Dollywood

Our friends, the Ledbetters, invited us to go to Dollywood this past weekend.  They are season pass holders, and so they had guest passes for us.  The Ledbetters are a family of 5, with three teenage kids- BJ, Vivian, and Emma.  We left around 8:30ish and headed for Pigeon Forge.  Mercy rode with the Ledbetters, while BJ rode with us.  BJ was much less high maintence than Mercy in the van.  We ate at McDonalds and then headed to the park.  When we got there, the traffic for parking was backed up, and it looked like it was going to be a crowded day.  Turns out that Dolly was actually there that day.  Since Brian and Jennifer know their way around, we headed over to a parking area and rode a trolley straight into the park, by-passing the traffic.  It was VERY crowded, with people EVERYWHERE!  The line was pretty long for the first several rides, but later, the crowds thinned out, and we had no (or very little) wait for bigger rides.  We had a fabulous time!  Here are some pictures of our day.  It was very eventful!!! 

Family shot by the sign

This is the Rockin' Roadway.  Mercy got to ride this time.  Of course, she loves all rides.

Ryan and Mercy

Josiah: a solo driver

This is how we roll at Dollywood.  Do we need a stroller?  No way!  We have BJ, Vivian, and Emma!  I don't think I carried Mercy all day long!  Our kids love their kids!

Aedan on Emma's back

Mercy with Vivian

Josiah on BJ's shoulders

Sideshow Spin
There was a LONG wait for this one.  I think it may have been the longest wait.  It is a miniature roller coaster.  Josiah and Aedan LOVED it!

Josiah and I

Emma and Aedan

Me

Next~the Lemon Twist

This one cracked me up to watch!  Mercy and Brian went on this one, in the slow moving tea cup.  Ryan was with everyone else in the fast one! 

Mercy and Brian

Ryan, Vivian, Emma, Aedan, and Josiah
~about to spin~

Here they go!!

Check out Aedan's face here.  haha!  It cracks me up, poor thing!

Here are some videos to see the spinning speed of Ryan's tea cup.  Feel free to compare it to Brian and Mercy's tea cup!  hahaha!

Here they are afterwards~

Not sure if Aedan is going to be able to walk.

Now, here are some easier rides.  haha!

Duck Video:

 

Pig Video:

Busy Bees Video:

My favorite game at Dollywood.  Every duck is a winner!

Carousel

and a video:

Next, we rode the train.  The timing of it all worked out well.  We actually made it on the train, and didn't have to wait a long time. 

Mercy and the boys enjoyed some cotten candy

Next, we ventured to other areas of the park, that we (the McGanns, not Ledbetters) hadn't seen before.  I really liked how the boys were able to ride many of the bigger rides.  Josiah could ride everything, except for the newest coaster there.  The boys were sooo brave rding on things.  Here are some that we rode.

Mountain Slidewinder
This was the boys' first "bigger" ride.  We LOVED it and were eager to ride more.

Next, we rode Daredevil Falls.  The drop was pretty steep.  Aedan got a little scared on this one, but when it was all over he said he liked it. 

Next, we headed over to the Tennessee Tornado.  It is described as a "70 mph triple-loop steel roller coaster".  When we went to ride it, Josiah looked at it, and decided against it.  I was okay with that, because I thought it would be a little much for him.  So, we didn't push him and went while he waited with Brian and Jennifer.  As Ryan and I were on the coaster pulling out, I see Brian and Josiah.  Guess he changed his mind!  The whole time I was on the coaster, all I could think about was Josiah on a triple-loop coaster for his first REAL roller coaster.  Oh my!  And, when I got back, he would already be gone, so there was no way of me stopping him.  When he finished, he looked a little shocked, but then smiled!  So, it was all okay!  whew!

Here's his official Dollywood picture:

Here is a video of the coaster if you're interested in seeing what Josiah went on:


Josiah and Aedan also rode the Blazing Fury (an indoor coaster), River Battle (not a fav), and River Rampage.  (see video below)

We had a great time at Dollywood.  I really like the park a lot, and am so thankful to the Ledbetters for taking us along!!!