Dollywood Smoky Mountain Christmas - Big Bear Mountain Roller Coaster - Construction Update

hey you all carpet bger here coming to you live from the south more specifically we are in Pigeon Forge Tennessee even more specifically than that we are at Dollywood now I just coming in here I noticed uh some changes at least in the parking lot uh they switched they I don't know if this is interesting or not but they switched the the lanes in the in the park working lot so the uh the trams now go where the cars used to go and the cars go where the trams used to go which was discombobulating I'm so used been coming here for years that was uh struck me just kind of threw me off this I think this is new here this uh this is the security checkpoint they've added it over here I think used to be you could be dropped off uh you were dropped off way closer to the the main entrance which is right over that way so just a few observations here as uh as we first arrive at [Music] Dollywood yes does look like I guess they are doing some construction you see this uh this Construction Wall here pardon our dust not sure what's going over here but this is actually where you used to get on you'd walk over here and get on the trolley the parking lot trolley would go back all the way back here and uh either pick you up or drop you off now that area is all boarded off uh so you you dropped off and you walk out here to the uh the ticket booths but now you get dropped off all the way over there and have to go through security over there interesting I don't know if this is temporary or if this is just how they're going to do it uh from now on here as we prepare to enter Dollywood we see they're having their Smoky Mountain Christmas this is the Christmas celebration they do every year there's the enter here right at The Palace Theater they have their uh Dollywood Smoky Mountain Christmas sign there they can get your photo taken with so I went ahead and I got a season pass this is actually a 2024 gold old season pass so I haven't been here to Dollywood since about a year ago I came to the last uh Christmas Smoky Mountain Christmas but I decided to go ahead and get the season pass this year is cost about uh $260 so I have to visit at least three times um in order to get to in order to make that worth it but um the thing is you can actually buy this is a 2024 pass but actually covers November December of 2023 so I was able to get this attend today and then I can go uh all year next year anytime I want there's a few things happening next year that I thought maybe I'd want to check out so let me know what you'd like to see me cover here at Dollywood now that I got more of a permanent home back in the mountains here I think I could come over here more often they do offer a silver gold pass which is about $100 cheaper but that actually does not include uh Christmas it includes everything but Christmas also it doesn't include parking this includes uh parking as well to have the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame here next to the Palace Theater but now it's just where they sell their uh their fastpasses I think we're going to head up here through Glacier Ridge they have a lot of uh lights of course the lights will become a lot more prominent once uh Nightfall occurs you can see uh you can see the lights are on you just got to look very carefully says have you seen if you have seen contact Ned Oakley at The Outpost at Wildwood Grove all right we'll see if we run into Ned Oakley on our adventure today now this drove me crazy for years this tree right here um I didn't understand it's was like these cut slices of wood on this tree I was like what is what is this and for years was just confused I post this in my vide so I didn't know what this was but um then it hit me after years and years of walking walking by it these are butterflies they're slices of wood but they're also in the shape of butterfly wigs and even though it's Christmas time even though we are celebrating cheerfulness that doesn't mean we can't take a super fun Dollywood coffin photo Merry Christmas from Beyond the Grave you see this normally is supposed to be The Lumberjack graveyard but for Christmas they remove those unsightly headstones and replace them with delightful Christmas trees you can see the showers here for either Lumberjacks or Lumber jills I believe in the summer this shower actually works it's not like a full-on shower but I think it uh it Mists you as you stand there uh taking a shower see the snake oil uh cart there with various potions Elixir for man or beast as we cut through the Arctic Passage here and you know what I think at some ways I like Christmas lights better during the day Maybe not maybe they're better at night but they're still fun during the day looks like they've moved the Lumberjack jam band up here this is when you can uh jam out on some uh pots and pans got our Lumberjack drumstick there beautiful music being made here see get this uh Lumberjack xylophone this is the whistle Punk Chaser here little tiny roller coaster there you can see the uh little steam whistle there in the middle there the uh coaster kin look at that gives them gives them a little Ted as they go by and this is Thunderhead this is an absolutely terrifying super intense wooden roller coaster oh drop Tower's going to drop oh there we go that's the one big plummet there see as they come down the water around them surrounded by sparkly polar bears yeah this section of the park does have a very heavy Lumberjack theme to it [Music] you can see this giant tree here that's been felled check out how large look how big this is woohoo yeah here's the timber Canyon Hall of Fame here I guess is the saws of famous loggers and they all have super fun names like Samy the