A Walk In The Park

[GAcoaster]

From the New York Times:

 

A Walk in the Park

By CINDY PRICE

 

ON a cold, damp Friday afternoon in early December, the crowd pouring into Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., was in complete agreement: it was unseasonably cold for this time of year.

 

It was not so cold that you couldn’t bundle up the family and walk around the 150-acre park, which was spectacularly decked out for its annual Smoky Mountain Christmas event and filled with the comforting hum of Christmas music. But it was cold enough to temporarily shut down the park’s three big roller coasters. And for a couple of itchy teenagers grumbling in the last car of Blazing Fury — an antique indoor coaster with a couple of mild drops — Dollywood was coming up short on Christmas miracles.

 

Call it the grade schooler’s revenge. Because as evening fell and the park filled up with hundreds of children on the right side of 10, it became clear that the holiday festivals that have cropped up at theme parks like Dollywood across the country probably aren’t meant to court thrill-seeking teenagers, who seemingly have the run of the parks in summer. Rather, they seem aimed at everyone else: packs of young parents quietly pushing strollers, babysitting grandparents huddled in cafes sipping coffee, nostalgic couples walking hand in hand, soaking in the flickering lights and charitable mood.

 

And lots — lots — of little boys and girls like Ellie Johnson, a blond, bespectacled 5-year-old.

 

“I like the Polar Express!” she shouted to her parents, Kevin and Jeny, extracting a wry, knowing smile out of her older sister, Cara. She was referring to the Polar Express 4-D Experience, a multisensory ride that shows a short version of the popular Christmas movie in 3-D, while moving seats rock riders back and forth and smells of hot cocoa fill the theater.

 

There are plenty of real warm drinks (including a wickedly sweet caramel cider) to wrap your hands around as you walk through the festival. Dollywood began the event 18 years ago, and it has since expanded to include four million lights, a 100-foot-tall Christmas tree light show, a lineup of musicals, a real coal-fired train that does a mile-plus loop through the park, and over 40 rides and attractions (including, when the weather holds out, Thunderhead, which is currently one of the top-rated wooden coasters in the world).

 

As the temperature dipped, people headed for Santa’s Workshop, an arts-and-crafts area where packs of adults warmed their hands around space heaters and browsed funny T-shirts (“Don’t blame me. I voted for Santa.”).

 

The children were free to tear around the enclosed 500-square-foot area and play with jumbo-sized toys. But one 8-year-old, Savannah Ledford, stood alone, quietly but fastidiously penning her letter to Santa.

 

“I want a computer game called Spore, and a Lego Castle play set,” she said, pursing her lips, then adding, “and a computer.”

 

“We had horses and ponies when I was younger,” her grandmother, Carolyn Ledford, added with a shrug. “But I guess they’re a lot of trouble.”

 

For all the attractions directed at kids, the event also draws couples without young children. For one young couple from Nashville, Stephen and Susan Curtis, the attractions are the light displays and Christian-themed shows.

 

For Jack and Debbie Williams, a couple in their 50s who regularly drive down from Maryland, the park holds a special place in their shared history. When they were young, Dollywood was a small tourist stop called Rebel Railroad. (It would change hands, and names, a few times before its current incarnation as Dollywood.)

 

“His parents brought him here when he was young because they knew the owners,” Ms. Williams said, pointing to her husband, “and my father brought us here because he was thinking about buying it from those same owners.”

 

They didn’t discover the Dollywood coincidence until years later, after they met in the Air Force and married. If everything goes as planned, the Williamses will move back to the Smoky Mountain area in the next few years.

 

When Dollywood opened in 1986, it was originally billed as a show park, and those roots are still evident in the heavy holiday lineup of stage shows. One of the sharpest is “Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland,” which showcases an impressive five-man acrobatic team, two talented young leads, and a spectacular grand finale.

 

Gabriel Myers, who plays the father, sat with some of his fellow castmates after the show, and talked about how it felt to do this year’s show as opposed to past ones.

 

“With the economic situation the way it is,” he said, taking a minute to choose his words, “everybody’s a little tense, a little worried and a little scared. So any kind of entertainment where you can help them get away from that for a second, and just feel the warmth of the holidays instead of all the coldness that’s going on right now — including the weather — it’s a good feeling for us.”

 

The festival is open through Jan. 3, though it is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve; admission is $51.30, and $40.15 for kids under 12. Tickets can be bought at www.dollywood.com, or (800) 365-5996.

 

Dollywood is not the only park in the holiday spirit. A number of parks are putting on impressive festivals this year, each with different attractions. But be it frozen water parks, coasters or chocolate, it all involves family. Call or check Web sites for exact operating hours during Christmas week, since most are closed on Christmas itself.

 

Hersheypark

 

Hersheypark in Hershey, Pa., is celebrating its 25th anniversary of Hersheypark Christmas Candylane. This holiday village has over 30 rides, live entertainment and a two-million-bulb light display. Many of the rides are child-oriented, and with an admission fee of $9.95, it’s easy to bring a whole brood.

