Well, it's been a while but something about Fall here in the mountains makes me want to write about the area. The leaves have started to change and are even falling on the Spur on windy days. Makes for a nice drive if you can catch it with no traffic. This seems to be more on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Crack your window for a bit of chilled fresh air. Worth the shiver.
And should you leave it down for the whole ride, I suggest catching a cup of cofee at one of Gatlinburg's gourmet coffee shops - like Coffee and Company. Nothing makes a crisp autumn morning like freshly roasted and brewed coffee.
Speaking of fall, Magic Beyond Belief is having its Halloween Spooktacular which features Terry Evanswood pay tribute to Harry Houdini. If you haven't managed to catch it - please do so. Well worth the visit as it has become a local tradition. Book tickets ahead of time though, the place seems to sell out pretty quickly.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Dixie Stampede - Pigeon Forge, TN
In this neck of the woods, there are shows and then there are THE shows. Dixie Stampede , Country Tonite, Blackbear Jamboree and the Hoot -N- Holler show seem to be the big names in regards to audience draw this year. Among these, no one has the pr and the money to promote and design like Dixie Stampede. It is part of a franchise that has three other locations around the U.S. and has its act down to an art form.
This time around, I am not going to write a lot about my thoughts nor will I give you a play by play. Rather, I thought I would present you with a list of whats good and whats bad about the venue. With these things in mind, perhaps you can make up your own mind if Dixie Stampede is the right place for you.
The Good:
- Well Rehearsed and well oiled machine. The show it automatic and doesn't have a hint of hokeyness to it.
- The preshow is very good. Honestly, it is my favorite performance.
- The food is good. While it doesn't set the standard, it gives you a choice, fills you up and doesn't require much thought.
- The theater itself is pretty big. Arguably the biggest "stage" area in Pigeon Forge. Enough room for horses, buffalo and a variety of other animals to go charging full steam around.
- The waiting staff is professional and friendly. Some of the best trained servers in the area.
The Bad:
- The Cost. Honestly, taking your family there could quite well be the ONLY thing you do attraction-wise depending on your budget. $42 a ticket may be standard in places like Vegas but Pigeon Forge has always been a family vacation spot. Got a family of 4? You do the math.
- The crowd. Despite the pice, it would seem many many people want to see the show and somehow it is always on the day you have tickets for. Expect to spend time looking for a palce to park, then sit for the preshow. My least favorite part is when the show exits. That is the real stampede part of the place. They funnel an enormous amount of people down this hallway, down these stairs and smack dab into a crowded giftshop. I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle. Try accomplishing this with two small children...
- The show gets bland at various points. Sometimes, I felt like I was watching a play that was done ala paint by numbers. Its safe, homogenized and generic fun. As I have been there on three occassions (many thanks to a local tradition called Sevier County Days), I also get the priveledge of knowing the majority of the jokes, skits, surprises and routines that Dixie Stampede will throw at me. Keep in mind, my earliest visit was about 8 years ago. Parts of the show are simply that old if not older.
- Despite what they claim, I have actually had dirt come up from the arena floor and land on my plate. Yummmm!
My personal opinion? If you know a way to get cheap tickets, get them and go. If not, take the money and either go to Dollywood or split it and get into two other theater shows for the price of one Dixie Stampede ticket.
This time around, I am not going to write a lot about my thoughts nor will I give you a play by play. Rather, I thought I would present you with a list of whats good and whats bad about the venue. With these things in mind, perhaps you can make up your own mind if Dixie Stampede is the right place for you.
The Good:
- Well Rehearsed and well oiled machine. The show it automatic and doesn't have a hint of hokeyness to it.
- The preshow is very good. Honestly, it is my favorite performance.
- The food is good. While it doesn't set the standard, it gives you a choice, fills you up and doesn't require much thought.
- The theater itself is pretty big. Arguably the biggest "stage" area in Pigeon Forge. Enough room for horses, buffalo and a variety of other animals to go charging full steam around.
- The waiting staff is professional and friendly. Some of the best trained servers in the area.
The Bad:
- The Cost. Honestly, taking your family there could quite well be the ONLY thing you do attraction-wise depending on your budget. $42 a ticket may be standard in places like Vegas but Pigeon Forge has always been a family vacation spot. Got a family of 4? You do the math.
- The crowd. Despite the pice, it would seem many many people want to see the show and somehow it is always on the day you have tickets for. Expect to spend time looking for a palce to park, then sit for the preshow. My least favorite part is when the show exits. That is the real stampede part of the place. They funnel an enormous amount of people down this hallway, down these stairs and smack dab into a crowded giftshop. I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle. Try accomplishing this with two small children...
