week since I leave for Brandcation on Wednesday.
Pre-Order The Amazing Spider-Man
When the children heard we were going to go to Walmart to pick up the pre-order The Amazing Spider-Man DVD or Blu-ray they were pretty eager to go with me. One son said, “Really?” He was surprised but happy. My four year old son was very excited because I told him he could have a new spider-man mask since his little fabric one that came with his dollar store spider-man costume is all torn.
I took five children with me to the store. It’s funny because they gravitated towards the costumes they saw last week and of course discovered new things. Then there was this huge pumpkin decoration with crazy eyes that my youngest daughter calls, “Hypnotizing”. It cracks me up what children come out with.
Of course on our way back to the electronics department we got side tracked in the party supply aisle as the kiddos remembered we went down there last week too. We noticed a couple of new Avenger items which disappointed the children because they were not available when we shopped for our Avengers party, but there was lots of Spider-Man supplies to choose from.
Then we found the pre-order spider-man item and it was completely different than I thought it would look since I had in my mind the photo on Walmart’s website. I thought the exclusive movie gift set came with an actual mask, but it doesn’t…eeeeks…..there’s going to be a disappointed boy if I don’t fix that!
So off to the toy section to pick up a sturdy mask the boys can share but Nookie can use first. Hoping to surprise him in the morning with it!
And before I headed out for a seminar today I gave Nookie the spiderman mask….I think he looks pretty pleased, don’t you?
Vudu.com and Ultra Violet
With the pre-order of spiderman we received a free digital copy of the movie on Vudu. Once we got home I wanted to see what the whole pre-order process was like and figure out Vudu.com and Ultra Violet because I’ve never pre-bought anything like this before. Vudu.com is a site where you can stream, rent or buy DVDs – for multiple devices too. They even have a tab to convert DVDs to digital format, which I haven’t tried yet, and you can store them online. I definitely see advantages to this as we have had several DVDs get broken and had we been able to store them digitally right after we bought them we would still have them. Vudu charges for individual DVD rentals and conversions. It is not a monthly subscription service. You only pay for what you use or buy.
I am still trying to figure out what Ultra Violet is, but from what I can tell it is another site that allows consumers to stream movies and TV shows with multiple devices. Here’s what their FAQs page says:
UltraViolet is a free, online Collection that gives you greater flexibility with how and where you watch the movies and TV shows that you purchase. Once a movie or TV show has been added to your UltraViolet Collection, you will have options to stream it over the internet, download it for offline viewing, or play it back on a disc. Because UltraViolet offers so many viewing choices, you have greater freedom to choose where you want to watch – whether its on a mobile device, computer, television, game console, etc.
It was pretty simple to sign up for a Vudu account. I followed the prompts on the screen, some of the steps are shown in the photos below.
We are all set to watch the digital version of The Amazing Spider-Man and we should receive the Blu-ray + DVD gift set a few days before the movie hits store shelves. My children are already talking about a spiderman party!
To learn more about The Amazing Spider-Man or to stay up to date on news about the movie be sure to follow on the movie on Twitter and Facebook. If you do tweet, use the hashtag #SpiderManWMT to increase visibility and hopefully help the movie trend on Twitter.
“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
Eating out is a treat for our family, as it was for me growing up. My husband’s family ate out a lot and still do. We do not frequent most major fast food places just because they do not serve healthy food. Unhealthy food is never filling and when our children have had it, it leaves them feeling hungry an hour later. We’d rather they fill up on nutritious, healthy foods instead.
Genghis Grill
Genghis Grill is a growing restaurant featuring a unique build your own bowl experience using the Asian stir-fry. According to their website, the experience offers a fun way of cooking similar to what may have been used by 12th century Mongol warriors, led by GENGHIS KHAN, according to an ancient legend. The legend also indicates they used fires to heat their shields so they could grill their food. Now, my boys would love that fact!
Definitely an inspiring little history behind Genghis Grill.
We have never been to Genghis Grill, as a matter a fact, there’s only one in the state of Illinois, but it is only about an hour drive from us.
The Food
If the photos are any indicator, the food at Genghis Grill looks yummy! They serve a variety of protein, including ham, chicken, turkey, beef and fish. Their seasonings range from hot cayenne to garlic and lemon pepper. They also give a wonderful choice of yummy veggies. Their sauces are free of MSG…bonus…and sound delicious. Lastly they serve pasta, rice, tortillas and noodles. If you go to their website you can follow the steps and create your own bowl.
When I built my bowl, the calories weren’t bad for turkey, lemon pepper sauce, veggies, sweet and sour sauce with some fried rice. However, the sodium measured 1500mg! So those watching their sodium intake should watch the nutritional calculator carefully.
Khans Klub
Genghis has a birthday club called, Khans Klub, which enables those who sign up to receive a FREE bowl of your choice. Happy Birthday to you!
It’s not the first time I misplaced it either. I know one of my daughters got to read it. The whole purpose behind the boarding passes is for us to leave the museum and share our passenger’s story with others, especially our children, so they are not forgotten. The last Titanic survivor has died and only their offspring are left to carry on their legacy. By visiting the museum we help keep that legacy alive.
