Day 14 – Dollywood, Alpine Coaster and yet more moonshine
Dollywood was the third park of this trip and again one we hadn’t visited before, we had heard many good reviews so it was a day we were looking forward to.
Sam and I had a 3 day pass and Bob and Dianne had upgraded to APs as they are visiting again for Christmas, we got our tickets sorted ahead of time so we were all set. Our cabin is a little bit away from the main tourist areas which works well for us, but all the areas attractions are still only a 20 minute drive away at the most. We hit the park bang on opening at 10am.
The car parks were empty and the weather good so we knew it was going to be a good park day. We were through the turnstiles with no wait and this would pretty much be the same for the rides. First impressions were how pretty the park was and how friendly the staffs were. Lots of well kept, colorful flower beds, trees, creeks, water features and rivers all compliment the themed buildings really well. The park also had a fair amount of Halloween decorations which was nice to see.
We decided as it was so quiet to hit the coasters just in case it did get busy later. We made our way over to the newest area of the park to ride Lightening Rod, denied, this was down and would be down for the duration of our stay. This thing has had a rough time since opening which is a real shame, not just because it looks such a fun coaster to ride but also the whole area, which looks fantastic, is done to compliment this troubled woody.
With Lightening Rod being SBNO we hit up Tennessee Tornado. This 1999 Arrow machine was short and sweet, nothing really special but it was a walk on and surprisingly smooth for an old Arrow Dynamics machine. Next onto Wild Eagle, a beautiful looking B&M wing rider which I was looking forward to riding. This was another walk on and such a fun ride which gives stunning views of the surrounding mountains. This is the 4th wing rider I’ve been on and for me its hands down the best, so good I went straight back round to ride the other side.
Right across the way is Fire Chaser Express, from the ground it looked fairly mediocre but I ended up really enjoying the ride. This Gerstlaur has multiple launches, reverse track, some nice theming in the line and decent little show scene at the switch track all of which makes for a fun coaster and once again it was a walk on.
We were on a roll rides wise so decided to do the next coaster. Mystery Mine is another Gerstlaur, I was weary of riding this as it’s the Euro Fighter design like Saw at Thorpe Park back home, Saw is awful to ride, a real rough head banger of a ride hence my anticipation. I need not have worried, Mystery mine is no Saw, in fact it is an excellent ride from start to finish, this is the ride Saw could have been. The ride has a good story and theme which starts in the line and continues throughout the ride, the façade is also really well done. The actual coaster is pretty smooth and has two really neat show scenes, the ride builds as you go round with the second half being really exhilarating, I really enjoyed this ride and it restored my faith in the Gerstlaur Euro Fighter model, oh and it was another walk on to boot.
By this time we were about coastered out and hungry, we decided on Reds Drive – In, a 50s style diner situated in the Lightening Rod are of the park. After my themed diner experience at Cedar I was once again feeling apprehensive and once again this apprehension was dumb founded. Reds was head and shoulders above Cedars version, a large queuing area, clear and simple ordering system and super friendly staff. The food was good and the fixings bar was not only full bit looked appetizing; we all enjoyed our meals here and agreed it was fairly priced.
After lunch we wandered the park looking at all the exhibits and shops. There is plenty here for none riders, lots of craft shops, glass blowing, metal, wood and leather workers all showing off their skills but never too busy to stop and talk, There is also a really neat Eagle exhibit which doubles as care for which cannot be released into the wild due to injuries sustained in the wild. On top of that there are several shows and entertainers around the park; there really is something for everyone here.
They bill themselves as an amusement park but there level of theming although not Disney or Uni standards made me think they were selling themselves short, we all had a really good time here and only left early as we knew we had two more days left on our tickets. Oh and I mustn’t forget the Cinnamon bread, whole loaves baked in store served with apple jelly and icing, we grabbed one to go. I hear our very own
@Andy (AKA hatetofly) is a big fan of this bread so we were looking forward to enjoying it back at the cabin later.
We pass by one of Pigeon Forges Alpine Coasters on the way back and these things look so much fun so we decided to stop by on the way back. $15 a ride but look out for the coupons for $2 off. This ride was so much fun even the long slow climb up the lift is fun, up through the mountain to the top once there you push the breaks forward and go, and boy do you, this thing is fast and windy as you travel back down in your single cart. I was laughing and smiling all the way back to the bottom, the ride is a descent length too, well worth the stop off and the $13 paid.
With the Alpine coaster done we headed back to the cabin, as we walked through the door the smell was amazing, Id put in a pork shoulder to slow roast whilst we were out for the day. Rubbed with Jack Daniels Spices and cooked on a trivet of potatoes and garlic. I gave the pork an hour uncovered whilst I reduced the cooking liquors and meat juices for the sauce. It fell off the bone and I had it pulled in no time, served it up with some garlic mash, trail slaw and small Hawaiian rolls. We all enjoyed in with a nice bottle of red wine. We finished up with the Cinnamon bread and
@Andy was right, that stuff is delicious.
After dinner we experimented with different Moonshine cocktails, we were all a bit tipsy to say the least. Dianne maintained it was wine and not the moonshine; I’ll leave y’all to decide. We all went to bed a little drunk but satisfied after a fun day and a good feed.