On Black Friday I took the short leap from Texas to Tennessee to visit some family. As always it was a magical time, especially when it’s so close to Christmas. My mom and I spent some well needed bonding time and I soaked it up as usual. We went shopping, I got a haircut, and then it was Christmas.
My aunt surprised us with tickets to a local Christmas lights drive thru. It was absolutely beautiful, and we took my Christmas loving grandma who sang along with every song and enjoyed herself immensely.
The next day we visited Dave and Busters. But not just any Dave and Busters, oh no, the one at the Opry Mills Mall. It was fantastic, not as wonderful as the one in Philadelphia, but it’ll have to do!
Across the way, if you’re familiar with the area, is the Gaylord Opryland Resort and this time of year it’s simply breathtaking. We ventured over there, having tickets for the Elf: Mission Save Christmas. Mainly because it looked like the Buzz Lightyear ride in Disney world on the advertisements (sadly it was nothing of the sort). Once we walked into this winter wonderland, there were:
-a tubing hill that was created
-stage for live entertainment
-ice rink
-ice bumper cars
-fire pits to warm you up
-a ton of places for photo ops.
Inside of the Elf: Mission Save Christmas it was a little bit of a let down because it was mainly a walk-through photo op sort of thing, with interactive games your children can play. It wasn’t really what was advertised, but it was cute, and we had a Groupon so…it wasn’t too bad. At the end there was a Auntie Annie's Pretzels (always delicious), a very interesting gift shop that has ornaments, and we got these really cute little Yeti dolls. The softest thing you can ever imagine.
When we ventured into the actual hotel, my breath was taken away. I’ve never seen such a beautiful array of flowers and greenery before, nevertheless one as big as this resort! We stuck mainly to one wing of the hotel, where the boat ride, fountain show, and little town structure is. The fountain show was phenomenal, I've seen a few in my time, like the one in Atlantic City and both Disney Parks in America, but it was grand. It was perfect with the music and the entire area around it.
Mom, who has been to this resort as a guest before, wanted to finally go on the boat ride that just travels around the little wing of the hotel. It was super cute and enjoyable, even though it was a little too close for comfort in the times of Covid. The company that runs it was very careful to wipe down every surface of the boats between excursions, but even with wearing my mask I was a little too close to my seat neighbor. Also, the song that played during the boat ride was entirely an advertisement for the other things that are available in the resort. It was annoying, based on the 12 days of Christmas.
Overall, I'd love to go back and see the resort at other holidays. Certainly, to visit and explore the other wings of the resorts.
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