Christmas At Gaylord Opryland – Lorrie Morgan Enchanted Christmas Dinner And Show

I recently returned from my annual trip to Gaylord Opryland’s Country Christmas celebration, and among all the traditions that are back for the 2012 season, is the dinner show.  The show, has a new look and voice as Louise Mandrell ended her run last year, and Lorrie Morgan has stepped in with her Enchanted Dinner and Show.

Lorrie Morgan was one of my first concerts I ever went to.  By comparison, Lorrie is to my dad, what Kellie Pickler is to me.  Needless to say, he was jealous when I told him I’d be seeing Lorrie VERY close up.

The show started with the amazing meal that the chefs at Gaylord have come to be known for. We arrived at the table and were greeted by a basket of Sliced French Baguette and Buttered Crackers along with a platter of Artichoke, Spinach and Butter Milk Cheddar Cream Cheese Spreads with a slection of grapes and strawberries.  The wait staff quickly brought an interesting soup, which we later found out was a Butternut Squash Bisque with a Sweet pastry Dome.  The dome, was flaky and delicious and perfect for dipping in the bisque, which has a great flavor for fall.  I thought at first it may have been pumpkin, but I had the wrong gourd.  Either way it was very good.

The entree followed in the form of Braised Eye of Round with Red Wine Au jus, Sour Cream and Roasted Potato Mash, Country Green Beans, Pan Seared Corn Muffin, Green Peas and Carrots.  This is pretty close to the meal we’ve had in past years and it was equally tasty.  They also brought around Mini Biscuits with Carmel Apple Butter, which I could have made my entire meal out of…LOVE SOME APPLE BUTTER!

As the lights dimmed for the show, they brought my wife and I a dessert from heaven: Chocolate Cherry Cheese Cake with Snow Flake Sugar Cookie Garnish!

I also want to say how great the wait staff was in taking care of my daughter who is only 22 months old.  They brought her a high chair and then in no time had a plate of chicken fingers, tator tots, and green beans with a variety of dipping sauces and a juice to drink!  For a show where I’m sure they see more adults than kids, they were awesome to LeAnn!

As we were finishing dinner, the beautiful Lorrie Morgan hit the stage singing her classic, ‘Something In Red.’  The Christmas themed living room stage, complete with roaring LCD fire and friends peeking in the frosty video screen windows provided a nice backdrop as Lorrie took us through the years of her radio hits and some Christmas classics.

Familiar Christmas numbers like ‘My Favorite Things’ and ‘Sleigh Ride’ were performed along with a solemn rendition of ‘Ave Maria.’  For some comic relief, she brought a member of the audience on stage for a dance during ‘Let It Snow.’  Even Opry legend, Jeannie Seely was in attendance to watch the show.

The Lorrie Morgan show was much different from the Louise Mandrell show in that, Mandrell put on a more variety show type performance reminiscent of Pigeon Forge or Branson, while Morgan was more of a Christmas concert.  Both were entertaining, just a different style.  My only critique of the performance is that from close up, it was obvious that some…not all…of the show was lip-synched.  A little disappointing, but I can understand I guess for a show that is so fast paced with a lot of music that Lorrie doesn’t perform on a regular basis.

Overall it was a great experience and you too can go check it out by visiting

ChristmasatGaylordOpryland.com.