bert425

all too soon, it was time to head back to the airport and back to Texas. but not before I snapped a few final pics of the Smoky mountains and our view from the decks. Dollywood isn't open during the week, so the "smoke" in these pics are really why these mountains got their name. in the car on the way back, we passed by this factory with the HUGE smokestacks. I've never seen any that tall, so snapped a pic. the flight was uneventful, and tho the evening after getting home was a complete and total Cluster (won't get into it, but it involved notifications received about charges to my deceased Spouse's credit cards received when I took the phone out of airplane mode - that I had to deal with immediately. Will just say that by the time I was done dealing with things, the food I had picked up on the way home was way cold, and I didn't get to throw in laundry or even unpack anything until well after midnight - with getting to bed at 3am - after landing at 7pm). anyways. . swag bought. I didn't get the Dolly face Tshirt, as I liked these better (this one for the color) Front: back: this one for color and design: and this one for the design: bought this magnet from the giftshop at DreamMore another magnet I loved a magnet that matched the design on one of the shirts that I liked and those magnets that I tried for 2 days to get, but finally did. . and the saleswoman had pulled one for each color for me. I gave two as gifts and kept 2 all in all? it was a trip I'm glad I took, and hope to go back at some point in the future - tho maybe not in the wintertime

So Sunday we woke up and the weather cooperated in that it wasn't wet. . but it HAD gotten very cold. Park opened at 11. . but no one was in a huge rush to get to the park (all wiped out from yesterday) and besides, we were watching the temps and waiting for it to climb up high enough that things would actually operate. so I killed a little bit of time taking some morning pics. these were on almost every light switch, and I hadn't noticed them until this morning. OH MY! a better shot of the spiral staircase leading up to the upstairs loft (with the queen bunk beds, bathroom, pool table, deck, and arcade game) in front of the cabin keeping Amy company while she smoked view from the parking spot. from our decks we saw Flying Eagle start to cycle, so we headed to the park - with Cinnamon Bread on our minds - and got there just around 12:15 if I'm not mistaken. as we were headed to the Cinnamon Bread, we saw Lightning Rod had a 5 minute wait. . so we detoured over that way, and got in line. and as we climbed the stairs, heard a groan from above us, and people started exiting past us out of the line. We asked what happened, and LR had a roll back. and the people were stuck at the launch. we waited a moment to see if they could resolve, but when they started walking out to the train to evac? we called it and just went over to get Cinnamon Bread (as the digital signs in the park said LR was temporarily unavailable). got pics of the train sitting at the bottom of the launch tho - not blurry, as it wasn't moving how had I not seen the weird statues thruout the park yesterday?? kids riding on trees all over in this section while headed to the Grist Mill for Cinnamon Bread there was still a line - even tho the park was EMPTY (due to the cold). . but way shorter than last night. So we got in line. YUM!!! it was so cold, we actually went to the BarBQue place across the walkway - with the heated dining area- where some in the group bought food, so we could sit and eat in the heated area. so good! (and reheated well. . since I ended up taking 1/2 of my loaf home and it still tasted great 2 days later, after 5 minutes in a 350 oven). proof I had official Dollywood Cinnamon Bread we continued around the park, and I think we may have stopped at Blazing Fury for another ride. . but today really was about getting the few things missed yesterday, and Londyn shopping and riding the kiddie stuff. so really 1st on the list was Firechaser Express. not a walk on, but only 15 minute wait today. it's a fun family coaster, that looks way more extreme (and high) than it is. The backwards section is short, but memorable, and I enjoyed it. Didn't think it was great enough to get back in line to ride again, but I'm glad I got to ride it. Amy had missed out on Mystery Mine last night, as only Joseph and I had ridden it - so we headed that direction next. stopping for Photo Ops as I passed them tho, of course the old section of track still remaining is behind this tower. That "U" shaped wave turn. it's weird they left it.. but also, I kinda like it. we didnt' get to ride tho, because as we walked up, we saw them walking people from the back area (a group of girls) and the front of the ride was closed off. hurm. . . Oh well, I had gotten to ride it yesterday, and the only thing I really had remaining on my list was DropLine (which is close by). No one else wanted to ride, so I got in the walk on line. . and the group of girls we had seen coming out of Mystery Mine ended up right behind me. So I asked them if they had been evacced, and they freaked out telling me yes! and from the Vertical lift. that they had used a cherry picker to get them out of the train, and it freaked them out. but the park had given them skip the line passes. (not that it mattered, it was so cold park was dead). So that's two now that had to have people walked from down coasters - I have to assume the cold weather was affecting? anyways, DropLine was fun - tho very short. and it does have the added seatbelt restraint now. And oddly, the operator was discussing the Orlando drop tower incident with the guys sitting next to me on the ride (it came up because one of them was telling his friend someone had been injured on this ride and that's why it had been closed earlier this year). more polar bears around DropLine's setting. . which I hadn't noticed yesterday, as they were just glowing blobs by the time we came by here in the evening. I like this pic tho as you can see Thunderhead and the new Bear Mountain coaster in the background (along with the flyers). it really was a bit too cold to ride anything, and folks were just meandering. . . . luckily LOTS of photo ops all over the park. i particularly love this pic. Thru the trees! I wanted a daytime ride on Thunderhead even tho it was cold, and others were willing. . .so we headed over that way to get our ride. Londyn was excited because Whistle Stop Chaser is right next to it. . so she got to ride that 3 times. . . riding with most of us in the group. here's my turn. . pic courtesy of Xander. and then we go to go on Thunderhead. SUCH a great coaster, tho it was running a bit rougher during the daytime than it had been the night before. I still think it was fantastic, but some in the group said it hurt their back a bit. whee!!! more photo ops. . . we knew with the light crowd today, we wouldn't have any issue getting into the "headline" show, and sure enough, it wasn't a full auditorium for Christmas in the Smokies. it's an indoor theater, for an ~1 hour show. . so we went for it. very well done, with some really nice voices, and carols. (and way less Jesus-y than I had expected (I thought it was the story of Jesus, really). . . Amy said for that we'd have to watch the Nativity show) the show is. . . odd tho. it starts out with a story - folks coming home to the Smokies for Christmas, and visiting family, and singing. . then they all go sledding. . . then there's a cabin inside a church. . then Jesus is born (I think?). . then they are all Angels. Or something? I was told by a show aficionado that the "storyline" has been the same since it started, and yeah, it makes no sense as a complete story. I just took it as "they all died while sledding and came back as singing Angels" regardless, it was very entertaining, with some Broadway style set changes, and great voices for the most part. this cabin "unfolded" on the stage for a giant indoor set. . the show finished. . and we swung by the Emporium where I finally was able to purchase the Magnets I wanted (long story. . but it took multiple tries, as they were sold out EVERYWHERE in the park, and had to keep checking to see if they restocked. . but the ladies knew I was looking for them, and pulled some aside for me and had them ready for me when we came in). Lightning Rod was showing a 5 minute wait, so we excitedly headed over that way. . only to see: yeah. ok then. we decided to hang around the area and do some shopping - back into Dolly's Closet and the other stores over here. Londyn wanted to ride the cars that were over here. . and we needed a toilet break. . which are right next to LR. while coming out of the restrooms, saw it start testing. . .. . so we hung around, and a few moments later, they took the sign away and opened it back up and we rushed with the small crowd to get in line. it was a fun ride again, and when we got back there was NO line. So I said "let's ride again".. we're here, it's running. . let's! the others begged off (Jonathan and Xander had to head back to the airport, and Amy was just too cold).. but since Londyn was on the cars with Jamie anyways, I got back in line. . and as a single rider, got put in the front row! yup. .I got a front row ride on Lightning Rod. (and froze my face off). . . LOL Came off Lightning Rod so cold..everyone was pretty much done with Rides, other than Londyn - who wanted to go back to the Country Fair section to ride a few of the family rides. So we headed that way to do that and do some shopping. . snapping a pic of the lovely (and very Pink) Dolly's Closet as we passed by oh look. .they sell Genital Lice (Crabs) in the Squishmallow store! I really was tempted to buy it, as it looks so happy . .LOL as we headed towards the front of the park to pick up some fudge, and shop on the way out (it really was simply too cold to ride anything more, and tho we stopped and listened to some performers as we passed by, the moment you stopped walking the cold just shot thru you). . I said to Amy: "oh. . I never got to see Dolly's house. .it's supposed to be here, right?" and I asked that literally as we were walking by it - something we had walked by multiple times in the past 48 hours and I just hadn't noticed. so good timing on my part, and we swung in to take a look. by then it was close to 7 and we were ready to be back at the cabin, so we went down the main street so I could get some pics SO pretty at night. . and you can see from the "crowds" how busy it was this day. In the sweet shop, I felt seen and then we waved our goodbyes to Dollywood. .it was a great experience, despite how cold and I'm so thankful for my friends for encouraging me to go in honor of Nick. End result was that I *did* get on every coaster at Dollywood at least once, and a few of them multiple times. So a very successful trip, and 9 new coasters for me! next up. . swag !

