ytterbiumanalyst

That Fractured Prune looks awesome. May just have to stop in there for breakfast soon....

^^ That's a really awesome story. My son has autism and is a coaster enthusiast as well. A 7 year old riding Outlaw Run gets attention, but he doesn't always have the right facial expressions, so people don't always know if he liked the ride or not. I can tell, though, and it's a lot of the same things you mentioned. A lot of people on the spectrum are attracted to coasters since they fill a need for stimulation in a way few experiences do, and it's cool that you got to help a kid who really needed that ride.

4 Hands Contact High. It's a hoppy beer with some citrus notes. I've heard good things about this brewery, amd this is the first of theirs I've tried. Excellent! Love the pinball inspired design too.

Well, now you are.

The Justice League were kidnapped, and the ride was delayed while the construction workers rescued them.

Very cool. I'm always impressed by everything in Dubai--it seems like all the tourist places try to outdo each other, and the competition pays off for guests. That Air Race theme is great! I'm not normally a fan of spinning or flipping rides, but those Air Races really are great. Looking forward to the Marvel update!

Agreed. Even in the highly unlikely event that it isn't as good now as it was before, it's 100% better than it was on my visit, when it was closed the entire time.

0/10 Yeah, sure, it gave me life, but then it's been trying to kill me ever since. Water

You mock but that doesn't change the fact that California has a history of stopping projects for reasons as ridiculous as an endangered knat flies over this property once a year during migration or this fence can't be painted because James Dean pissed on it once. Okay, being serious here for a moment. Make fewer statements. Ask more questions. You'll be so much better off if you do. It's free advice, and totally up to you whether you use it. But I'm throwing it out there hoping for the best.

St. Louis' Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.'s STLIPA, and yes, it's pronounced "stah-leap-ah." Pretty good IPA.

^ I don't know, Bill. This is California we're talking about. Their courts don't do anything that makes sense, and I know that because Californians say so. I think they could fully litigate this issue in minutes and force a private business to do something they don't want to with their private property. You don't understand the force of California's Coaster Enthusiast Butthurt Act of 1977, also known as Prop 35A Mark VI.

I'm sure your brother could issue an injunction, since he's a judge as well as an engineer.

May Zeus have mercy on your soul.

You would have loved the TPR group on Twisted Colossus at WCB. People were hustling to stash stuff in bins, jump back in their seats, and get the restraints fastened as quickly as possible. They told us over the PA how much under interval we were, and used those terms since they knew we'd know them. I had one ride op tell me she wished every train went out just like we had done it.

Raven.

Wallet, car keys, phone. If I'm by myself at a park, then I'll get a fluffy bunny so I make sure not to lose those things. If I'm with family, then my wife usually hangs on to that stuff while I'm riding, then I take the stuff in the parent swap. No fluffy bunny needed.

The last song I listened to was "Vertigo," played live by U2 to finish a killer set. Will have a concert TR. It was amazing.

^ Absolutely. For our family of 5, even with Memorial Day weekend prices, the actual room itself was $70 a night. Now, that's only if you go to the park each day and get a TimeSaver each day, which in our case was true. We would have done those things even if we stayed in another hotel, so having them included in DreamMore was a big selling point.

The museum is awesome. We spent about an hour to an hour and a half there, taking our time with it. Mannequins with heads are always creepy to me, and the number of horror movies about them would say that you and I are not alone in this. We spent a lot more of that day in the front of the park, and that area does tend to skew older. It's a long, steep hill to the back of the park, and that area is pretty much all roller coasters, so that's where the younger people are. I didn't take pictures of that area on that day, since I had done so just two days earlier, and we were trying to re-ride as much as possible, especially Mystery Mine.

