Springtime at Six Flags Over Georgia, The Great Smoky Mountains, and Dollywood Trip Report!

Hello. :}

Happy Spring, everyone!

For Spring Break, a few of my friends and I decided to organize a weekend getaway in the Great Smokey Mountains. I got to play tour guide for everyone while we took in all of the lovely sights, sounds, smells, flavors, and sensations that the land of blue smoke has to offer! But first…

I decided to kidnap my ex-roommate and love of my life, Julie, for an extra day so that we could sneak down to her childhood home park, Six Flags Over Georgia! I figured we may as well snag a ride on the limited-edition Batman: Backwards while we still can! Plus there's always that burning desire for some rides on Mindbender and two of the region's best woodies! 

Everyone, meet Julie!

*HI JULIE*

We have arrived at a very wet Six Flags Over Georgia! 

But a little rain can't keep a good park down for long!

Unfortunately for us, it was more than a little rain. The rain was pouring down relentlessly and people were leaving as quickly as they'd arrived. 

However, Julie and I are determined to ride Batman: Backwards and all of our favorite rides! We're just going to have to wait and see if the rain stops.

For a good three hours, Julie and I took shelter from the rain in various places around the park. First the Six Flags Emporium, then the bathrooms in Gotham City, then the gift shop at the exit of Batman, and then finally Batman's station. Our fingers were crossed that the rides would resume operation, but there was no guarantee. 

At one point everyone was kicked out of Batman's station, so we braved the rain once more and hid in the gift shop again. Outside, the saturated construction site for Harley Quinn Spinsanity is at a sopping-wet standstill. With Mindbender's final turn wrapped around the plot, it's sure to look great when it's all done! 

Eventually people started trickling back into Gotham Park and down the storm drain that leads to the Batcave.

No lines for us today!

We spent another half hour or so in line again, waiting patiently for Batman's first train of the day.

The seats are being prepped! It's almost time to ride!

Finally, at around 1pm, the park was given the green light to resume operation. Batman seemed to open first for some reason (parts of the park were still waking up well after our first rides in Gotham City), and we got the front (back) seat of the day's first ride out!

The view from Backwards Batman is surreal; riding a roller coaster backwards isn't terribly uncommon, but pulling away from the lift hill of a B&M invert in reverse feels like something out of a bad dream. 

The ride is not for those with weak constitutions. Batman, as intense as it is already, verges on stressful with backwards trains. It's an exciting ride to say the least, but it's one that threatens to send even the most strong-willed coaster enthusiasts straight to the bench. I can only imagine what this ride has done to more unsuspecting members of the general public. 

Yes, this is one aggressive attraction. Maybe even a lawsuit waiting to happen? #Murica.

The humidity and wet track may have played a role in our experience as well.

*cue guests screaming with actual fear for their lives*

Well, you certainly didn't disappoint, Batman. With Six Flags being the razzle-dazzle marketers they are, I'm surprised they're not advertising this as "THE MOST INTENSE ROLLER COASTER EXPERIENCE EVAR!!!"

It wouldn't be that far from the truth. 

From gimmicks to good old-fashioned design ingenuity, it's time to ride the REAL star of Gotham City, Mindbender!

Julie and I are here to tell you that post-rain, two train operation on Mindbender with no trim brakes and no crowds is about as close as it gets to divinity here on Earth.

Every time I ride Mindbender I am more in awe of how flawless it is. The way this ride takes advantage of the topography is inspired; it is the gold standard of both terrain coasters and looping coasters. :}

Gotham City Crime Wave will soon have two new carnival-crazy flat ride siblings! I think it'll pull the area together nicely!

DareDevil Dive is now approaching half a decade at Six Flags Over Georgia.

While not the flashiest or the highest-capacity roller coaster in the park's history, DareDevil Dive continues to provide a smooth, enjoyable ride while remaining a solid, reliable member of the park's line-up. And fabulous lap bar trains never go out of style!

And with its clever custom layout the result of some solid German engineering, you might could call it kin of Mindbender, Six Flags Over Georgia's original German workhorse coaster. :}

And then there's this thing, which loads at a leisurely pace and dispatches…y'know…when it feels like it. Waiting only a few trains for a backseat ride might be the nicest benefit to a rained-out day! (but it still took 15 minutes. Because it's Superman)

Next I had a pleasant three-ride marathon on the Great American Scream Machine, which is running well again this season. :}

While in line, I made some new friends. You're now on Thrillography, guys! Cheers! :}

The only coaster Julie and I skipped this trip was Ninja, but we of course made time for the Sky Buckets!

And now for another classic! It's Dahlonega Mine Train!

