What’s New in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for 2012 Includes Flying Like a Wild Eagle at Dollywood!

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (January 2012) – An innovative roller coaster, a 72-foot-tall balloon, Hollywood stars in wax and a salute to the Titanic will highlight 2012 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Dollywood launches its 2012 season on March 24 with the $20 million Wild Eagle roller coaster. It is the first of its design in the U.S. It is a “wing coaster,” meaning that you sit on “wings” extending along either side of the coaster’s track – with nothing but air above and below you.

Wild Eagle starts on Dollywood’s highest peak inside and rises 21 stories into the sky. You experience the sensation of flight as the coaster’s twisting track swoops and soars along a 3,127-foot-long journey that reaches 61 miles per hour.

 

The nearly two-and-a-half minute “flight” affords you panoramic Great Smoky Mountains views before you plummet down the initial 135-foot drop. There are four inversions, including a giant loop, a “zero-G” roll and a giant flat spin in route back to the loading station.

 

Wild Eagle is the largest capital investment in Dollywood’s 26-year history. The park is collaborating with Switzerland-based Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) on Wild Eagle. B&M has built 11 of the world’s 20 highest-ranking steel coasters, according to Amusement Today magazine.

 

Up, Up and Away in a Beautiful Balloon

 

Dollywood’s Wild Eagle isn’t the only new ride that can give you a view of the Smoky Mountains this spring.

 

WonderWorks, that attention-getting, upside-down science-oriented attraction, is working with the French company Aerophile to launch the Wonders of Flight, a tethered balloon ride on a major scale.

 

A giant helium-filled balloon 72 feet in diameter will lift a 30-passenger gondola 500 feet above this resort city for day and evening flights. Aerophile has been giving people a lift since 1994 and has permanent installations in destinations such as Paris and Walt Disney World in Orlando.

 

The owners call it ideal for weddings, birthdays, special occasions and group outings.

 

Remembering the Titanic

 

This is a year of special commemoration at the Titanic Museum Attraction because April 15, 2012, marks the centennial of the magnificent ocean liner’s sinking.

 

The attraction, which honors the memories of the 2,208 passengers and crew members who where on board, has a year-long series of special activities, including Irish Month at Titanic in March, saluting the ship’s Irish builders and the many Irish aboard.

 

The Titanic Museum Attraction features a $1 million recreation of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase built to scale from Titanic blueprints, a third-class hallway, a first-class cabin, an iceberg and an opportunity to plunge your hand into water at the same frigid temperature into which the ship sank.

 

A new exhibit is dedicated to James Cameron’s Hollywood blockbuster, “Titanic.” It uses video, photos, costumes and props to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.

 

Waxing Nostalgic for Hollywood Idols

 

You will see replicas of your favorite movie sets and the stars of your favorite flicks at the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center. Opening date is to be announced.

 

Your ticket actually provides admission to three attractions – the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Castle of Chaos and Hannah’s Maze of Mirrors.

 

Music, Comedy and More at ‘Smoky Mountain Opry Show’

 

The Smoky Mountain Opry Theater, the new name for the venue formerly known as the Miracle Theater, is home to the Smoky Mountain Opry Show starting in March.

 

Show developers say the production “will feature high energy entertainment, including comedy, dancing and music – with everything such as a little bit of Broadway, a little mountain music, some gospel, pure country classic hits, pop melodies and old bluegrass.” The theater is one of Pigeon Forge’s largest.

 

The Smoky Mountain Opry Show is a project of Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment, which also presents the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show, the Comedy Barn and the Country Jamboree Breakfast Show.

 

Dressing Up Western-Style

 

Stages West, a western-wear store that has been a Pigeon Forge landmark for more than 35 years, is adding 3,300 square feet to make it the largest store of its kind in the Southeast, according to the owners.

 

“We’ve never been ‘just a western store’ and pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge of the latest western-influenced fashion trends,” said one of the owners, Stephen Houser II, after using a turquoise-painted and rhinestone-studded shovel for the addition’s groundbreaking ceremony.

 

June is the target date for the expansion, providing space for more cowboy hats, boots, jeans, jackets and leather goods.

 

 

Information about all aspects of Pigeon Forge is available online at www.MyPigeonForge.com or by calling toll-free to 1-800-251-9100.

 

January 27, 2012   Posted in: United States South