Part 2 - evening on Saturday, 12/3/22 as mentioned above, it got dark really quickly. . and by the time we had finished with the Teacups and the *hot* Hot Chocolate incident, and came back up to try and catch the train that was leaving in 20 minutes, it already looked like this. just gorgeous over here. by the way..the train depot is on the left out of picture range. . and this picture is taken from where we ended up in the line for the NEXT train, that was scheduled for 45 minutes from now! as noted, we debated, and decided just to stay in line, as the train was a must do, and we were here already. So just enjoyed the lights, and sipped our drinks. the folks that joined the line BEHIND us shortly after. . and partially why we decided to just stay in the line. yeah. . the train during the Holidays is popular (you'll see why in a moment) after about 20 minutes, the line in the walkways was funnelled into the train depot - well, some of it was, there was still quite a few folks who didn't make it into the depot and would have to wait for the next train. Luckily, we made it in and moved towards the front of the station - which they packed solid with folks, telling everyone "if you're in the Depot, you SHOULD get on" it was a lot of people, but they were packing them in the train rows like sardines, so we felt pretty confident in getting on. and success! here's the group I was with: back row: Amy and Scott our row: Me, Londyn, Jamie, Joseph, Xander and now. . . a handful of blurry pics from a moving train. (apologies for the blurry pics, but thought some might wanna see them, so included some of those that were blurred from the moving train) the new coaster. . . big portions of it built up already. and looks like almost all the track is on site and stacked up ready so if you've never taken the Dollywood train (and most of us had not) - it actually goes outside the park, and up the mountain! resulting in some fantastic views of the park. . . but what really makes this a must do during the Holidays? up in the mountain, there's a big "turn around" (the train uses the same tracks going up and down the mountain) that circles a large field. during the Holidays? Dollywood covers the field with *millions* of LED lights that play in patterns and colors. oh, and the train plays Christmas Carols by Dolly, and her telling stories over the speakers while the train is going. anyways. .here's some looks at the field of lights: and then you turn around and head back down the mountain, so the other side of the train gets some great views. again, that's the new coaster on the far right (orange track) coming back into the station, we were greeted upon disembarking by an acapella show. the "Mistletones". . . hokey name, but dang, they were good. So we stood and listened for a bit. then we headed towards the section of the park we hadn't been to yet - and had seen from the train - the area with the tree/Mystery Mine/Thunderhead, and wildwood grove. to get there tho, we had to pass Blazing Fury first - which looked lovely at night. Londyn wanted to "mine for crystals" - so they stopped there to do that while myself and the guys headed towards the tree. Scott hadn't been on Blazing Fury yet. . .so we stopped and took a ride. what's interesting. . is literally 30 seconds after I snapped this pic? the whole ride went dark - all lights on it out, and folks streamed out of the queue building. so we barely missed getting trapped and evacced from Blazing Fury (which would have been cool. . but there was only so much time left in the day, and way too much we still wanted to do, so I'm glad we weren't on it when the power went down) strangely the power outage only affected Blazing Fury. . the giant (and absolutely beautiful) area of icicle lights next to it that led up to Tennesse Tornado and Firechaser remained lit up. beautiful. . and color changing. . . looking back towards Blazing Fury eventually, we all met up at the Dollywood Christmas Tree. and to say I was impressed is an understatement. it was beautiful, but I didn't realize that the LED lights on it were going to tell a story. . and the whole tree is color changing! the speakers in the area came on, the crowd gathered, and the tree told us a story thru images and words. and there was quite the subtext in the story too. . . supposedly it was about a Polar Bear and a Brown Bear who are "friends" and the Polar Bear travels from the North Pole to spend Christmas with the Brown Bear. . . where they sled together, wrap presents together, and hold hands. yeah. . . LOL... never thought I'd see a gay interracial relationship celebrated at Dollywood (hey, that's how *I* took it) awww. . reaching out to hold hands and then, once they touch hands? yeah. . it started "snowing". . . . Dr. Frued ? analysis please? LOL but, it was so neat, really. recommended viewing. this is Scott's WTF is this face when the snow started "erupting" . . . LOL I have this as my desktop at the moment. perhaps my favorite pic I took on the trip: once the tree show was done, Joseph and I headed over to Mystery Mine, to grab a ride since it was close to walk on. I braced myself for the roughness, even tho I had heard that they had done some major track work on it (and in fact, the old U-shaped banked turn is still there! the new track just bypasses it). but at the end of the day it's a Gerstlauer, so I was prepared to hate it. . but was gonna ride regardless as all the coasters here were new to me. and you know what? it wasn't bad! yes, this park has a decent Arrow, a very good Vekoma (Dragonflier) AND a decent Gerstlauer. it was a Christmas miracle! (and it looks pretty amazing at night) after our ride, we all made our way down to Wildwood Grove to meet up with Amy and family who had continued walking while we stopped to ride. very overcast, but loved how the lights reflected off the clouds. big fences up for the new coaster. . lots of dirt and construction over here, where the station is gonna go. the tree they had put in the center of this area (that I had forgotten I'd heard stuff about when it first opened). I thought it was recycled materials or something about conservation (when I saw it from the train, I REALLY thought it was a 'trash tree'). . but getting closer? it's covered in LED lit Butterflies. very pretty, even if I couldn't tell what it was until we got close to it. what's this? ride a bear? oh my gawd!!! can adults ride it? I was embarrassed to ask, so instead we went into the gift shop next to it. and watched it. but then I saw like, 7 adult men get in line with no kids. . so quickly joined in behind them. OMG. . how awesome! it's not a Carousel. . but my goofy ass loves this crap. so much I even got the ride attendant to snap a pic for me. look how happy! what else is down here in this area? let's take a look: it was getting late, and park close was in ~ 1/2 hour. . but we decided that since we were here and DragonFlier was posting a 10 minute wait? we'd go for it. low to the ground, and seemed to be running pretty fast for a "family" coaster. they were only running one train tho - the only coaster we'd seen that on today. the flyers across from the queue looked fun, but we were tight on time, so would save those for tomorrow. soon enough it was our turn, and I adored this. so fast, so low to the ground, and that tunnel! I didnt' expect a dive into a tunnel. A little short, but really. . a Vekoma in the USA that's this good? be sure to ride it if at Dollywood. so fast, that the best I could get of the train was a blur as we walked by to try and get to Thunderhead before park close. we made it! walk on. . . we rode in the back, and it was SO good. so much airtime, and in the dark, no idea what was going on with the track. I loved it so much, we decided to try and get another ride in, even tho it was park closing time. operators told us we'd have to exit and walk around, but there was still a few minutes left, so to do that. . so we did. and ended up near the front of the train (more airtime, but also quite a bit rougher - maybe because it wasn't a full train). . but we got the last ride of the night, as they closed the queue just after we got back in it. The operator even announced it was the last train of the night and to make some noise. Amy had never had that experience.. so I'm glad I got her to ride with me again, even if the roughness of this second ride did hurt her back a little bit. woot! and before leaving the station to head to the front gates, was able to get this pic. . which I also love. Arctic Passage - which is a tunnel of lights leading back to the front of the park. and comes out right by the preferred parking entrance/exit. But we wanted to shop, so followed the crowd around to the Emporium. and I'm glad we did. . because not only was it "snowing" over here too? but Santa was waving goodnight to everyone, since the park exit at night is thru the Emporium. Ho Ho Ho ending the day in a deserted park, with a lit up version of the pic I started the day with. we were (shockingly after that huge lunch earlier) a bit hungry this is when we discovered that pretty much everything in Pigeon Forge was closed - at 9pm on a Saturday ! Amy's googling found that some of the restaurants at the Island were open until 11, including Margaritaville. I'd never been there, but was game, so we all headed over there for Margs and food. (having never been there, I didn't know that the "large" comes in a plastic souvenir cup shaped like a blender. sheesh. . my empty cup got gifted to Londyn) walking back to the car park, I snapped some pics of the ferris wheel at the Island. it was pretty, but also cold, and we were wiped out from a long day. . . . so the hot tub was calling. So just took some pics. and with that, we headed back to the cabin to soak and then crash. it had been a fantastic day - even tho we didn't get any Cinnamon Bread (when we passed it on the way to the tree, the line was really, really long. . so we decided to wait a day for it so we wouldn't miss anything). a Great 1st visit to Dollywood. I managed to get on every coaster except Firechaser and the Kiddie Coaster (which I didn't care about). . multiple rides on some of em. . and most of the flats I cared about. so tomorrow the only thing I really wanted to do was: Firechaser, DropLine, and Thunderhead in the daytime. anything else would just be gravy. so I went to bed this night very happy I had come, and I had dreams of Nick, that made for a really great night's sleep. tomorrow? Day 2 at Dollywood. (and it was freaking cold! ) thanks for reading along!

