Hello :} It's good to see you. It's been a bit!
Want to know what I've been up to lately?
Thrillography was recently privileged to play host to some royalty: my cousin Kaitlin! Kaitlin is a professional Disney Princess at Hong Kong Disneyland. She's super talented and pretty.
And she dances.
And lives in a castle.
And all that other cool princess stuff.
Growing up, Princess Kaitlin and I would go to Disneyland together and fantasize about futures full of roller coasters and travel. Needless to say, both of our fantasies have been realized!
Kaitlin has left her castle in Hong Kong for a two-month visit in the United States. Naturally, when Kait came to the south for a week, I took her to the Disneyland of the Smokey Mountains: Dollywood!
Having either visited or worked in ALL 5 operating Disney theme park resorts (not to mention the Disney Cruise Line), Kait is nothing short of a Disney connoisseur; will Dollywood and the Great Smokey Mountains satisfy the high expectations I've set for the Princess?!!?
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| After checking into the hotel, which is perched conveniently among all the hustle and bustle of Gatlinburg, Princess Kaitlin and I partook in the most lady-like activity of wolfing down pizza. |
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| Kaitlin and I share similar attack plans when it comes to challenging mighty pizza offenders. |
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| We also have similar senses of humor and have to stop and look at everything. :} |
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| We were stopped in our tracks by one of the Smokey Mountain's many "Ripley's" attractions. |
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| Not because of the attraction itself, mind you, but due to the irresistible allure of the marble ball fountain. :} |
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| Kaitlin also shares my affinity for sweets. Fortunately, Pigeon-burg's got us covered! |
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| *drool* |
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| AND we both love to shop. Kaitlin is falling in love with the region as quickly as I did on my first visit years ago. ^_^ |
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| The Village is one of my favorite spots in Gatlinburg. Twenty-seven specialty shops in a charming setting that is not unlike something you'd see at Disney. |
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| Except Disney doesn't have moonshine-scented candles. |
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| Or these. |
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| There's no end to what one can discover in Gatlinburg! |
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*o*
You know what's even better than candy, though? |
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BUTTER, Y'ALL!
You know what's even better than butter, though? |
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| CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL! |
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| You guessed it. Kaitlin and I also share a love of Christmas decorations. |
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| My mom loves the classic wooden stuff from Germany. :} |
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| I'm quite partial to whimsical, vibrant, and/or food-related glass ornaments. |
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| And you can't go wrong with carousel horses. :} |
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| I was pretty impressed with these. The hard part was practicing some restraint and not buying them all. |
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| Taking pictures of my favorites helped satisfy my desire to just buy the entire display. |
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| Here is the one I took home. :} |
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| Now for some kitschy tourism credits! |
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| Emma's has a great view of Fun Stop from the parking lot. Didn't make it to the Big Top this time, but next time for sure! |
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| *RAWR* |
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| I am a shameless tourist. Hear me rawr. |
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| The marquee of this shop held the promise of a ferocious beast, but instead we got this precious gator babe. I ain't even mad. :} |
Our first day of Pigeon-burg festivities was a roaring success! The next day we took on the Smoky Mountain magic of Dollywood!!
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| Good morning, Dollywood! Looks like you've gotten a haircut!! |
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Princess Kait is beside herself with excitement for her first visit to Dollywood!!
