PhotoTR: My Amusement Park Road Trip- Dollywood update!

First, let me say thanks for all of the compliments. This was such a great trip for me, and I'm more than happy to share it.

Day 8

The 8th day of our trip brought us to a park that Heidi was really excited about visiting, Hersheypark. I had gone there last summer and loved the park although I've kicked myself since then for not getting my credit on Roller Soaker and looked forward to doing so this visit.

We began the day at Hershey's Chocolate World and took Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour. The best part of the tour was seeing Heidi's reaction. It was hilarious to watch a 19 year old college student reacting like a little kid who'd just been handed the keys to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! As soon as we entered her eyes glazed over, and I don't think she snapped out of her daze until we left.

Hershey is such a great park, but our visit was made even better by the overcast skies and high chance of showers because it kept the crowd away...as much as you can for Hershey.

We were able to get in all of the coasters although I was worried that I might get screwed out of Roller Soaker again, except this time it was because of Mother Nature; I'll delve further into that story in the pictures. We also were able to get a lot of flat rides in as well. In the early afternoon the Boardwalk area was pretty much shut down due to inclimate weather, and for the most part, so were the rest of the major rides. Late in the evening the weather cleared and most of the rides reopened.

At about 9 or so we decided to hit the shops at Chocolate World and delight ourselves with a little chocolatey goodness. We decided on the chocolate mousse in the dark chocolate cup, which was absolute heaven!!

This was Heidi's favorite park of the trip, but I was already looking forward to day 9, a visit to my absolute most favorite park in the world, Knoebels...

Without further ado, the photos...

We've come to the end of a terrific day at Hersheypark. I love Hershey because it has modern thrills combined with old world charm. If not for the next park of our trip, it would possibly be tied with Kennywood with as my favorite.

As I was reminiscing about this chocolatey goodness, I think my drool almost shorted out my keyboard.

Goodnight, Mr. Hershey, I hope to see you soon!

We just had to take a quick ride on the Hershey Carrousel before leaving.

Lightning Racer at night is a sight to behold. (sorry for the picture quality)

Last year we left early, so I didn't get to see Hershey at night. All I can say is, "Wow!"

The bad weather lifted in the nick of time, so we were able to steal a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

On the way back across the park I snapped a pic of Fahrenheit at dusk with the moon behind it...unfortunately my camera isn't the best. (anyone have a suggestion for a good compact or ultra compact camera?)

...serene my ass! I may be smiling, but I'm sure I'm crapping my pants right now.

Such a nice and serene ride...

We decided to take a break on Skyview.

We decide to have a little spin'n'puke fun on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

The Kissing Tower we didn't ride. It shut down when the bad weather came in.

I do believe I spy the elusive "loop" on SooperDooperLooper.

This ride has to be good! It's called SooperDooperLooper! (or as my niece called it, SooperDooperLetdown, lol)

Comet

As I peered through Ursa Major, I spied a Comet!

Great Bear inverted deliciousness!

The Great Bear was....well, great!

Sorry folks, Boardwalk's closed. The Kiss our front should'a told ya.

The Boardwalk area really wasn't open from the afternoon on. We had really wanted to spend more time there, so I guess that was a little of a disappointment. But who can stay upset when you're at Hershey? We just hit a lot of the flats instead and had a blast!

I love Lightning Racer! Thunder kicked Lightning's ass when we rode! Luckily we got our ride in early...notice a common theme...

I always feel like I'm going to die on Hershey's Wild Mouse. Luckily we got our ride in early.

Wildcat was awesome as always. Luckily we got our ride in early.

Don't mess with Mother Nature!

Ribbon fries and corn dogs...the very picture of fried health!

How about a stop at Nathan's for a snack?

The longest line we waited in was for Roller Soaker. We waited for more than an hour. Finally, we were next in line. We sat down and pulled down our restraint. The ride-ops walked by and checked the restraints...then we waited. We were curious why we weren't dispatching when we heard that horrible recording, "Due to inclement weather...yadda, yadda, yadda." We had to get up and EXIT! I was so upset that I wasn't going to get my credit again. We waited through the rain and water cannon shooting munchkins for it to open. It finally did and we ran up, got on and I was able to score the Roller Soaker credit! We were lucky because after about five cars it closed again. Whew!

