Photo TR: Dollywood and Beech Bend

So my girlfriend, Jenni, and I decided in early December that this year we wanted to try and go to some parks that offer Christmas events. We thought about Silver Dollar City, but it didn't seem like enough of a getaway being only 5 hours away from our home near St. Louis. Our next option was Dollywood, as we got into it for free for working at Six Flags. Then I got to thinking and realized Beech Bend was practically on the way! Our first weekend pick was the weekend before Christmas. We invited a few friends, but a couple days before we left, things fell through, money got tight, and everyone dropped out. Jenni and I then decided to shoot for the weekend after Christmas with or without friends.

Friday the 26th rolls around and we hit the road. We left Highland IL at 10:30 and arrived at Pigeon Forge at 7:30 their time for a total of 8 hours driving. Pretty good considering Betty, our GPS, predicted it to be a 9 hour drive. It was hella foggy Saturday morning from the drastic temperature change over the past day. Dollywood didn't open until 10am so we had a couple hours to kill. We drove into Gatlinburg and took some scenic routes north of the village until we killed enough time to head to Dollywood. We pulled into the parking lot at 9:30. It was looking pretty dead so far. We headed to guest relations and grabbed our tickets, rolled through the turnstiles, and headed up to Thunderhead Gap. It was still hella foggy.

When the chain dropped, we hit up Mystery Mine a couple times and then Thunderhead a couple times. Both are gem rides. Really nice set of coasters Dollywood has on their table. They're all very well maintained too! It seems that most parks have a couple good coasters and then a bunch of so-so ones. At Dollywood, their all top notch! Anyways, we worked our way around the park once getting in all of Jenni's credits. After a couple hours, we headed back into Pigeon Forge and booked our room at Smoky Shadows Motel. It was a cheap $45 room that didn't come with everything you would expect out of a $45 room. We napped for a couple hours, mind you we had been up since 1pm the day before, and then headed back to Dollywood for Smoky Mountain Christmas.

The lights were absolutely AWESOME. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Everything was completely decked out, detailed, and just awesome. We walked around the park twice just looking at all the lights. We got our final rides on Mystery Mine and Thunderhead, grabbed a souvenir and left. We didn't realize it until we left, but the parking lot was filled to capacity. I'm not sure whether they were into the overflow yet, but the parking nearest the toll plaza was filled. All in all it was an awesome day, lots of fun!

That night we grabbed the BEST hamburger ever at Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg, walked around the shops a bit, and slammed into bed at 1am. The next morning we got up around 9am and checked out of our motel. We planned on getting to Beech Bend around 5pm. It was a 5 hour drive and we gained 1 hour driving so we had to leave the mountains by 1pm. I decided to kill that four hours by driving around the national park. We headed up 441 I think? across into North Carolina. It was hella foggy and the views were nonexistent. I still loved driving on those curvy roads. We turned around the drove back, hitting up route 73 on the way. After a ways I saw a sign for a trail head and decided to hit it up. It was a four mile round trip hike on paved trails to Laurel Falls. We walked up to the falls, took some pictures for about an hour, and walked back. Two hours killed, boom. The falls was really neat. I was glad we did something out of the ordinary like that.

So 5 hours later, we arrive at Beech Bend. The way it works, I think, is that you pay $15 to drive through some lights, park on the raceway, and play in the park. It's all pay per ride too, no wristbands. ARG! Kind of a rip to me, but I guess they have to make money and it's worth it to me. So why am I complaining... The lights were neat, unique, and a good idea for the park to do. Not saying I would do them if I didn't have to, because I wouldn't. There were about 10 other cars on the track. The park was dead as all get out. We bought two packs of 50 tickets for 9 rides on Rumbler. We had all 9 rides to ourselves. It was really special, I'll never forget it! The crew was awesome, very welcoming and considerate. Rumbler has this odd trait to it for me. It seems that no matter how much I ride it, I can't remember it's exact layout. Thunderhead seems much more twisted and intense, yet I can remember it's layout to the bone. Not so much with Rumbler. Is it just me?

So we spent 2 hours at Beech Bend. 1 hour riding Rumbler, a few minutes feeding goats, a few more sitting, a few more taking pictures, etc. We left around 8:30 and arrived back in Highland IL around 1:30.

The trip was a BLAST. It was our first trip alone so it was extra special. We plan on making the Dollywood/Beech Bend trip a yearly deal! Ending cost, $100 per person. Totally worth it!

More pictures of Dollywood and Beechbend from earlier trips can be seen here.

www.coasterhobos.com/beechbend.html

www.coasterhobos.com/dollywood.html

It was an awesome trip. We'll definitely do it again. Thanks Dollywood and Beech Bend for a great weekend!

More pictures of Dollywood and Beechbend from earlier trips can be seen here.

www.coasterhobos.com/beechbend.html

www.coasterhobos.com/dollywood.html

Every ride was lit up, regardless of whether it was open. Didn't matter, all I wanted was my Rumbler.

Such an awesome GCII. Really top notch. And they take really good care of it!

Sigh... Our last ride of the season. I guess we'll do it all again in April!

Me and Rumbler. Bye Bye Rumbler!

That black one was mean.

They started to eat her hair.

Jenni getting attacked by goats. HAH!

Little fire pits to sit around. This park has such a home-town feel. Really memorable.

They had smores for the kids.

Zoom zoom zoom. This ride is so disorienting.

