Jcoaster Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) Howdy everyone! My brother and I decided to do some brother bonding and take a trip down to Tenessee for 5 days from Sunday to Friday. Our flight left Newark at 9:10 yesterday and we landed at Tyseon Mcghee Airport in Knoxville at 11 am. From there we picked up our rental car and was on our merry way. We stopped for a quick lunch at Mel's Classic Diner before hitting Dollywood from 3 to closing. I have to say I was absolutely BLOWN away by Dollywood as a first timer there. Seriously, I haven't even seen the entire park yet and it is one of my favorites. We hit the park at a good time as it was mostly dead, we got three rides in on Lightening Rod. It delivers on every single front and is the best all around rollercoaster I've ever been on. If they can just get it up and running all the time it would do Dollywood Wonders. My brother and I also took a ride on the train which was nice, not often you get to ride an authentic steam engine. Blazing Fury was actually a lot of fun and the old practical effects were awesome (Im a sucker for them). Daredevil Falls is a great flume ride, I actually caught serious airtime in the back. Lastly we rode Tenessee Tornado in the front row which took its place as the best Arrow I've ever been on. All around it was a beautiful park and I can't wait to get back this week! Part two will be up soon as my service is really spotty up here. Now on to the photos. Mel's Diner, if youre in Pigeon Forge try it. Huge burgers and smoked Potato Salad! Chevy Impala, we're riding in style this trip. Forced Trevor to take this picture lmao. Three Bears General Store had some rescued Sun Bears for viewing. Splendid Take me to Lightening Rod damn it!!! The creek that runs through the area of this park is beautiful Some old timey cars on this area of the park leading up to Lightening Rod. This part of the park is very different in theming than the rest. An open Lightening Rod, what a sight for sore eyes. Queue theming Who knew building a launched wooden rollercoaster could be this easy. Buh-Bye now. Seriously the quad down is one of the best elements ever put on a ride ever. Ejector all over the place (That sounds wrong). There ya go station nerds. Dollywood is loaded with beautiful theming and buildings. Choo-Choo train "The pioneers used to ride these babies for miles!!!!" More theming The mayor of Dollywood's quarters Magic is inside that grist mill I tell ye! Does this really need explaining on this site? Wait....More theming. Crazy they actually hold service in the middle of a themepark. Murica. Seriously hats off to Dollywood and all the other park that rescues Eagles. As a history teacher you think I'd let this slide? Pay your respects to the Bowie Knife. ....Don't forget Smith & Wesson Revolvers, a staple of the old west. Lots of fun. My father is a retired NYC fireman so its nice to see Dollywood hand out so much praise to fireman everywhere. What the.... Oh that explains it. Artsy shot. Big ole loop. I got soaked. After a long day at the park whats better than a few brews and relaxation? Smokey Mountain IPA. Till next update folks. Edited August 22, 2017 by Jcoaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckayj93 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Nice report so far. Mels diner is good. Tons of other good places to eat in the area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 Nice report so far. Mels diner is good. Tons of other good places to eat in the area! Thanks, Im actually staying in Gatlingburg. We ate at Smokey Mountain Brewery last night. Great beers and wings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckayj93 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Most local places in the Smokies you can't go wrong with. One of my favorites is Country Steak N Eggs in Townsend, or the Pottery Cafe in Pigeon Forge. Log Cabin Pancake House in Gatlinburg is good too. Also if you have time, definitely check out the National Park. A lot of the free ranger programs are really good, as well as the hiking trails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 Most local places in the Smokies you can't go wrong with. One of my favorites is Country Steak N Eggs in Townsend, or the Pottery Cafe in Pigeon Forge. Log Cabin Pancake House in Gatlinburg is good too. Also if you have time, definitely check out the National Park. A lot of the free ranger programs are really good, as well as the hiking trails. The National park will be a major part of the next update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Splendid report thus far. Dollywood looks amazing, I have to get out there one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 It's always a nail biter opening up a Dollywood report Glad you got on the ride and enjoyed the first visit! It's rush a refreshing change compared to the norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 The second day of our trip we headed out to Smokey Mountains National Park which is about a mile down the road from our hotel. Trevor and I arrived at the visitory center around 9:30 then we headed out on our first trail shortley after. We hiked the Sugarland's Valley trail which is about 8 miles round trip and boy was it strenuous with the humidity. We hadn't encountered any bears on the trail, the most we heard of one was a family saying a bear crossed their path earlier down the road. Once we got back from the hile we hit the Roaring Fork Motor Trail which is a must do for anyone in the National Park's area. The scenery was incredible and the trail had numerous points to get out along the way. Lastly we drove twenty miles