tntornadox

The Dollywood Company has released its wildfire relief efforts: At 300 homes, this would be worth $1.8 Million. What a wonderful gesture! The loving and giving of Dollywood and all of its people has never ceased to amaze me. They are also accepting relief donations on their website, where you can also see the video message from Dolly. Source: wate.com/2016/11/30/dollywood-foundation-to-give-1000-per-month-to-gatlinburg-wildfire-families/ Donation Link: The Dollywood Foundation

Yes. Sorry to say, the week after Christmas is typically Dollywood's busiest of of the entire season.

I just returned from KI yesterday and stayed at the Red Roof Inn Cincinnati North-Mason. Great location (just one exit down from KI) with renovated rooms, breakfast and free wi-fi for $59 a night. It doesn't look as pretty as some of the newer hotels on the outside, but the inside and rooms are refreshed. I was pleasantly surprised.

Apart from the lack of banking, what's up with the abnormally long stretch of straight track back into the station? It looks amateurish even for RCT2 (unless they shock the world with four train operations).

Firechaser can accommodate most riders. It's more forgiving than Mystery Mine, in my opinion. But if in doubt, there is a test seat at the queue entrance. TIP: If anyone is tall or wants a more roomy seat, sit in the front row, as it has more space than any other due to the lead 'train' coach. Plus, on this ride, it doesn't matter if you sit in the front or back, as it becomes the other for almost half the ride!

I thought they sold "Ride The Ducks", no? No, they still operate them in Branson, Philadelphia, San Francisco (A cable car attraction as well here), Stone Mountain and Newport, KY. So this never happened? http://www.genesis-capital.com/news/id/25/herschend-family-entertainment-sold-a-majority-interest-in-ride-the-ducks.aspx Herschend Family Entertainment Sold a Majority Interest in Ride the Ducks - Genesis Capital is pleased to announce that it advised Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation on the sale of a majorirty interest in Ride the Ducks. The buyer is a private, long-term investor with a track record of building successful businesses. Ride The Ducks is the nation's largest amphibious tour operator and amphibious vehicle manufacturer. Their mission is to "create Quack-tastic℠ memories worth repeating" by offering our guests an entertainment sightseeing experience that is fun, informative and engaging. Their fleet exceeds 90 vehicles and carries over 1,200,000 guests each year around the United States. HFE must still own a sizable interest then, because they are still considered a company asset.

I thought they sold "Ride The Ducks", no? No, they still operate them in Branson, Philadelphia, San Francisco (A cable car attraction as well here), Stone Mountain and Newport, KY.

I feel this acquisition follows the company's overall strategy of diversifying in the field of family entertainment. You have the theme parks, water parks, dinner attractions, aquariums, ride the ducks and now this. IMO, if it makes money and can fit into the HFE culture of providing quality family entertainment and can 'make memories worth repeating', it really doesn't matter what it is and can fit into the company quite nicely.

In that case, we shouldn't welcome the comments from posters who haven't been to a specific park yet, because they obviously don't know what they're talking about, right? I am as much a cruise enthusiast as I am a theme park enthusiast and I know alot about the industry in general as it has been an interest of mine for years now. Just because you haven't experienced something firsthand doesn't mean you're not educated on the topic.

First images from aboard the ship have surfaced: Link to photos For the record, I have never taken a Carnival cruise. I only try to help provide the 'other side of the story' for those members reading who are interested about the industry at large outside of Royal Caribbean.

I agree with you for the most part, Robb. But we both know CNN will air the person who wishes to paint the experience as the apocalypse before someone who would say it's not the best, but bearable as most accounts seem to indicate. I am also sourcing some info from the Facebook group set up for family members of those aboard whom are sharing what they're hearing. Edit: First photos from aboard the ship

USA Today ^ That's the closest link I can currently find, but several family members have been contacted by those aboard today and have been posting on Cruise Critic regularly. For whatever reason, power has been mostly restored to the forward part of the ship only, I can't explain this unless it has something to do with the electrical system having not been damaged forward by the fire (engines are more aft). According to those posting, passengers have been able to find power outlets that work and are using power strips to charge their cell phones and such and apparently the food hoarding was true, they asked people to stop hoarding food and began serving them (versus a buffet style they had earlier). The USCG hoisted aboard another generator earlier today to provide more hotel services, but I haven't heard what effect this may have had. And, no, I am not a Carnival fanboy by any means. But the media is sensationalizing every morsel of information they get and are trying to make the entire industry look bad. As for how Splendor had it worse, they didn't have any power restored at all (no elevators, no hot food, etc) whereas Triumph has.

I have been following this story closely and feel I know quite a bit on the topic, so here goes: 1) From what I gather, the U.S. Coast Guard does not allow at-sea transfers of passengers unless they abandoned ship, which wasn't necessary. Also, given the waves and wind, there would be no safe way to transfer passengers to another ship as a gangway would be too unstable. 2) There are backup generators, but they were built and placed for an 'emergency'. Basically, this generator is located away from the engine room, typically in the funnel housing but it's purpose is to supply power only to systems deemed 'essential' in an emergency situation such as communication and navigation equipment, lifeboat davits and select lighting (including at floor level) throughout the vessel. In essence, this system was designed to be used on a sinking ship, not one that's 'dead' in the water for days, hence why sewage and water systems aren't hooked up. Going forward, I would imagine all newbuilds will have their diesel generators located somewhere outside the main engine compartment to keep this from happening again. I dunno how the cruise lines could retrofit their current ships though. Ultimately, the Triumph got back 40% of its power a couple of days ago and they have power to the MDR and several elevators although half the toilets are still out. In all honesty, given the information readily available, the passengers aboard Triumph have more going for them than those aboard Splendor did a few years ago. The media is eating it up too.

Mobile has a shipyard and drydock. Much cheaper and faster to tow the ship direct to Mobile than to Mexico THEN Mobile. Not defending the decision, but that's why.

Just a head's up, the week between Christmas and New Year's is probably our busiest week of the year. A q-bot will come highly recommended.

I began my career as an Attractions Management Intern at Dollywood back in 2008. What a journey it's been!

Call me biased, but I feel it's tough to beat this:

It's actually Carnival Liberty which is a Conquest class stitched with a Fantasy class ship.

^ This. Herschend parks have a strict no re-ride policy across the board.

It used to be a funhouse called the Inventor's Mansion before it became the Dolly Parton museum when the park became Dollywood, in which capacity it served until it moved to its current location. The building hadn't been used in regular service since 2005 up until this exhibit moved in.

Gatekeeper. Really?

SkyZip will be opening soon and will feature a lower price than it had before. I won't say anymore because I don't know what's been made public yet.

I dunno if it was open in the latter years, but it had a fort area- Fort Cherokee which featured several indian things.

The Tornado blew them off the building onto the ground, see!

He has a new excuse near daily, I don't believe anything he says after he said he accidentally tripped and fell into a lifeboat along with several other senior officers...