Gaylord opryland Nashville - a tropical island getaway

Just when you thought COVID doomed your life, you stumble upon something so serene and beautiful that life gives you hope again.

Many of our travel plans had been canceled due to COVID and it took us a while to get comfortable enough to travel again. Yet when you are with kids you tend to put a lot of thought before you are sure where you can travel and yet be socially distant. 

Gaylord Opryland was kind enough to welcome us to its property. I cannot say enough good things about it because it really was THAT good.

Gaylord Opryland is like a mini tropical getaway with lush 9 acres of indoor garden covered with climate controlled glass atrium. There are cascading waterfalls and beautiful spots full of vibrant flowers and greenery.

 

An indoor river also features a delta riverboat which rides everyday allowing visitors to take a breath of fresh air amidst the beauty. 

The Delta Riverboat travels down a scenic river winding through Gaylord Opryland Resort's 4.5-acre Delta Atrium.

Since Halloween is just around the corner, they had beautifully carved pumpkins decorated on the trails. Also a variety of fun activities for the kids to get into the Halloween mood.

Goblins and Giggles Getaway at Gaylord Opryland

September 11 - October 31, 2020

From spooky animal encounters and a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt to jack o’lantern trails and trick-or-treating, you’ll create special fall family memories that will outlast the season.

Some of the fun activities currently at Gaylord Opryland are-

Hide and Seek Scavenger Hunt

Solve the puzzle to find the missing clues.

Location: Throughout the Resort
Times: Daily, at leisure
Price:  $10 (tax inclusive)

Jack o’lantern Walk

Imaginative walk through the trail featuring carved and illuminated pumpkins and the world's largest pumpkin.

Location: Throughout the Resort
Times: Daily, at leisure
Price:  Free

Trick or Treat Expedition

Wear your best costume and go trick-or-treating. 

Location: Throughout the Resort
Times: Fridays/Saturdays, 4pm-8pm
Price:   $10 (tax inclusive)

Family Fun Zone

Halloween inspired fun and crafts.

Location: Delta Atrium
Times: Fridays & Saturdays
Pumpkin Arts & Crafts 5pm
Fall Trivia 6pm
Spooky Bingo 7pm
Price:  Free

Family Movies

Not-so-scary Family movie night in your pjs

Location: Delta Island Meeting Room
Times: Sunday-Thursday 4pm;
Fridays & Saturdays 3pm & 6pm
Price: FREE  

Bedtime Stories with Morgana

Fun and spooky story time in your pjs.

Location: Hotel Guest Room TV Channel
Times: Daily at bedtime
Price:  Free

Animal Encounters

Fun educational opportunity to interact with various creatures.

Location: Delta Atrium
Times: Fridays and Saturdays, 5pm & 6:15pm
Price:  Free

Fall Fountain Shows

Perfectly choreographed musical water show. 

Location: Delta Fountain
Daily Times:
Hydrobeats, 8pm, 10pm
Spooky Light Show, 7pm, 9pm
Price: FREE

Self-Guided Garden Tour / Musical Art Tour

Take a self guided tour to explore the flora in the gardens.

Location: Delta atrium
Time: Daily, at leisure
Price: Free

Color Between the Wines

Color pages from the Jackson wine estate.

Location: Falls Bar
Time: Saturdays & Sundays
Price: Varies by selection

SOUNDWAVES

After exploring these activities you can unwind at the recently opened waterpark SoundWaves.  Chill with the entire family or ride some thrills rides, riding the waves or floating along a lazy river, SoundWaves upscale water attraction fuses music and water to create an exclusive Nashville experience with something for the entire family.

If you want to get the most out of the experience then make sure to book an atrium view room. You will wake up to an amazing view every morning which never got boring.

Lastly I would like to point out that Gaylord Opryland did a wonderful job to keep their customers safe and maintained good sanitization. There was also a sanitizer in my room. Staff was spraying the place well and from time to time which made me feel pretty comfortable. 

Read here about their precautionary measures during COVID.

My entire family had a wonderful time and would go back there in a heartbeat. 

Thank you Gaylord Opryland for hosting my family and welcoming me to experience the wonderland.

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Disney’s MULAN - Now available on Disney+ with Premier Access!

Disney’s MULAN is now available on Disney+ with Premier Access!

Press release-

Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s “Mulan,” in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known. When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter ofu an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.

Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s “Mulan,” in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known. When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.

I have attached some fun printables for your to enjoy with your family. 

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Great Wolf Lodge - should you visit during COVID?

This post is sponsored by The Great Wolf Lodge who graciously invited me and my family to enjoy a one night getaway of pure fun.

Debating where to go this season? The Great Wolf Lodge has you covered. I was there last weekend and not only did my entire family has an absolute blast, we felt safe while doing it.

Great Wolf Lodge has introduced it's new Paw Pledge program which is a company wide initiative which focuses on health and safety of it's visitors. They have developed guidelines based on advice from health authorities and public officials. They have collaborated with medical experts, sanitation specialists and industrial engineers to develop health and safety procedures. 

Click here to check out their paw pledge program. 

There were hand sanitizers after every few steps. Disposable masks were readily available in many places for the visitors to grab one incase they don't have one. Everyone under the age of 5 were adviced to wear a mask in all public areas except when they are sitting and eating or actively participating in the water park. The staff were always seen sanitizing areas. We felt quite at ease there.

The rooms were adorable as usual with the rustic theme. We had purchased the wolf pass which included a ton of activities and doing them itself took us a good entire day and few more hours (cause 2 toddlers you know). And what was more convenient was that we didnt have to really worry about using the public toilet (even though it was well sanitized) we could just head back to our room.

The wolf pass costed $59.99 and it included the following-

One MagiQuest game.

- One Compass Quest game, classic wand, standard topper, or Magi belt.

- One Great Wolf Lodge Candy Shop candy cup.

- One Paw Points game card for Northern Lights Arcade ($5).

- One scoop of ice cream from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Shop.

- One round at Howl In One mini golf.

- One game of bowling at our fun-sized Ten Paw Alley.

- One admission to Moonstone Mine at Oliver's Mining Co.

- One Build-A-Bear animal (outfit not included).

- One leather wristband to take home.

We had so much fun solving the MagiQuest that we had our kids cuddled in their strollers and we headed out after dinner and stayed till 12am solving the clues. Well they turn off the machines at 12 so we had to call it a night.

The next morning the waterpark opened at 10am and we were at the door exactly then. So we got the waterpark quite empty since we were among the first inside. 

You needn't wear mask in the waterpark and they did try to keep single lines for traffic coming in and going out but inside the waterpark you are on your own to keep social distancing.

We did enjoy ourselves and then headed out for lunch. Had pizza, played mini golf (which was empty), played bowling (again almost empty) and called it a day.

We were exhausted but we still wanted more. This was the perfect weekend getaway.

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