up the mountain to Clingman's Dome which is the highest point in the Smokey's. This was another incredible trail that provides breathtaking views. All and all it was a great day and a tiring one. Last but not least we did not see a bear in the park but one was wondering around the hotel at 6 pm tonight. Bob Ogles place Prestine waters Everything up here is so lush. Plenty of waterfalls throughout the park. Some spectacular views. He's on the loose He made his rounds to all the trash cans. You can't even see anything from the top of Clingman's Dome the mist is so thick. Or should I say smoke? Ended the day with some beautiful bbq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 That BBQ looks glorious. Did you share any with the bear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Okay so im writing the third part of this trip report completely aware that a bunch of crap was announced today and nobody cares about this for the most part (rightfully so). Tuesday we headed out for an 11 mile bike ride in Cades Cove which is one of the park's most visited attractions and its easy to see why! So many great views and lots of wildlife. We came across turkey's ans another bear. The bear was a good ways out so I didn't get closer because yanno, I rather not be attacked. Overall this is a short update but after this is my second part of Dollywood! My ride. Awesome views all over the place here Gobble Gobble Someone had a strait up canvas out and was painting in the middle of the park lol. Plenty of Butterfly nests around the park like this. They look nasty, but whatever do your thing little guys! Ye Ole Mill the real version Old stables Fresh River Trout for dinner that was absolutely amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Hello everyone and welcome to the second part of my Dollywood post. The second day we arrived at the park and it was empty and it stayed that way for most of the day. We headed to Mystery Mine at opening and what a gem that ride is! Great theming, yeah it beats you up a bit but its so fun. After that we hit Firechaser which was another great all around ride with impeccable theming. Wild Eagle was my first B&M Wing Rider and (surprise) it was another really fun ride. Dollywood really has such a great collection of rides. Drop Line provides great views with a pretty forceful drop. Great addition for the park after the Timber Tower disaster. Thunderhead, although a bit rough is out of control and still a staple there as it pulls a big line still. The rest of the day we checked out River Rampage and River Battle while getting re-rides on the coasters. I enjoyed River Battle more than the rapids. Its a great interactive experience and fun for all ages. Overall I had an amazing experience at Dollywood and the park is definitely now one of my favorites. I hope to make it back sometime soon! Is this good? More theming at the entrance. The walk to Timber Canyon is beautiful. The Climax of Mystery Mine. The old ride op was hilarious, worth the ride experience itself. Themed Euro = Thumbs up High-hooooooo. I mean, wrong ride oops. Firechaser is AWESOME. Fun for all ages minus the horrors of actual fire! *National Anthem Plays* What a great setting for a coaster. Im a fan of Wing-Riders after this I will admit. (Although its my only one) New hotness New hotness theming The parks original woodie Heading into the infamous station fly-by Live music can be found all over here Dolly's House A decent rapids Purty We ate at one of the buffets. The value for the quality of food is better than anywhere I've been but Knoebels. The Blacksmith's workshop. Ye ole school house Check out the bird show, the Magpie that collects money at the end is badass. Oft passed over gem at the park. I will bid Dollywood Adieu with this station fly-by shot of Thunderhead. Hope to be back soon! Edited August 18, 2017 by Jcoaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Pssst.... Where's the B-R-E-A-D? Awesome non-captioned TR this part! Really lovely shots you took, especially of all the landscaping and non-attraction theming around those parts of DW. I love parks that have this much green in them. All the shots spoke for them self, which is how I am pretty sure you intended them to be. Great job there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdogg68 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Great pics, looks like you two had a great trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 Pssst.... Where's the B-R-E-A-D? Awesome non-captioned TR this part! Really lovely shots you took, especially of all the landscaping and non-attraction theming around those parts of DW. I love parks that have this much green in them. All the shots spoke for them self, which is how I am pretty sure you intended them to be. Great job there! Lmao its in the first part of the TR. I accidentally posted this by accident but I updated it with captions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 ^ Oops. Boy, do I forget fast, now, lol! Life. Well, I liked it all without captions. I think seeing all that water stuff and greenery helped make it a lovely read-through w/o them. That said, looking forward to re-reading it again, with your captions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 ^ I agree with your statements about the water and greenery. Dollywood is the best looking park i've been too outside of BGW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 The final part of my trip report begins with breakfast at Crocketts Breakfast Camp. For those that have never been there or ever heard of it, this place is completely legit and probably was the best meal of the entire trip. I