Arrow Mine Trains are pure magic. Not just because of how fun they are, but because they are virtually indestructible.

In the event of a nuclear holocaust, only cockroaches, HostessTwinkies, and the world's 22 remaining Arrow Mine Trains will be left.

The Dahlonega Mine Train - It's a roller coaster-type-ride!

Springtime means that Georgia Cyclone is in full bloom! 

Julie and I are here to tell you that Georgia Cyclone is at the top of its game! 

Back seat on this ride is smoother than I could've ever imagined, and still full of insane airtime!

Georgia Scorcher is also holding up pretty well. Operations remain sluggish, as per the nature of a stand-up coaster, but the ride op was doing park trivia for everyone waiting in the station. :}

The weather went from rainy, to cloudy, to down-right lovely! 

And we still reap the benefits of a rainy day at the park. Goliath was only a one train wait for the front seat!

Julie was asked to do a caricature demo by a park associate, and, being the art student she is, happily obliged. I thought the sketch turned out pretty cute. :}

The flowers are happy. They've had lots to drink today!

With everyone marked off today's checklist, it's time to hit up Gotham City again for a few re-rides! We figured we better go ahead and get another ride on Batman Backwards, since there's no telling when the opportunity will arise again. 

I got three backseat rides on Mindbender without leaving my seat, too. :}

CRAZY BATMAN BACKWARDS BACKSEAT STATION POV CRAZINESS!

Bye-bye, Backwards Batman! You're an experience I won't soon forget.

Oh, and here's the state of The Joker's Chaos "Coaster." Honestly I don't love Ring of Fire / Fireball rides and I really don't love Six Flags marketing the four they're installing as roller coasters. 

However, I do love that the park is getting two much-needed flats from Larson (because Larson is boss), and I appreciate the atmospherically appropriate nature of adding carnival rides to this part of the park. It is the Gotham City Carnival, after all. :}

Whether the other Ring of Fires will suit their respective homes remains to be seen. "Bourbon Street Fireball" looks like it'll work well in Six Flags America's new Mardi Gras area, but I'm not as confident about its siblings at Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Great Adventure will probably catch the most heat from the public for marketing "El Diablo" as a coaster; crowd-spoiling, world-famous roller coasters like Kingda Ka and El Toro make the marketing ploy seem particularly flimsy, and the ride's location between the two doesn't help.

Meanwhile, Discovery Kingdom has been running their Zamperla double inverted looping "Hammerhead Shark" ride for over 15 years; taking the exact same concept and employing older technology while also trying to call it a coaster is not going to go unnoticed by the public. Plus the park already has two fabulous launched shuttle coasters. I feel like just about any other park in the chain would have been a better fit.

Just my two cents. We'll see how the little Fireballs do. ;}

Just as I was finishing my last ride of the day on Georgia Cyclone, a nasty front pulled up with a threat of ominous weather.

And it delivered! It's a good thing that by 6pm, Julie and I managed to thoroughly conquer Six Flags Over Georgia! Off to the Great Smoky Mountains!

After a slow, steady, and rainy drive through Chattanooga, Knoxville, and into the Great Smoky Mountains, we checked into our home for the next few nights; a cabin with seven other people! These people include Tim and Tatiana (remember them from that Kings Island trip? Where we got abducted by space dinosaurs??), Tatiana's boyfriend Steven, and some of Tim's military buddies.

Julie, Tatiana, Steven and I got to spend our Saturday doing all things Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg while Tim and his military buddies ran a marathon!

After a hearty breakfast at IHOP, our first order of business is the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster!

Since my last ride in September, SMAC has employed a strict no loose articles policy. I figured it was only a matter of time. I'm so glad I got tons of action shots on previous visits!

Next we hit up Goats on the Roof with intentions of riding Goat Coaster, but with no discount for ACE members (compared to SMAC's 60% off discount), we decided to save some cash and just look at the goats. :}

I think SMAC is the strongest of the mountain coasters right now, with its incredible terrain and generous length, so resorting to just visiting with the goats wasn't a huge loss. :}

Next we decided to visit The Island! You couldn't have asked for a nicer day to walk around the shops. :}

Paula Deen's new marquee restaurant is almost finished! 

We stopped in at a gourmet cupcake shop, where the artisan cupcakes are actually a reasonable price and taste even better than Gigi's Cupcakes Vehicles for Frosting.

Also new at The Island is this flower Ferris Wheel and Zoltar!

And this bright new ropes course, coming soon! Things are always changing here. :}

See ya later, Island! I'm sure you'll have more surprises waiting!