 

Richard Wright, who grew up in nearby Middletown, Pa., remembers treating Hersheypark like a second playground when he was a child (he even devoted his only free summer in college to working there), and now brings his two sons, Jackson, 5, and Conner, 3, every holiday.

 

“My friends and I could be at the park in 10 minutes,” he said. “We just had to convince one parent to take us, and another to pick us up. It was a nice system.”

 

“It never occurred to me until now, now that I have children of my own, why my parents never blinked an eye when we asked to go,” he added. “It’s great to have a place where you know your children will have fun without worrying about their safety.”

 

Those looking to stay warm can head for Hershey Sweet Lights, the park’s animated holiday drive-thru exhibit, which includes almost 600 shimmering displays and music that you can tune in on your car radio.

 

Nearby, Hershey Gardens is decorated with holly and viburnum berries, evergreens and a Christmas tree walk featuring ornaments from all 50 states.

 

(Through Dec. 31; 717-534-3900; www.christmasinhershey.com; entry $9.95.)

 

Universal Orlando

 

Though Disney World is known for pulling out all the stops at Christmas, those looking for an edgier coaster scene might want to check out Universal Studios’ sister park, Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Fla. The park has been cultivating an alternative audience in recent years with holiday ticket packages, relatively quick lines and the popular Grinchmas — a stage show with a score arranged by Mannheim Steamroller.

 

“When they first opened Seuss Landing in 1999, I fell in love,” said Chris Kraftchick, an Orlando native who represents the Florida Region of American Coaster Enthusiasts. “The icing on the cake was Grinchmas — to have these characters walking around talking to people and telling the stories. They hit a grand slam.”

 

The year they opened the festival, he read the book to his children, Joshua, 8, and Madeline, 12, before they went. When they got to the park, Joshua gasped: “There’s the guy who stole Christmas.”

 

(Guests-in-the-know can even have breakfast with the book’s characters; $19.95 and $13.95 for ages 3 to 9; call 407-224-4012 for reservations.)

 

Adrenaline freaks can also take advantage of the warm weather to hit the park’s impressive coaster lineup. Next door at Universal Studios, floats from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade have been shipped in for a daily parade, which also includes marching bands and a high-kick line. Guests can volunteer to be balloon handlers by signing up between the Jimmy Neutron ride and the Universal Studios Store.

 

(Through Jan. 1; 407-224-4233; www.universalorlando.com/holidays; a one-day, two-park ticket is $89.99 at the gate, $79.99 for ages 3 to 9.)

 

Silver Dollar City

 

When Pete Herschend and his brother Jack (whose family founded Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., in 1960) started their Old Time Christmas back in 1988, it was on a lark.

 

“We called it the 12 Days of Christmas, and honestly we weren’t at all sure anyone would show up,” Pete Herschend said. “But we thought it sounded good, and we knew it could be good. And lo and behold, a lot of them showed up. There are some families who started coming in 1988 and they have been back every year.”

 

One recent visitor was Noel Perkin, a Springfield, Mo., native who visited the park as a little girl, worked there in the ’80s, and now takes her 6-year-old son, Drew, every Christmas. “It was magical then and it’s magical now,” she said.

 

This year’s 20th-anniversary celebration includes more than four million lights spread across the park’s 40 acres, a handful of Christian-themed shows, a Frosty the Snowman musical, a steam train, a five-story special effects-laden Christmas tree and — when the weather holds out — a few impressive roller coasters from which one can soak in all those lights.

 

This season also marks the premiere of the park’s culinary school, where guests can make cookies, pies and holiday stews.

 

(Through Dec. 30; 800-831-4386; www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com; $49 and $39 for ages 4 to 11.)

 

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort

 

If Texas suffers a freak snowstorm this winter, let’s hope the elements fall into place as neatly as they do at Schlitterbahn’s new holiday celebration, Hill Country Christmas. The 65-acre water park in New Braunfels kicked off the event on Nov. 28, blanketing its North Pole area with 25 gallons of fake snow every four hours, and putting a gigantic ice skating rink in the Lagoon pool.

 

“Who better to go to for snow and ice than the water park experts?” said Scott Connor, who, along with a friend, drove three hours from Grand Prairie, Tex., to meet 55 fellow American Coaster Enthusiasts on opening weekend. “Now, normally I don’t do water parks. But I always do Schlitterbahn.”

 

Visitors can race a toboggan down a giant hill, run through an illuminated light tunnel called Candy Cane Lane, chat up Santa (until Dec. 23, after which one might assume he’s booked elsewhere), or catch a smattering of live holiday shows, carolers, bands and street performers.

 

And for the adult in need of a little time out from the holiday rush, there’s an outdoor hot tub called the Winter Wassail Hot Tub — with beer and wine available.

 

(Through Jan. 4; 830-625-2351; www.schlitterbahnchristmas.com; $14.99 and $12.99 for ages 3 to 11 and over 55.)

 

Click for pictures from some of the holiday events!

[Yoshi]

Over $50 admission to Dollywood? Seems like a lot with not everything open.