stump stinkpot Steve summer pine cone Clyde butt cut butt cut Billy Christmas you know tomorrow I'm just going to go to the courthouse and legally change my name to butt cut Billy Christmas ohome more are these have you seen the bear sides almost as if it's leading up to something so we leave The Lumberjack themed area and enter the mining theme area and I have some fond memories here of the old mystery mine where see yeah there was one year when um just because of my schedule um Annabelle was off of school so I stayed home with her for the summer I worked in the evenings and uh so it was usually me home with her during the day so I bought us both season passes for Dollywood that year we would usually go to Dollywood maybe once a week and um I remember like uh her two favorite rides our two favorite rides were the mystery mind and the Wild Eagle now the mystery mind super fun it's got some Dark Ride elements in it it it is a roller coaster it's a pretty intense roller coaster but also has those uh those dark ride elements in it and I remember andelle would sing the song we all get excited to uh hop aboard the mystery mine now I um they don't let you film on roller coasters here but I thought maybe I'd just hop aboard the mystery mine just for a uh a trip down memory lane oh hello there and of course out here in front of the mystery mine you always have the uh the Buzzard here telling his long- winded Tales she really means I've done something you're not going to like when she says it's not you it's me she really means it's me last night she told me she need I always get all my relationship advice from animatronic vultures she can be cold as yesterday smash [Music] on top of smoky I'll cover sing I lost my true love for C too slow they'll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies they cross eyes on the railroad All Stars in the Sky he's crying sorry folks dang nothing more pathetic than a buzz it with tears in his eyes all right see if we can see if we fit these days oh the green light goes off it fits let's [Music] go there for that [Music] H that's not why I [Music] [Music] was got a lot of nostalgia riding the mystery mine remember riding that with Anna over and over again now I can't show you you can look up other povs on uh on YouTube but basically you're you're in this mine car you got to down into a mine there's like bats like spooky spooky music there's like a big grindy thing that like you go under that grinds you and then you go like straight up like you're like laying on your back and you're going up up up you see the sky you get to the top that's when you go out into like the the the twirly part and then that goes back in you go into like this Tower there's a canary in a cage then the canary dies cuz that's bad when you're in a mine and the canary dies that means things are that means you're going to die so from that point you go uh you go back up another like on your back going up and then this time you can see like a projection there's like a screen on top that shows the mine itself collapsing on you you get to the top then there's like a some dynamite and like an explosion effect now it used to be sometimes it was an unreliable effect but sometimes it would blast flames in your face that was really fun did not blast Flames at me tonight I don't know if that's permanently stopped doing that it would be hit or miss back when me and Anna were going and then of course the last drop the big upside down slow motion curve and then you're done and man yeah that that brought back a lot of memories and and I actually I used they used to have such a hard time getting me in that seat they used to like really have to crank me in the seat I was so happy when it was just like click and I fit I so I I guess I weigh less than I did like not ay like almost a decade ago when me and Anna used to come here if you actually look here underneath mystery mind you can see how the track's been been kind of reconfigured this here used to go up completely on Sideways that track is still there but it doesn't connect to the uh to the existing track I think they they uh changed it around to make it a little a little a little smoother see them uh gliding through there used to be a little more of an intense uh experience over here then she said I know your wife has a great sense of humor she married you didn't she sometimes we just don't see beat to be on anything first of all the woman never says what she ulture just goes on and on about uh about his uh about his relationships done telling all the poor amus a part guests about his love problems oh Buzz will you ever find true happiness but I think now we're going to head into Wildwood Grove to uh check out a ride that I've never had a chance to experience yeah Wildwood Grove is uh extension of the park open opened up a few years ago I actually was fortunate enough to attend the actual opening day of Wildwood Grove and following these bear prints here now there is a there's a bear right there but I don't necessarily think this is the bear that we've been looking [Music] for so we continue to follow the Bear Tracks and it leads us to this and I think this is indeed indeed the bear that we've been looking for this is Big Bear Mountain this is the newest ride here at Dollywood the newest roller coaster and uh just opened earlier this year and I have not yet got a chance to ride this yet so again Dollywood does not allow you to film on the roller coasters although you can find povs on YouTube if you do check however I will hop aboard Big Bear Mountain I will ride it and I will let you guys know what I think on the other side enter this Ranger area here there some information on Bears never wake a sleepy bear that's uh that's a that's some good advice observe observe do