The only credit I missed last year...I will conquer you, Roller Soaker!

How about a little helix fun?

Trailblazer is a pretty fun mine train.

Tootin' along on the Dry Gulch Railroad.

Cobra roll, Loop. Loop, Cobra roll.

The End.

Sidewinder was up and down even before the weather hit, but we managed to get a ride in.

Lovin' it in the front row!

Everybody say, "Wheeee!"

We were able to get in a couple of rides on Storm Runner. I love the flying snake dive...or whatever it's called.

The first ride of the day, Fahrenheit. With the small crowd, we were able to get in two rides.

Good morning Mr. Hershey!

Mmmm...Chocolate House....

The only cootie-free smooches.

As you can tell from that expression, as soon as we hit the door of Chocolate World, Heidi was cognitively vacant! (she's going to kill me for putting this on the TR) Just remember, Heidi, I'm your favorite uncle!

Hellooooooo ladies! My, you're looking udderly divine today. (...please feel free to strike me for such a corny pun.)

Our first stop, Chocolate World! I love the free sample at the end of the tour.

Day 9

Now it's time for my favorite amusement park, Knoebels.

I was a little worried before we arrived. For the whole year before our trip, all I did was tell Heidi how awesome Knoebels is. I had visited last year and have missed it ever since. I must admit that I was relieved that, just as I'd bragged, Knoebels was absolutely great.

Our day started off with us getting to the park very early, so we had time to walk around a little and watch as the park came to life.

We ended up buying three $20 books of tickets during the day and used them all, which surprised me with the size of the Saturday crowd. We ate early and we ate often, sampling as much of the delicious food as we possibly could without bursting. One of my favorite experiences of the day was a night ride on the Sky Ride.

I could go on and on about what a special and wonderful place Knoebels is for absolutely everyone who visits, but I'll spare you.

The pictures...

Sadly, the day has to come to an end. But, it ends with great big smiles from spending a terrific day at the greatest amusement park on Earth.

How could we leave without a little more food for the road? Mmmm, gelati!

...so we took our final ride of the day, the Sky Ride. If you're at Knoebels, I highly recommend the Sky Ride at night.

The park was starting to wind down...

The Grand Carousel, the greatest in the world!

Italian Trapeze at night.

We took an evening ride on the Giant Wheel and actually got an extra turn. After one revolution some idiots in the gondola next to us spit, so they stopped the ride and made them exit. The morons argued, but the ride-ops made it very understood that they would be exiting the ride immediately, so the morons tucked their tails and quickly got off. That exchange alone was worth the price of the ticket, but we still got our entire ride afterward.

Knoebels has such an awesome Whipper.

By this point of the trip, I'm starting to actually like the swings, so we had to take a ride on the Italian Trapeze.

Twister is such an awesome woodie.

Lovin' the farmers tan, eh?

Time for Twister!

Cruising by Phoenix. Even the taxis are better at Knoebels.

We decided to take a ride on the Antique Cars. Once again I took my life into my own hands by allowing Heidi to drive.

...umm...I got nothing for this one...

Another thing I loved is how they would really give you your ticket's worth. The Merry Mixer seemed to go on forever.

The Knoebels (Pig) Mouth of Truth...

Condiment udders? I want these for my house!

I suddenly have a hankering for a sandwich.

Is there a weight limit for the Sky Slide? I really want to ride it!

Have I mentioned that I love this park?

Where else could kids climb all over old heavy machinery?

I wanna be small! Come on! Your sister did it for Tom Hanks!

...not to mention quite frightening.

After years of intense therapy, I'm sure I'll be just fine since seeing this.

The mining museum was really neat and quite informative.

Hmm, sasquatch or Uncle Festus?

We took a little time to visit the Knoebels Carousel Museum.

Let's take a spin on the Tea Cups!

The park was really crowded, but you wouldn't have known it by how long you stood in line. I don't think I've visited a park where the ride-ops are so efficient.

I'd never ridden a flyer before. I couldn't believe how close to the trees I would get. Terrifyingly terrific!

My new favorite flat ride, the Knoebels Flyer.

Do they have support groups for people who get addicted to Fascination? They really take this game seriously!