- The show gets bland at various points. Sometimes, I felt like I was watching a play that was done ala paint by numbers. Its safe, homogenized and generic fun. As I have been there on three occassions (many thanks to a local tradition called Sevier County Days), I also get the priveledge of knowing the majority of the jokes, skits, surprises and routines that Dixie Stampede will throw at me. Keep in mind, my earliest visit was about 8 years ago. Parts of the show are simply that old if not older.
- Despite what they claim, I have actually had dirt come up from the arena floor and land on my plate. Yummmm!
My personal opinion? If you know a way to get cheap tickets, get them and go. If not, take the money and either go to Dollywood or split it and get into two other theater shows for the price of one Dixie Stampede ticket.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride - Pigeon Forge, TN
My youngest son wanted to go to this attraction when it first opened up. I must say that I was intrigued as it seemed like it might be interesting considering the sheer size of the building. With some hope in my heart and a five year old birthday boy in tow, I paid the Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride a visit.
When we got there, the line was short and it didn't take us long to get to the ticket booth. I was not all that impressed with the price but I had an overly eager son itching to climb into that boat. While paying for the ticket, I remember asking if the ride was going to be okay for him. The young attendant who seemed to somewhat acknowledge my presence replied that he would really like it. She then turned back to her conversation with her friend in the booth.
As it turns out, we got our own boat to which we both sat up in the front seat. While waiting for it to start, we watched various menacing dinosaurs interact above us. Oddly enough, these animatronic creatures would arguably be the most realistic of the entire ride. I should have paid more attention that the focus of these creatures seemed to be to unnerve you.
The ride started and we quickly entered a very noisy and dark tunnel with various red eyes and skittering objects. My son at this point clung to me and would continue to do so for the rest of the ride. I will be more than blunt at this point - this ride is not okay for any child under the age of say like 10. It was built to instill fear and dole out cheap shock tactics in order to justify charging for the ride. Everything jumps out at you, makes a very loud noise (albeit annoying) and seems to be gifted with red glowing eyes.
Many part of the ride make no sense whatsoever. For instance, what is the spider to dinosaur ratio in say the Jurassic period? According to this attraction, particularly HUGE spiders were the overwhelming majority. I am no expert on dinosaur eras but I am pretty sure spiders never were a significant threat back then.
I would also like to point out one part of the ride that is downright offensive. About halfway through the ride you get treated to the wonderful sight of seeing a small child carried off to its seeming death by a flying dinosaur via talons on its backpack. Bravo, Jurassic Jungle Ride, you managed to set a new low in the tourism industry. Let me let you in on a little secret, smoke, noise, spiders and using the image of children being hurt do not a scary nor enjoyable ride make.
My advice? Steer clear of this one. If not on moral grounds then on the fact that it truly has no return value. It literally was designed to take the one time visitor's money and never look back. Look for this ride to be closed down in the coming year or two.
Should you wish to waste your money - I will be obliging and offer you their address.
2806 Parkway – Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
If you doubt my review, look around at the other reviews of the attraction that can be found on the web.
When we got there, the line was short and it didn't take us long to get to the ticket booth. I was not all that impressed with the price but I had an overly eager son itching to climb into that boat. While paying for the ticket, I remember asking if the ride was going to be okay for him. The young attendant who seemed to somewhat acknowledge my presence replied that he would really like it. She then turned back to her conversation with her friend in the booth.
As it turns out, we got our own boat to which we both sat up in the front seat. While waiting for it to start, we watched various menacing dinosaurs interact above us. Oddly enough, these animatronic creatures would arguably be the most realistic of the entire ride. I should have paid more attention that the focus of these creatures seemed to be to unnerve you.
The ride started and we quickly entered a very noisy and dark tunnel with various red eyes and skittering objects. My son at this point clung to me and would continue to do so for the rest of the ride. I will be more than blunt at this point - this ride is not okay for any child under the age of say like 10. It was built to instill fear and dole out cheap shock tactics in order to justify charging for the ride. Everything jumps out at you, makes a very loud noise (albeit annoying) and seems to be gifted with red glowing eyes.
Many part of the ride make no sense whatsoever. For instance, what is the spider to dinosaur ratio in say the Jurassic period? According to this attraction, particularly HUGE spiders were the overwhelming majority. I am no expert on dinosaur eras but I am pretty sure spiders never were a significant threat back then.
I would also like to point out one part of the ride that is downright offensive. About halfway through the ride you get treated to the wonderful sight of seeing a small child carried off to its seeming death by a flying dinosaur via talons on its backpack. Bravo, Jurassic Jungle Ride, you managed to set a new low in the tourism industry. Let me let you in on a little secret, smoke, noise, spiders and using the image of children being hurt do not a scary nor enjoyable ride make.
