The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[CaptinEO]

They're going to have to do something. The top floor will need to be fenced very high or domed somehow.

Doesn't every floor have large openings on the wall that the parked cars face? I think this would have to be a big overhaul if they were trying to resolve this issue.

 

[CaptinEO]

Yes, with the disclaimer that it hasn't at all been recent, really (my last visit to Dollywood was back in 2014). But a few things that haven't changed. Here are my thoughts/recommendations for Dollywood:
-Make sure you get the cinnamon bread with the icing from the Grist Mill. And when you're eating, stick to the non-normative theme park stuff: Ham & Beans, Fried Chicken from Miss Lillian's (who is quite a character if she's out during your meal), etc.

This cinnamon bread must be something! I've seen some other guides mention it as well. We will totally check it out then! Noted on your restaurant recommendations. We totally want to have a different themepark experience than what we are used to.

Do the train for sure, checking the schedule at the depot for different departure times.

Will definitely give this a ride then!

Dolly stuff: For sure do the museum. In the past they also had her tour bus out that you could tour. This was also fun, though naturally they can only fit a few people on there at a time. There's a replica of her childhood home you can walk through, as well as a super cheesy Dolly show from the 90s that's called Heartsong near the train station.

Awesome! These experiences all sound very fun and charming and like something we would enjoy (especially since we are in Dolly's park). I'm totally game for cheesy shows too!

If you don't feel like paying the full rate to park, you can park at Patriot's Park and take a trolley over for considerably less money.

Great tip! Thank you! I had no idea about this.

Coasters: Tennessee Tornado is a great, smooth looping coaster. Thunderhead used to be one of my favorite wooden coasters-reports have been inconsistent since my last visit, but it was fantastic back in the day. Mystery Mine is the best themed coaster but is a headbangy mess-if you're going to skip a coaster, make it that one. Firechaser Express is a fun family coaster. Wild Eagle isn't my favorite thing in the world, but lots of people love it. Blazing Fury is billed as an "indoor roller coaster" but Space Mountain it isn't-it's a dark ride through a burning town with a few drops at the end. I love it, and it's cheesy as hell, but it's a coaster more by a technicality than anything else. Among the ones I haven't done: Lightning Rod is an RMC like Twisted Colossus, but it is EXTRA unreliable.

Huge thanks for the ride reviews here. I'm curious, what has changed about Thunderhead to make it worse now? Is it rougher? Lack of maintenance? So good to know about Mystery Mine, don't want a headache all day so maybe that can be a final ride of the day sort of thing as it does look pretty unique.

Just looked it up and saw Wild Eagle actually has you in Eagle Wings! I think now we have to try it for kitsch value alone!

We will set our expectations low for Blazing Fury, but corny darkrides I personally enjoy so hopefully my wife will enjoy it as well.

The few guides I looked up a while back also said that with Lightning Rod, if it's up, go ride it because it will break throughout the day.

They have a huge collection of non-releasable bald eagles and a birds of prey show too, in addition to the others.

There are a fair number of shows, skewing country/bluegrass/gospel/etc. Lots of live musicians, including a show put on by Dolly's relatives, which may or may not include them interacting with a pre-recorded video of her as they go through the show.

Check out the live craftsmen and the above-average-for-a-theme-park shopping selection.

This sounds so wonderful. Love these kinds of experiences. The prerecorded video of Dolly performing with her relatives thing sounds so cringey but would totally be worth seeing. Love that there are live musicians and shows to see! Can't wait.

What sort of items did you see at the shops that stand out? Or is it mostly standard themepark fare?

In terms of the surrounding area, there's a ton to see and do, and that area has only continued to explode in growth. There's more tourist trap stuff than you can shake a stick at, some of them quite good. Gaitlinburg tends to be slightly classier than Pigeon Forge, but really the attractions are very comparable. There's a Soarin' knockoff at The Island at Pigeon Forge (a quasi DD sort of area), if you're interested in the upcharge. I'm definitely not super up on what's there now and how it differs from 2014.

