Bless Your Heart

One of my best friends Leah came into town from LA last week. CSP, Leah, and I piled into my car

and took off for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Driving I-40 where Hurricane Helene washed out part of the highway was surreal. After about 4 hours we arrived at Buc-ee’s.

We picked up some needed items and filled up with gas and then, about 30 minutes later, made it to our hotel- Twin Mountain Inn and Suites. CSP was a little dubious of the hotel, but quickly came around. All of the rooms face the river and the cutest ducks make their home there on the banks.

We checked in to our HUGE rooms

then went on the hunt for some Xul PB & J Mixtape beer for Leah. Alas, we had no luck finding the beer, but it was fun checking out the local grocery stores. This was our first trip to Pigeon Forge. We had NO IDEA that it was such a tourist destination with SO much to do! We were there for Dollywood, but you could easily spend a week there and never get bored. We spotted a mountain coaster so we stopped so CSP & Leah could ride it.

I was in a skirt or I’d have ridden it too.

It looked so fun and CSP & Leah loved it! We then had a delicious dinner at Cielito Lindo then retired to the hotel. We had an early morning the next day so we needed our rest!

Our hotel offers free breakfast so we all met in the breakfast area bright and early Friday morning. We ate then set off for Dollywood! So exciting! I booked us Preferred Parking so we were able to park MUCH closer to the entrance, plus we were able to go to a separate entrance to the park from the regular entrance. We went through security then the national anthem played and they let us in. We hooked an immediate left and made our way to the Wildwood Grove area of the park toward our goal- Big Bear Mountain roller coaster. We had a couple of photo opportunities on the way.

It was a GORGEOUS, cool day with sunshine and blue skies!

We got in line for Big Bear and after about an hour long wait, we were finally able to ride.

HOLY MOLY! It had been a LONG time since I had been on a roller coaster. Big Bear was SO MUCH FUN!!! And pretty long too- it clocks in at almost 2 minutes!

It’s the longest coaster in the park. And who knew I’d be such a screamer on a coaster at my age?!?

Next, Leah and CSP rode the Mad Mockingbird.

In this ^^^ video you can hear people screaming on Big Bear Mountain!

We had a great morning walking around Dollywood. It’s a beautiful park- built right into the mountain. Pro Tip: wear comfortable shoes! You’ll be doing a LOT of walking and most of it is v hilly! I wore my Hokas and still got a blister!

There are butterflies everywhere you look!

Can you spot all the butterflies in the big tree above? Next up was Blazing Fury- an indoor, dark roller coaster ride.

After Blazing Fury we walked through the “town” portion of the park. The theming is great! Everything is made to look like an old mining town. And right in the middle of all this is, surprise!, bald eagles! They take in injured bald eagles. I’d never seen one up close in real life before. They are huge! Just beautiful.

There is even a working blacksmith’s shop!

There’s even a wee chapel on property.

We made sure to get some of the famous Cinnamon Bread- except poor Leah is allergic to gluten so we made sure to eat it while she was on a ride. It was fantastic!

We also all rode the Dollywood Express steam engine train. It was jam packed with people and we were split up, but it was still really fun and a beautiful ride through the mountains and park.

How’d you like to live in that house on the hill? We got a great view of Big Bear Mountain from the train.

Sound on ^^^ for the whistle!

There is a replica of Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home where she grew up filled with real items from her family’s home.

This really is a beautiful park. The flowers were all in bloom.

This is where they bake the cinnamon bread- it’s a working grist mill!

Check out this ginormous skillet this lady is cooking on!!! Food is fabulous at Dollywood!

Next we went into the Dolly museum

and then watched the 16 minute movie called Heartsong. It’s a great way to cool off in the air conditioning if it is a hot day!

The current theming in the park is the I Will Always Love You Music Festival. The main “street” is decorated with all these shimmering pink discs. So pretty! They make tinkling sounds in the breeze.

Leah and CSP rode the Lightning Rod next.

Look how happy they are!!! I love it!!! We were going to try and ride Dragonflier but the wait was back up to almost an hour so we decided to save it for tomorrow. And then it was time to go. Today we opened the park (we got there at 9:15 am and the park opens at 10 am) and we closed down the park at 8 pm!

We went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant called the Local Goat. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and straight to bed! Tomorrow is another early day!

DAY 2 AT DOLLYWOOD

Today we got to Dollywood at about 9:45 am. We breezed through security and the entrance. Today we noticed it wasn’t nearly as crowded, but it was definitely a LOT warmer! Luckily we packed short sleeves. We rode just about everything we wanted to ride yesterday so today we were able to amble through the park. We started out the day with Dragonflier and only had to wait about 25 minutes. It was so fun!

One thing that’s cool about Dollywood is that at the entrance to each roller coaster they have a sample car/seat that you can try out to see if you fit comfortably. With CSP being 6 feet 5 inches, there were a couple of rides he was too tall for(!!!). So that’s a great time saver.

We then rode FireChaser Express. A firehouse themed roller coaster. It was so much fun! You go backwards at the end for a bit!

We spotted little stuffies in the shape of the famous cinnamon bread and Leah decided she wanted one. The only way to get one is to win it! So the three of us played the game where you squirt water into a target and I won the stuffie for her! She named him Sam the Cinnamon Bread. He’s so cute!

The park is so clean and pretty- we were very impressed with it.

For lunch today we ate at the Front Porch Cafe. We only had to wait about 10 minutes and then we were able to eat inside. It was a nice break from the heat. Prices aren’t astronomical like they can be at theme parks, for both food and merchandise! Leah bought a tshirt and I bought two magnets (they were only like $6 each-not bad!). Plus there are restrooms in the restaurant- no lines! For lunch I chose the butterfly pretzel chicken sandwich. It was really good!

I really like how the park is separated into little “towns”. It’s so cute!

We heard about the bakery at Dollywood so we stopped in to check out the 25 pound apple pie and the giant cinnamon roll!

Leah bought the photo package and we came across a park photographer named Paul. Paul is in his 60s and is the sweetest man! He turned into our own personal paparazzi! He took us around to different locations for photo shoots and we had the best time with him!

If you look closely, you can see in some photos we are holding “butterflies”. So cute! The photos above are from yesterday, and the ones below are from today.

CSP is holding a wee “cinnamon bread” in his hands while Leah is holding Sam the Cinnamon Bread!

Leah was also able to get the photos they snapped of her and CSP on the roller coasters!

I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen CSP smile SO BIG for a photo before!!! LOL

Toward the end of the day on Saturday a message played out on the intercom. It was announced that there was lightning in the area so all the rides shut down for an hour. But then, just about 20 minutes before closing, they announced that the rides were reopen so Leah was able to get one last ride on Lightning Rod before we left.

We went to dinner at the Local Goat again and toured around the main drag, just looking at all the attractions. So much mini golf! So many dinner theaters! Pirates and the feuding Hatfields and McCoys and even a giant Titanic museum that’s in the shape of the Titanic! Complete with iceberg! Also, if you’ve ever wanted an Ole Timey Photo, just go to Pigeon Forge. There are ole timey photo studios on every block!

We went back to the hotel and packed up then went to bed. Tomorrow we drive back home to Charlotte and Leah flies back to California! We had a GREAT time! I laughed SO HARD- which is just the best! We all really enjoyed Dollywood! Great rides, good food, and it’s reasonably priced. If we lived closer CSP and I discussed that we would get season passes. But it’s too far with a 4 plus hour drive. I bet the park is gorgeous in the fall and especially at Christmas! And Dolly visits sometimes! We will definitely be back!