An EPIC Adventure - A Live & Interactive trip report

[Donald Razorduck]

I lived in NYC for four years and never visited the Statue of Liberty... hm.



Well the H is a terrible addition since it adds nothing to the pronunciation.. so there!

I'm from Memphis and never been inside Graceland.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Dollywood Photos

20180909_101105 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_234233 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_102009 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_142835 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_102230 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_103103 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_103413 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_103615 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_103752 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_121521 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_105828 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_115753 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

 

[Mad Dog]

We did see the trail, this was one of the nicer areas of the park. Only ate at the one place, was hot that day so we weren't overly hungry as drank so much soda. Like @Mad Dog said, we should have taken your advice and tried melts


Not that great but ill take the kind words



Thanks buddy, enjoying it so far, More photos and rreports to come so stay tuned.



Not good, and with possibility of more rain from Florence. Stay safe up there.

Now looking like Florence will go in a different direction, namely in the vicinity of where you're now. You're getting out in the nick of time.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Dollywood Cont......

20180909_125413 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_125433 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_122002 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_125309 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_122545 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_133156 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_133805 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_133651 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_131131 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_131658 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_140138 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

 

[UK-Trigg]

Now looking like Florence will go in a different direction, namely in the vicinity of where you're now. You're getting out in the nick of time.

Not for the first time this trip.

 

[Mad Dog]

Not for the first time this trip.

Yes, you may be English, but you have the luck of the Irish working for you (though it didn't work for them with the Irish Festival)

 

[OLSinFLA]

My favorite things besides Dollywood were the Alpine Coaster and MagicQuest (I'd always wanted to do one, and boy that was fun... if somewhat exhausting!)

 

[UK-Trigg]

Alpine Coaster Photos

20180909_152326 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150451 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151321 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150631 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151200 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151115 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151823 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151912 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151940 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150558 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

 

[JoeCamel]

Alpine Coaster Photos

20180909_152326 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150451 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151321 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150631 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151200 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151115 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151823 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151912 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_151940 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180909_150558 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

Wow! The one we had in Park City was a concrete trough with a stick between your legs for the brake. First year was very fun but the more carts that went down the slicker the track got and by the third year most people would leave the trough at some point. Seems to have lost favor after that, probably the lawsuits and hospital bills.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Wow! The one we had in Park City was a concrete trough with a stick between your legs for the brake. First year was very fun but the more carts that went down the slicker the track got and by the third year most people would leave the trough at some point. Seems to have lost favor after that, probably the lawsuits and hospital bills.

I rode one like that many years ago at my local park, Alton Towers. It was small and didn't last long and was no real loss when they took it out. The Alpine coaster was awesome though, it gets up some good speed if you're brave enough to stay off the breaks round the bends, the ride was a good length too.

 

[Mad Dog]

OMG. Alene & I are laughing so hard viewing those photos. Big thumbs up for fun & fear. Calls for a glass of moonshine at the bottom. :thumbsup:

 

[Mad Dog]

Just a bit of a heads up for Bob Wadd photo fans.Bob Wadd was the Bio of his time. His copter shots of Diagon construction (with UK Trigg in the copter) were groundbreaking. And he, in the years prior to Diagon, provided the members of IU (OU then) with many brilliant photos of the Universal parks. Bob is the Mercedes standard in theme park photography. Mark (UK Trigg) departs on his Disney Cruise on Saturday, and with no WiFi available, will be dark for a week. But, as a special treat for IU members, Bob will be posting his Tennessee photos on IU, in the interim. So keep watch for his 'special' photo postings while Mark is on his cruise :thumbsup:.....Presently, that whole group (Bob, Mark, Diane & Samantha), is recuperating from the previous evenings' 'Extreme' Moonshine testing (3 Jars empteed). I tried to tell them to stick to Jim Beam, but they paid me no heed. :toast:

 

[SkiBum]

Alpine Coaster Photos

Alpine Coaster Photos

Admit it, you had the brake on all the way. Just kidding.

I'm glad that you had a good trip and hope that we treated you alright. The Smokies are beautiful to walk through and even drive through. Plus, I think Dollywood is very underrated. However, I am sorry that you had to stop in that unfortunate Three Rivers City. It's just a poor copy of Cincinnati. <KIDDING @Mad Dog , just come over here and whack me with your terrible towel>

 

[UK-Trigg]

Day 15 – Dollywood, Rain & A Turtle

The rest of the guys took a lie in after the previous nights moonshine cocktails, I however was up at 7am catching up on the news whilst listening to snoring in surround sound. I was feeling a little fuzzy headed myself but instead of having a lie in I opted for another cure, yep more moonshine. Coffee, coffee shine and vanilla cream with a banana was the breakfast to get me going, perfect hair of the dog that worked a treat.

The rest of the gang was up around ten and after breakfast and showers we were all set and raring to go around 11am. There was a bad storm forecast for the afternoon so the plan was to head out before the rains came around 3PM.