I'm beside myself with excitement for her to see all of the wonderful things that Dollywood has in store! |
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| Since my last visit in April, Dollywood has installed these handsome new directional marquees. At a place like Dollywood, these kinds of signs are crucial to keep directionally-challenged rednecks from getting lost! |
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| We got Kait a season pass (it was cheaper than buying two one-day tickets), which meant early entry for Exclusive Ride Time on a very special coaster! Can you guess which? |
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| Wild Eagle!! We were so excited about it that I apparently didn't take any decent pictures of it until way later. lol |
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| But I did take some pictures that morning of Wild Eagle's new neighbor, Firechaser Express! |
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| FireChaser is still adorable and awesome. |
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| And Tennessee Tornado is still furious and kicks butt! |
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| Kait is all smiles on the coasters of Dollywood! |
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| She also became a big fan of Blazing Fury, Dollywood's Disney-inspired dark ride/ coaster. I just knew she'd love this one. :} |
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| After a morning whirlwind of coaster rides, Kait and I slowed down in Craftsman Valley to leisurely take in the scenery. |
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| And to visit Dollywood's fabulous feathered friends! |
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| Dollywood's show birds are the stars of the "Wings of America" show, which, while I've never actually seen the show, must be quite nice considering its marvelous cast. :} |
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| Even a vulture has the spotlight at Dollywood! He seems a bit sheepish about all the attention, though. |
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This raven, however, is a natural star!
"NEVERMORE!" quoth the raven. :} |
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| Next let's drop in on some of our eagle friends! |
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| Hey, Mr. Bald Eagle! I met one of your buddies at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in June! He says hi! |
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| Both of these eagles have been in the smaller display enclosure for all of this season. As usual, the eagles in the larger enclosure are mostly hidden from view. |
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| If you follow the Dollywood's crik (creek) all the way down Craftsman Valley... |
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| …you'll find yourself here at the Grist Mill! We'll be back here later for snack time. :} |
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| Next, Kait and I visited Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home and paid our respects. |
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| We then consulted the heron about lunch, |
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| who told us to follow the ducks to the bakery. |
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| You certainly can't go wrong with the Dollywood Bakery. The heron has great taste. :} |
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| You should always make time at Dollywood to stop and smell the Hibiscuses. :} |
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| The park was so quiet that we spent absolutely no time standing in line for anything. This gave us all the more reason just to wander about in Dollywood's splendor. |
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| It started to rain a tiny bit, so we decided that a ride on the River Rampage was in order. |
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| Do I even need to explain myself here? Just LOOK at these fries. :} |
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| Oooh! Dollywood's majestic WWII coal engine, Klondike Katie, will be leaving on its next Smokey Mountain adventure in 20 minutes! |
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| That gives us plenty of time for a ride on the Sky Gliders! |
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| The Princess is always up for anything. :} |
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| Everyone loves the Sideshow Spin, but some of just can't fit our legs into the cars with much ease these days. lol |
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| I'd say a train ride calls for some blueberry-chocolate soft serve, wouldn't you? :} |
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| Klondike Katie is a must-ride at Dollywood. Unlike most theme park train rides, which are used merely for transportation, Dollywood's train is an experience in and of itself. |
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| And you just can't beat these views! |
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| Here's a great view of the construction area we saw earlier. It's not often that Dollywood gets a full-on buzz cut like this! Exciting things must be in store for the future. :} |
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| On the way back, we said hello to Dollywood's other coal engine, the #70 "Cinderella." |
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| Thanks for the ride, Klondike Katie! :} |
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| And, of course, we tossed pennies under the magic water tree. :} |
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| One of my favorite rides at Dollywood is the Mountain Slidewinder, but due to its extra maintenance requirements, the ride has a shorter season than the park's other water rides. Gotta keep those rubber toboggans in working order! |
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| Any disappointment sustained from the lack of Slidewinder rides was quickly remedied by the Grist Mill's internationally-renowned cinnamon bread. ^_^ |
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| Another Dollywood must is to see the glassworker. Hand-spun glass doodads make a great Dollywood souvenir. :} |
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| A relic from Dollywood's "Silver Dollar City" days is the Chapel, which holds daily services. Dollywood preaches unconditional love and acceptance, as does Dolly herself. :} |
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| Hey, look! More candles! They sure like candles around here. :} |
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| Ok ok ok! Enough with the cute-sie stuff. Back to the roller coasters. |