I was so impressed with the Brazilian Steakhouse tho. . . love me some meat on a stick but good to know for next time I am able to go back!

Day 1: part 1 of 2: after an exhausting travel day we all slept a little later than we had intended (Xander & Joseph arrived well past 1am). . so we didn't actually make it to Dollywood for opening at 11. it had rained/drizzled most of the night, starting just after we went to bed. . so we weren't in a big rush to get out the door, thinking it would keep the crowd away. by 11:30, the drizzle had stopped, and we climbed into the car and took the 2 minute drive to Dollywood. luckily it wasn't too cold today (that would be tomorrow), just a little bit nippy . . but the rain cooperated, and stayed away the rest of the day. *absolutely* worth the extra $20 for Preferred parking. the preferred lot is way up front (past the handicapped lots) and gives fantastic views of the coasters as it's up on a hill. the view from our parking spot: the new Big Bear Mountain coaster under construction (orange track), with Dragonflier (green track) | Lightning Rod across the way. . . erm. . . haven't seen it testing (uh oh) walking from the Preferred lot to the separate entrance - yeah. . that's another perk of Preferred parking. A separate entrance gate (and dedicated exit lanes for later). worth every penny. fantastic view of Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, and Dropzone (hiding behind Thunderhead) the path down to the Preferred Parking entrance offers a lovely view of Lightning Rod (and down in the distance at the bottom, is where the trams drop off at the main entrance) I'm here. I'm at Dollywood. without Nick, that makes me sad. . but I'm here, and that would make him happy that I came. a nice shot of the "quiet" entrance/exit to the park from the Preferred lot. you enter from the left of the Emporium (near the height check station). . up ahead is the main entrance to the park, if we had parked in a regular lot and taken the tram in. not super crowded - recall, it had just recently stopped raining - but not a bad crowd considering the forecast for the day. and quiet enough to be able to get some great pics, that will always give me fond memories. they really go all out for Christmas Season (as I had suspected, and always heard). I was looking forwards to seeing everything lit up at night! small stages set up thruout the park with performers. .these guys were playing some bluegrass near the main gates. it was really nice to just come across a small stage with entertainment all over the park. that big building is the Dolly Parton Museum, which unfortunately was closed for renovation. oh well. an excuse to come back to walk thru! this pathway also leads towards Lightning Rod - but the app said it wasn't operating (yet) butterflies *everywhere*. . . it really is such a lovely park. one of the main squares of the park - tho this one *might* be THE main square, as it's right outside the big theater that hosts the ~1hour show, Smoky Mountain Christmas. and a view from that area, across the water for a great photo op of Lightning Rod. since our #1 choice for the day was down, we headed thru the park towards Blazing Fury/Tennessee Tornado area. . . but this was the first ride we came across. nobody else wanted to ride (despite the fact, we've ALL ridden the "smaller" version at SWSA. . .LOL). So they all went to go watch the glass blower, and look at the ornaments, and I headed up the steep hill to Barnstormer for 1st ride at Dollywood. so well themed. . . and I really liked there was a kid's playground area - similarly themed - right next to the "big" ride. Something for the kids to do if too small/too scared to ride the big rides. (this was something also seen over by Thunderhead - where the kiddie coaster is next door, and over by Firechaser Express - with a kiddie playground right next to the entrance) my ride done, I went back to meet them at the glass blowers. very cool. and can't pass up a photo op. . .especially for a Carousel, with a wonderful set up. I can be so far down. . but put me near a Carousel or Carousel Horse? Instant happiness. yeah, yeah. . I'm Jewish. and the park was VERY "Jebus-y". . but I mean, I'm here at Christmas. .and love seeing it. the lanterns hanging in the trees are GORGEOUS at night. such a simple thing, but so effective. ohhh. . I should have expected this (especially with the coaster in the park), but how neat to come across a Bald Eagle Sanctuary, in the park. The entire side of the mountain is netted off to protect them, and there were at least a dozen Bald Eagles - all rescues / recovering from injuries I believe - in the sanctuary area perched on trees, posts, or on the ground. across the way were some polar bears. LOL. .not really sure why. . they were in a few places in the park. what I found so amusing about them? Tho they looked pretty decent in the daytime? at night, they disappear and turn into just lighted blobs. lt was hysterical how they looked like Aliens from "Attack the Block" in the evening. . couldn't even tell what the heck they were supposed to be. near the Bald Eagle Sanctuary, is a row of Birds of Prey as well. I loved how close you could get to them, and the birds seemed very used to people being around, and actually "posed" for pics. It was great! (and the park covers the birds in the evening to let them rest, and protect them from the cold. So make sure you see the birds early in the day). had we actually made it to our first coaster? well, sort of. . I mean, Blazing Fury IS a coaster - even if it's mostly lift hill, with just a couple of small drops. but it was so bizarre and F'd up that I loved the hell out of it. (ended up riding it 3 times during the trip). LOL.. the first time as we exited, i asked - so where was the fire? HAHAHAHA.. I had missed all the instances of "fire" other than the one section with the LED lit firehose. so of course had to ride again so could see the theme of the dang ride. those Mannequins. . . loved it. NOTED! (and adorable) on the way to Tennessee Tornado. most interesting thing to me over here was the game to the far right (that I didn't manage to get in the picture) that early on Saturday was a "throw the ball to knock over the clowns" type game - but instead of clown targets, they were all Santa. I even said to Amy - that seems rather disrespectful to Santa, odd for this park! but when we passed by later that afternoon? no more Santas - the game had turned into a "darts at balloons" game. I guess someone higher up saw the game and made them change it with the same thought I had. ??? Firechaser Express. of our group of 6, only one of us had ever been to Dollywood before - and for him it had been many years. So he was most excited about getting to ride this. for the rest of us? everything was a "new credit" . . . we'd be over there shortly (and then would wait to ride it the next day, as the queue never dropped below 30 minutes, while everything else was either walk on or 1 train wait). but first? Tennessee Tornado. oh, you naughty, naughty, ride. (or am *I* the naughty one? ) it's an Arrow looper. and a relatively short one. but you know what? it was pretty decent. I KNOW !!! ended up riding it twice. Once with Amy, and then convinced Jamie to give it a go with me. the first loop, since it's not an exact loop, is really quite comfortable, and offers a bit of hangtime. just gotta watch out for that Batwing (or as Dollywood calls it, "Butterfly turn") for some slight headbang. but it's so short before coming back, it really isn't too bad. I think this is the backwards section. . LOL. . tho in pictures, you can't really tell which way the train is going. with the line at 30 minutes, we instead headed to Wild Eagle. .which was a walk on. (and we had been watching from the cabin the night before) wasn't it nice of someone to park their scooter right in front of the photo op? (I didn't get a picture of the lady trying to push it out of the way so she could get a picture. .LOL. . but was fun to watch her try to move it herself). still. . a pic most everyone takes. . . I liked this one. a LOT. they really leaned into the theming, and some of the moves the coaster makes, really does feel like you are a bird diving and flying. and one gets a FANTASTIC view of Firechaser Express from the Wild Eagle queue: (as Robb would say, "Twisty!") everyone was starting to get hungry by this time. . . so a quick discussion and the vote was the Family Style place we had passed earlier. Scott had made it to the park, and was going to the long show, which was close to the restaurant. so we headed that direction and briefly considered stopping for Cinnamon Bread - but the line was already pretty long. and we were about to eat. so decided to save it for later. but here's where they make it! mmmmmmmm where we ended up was "Aunt Granny's". . .all kinds of home cooking. and very reasonable for a theme park! it LOOKED like at one point it had been a buffet line type restaurant (pre Covid). . and it still seemed to be set up that way. Except that now there were servers, and you ordered at the table and they went up and got the food for you, to serve as family style. honestly? I MUCH preferred the service this way, and had a great time. (and tho the menu says limited choices per table, any refills you want, you can swap out to try other things). coming back from the restroom (washing my hands), I snapped pics of what looks like used to be the buffet line. a table's order ready to be picked up by waitstaff said waitstaff were dressed adorably too. I'm assuming this is for the Holiday season? or maybe they always look like this. really nice, and fun to chat with. a great experience. and she brought us a big ol basket of rolls. that were inhaled in an instant. the food was all VERY good. (tho the Pot Roast was a little bland and needed some salt). from left: Corn Pudding, Mac & Cheese, Stuffing, Ham, gravy, Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Fried Chicken. refills got more Mashed Potatoes, more Ham, Sweet Potatoes, and I asked for a side of Brussels Sprouts for me, as I wanted SOMETHING green with lunch. as noted. . most everything was excellent. . with the star being the Fried Chicken in my opinion. for desert, I had the Cinnamon Bread Pudding. YUM! the app said that Lightning Rod now had a 5 minute wait. . so we finished up and headed directly to it. stopping for a photo op first, of course. I mean, it IS me on this trip. and we get there. . and the sign says temporarily down. darn. . . apparently it had been up while we were eating, but went down again. so we decided to hang around the area for a little bit, and checked out the shopping in Dolly's Closet. I LOVED this stupid thing.. . "Old Jewish Lady" style, with velvet sleeves! it was only ~$55 I think, but it was dry clean only. . and the largest they had was 2X.. which seemed a little bit small. but I considered it. . .I mean. . look how awesome! that dry clean only gave me pause tho. . .as I'd ruin it after one wearing, assuming it even would fit. so I decided to hold off and see if I REALLY needed it, and would get it tomorrow if I didn't see other shirts I liked more. before heading back to the other areas of the park (we still had about 1/2 of the park to cover), we stopped at the bathrooms - which are right by Lightning Rod. and while there? it started testing: so we hung out for 5 minutes or so, and when they opened the doors to the ride, we were among the first 10 people in. we didn't get on the first train, as the folks who had bought timesaver today (it really was a dead day. . so I guess they bought it so they could be sure they got on Lightning Rod if it comes up?) rushed that queue, and the whole first train was filled by those folks. I didnt' care, as long as we got on it before it broke down again (which it did.. after about 4 trains). . BUT . . we were on the 2nd train, so I got my ride. yay! we then went and met up with Jamie and Londyn, who were riding the cars, next to LR. two rides after ours. . train 4. . and look, there's still people on it! we considered getting back in line, since were here and it was running. . . . but then this was the last train we saw, so it went down again just after this. so only one ride today on Lightning Rod. But hey, I'm not greedy, I got to ride it. I thought the launch was a bit "meh".. but that wave turn after the main drop is amazing. And thanks to the restraints (with handles to hold on to), I didn't even mind the amount of Ejector air - something that usually KILLS RMCs for me. So. . very good, but I prefer everything past the launch, even tho the launch is what made this ride well known. Londyn wanted to ride the teacups, so we headed over towards the back of the park, where most of the "family" rides, are - and also where the train depot is. the park had started making announcements that due to dry weather, there would be no fireworks tonight . . which was odd since it had rained all night. But then again, we had heard those sirens last night. Maybe with no fireworks, the crowd that was in the park wouldnt' hang around until close? we absolutely wanted to ride the train, but even on a "slow" day, it was PACKED every time we saw it pass. Besides, we wanted to ride it at night as had been told that we simply had to. It was in the station when we walked by tho, so was able to snap some nice pics. So many lights over in this area. (and this was the section we could see from our deck). I was excited to see this at night. . . down this way is the Country Fair section - where the teacups are. but Jamie convinced Londyn that before we go down that hill, we should do the other ride that she really wanted to go on. . which was up here by the train. (insert angels singing) as I said.. my happy place. them too. artsy! oooooo. . . ok then! coming back here later and then it was down to Country Fair area for the family rides (and hot chocolate that was so hot, it burned "someones" tongue, after she didnt' listen to Mom to wait for it to cool down before taking a sip). NOT ME tho. . I had more wassail. the area is lovely. .and thru the trees you can see some of the cabins on the mountain that are part of the complex we are staying in. it was just starting to get dusky - surprising how quickly it got dark - and the lights were really starting to pop looking at the app, there was a train leaving in 20 minutes. . so since over here, maybe we should try to get on it? i mean it would be dark by the time we left the station. so we decided to go for it and head up that way.. . and found a line that extended well past the station out into the walkway. AND a completely full train already. we debated what to do, and eventually, got to the realization that: we WANTED to ride the train - it's a must do. and as packed as it is? if we leave and come back, we'll miss it again. So we just joined the line, for the 45 minute wait until the next departure (and about 20 minutes in, they moved most in the line into the depot - with the comment from the associates, that if you're in the depot, you'll make it onto the train). . . to be continued in part II , Dollywood on a Saturday Night.