Once at the park we headed for the historic steam train, The Dollywood Express. This old steam train takes leisurly trip around the park and was a nice start to the day; heads were still a bit heavy for coasters today. We were all hungry so after looking at Dolly Ps replica house we decided to try the Front Porch Café for lunch. We couldn’t decide on one dish so Whilst Dianne had the salad the rest of us split some apps and sides. Corn chowder, onion rings, fried green tomatoes, Pimento cheese with garlic bread and chicken tenders with crinkle cut chips formed our own personal buffet. The food here was delicious and tasted even better knowing we had 20% off with Bobs AP, our server here was excellent, I forget her name but she served us with plenty of Southern charm.

We also learned that the troubled Lightening Rod is to be replaced with a new ride in the near future.

Bellies full we headed out for a warm, the air con in the restaurant was on full whack and I was cold inside. Whilst it was warm outside the skies had turned a distinct shade of black, the 3pm storm looked like it was coming early so decided now would be a good time to leave the park to avoid the rain. We didn’t make it, the rains came just before we hit the tram stop and we got soaked to the skin. We all looked like drowned rats by the time we made it back to the car.

This was a heavy storm and was going to be around for a while and with being soaked to the skin we all decided the best thing to do was head back to the cabin. We got back to find a turtle out front of the cabin, he was trying to get up the curb from out of the road so I gave him a helping hand and he thanked me by hissing at me. Seeing as we had bonded so well I decided to make him the trips mascot so named my new pet EPIC

The rain wasn’t letting off so Bob and I headed out to the store to grab some supplies, we still had a lot of pulled pork left so we grabbed rolls, slaw and mac salad for a simple supper. I was pleased to see EPIC was still hanging out under the tree and had made a nest in the pine needles on the ground.

The skies eventually cleared but it was late by now so decided to stay home for the evening. I checked in on Eric and we enjoyed our pork subs and a just one or two moonshine cocktails before hitting the sack after a wet but fun day.

 

[Teebin]

I thought it was only snapping turtles that hissed? I wouldn’t go near a snapper!

 

[Doug A.]

Just a bit of a heads up for Bob Wadd photo fans.Bob Wadd was the Bio of his time. His copter shots of Diagon construction (with UK Trigg in the copter) were groundbreaking. And he, in the years prior to Diagon, provided the members of IU (OU then) with many brilliant photos of the Universal parks. Bob is the Mercedes standard in theme park photography. Mark (UK Trigg) departs on his Disney Cruise on Saturday, and with no WiFi available, will be dark for a week. But, as a special treat for IU members, Bob will be posting his Tennessee photos on IU, in the interim. So keep watch for his 'special' photo postings while Mark is on his cruise :thumbsup:.....Presently, that whole group (Bob, Mark, Diane & Samantha), is recuperating from the previous evenings' 'Extreme' Moonshine testing (3 Jars empteed). I tried to tell them to stick to Jim Beam, but they paid me no heed. :toast:

@bobwadd really did spoil us OU members when he was foing his phot reports and eventual copter aerial shots. @UK-Trigg I’m really enjoying reading these updates and photos. I think it’s the interactiveness and real time that makes it so interesting to read. Almost feels like we are all on vacation with you
:toast::kumbaya:

 

[Mad Dog]

Admit it, you had the brake on all the way. Just kidding.

I'm glad that you had a good trip and hope that we treated you alright. The Smokies are beautiful to walk through and even drive through. Plus, I think Dollywood is very underrated. However, I am sorry that you had to stop in that unfortunate Three Rivers City. It's just a poor copy of Cincinnati. <KIDDING @Mad Dog , just come over here and whack me with your terrible towel>

and that for sure Bengals loss will happen when the Steelers visit your beautiful waterfront stadium. You guys really need to get a new coach.

 

[Mad Dog]

@bobwadd really did spoil us OU members when he was foing his phot reports and eventual copter aerial shots. @UK-Trigg I’m really enjoying reading these updates and photos. I think it’s the interactiveness and real time that makes it so interesting to read. Almost feels like we are all on vacation with you
:toast::kumbaya:

Heck, even when Mark visited us for a week, I felt like I was on vacation. He has that effect on people. Maybe he should market that 'English Magic'. You're sure right on this trip report, which delivers on it's 'Epic' name (hopefully Universal does 'Epic' this good). I don't think there's ever been anything quite like this, in completeness, on any theme park site.

 

[UK-Trigg]

I thought it was only snapping turtles that hissed? I wouldn’t go near a snapper!

I'll post photos of him later. I have a red eared slider back home, that guy hisses at me too.

@bobwadd really did spoil us OU members when he was foing his phot reports and eventual copter aerial shots. @UK-Trigg I’m really enjoying reading these updates and photos. I think it’s the interactiveness and real time that makes it so interesting to read. Almost feels like we are all on vacation with you
:toast::kumbaya:

Glad your enjoying the ride buddy and thanks for the kind words :thumbsup:

I've taken a lot from these forums over the years so its nice to give something back to the community.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Dollywood Day 2 Pics

20180910_130542 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_133318 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_133340 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_132709 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_142833 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_142917 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_142948 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_143037 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_143009 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_135550 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

My New pet - EPIC

20180910_152107 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_152330 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr

20180910_171940 by UK-Trigg, on Flickr