not approach oh here okay I guess this is the Big Bear that we're looking for on this roller coaster there's a typical black bear there is a big bear yeah appears the theme is a Bear Hunt looking for the legendary Big Bear you see the chart here where they've been tracking this legendary Big Bear you see the blurry photos he's almost he's almost like a cryp all right we got a bear right here this is uh strong with the with the bear puns and our Buri it awaits welcome back Riders once your restraints pop up exit to the right recent surgery right [Music] first impressions of big bare Mountain it's a lot of fun it's a very fast very smooth it's it's like it's a launching coaster so just shoots you out you're you're flying you go you know you bank to the side there's no upside down so a nice smooth fun ride there's onri right narration so the guy's like telling you about hunting bears or you're hunting the Big Bear which is like this legendary creature and then he sprinkles in constant bear puns bear left Bear right he's bearing down on us um we barely got away so you you keep hearing the Big Bear you keep hearing big growls you go through tunnels you always hear the Big Bear growls as the bear comes through and U you never see the bear I was just I was holding a hope maybe oh you heard the bear growl there yeah the uh but I had hopes maybe just maybe we'll get a big giant animatronic bear at the end VI like like the yeti at the end of Expedition Everest you don't see the bear which is a little disappointing I'd love to see the big animatronic bear but maybe that helps keep the legend of the big bear alive because you never actually see it you you hear him but you never actually encounter him but it's it's a it's a it's a very fun roller coaster hello there oh hello hello I believe we met last year but I'm bad with names what oh oh flit the butterfly flit the butterfly yes pleasure to pleasure to come across you again thank you so much I live here so you probably come across me quite a bit all right you're looking out for the big bears here I heard there's there big bears I heard yes and I actually met somebody who found him today he said that he was as big as they say and over there oh wow so I'm going to go looking for him later too you're going go look for be careful I will thank you be careful and have a very mer Merry Christmas Merry Christmas to you too oh no it doesn't look like anyone's riding uh the frogs and fireflies I guess we can put a uh put a change to [Applause] that the fir and have a great day W big roller coaster you see there from the skyline that's the Wild Eagle that's the other one that uh Annabelle loved to ride she made me get on that thing many of times it's like kind of a those like hang off the side like you hang off the wings of the eagle it's it's a lot of fun and it brings back a lot of memories and the Mystery mind and the Wild Eagle those are the two that we wrote over and over again over here they have their uh their big Christmas tree one year I was actually fortunate enough to come out to the uh Christmas tree lighting and Dolly Parton was here I got to stand right up front and uh and see dolly that was a really cool that was a really cool experience I feel that uh there are generations of people here in the uh in the Smoky Mountains and tourists from all over the country that have their uh their family photos here with these two uh Dollywood owls these have been here as long as uh long as I can remember coming here now there's one thing I can tell you about Dollywood and that is I will always be back says due to current temperatures this attraction is closed so the FireChaser Express here not current currently operating I'm not sure how the temperature affects it I don't know maybe uh gets so icy that the uh the roller coaster sticks to the tracks who knows I don't know anything about how roller coasters [Music] work advertisement for Buckingham fine pork wearing to jump into your Skillet see the cowboy there riding the pig pig presumably about ready to jump in a skillet see the pretty dangling icicle lights as we head through this Corridor oh we even have a little bit of atmospheric fog down here see the old schoolhouse here and uh looks like the old schoolhouse is open I know uh for years this door was closed oh yeah you can peer into the schoolhouse again and I see the dunce cap over there some of the old historic buildings here at Dollywood and of course my all-time favorite uh ride here at Dollywood Blazing Fury they have a sister attraction very very similar called fire in the hole at Silver Dollar City in Branson Missouri see a little shout out to the other attraction there where it's a silver dollar mining company and uh the one in Branson fire in the hole is actually this is its last year it's going to be uh closed down at the end of this year uh fortunately they are going to build an allnew attraction themed on the old one these are both very classic Dark Ride style uh rides but um yeah I don't know you know Blazing Fury it's it's it's up for speculation how long this will last in the park maybe it'll be here for years to come you know maybe they'll make the same decision close this down maybe they'll replace it with uh with a newer version who knows but I think it's important to enjoy it while we [Music] can welcome back R Great pleas live go job now now B you be careful this one I got to beat back beat [Applause] back over here man I want to p on you to it look like you that [Applause] I the home see the polar bears over here got the nativity scene down there baby Jesus in the middle 1 2 3 1 ding D Dell world be scary stories and tales of the glories of Christmas let getting a little bit hungry so I thought we would stop in and get some uh country cooking at uh