Santa's Land & Ober Gatlinburg 7/12/08 (Day 1)
Associated parks:
Santa's Land, Cherokee, North Carolina, USA
- I was pretty sure Santa's Land was not endorsed by Santa...until we found him there. Santa, how could you?
- Rudicoaster!
- The camel never moved, the turkey understood me and the cougar would have murdered me after the third, "Here Kitty Kitty!" if it could have. The goats did not pee on our kids' heads even though it would've been "Funniest Home Videos" worthy.
- I couldn't fit into the Kanagroo pouch so no photo.
- Stuff your garbage into the dead clown's mouth.
- Moonshine will make you loco.
- The Mountain Farm Museum at the foothils of the mountains on the Cherokee side was a pleasant surprise. (There were even corncobs in the outhouse!)
- We scored $5 all-day parking. Take that $8 and $10 lots! Plus, every tram down the mountain had to look at my Gonchar plate as they unloaded. Best parking spot ever.
- The cable tram up the mountain from Gatlinburg to Ober Gatlinburg was pretty sweet.
- The mountainside is littered with homes that range from awesome to even more awesome. Being a Hillbilly has come a long way.
- There's only a handful of rides at Ober Gatlinburg, but there's an Alpine Slide. Need I say more?
- I've already typed 'Gatlinburg' too many times in this TR
- The correct response when leaving any Ripley's attraction (especially the 'Believe It Or Not Museum') is, "I can't believe I paid $10 for that." or alternately, "I paid $10 for that. Believe it or not."
- The main strip of Gatlinburg is the standard overpriced, stupid stuff that you only do on va-cay. I liken the Smokies to the Niagara Falls area, the Dells and Branson in that aspect. I'd say these four places qualify as the 'big four' in overpriced, crappy tourist attractions and certainly they are the overpriced crap leaders on a per capita basis. No clear winner though.
- With that said, Gatlinburg is so bad it's good. (which is something I can't say about all of the others on the short list)
- The Earthquake ride was the worst (in a good way) The scariest part was that we figured it cost us $4 per minute to ride. (What exactly is a crazed gorilla doing in the subway?)
- It would be pretty sweet to cruise the strip in the Mach 5 from the Star Cars museum even though everyone knows Dragula is the stuff.
- What's up with Cherokee Fun Park? In didn't apear to be open early in the day. It didn't appear to be open late in the day. And when we called the number had been disconnected. But everything is there and in good shape as if they just weren't open on a Saturday...and they have no phones. Might try back tomorrow before we head out of town.
- Too many places serve Pepsi products around here.
- Yeah, I spent a day in town and didn't go anywhere near Pigeon Forge or Dollywood. So what?
Not much on the plate for tomorrow either. Just a stop at Ghost TITS...erm...GTITS...ummm...Ghost Town In The Sky before heading to Charlotte.
Lord Gonchar said:
I liken the Smokies to the Niagara Falls area, the Dells and Branson in that aspect. I'd say these four places qualify as the 'big four' in overpriced, crappy tourist attractions and certainly they are the overpriced crap leaders on a per capita basis. No clear winner though.
I've knocked out 3 of 4. I need to get up there and see the falls. ;)
I'm Doing the Dells this August. Looking forward to it.
*** Edited 7/13/2008 11:27:34 PM UTC by Brian Noble***
"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."
-Joseph Campbell
Save the tram ride, Ober-Gatlinburg, for me, was a waste of time. The alpine slide was a huge disappointment for me. I am still pissed that I paid four bucks to see two bears in a stone pit.
Those nice homes you see dotting the mountainsides are all cottages for rent to tourists. I know, because we stayed in one. Beautiful view, treacherous road to get up there. The locals seem to live in run down houses, hidden in the trees with 100 year old barns that look they are ready to collapse.
Certain victory.
I've only done two Apline slides and I enjoyed Ober Gatlinburg's more than Kentucky Action Park's.
Answer my Prayers, Overbook my next Flight!
I loved the Smokies.
When we went, food was cheap just about everywhere, which was nice.
LG: How could you pass up NASCAR heaven?
;)
(the worst go carts I've ever been on....)
Great Lakes Brewery Patron...
-Mark
Lord Gonchar said:
I've only done two Apline slides and I enjoyed Ober Gatlinburg's more than Kentucky Action Park's.
Just to divert OT for half sec:
I love alpine slides! While some are better than others, never met one I didn't like. I've been on lots of them all over North America and about half of them have since gone on to Alpine Slide heaven.
The best IMO are also the very first slides to operate in North America at Bromley Mountain in Vermont. They have a 3rd track that's designed for speed, meaning it has none of the small curves that cause the fishtailing and balance issues when going fast. It's a very beautiful 2 hour drive north from SFNE if you're looking to work it into a coaster trip. *** Edited 7/16/2008 7:25:08 PM UTC by Cropsey***
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