from Skyline Attractions on YouTube:

Nick and I had talked about going to Dollywood for years. it was so difficult to plan, as there's no "simple" way to just fly in, get to the park, and enjoy the area without renting a car (we were really hoping for shuttles avail. such as many of the Magic Kingdom hotels offer, or like you can get from Vegas airport to your hotels). And we never seemed to be able to get a good deal on flights and/or cars. . or if we did? we didn't have the vacation time. so after trying for a few years, we finally decided THIS year was the year we were going to go, and I secured tickets, and we booked a trip for Summer. . . and then he started having health issues. It became really clear that a Summer trip was simply not in the cards - certainly not before I went to Europe. So I reluctantly cancelled our bookings (rental car, flights, DreamMore resort) - but held onto the tix, planning that we'd go in Oct/Nov. well. . Nick ended up getting sick again, and passed before we ever got to make the trip. I was being urged by friends to go anyways, or at the very least, call Dollywood and explain what happened and see if they'd extend the tickets thru 2023 (all good suggestions, but I just couldn't imagine going by myself). while at Scream Hollow with friends in October, I mentioned to my dear friend Amy about this, and how sad I was that we never got to make the trip. And she said "we're gonna fix that" and I thought nothing more about it. cut to about a week later, and she emailed me confirmation of a flight into Nashville from Austin. I was like "what is this?" she had gotten all my info off of Facebook (note to folks. . go scrub your FB page of any info someone can use to do things in your name!! LOL. . I scrubbed mine right away), and booked a flight for myself, her, her ex, and her Daughter to fly out of Austin with me. We'd rent a car in Nashville, drive to a Air BnB cabin she rented, where we'd meet up with two other friends from Austin, and we'd have a fun weekend in Pigeon Forge. I wasn't sure how it was gonna go. . . but how could I say no? (and yes, I gave her $$ back for the flight, and towards the cabin rental). gonna be upfront and say: I will never be able to fully convey the amount of gratitude I have towards Amy (and Jamie who drove) for encouraging/forcing me to go. I can't say it wasn't rough in places. and I can't say I had a wonderful time, but I had as good a time as I possibly could, being there without Nick. hell in 95% of the pictures I'm smiling and that's purely due to those who were there with me. (the other 5% would be the Prozac). But I did love the place, and really would like to go back again in the future. and at the end of the day? the park was very hilly, the weather was drizzly one day, and freezing cold (upper 30's) the next - and Amy bitched and complained about both of them the whole time . . . so it really WAS like Nick was there with me, as that's exactly what he would have done the whole time. And then raved to anyone who would listen about what a great time he had on the trip. anyways. .that's my intro. . now onto the Trip report. Day 1 - leaving Austin at 6am, and arriving in Pigeon Forge, checking out DreamMore, and the last fireworks of the season. Pretty perky for so early (and Amy had been up for almost 24 hours at this point, as she worked well into the evening, then had to come up to Austin from San Antonio where they live to pick me up and we flew out of the Austin airport) Jamie and Londyn sat in the row in front of us. once in Nashville and got rental car, we were on our way to Pigeon Forge - approx. 3 1/2 hour drive. a couple of hours in tho, it was time for a bathroom break and breakfast sammiches for some. . so a stop at Buc-ees. and Santa Buc-ee was out! a pic? why of course! not sure why I took this, but I'm guessing the golden dome there. Is this Knoxville? yay! Pigeon Forge exit coming up. oo. .the Great Smoky Mountains are so beautiful. . even from a distance Dollywood THIS way! but first? we had to pull into WalMart to pick up Amy's online order - she was gonna stock the cabin up with breakfast food (spoiler, turns out none of us are really "breakfast" people - especially with Cinnamon Bread at Dollywood! So the breakfast bacon/eggs/cheese/milk/bread. . all ended up donated to the lady that came to clean the AirBnB when we checked out). this waterpark, Soaky Mountain (HA!!) looked fun. . but it was already December, and it was closed for the season. it was comfortable (mid 70's today, tho it did get much colder as the sun set later). had to snap a pic of this DISGUSTING thing I saw in WalMart when I popped in to grab some Little Debbie for the cabin. ewwwwww. . . who in the world would want this? we had planned to spend the afternoon in Gatlinberg, but had been made aware of a parade happening (thank you Franklin) and a quick check showed that mass of people (almost 90K was nothing we wanted to mess with). . so instead decided just to head to Pigeon Forge, and see if our cabin would be ready earlier than the supposed check in time at 3. multiple Mountain coasters line the main road as well as several others in the area that we passed while driving. also on the main drive in Pigeon Forge? at least 11 Go-Kart tracks, multiple arcades, multiple Mini Golfs, and a ton of tourist trap type attractions. it looked like a blast, and we planned to come back later (not realizing that the whole town really does shut down pretty early) this mountain coaster did look kinda fun, in that it used a chair lift to get to the top. tho Amy took one look at that and said "hell no" we're here in Pigeon Forge proper! Hatfield & McCoy dinner feud? I would think that would be HELL. . . and had no interest. (we were interested in Dolly's show, that has the horses, but the times didn't really work, and it was a little bit pricey. . . tho we kept that as an option for later anyways) eye-catching "touristy" architecture and a Titanic museum, of course. this Christmas village area had some in the car excited. . but it was SO packed when we drove by, I thought to myself. . I hope we don't stop! but a ropes course right on the strip looked hella fun. made note of the Margaritaville at the Island as we drove by. This was important as when we were hungry the next night after Dollywood, only a handful of places here at the Island were open until 11pm. HAHAHA. . "Alcatraz East" Giant Rock-em Sock-em Robots graced the mini golf place that we passed as we turned off to the street that will go to Dollywood (and up to our rental cabin) wow. . this road up to our cabin is beautiful. but the cleaners were still working on our cabin when we drove up. . and it looked like it would still be a while. (remember, we were there on 12/2, so we're pretty sure they were "Christmasing" up the place, as when we finally came in later, it was beautiful and there was a tree inside too). we were all tired from what had been a pretty long day. and Gatlinberg was out, since the parade made it too packed to go. so what could we do to kill some time? i asked, and they indulged me, if we could perhaps go to DreamMore to look around? as I really wanted to check out the place where Nick and I had intended to stay on our planned trip. they graciously agreed, and we took the 5 minute drive, past Dollywood and into the DreamMore resort. somehow, I didn't get a pic of this additional lodge they are building on the property. But it's HUGE, and looks to be at least 1/2 (or more) done. it's connected to the main DreamMore parking lot, and I expect will be open early next year, based on how much of it was built already. got a pic of the sign for it tho me, trying not to cry, in front of the DreamMore lodge the property is lovely. and all decked out for Christmas. with Wassail being handed out in the lobby (that was so yummy, I ended up getting some in the park the next day too) GORGEOUS the "lounge" areas on either side of the lobby are adorned with crystal encrusted instruments that