Electerik

Scenic Helicopter Tours is something we'd wanted to do for some time now, but never had because it's (quite frankly) expensive. Perhaps for both these reasons, it seemed like the perfect way to bring our Smoky Mountain Adventures to a close. Thank you for flying with Erik & Misty. We had a great time, and we hope you've enjoyed it as well. Sevierville's new convention center and the Wilderness Resort. Heading back into Sevierville. Wears Valley. Here is a model I made of the countryside in winter. I just like this photo. That's the pilot on the right. A few more cabins as we head towards the national park. Ober Gatlinburg (top) and some of the surrounding cabins. Gatlinburg. The spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge, from near traffic light #10. The Country Fair section of the park. I have to admit, flying over Dollywood was a big part of the reason I wanted to do this. Mystery Mine is towards the top left, Tennessee Tornado is top right. Main entrance on the left, Thunderhead at the top, rapids in the lower right. Dollywood up ahead. Let's go in for a closer look. Dollywood's Splash Country (in winter). Now entering Pigeon Forge. Nascar Speedpark and the Tanger Five Oaks mall. Wow. Apparently, there's a quarry in Sevierville. I honestly had no idea. Sevierville from the air. Gaining altitude. I guess the helicopter place needs to be next to ugly things, in case it crashes. Off we go. (Hey look, it's our car!) This warning is posted inside the helicopter. So if you make it in, then I guess you're set for when you exit. Just kidding, Smisty. Here's our helicopter. Gift shop, "buy your photo," scary heater, and dude about to charge at me. The various flights. We chose the yellow one. (Note the helicopter museum in the center of the map. That's now MagiQuest.) The inside of the main building. The establishment is located on a hill way out in Sevierville.

Nascar Speedpark is the biggest family fun center and go-cart place in the area. We were going to wait until next spring to do an update on it (since their coaster was down all year), but once our timetable for moving got accelerated, we decided that we at least wanted to go experience the mini golf before we left. Dragon’s Lair Fantasy Golf Smisty says no. It would be interesting to see these courses at full strength and properly cared for. On the other hand, it is the off season, there was no one else there, and they didn’t even charge us to play. So...there you go. The final hole on the Viking course is really weird, in that it ends in front of two glass doors. I guess you were supposed to enter the building at that point, which was going to be an arcade...? Seems to be being used for storage, now. I did like the different colored “rough” sections on some of the holes. That’s not very common ‘round these here parts. I shaved. Sorry. The Viking course greens were nicer, but most of the holes were rather straightforward. Go, Misty, go! On the other hand, the very nice employees at Nascar didn’t actually charge us anything to play the mini golf--probably because of the state of it. So I can’t really complain too much. Whereas this one has no green at all, at the moment. Just concrete. This hole is probably pretty cool with the water on. All of the water features were off, and many of the greens were in bad shape. We played both sides. The Viking course was kind of dull (as most ADA courses tend to be), but was in significantly better shape than the Dragon course. But we didn’t come here today for that stuff anyway. The coaster: “Daytona Draft.” Closed all year due to a (claimed) part issue, so far as I am aware. ...and even some rides. (But none of that was running the day we went). Outside are several go-cart tracks... ...and slot cars! ...some racecar motion simulators... There’s also an eatery... Inside is a giftshop with lots of Nascar merchandise, and an arcade. The indoor section of Nascar Speedpark is housed in this giant corrugated metal building.

My photoshop-fu is weak, but my evil little heart is in the right place: Dick Kizel's Rainforest Cafe (official entry).

Well, my first thought when this posted was, "Um, add legos?" I mean, what else is Legoland known for? If Cedar Fair was taking over, there'd be lots of stuff to play with: trashcans, concrete, dull names, seatbelts, etc. But this...I suspect that most people just can't can come up with anything more clever than dumping a bunch of legos onto a photo of Cypress gardens. /Or, at least, that's been my issue so far.

One of our favorite restaurants in the area, and the best pure steakhouse, is The Alamo. They’re slightly on the expensive side--but, on the weekdays during the off-season, they do buy-one-get-one lunch entrees to bring in the locals. The Alamo. Man up. Be a cowboy. Eat steak. Chicken with mushrooms and cheese, chocolate cake and ice cream, and key lime pie. What else could you need? What a $30 steak might look like. Let’s start with a nice prime rib salad. I call this my “Wile E. Coyote” look. Misty feels right at home here, as she is originally from Texas. Alamo is actually located on part of the old Magic World attraction site.