I love this park.

The Pioneer Train...Toot! Toot!

Loving the patriotism!

...best of all, Blue Birch Beer! Gosh, this was like an explosion of flavor in my mouth! It was so much better than white birch beer.

...don't even try to tell me that the only difference was food coloring...

Say hello to first breakfast: Frips, waffle fries, fried mac'n'cheese, popcorn, and...

Time for some food! How can you beat these prices?

Heidi having fun with the Supershovel.

I'm not sure how, but my niece was able to get me on Downdraft. It was actually fun...that is, until it stopped. LOL

This is a blast from my childhood. Though they were removed long before the park closed, our dearly departed Astroworld had automatic BB guns when I was young. I'm sure they took them out because some moron shot their eye out or something.

Not only is the Knoebels beautiful and entertaining, it's educational as well. What a very interesting historical quote!

The Haunted House is so awesome. Love the ending!

Here's a little more sweetness from Texas!

Remember the Alamo! A little slice of Texas in Elysburg, sweet!

Amen. With that, let me say a word of "Thanks!" to all veterans and their families.

Can you hear the Angels singing too?

Ticket time!

What? No pics of 1001 Nachts? Or was the missus (or mister) there with the ride. lol!

All sarcasm aside, these were some nice pics, and from someone who has done Kennywood at night, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Enjoyed the Knoebels bit. Usually we just see pictures of the coasters there, it was nice to know what the rest of the park was like, too!! I will go there, one day. Maybe.

Chris.

^ And you won't regret going too.

Looks like you both had a fun trip.

^^The coasters at Knoebels are truthfully great, especially Phoenix, which is my second favorite woodie behind Voyage. But, Knoebels is so much more! It's hard to describe what it's like in words; you just have to experience it.

If you ever get a chance, I highly suggest you visit. You definitely will not be disappointed!

Nice reports! Pennsylvania does have one kick-butt selection of amusement parks, don't they? I still have not been to Knoebels - we were planning on going, but they were forecasting heavy rains. We opted for Idlewild instead which is yet another neat little park!

Can't wait for Labor Day and another trip to Hershey. I just hope that the weather will hold for us - it is been an amazingly rainy summer here in the Northeast!

Day 10

Our next destination was a Sunday visit to Dorney. I had visited Dorney a couple of years ago and looked forward to going back. It turned out not to be a bad day, but it was definitely different than I expected.

Well, it started out with some guy at our hotel being upset because he thought that my niece and I were comandeering the waffle iron since we had the audacity to make a waffle for each of us. (His wife actually went to the front desk and complained because her apple was dirty and demanded they clean it off...how'd you like to be a kid in that household...) Another thing was that we'd just finished visiting Kennywood, Hershey, and Knoebels, tough acts to follow. Plus, the crowd at Dorney was quite different; we saw quite a bit of line jumping and they were a bit more rude than what we'd experienced so far in the trip. (Maybe the nice people were in church, lol.)

But, after a few dozen coffees we were fine and just did our best to ignore anyone acting like a jerk.

Hardly anyone was at the park, so we got multiple rides on all of the coasters except for Possessed, which was closed. Dominator was also closed for a while due to the local Fire Department using it to practice rescues or something.

Later in the afternoon we decided to hit Wildwater Kingdom. Now this was just downright painful. All day, the weather had been perfect, clear and cool. When we went to the waterpark it started getting cloudy and the temperature dipped to 70, which would be nice if you weren't getting wet. We froze to death! Heidi was hell-bent on riding water rides since this would be our last chance, so I reluctantly agreed to go along (yep, Heidi's fault, lol). Until we hit the Wave Pool, which was heated, I thought I was going to die! When we stepped into the Runaway River, the shock of the cold water was unbelievable...I instantly went from an outy to an inny. After the torment of braving the Arctic for a couple of hours, we decided to get back to the park. It sprinkled intermittently but never really poured thank-goodness, so we were able to get in plenty more rides.

All in all, we had a great time...now for the pics.

Smiles at the end of another great day of amusement park fun!

By this time in the trip, I'm actually enjoying ferris wheels.

Musik Express

Splash!

White Water Landing was...well, quite wet.

How about some water fun?

Tilt-A-Whirl spin'n'puke goodness!