Next we stopped at Big Top, of course. Tatiana and Steven found a virtual roller coaster! Julie and I played Wizard of Oz. :}

Now it's time for some Gatlinburg time! We didn't make it up here on our last visit!

If you're a fan of cars new and old, this region always delivers!

The wild Julie in her natural habitat. :}

Time for dinner at one of my favorite places in the world, Bubba Gump's!

Happiness is a pile of fresh garlic butter shrimp and a basket of fries to sop it all up with. ;}

As soon as the sun begins to set in the Great Smokey Mountains, the twinkling lights of Gatlinburg come out!

I'm quite proud of this selfie. I look high and everyone else looks tweaked out.

Like, I cannot keep a straight face as I look through these pictures right now. lol

We spent the better part of two hours in the Village shoppes. We smelled candles and played with toys and shopped for tea and bought socks! :}

Goodnight, Gatlinburg! Tomorrow we hit Dollywood! 

Woohoo! It's a beautiful sunny Sunday! Time to play tour guide to all of my friends here at Dollywood! 

With Tim in tow (still fresh after his marathon), we made our way leisurely through Showstreet and Craftsman Valley!

On this, the holiest day of the week, Dollywood holds two services in its perfect little church. :}

Everyone loves the eagles and show birds that call Dollywood home! 

Including the ducks. :}

Blazing Fury, the first ride of the day, was a big hit with everyone! Who can resist this unique ride's charm?! :}

Tennessee Tornado also won everyone over with its fast pacing and smooth transitions! :D

But the crowd favorite was Wild Eagle, with its majestic presence and breathtaking acrobatics!

FireChaser was the second favorite overall, for its overwhelming cuteness factor and smooth ride!

FireChaser selfie with my Tim! <3 :}

Everyone was a good sport about my relentless photo-ing. lol

The weather is perfect for a Splash Battle, but there aren't a ton of people around to partake in one.

Still plenty of fun for anyone interested in getting soaked beyond a reasonable level of comfort.

Okay, who's ready for Mystery Mine?!

And then maybe some Thunderhead action???

Ok, so here's the "before" picture prior to our Mystery Mine.

And here's the "after" picture. Steven was petrified, Tim was speechless, and Julie was flustered to say the least. Looks like Mystery Mine only gets love from Tatiana and me!

Everyone enjoyed Thunderhead more than Mystery Mine, but not as well as the park's collection of smooth and forgiving steel coasters.

Now it's time to do something that I'd carelessly neglected to do on my last visit: investigate the changes taking place in Jukebox Junction!

As you can see on our right, Cas Walker's is no more. Only a foundation and smithereens remain.

Everything to the right of Rockin' Roadway is walled off. No more action shot vantages to the right of the station.

Almost as soon as we got in line for Rockin' Roadway, the ride suffered a breakdown from which it did not recover during our visit. Probably not a very good omen. 

Next we did something I hadn't done in over a year: Smoky Mountain River Rampage! While loading isn't the swiftest, this scenic O.D. Hopkins rapids delivers a great ride and varying degrees of wetness.  

We've now made our way back to the heart of the park. Now what?

TIMBER! Dollywood and Festival of Nation's French Canadian lumberjack circus revue!

Sounds pretty cool, right? :}

I watched this show opening weekend and was thoroughly impressed. If you know me, you know I'm not much of a show person, but honestly this show did a better job of holding my attention for 45 minutes than just about anything!

After an opening song performed by the entire ensemble (in French), we come to the first juggling act, for which extremely sharp hatchets are used.

While juggling sharp objects is a serious task, this goofy crew of lumberjacks can't help but clown around in the process. :}

These extremely multi-talented men and women also have a knack for balance and acrobatics!

Much to the surprise of probably everyone in the audience, Timber has not one, but several moments that can interpreted as…well…homoromantic, to say the least.

The strapping bearded menfolk of Timber find themselves in a handful of hands-on stunts, all of which are hammed up in a way that begs to be interpreted as more than boys merely being boys. 

But, like in the case of this match of lumberjack hockey, the boys of Timber are also very much boys being boys. :}

Also, any live production that uses an outhouse as an integral prop is bound to raise some eyebrows.

There's a running gag in which the three lumberjack boys disrupt the old man as he leisurely contemplates life in the outhouse. 

At one point, the old man has finally had enough. He barges out to find the three lumberjacks missing, but then takes the opportunity to explain to one of the musicians the benefits of a good roll of toilet paper. 

And then this happens.

Then the old man opens the outhouse, and two of the boys, both facing away with arms around the other's waist, turn and shout "OCCUPIED," and the old man slams shut the door. Bewildered, the man opens the door again to the same reaction from the boys.

