Justin's Smoky Mountain Christmas

[jdawg1998]

For Thanksgiving break, our family visited Asheville, NC. I was skeptical about the trip. The city is very artsy and hipster-like, something we definitely aren't. Passing by the Dollywood and Gatlinburg billboards definitely didn't help, as I was irking to visit the "fun" part of the mountains.

Asheville is very neat though. The largest house in the country, the Biltmore Estate, is amazing. It has 250 rooms and was built by a young man, George Vanderbilt, who inherited his father's railroad tycoon money. We took the tour of the house and it was very intriguing to see how life was like in the 1890s. George and his wife's bedrooms were separated from each other because it was inappropriate back then to be sleeping in the same bed (at least for the wealthy)! Vanderbilt even had an indoor pool (very unusual, because apparently many people in the 19th century didn't know how to swim), a bowling alley, and a bachelor's room that had billiards and hidden doors to his bedroom. It doesn't sound too exciting on here, but I highly recommend checking it out. The area also has a winery, many restaurants, and a shopping center.

On Wednesday night, Dollywood commercials were playing over and over again on the TV. I said to my mom, "we should go to Dollywood." I had said this several times already, mainly as a joke, but she took this seriously; we told my dad, and it was set to visit Dollywood on Saturday!

Saturday, we went to the Hampton Inn on Teaster Lane (very nice, I recommend). We had decided to buy season passes to the park. Pigeon Forge is only five hours from Cincinnati, the price for a pass is only $30 extra, and my dad (thanks Terpy for informing me of this) bought a Gold pass for himself so we now get free parking and 20% off food and merchandise.

Getting past all this boring stuff, now I will talk about Dollywood! Walking into the park, I was immediately reminded of Magic Kingdom. To me, the theming highly resembled it. I was astounded by all the detail. I felt completely immersed in the place.

Highlights:

My sister, who I thought was 48", apparently isn't. We waited in line for Mystery Mine after measuring her at the thingy (whatever it's called) and it hit her head; but the one at the top, it didn't. So she's still 47"...frown face.

Firechaser Express is awesome! Kings Island needs something like this. It was very long, fun, and innovative. The backwards launch freaked me out, to be completely honest.

Mystery Mine is one of my favorite rides ever now. I didn't expect it to be that way, but I absolutely loved it. The beginning isn't too exciting, but the second drop is the coolest and best coaster drop I've experienced. The theme was well done too.

Thunderhead has taken over as my number one wooden coaster. The Voyage has gotten too rough. Thunderhead was smooth all the way and is one heck of a ride. So much airtime, speed, excitement. I rode front seat both times which made it that much better.

Wild Eagle is disappointing. Not very exciting. It is way too short. Meh. Gatekeeper is much better.

Tennessee Tornado is another very short ride. Dollywood has short rides for some reason. Every one of 'em with the exception of Thunderhead and Firechaser Express is this way. I guess it's because of the mountains and their restraints for building.

Blazing Fury is outdated and it hurt my back. But the theme was good! That is all.

Barnstormer sucks. It only goes through one cycle once it hits the highest point. Skyhawk wins.

The train is 1,000x better than Kings Island's! It was 20 minutes long and gave amazing views of the park. It starts out at ground level but somehow, you're looking above Dollywood and seeing all the behind the scenes. At Christmastime it's even better, and hearing Hard Candy Christmas and other Christmas music is just great.

A Christmas Carol was very well done. I love the use of the holograms for the ghosts. The whole Christmas Carol story is worn out for me so I honestly almost fell asleep, but I can say the show was really good and I must see. It was too bad we didn't see any other shows, though.

Craftman's Valley is the best! We spent an hour just walking around and looking in the stores.

I probably forgot some stuff but I'll add more. To sum it all up, Dollywood is my new favorite park. Holiday World comes in a close second. The rides are all fun though they need some more family rides (yes, Dollywood needs more family rides), the theme is perfectly executed, the food is delicious, the staff are nice and friendly, and I just felt relaxed walking around. I'm so glad we got season passes because I can't wait to go back!

[thekidd33]

This really makes me want to get back down there. I am very sorry that you apparently bumped your head at some point before riding Wild Eagle, as this is the only way you could possibly think that Gatekeeper is the better of the two.

It is always fun to get to experience a new park, thanks for taking the time to share with us!

[LoraX]

Great trip report. The park is beautiful during the summer. I can only imagine with the holiday decorations, it would be more beautiful.

[purdude86]

Great report. Glad to hear you had a great trip. Keep wanting to take a trip back to Gatlinburg and go to Dollywood too.

I always thought something like Mystery Mine would be great where Crypt/TR:TR was. Could use the current building and go out of it some like Mystery Mine and the thee would fit great for Rivertown. I love the dark ride/roller coaster combos like that.

[Tanna]

I love Gatlinburg. I'm glad you had a fun trip. I, too, wish to return there some day.