Good to know about the Tourist Trap stuff. Our time there is pretty limited but we do hope to at least spend a half day in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in addition to potentially going there for dinner after the parks close (depending on how tired we feel). Soarin knock off does sound fun.

I would recommend either of the sitdown restaurants at the Apple Barn-back then they had very similar menus, and you would get complimentary apple julep, apple butter, and apple fritters in addition to some outstanding southern cooking.

Just googled this based on your review, this place looks fantastic and right up our alley for what we love. We will absolutely visit here! Very charming looking and love that it's a full meal.

Not much I can really say about the national park proper except to fill up before you get inside. We had to backtrack from a planned drive to Cades Cove because it felt like we were driving forever only for the sign to *still* say it was fifteen miles away, and eventually it became clear we'd run out of gas if we didn't backtrack.

That is a really nice tip, we would not want to be stranded. Glad you paid attention to your gas and turned around. Did you drive through the parks only or did you do any trails? Can most of the parks be seen from just driving? We were planning on maybe just passing through the morning/afternoon of the day we travel back home, before we go to the airport (flight doesn't leave until that evening).

It's a fun area. Have a great trip!

Thank you very much for your well wishes and this wonderful advice you took the time to type up for me. This is a huge help and I can't wait to report back post trip to let you know how it was!

 

[PiratesMansion]

This cinnamon bread must be something! I've seen some other guides mention it as well. We will totally check it out then! Noted on your restaurant recommendations. We totally want to have a different themepark experience than what we are used to.



Will definitely give this a ride then!


Awesome! These experiences all sound very fun and charming and like something we would enjoy (especially since we are in Dolly's park). I'm totally game for cheesy shows too!


Great tip! Thank you! I had no idea about this.


Huge thanks for the ride reviews here. I'm curious, what has changed about Thunderhead to make it worse now? Is it rougher? Lack of maintenance? So good to know about Mystery Mine, don't want a headache all day so maybe that can be a final ride of the day sort of thing as it does look pretty unique.

Just looked it up and saw Wild Eagle actually has you in Eagle Wings! I think now we have to try it for kitsch value alone!

We will set our expectations low for Blazing Fury, but corny darkrides I personally enjoy so hopefully my wife will enjoy it as well.

The few guides I looked up a while back also said that with Lightning Rod, if it's up, go ride it because it will break throughout the day.


This sounds so wonderful. Love these kinds of experiences. The prerecorded video of Dolly performing with her relatives thing sounds so cringey but would totally be worth seeing. Love that there are live musicians and shows to see! Can't wait.

What sort of items did you see at the shops that stand out? Or is it mostly standard themepark fare?



Good to know about the Tourist Trap stuff. Our time there is pretty limited but we do hope to at least spend a half day in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in addition to potentially going there for dinner after the parks close (depending on how tired we feel). Soarin knock off does sound fun.


Just googled this based on your review, this place looks fantastic and right up our alley for what we love. We will absolutely visit here! Very charming looking and love that it's a full meal.


That is a really nice tip, we would not want to be stranded. Glad you paid attention to your gas and turned around. Did you drive through the parks only or did you do any trails? Can most of the parks be seen from just driving? We were planning on maybe just passing through the morning/afternoon of the day we travel back home, before we go to the airport (flight doesn't leave until that evening).


Thank you very much for your well wishes and this wonderful advice you took the time to type up for me. This is a huge help and I can't wait to report back post trip to let you know how it was!

I'm not 100% sure what changed with Thunderhead. Part of it is probably just time (an amazing coaster in 2004 seems less special now, etc) and the fact that they built more roller coasters, one of which was Lightning Rod, which people that have ridden just rave endlessly about. And wooden coasters will inevitably need some track maintenance as they age; perhaps it got to that point a bit faster before they were able to do the necessary maintenance over the offseason.

Dolly also wrote a song for Wild Eagle that you might hear in line for the ride. "Be an eagle, not a chicken!"