Dolly has played. down the hall, there's a really nice gift shop, that sells things unique to the Resort, with only a handful of things you can also get in the park. I like that they keep the offerings at the resort unique for the most part. (tho these shirts were branded Dollywood, and were some of the few things that WERE avail. in the park too) the lady running the gift shop was very nice, and we talked to her for a little bit and she recommended we go downstairs and check out the wall of records, the Dreambox, and that we should do a toast to Nick in the bar down there. so we went downstairs - well worth a trip just for this photo op, I'd say. supposedly this wall features every Album Dolly ever released and here is the "Dream Box" the lady in the gift shop told us to go look at. it contains the final song that will every be released by Dolly Parton - nobody has ever heard it. Dolly locked it away, and it's only to be opened on her 100th Birthday in 2046. the case also includes a piece of the front porch of the cabin that Dolly grew up in. I found this very cool, and what a hidden neat thing - tucked away in an alcove downstairs. I'm glad we were directed to it. I'm so thankful they were willing to take me here. yes it killed time, but it really made me feel closer to Nick. it was well after 4pm, so we knew the cabin would be ready. So we piled back in the car and headed back over. Passing Dollywood's entrance on the way. Luckily we hit a light, so was able to quickly get a pic of the entrance sign. yet another mountain coaster we passed between the front gates and the cabin. Tho this one didn't look super exciting compared to some of the others we had seen. we got back to our place for the weekend, and it was ready. a lovely cabin. .that had 3 levels, with sleeping for 12-14, with 3 bathrooms (one on each floor) downstairs: sleeper sofa, Full size bunk beds, queensize bed Upstairs: two queen size bunk beds Middle: king size bed, and reclining Sofa. we were only 6 total, so we each got our own floor basically. how nice. . snacks in the kitchen for us. the main entry level - the kingsize bedroom is to the right, straight ahead is dining room and hot tub. the reclining sofa in the main room. did I say Hot Tub? yup. .this cabin has a hot tub room - which felt SO good after walking in the park all day, and with it cold outside. (kudos to Amy for insisting on booking this option) dining room (which we never used, since didn't eat breakfast. . LOL) thru the door in the kitchen downstairs to the lower level. huge space (with a kitchenette), and that sofa is a sleeper sofa. Downstairs had the Space Invaders game.. but upstairs had a multi game machine with Centipede and lots of other options. I loved the timed fireplaces that were on both floors. the patio outside the lower level. lovely view the full bunk beds, and the bathroom down here. didn't get a pic, but to the right is the door to the room with the queen size bed. originally I was going to take the lower level, giving the King on the main floor to Xander and Johnathan. .but their friend Scott was going to join us for a night, and so we put them all down here because this floor had the space for 3) Amy and Jamie took the upstairs queen bunks, since Londyn wanted to sleep with her Mom. back up the stairs now. (but how great is this cabin??) up the spiral staircase to the top level, and here's the other game machine. . and a pool table!) as well as the queen bunks. this floor has a patio as well.. and just LOOK at this view. yup. .that's Dollywood right over there! oh look. . a pic of a coaster WITH the train on it. how unlike me. . LOL a few more pics up here, then will head back down to the main floor. and a peek into what ended up being my room. yeah, the owner has a bear fetish apparently. . bears, bears EVERYWHERE. . .it was pretty amusing to me. Xander and Joseph weren't arriving until post 1am (they had to catch a later flight from Austin than us) and Scott was coming in the next day. . and we decided we were hungry. so we debated the Dolly's horses show, and ultimately decided on a Brazillian Steakhouse, Amy made the reservation, and we headed out for food. the area is lovely at night. we will, Dolly, we will! that's why we're here! one of the many gokart tracks and arcades lining the main street in Pigeon Forge. this pic is from the parking lot of the Brazilian Steakhouse. Yes, it really IS in the lot behind a Taco Bell LOL Meat on Sticks! Meat on Sticks! they weren't packed, but they were busy. unfortunately, our service was kinda sub-par (the sides didn't come out until well into the meal, and only after we asked about them several times). but the food - in particular the Fillet Mignon, the Leg of Lamb, and the Teryaki Chicken was fantastic. and I had more than 2 bowls of lobster bisque. . yum! so yeah, I'd recommend it if you're in Pigeon Forge and they had Creme Brulee for desert! Amy and my favorite! everyone was super tired after eating . . so we kind of scuttled any plans for doing anything during the night (I was pushing for Jurassic Jungle Boat ride, LOL). . but I got it, I mean she'd been up for well over 36 hours at this point. and it had gotten REALLY cold out. Low 40s. But since we were out and about already, I did ask if we could drive by and look at some of the mountain coasters, as they were advertising how they'd be lit up for Christmas. we passed one that looked really high, and there was almost nobody there. . so I wondered if maybe they were giving discounts tonight, as they were so dead due to the weather? Jamie was going to turn around to go back and see the cost (tho Amy was a hard no), when we spotted another one that looked *better* further up the road. it turned out that one was Goats on the Roof's "Goat Coaster" so we pulled in there just to check it out - and the digital sign said rides were only $12. seriously, NOBODY was there! so we started talking to the operators, asking them if they ran it when it was cold. .and they encouraged us to ride. and look. .they actually DO have "goats on the roof" ! so I nudged and nudged, and kept making the case it was only $12 !!! and Amy eventually (even tho she was terrified) agreed to ride with me. so Jamie and Londyn went to look in the gift shop, and we got tickets. (the cold certainly perked me up!) it was so good, I bought the pics. .and since I bought, the booth operator let me take pics from the screen so I have bigger pics. look how much fun! so fun! and SO fast. (and SO freaking cold!) we hung out for a bit and talked to the operators - and they told me I had "shirt of the day" (it says "Spice Grohls"). .and then we headed to the car to meet up with the others. a few folks did come in to ride behind us. . but yeah, it still stayed dead. here's a look at the queue line as we headed back to the car. . . we got back to the cabin, and decided we all wanted to get into the hot tub. and as we were changing, we started hearing "booms". . and Jamie called out for me to join them on the upstairs patio deck. where we had an incredible view of the park at night, as well as the fireworks show: even tho tomorrow was our first full day in the park, and we'd see it from inside the park? we stayed and watched the show. and I'm glad we did. . as the next day they announced no fireworks due to drought conditions (and after the show, we DID hear quite a few sirens while we were in the hot tub. . so have to wonder if the sparks caught something on fire?) and then this past Friday, Dollywood announced no more fireworks for the rest of the year. so I'm really glad we watched, as it was the last fireworks of the season. . even if we didn't know it at the time. Amy was going to try to wait up for Xander an Joseph (she didn't make it ), but the rest of us were wiped out post Hot Tub soak. So I said my goodnights, took a shower, and crashed hard. it had been a long, and emotional day, but I was glad I had come. and tomorrow? my first time ever at Dollywood! to be continued. . . .