Snoopy is getting toilet trained.

Twisted steel goodness!

Hydra awesomeness!

I love Hydra!

Thunder Creek Mountain was a really good flume ride.

Aww, how sweet...

A little Trout Pond history.

Dominator

One of the greatest Scramblers of the trip!

Thunderhawk and Steel Force.

Thunderhawk fun!

On the road to Thunderhawk.

Hands in the air!

Steel Force was awesome, great air-time!

Now that's the stuff!

Cannonball Tracks.

Wow, Dorney is OLD!

Sorry, folks, ride's closed. The flaming, horned, demonic skull out front shoulda told ya.

The fire department was there practicing on rescues and such.

Whips are just so much fun!

Let's Whip!

We wanted to try our hand at Skee-ball. I'm guessing that in that entire building the crowd, including us, had to have been around, oh gosh, TWO.

Heidi loved the dragon, so we had to ride the Merry-Go-Round. I took the noble, very masculine looking, rose adorned steed in front of the dragon.

Next it was time to swing!

It was worth a couple of rides before moving on.

The Wild Mouse was probably our longest line, about five minutes. It was awesome!

I spy more steel in the distance!

Talon is such an awesome coaster. It's possibly tied with DD as my second favorite inverted behind Raptor.

Our first coaster of the day was Talon.

We picked up a quick ride on the Antique Carousel.

Yay, we're at Dorney!

Looks like you and your niece had a great time thanks for sharing the trip.

The variety of rides you included gives readers a good feel for each park.

Glad to see someone else is giving Thunderhawk some love - I had a great ride on it in the front seat! It was definitely the surprise of the park for me...

Dorney looks like Cedar Point. Or they try to be a CP of PA. Lots of concrete and not much shade .

I'm surprised that you witnessed line jumping considering you reported the longest line was around 5 minutes. Are people really that impatient??? lol...

Chris.

^Exactly, that's what made it a bit frustrating; there was no real wait. A group of people would get off of a ride and run around to get in line again. Some of them would lag behind, and we would get in line before their entire group got back around, so they would just push past us. We let it go a couple of times, but then stopped letting them.

Wow, you enjoyed Dorney's Wild Mouse? Did they actually have the brakes toned down? I rode it last year and it produced far too much abrupt stop/jolting start action after cresting a hill, which made for a really painful ride. Lucky you for getting some good rides out of it!

I was also glad to see you gave Steel Force some love!

I agree with larrygator, you really do offer a comprehensive view of these parks to give readers a good feel for them. I've really enjoyed following along with your reports!

~Megan

Loving these reports.

Dorney looks like Cedar Point. Or they try to be a CP of PA. Lots of concrete and not much shade .

Well, sure. Cedar Fair wants every park they operate to be more like Cedar Point. They're the ultimate narcissists.

I do have to admit that after visiting Kennywood, Hershey, and Knoebels, I couldn't help but notice how few trees there were at Dorney. I still had a great time, but we actually talked about it while we were there and were glad that the weather was nice and cool.

On to Day 11

We sadly had to leave Pennsylvania, probably my favorite state to visit for amusement parks. Today we were going to spend an awesome day at Great Adventure. Since I didn't fit in Top Thrill this trip, I was looking forward to riding Kingda Ka just for the thrill. I'm not the biggest fan of TTD and KK, but I can't deny the enjoyment of the adrenaline rush! Heidi was looking forward to riding it so she could say that she'd ridden the tallest and fastest (at the moment) coaster. Well, as we all know, while we were on the trip they closed KK for repairs...quite disappointing. Oh well, they still had El Toro and Nitro, plus I was excited about riding Runaway Mine Train, since the group I was with my first visit a few years ago didn't want to.

We arrived at the park as it opened and headed straight to Nitro. We got in three quick rides before the line started getting bad. Unfortunately the park was undermanned or something because a LOT of rides were closed early and intermittently throughout the day. As some rides would come on line, others were closed, a tad frustrating, but we just went with the flow and had a blast.

Great Adventure gave a whole new meaning to line jumping! My first visit it seemed like there were more employees around to prevent it, This time it was just an absolute free for all. And unlike Dorney, we were dealing with real wait times now. Again, we just thought, "Whatever, who cares? We're here to have fun!" And, that we did.