I love Blazing Fury, it's wonderfully cheesy, I just didn't want you to read "indoor roller coaster" on the sign and expect anything crazy, haha. Definitely do it.

What you see in the shops depends a little bit on where you are, and in the newer parts of the park you're going to see more stereotypical park merch, but there are some shops in the older parts of the park (particularly in Rivertown Junction and Craftsmen's Valley) that sell crafty sorts of things, many of which were made in the park by the park craftsmen, some of whom may be demonstrating at various times of the day (candle shop, wood shop, leather shop, glass made by the park's glassblowers, etc). Alternately, painting a broad brush, you might find items that more closely resemble the sorts of things you might see in a Cracker Barrel rather than at a theme park. Definitely some more unique items than you wouldn't see at most parks interspersed with the more conventional stuff. I'm not really a shopper, but I definitely appreciate stopping by some of these places and looking around.

RE: the National Park: We only did a trail that last time. I've definitely done the park a few times, but the memories are limited and hazy. You can see a fair amount of it by driving I believe, but I'm by no means an expert on the national park.

 

[TP2000]

Snow in Anaheim?!?

My weather app is still set to send me updates from my old OC neighborhood. You can imagine my surprise when it alerted me that there would be just over 4 inches of snow late this week!

Out in the flatlands of OC, there is 2 and a half inches of snow forecast to fall in Anaheim on Friday! I do not believe Disneyland has ever had measurable snowfall since 1955. There was that one time where they trucked in snow for a Christmas special in the 1970's so Minnie & Mickey could iceskate on Main Street USA. But real snowfall? In Anaheim?!?

This snow forecast for this week is from the gold standard GFS weather model, a service of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction which is the weather and climate predictive department within the US National Weather Service, as part of the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration branch of the US Department of Commerce (phew!).

With all those important departments and divisions full of top men and women, all those "experts" are now publicly predicting this much snow for OC in a few days...

I can believe the two feet of snow up at Lake Arrowhead. I could even buy into a light dusting of snow in the hills above the Foothill Freeway in SB County. But 2.5 inches in Anaheim? 4 inches at WDI in Glendale???

 

[TP2000]

Doesn't every floor have large openings on the wall that the parked cars face? I think this would have to be a big overhaul if they were trying to resolve this issue.

Yes. You would have to put screens and bars up on every exterior surface. You would also need to screen in all exterior stairwells, as well as the escalator lobbies and the escalators from the top floors themselves. It would be a massive project that would effectively encase the structure in bars and screens.

It won't be easy. Or cheap. Or likely attractive.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

This really resonates with me. DCA has good energy. All of those outdoor rides/ flat rides provide a good amount of kinetic energy. At DL the best comparison would be Fantasyland but it’s just so cramped. At DCA they re scattered across a good majority of the park along the main walkways. With all of this said, DCAs sweet spot for me is being Disneylands sister park that I hop to for a few hours. I find myself kind of bored if I’m stuck there for the day.

My last two visits to DCA? After 2 hours and doing RSR, Soarin' and Guardians, I found myself thinking, "I wish I'd gone to Disneyland instead."

 

[SuddenStorm]

My last two visits to DCA? After 2 hours and doing RSR, Soarin' and Guardians, I found myself thinking, "I wish I'd gone to Disneyland instead."

Every minute spent at DCA is a minute that could have been spent at Disneyland.

 

[waltography]

Saw this on TikTok and just about teared up. I didn’t know until today that for the Beauty and the Beast musical on the Dream, before the show starts they pick out a kid in the audience to play human Chip at the very end of the show. (They pull them out of the audience towards the end to give them the costume and tell them what to do.) What a great bit of magic.

 

[TP2000]

Saw this on TikTok and just about teared up. I didn’t know until today that for the Beauty and the Beast musical on the Dream, before the show starts they pick out a kid in the audience to play human Chip at the very end of the show. (They pull them out of the audience towards the end to give them the costume and tell them what to do.) What a great bit of magic.

