Driving down the strip in Pigeon Forge, we spotted what looked like a really cool attraction. It was the Jurassic Jungle Boat and it looks really neat from the outside. MT was a little apprehensive about it, but we assured her that it was similar to the Scooby Doo tunnel ride at Six Flags; a little dark, maybe a little spooky but nothing scary, it is just dinosaurs, no biggie. TB was pretty excited about it because he had done nothing but talk about Dinosaur World (another review coming up soon) so this was like a preview of a later event for him.
The outside of the building had a few small dinosaurs that moved a little but nothing too intense. We asked about whether people would get wet on the ride and if it was scary and were assured that there might be a splash of water and that it was absolutely not scary. We paid the $13 per adult and hopped on the boat. Our first clue that all was not as it seemed should have been the fact that the "tourists" standing and checking out the ride, were actually mannequins.
The ride started and the first thing that happened was all the lights went off. Not a happy beginning but then some ground lights came on and there was an innocent looking plant eating dinosaur. Just as everyone was looking in that direction, the music changed and the lights came on on the other side, to show a meat eater stalking the plant eater. Pretty standard dinosaur stuff. The boat continued on, into further blackness, were suddenly something that looked like a mutant saber tooth tiger leapt out of the wall above the heads of the people on the right side of the boat (including TB). By this time, the kids were both pretty scared but we assured them that it was ok and nothing would hurt them. As we continued through the hurky jerky ride, in near total darkness, we encountered larger and scarier "dinosaurs", most of which looked nothing like dinosaurs. Several looked more like winged demons. At one point, you encounter a small dinosaur who spits water on the boat, you continue along to encounter giant snakes, spiders, a larger spitting dinosaur who splashes some foul water in the faces of the most of the boat and a gigantic "pterodactyl" who seems to be commanding minions to attack boats of people. The final moments of the ride involve the boat pulling up to the exit doors and then rising up on a lift until you feel like you are about to tip over. Once your boat is several feet in the air, a large dinosaur head pops out o the wall near your head and sticks out it's forked tongue and roars for what felt like minutes.
About the time we hit the small spitter (not quite halfway through the ride) both kids were completely terrified. They were both sobbing and crying and TB had his head buried in my side with both hands clamped over his eyes and begged me to cover his ears. By the time we finally made it to the car, he was mess and cried most of the way back to the hotel and talked about how scary it was the whole rest of the trip.
Overall, this ride was terrible. It cost too much, it wasn't fun or interesting for the adults, it terrified the kids and it was terribly maintained. Several of the creatures had holes, a lot of the lighting didn't work properly, etc. This attraction gets 1 star and I recommend you stay far far away from it should you have the opportunity to visit Pigeon Forge.
Showing posts with label 1 star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 star. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Cakes on Walnut
We visited Cakes on Walnut the other night for book club. We got there about 8 o'clock and there was one other group in the place. It was nice to basically have the place to ourselves and we all hopped in line for food and drinks.
Starting out, Cakes on Walnut has a few marks against. First of all, it is in my second least favorite part of town (downtown, first is campus). Because of it's location, there is little or no parking, which is another black mark. There are various parking lots in the area and if it had been daylight or I had been with a group, I would have felt more comfortable walking a further distance. As it was, it was 8 pm and I was alone and wanted to park as close as possible. Finally, there were no signs identifying what the place was. I circled the block 3 different times looking for it, until I finally saw a car I recognized and figured it had to be close by.
My next issue was that they were out of everything I ordered(mini Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake, Japanese Cherry and Earl Grey tea). I was able to make substitutions but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Of course, we were there at 8pm but if they are open, I expect them to have a full selection available. I was also unimpressed with the service and the knowledge of the products by the employee. She moved very slowly and despite the fact that we were nearly the only people in the place, managed to develop quite a long line. I also realize that tea isn't their main product, but if they sell it, their employees should know some tea basics. Like that strawberry white probably isn't the closest to the Japanese Cherry black. Just because they have fruit flavors, doesn't make them the same or even close.
The tea also had some problems. It is brewed hot and poured over ice to make iced tea. This has two issues. One, it melts all the ice in the cup, leaving you with tepid tea and no ice. The other problem is that it melts all the ice and waters down the tea. I will occasionally make tea that way home but I know to make it stronger than normal and use a ton of ice.
In short, not the place to go for tea.
I got a small Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake which is a cinnamon cupcake topped with chocolate icing. The cake was quite dry. It could be just the way they are or it could have been because we there at 8 at night and the cupcakes had been sitting out all day. Either way, I could have done without the cupcake. The icing was absolutely delish though! It was a light, whipped icing and was not too sweet.
The cost was really high too. The small cupcake is $2.75 (the mini is only $1) and the tea was $2.50. That is about on par for other coffee shops in the area but for that kind of price I expect something better than what I can make at home.
In my opinion, you should save yourself the hassle of trying to park downtown, grab a six pack of cupcakes from the grocery store (or make yourself a couple dozen at home), hit Walnut Street Tea Company and get yourself a whole box of Twinnings flavored tea for the same price as one cupcake and glass of iced tea. Share it with someone you love.
Final verdict? 1 stars because the icing was fantastic. It merits a star all on it's own and carries the whole place
Starting out, Cakes on Walnut has a few marks against. First of all, it is in my second least favorite part of town (downtown, first is campus). Because of it's location, there is little or no parking, which is another black mark. There are various parking lots in the area and if it had been daylight or I had been with a group, I would have felt more comfortable walking a further distance. As it was, it was 8 pm and I was alone and wanted to park as close as possible. Finally, there were no signs identifying what the place was. I circled the block 3 different times looking for it, until I finally saw a car I recognized and figured it had to be close by.
My next issue was that they were out of everything I ordered(mini Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake, Japanese Cherry and Earl Grey tea). I was able to make substitutions but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Of course, we were there at 8pm but if they are open, I expect them to have a full selection available. I was also unimpressed with the service and the knowledge of the products by the employee. She moved very slowly and despite the fact that we were nearly the only people in the place, managed to develop quite a long line. I also realize that tea isn't their main product, but if they sell it, their employees should know some tea basics. Like that strawberry white probably isn't the closest to the Japanese Cherry black. Just because they have fruit flavors, doesn't make them the same or even close.
The tea also had some problems. It is brewed hot and poured over ice to make iced tea. This has two issues. One, it melts all the ice in the cup, leaving you with tepid tea and no ice. The other problem is that it melts all the ice and waters down the tea. I will occasionally make tea that way home but I know to make it stronger than normal and use a ton of ice.
In short, not the place to go for tea.
I got a small Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake which is a cinnamon cupcake topped with chocolate icing. The cake was quite dry. It could be just the way they are or it could have been because we there at 8 at night and the cupcakes had been sitting out all day. Either way, I could have done without the cupcake. The icing was absolutely delish though! It was a light, whipped icing and was not too sweet.
The cost was really high too. The small cupcake is $2.75 (the mini is only $1) and the tea was $2.50. That is about on par for other coffee shops in the area but for that kind of price I expect something better than what I can make at home.
In my opinion, you should save yourself the hassle of trying to park downtown, grab a six pack of cupcakes from the grocery store (or make yourself a couple dozen at home), hit Walnut Street Tea Company and get yourself a whole box of Twinnings flavored tea for the same price as one cupcake and glass of iced tea. Share it with someone you love.
Final verdict? 1 stars because the icing was fantastic. It merits a star all on it's own and carries the whole place
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