A Weekend in Pigeon-burg Trip Report - Part I

Hello. :}

WELCOME TO THE FIRST THRILLOGRAPHY TRIP REPORT OF 2014!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

I'm so glad you could make it!

Thrillography had an exciting first year, and I'm so excited to see what our second year will bring! For everyone who has supported the blog so far, thank you so much for your patronage! If you are a new Thrillography friend, welcome! I'm so pleased you're here. :} 

Thrillography's 2014 season begins in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg this year (or as I like to call it, "Pigeon-burg"). I was very intrigued by all of the fabulous new additions to the region since my visit in 2012 for DollyCon (CoasterCon XXXV), but I didn't know I was going on this trip until 3 weeks beforehand (suddenly there was adequate coverage at work for the weekend, so I jumped on the available time off). As you can imagine, I was delighted with this turn of events! I registered at the last minute for the "Chasing Fire With Dolly" event hosted by Coaster Crew and the Great Ohio Coaster Club, and on Thursday the 20th I headed out for the Smokey Mountains!

First stop: The Island at Pigeon Forge!

The Island is one of many new fixtures in the Pigeon-burg area, and its combination of good food, lively atmosphere, upscale retail, and colorful lights make it a welcome addition.

What Pigeon Forge has achieved with The Island is their own sort of mini Smokey-Mountain Bellagio.

The Ferris Wheel at The Island is quite the sight to see! I didn't ride it, but I greatly enjoyed its mesmerizing LED light show.

I seriously have no idea what happened to this picture. Looks like some kind of Ferris Wheel witchcraft. That steakhouse on the left is where travel compadre Joshua Munson (I'll introduce him later in the report) and I had dinner. It was very nice. :}

Mellow Mushroom is one of my absolute favorite restaurants, and since my last visit to Pigeon-burg, the number of Mellows in the area has increased substantially! More on Mellow Mushroom later. 

If you've read Thrillography before, you might know that I looooove gift shops and keychains. I'm pleased to report that the gift shop at The Island gets an A+ from me in merchandizing. And just look how lovely the decor is!

The Ferris Wheel at The Island is visible from all over! It's definitely a big change for the area, but it just feels so right!

I think some of the lovely Ferris Wheels I rode over the past summer made me really appreciate them more. They can be quite lovely, no?

The hotel side of The Island is still under construction. Soon, happy Pigeon-burg vacationers will be staying just above these fountains!

Like the Ferris Wheel, the fountain is a mesmerizing display of dancing LEDs.

The next day was Dollywood's season pass preview and media day for Fire Chaser Express. Because I wouldn't be getting my season pass until the Chase Fire With Dolly event on Saturday, I decided to devote Friday to as many of the area's wonderful oddball things-to-do as possible! And because Josh would be at the park all day, I called all of the shots during my intimate day with Pigeon-burg. 

Good morning! How's this for a first stop?

Pigeon Forge's 50's-themed Krispy Kreme looks like it used to be a Checkers or something; tiny little lobby with dual drive-thrus! As you can see, one of the drive-thrus has been repurposed as a dining patio. :}

Hmmm…..what should I order?

OOOH! I'll take those, please.

WAIT! No, give me THOSE!

*eats all*

After 200+ fresh glazed donuts and a bottle of chocolate milk, I made my way over to Gatlinburg to explore. 

After driving around for about 20 minutes, I managed to find free parking!

Gatlinburg now offers donkey rides! Also new since my last visit. :}

Now, aside from the shopping and the atmosphere and the mini golf, what's the best reason to go to Pigeon-burg?

Yes.

Yeah, we better go in here.

How nice it is to see candy crafters at work!

Within Gatlinburg are a number of smaller shopping centers. I visited three of them, including the lovely Village shops. Each of the shopping centers have unique specialty shops and eateries. 

There's something very quaint and European about the Village. 

Here we have one of my favorite spots in Pigeon-burg. 

Look! They sell roller coasters. :}

Next let's check out the Mountain Mall (on the right).

The Mountain Mall is a charming 7-story shopping center with this super-legit water thingy.  And the clever bastards who designed this place put the public restrooms on the 7th floor so that you'd have to walk by every store twice!

And here we have the charming Baskin's Square, just across the street from the Village.   

I have the sudden urge to go to Universal Studios. 

I liked the idea of doing the Skylift, but $14 was a little too steep for me. Maybe next time!

