Friday, June 26, 2009

25 June 2009 Dollywood in Pigeon Forge TN

 

Today was a two family outing to Dollywood, which is the Disneyworld of Tennessee, named after the famous Country Singer Dolly Parton. This was for the kids as there are plenty of rides and activities for the kids. And because it was summer holidays the “Kids Fest” was on with plenty of live shows for the kids. One of the highlights for our kids was to see the Kratt Brothers from the TV show “Zaboomafoo” We taped every single episode when they were toddlers and they watched them until Video was out of fashion.

Then there were the rides like the Tennessee Tornado, Mystic Mine and six more major Roller Coasters. In the heat wave we were also happy that there were lots of water activities to cool down. I will not bore you with more details, as I think the photos will speak for themselves.

 DSC04941Here they only issued us four tickets by accident. But a susual we are very lucky and we were given a free ticket for one of the kids. Sven with his free ticket The Kratt brothers Look at the size of these flowers. Dollywood is also a beautiful theme park with a lot of artefacts and reflections of the Smokey mountains. P6250014 At the fountain P6250024 P6250026 Directions to the different Rides This is a working waterclock from the 1880's Small craft shops everywhere. This is a working carriage factory where they still build wagons an make spares for carriages. P6250047 P6250049 Denise in a small carriage. This wagon cost the same as our 1998 Chevy Venture!! OK it's got one thing going for it. Its new with 0 miles.

This was a live Tarantula in the Zoo exhibit P6250069 Caught by a black BearKids playing checkers. This is the largest collection of Bold eagles in the US. They cannot be released into the wild anymore. Bold eagles This is where a live show with real birds is held for educational purposes. Here the birds are on exhibit between shows. The Auditorium P6250083 And then we headed to the Tennesee Tornado, our first ride a triple loop coaster at 70mph and a 75 foot drop. P6250106 P6250113 P6250115 This says it all! Today was a scorcher, luckily there were fans with mist sprays strategically placed around the Park. A nice group photo Small houses on splinter shack. P6250118 P6250143 In the heat this was a fun activity with the spectators also havin water canons to attack the log rafts. P6250123 P6250126 A local marine taking aim at Amelia and crew. Johan die uils kuiken !The Hüsgen'sThe van Zyl's  Next on to the Mystery mine. This one was too much for me and I skipped. Three vertical drops, not for me!!!!!! P6250158 Michi, Mark and Rietha were the only one with the guts to do it, poor Ashleigh did not have a choice! P6250150 P6250151 The rest of us only looked brave in the test chair. Michelle and Ashleigh on the rope lift In the picture rear row from L to R. Michi, Rietha, Ashleigh, Mark. Feel free to Zoom and see the fear. Some nice Art Deco This is Thunderhead, the worlds longest wooden Rollercoaster. The ride takes about a minute and is hectic at 55mph. This one we rode a few times, pure exhileration.

P6250184Mark and Michi right in the back. Another mist sprayer in the kids playground area  Kids having fun. P6250196 Kids racing rafts.

Old Coke delivery van. Girls taking a shower. Dead tired in the heat! The guys at the Rainmaker obviously were off duty. She must have been cooking under that dress P6250221 Talk about a massive skillet, at least only one pan to wash in the evening. On our way to the Smokey mountain rampage where we got soaked. All soaked, but cooled down. Back a few eras to the fifties. Luckily the kids had their drivers licenses from Legoland. An old chevy Bel Aire. Getting ready. Sven taking his mom for a spin in a pink Cadillac Michi Michelle Like a pro. Denise driving her mom. P6250254 a mountain home The Dolly express This is a fully functional steam train. P6250267 Blowing the steam whistle Sandcastle building P6250272 P6250274 P6250276P6250278  P6250280 P6250281 The previous four pics are South African kids, the poor chickens back is broken by an American kid. Spot the difference? World record Veggies. P6250294 Flying the high flyer 75ft high. Amelia and Michelle flying Dumbo Unfortunately the pictures did not come out too good in the poor light, but this was the Kratt brother show. Chris and Martin Kratt The beaver P6250314 The it was off to the giant treehouse Inside the tree house. This is where water battles, air canon fights take place .P6250323Air canons blasting foam balls at the enemy above.  Three levels of funWater wars  Soaked again P6250349 P6250368 The water canons Denise also getting wet to cool down. P6250376 P6250390 Don't spray in my eyes! Another soaked warrior As the day got late we moved on for the final rides. a really fat cat P6250411 P6250414 P6250417 Say no more. Spinning up a storm in a Tea cup Ooops nearly a protein spill ! P6250437 P6250427 Stumbling out. And then the feet were sore from all the soakings and wet socks.

We finished of a spectacular day with dinner and came home at about 23h30 all bombed out.

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