granny ogles ham and beans now granny Ogle apparently is the mother of Dolly Parton's personal assistant Judy we're about to have some of her ham and beans all right so I ordered the chicken culet which is looks like like a skillet with beans and chicken and sausage topped with a lump of cornbread I think things generally taste better out of a skillet anyways yeah all sorts of different types of beans let's stick right in there that is so good actually that is supremely tasty T the chicken in there of course the beans you know cooked in [Music] ham yeah it's almost like a almost like a jumbalaya but like instead of rice it has beans if that makes sense yeah it's very tasty and there's tomatoes in there Peppers I'll try out with this cornbread I'm not the biggest cornbread fan but in this situation I'll give it a try it's actually very sweet cornbread lot of times in the South you get much more Savory cornbread but that piece of cornbread is very very [Music] sweet look big chunks of sausage it's very meaty beanie a really really hearty meal here this is good for nice cold night like tonight yes and we have obtained membership to the clean Skillet club that was so tasty I would highly highly recommend that it was really really delicious all the different meats and beans very very flavorful and very very very uh warm and filling for a night like tonight headed down here to the county fair where you can find a lot of the rides that you can ride at the uh County Fair although it doesn't seem there's actually a lot of people down here at uh the county fair currently but I did want to check out uh their Scrambler here you know I I have my own Scrambler car now so paying closer attention to the uh different scramblers this one looks uh these cars look a little bit different than mine uh they're the same the same like structure but they have uh the symbols a little different um it could be made by the same company it uh just have a different logo this Scrambler actually gets a good scramble going some of them are uh lighter this one actually has some uh some velocity to it all right I do find the obligation to actually try out the different scramblers so I'm going to leave the the camera here and and go find a Scrambler car probably leave this behind as [Music] well [Music] go there [Music] hey get out did you guys see me you see me when I was flying by I feel sufficiently scrambled oh look at this have a froet the yeti sighting here comes the [Music] train there is quite a line here to uh get on the train but let's see if we can uh see if we can manage all right let's find us a good seat here on the train I'm uh going towards the the back of the train cuz I think there's less less flaming Cinders that uh fly back here and get in your eyes all right board the [Music] train bye bab bye Kaitlyn you go ahead and get too L but I doubt if one will make it to the car and another over here is Megan she's over here watching Owen's Farm she forgot to feed the chickens last time so hopefully she'll feed them this time all right time for a nice chilly open air train ride oh play some Christmas music Glacier Ridge we went through there earlier tonight Thunderhead the wildest ride in the woods to ride Thunderhead in the dark it's actually one of the most intense roller coasters you'll ever ever experience [Applause] [Music] gender and over here on the right hand side these are our Dr technicians not that oh these are drones they're all drones sitting out for the Drone show later oh wow it's like the Drone launching [Music] station see all the lights of Dollywood there see the tree from Wildwood Grove that orange track that is the uh Big Bear Mountain see the drop tower see almost all the roller coasters from up here at night wow it's actually really pretty I possibly should have bundled up a little better for this evening it is it is very cold out here on the train I see the Snowman up here it's over here somewhere oh I see him there he is got across the park here from up the top the train trestle up top the County Fair here you know P back into the station hi David we're [Music] back it's like a 1950s theme section over in this end of the park got the Pines theater over here but as we walk down to the end we see that there is uh there is some construction used to be able to continue on this way into another section of the park that section has been completely sectioned off so let's uh let's go take a little bit of a peek okay so a lot of construction over here we see uh this with the scaffolding that used to be called Dolly's closet it was a do it was a Parton themed clothing store that is being completely renovated either turned into something else or uh or completely redone um in the back there's a theater there um they usually would have dollies RV parked back there that's not there they moved that for the construction and then I believe this here is the old uh Chasing Rainbows uh exhibit kind of the Dolly Parton Museum uh supposedly they're they're revamping it they're going to do a new like uh super stylish Museum over here new high-tech Dolly Parton experience so it's supposed to be opening this spring so I'll be excited to come back and see what this looks like next year I do like the old uh the kind of the Vintage midcentury look to this section of the park like these uh mannequins here these storm mannequins in the windows over here we can get another Peak at the construction so it looks like this theater over here to the right that's still open that's still uh currently being used but uh yeah this is the Chasing Rainbows exhibit this was the DOI Museum you can see that's being renovated supposedly from the artwork they're showing there's supped to be a giant butterfly in front of the building next year this over here