Okay, picture time...

And the "Dork" award goes to....

Okay, the whole trip we'd been doing self-pics as we left. Someone offered to take our pic this time, but like morons, we still posed as if we were doing the self-pic thing. Stooooopid!

Anyway, again we arrived at the end to another awesome day.

...however, before we leave, how about a little cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli? MMMmmmm!

Good night, Nitro, it was great seeing you again.

Nitro and Batman at sunset. Pure beauty...

I love this shot too, nothing but coaster awesomeness!

Another shot from Big Wheel.

I love this shot.

Going up!

Whoa, another big one!

I think it's about time we headed to Big Wheel.

Finally in the afternoon the Runaway Mine Train opened, so I was able to get the credit I'd missed a few years ago. Woo-Hoo!

By this time in the trip, I've gotten completely used to spin'n'pukes.

Tea Cups! Yay!

Who can turn down a ride on the Carousel?

A little Great Adventure beauty.

Roughing it through the midway gauntlet.

Get out the dry rub and heat up the coals...

Hey, I just rode your ride!

Say hello to the creepy statue ladies. Does anyone know if the poor things are even out on hot days?

Next up was The Dark Knight-the Jersey edition.

Time for some B&M inverted fun! The restraints on this Batman were much tighter than any we'd ridden on the trip. I'm not sure if that's because they were actually tighter or if it could possibly have been the diet of fried potatoes, cotton candy, frozen custard and kettle corn.

Hmm, I suddenly want ice cream...

Batman, Nitro and Big Wheel...oh, and trees!

Yay, the Skyway finally opened!

Not many people in line, but our track had one train, so we did have a little more than 30 minute wait...still had fun though.

Classic photo point. Crazy thing is when I took this photo, the only ride in this picture that was running was Rolling Thunder...which we promptly rode.

Paul Bunyan loaned his chuckwagon to the park for the day.

Welcome to Bizarro, the home of the Line Jumping Olympics!

The new effects on Bizarro were pretty cool.

Move over Joker. MEEEEEOW!!

We were told that these were the platforms they were going to use for fireworks, but unfortunately, we were a few days early to see them.

A little more Blackbeard...

Call me goofy, but I really like Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train.

There was no line at Skull Mountain, so we took advantage of it and got our ride in.

"On the count of three- skinny people, scream like banshees; large and lovelies, squint and smile."

I love Nitro in the front row...and the back row...and the middle...etc.

Time for some sweet steel coaster love!

A few people waiting to make the mad dash to Nitro.

A little Great Adventure loveliness.

Thank goodness the crowd was small in the morning!

Good morning Revolutionary War statue.

Wile E. productively spending his morning trying to blow up Bugs.

Ahhh!! Curses!!

G'morning, Bugs!

Day 12

We planned today to either go back to SFGAdv if we needed to or to just take it easy. Having sufficiently conquered Great Adventure and since we were staying in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, we decided just to explore and enjoy the boardwalk. We stayed at the Broadway Motel, which was absolutely great! It was actually very reasonable and we were only about 2 1/2 blocks from the water.

We had so much fun at Jenkinson's Boardwalk! The weather was perfect, the beach was extremely clean, and all of the people were just so very nice. It was such a nice and relaxing day of spending time at the beach, eating lots of beachy foods, and buying really tacky souvenirs to take home. We also spent part of the day riding rides and getting one more coaster credit.

There is a part of me that wishes we'd have tried to run down the coast and get in a few more credits, but the day was just so nice and so much fun, that I don't regret anything.

The next day was the long drive to Pigeon Forge...

Time for the pictures...

The end to another awesome day of fun. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I must say that I was not in the least disappointed. If you haven't been, I highly recommend spending time at the Jersey shore. I look forward to a future visit when I will take more time to explore the boardwalks further south as well.

So long boardwalk...

Time to say good-bye to the beach...sigh.

Aliens descending upon the Earth? No, just the reflection of the chandeliers inside the restaurant. This was the great view from our table.

If you are ever in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, do yourself a favor and dine at the Shrimp Box. It doesn't really look like all that much on the outside, but we had been directed there by several people, and they were spot on in saying that it was excellent. It's not exactly cheap, but it is worth every penny.

