Opryland 2020
One of our hopes this year was to go to Opryland. Of course COVID kind of threw a kink into that. But we did find a time that we thought would work with both our schedule and even safety. I really wanted to participate in the Christmas stuff, but I knew that would be busy and it was possible we would get there and not feel safe. Instead we went the week right before Christmas started (November 10-13). This allowed us to see all of the Christmas decor without all the crowds.
We left Huntsville around lunch, and we stopped at American Girl so that Melody could shop around for her WellieWisher, Camille. She loved getting to look around and shopping for her doll. She used her allowance to buy a backpack, and we also bought her a few things for both the trip and for Christmas.
We arrived at the hotel a little after 5. I let Melody pack her suitcase full of toys, so I made sure to take a pictures of all the toys as soon as we arrived so we didn’t forget anything. Pro tip!
The hotel let us both hand sanitizer and hand sanitizing wipes. We used the wipes a few times, but we used our own hand sanitizer. Theirs smelled awful.
We then went and had dinner. We opted to eat at the Delta Marketplace. We had intended to eat at the Paisano’s next door, but they were closed for maintenance even though they were listed as open (this was a common occurrence during our stay). Brad had the three cheese panini with housemate chips. Melody had a peanut butter sandwich from our room, ha. And I had the Chicken Caesar salad. The panini was delicious as were the chips. The salad was ok. Nothing fancy at all. Just chicken, cheese, and lettuce along with a packet of dressing.
We then walked around some before stopping for gelato. Melody refused the vanilla bean gelato due to the “black” spots in it. But she did ask for chocolate which was completely out of the norm for her. The chocolate was good. Brad had the marshmallow. It wasn’t amazing, but tasted ok mixd with the chocolate, ha. We then called it an early night.
We had breakfast on the balcony the next day, well actually every morning.
We then got dressed and headed out to explore.
We opted for Delta Marketplace again, but we brought it back to the room. I had the roasted turkey sandwich. They have them sat out in the cooler since they are their “cold sandwiches”. I hated these were not made fresh. It was kind of soggy from the tomato, so I only finished half. It also did not include any side item which was unexpected. Brad had the burger which he enjoyed.
We rested for a little bit after lunch, then we put on our swimsuits and headed to the indoor pool. We were literally the only people there for most of our time. One other family showed up near the end of our one hour there. Melody loved getting to play, but we forgot her puddle jumper, so she had to “ride” on Brad most of the time.
After swimming we spent some time in our room playing games on the balcony.
We ordered dinner from “a la carte” using the Marriott app. We ordered pizza from Delta Marketplace. It said it would be ready in 30 minutes. So we made Melody dinner, and then we headed that way. Well we arrived, and they said that the app didn’t save my name or credit card info, so they could not process my order. It was a really frustrating moment of the trip. We ended up just going over to Stax and getting a burger. With COVID, the options are very limited, but it was the best visit we have had there.
After dinner, Melody and I went exploring.
Brad took some of his GI Joes for a photo shoot.
Then we grabbed dessert from Annie Anne’s and took it to our room to eat on the balcony.
After dessert, we headed down to see the fountain show at 8. Melody had so much fun dancing around to all of the fun music.
The next morning went the same. We did sleep in some, then we had breakfast on the balcony. Since housekeeping is non-existent during these COVID times, you can request things in the Marriott app. Below is a screen shot of our request for towels. They brought them within an hour.
For lunch we finally got our pizza! It did create some drama for our household though. Melody was excited about pizza, so we did not prepare her the usual peanut butter sandwich. Well she didn’t like the way the pizza looked, so a breakdown happened when we had no other food. It was bad. The pizza, however, was good.
We went upstairs and got Melody a sandwich, then we went exploring. Brad had a meeting for work, so the two of us walked around and took pictures.
After Brad’s meeting, we all went on the boat ride. I still don’t think it’s worth the money, but Melody had so much fun doing it. I even bought the picture they sell you at the end.
We walked some more (we spent a LOT of time walking around), and we stopped and took some pictures. And Melody watched the fountain for bit.
I stopped and Melody take a picture by this tree. We take it each time we visit.
Then we played more games in the room.
And we opted to have Cascades for dinner. Brad and I both got sushi, and I got a drink too. It was nice sitting down somewhere and eating. And right behind California Grill, this was some of the best sushi we have had.
We did give Melody $5 to use at the arcade, but not before Brad disinfected the machines!
Then came time for more exploring and GI Joe pictures.
And our last fountain show! We stayed for both this evening, and we ended up soaked during the first.
Then we got dessert before heading up to bed.
On our last morning we took things slow before packing up and heading out. But first one last picture!
Melody loved having a suitcase of her own to carry.
Then I had Melody retake pictures in front of the tree to better match the pictures from years’ past.
Then we spent some time at the fountain once more.
On our walk back to the exit, we saw Mrs. Claus. So we did stop in and write Santa a letter before heading out.
And after lunch, she was out!
So we did participate in this AR Animal thing the hotel had going on. You download an app and find these random spots on the ground. We did it all throughout the trip, and Melody loved it. Below are the pictures we took.
And now the pictures throughout the years of Melody and the tree!
We had so a fun trip. We felt fairly safe the entire time with a few exception the last day we were there. There were several people who refused to wear masks even though the hotel required them. It was frustrating, but there was nothing we could do. The crowds were great. I am certain that this was because it was the week Christmas began there, but most people did not want to miss out on the events. So they waited until they started. It was perfect timing for sure!