So I'm wondering what happened to the logo on the front?

Last time we rode Rumbler it was 95 degrees. This time it was 35 degrees.

Back row is the way to go.

Good times, good times.

Mmm, Rumbler....

Is that Greg (Eagle Rider)? EDIT: I later found out it is not. My bad...

There we go!

Cooler...

Getting cooler...

I paid $15 for this?!

YAY! Beech Bend!

I dunno why, but I really like this pic. The massive amount of water in the background is just so cool!

Ahh, how cute.

Jenni showing off......her booty.

Postcard pic!

Alright, how cool am I. It was actually hella scary.

Me making a fool of myself, for a picture.

Watch your step!

Laurel Falls.

I thought it was a joke. I was wrong.

It's rough on the paved trails. Real rough. No plumbing or nothin.

True mountaineers.

And finally, a 50's place. Bye Bye Dollywood.

I still have that song stuck in my head.

The trestle.

Get it? Tornado? All the lights are messed up, HAH!

Even Jesus gets lit up.

Not sure what this was, but it was a centerpiece, therefore, image.

I'm going to try this next year. Smaller tree though...

Barn.

Same tree as before, but later that night.

I never realized until later that they don't take the lights down. Proof http://www.coasterhobos.com/images/dollywood/atmosphere14.JPG

Singers man.

Without sounding gay, it really was magical.

Beyond cool.

Almost as important as the Myspace mirror pic, the neck fat and kiss pic.

Dunce hat.

Cool by day, even cooler by night.

Creey...

Smoky Mountain fog.

Jenni's first ride on Thunderhead!

Neck shot, check!

Yay! We're finally here!

This makes me sad for not checking scheduals. I had no idea that Beech Bend was open year round. I was avoiding it because I thought KY was one of those states where parks would close in the winter, but I've been afew hours away with no Rumbler credit all month!

Oh well, great TR, and I fully endorse and agree that all goats are evil.

Beech Bend is not really a year round park. Only open nights in December (through Jan 3) for the holiday event, its closed in November and the rest of the winter.

Did Beech Bend have the Power Surge opened? It's by the log flume...

Some guy said last year they needed new hydrolic fluid to have it working in colder weather, and that they'd have it this year.

Beech Bend is open tonight for New Year's Eve and through the night til 1 am.

jimths08 this was a fun and good PTR. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys! I believe this is the second year that the park has had a Christmas event. They really pulled it off well for being such a new event. Nothing as grand as Silver Dollar City or Dollywood. But the event definitely feels right at home at Beech Bend.

I didn't really pay too much attention to what was open, but I didn't see any ride ops at Power Surge when I walked by it. I know that the rides that are opened varies each night so it may have just been a fluke that it wasn't open.

All I can say for sure that was open was Rumbler, the kiddie drop tower near the petting zoo, the petting zoo, carousel, the little maze house near Tornado, and Tornado.

Anyways, thanks for reading guys!

I'm not sure what impressed me more....the incredible photos, or the fact that one of the TPR Fanboys actually has a live, breathing girlfriend!!!

Great trip report and photos Jim. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome pictures! So how was Mystery Mine at night? I've never had the chance to ride it in the dark. Looks like I need to go in December.

-Derek

Mystery Mine was very fun at night. It was very neat dropping down the final drop and then roaring into the barrel roll at night. The trestle section was cool as well. The themeing has a very neat atmosphere at night as well. Kinda adds to the whole creepy effect.

Thunderhead was the real treat though. Riding Thunderhead at night was a completely new experience. The section after the station fly-through where it heads over by the first drop is absolutely pitch black, very cool. It's such a well built and maintained ride, a real gem.

I'm not sure how often the park is open after the sun goes down during the regular season but it was definitely a very memorable experience being there at night. Almost as neat as a night at Kennywood.

Man, I can't wait for Spring. I love the Rumbler. By the way, not to be too technical but what you called a trestle in the Mystery Mine pic is actually called a tipple. Excellent pics.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

I never realized until later that they don't take the lights down. Proof http://www.coasterhobos.com/images/dollywood/atmosphere14.JPG

If you visit Dollywood in the spring or summer all the lights are down, unless they've forgot some somewhere.

Man, I can't wait for Spring. I love the Rumbler. By the way, not to be too technical but what you called a trestle in the Mystery Mine pic is actually called a tipple. Excellent pics.

 

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Ahh, never heard it called that until now. Thanks!

Actually, they do. That pic was probably taken in August or September when they've already started putting them back up.

 

If you visit Dollywood in the spring or summer all the lights are down, unless they've forgot some somewhere.

That would make sense, we last visited in September. I wouldn't doubt that it takes a GREAT deal of time to set everything up. It must be fun to flip the switch! Hah, Griswold's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qc_RYm0ylA

Actually, it was very fun back in the late-Summer when I worked at Dollywood walking up to the Tornado (my coaster) early in the mornings and they would have most of the Valley lit up checking the lights... it was so beautiful, like having the park to yourself...

Someone beat me to it. I was going to say that they do take the lights down, but they start putting them back up as early as August. It is kind of crazy to me.

I really enjoyed your trip report. Thanks.

Mmm. Ive climbed Laurel Falls so many times...my grandma lives in Andersonville TN. You should climb Abrams then get back to me...ugh its like 2 miles both ways. Not as fun as youd think. GREAT falls, horrible climb.