^ which to ME? looks the same as the one that was there. . but hey, there's gonna be seating around it now with a rock wall. so more seating is always good

^ while SFFT is kind of unique in the chain (perhaps with one or two others), it made me giggle to think of any Six Flags property as a "world class" park. tho I DO think some of the SF properties are pretty dang good parks. I was amused that the VIP lounge and Starbucks Coffee were part of the announcements, but I guess they figured that they were doing an "event" to announce, so might as well pack in everything, even if minor. LOL

turned out, this was the model that Skyline Attractions shipped for us to see (and I posted pic of above)

oh, and it's not mentioned in the info. . but I believe the Skyline rep said during Q&A that the top speed is 27mph, but will feel much faster since the layout is so compact. he also noted: individual lap bar restraints, and seating should be workable for anyone upto ~6'2" (guess we'll see on that once they actually have the trains for SFFT there). and that the ride is full of head-choppers (the tracks criss cross each other 11 times total). so should be fun, even tho a "family" coaster.

^ there were a bunch of "improvements" also announced - some of which had previously been noted: New seating and new clock for Spassberg. Coasters and Coffee (Starbucks coffee) is coming in the space right next to Sangerfest in the space that was pretzels/ice cream. (and confirmed in Studio 6F later that night that the coffee bar in there is closing - but many people don't know it's there anyways, and the new place is directly across the path anyways. .LOL) New paint on several structures. New Trains for Boomerang. 3rd train for Iron Rattler coming soon (with 2nd train FINALLY coming back in the next two week) new trains, and new track work coming for Wonder Woman Golden Lasso. As Jeffrey pointed out, WW was a prototype, and he said they (RMC) have learned since then, and that if anyone had ridden Jersey Devil, or the new Wonder Woman coaster, then expect Golden Lasso Coaster would be matching that experience/smoothness. at the dinner Q&A, the projected opening for both the new Coasters (count as 2, as they can absolutely run independently if one is down for issues or maintenance per the skyline rep attending), is early Summer 2023. so the new Kids slide area/ complex - that will be at the top of the steps in the upper section of the waterpark. AND the new coasters - that will be where the bumper cars currently sit WILL be open by early summer, no question. oh, and the park "splurged" per Q&A for 3 different lighting packages for the coaster LEDs - so they will change the program depending on the seasons. coaster name TBA (I suspect we might get that news at Winterfest in ~4 weeks) at dinner they showed off a pretty cool model too. I took pics from the day, and probably will get them up in the next few weeks. but here are the pertinent ones, that most will care about: New kid's slide complex for Waterpark. Santa bringing more gifts:

apparently in Dutch, it only has 1 "N" and in French it has 2. so since they speak both Dutch, and French (as well as German) in Belgium? they get around it by doing it that way. found this handy pic online by googling "Mayonnaise spelling in Belgium":