My advice? Steer clear of this one. If not on moral grounds then on the fact that it truly has no return value. It literally was designed to take the one time visitor's money and never look back. Look for this ride to be closed down in the coming year or two.
Should you wish to waste your money - I will be obliging and offer you their address.
2806 Parkway – Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
If you doubt my review, look around at the other reviews of the attraction that can be found on the web.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Walden's Landing Shopping Center - Pigeon Forge, TN
When the plans for this mall came out in open, many people thought that it would be filled to capacity on a daily basis. The whole village like feel to the design plus the huge putt putt golf centerpiece seemed like a sure fire winner and quite a few franchises rushed like mad to be a part of it. It seemed perfect.
What really happened is a different beast altogether. There are many reasons as to why Walden's Landing has never taken off like it was supposed to. First off, all blame starts at the top - the management. My first piece of evidence - www.waldenslanding.com. You probably clicked on the link already and noticed that it hasn't been built yet. Good observation. An even better one would be to note that the site was been in this state since before the mall was built back in 2005.
Why would a website mean anything to the state of a mall? Well, it points out the start of a pattern where the powers overseeing the mall simply do not spend the kind of money needed to advertise for it. Several malls in the area have billboards (Tennessee's State Tree btw) showcasing their venues. You would be very hard pressed to find something with Walden's Landing on it.
Follow this up with what stores they let into the location. Some are good while others a sure fire misses that give the mall its now much deserved "here today, gone tomorrow" reputation. Couple that with the somewhat unexplainable lack of shoppers and its a recipe for disaster. More than a healthy share of stores have come and gone in the time that it has been opened. All complaining about the lack of foot traffic and poor sales.
All of this being said, you are probably wondering why I wrote all of this. Well, its the leadup to saying to scratch this mall off of your "places to go" list at least until management decides to actually promote it and improve its shop selection. The quality of shops there is kind of in a nose dive. Each dying one replaced by a lesser entity.
That all being said, if you do find yourself there, a few notable exceptions are the following:
What really happened is a different beast altogether. There are many reasons as to why Walden's Landing has never taken off like it was supposed to. First off, all blame starts at the top - the management. My first piece of evidence - www.waldenslanding.com. You probably clicked on the link already and noticed that it hasn't been built yet. Good observation. An even better one would be to note that the site was been in this state since before the mall was built back in 2005.
Why would a website mean anything to the state of a mall? Well, it points out the start of a pattern where the powers overseeing the mall simply do not spend the kind of money needed to advertise for it. Several malls in the area have billboards (Tennessee's State Tree btw) showcasing their venues. You would be very hard pressed to find something with Walden's Landing on it.
Follow this up with what stores they let into the location. Some are good while others a sure fire misses that give the mall its now much deserved "here today, gone tomorrow" reputation. Couple that with the somewhat unexplainable lack of shoppers and its a recipe for disaster. More than a healthy share of stores have come and gone in the time that it has been opened. All complaining about the lack of foot traffic and poor sales.
All of this being said, you are probably wondering why I wrote all of this. Well, its the leadup to saying to scratch this mall off of your "places to go" list at least until management decides to actually promote it and improve its shop selection. The quality of shops there is kind of in a nose dive. Each dying one replaced by a lesser entity.
That all being said, if you do find yourself there, a few notable exceptions are the following:
- Red Rocket - Your local mall might have an equivalent but overall its retro 80's and 90's gear and gifts are pretty fun to pick through.
- Master's Editions Art Gallery - Godard art and Rod Chase. Less hokey canvases and pretty interesting to browse.
- The Brewery - Half Priced Hamburgers on Wednesdays. Need I say more?
- Calhouns - A very good place to eat. Try their dips and their ale steaks.
- Verbenna's - I may have mispelled the name but its like a more natural Bath and Body Works.
Well, enough meandoring for now.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Magic Beyond Belief
Pigeon Forge, TN thrives on the tourist industry and one of the avenues they have chosen to help drive traffic to the area is the theater/show business. We have plenty of singing, dancing and comedy theaters to choose from. Some even go a further step and give you a dinner of some sort.
All of this is well and good if you have children of the age where such things keep their interest and thus allowing you to keep your sanity. However, should you have children of an age where country tunes and a good line dance are ingredients to the recipe for mass frustration - you would be best served by choosing a different venue. Though, if you are like me in any way, you would still like to see a show.
