Fall Break in the Smokies

So we may have been the only parents left in the southeast to have never taken their children to Dollywood.  I know.  I heard it all the time... y'all still haven't gone.  In our defense, we bought season passes a few years ago to Six Flags and White Water so we just never made it there.  Not to mention my hubby's strong dislike for Gatlingburg.  People come from far and wide to see the Smoky Mountains and although Jimmy is a mountain man and loves a beautiful view, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge with its crowds and traffic sounds like a nightmare to him.  So, imagine my surprise when randomly one night after the kids were asleep he mentioned taking them to Dollywood for Fall Break.  Huh?  Should I fall for this?  Or just book it before he could change his mind?  

I booked us 2 nights at the Park Vista hotel.  This hotel has been there since I was a little kid and I remember it from when I would go with my family.  We waited until the day before we left to tell the kids.  They were excited and ready to see the mountains.  We headed up Sunday afternoon and they wanted to check out the hotel and see the pool.  I swear I think we could take them to Las Vegas and book a different night in each of their fancy hotels and they would LOVE that trip!  They are explorers for sure. Lol  

We took our bags to our room and headed down to the Gatlinburg strip to ride the Skybridge.  It's new and the longest pedestrian bridge in North America.  They loved the ski lift!   We rode it twice up and down the mountain and absolutely loved the gorgeous views from the top!  I think Trace would have stayed on that thing all night.

We came back and ate at the hotel restaurant because Jimmy couldn't wait to get off that strip. Ha!  The words "Hell on Earth" on the crowded sidewalk and standstill traffic may have been used.  

They hit the pool next...

Keatyn ran up to me at the pool and said several girls from her class were there.  She was so excited!

The next morning we drove back down to Pigeon Forge to Dollywood.  Keatyn didn't know it but Emerson was there.  Turns out half of CCS Elementary was there.  Lol

Spotting Emerson...

Turns out Quinn and her family were there too.  It was SUCH a fun day!  There were about 20 of us that walked around together and rode all the rides.  The park handled the virus precautions amazingly well and while it was tough to wear a mask all day outside, it was worth it.

The boys rode the Wild Eagle with Cristin and Emerson and apparently it got a little wilder than anticipated when the 17 year old running the ride made a big scene when Cristin took off her mask so she could make sure Emerson was good after she took her sound off in order to ride the rollercoaster.  There was quite a heated exchange and Cristin even told Jimmy to video it on his phone for photographic evidence.  Lol.  He thought for sure they were going to jail after the kid called the Park Police on her and the ride was held up for 30 minutes trying to sort it out.  Lol. Luckily the police were very understanding and agreed she could take off her mask to communicate with her deaf daughter.  Good grief!  Some people...  It is never a dull moment with her!

Once the sun went down, the lights came on and was gorgeous!  Riding rollercoasters in the dark is quite an experience.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and drove up to Ober Gatlinburg before heading home.

Another skylift that they loved...

Before we left, we rode the skylift halfway up and rode the Alpine Slide down.

 We headed back home after that and Fall Break was over.  It was a great few days spent with my favorites in a beautiful place.  We went ahead and bought season passes for Dollywood and Splash Country, so sounds like we will hopefully be seeing it again soon.  I can't wait to see Dollywood at Christmas!