The Disney Cruise Line continues to impress and exceed expectations. Why that spirit never rubbed off on the Parks, I will never know.

I've only done one Disney Cruise, and it's not really my scene. But I can fully understand why so many families with kids love it. Those Cruise Line employees truly hit it out of the park with heart and polish and excellent service!

 

[TP2000]

The very smart "experts" at the weather service* have updated their forecast for SoCal this week after their return to the office today.

The snowfall predicted for Anaheim this Thursday is now down to barely 2 inches. But still half a foot of snow for Corona, so the 91 Freeway will be a parking lot of thousands of frozen and stranded cars for Thursday evening's commute. Pack your tire chains and a blanket and some granola bars if you have to take the 91 Freeway out of Orange County on Thursday!

"weather service" = GFS weather model, a service of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction which is the weather and climate predictive department within the US National Weather Service, as part of the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration branch of the US Department of Commerce.

 

[CaptinEO]

Yes. You would have to put screens and bars up on every exterior surface. You would also need to screen in all exterior stairwells, as well as the escalator lobbies and the escalators from the top floors themselves. It would be a massive project that would effectively encase the structure in bars and screens.

It won't be easy. Or cheap. Or likely attractive.

You are right. Sounds like a major project. Sad that this seems like it may be necessary. I wonder what the next structure will be for these people that are selfishly choosing to take their lives in front of as many people as possible.

 

[TP2000]

You are right. Sounds like a major project. Sad that this seems like it may be necessary. I wonder what the next structure will be for these people that are selfishly choosing to take their lives in front of as many people as possible.

I think that's what draws so many there; it's a rare structure in OC that is tall enough to kill you if you jump off it, and yet it's wide open on all sides and open to the public for free. Anyone can just wander in off Ball Road and take the escalator up to the 6th floor and jump.

There are hotels in OC that have open balconies many stories up, but you have to pay for a hotel room to access them.

The free and open accessibility of that rare high-rise structure in OC, plus a growing list of media stories documenting it, has made it a target for people who want to kill themselves in a public fashion. It's very odd.

But again, my heart goes out to the CM's who have to deal with that crap! Those CM's would need a lot more money and a lot more training to effectively deal with their own customers killing themselves at their workplace every year or two.

Can you imagine the outcry from the white collar cubicle crowd and their TDA bosses if every year or two someone wandered in off Ball Road and shot themselves in the head in the TDA lobby during the lunch hour? And yet, the hourly front-line CM's who staff the parking structure have to deal with a similarly gory and horrifying scene fairly regularly.

 

[mickEblu]

I think that's what draws so many there; it's a rare structure in OC that is tall enough to kill you if you jump off it, and yet it's wide open on all sides and open to the public for free. Anyone can just wander in off Ball Road and take the escalator up to the 6th floor and jump.

There are hotels in OC that have open balconies many stories up, but you have to pay for a hotel room to access them.

The free and open accessibility of that rare high-rise structure in OC, plus a growing list of media stories documenting it, has made it a target for people who want to kill themselves in a public fashion. It's very odd.

But again, my heart goes out to the CM's who have to deal with that crap! Those CM's would need a lot more money and a lot more training to effectively deal with their own customers killing themselves at their workplace every year or two.

Can you imagine the outcry from the white collar cubicle crowd and their TDA bosses if every year or two someone wandered in off Ball Road and shot themselves in the head in the TDA lobby? And yet, the hourly front-line CM's who staff the parking structure have to deal with a similarly gory scene fairly regularly.

I was thinking… when someone kills themselves this way it’s like a message to someone right? You re making a statement. There has to be better ways to go.

 

[TP2000]

I was thinking… when someone kills themselves this way it’s like a message to someone right? You re making a statement. There has to be better ways to go.

I guess. The way my brain is wired, I just have never understood suicide. I had a buddy in the Service who committed suicide when he was around 22 years old. He was handsome, ladies loved him, he was funny and had lots of friends, a very good poker player, and always held his liquor well. He also had a scrappy side that helped greatly in a few bar fights with townies that my hazy brain remembers.