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| Tennessee Tornado's marriage of lightning-fast pacing and unparalleled smoothness never ceases to please. Still a flagship Dollywood coaster after 15 years! |
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| And you can never have too much FireChaser Express! |
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| The mechanically-unique FireChaser has now successfully completed its first summer season! And with little-to-no downtime! |
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| One might think that with all of the launching and track-switching, FireChaser would be finicky at best, |
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| but the ride just seems to run like clockwork! That's German engineering for ya! :} |
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| The next question to ask is, will there be another FireChaser Express-style-coaster somewhere else in the U.S.? |
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| Heaven knows that the wing coaster concept has really caught fire in just the two seasons since Wild Eagle's debut. :} |
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| Kait is still having a blast. She and I are like two peas in a pod. :} |
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| And now for my favorite ride at Dollywood, Mystery Mine! This wild chameleon of a dark coaster would turn out to be the Princess's favorite Dollywood coaster as well! |
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| But I think most coaster enthusiasts would say that we saved the best for last: the fabulous Thunderhead! |
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| Thunderhead was running one frankenstein'd train on our visit, featuring eleven grey cars and one brown caboose. :} |
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| Thunderhead is still one of GCI's greatest triumphs, and also a great triumph of Dollywood's wood coaster maintenance team. |
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| Yes, Wild Eagle, you are a triumph too. No need to get jealous. :P |
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| The Princess hasn't ridden too many wood coasters, but she says that Thunderhead is now definitely her favorite! |
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| As you can see, one train was still plenty for Thunderhead on this visit. |
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| I can say with confidence that this was by far the best weather I've ever had at Dollywood. Other visits were either intensely hot or uncomfortably cold. |
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| Kait can't seem to keep a straight face, even in death. :} |
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| This view just looks crazy-different now! It'll take some getting used to. |
With a full day of Dollywood still on the docket for tomorrow, Kait and I decided to duck out early to go take care of some business...
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| Some Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster business!! :D |
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| SMAC is another Smokey Mountain must-do. With a whopping three new mountain coasters in development (the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster has opened to rave reviews since our visit), SMAC is credited with hurling the region into a mountain coaster fevered-frenzy! |
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| And, is anyone really surprised? Even the lift hill is an epic journey! |
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| Kait is pumped! |
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| #SMACselfie |
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| Everybody wave to the lift hill attendant! :} |
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| This was my 5th or 6th ride on SMAC, so I decided to devote my ride entirely to photography. :} |
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| XTREME SMAC POV CRAZINESS |
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| Some of these shots have my shoes in them to provide some perspective, but in others I have them cropped out so that they don't distract from the view. ^_^ |
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| There is no terrain coaster experience quite like a mountain coaster! The name of the game is to keep the ride as close to the ground as possible, which also helps keeps building costs down. |
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| The builders of the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster took a lot of care in leaving as many trees intact as possible. Some day, the entire ride will be totally engulfed with trees! |
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| Lovely trees. :} |
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| Kait and I drove by the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster several times, but it didn't look like it was quite ready for action. However, just a few days after our trip, the GMC soft-opened to the public! I'm already itching to get back up there and give it a ride! |
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In early 2015, mountain coaster #3 ("The Alpine Coaster at Goats on the Roof") will join the mountain coaster family of the Smokey Mountains. Mountain coaster #4 should be making its debut atop Öber Gatlinburg some time next summer. :}
#mountaincoastercapitoloftheworld |
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| For the record, Kait and I only rode SMAC once. People who haven't ridden before may have noticed by now that this is one long ride! |
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| Comin' in for a finish! |
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| Princess Kait and I started off day 3 with construction investigation and tea. |
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| And Thunderhead! |
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| AND Mystery Mine! What a great start to the day. :} |
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| Gerstlauer <3 Forever |
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| Unlike yesterday, today's morning was bright and sunny! |
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| Kait and I were in no hurry, so we decided to help one of the caricaturists do a demo piece. |
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| Half-way done! |
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| Looks great, don't ya think? A fine royal portrait. :} |
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| All the extra sun made the day much hotter much more quickly, so we decided to go for a morning ride on Buzzsaw Falls. :} |
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PIZZA!!!!!!