Well, along comes Pigeon Forge's newest attraction - Magic Beyond Belief. I mention this one because my family and I went to one of its shows the second week that it was open. For those of you who are outside of the Sevier county area, news about this place may not have reached your ears yet. However, its kind of hard to overlook its bright and bold sign complete with huge tiger while on your way to work.
Magic Beyond Belief is the culmination of one magician's hard earned work to get his own theater. Terry Evanswood has been in the Smoky Mountain area for a while now, performing at various theaters for breakfast or lunch shows and guest appearances during the dinner ones. During the off season, he seems to go around the world and perform at special events and cruise ships. This man seems to never stop working.
Having finally met him (after the show) - I would like to add that he is honestly the nicest man you will ever meet. There are all sorts of types running around this area - some with a bit of fame or notoriety that fuels their ego and this allows them to treat people like the red dirt that seems to permeate the land around here. Evanswood, though, is honest and there isn't a hint of acting in his personal behavior. He loves what he does and loves his audience for allowing him to do it.
Now he has his own show to which he performs in nearly every night - sometimes twice in one day. This seems to have allowed him the opportunity to get a lot more creative with his act. My two boys will gladly testify that they were amazed. Sometimes so much so that they were actually speechless (I need to ask Terry about THAT trick). The show was nearly 2 hours long and it never really paused to let you catch your breath.
There were a ton of really cool illusions but what I liked best was that he worked the audience into the show as well and peppered it all with some great humor. Can you say recap? Hehehe. Some of the humor had to be ad lib and it just lent to the interesting fact that Evanswood and his crew were actually having fun up there. You know the kind of fun that is contagious and that keeps your children's interest.
Speaking of his crew, the noticeable exception to his act was that Tammy (his longtime assistant) wasn't present. Terry has a new assistant, some Russian girl who should small glimpses that she was just getting used to the show. I am sure her timing will improve as times moves forward and it is somewhat unfair to compare her to her predecessor.
So at the end of this meandering review, I would like to say that this show is a must if you have a family and a must if you are kind of tired of the whole singing revue circuit. We plan to go back when the tiger arrives to the show this summer - that alone ought to buy me a few minutes of stunned silence. As for more information, here is the link to the Magic Beyond Belief Attraction.
All of this is well and good if you have children of the age where such things keep their interest and thus allowing you to keep your sanity. However, should you have children of an age where country tunes and a good line dance are ingredients to the recipe for mass frustration - you would be best served by choosing a different venue. Though, if you are like me in any way, you would still like to see a show.
Well, along comes Pigeon Forge's newest attraction - Magic Beyond Belief. I mention this one because my family and I went to one of its shows the second week that it was open. For those of you who are outside of the Sevier county area, news about this place may not have reached your ears yet. However, its kind of hard to overlook its bright and bold sign complete with huge tiger while on your way to work.
Magic Beyond Belief is the culmination of one magician's hard earned work to get his own theater. Terry Evanswood has been in the Smoky Mountain area for a while now, performing at various theaters for breakfast or lunch shows and guest appearances during the dinner ones. During the off season, he seems to go around the world and perform at special events and cruise ships. This man seems to never stop working.
Having finally met him (after the show) - I would like to add that he is honestly the nicest man you will ever meet. There are all sorts of types running around this area - some with a bit of fame or notoriety that fuels their ego and this allows them to treat people like the red dirt that seems to permeate the land around here. Evanswood, though, is honest and there isn't a hint of acting in his personal behavior. He loves what he does and loves his audience for allowing him to do it.
Now he has his own show to which he performs in nearly every night - sometimes twice in one day. This seems to have allowed him the opportunity to get a lot more creative with his act. My two boys will gladly testify that they were amazed. Sometimes so much so that they were actually speechless (I need to ask Terry about THAT trick). The show was nearly 2 hours long and it never really paused to let you catch your breath.
There were a ton of really cool illusions but what I liked best was that he worked the audience into the show as well and peppered it all with some great humor. Can you say recap? Hehehe. Some of the humor had to be ad lib and it just lent to the interesting fact that Evanswood and his crew were actually having fun up there. You know the kind of fun that is contagious and that keeps your children's interest.
Speaking of his crew, the noticeable exception to his act was that Tammy (his longtime assistant) wasn't present. Terry has a new assistant, some Russian girl who should small glimpses that she was just getting used to the show. I am sure her timing will improve as times moves forward and it is somewhat unfair to compare her to her predecessor.
So at the end of this meandering review, I would like to say that this show is a must if you have a family and a must if you are kind of tired of the whole singing revue circuit. We plan to go back when the tiger arrives to the show this summer - that alone ought to buy me a few minutes of stunned silence. As for more information, here is the link to the Magic Beyond Belief Attraction.
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