Day 4: Unfinished Business On Tuesday we went back to Dollywood to complete all the things we had missed a couple of days earlier, as well as to ride Mystery Mine some more! Lightning Rod was still down, and we knew that, so this whole visit we basically acted like it doesn’t exist. I would love to have gotten to ride this, as all 4 of the RMCs I’ve ridden are completely amazing, but we were going for all of Dollywood and not just for one ride. We packed up the car and checked out, then headed back for one last trip on the DreamMore bus and one more day at Tennessee’s best theme park (and since 2005, Tennessee’s only theme park). We began the day at the Country Fair, an area we had run out of time for previously. First ride of the day was the bumper cars. I do not believe I have ridden crappier bumper cars, ever. These things went about -30 miles per hour, they had a centre post to direct traffic, and no one really seemed to be able to hit anyone else. Next was the Dizzy Disk. This one is smaller than Silver Dollar City’s version, and a bit gentler too. Then on to SkyRider. This ride is great! It’s fundamentally a taller version of a Flying Scooters, but each of the cars are heavier, so they don’t swing in quite the same way. There are two vertical wings, one on each side of the two seats, so you can see a lot better than on a Flying Scooters too. The kids went on a few other little rides, and then we made our way back to Mountain Slidewinder. I absolutely love this ride, and it was a big hit with the older two kids as well. The girls played around in this area a bit, while my son and I hit up Blazing Fury, the last open coaster we had not ridden. This is Fire in the Hole 2.0 in every way. The trains have 3 cars rather than two, and overall the ride is bigger, and the turns are gentler for it. It felt less like a mouse in a box, like Fire in the Hole does, and more like a Disney ride. Fantastic! After this, it was time for everybody’s favourite incest-themed restaurant, Aunt Granny’s Buffet! Everything was very good here, and even drinks are included! We don’t buy drinks very often, so kids are very used to getting water (honestly it’s better for you than anything else too). They enjoyed that for once we relaxed that rule and they all got lemonade! Museum time! We started with Dolly’s replica home (next to Aunt Granny’s), then proceeded up to Chasing Rainbows. I was really impressed with the quality of this museum. It starts out with some photos on a cinder block wall, which is about what I was expecting in terms of quality. Then you go upstairs, and BAM! Hologram Dolly! Step through the door into the next room, and all of a sudden you have a very professional quality museum. We made our way through 60 years of Dolly’s life, then emerged back in the plaza to see her old tour bus. It was very swanky. Picture are better than words for this sort of thing. We had just enough time to ride the Rockin’ Roadsters before “My People” began. It was different from most—electric motors rather than gas powered. Fun ride—all the kids enjoyed driving. “My People” itself was a great show, and well worth the hour running time. So far, this has been just about the best day I’ve spent in a theme park, and we’ve ridden exactly one coaster. Well, we are about to remedy that! We have TimeSaver Passes, and we are about to abuse them! Eight people in line? We scoff at such pedestrian concerns! Here’s what we rode in 2 hours: Thunderhead – 1x, walkon with no TimeSaver needed Mystery Mine – 2x, TimeSaver sped us by 20 minute lines each time! Wild Eagle – 1x, waited 2 trains, no TimeSaver needed, as the line was not past the merge point Tennessee Tornado – 3x, first 2 with TimeSaver speeding us past 10 minute lines, third time was a walkon with no TimeSaver needed FireChaser Express – 2x, TimeSaver saved us 20 minutes each time Mystery Mine – 4x, with TimeSaver allowing us to skip 20 minute lines each time If you’re keeping score, that’s all 10 skips allowed with the pass. With about 20 minutes left, it was time to race over for the last ride of the day, cinnamon bread! Really, I couldn’t tell a difference between this and Silver Dollar City’s version. Both are awesome, and both are a perfect way to finish your day. Now it was time to board the bus back to DreamMore, get in the van, and actually visit Pigeon Forge for the first time on our vacation to Pigeon Forge! The Dollywood resort is just so fantastic, we wanted to spend all our time there, and that’s exactly what we did. Now it was time to head out into town, and so we went to ride two of the mountain coasters. Smokey Mountain Alpine Coaster was fantastic. I loved the unusual layout; I never felt like I knew where it was about to go. Goats on a Roof was a bit faster, but also a more straightforward layout, and the trees were less dense too, so you could see more of where you were going. I think I prefer Smokey Mountain to Goats. And with that, we headed off into the sunset for some good aquatic fun in Chattanooga! Sunrise over the Smokies. Yeah, this was the view from our room every morning. Packing up. And back to the bus! All right, County Fair, here we come! Not too many takers for Lightning Rod front of the line passes today. State of the art Astroturf! These amazing simulations end up looking better than the real thing. Skyrider Very cool theming in this area. We rode the disk. We got dizzy. Oh teacups rides. You look fun, but nine times out of ten, I know you're lying. Bluegrass in the square Ooh, where are we going? Are we going to the Grist Mill? No, but these people are! Blown glass... ...and bluegrass! This is the operations building. That's right. They themed the f*cking operations building. This place is awesome. Here we are! Incest themed lunch! It's Dolly's childhood home! She grew up right here in the middle of the theme park! Oh.... Jesus 'n' newspapers OMG, you guys. Two. Rooms. Then over the swinging bridge over the koi pond. Rainbow time! TIL that you can photograph a hologram! Dolly's attic Humble beginnings The actual coat of many colours! Nope, another replica. The first of many costume displays. The girls enjoyed this schoolhouse display. Cas Walker's radio station Tributes to several of Dolly's partners and band members. Gotta show off that belt buckle! Several small screens running old shows she was on. This one is from the Ozarks Jubilee, produced in Springfield, Missouri! On to this two-storey room with even more displays You might have heard a few of these songs. If you haven't, go listen now. I'll wait. Ok, fully versed on Dolly's verses now? Good, you may proceed. Plenty of pink here And plenty of gold, platinum, and double platinum here. So many awards, given to so deserving a person. A little history of the park. And the park has its own award too. Porter Wagoner. Maybe the best country musician ever to come out of Springfield, Missouri. I am in love with this guitar. This the man who had the privilege to play them both. And this custom beauty, too! Exit to the bus! Dolly is claustrophobic, so her bus is full of mirrors to make the space seem bigger. Butterflies. Butterflies everywhere. Next was the "My People" show, starring Dolly herself! On video, that is. After a whirlwind coaster tour, it was time to finally indulge! Come to me, my precious. One last glimpse of the fantastic entrance area This trip was not a bust! Here's our bus! Bye Dollywood! We must be at Smokey Mountain Alpine Coaster. I think. Not sure. This was a fantastic ride. Thought I had a picture of Goats on the Roof too, but apparently not. Well, it's just like this, but with goats on the roof of a weird ass junk shop. Bizarre, but it's got a great alpine coaster. On to Chattanooga!

Firehawk also requires it.

It's okay to be wrong. We won't judge you for how terrible your opinion is.

Ha, perfect!

I can't believe Dollywood would dare to roast a pig, and in front of children even! They should get their meat from the cellophane wrapped pork shoulder tree like any decent person would.

Great update! Of all the weird behaviour among super drunk people, the ones who get all emotional are probably the easiest to deal with. Plus, they're most likely to give you a fun story! Good to know they can provide free parking if you're just going for a restaurant, but sorry they gave you bad information. This seems to be an issue in multiple places, and although I understand the reasons, it really is something they need to work on. Hotel turnover is outrageous, and I get that there are 100 things to learn before you worry about things like "My friend wants to meet us for lunch." Still, the park employees have the right information, so the hotel employees can be trained to give the right information too. Both industries pull from essentially the same pool, so I don't think it's impossible. Oh, and is it "sex on the beaches" or "sexes on the beach"? Yes, I was an English major.