- August 18th, 2010, 1:47 pm
#42447
We took a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN and Dollywood during Spring Break. Throughout the year, Dollywood has a variety of festivals but during Spring Break it is the Festival of Nations. While there is music from numerous nations, it seems like they focus heavily on drums.
Dollywood is a great family focused theme park and not a thrill park. They do, however have a couple of good rides. Thunderhead is the best wooden roller coaster I have ever been on, We made sure we took the opportunity to ride it a few times while we were there. We also took the opportunity to ride Mystery Mine, a steel coaster. We really enjoyed it the first time due to its uniqueness but after a few rides, its true nature became apparent. The head restraints on the seats end up beating up your head and diminish the fun of the ride.
Some other notable rides are the Tennessee Tornado, one of the better 'corkscrew' type coasters I have ridden, and the Mountain Slidewinder, a water toboggan ride that is much faster than it looks. The Slidewinder has semi-rigid toboggans which make for a very unique experience.
Since it is a theme park, it is more about the shows and less about the rides. Some of the shows are outdoors and due to their nature, they are a lot of fun with great audience interaction.
The park is a popular destination so expect large crowds any time of the year. That is evident from the number of parking spaces that you see when coming into the park. You will want to plan accordingly when planning what shows you want to see and what rides you want to wait for.
One thing that contributes to the park's success is the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. It rivals that of Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. If you have ever been to Disney, it is apparent how the staff is coached to provide the best experience to all the guests and that same feeling is evident at Dollywood. There is really so much that could be covered about the Dollywood experience, you could write an entire book about it.
The new attraction for 2010 is Adventure Mountain. It is a challenge course that you walk through with a harness and a rope that secure you to the overhead track that you follow, and secures you in case you fall. I have seen challenge courses like this at various places but this is by far the biggest and potentially most challenging one I have tried. Nearly every obstacle does have a choice of easy/medium/hard challenges to get across it, but why take the easy road?
It is hard to talk about Dollywood without mentioning at least a couple of notable things in the Pigeon Forge, TN area. While there is certainly no shortage of businesses in Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Gaitlinburg who want their share of your money (just drive down the strip and it becomes apparent), there are a few notable places worth checking out on your trip.
Right at the edge of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville is the Apple Barn and Cider Mill. There you will find everything from a candy shop that makes their own candy to an Ice Cream shop, gift shop, restaurant, etc. The most notable thing you should look at is the Cider Bar. They make their own apple cider which is some of the best I have ever had. You should also try one of their famous Fried Apple Pies. Once you do that, you are sure to come back again the next time you are in the area.
Another notable place is the Old Mill. It is an old 1800s gristmill that is still functional with a gift shop and a restaurant. We took an opportunity to check it out for an early morning breakfast before heading out to Dollywood. The atmosphere was good with family-style dining and the amount of food that you got for the price made it a pretty good deal. While there are plenty of well-known restaurants in the area, it is always nice to eat at a place that is different from where you might normally dine.
All in all, a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN to check out Dollywood and some of the local, less touristy attractions is well worth your time and money. I recommend that you find the time to do it at least once.
Dollywood is a great family focused theme park and not a thrill park. They do, however have a couple of good rides. Thunderhead is the best wooden roller coaster I have ever been on, We made sure we took the opportunity to ride it a few times while we were there. We also took the opportunity to ride Mystery Mine, a steel coaster. We really enjoyed it the first time due to its uniqueness but after a few rides, its true nature became apparent. The head restraints on the seats end up beating up your head and diminish the fun of the ride.
Some other notable rides are the Tennessee Tornado, one of the better 'corkscrew' type coasters I have ridden, and the Mountain Slidewinder, a water toboggan ride that is much faster than it looks. The Slidewinder has semi-rigid toboggans which make for a very unique experience.
Since it is a theme park, it is more about the shows and less about the rides. Some of the shows are outdoors and due to their nature, they are a lot of fun with great audience interaction.
The park is a popular destination so expect large crowds any time of the year. That is evident from the number of parking spaces that you see when coming into the park. You will want to plan accordingly when planning what shows you want to see and what rides you want to wait for.
One thing that contributes to the park's success is the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. It rivals that of Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. If you have ever been to Disney, it is apparent how the staff is coached to provide the best experience to all the guests and that same feeling is evident at Dollywood. There is really so much that could be covered about the Dollywood experience, you could write an entire book about it.
The new attraction for 2010 is Adventure Mountain. It is a challenge course that you walk through with a harness and a rope that secure you to the overhead track that you follow, and secures you in case you fall. I have seen challenge courses like this at various places but this is by far the biggest and potentially most challenging one I have tried. Nearly every obstacle does have a choice of easy/medium/hard challenges to get across it, but why take the easy road?
It is hard to talk about Dollywood without mentioning at least a couple of notable things in the Pigeon Forge, TN area. While there is certainly no shortage of businesses in Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Gaitlinburg who want their share of your money (just drive down the strip and it becomes apparent), there are a few notable places worth checking out on your trip.
Right at the edge of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville is the Apple Barn and Cider Mill. There you will find everything from a candy shop that makes their own candy to an Ice Cream shop, gift shop, restaurant, etc. The most notable thing you should look at is the Cider Bar. They make their own apple cider which is some of the best I have ever had. You should also try one of their famous Fried Apple Pies. Once you do that, you are sure to come back again the next time you are in the area.
Another notable place is the Old Mill. It is an old 1800s gristmill that is still functional with a gift shop and a restaurant. We took an opportunity to check it out for an early morning breakfast before heading out to Dollywood. The atmosphere was good with family-style dining and the amount of food that you got for the price made it a pretty good deal. While there are plenty of well-known restaurants in the area, it is always nice to eat at a place that is different from where you might normally dine.
All in all, a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN to check out Dollywood and some of the local, less touristy attractions is well worth your time and money. I recommend that you find the time to do it at least once.
370 Coasters