Day 7, evening. . . so we loaded up the bus, in the rain, and waved goodbye to Hotel Charles Lindbergh (and Phantasialand), and headed out towards Wavre, Belgium. that would be where our hotel for the night would be - only 1 night, as we were loading up the bus in the morning to spend the whole day at Walibi Belgium. Scenery as we were driving, it's always comforting to see a Nuclear Power plant. . . James and I mostly sat in row 3, so we got a nice view of the road - and this little guy (who's name I can't recall) that Robb purchased at Europa Parc where he's part of the Pirates ride. lovely countryside, as we moved from Germany into Belgium. And the sky had completely cleared up too. as we exited off the main road, into Wavre, the bus made some tight turns down some narrow (and jungle covered) roads towards our hotel for the night. excellent driving by our bus driver another really tight turn - the entrance gate at our hotel seemed REALLY surprised at the size of the bus about to attempt this turn in. but we made it in, and started unloading. our hotel for the night was another Ibis (same brand as the 1st hotel at the airport) with very similar looking rooms. we put our bags up in the room, and made plans to meet some folks down in the lobby. We had left Phantasialand before dinner, but were getting to Wavre by 8pm or so, so many in the group planned on heading out to grab some food and do some exploring in the charming smallish town. while waiting for the group I was going to grab food with, I snapped some pics of the lobby area and the breakfast area of the hotel. the hotel was pretty full - a football (soccer) team, that was passing thru, if I recall - tho we didn't really see any of them tonight. in the morning at breakfast we interacted with them quite a bit tho. Nice guys. and then once we had everyone who wanted to go check out the local fast food place - the Belgium version of McDonalds. . we headed out for the short walk into town. and here it is. . . not sure if it's specific to Beligum, or a European chain. Tho I can't recall if I ever saw another one on the trip, so maybe it *is* Belgium specific? basically a McDonalds: "Quick" for what it's worth? the name LIES. there are no counter folks to take orders. . all orders are placed at the touchscreens by the entrance doors. then you stand and wait until they call your number to go pick up your food from the counter. yeah. .it's *exactly* as much of a clusterfuck as one would think it was. Especially when busy at dinner time (which I guess this time of night was dinner time). it was absolute chaos. . . and, if I'm being honest, I loved every moment of it . . . LOL. . . . Eventually we got our food, and headed upstairs to a "quieter" area to eat. I don't really recall what I got, tho it looks like cheese balls, a poutine of some kind, and a burger that looked like this. it was ok, I suppose. But really no lasting memory of it, so i guess it was just a standard burger from a fast food place? we had planned to walk over to the Supermarket in the parking lot there and get some bottled water, but by the time we finished eating, the market had just closed for the evening. (I think they closed at 9 perhaps?). . . but as we slowly made our way back towards the hotel, someone in the group that had gone towards the city center (in search of nightlife/bars I believe) had posted to the TPR trip group chat that they had stumbled across a random Breakdance in the downtown area. even tho we had just spent a full day at Phantasialand. . . c'mon, I'm on a trip with TPR folks. . of COURSE we immediately detoured towards the center of town to see if we could find said breakdance. I double-taked on this sign at least 3 times, before I decided I just had to take a picture. "Immotheker finotheker". . . .has made it into my cursing lexicon we had passed a parking lot full of what looked like "Carny" vehicles. . and we started to hear music, so we continued heading that way, and finally came across this. (insert angelic singing here) wasn't super busy - but again, it was a Monday night, but it appeared an entire funfair had been plopped down over two city blocks in the center of Wavre. we weren't gonna cross illegally - gotta follow traffic rules in other Countries - so we headed down to the crosswalk. only to be pleasantly surprised that they were Rainbow Crosswalks. yay! Belgian Pride! while most of the games and rides, seemed targeted towards the way younger crowd. . there were a few "big" rides mixed in. (the stuff on the next street over seemed to be mostly closed this night tho, including a small kiddie coaster. . so we stuck to this main intersection for our exploring) Kiddie Bumper Cars - and no, I still didn't ride them. I was mesmerized by the floating kid's heads on the sign for this one (but I believe everything is independently owned, so it must be the owner's kids?). certainly didn't attract me to the place to purchase anything - tho I was full as I had just eaten a lot of fast food. that spotted donut doesn't look too happy tho! a funfair street cart selling Escargot? how intriguing (and a big ol HELL NO from me). . . but Smisty wanted to try them, so she and Erik got some. and to be fair? they SMELLED amazing. . . but . . . nope for me. the guys at the funfair (James, Erik, Andrew and me), waiting for Smisty to finish her snails some pics of the games. . lots and lots of stuffed animals to (attempt) to win. tho some booths had lots of typical American carnival crap on offer (this Duck Game) seemed to offer prizes as one would find at a ticket redemption counter in a Dave & Busters, or Pinballz arcade oooo. . very tempted. A Frozen Mirror Maze! . . I'm sure 100% officially licensed Disneyland Belgium! If I didn't think my fat ass would break it? I would have ridden on Aladdin's carpet. (tho the Woody Woodpecker confused me. maybe Donald broke and they needed a quick replacement?) it really is a Small World after all. ohhh. . . a big Adult ride. I love the Mexican Hat Dance. should we ride? YES! Funfairs tend to run insane cycles. . but this one ran rather lame. but I'm kind of glad it did, because as we were starting to go, Smisty noticed that the "arms" weren't bolted shut. yup.. they were all held together by color - coordinated bungee cords, not bolts! Really. . .. so I was pretty glad it didn't run a good cycle, as I didn't wanna die at a Belgian Fun-fair. but it was pleasant, if not exactly extreme. (pic courtesy of Erik) so why did I want to ride? (and convince others to ride with me?). this was the ride operator. . .. who spent a LOT of time making eye contact with me before we bought tickets. yeah. . sex sells it was starting to get a little darker, and the Breakdance that had originally attracted us was right around the corner. . so we went to take a look at it. yeah. . THIS one was running a super EXTREME "carnival" program. So intense that Andrew begged off and only Smisty and I rode. SO intense (and such a long cycle) there were periods where we could NOT lean forward in the seats. it was awesome. . all the while, the operator was yelling things out to us in Dutch (I think that's what it was). Could not understand him at all, but I imagine it was something along the lines of "Do you want to go faster??? make some noise!!!" because when we screamed, he sped it up. (pics courtesy of either Andrew or Erik) eventually the ride stopped, and dizzy as hell, I was ready to head back to the hotel and crash. as was everyone else. . . so we made our way back - I think we came this way? grabbed some water from the bartender on the way up to the room, and crashed for the night. Think it was around 10:45 pm at this point. Tomorrow we were headed out at 8:15 sharp for Walibi Belgium for day 8 of the trip. but this had been a fantastic day 7, and it's always fun to spend so much time with great people.

Lightning Rod on Sunday evening.

and we got SOOOO lucky to catch that. . they were cancelled on Saturday. and the park just posted this update: perhaps unrelated. . but after the Friday fireworks? there were a LOT of sirens heard for a while after. I'm wondering if perhaps something caught on fire and that's why they've cancelled for the rest of the season?

I'll have this in my TR when I get to it. but the view from the Decks in our Air BnB cabin we rented (daytime) and Friday Evening.

get checked at the station up front. (it's a really nice set up and there were quite a number of people using it). Even with fairly light crowds (the longest wait on anything was Firechaser, which at it's peak posted 30 minute wait) - we saw several times, younger kids without the bands, get pulled from the trains for measuring. Tho most times, they met the requirement and were let back into the trains (probably why they didn't bother with the bands, since they were tall enough). I did also notice several coasters have "Parent Swap" options. . so y'all can do that too, if she's too short for something y'all really want to ride. but there are several areas with lots of "family" rides, so I'm sure she'll have a ball regardless. Lightning Rod was down for large portions of both days. . . but did manage to get total 3 rides on it. I'd say keep an eye on it, and if you see it testing? head over that way and hover around the entrance. They get it up, it runs for a little bit, then goes down for an extended time. at least it did when we were there. . but still managed rides on it. also. . . 100% pay for Preferred Parking!!!! (it's only ~$20 more than standard parking) - you get a separate lot, that's WAY up at the front of the park (directly in front of Thunderhead and the new coaster construction) - yes. . even further up than the Handicapped lot! You also get your own "preferred parking" entrance/exit to the park! you come in from the side (near the height check station), rather than thru the main gate with all the people. *and* most important? the Preferred lot has a dedicated Exit (!). . . yup, at end of day, you wont' get stuck in that long line trying to get out of all the lots with the trams. . . it's a straight shot into the queue of cars at the stoplight, bypassing most of the congestion in the Dollywood lots. worth every penny.

had a really great time at Dollywood (2 days in the park - tho one we cut short due to how cold it was). amazing rental cabin with a view of the park (!). . we watched the fireworks from the balconies on Friday night, since our first day was Sat. We ate dinner at the Island - MargaritaVille one night), and tho didn't do much in Pigeon Forge proper (just a mountain coaster and the Brazillian Steakhouse). . I somehow STILL managed to take over 500 pictures. sheesh. so yeah. . my trip report will take me a bit to get up. Luckily, JimmyBo's is so damn good to enjoy in the meantime! and he got great pics outside the park that I didn't get. . tho we did go visit DreamMore on the 1st day (thankful to my friends who indulged me when I said I really needed to see the property . . . as that's where Nick and I had booked to stay before we had to cancel the trip due to his health issues) but I will say, I controlled myself PRETTY well. . got all the coasters at least once, the train - which ABSOLUTELY was worth the 45 minute wait to line up before our train ride even came back. SO worth it. . wait in that line, but also wait and ride at night - and every "big" ride on my wish list. Also got to see the 50 minute "broadway" type show. Only had one Cinnamon Bread, but sampled lots of other food around the park. and only bought three shirts (and 8 magnets). .but hey, only 3 shirts. not even the super tacky velvet sleeved one that I REALLY wanted but just seemed too small (and it was dryclean only). .tho I did get a pic of it! LOL. . I'm glad I got distracted and we never went back to this shop. . otherwise I would have bought it! hopefully will have a report up in the next week or so (or at least start one), and will link here. it was my first time visiting, and I have thoughts. . . all of them good tho.

wrong thread. . great report tho!