this is dol's closet this was the uh the clothing shop where you could dress like dolly that looks to be uh to be uh either gone or reimagined but yeah definitely looking forward to seeing uh what this section of the park looks like uh beginning of next year right heading back up this way through Timber Canyon I figured we saw the uh saw the Drone show being prepared earlier while we were on the train so I guess we might as well check out uh tonight's Christmas drone show you can see on that Banner there that's kind of I guess the uh the imagining of what the Dolly Parton experience will look like next year that's the building I just showed maybe have supposed to have a big butterfly out in front that'll be interesting interesting to see the temperature has dropped so rapidly tonight it was it was really nice when I got hereo I don't know how many people are still here the the park getting really quiet I think some people headed out because it got so cold but I I stuck around to see uh to see the Drone show oo hard to keep warm though all right back into Wildwood Grove security guard told me that this is where uh the Drone show is uh is best seen from so looks like most people who are still in the park migrated over here to the Wildwood Grove area to uh watch the Drone show people Gathering here in front of the uh the big [Music] tree 2 1 what what's this okay some Sky lasers where the drones oh there they are there's the drones there's the Drone Army up there in the sky oh they they turn into into Bells Oh look The Bells are actually like ringing cuz the drones are moving around pretty cool oh fire what are the drones doing pyro we got the fully formed drone Christmas tree up in the air which shall be to all people for unto you is Born This Day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the lord oh look fireworks fireworks lasers pyro drones and as we get ready to exit Dollywood you see it's actually snowing here outside the Emporium and look look who's up there [Music] Santa Santa oh yeah see all the snow here falling as we exit through the Emporium bye Santa Santa get your Smoky Mountain Christmas gear here including a uh a pointy Christmas tree hat or this very stylish Santa cowboy hat here oh look at this little dolly doll when she was a little kid when she wore the coat of many colors that her mother made for you can also get a stocking that is uh made out of the material that the coat of many colors is made from got different examples of Dolly fashion [Music] here uh-oh don't tell Chen but we have some Dolly Parton Funko Pops here oh look at this one here it's in front of the album there they do have some great snow globes here there you got Cinderella the steam engine we rode earlier of course it's uh you know it's the Tennessee Mountain so you got to have some bare snow globes but I really like this the uh full Dollywood snow globe there we got the church there where we saw the caroler singing that is the uh the Wild Eagle roller coaster this is the uh the Grist Mill that's where people buy their cinnamon bread and then there is the tree from uh Wildwood Grove the uh the Wildwood tree let's give that a good shake and fill the air with sparkles as we're walking out to the parking lot even some of the uh the fake snow is uh drifting out this way or maybe that's real snow is that real snow or fake snow or maybe that's uh maybe that's ashes from the train is this try to see is this real snow no I think that's okay I think that's I think I'm that that is that is fake snow it's blowing blowing this way but still rather Charming as we head out to uh to the car uh I want to thank you guys for coming along with me uh it's been a while been a while since I've been to Dollywood had a really fun time tonight the Drone show was pretty amazing had some nostalgic uh nostalgic memories here as well uh like I said bought the uh bought my season pass for next year the 2024 season pass let me know what times of the year you'd like to have me come and visit Dollywood um you know I'm going to be more in the area I'm living locally once again so uh it's not hard for me to to pop over here about an hour and a half from the house so kind of trying to re familiarize myself with Dollywood with Gatlinburg with Pigeon Forge so let me know let me know what you guys would like to see on uh this channel if uh if you like this video please subscribe I travel around the country film roadside attractions amusement parks museums haunted houses and other fun random stuff if uh you'd like to help support the channel consider contributing to patreon $3 or more we get you a postcard once month from me to you also selling enamel pins in the Etsy shop and doing personalized messages you'd like to send a Christmas message to a friend or family member you can do that through Cameo um you can do for any occasion yeah NOA no occasion at all as a matter of fact or you know if you have a question for me You' like to get a video message for me you have a question you can send it to yourself but uh all those things of course help keep this uh this coal fir train on the track this boat in the water and this derable in the air until next time my friends this one's in the bag

Channel: The Carpetbagger

Views: 32,445

Keywords: the, carpetbagger, jacob, vlog, blog, roadtrip, travel, road trip, road-trip, roadside attraction, roadside america, americana, dollywood, pigeon forge, tn, tenessee, tennessee, roller coaster, rollercoaster, big bear mountain, mystery mine, wild eagle, drone show, wildwood grove, train, railroad, fun, scrambler, construction, dolly parton, dolly parton experience, update, 2023, christmas, smoky mountain christmas

Id: p_TyYz0GuUM

Length: 44min 7sec (2647 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 12 2023