Just got home from a micro-mini vacation — a quick trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg planned at noon on Friday. It was pretty awesome to get away, even if it was over much too quickly. I think the jaunt made me more ready for a real break than I was before I left.
We hit all the stuff to do — most of which is hugely overpriced. Some of the attractions were new since the last time I was there. The little dudes on the left live in the Ripley Aquarium (which I had already been through a couple times previously). They made me smile. Like fish with an expression that depicts the way I really feel. Heh.
The jellies are always amazingly cool. Even though both of the photos in today’s post were taken with my iPhone and lack any professional qualities whatsoever, they were cool enough I wanted to share them anyway. I’ll post a few other photos from the chalet and miscellaneous scenery a bit later, but first, let me tell y’all about a few of the rip-offs to avoid — and places to make sure you check out if you vacation in Tennessee…
DEALS AND STEALS
Steal: A place I’d never been until this past weekend — Wonderworks. $50 bucks for all day, this place is dubbed as a ‘theme park’. Ummm…no. I stood in a hurricane simulator with a pair of goggles and let wind mess up my hair. Wuwu. There’s a rock climb inside too, and I remember a ‘bubble room’ (yes, blow bubbles for $50 bucks). While this place might be great if you have 13 year-olds that need something to occupy them for the day, save your money if not. The outside of the building is totally the best part! It reminded me of Disney’s Tower of Terror — it’s a tiltled-sideways, upside-down building — just don’t pay to go in.
Steal: Don’t waste your money on the Jurassic Park Boat Ride either kids. Again, cool outside — a joke inside. Detailed dinos with eyes that bat and teeth that drip slime coax you to pay $16 bucks for a ride. Once inside, it’s like a horror ride at the fair consisting of rubber dinosaurs that jump out and quiver to scare you. One had a ripped rubber wing dangling down that caught our attention, but he’s the only memorable thing from inside this money-sucking rip-off.
Deal: Absolutely DO go to the Titanic Pigeon Forge. This place is well worth the $25 bucks for admission. On your passenger boarding ticket, you become one of the actual Titanic passengers, and will follow their story throughout the exhibit. When you approach the memorial room at the end of your 2 hour self-guided tour, you will discover your fate. (Good luck pulling the boarding ticket of someone from 1st class — your survival chances are much greater than if you’re merely a 3rd class passenger!)