Off the beaten path, adjacent to the public-but-non-commercial Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport in Sevierville, sits the non-profit Tennessee Museum of Aviation. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Hooray for airplanes! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! The gift shop, where you can learn to dress like a real pilot. That one’s wings are broken. Why must you turn this museum into a den of lies? The “Wicked Wabbit,” leaking oil. This was the largest plane on display, and seemed to be getting some work done on it. A giant propeller which was also not used in the film "Terminator 3." This plane should be called a “whale shark.” The wolf has come down from the north, and your fat little town is safe no longer. Many of these planes still work, and do fly. It’s okay to sit in them, right? I am speaking, of course, of the “crane chase,” which features a giant crane, a fire engine, an ambulance, several police cars, a pick-up truck, and a motorcycle. This is a halftrack. And while it is very cool, it did not appear in Terminator 3. Which does have the best car chase of all time in it, incidentally. This helicopter was used in Terminator 3. Which, by the way, is the best of the Terminator movies, and one of my favorite movies of all time. And no, I’m not kidding. And I can’t figure out for the life of me why no one else seems to agree. Replace all the boring talky stuff from the first two with car chases. Make the killer robot from the future a hot lesbian chick. Nuke the entire fudging world at the end. WIN. Which is cooler: the actual biplane, or the little tricycle biplane? Oh, how cute! A diorama! An old-timey movie camera, and a cutaway airplane section to show how they used to film such things. A big hanger full of airplanes and stuff!!! Here, we enter the main exhibit area. As you can see from this display, the engine usually accounts for over 1000% of an airplane’s total size. This is a display of how war actually is on the ground. This is...sort of a decal on the wall, with a window into the second exhibit area (where the planes are). Smisty wanted her picture taken with this female mannequin, because she is a woman. The first exhibit area has stuff like this in it. I wore an airplane attraction-appropriate shirt. (Nerd alert.) This hallway leads to the first exhibit area. The lady that runs the place, and her little dog, too. The addition of the word “flying” crushes my dreams of seeing warrior-penguins right from the start.

I am surprisingly excited by this. And yes, water is very important. But: Um...why not just import it from Naples? Oh, because it's coming from the tap at Epcot that comes closest to the water from Naples. Got it.

That was always one of my favorites. "I'm a lawyer. I'm going to sue you!" "Oh, a lawyer you say! I think we have some of those here at NBC-Universal [for example]. Would you mind waiting over here for a moment? Let me just get one for you. I mean, any time some threatens to sue, we take that very seriously." "Uh, nevermind." /Not that I ever did anything like that, mind you. //Never.

^ Interesting article. But, seriously, the guy "fell in love with brands"?! That's just...wow.

Awesomeness, mostly. But also for Misty's nearly-completed advanced education. No jobs waiting. But that's all part of the excitement! /It's not fun if it isn't a little scary.

Located near at traffic light #3 in Pigeon Forge, The Track consists of two 18-hole mini golf courses, some kiddy rides, and a big honkin’ go cart track. The kiddy ride section also has a small go cart track. Disappointingly, this is not called “The Small Woody.” The Big Woody, decorated for fall. On this side of THE TRACK is the entrance to THE BIG WOODY and some other stuff kids like to ride. I’m still not sure how this thing works. Is your park poorly laid out and/or badly planned? If so, a really long bridge might be right for you! Can you feel the spookiness? Around back are some bumper cars. Which, in October, are transformed--via the magic of black trash bags--into “Spooky Bumper Cars.” That’s right, bitches, 7. Beat that. ...and an arcade. And we like arcades. The Track also has bumper boats... Smisty, apparently tiring of my shenanigans, give the gorilla a try. Here in the jungles of deepest Tennessee, we spy a giant pelican and a tiny elephant. The holes are kind of dull. Which is why my captions are so dull. It’s kind of a Kubrick-2001-space-travel thing. There’s just something about sitting on a crocodile that makes one think. Gazebo golf. This obstacle is push-powered. Golf in the foreground, MagiQuest in the background. How’s about some mini golf? A map of "Pigeon Forget Rack." It's a fairly large piece of property. Misty shows off the snake I won for her at the arcade. And thus we end tonight’s update. I am not proud of it. Just a few spiny kids rides and a small train.

I don't read that as "they will be adding a giant Ferris wheel." But, having been to Cypress Gardens, the best part of which (even after they added all the coasters) was the flying island, I will say that there's plenty to look at there from up in the air, and I do hope they have something "observational" in the park.

Not that I have an issue with it, but I'm surprised that the most "coaster-y" logo came out on top. Seems like Robb & Elissa were against that sort of idea, at first. I guess that's the beauty of getting outside input. Sometimes you get surprised, and end up with something a bit different than you might have originally had in mind. /Or maybe I'm misreading the situation. That happens, too.