But he just killed himself suddenly. We were all stunned. And in those days, we never looked for answers or talked about it.

I just don't understand it at all. Brains are weird things. But to commit suicide like this at the Disneyland parking structure of all places, yeah, I imagine there's some sort of message or statement they're making to someone. It's sad... and yet so weird.

I think TDA can only take about one more of these parking structure suicides before they'll have to do something to physically secure the structure's entire perimeter from the 2nd through 6th floors.

 

[Phroobar]

"Every minute spent at DCA is a minute that could have been spent at Disneyland." - Walt Disney

Fixed that.

 

[Phroobar]

I guess. The way my brain is wired, I just have never understood suicide. I had a buddy in the Service who committed suicide when he was around 22 years old. He was handsome, ladies loved him, he was funny and had lots of friends, a very good poker player, and always held his liquor well. He also had a scrappy side that helped greatly in a few bar fights with townies that my hazy brain remembers.

But he just killed himself suddenly. We were all stunned. And in those days, we never looked for answers or talked about it.

I just don't understand it at all. Brains are weird things. But to commit suicide like this at the Disneyland parking structure of all places, yeah, I imagine there's some sort of message or statement they're making to someone. It's sad... and yet so weird.

I think TDA can only take about one more of these parking structure suicides before they'll have to do something to physically secure the structure's entire perimeter from the 2nd through 6th floors.

Strange they don't do what Universal Studios did with their parking structures and put up fencing on all the open access. It makes it harder for youtubers to take pictures of HHN construction.

 

[Parteecia]

The very smart "experts" at the weather service* have updated their forecast for SoCal this week after their return to the office today.

The snowfall predicted for Anaheim this Thursday is now down to barely 2 inches. But still half a foot of snow for Corona, so the 91 Freeway will be a parking lot of thousands of frozen and stranded cars for Thursday evening's commute. Pack your tire chains and a blanket and some granola bars if you have to take the 91 Freeway out of Orange County on Thursday!

View attachment 699716

"weather service" = GFS weather model, a service of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction which is the weather and climate predictive department within the US National Weather Service, as part of the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration branch of the US Department of Commerce.

I've got my fingers crossed that I get snow at my house. Easier than driving to the mountains to introduce my dog to it.

 

[mickEblu]

Has anyone ever got skipper Jimmy on Jungle Cruise? Older Asian gentlemen. Considerably older than any skipper I’ve ever got. He’s really good! Has an interesting delivery. Definitely Top 3 skipper I’ve ever had. Possibly the best.

 

[mickEblu]

The can of sardines formally known as the hall of changing portraits in the HM is kind of making me not want to ride HM anymore. It’s been bad lately. Just elevator loads of people down there not moving.

 

[TP2000]

I've got my fingers crossed that I get snow at my house. Easier than driving to the mountains to introduce my dog to it.

A dog's first snowfall is often hilarious. Wherever/however it happens, take pictures!

For the first time in 30 years, I bought snow tires this winter!

Although, they're a bit of an overkill, especially with how technologically superior they are to the snow tires of the 1980's. And unlike Boston and the very crummy Mass DPW, the roads here are beautifully maintained year round and cleared of snow immediately. Also unlike Boston, the light snowfall we do get here is very dry and fluffy, unlike the hard packed ice-slush of New England. My only real snow driving point of reference has been New England (awful! car destroying!), and mountain ski resort visits in the West (nerve wracking due to inexperienced drivers!).

Speaking of that, the drunken interns who were covering the National Weather Service over the holiday weekend got in trouble when the bosses finally returned to the office today.

They've suddenly revised the snow forecast for Orange County. OC is nearly snow-free the next few days, but downtown Riverside is still going to get hit with a foot of snow! Also a foot of snow at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, but only 3 inches at WDI in Glendale.

La Jolla gets only a dusting, but downtown San Diego gets two inches of snow on Friday. They should have put a dome over Petco Park!