After a few moments of gasps and laughter from the audience, the two boys barge out of the outhouse hiking up their drawers and zipping up their flies, only to reveal THE THIRD LUMBERJACK BOY STANDING IN THE BACK OF THE OUTHOUSE!

I was laughing so damn hard. Not just because of the gag, but because of how horrified some of the audience members were at what was being suggested. Some people even got up and left. Again, the antics are all up for interpretation, but frankly my interpretation is that this show is gay as hell and possibly the greatest thing I've ever seen. I applaud Dollywood for its lack of censorship and for letting these lumberjacks fly their French Canadian freak flag! 

Next is a nice dance routine, which gives everyone time to settle down from the first outhouse sequence. 

Then we have lumberjack "Russian Bar," which gives the lumberjack boys even more opportunity to show off their brand of skills and humor.

 A show like this isn't complete without the obligatory nut shot.

I don't know about you, but think the absolute most desirable trait that any eligible bachelor could possibly possess is training in ballet.

The second-most desirable trait is probably whatever this is. 

In round two of the outhouse antics, the boys get their just desserts when the walls of the outhouse collapse on them, pinning them to the floor. 

Next we have a very clever sequence that involves clogging and drumming, 

which leads to airborne table clogging with help from the boys!

Then the old man, fast asleep in his chair, is hooked up to some kind of bungee cord pulley contraption.,

And they swing that guy around on that thing like a piñata!

He gets some pretty good air on it, too!

Next we have a reprise of the hatchet juggling, only this time the stakes are much higher!

The four-way juggling of the hatchets is all at once mesmerizing, terrifying, and a challenge to follow. There is so much synchronization going on here that it truly boggles the mind. 

And then the narrowest of the lumberjack boys stands in the middle of the hatchets double-dutch style. This man has balls of steel. 

This is insanity! I can't watch!

*covers eyes and peeks through hands*

The juggling culminates with everyone firing their hatchets into this log. One false move, and your hatchet goes flying at the belly of one of your companions! 

Following a super-cool swinging trapeze sequence (which was constantly moving in low light and therefore impossible for me to decently photograph), the boys assemble for their final act of strength, agility, and touchy-feely-ness.

There's a few rounds of leapfrog that take place, with each of the boys taking turns clinging to each other in different ways.

Did you happen to notice at any point during the show that all of their flannel shirts have disappeared? Yeah, they're sneaky like that. All the easier to get to second base!

Looks like these guys give some pretty intense head, amirite?

When the time comes to get into position, missionary position is never a bad place to start. ;}

I don't even have banter for this one. This is just really gloriously unapologetically queer and it makes me so happy. 

Bravo, boys. Some people may turn their nose up at your antics, but I can guarantee you that countless hearts and minds have been won in your favor!

*cue raptures from all of the women and gay men in the audience.*

The show ends with a reprise of the opening tune. 

Take a bow, everyone! I'll be back next season for a front row seat with my binoculars. ;}

It may be hot outside, but it's still chill enough to cool off after such a hot production! 

Let's check out what's going on over at Owens' Farm.

Who's up for a ride on Mountain Slidewinder? Both sides are running today!

I have nothing but love for this ride. Our toboggan carried enough weight to leave us recovering from a squishy-wet state of panic by the end of our race, which we won handily despite giving the other team a head start. 

Hello Eagle :}

We then dried ourselves off a bit on Barnstormer,

Only to dampen ourselves even more on Daredevil Falls!

When we ducked into the candle shop to warm up and browse the wares, we found Steven laying out on the midway (in the shade, tho!).

I just love this place. Don't you? :}

Inside Taste Traders, we found lots of unique food items to sample, including this AMAZING AND DELICIOUS MOONSHINE HOT SAUCE. I really want some now. 

You know it had to happen! A cinnamon bread feast begins now!

I love Steven's "don't you !$@&*%# touch my cinnamon bread" face. 

No visit to Dollywood is complete without the attraction that started it all! The Dollywood Railroad!

The train ride up the mountain went unchanged for over 40 years. Now it seems there's always something new to see!

One of the cabins mysteriously vanished; only its veranda remains, propped up by fresh lumber. Hmmm...

No change in the various staging areas that we looked at on the last visit, but this view just keeps getting better and better!

Bye FireChaser! We love you!

The sun is setting and everyone is getting tired. Time to head home!

Bye-bye Dollywood! Thanks for always being consistently wonderful. ^_^

What a wonderful weekend! Hooray for great days at great parks with great people!

Sit tight, everyone! The next adventure dispatches in only a couple of weeks! See you then. :}