reccomend it to anyone in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. After a great breakfast we headed to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. I have to say that going into it I wasn't expecting mucu but it was actually a very very nice aquarium with some nice exhibits and a variety of animals. The aquarium took us around two hours to complete and we decided after that it was time for some Moonshine tasting because whats the point of going to the Smokies if you aren't going to drink some shine? Ole Smokey Moonshine is a beautiful complex where you can taste a wide variety of Moonshine for five dollars and that five dollars is given back to you in the form of a five dollar coupon. As for the flavors they had Huckleberry, Orange, Key Lime, Margarita, Blue Flame (162 proof so be careful), Salted Caramel Whiskey, Fruit Punch and Apple Pie along with some of their cream liquors. Needless to say I dropped 130 dollars in there and walked out with a free carry bag. All in all this was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to return to the Great Smoky Mountains sooner rather than later. Croketts had great theming for a restaurant. The menu is an old newspaper. Pork Cops in gravy with homefries, eggs and a biscuit. Ripley's entrance The first tank you see in the lobby. The aquarium starts by taking you through the rainforest. Fresh water stingrays Electric Eel Mudskippers, everyone knows these lovable little bastards. Jellyfishing, Jellyfishing, Jellyfishing The control room was actually wild complicated. Most people don't realize all the engineering that goes into aquariums. At least I didnt. The aquarium had plenty of sharks which was cool. They had two massive Sawtooth Sharks. There's a big ole catfish. I wonder how he'd taste fried. Seahorses I don't think I've ever seen Baracudda in person before this. A glimpse of the Sawtooth Shark in the tunnel. This here is a Reef Shark For those of you who don't know Nautilus' are some of the most ancient creatures around. This crab had to at least be 3 1/2 to 4 feet. I was really proud of this picture of the Cuddlefish The aquarium ends with the Penguin exhibit. Alright this is where the real fun begins. They show you the process of making the moonshine on site. My free carry bag since I spent so much lol. I hope you all enjoyed the trip report. See you all soon! It is a great looking complex. There is two in Gatlinburg and one in Pigeon Forge. Then you get to taste!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 The Breakfast Camp breakfast looks wonderful! And the Aquarium tour you took, looked great. And it was awesome to see where my little "sampler" Moonshine bottles came from, lol! Our liquor store had these as "stocking stuffers" for the Holidays, and I always wondered where they actually came from, in Gatlinburg. The only two they had available was White Lightnin' and Apple Pie. Did you try either of these flavours? I haven't opened mine, as I save the airline-sized booze bottles for those....um..."special times." (Like when I have no booze around.) Awesome TR and thanks for sharing it all. Baby bottles of Moonshine! (4oz. in each I believe) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 ^ I tried the apple pie flavor and it was absolutely delicious, but you need to be careful cause it can be dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 I'm loving this trip report. Dollywood really is a special place, and you have some great photos. It's cool to see some of the places in that area that I didn't go to, as well. There's a lot to do in the Smokies, and I already know I'll be back at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 I'm loving this trip report. Dollywood really is a special place, and you have some great photos. It's cool to see some of the places in that area that I didn't go to, as well. There's a lot to do in the Smokies, and I already know I'll be back at some point. There is so much there to see! I already can't wait to go back. Dollywood really is one of those memorable parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 Great report! There are a LOT more flavors of Smokey Mtn. moonshine than there was when we last went. My coworker and her husband went there in early July and came home with a jar or bottle of just about everything that they sold! I miss Dollywood and want to get back there someday soon. I agree with you about the Splash Battle - Michael and I had a blast on it when it was about 90 degrees outside. Great way to cool off and have fun while doing it! Not sure how we missed the brewery when we were there last time. I think it was because we were buzzed after the shine tasting and then went to Dick's Last Resort for an early dinner afterwards (which was a pretty fun place). We'll need to hit this up during our next visit to the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 ^ I recommend the wings from the Brewery. They make their own sauce thats out of this world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 ^ Did you have them the traditional way or with the breading on them? Never been a fan of the breaded ones as they simply aren't as good as "naked" wings. I like the sounds of some of those wing sauces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 ^ Did you have them the traditional way or with the breading on them? Never been a fan of the breaded ones as they simply aren't as good as "naked" wings. I like the sounds of some of those wing sauces! Original, I'm not a fan of breaded wings either. Its "too much" if you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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