The boardwalk had a Fun House.

Rides.

Nothing beats Dizzy Dragons...except everything!

As we walked back up the boardwalk, we couldn't resist riding a few more rides.

Jetty and gulls.

Welcome to the Jersey shore!

Heidi's first time in the Atlantic! The water was fun but absolutely freezing!

Some cool kites were flying too.

There was some parasailing action going on which looked like a lot of fun!

From the south end of the boardwalk...for some reason Alfred Hitchcock comes to mind suddenly.

Cute little Merry-go-Round.

I assure you I'm not that much of a credit whore.

When we rode the swings, it was more like destruction-derby swings. A little rain cloud blew in and the wind picked up just as the seats were rising. When we began spinning, the empty seats would bash into us like crazy...it was so much fun! lol

...don't even think about it.

Heidi sees a Tilt-A-Whirl=we ride a Tilt-A-Whirl.

It's not just a regular Himalaya; it's Super-Himalaya!

Flitzer steel madness!

Flitzer was a lot of fun and a tad bit terrifying, not in intensity but more in the fear of my life area.

Oh boy, rides!

One of the stores where we bought loads of tacky stuff to take home.

More boardwalk yummies. That reminds me, we've never seen such a love for waffles as we did in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Not that it was bad; heck, I love waffles as much as the next guy, but I'd never seen anything like that. ...just an observation.

More gameroom fun!

Boardwalk deliciousness!

First the giant penguin, now this guy...definitely no more for me, bartender.

The whole day was just such a neat experience. The boardwalk really was like something out of a movie.

We couldn't pass up the chance to spend lots of money to earn tickets for really crappy stuff!

Please tell me you see the giant penguin too. I couldn't have had THAT much to drink.

What beautiful flying rats.

I spy boardwalk fun in the distance!

The beach was great!

That's where we're headed!

We were so close, we decided just to walk to the boardwalk.

Days 13 and 14

Day 13 was devoted entirely to driving down to Pigeon Forge. I wish I'd done my research for the area because I had no idea that there was so much to do. All we really did in town was walk around and eat.

The next day we headed to Dollywood. I absolutely loved it! First of all, it is an absolutely beautiful park. I love the landscaping they have throughout. Everyone was so very nice and courteous; they really know how to cater to the customer.

We tried to ride as many rides as possible, with special attention given to Thunderhead of course...in addition, we gave a little extra love to Mystery Mine too. Mystery Mine was different and a lot of fun, but Thunderhead was terrific! It still didn't beat out The Voyage or Phoenix for me, but it was amazing! If it was just a tad bit longer it would give both of my top two woodies a run for their money.

The food in the park was absolutely delicious! We tried to eat a little of everything. I loved the over-sized skillets full of yummies. We pretty much grazed all day. The only thing we didn't eat that I really wanted to try was fried banana pudding. If you've had that and it's delicious, please don't tell me and make me hate myself for being full.

Sadly, this was the last park in our trip. In fourteen days we hit twelve different parks and had the greatest vacation of all time. I worried a bit that Heidi would get a little tired of driving and going to parks at some time, but in the end she actually turned into a bit of an amusement park phanatic herself.

I must say though, I do look forward to letting someone else do the planning and driving next year, because I am absolutely going on a TPR trip.

Let the pictures begin...

Thus comes the end to another absolutely awesome day at the last park on our trip. Thank you Dollywood for helping us finish up in style!

On the way out we stopped by the candy store and bought a bit of everything!

Yeah right! My niece being the comedienne that she is, kept leaning our bench forward an backward "on accident" which brought out the Tourrette's in me! I even apologized to this family in front of us, but I think they were laughing too hard at me to hear.

Hmm...seems small and harmless enough...the same as Beech Bend only less rust. Shouldn't be a problem right?

Yay, the Wonder Wheel of expletives!

Take a ride on the Sky Rider.

A little swinging action at Dollywood!

Now, that's the 'tater I want fried up!

Making our way back up the switchbacks. My calves got quite a workout on this trip!

Okay, I've got it. It's, um...four hundred thirty-two o'clock in the year 2525.

More Dollywood scenery.