Phantasialand swag! Magnet (that I searched all over the park for and literally got the last one, since they apparently don't do these any longer): Stuffed "thing" from Asia section of the park: "Wang" fan: Napkins: T-Shirts: I *rarely* buy ride logo shirts. . .but in two cases on this trip, I did. This was the 1st ride that was SO good I had to get a shirt. Nice Polo I got for Nick (that he never got to wear)

The “enhancements” on wondy are the new trains coming it’s already beautifully lit at night bia spotlights. They won’t change that

Day 7. . 2nd full day at Phantasialand. my view of the room when waking up. . . was packing up the luggage. . we got up and went down to breakfast, before checking out of the hotel this morning. The hotel stored our luggage tho, as we weren't leaving - we had a 2nd full day at the park still - and weren't headed out until ~6pm. So down thru the deserted bar, to have breakfast. . 2nd day was just as good as the 1st! yum! I took advantage after breakfast (but before going back up to the room to get the luggage) to snap some pics around the empty bar/lounge, that again, is only for Hotel Guests use. they really did an impressive job here. . . fully immersive and very stylish. .even out on the patio. took advantage of it being empty, and even took some pics of the bathrooms (something of a theme today, I discovered while looking thru day 2 pics. . LOL). GORGEOUS. . . Luggage dropped off (and held) at front desk, and it was off to Rookbugh/Phantasialand. F.L.Y. was getting ready for the day. . and since we're right here? why not start the day off with a ride? (without having to use a skip the line pass) then it was into the park proper. hmm. it was a bit overcast, and I think there was some drizzle in the forecast. so it didnt' seem like it was going to be a very busy day. Looking at my calendar/itinerary. . it also was a Monday. so that's probably why things were so quiet this early (tho it never really got super busy today) me and the Carousel (of course). .and *one* person coming in from the front gates. with it pretty quiet, it was easy to enjoy the beauty of the park. .the main square area is lovely too. . with the "flying carousel" at the center of it. so we got in the 1 cycle line, and took a ride. we headed over to Talocan next. . . John didn't want to ride, so he stayed up on the viewing bridge to watch us/take pics, and we headed down. to find it wasn't open yet but after a short 10 minutes or so, they started cycling it, and opened it up so could get some pics of the test cycle (complete with water and flame effects) the 6 of us that rode, courtesy of John's picture taking. LtR: Ian, Chris, Andrew, Me, Jon, James whee! (and hang on for dear life) yeah. . our faces say it all. . . WTF just happened to us??? then it was up the viewing area to meet John, and we headed over to Black Mamba beautiful. again, really no wait. . but I think we used quick queue just to cut the long queue line. . . the park was clearly gonna be pretty dead today, which was fine with us as we had a lot to cram in before meeting to load the bus later. the station is really lovely as well. .even tho most of it is just colored light effects, it still works really well. we headed next over to the Asia area, to ride the Madhouse and that Funked up/kinda racist/what the hell dark ride a couple of times (I have no pics of that ride, not sure why). . and then into the pretty well done Madhouse = Feng Palace. (with Mystery Castle peeking out behind it) oh! I actually DID get a pic of Mystery Castle's sign. . buried in the trees. . but there such a great entrance queue. . this is before you get to the main castle steps that were in my pics the other day. a couple of cycles on Mystery Castle, and then we went back to ride "Michael Jackson Coaster". . which is apparently called "Colorado Adventure". . . yeah. .TODAY they had a sign out pointing to the entrance - after we figured out where to go yesterday. LOL. .this is the pathway one has to go down before coming across the entrance. . . which is why we had trouble finding it the prior day. sorta nicely themed queue tho. and then back to Taron to use more of the skip the line passes. . SUCH a great coaster. and of course, have to take another spin on Chiapas Heading back over to Taron again after getting wet. . . and today, I got the train actually shooting up the "waterfall wall". . my favorite part of the ride. couldn't get the camera out fast enough, so missed him from the front, but here's one of the Mad Monks from Mystery Castle ..showing off the operator outfits int he daylight. it was then that Jere (I think?) surprised me with a gift. . . Napkins! (yay!) featuring a Dragon, I found out later, was named "Wang". Loved it! we had a bit of munchies. . . no dinner tonight in the park, as we were checked out of hotel already, but many of us had plans to eat in the small town we were staying in later after we got checked into the next hotel. was checking out options tho. . this chocolate dipped fruit looked great - especially the pears. but a bit too sweet for me right now. we checked out the Wurst cart in the main plaza. . .but nothing looked really appetizing. until we remembered the sandwich place that was over in Rooksburgh, which hadn't been open (or even considered, since we had eaten at UHRWerk in the hotel last night) so we headed over past the F.L.Y. entrance, and it's hidden on the side against the wall. everything sounded really good, and they made things fresh! So we ordered, and then I went into the Rooksburgh bathroom right there to wash up. see? apparently a toilet pics theme today. (LOL) and yes, that black splotch in the mirror is me blacking out the reflection of someone peeing. . that I did NOT even notice until I looked at these pics today. (oopsie). Not that anything naughty was visible. . I was just trying to get a pic of the cool sinks. and general vibe of the "industrial" bathroom. (see? it was empty when I took the pics. . I dunno how that guy even got in!). hands washed, went back to the sandwich place and snapped a pic of the folks who made our fresh sandwiches. which were really good! I believe I had Pork and Mustard while others had the Ham & Egg. Juicy and drippy and everything was great. and we were able to stake out tables just under F.L.Y. to watch it zoom by while we ate. tho this guy. . kept coming by and just staring at me and giving me sly glances. seriously. I mean, eventually I just aimed my camera at him and took a picture, and as you can see, he's staring RIGHT into the camera. LOL. I guess I'm flattered? *but also was married, and on a trip with friends, so looking back was all that was gonna happen I took more pics of F.L.Y. while we ate. .and as yo can see. . . he hovered right around us . . . LOL after a satisfying meal (and I think a ride on F.L.Y. since we were right there?) we headed back to the Indoor section to take another round on the Winjas coasters. this time I had camera out to get a pic of the loading station. I believe that's "Fear" closest to us. .and the track behind on other side is "Force" as with other places in this park, the design work is lovely. . they don't skimp on atmosphere, really. I had mentioned to others my solo ride on the "tower" yesterday, and how it stops to hold near the top for some nice views. so we all piled into two cars to take a ride. NOTED! these are NOT animatronics.. just stuffed birds the park put at the top of the atrium dome. I thought it was hysterical that many of them had fallen over and were hanging upside-down. . but were so high up, it just wasn't worth the effort to fix them, I guess. So took a pic. and what's an indoor section without a cigarette machine? I honestly had not even noticed anyone in there smoking, so it shocked me to see this. Enough that I took a pic of it. I had to pee so yet ANOTHER bathroom pic. . but these urinals here weren't near as fancy as the ones in Rooksburgh. but I took a pic because of the flies in the urinals. painted on. so you have something to aim for, I guess? BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAA not sure what we did next, but at this point my camera shows that we went back to the Asia section. . so probably the Madhouse, the Dark Ride, or the Colorado Express again. (or maybe Black Mamba again). this appears to be another gate/entrance to the park. . but it was closed today (as were the big restaurants in the park. I guess they were only open weekends?). so we hung out on the patio of the closed Chinese restaurant while I went into the pagoda store and did some shopping. this guy is a bathtub toy. no idea what character he is tho - he's most certainly not a dragon (each "land" in Phantasialand is represented by a Dragon). . but the lady operating the store had no idea. Only that all the merch with him on it was super discounted. . so maybe an older mascot? but hey, for ~3 bucks? I bought a stuffed one of him. and a Dragon "Wang" fan. . . it's a bit nippy today. . so sure, dress your teen in a PornHub hoodie. (actually saw THREE such hoodies in the park. .LOL). cool little model of one of the hotels (I think) over by Black Mamba I believe at this point we may have all ridden Taron one more time, then split off as I wanted to do some shopping and it was getting within an hour of the time to meet at the bus. I bought a bunch of shirts (for both myself and some nice polo logo shirts for Nick) then had to go all the way back to Colorado Adventure gift shop (with Ian) - as the one shirt he wanted wasn't in his size at the main store, and I wanted a Park Logo magnet - which they no longer carried but *thought* they might still have at that gift shop. So we trekked back there, and Ian found his shirt, and I got, literally, the LAST "Phantasialand" logo magnet they had on the spinner. so it worked out. then I headed back to the Carousel for a final ride, and right next to it? oh yeah. . . of COURSE I had to buy some. Several others in the group had stopped in this area too, mainly to get the waffles (too heavy for me, since I had that sandwich earlier). . but I got a bunch of sweets - that didn't last too long anyways. Cute box tho we had JUST enough time to run and get one final ride on Taron . . . before heading back to the Hotel, grabbing our bags, and loading up the bus to head out. it was a few hour drive before we arrived at the next hotel, and we'd only be there one night. . but tomorrow? we were gonna be at Walibi Belgium! thanks for following along.

I mean. . it can't operate any less than the Bumper Cars do now. . . LOL

oh. . look. . looking at the Skyliner Attractions page, they are now showing THAT track included in the example of the lighting package for P=Sghetti Bowl: