TR: Lightning Rod At Dollywood & other Pigeon Forge stuff (8/6-8/7/16)

(originally posted on RRC)

I’ll make this fast: Wife and I put off going to Dollywood until this weekend, and the wait paid off. Lightning Rod (A#771/M#473) was open both days and I caught a total of 6 rides, front, back, and middle. I’ll skip a play by play since we all have access to Youtube minus the Chinese. Cutting to the chase: in the back seat there’s noticeable potholing on the first big drop and wave turn. I also think the major changes in direction on the ride are uncomfortable back there due to the forces imparted on riders and the position they hold in the seat when doing so. Having said that, the front and middle are plenty fine rides with no appreciable complaints I can offer in reference to those sorts of problems. This being my 5th RMC ride, there’s clear consistency with the kind of airtime pulls I get on each of them, and honestly the lack of a zero G roll is strangely something I’m missing from this wood coaster, as it would provide variety in the ride. As it presently operates, Lightning Rod offers a fast, chock full of ejector ride that I can completely predict the feeling of as I pass over hills.

TR: Smoky Mountain Pseudo-Christmas Pt. 2: Black Friday at Dollywood (11/28/14)

The engine that drives the development of the whole Pigeon Forge tourism machine exists just a short drive away from Gatlinburg. Not Dollywood, though that was the focus of this particular day, but rather the Smoky Mountain National Park, America’s most visited such park. We were a bit strapped for time this Friday morning, having bandied about several other ideas before finally settling on a scenic drive as we pulled away from the hotel. Sure, there’s other tourist junk we could have done, but isn’t this why everyone comes? Isn’t this why most are here? Entry is free, which only encourages floods of people. On this particular morning, we drove about 2/3s of the way to Cades Cove, then turned around so that we could arrive at Dollywood in a reasonable amount of time. The drive itself reminded me of heading north on Route 8 out of Connecticut and into Western Massachusetts – hilly, but not terribly so, running alongside a river, with many options for short hikes and walks within a short distance of an otherwise busy road.

TR: Coastercon 2012 – Pt. 5, All Your Base Are Belong To Dolly (6/20/2012)

Wednesday, AKA the last Dollywood Con day. After years of excitement and hope regarding this, honestly, I was relieved to see this day come. We had another morning ERT session to join up with and then we’d just be waiting around for the “intermission ceremony” and buffet lunch. Then we were free to do as we wished. Miraculously, we had even gotten two towels brought to the room during our night ERT session the day before, which meant no uncomfortable showering at the Park Vista. Things were indeed looking very bright.

TR: Coastercon 2012 – Pt. 4, The Moist Day (6/19/2012)

Just our third day into the Coastercon schedule, and already we were getting a bit tired of waking up so early. The schedule for the morning was all water rides, all the time. There was a 7AM ERT at the Dollywood Splash Country, followed by an 8:30AM start time on water ride ERT over at Dollywood proper. Getting to the Dollywood parking lot at 6:45AM and taking the tram over wasn’t necessarily difficult, it just sucked in that I probably could have slept 12 hours.

TR: Coastercon 2012 – Pt. 3, As Darkness Descends (6/18/2012)

Day two of the Con came early; we awoke just moments before our alarm clock promised to ring at 5:45AM. After a night ERT, this was not the most pleasant way to go about things, but it was a necessary evil in our minds. Meeting with our compatriot Chris Trotter in the lobby, a smoke was bummed, discussion briefly occurred, and we headed off into the twilight to arrive at Dollywood in time for morning ERT on the two major coasters we missed the day prior.

TR: Coastercon 2012 – Pt. 2, A Great Big Dollywood Welcome (6/17/2012)

Driving into Pigeon Forge from the south or west, one may find themselves taking any number of routes in. We found ourselves taking TN Routes 321 and 73 on windy mountain roads through beautiful scenery before running headlong into 441, the main drag of the Smokies. The difference in a matter of just a matter of a few miles is jarring; mountains, trees, and nature is primarily what one admires, then it switches to garish displays of mini golf, wizardry, The Duke, and King Kong. As the drive to Gatlinburg continued, we traversed a brief respite of trees and water before arriving in an even more compact and equally chintzy region that was Gatlinburg proper. This was a world where proper pedestrian traffic matters simply weren’t ever addressed, nor for that matter, taste in attractions.

I wasn’t surprised by any of this, of course. Anyone who’s done any research at all whatsoever on the area must know to some degree that the natural beauty of the Mountains requires some willingness to truly rough it and head into the woods on foot. While initially a primary draw, the attractions that have grown up in the shadow of the Smokies have become a sort of self sustaining mix of themed, unthemed, bizarre, and tourist trap-y attractions perhaps unequaled in the world, at least in volume of this magnitude. Those familiar with Orlando’s I-Drive will feel at home here. In fact, they may even feel that they’ve struck gold, given how much more “alive” the area feels than Orlando.