If you read my Denver report from last May, you might know of my fascination with Bubba Gump's. I'm sure you can imagine my delight when I learned that Gatlinburg is now home to this remarkable promised land of shrimp and shrimp-themed merchandise. :}

After a couple hours and several stops, I decided to depart from Gatlinburg to seek out my next adventure!

On my way out, I passed this place. It gave me nightmarish flashbacks to my first and last skiing excursion. Putting me on skis and depositing me into the snow is like putting a cat on a boogie board and depositing it into the ocean. 

On my way back to Pigeon Forge, I did a little nature stop on the Parkway. 

I love the scenic stretch of the Parkway that separates Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge. It's like a portal between a lively ski village and a wacky-tacky redneck Las Vegas.

I SMELL A CREDIT! :D

Glenwood Caverns in Colorado was my first exposure to the "alpine coaster," and I must say I'm quite taken with them! I can't tell you how pleased I am to have one right here in Pigeon-burg. :}

The Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster (or "SMAC," as I like to call it) has over 4,000 ft of curvaceous steel delight! 

SMAC has this meandering series of lift hills that eventually takes you waaaaaay up the mountain. Like, that sh*t is high!

One of the best parts about SMAC is it has no loose article policy! That means XTREME SMAC POV CRAZINESS!!

That climb up the mountain I was talking about? Yeah.

As you can see, I'm pretty excited about doing SMAC. :}

WOOOO! XTREME SMAC POV SCENERY LOVELINESS!!

There were a few moments when I thought I might get smacked by a tree while doing SMAC.

Uh-oh! This little girl is not doing SMAC as quickly as I am. Better slow down so we don't both crash!

SMAC is a fabulous addition to one's trip to Pigeon-burg. I'd heard from several ACErs that they love SMAC and that it's become one of the best things to do in the area. If you're reading this, you should really consider doing SMAC the next time you go to Dollywood. It's pretty addictive. :}

Alright, enough about SMAC. Let's talk about another addiction I discovered on my visit  to Pigeon-burg. Can you guess where we are?

That's right! Fun Stop and the Big Top Arcade!

Ok. Let's talk about this for a second.

On my trip to Germany with ACE last summer, I fell hopelessly in love with Germany's coin-pusher games. Unlike the coin-pushers commonly found in the U.S., the elaborate coin-pushers that line the midways of Germany's funfairs include not only coins, but point chips, point cards, and even small prizes! When I was scouting out arcades on Trip Advisor, I noticed this Wizard of Oz game at Big Top and the nearby Rockin' Raceway arcade. Upon close inspection, it bears a striking resemblance to the coin-pushers of Germany!

Look! There's point chips and point cards in this game. TAKE MY MONEY.

$20 and 1000 tickets later, I felt exceedingly satisfied with the Wizard of Oz game, and I look forward to returning in the near future. :}

Fast-forward a couple hours. After the arcade, I went to the Pilot station for a snack while I waited for Josh and our *other* travel compadre to finish up at Dollywood. Can you guess who it is?

Well he needed his Dragon Wagon credit, so we went back to Fun Stop to claim it. 

That's right! IT'S MICHAEL! :D :D :D After driving up in time to spend a few hours in Dollywood with Josh, Michael reprised his role from last season as a key Thrillography Superstar! :}

Two XTREME POV coasters in a row! It's starting to feel like Europe again!

As you can see, I'm still feeling the effects of SMAC.

Speaking of which, guess what happened next?

That's right! Turns out I'm not the only one who can't resist the allure of SMAC! (Also, Josh is bad at paying attention for photos. lol)

See you on the other side, boys! 

Michael looks very satisfied with his SMAC experience.

As does Josh! 

Doing SMAC can make a guy hungry, so we decided to go to Bubba Gump's and PIG OUT. See that pile of shrimp? And that massive basket of fries? Yeah, I unhinged my jaw and inhaled that stuff.

"Let's drink some moonshine!" said Michael.

Yes! The Ole Smoky Moonshine Holler has fabulous merchandise AND free moonshine tasting!! 

We had ourselves about 14 mini-shots of moonshine and then stumbled around Gatlinburg for another hour. It was a hoot! :D

Hoo! I feel great! Excuse me while I go stumble into bed. Time need to sleep off this moonshine-y goodness; we've got a big day tomorrow! Chasing Fire with Dolly! Are you ready to be a hero?!!? Stay tuned! :}