*eats all* |
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| Pizza + Thunderhead = Solid Combo |
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| Pizza + Dolly's Dreamland Drive-In = Midday drowsiness. Still liked the show though. :} |
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| A little birdie told me that this may be Rockin' Roadway's last season. Bearing this in mind, I wanted to give the ride a proper send-off. |
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| These adorable two-lane drive 'em cars will be missed, but it's my understanding that they've had more than their fair share of maintenance problems. |
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| Rockin' Roadway is a Morgan Manufacturing electric car ride that anchored the park's Jukebox Junction area when it opened in 1995. |
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| There are many, many older car rides out there with fewer maintenance problems, so it's a shame to think that Rockin' Roadway's case was ever that of frequent down-time. |
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| Okay, Princess! You drive! I'm gonna take some pictures. |
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| Weeeeee! :D |
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| Now remember, kids: Don't selfie and drive. :} |
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| Obligatory Water Clock Photo :} |
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| The animatronics here sure are convincing. |
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| Now for a ride on Dolly's Wonder Wheel! :D |
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| The view from up here is great, as long as you don't focus on what's in the immediate foreground. |
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| Now if only they could move this ferris wheel to up near the far train turn around…what a view that would be! |
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| I present to you: A hibiscus covered in coal soot. |
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| Wow, look at all of these carp! In all my years of coming to Dollywood, I never realized how many fish they had in their pond. |
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| Yellow Carp is judging you. |
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| It's hard to tell from the pictures, but these fish are huge! I'd say they're almost border collie-sized. |
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| Hey! Snapping turtles! We're just lucking out with wildlife on this trip. :} |
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| :> |
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| It's starting to rain! How about one last stop before we leave? |
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| Having never done Chasing Rainbows before, I was quite impressed and look forward to doing it again on a future visit! |
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| SHOES <3 |
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| GRAMMYS!!! <3 |
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| The only award cooler than a Grammy is the coveted Liseberg Applause Award. Dolly had no trouble getting one of those. ;} |
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But one of her greatest achievements is her Imagination Library, a charity organization that gives books to low-income children every month, from the time they're born until their 5th birthday.
I really love Dolly. :'} |
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| Time to say goodbye to our Disneyland of the Smokeys! Princess Kaitlin was blown away by Dollywood's thrills, charm, and overall splendor. |
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| Until next time, Dollywood! Can't wait to see what the future has in store! |
- BONUS TREAT -
My dear ACEr friends, Dave and Jody Madore, were kind enough to invite Kaitlin and me to see their new cabin atop the Smokey Mountains. They'd just driven in from Maine as we were getting ready to leave Dollywood, so the Princess and I high-tailed it up the mountains to say hello!
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| They also took us to dinner at Mel's Diner afterwords, but I don't have any pictures of my food because it was gone in about five minutes. lol |
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| I think it's safe to say that Kaitlin got the full Pigeon-burg experience. :} |
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| Up here you really can see the blue smoke. |
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| Tried not to look down too much, however; I may be an ACEr, but I'm still scared stiff of heights. |
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| This was such a wonderful weekend! Thanks for joining Kaitlin and me for the ride. ;} |
Next time on Thrillography!!!
Join me for a whirlwind journey on the roller coasters of the Greater-Atlanta Metropolitan Area! We'll be starting our day at Six Flags Over Georgia to get my 2015 Season Pass processed and ride a few rides, then we'll move on to Fun Junction to snag an oddball credit, and then we'll finish with friends and family at the amazing North Georgia State Fair, home to a newly-remodeled Schwarzkopf Wildcat!
See you bright and early at Six Flags Over Georgia!
:}
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