This reminds me that school is starting soon...only three more days of summer, sigh. Wait, I need to be positive. Only 180 more school days until I start gearing up for my first TPR trip!

How about a ride on Fire in the Hole...er, I mean Blazing Fury.

I rode a good old-fashioned horse; Heidi decided on Ned Beatty.

Time for a ride on the Village Carousel.

Toot-toot!

All aboard Klondike Katie!

I loved the train ride! What a unique experience.

Super creepy miner dude.

Pretty.

I smell extra-large skillet deliciousness!

Burger anyone? You know, that's probably the one thing we didn't eat that day.

Dolly's tour bus.

What a great little museum! Dolly is living proof that good things happen to good people.

Cute little sculpture thingy.

Have a Coke and a smile!

I was also amazed at how clean the park was all day!

...and I'm sure it's even a lot better on acid...

The park was just beautiful!

Aaaah!!

It was a very different ride. I thought it was well-themed and a lot of fun. I wish we'd have gotten a chance to ride in front. One other thing I loved was how much shoulder room it seemed to have!

We loved Mystery Mine!

We wanted to ride Timber Tower, but we weren't prepared to get wet and didn't want to pay for a locker. It looks like fun, so next time I visit, I'm riding it for sure!

Pure wooden awesomeness!

I just can't seem to resist a coffin photo-op.

RIP to those who didn't survive Thunderhead...

"Showers? It ain't Saturdee!"

I'm glad no rain was made today.

I do loves me some 'taters!

We decided to hit the best first!

I see pot people...

Dolly does love her butterflies.

Yay! They're glad I'm here!

We saw this on the drive down, and it just cracked me up. Candy and tobacco?

Good TR, looks like it was a fun trip. I've never been a big ferris wheel guy, and that one in Dollywood really scares me for some reason.

We wanted to ride Timber Tower, but we weren't prepared to get wet and didn't want to pay for a locker. It looks like fun, so next time I visit, I'm riding it for sure!

Prepare to be surprised.

(It's actually really dull.)

Glad you had fun at Dollywood. Great TR of your entire trip. Thanks for posting it!

 

Prepare to be surprised.

 

(It's actually really dull.)

Really? That's too bad. I'm sure I will ride it the next time I visit, but at least I don't feel like I missed anything for now. I know I will be heading back to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area within the next few years, the main reason being all of the activities in the area from your post.

 

I've never been a big ferris wheel guy, and that one in Dollywood really scares me for some reason.

You have no idea! I mean, I've ridden TTD, Kingda Ka, and had numerous rides on various Skycoasters, but none of them ever scared me. I felt like I was going to die on the Ferris Wheel at Dollywood; of course, most of the credit for that has to go to my niece for "accidentally" rocking the bench...and then laughing her butt off as I terrifyingly spate expletives.

Did Jekisons still have their "Spin Out" and "Rock-O-Plane" Flat rides? We rode those in 2003.

Did Jekisons still have their "Spin Out" and "Rock-O-Plane" Flat rides? We rode those in 2003.

No, we actually heard some people talking about how there used to be a spin out where the swings are now. I didn't see a Rock-O-Plane anywhere...and I'm glad too, because I'm sure my niece would have made me get on the thing. LOL

On Day 15 we drove home, but not before a stop at the Sam Houston School House near Maryville, Tennessee. I saw it on the map and thought that there was no way I could pass that up! (Okay, maybe it's a Texas thing, plus the fact that I graduated from Sam Houston State Univ.)

If you don't care much for Texas history, there really isn't much to do or see. They have a little museum depicting the life of Sam Houston, which I found very interesting. Of course, there is also the restored school house in which he taught and they are doing a lot of work on beautifying the grounds. All in all, I'm glad that we took a couple of minutes to stop and see it.

So, I suppose THIS is the actual last stop for our trip before driving back to Memphis.

The final stop to the greatest road-trip ever!

"Tools of the 19th Century Schoolteacher" ...I especially love the little behavior modification device in the lower left...

Duck if you're taller than 5 feet!

The grounds were very nice and extremely quiet. I guess you should expect that when you're in BFE, Tennessee.

Welcome!

Whew! We found it!

^ I've never even heard of this, and it's right down the road from me.

Maybe it's just because I have an aversion to school in any form.