I read some stuff on ways to distinguish them, but I don't remember what they were, now. Length of tail, or something. In any case, I was never really sure, so I named it Terry. Earthquake The Ride, aka Tennessee Earthquake. It's covered way back on page 1 of this thread, and it's awesome. As for the big finish, there are still a couple of updates I want to do, but a bout of food poisoning has set me back a bit. So I might actually end up wrapping things up from Florida. (Not that you'd really be able to tell.)

^ I most definitely want. In a purely selfish way, considering that I'm going to be moving (back) to the Orlando area very soon, I think this is wonderful. Now, stepping back a bit, I'm not totally convinced that it'll work. (Then again, I'm not totally convinced that it won't, either.) But, yeah, I'm excited about it.

I'm not sure why this question matters, since observation towers are better than drop rides anyway.

Wow, the head of a failing park chain wants to see how successful parks do things? That might even have been a good idea all along! /Bitter and jaded, I know.

Aw, you guys are sweet! The thought of doing a similar thread for Orlando has occurred to me. There are quite a lot of folks already covering that beat, though. If I can come up with an interesting enough spin on it, I might. But, either way, this thread is about this area, and it just doesn't make sense to me to try to make it something else.

That actually does sound really cool. Have I ever mentioned that I thought up the idea for those "mix-in" ice cream places while standing in line for Top Gun at Carowinds? Unfortunately, they already existed. /Worst story ever. //Must get to Hershey.

Nice TR. I especially like this shot: Big Bad Wolf will be missed.

Yeah, I don't think it's impossible. Certainly, "Legoland" has a great built-in identity. Even if you've never heard of their parks, you and your kids probably loved legos. What was the new Cypress Gardens' angle, anyway? We have a bunch of kiddie coasters? Trying to corner the thrill ride market might have worked better if they'd had better thrill rides--and there was no Busch Gardens a little further on down the road. Not that I thought the new Cypress Gardens was a bad park. I actually liked it. But I'm way more excited about the idea of Legoland. Maybe the GP will be, too. /Or maybe not. I'm no venture capitalist.

Well, we're not really on a trip. We live here. But no, we haven't done any of the whitewater rafting. First of all, there's not really any close to the main tourist areas. But, more importantly, Misty isn't particularly interested in doing it, due to a mild water-phobia. In other news, our timetable for moving to Orlando has changed a bit, and we're now planning on leaving at the beginning of February. Which means we just have two more weeks to do whatever we're gonna do to bring this thread to its exciting conclusion!

There are a lot of strange things in Sevier County.... Smoky Mountain Knife Works Thus endeth the GREATEST UPDATE EVER. Accept no substitute. This gun is not a toy. It’s just located in “Toyland.” Got it? Good, I’m glad we cleared that up. These guys apparently play and sing. I hope, about knives. I don’t really know though, because it was broken. Yes, buy a knife for a soldier. Or, better yet, a gun. (Or pornography.) I just don’t even know anymore. You figure it out. “All artifacts must be purchased in this section.” Crap, now I wish I hadn’t come in here. I don’t need all this stuff. Place needs mini golf. Knives for pedophiles? Sure, why not? Oh yes, there are “fantasy” knives, as well. I’m not sure why I chose to photograph myself with this stuffed bear. It’s almost the least interesting thing in here. Yes, if weapons, taxidermy, and total batpoop craziness are your thing, you owe it to yourself to visit. There’s a pretty big sword. We were told by an employee that it’s “real,” whatever that means. Strangely, this sign is nowhere near any swords. Maybe it’s for sale. Someone earlier in the thread requested a ninja weapons store update. Will this do? But this store isn’t just about knives! Anything that can kill or maim someone is welcome here! But don’t get excited. It’s really just more museum. There’s also a “customer lounge.” Upstairs is the National Knife Museum. The store has many confusing levels. In fact, this store is just confusing, period. “Bottom floor: Kitchen, Gifts, Sharpening.” It’s also a museum sort of thing! It is a store, oh yes. But not just a store! Yes, it’s the world’s largest knife showplace!

Well, they did modify that support, yes. But, as you actually sort of implied there towards the end, NOT because of the pull-through. /Still not convince that the guy who claimed to have touched the support was legit. //Was there when it "happened." ///That CP took action on it really doesn't prove anything, if you know anything about the way they operate.

Trims, eh? That's interesting, since MF was allegedly designed (at least partially) around that idea that trims should never be necessary. Not so for this one, I guess. Oh, and I'm sure this ride will be better in exactly the same way that SFMM's Revolution is better with OTSR than with just lapbars.