Matthew's Puzzle - Autism Recovery, Gluten Free, Green Living Mom Blog

We arrived at the Dollywood gates at 8:30 in the morning and there was a crisp nip to the October air. I was immediately taken with how friendly and sweet the Dollywood staff were to us. Everyone was ready to help and to engage you in conversation. Once inside the park the whole 34 of us Brandcation Bloggers headed to the bakery and enjoyed a taste of their amazing and enormous danishes and pastries. If you plan to eat breakfast at the park, make sure you come hungry because these pastries are not for the caloric-ly timid, but boy are they tasty. And I want to report that they offer pre-packaged gluten free casein free chocolate chip cookies which I brought home to the boys and whom then declared them VERY good. We quickly split into smaller groups and began to explore the park.

I was impressed with the number of artisans at Dollywood and the wide range of products you can purchase. I particularly like the sorghum syrup.  I was also impressed with how big the park itself is. There are a large number of rides and activities for the adventurous members of your party, but there is also a children’s area where the rides are geared to the kids, and there are a ton of shows which will be enjoyed by everyone. I saw Dreamland Drive-In and loved the show and the music.

I was lucky and got to be part of a Discovery Channel TV show pilot episode, where we rode the Wild Eagle (a winged roller coaster ) with the stars of the show. I was pretty nervous about riding the coaster since I suffer from motion sickness and claustrophobia, but I did great and even survived 3 trips around the track! This coaster is intense but truly a thrilling ride. That first drop is a doozy!! My friend Maria of Blogging, Babies, and the Bayou was right there with me, screaming all the way! Later I rode the Mystery Mine with my friend Joy of Joyful Musings and I will tell you that was NOT what we were expecting. I won’t spoil it for you, but boy did Joy and I get a big surprise much to the delight of our front row roller coaster riding partners; some nice folks who obviously had ridden the coaster before. Yes, they were laughing at us.

I think the thing that impressed me the most with Dollywood is the fact that they are the most food allergy friendly park I have ever seen. When we ate lunch at Ham and Beans one of the staff discussed just how focused on food allergies their food service really is. If you arrive at any of the Dollywood restaurants and tell them you have a food allergy they immediately bring out one highly trained staff member to work exclusively with you during your dining experience. That person will clean your table, removing all previously used condiment containers. Then that staff member will inform you of the meal options you have and will take your order. They will then go into the kitchen and after verifying the ingredients (they may even bring them out to you to review), they will use specifically labeled equipment that is never used for other cooking and they will prepare your meal. That same staff member will then deliver your food all in an attempt to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Plus, the food was good. They even brought us out a sample of the GFCF brownie – warmed! Did I mention I was impressed with their attention to food allergy detail?

I was provided with access to Dollywood free of charge while on Brandcation. All opinions are my own.

At my first Brandcation I was introduced to ziplining. I found it to be thrilling, exciting and invigorating so when the opportunity came up to go ziplining in Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg, I jumped on the opportunity. This time Climb Works Canopy was taking us and it would be totally different from my first experience. Climb Works Canopy does not require you to hand brake yourself, but instead they use an in-house designed braking system and a “catcher”. Thomas was our catcher. So I guess that makes Sierra our “pusher”? No, seriously, she was our guide that got us all set up and ready to zip, and helped us make a little fun of Thomas.

Video of me ziplining provided by Momma D and Da Boyz

I actually can’t say enough about the people that work at Climb Works Canopy, because they made the experience really special. Thomas and Sierra were just plain fun. I’m not sure any of us have laughed that hard before in our lives. I think they could hear us all the way into another county!

I really don’t want to give too much away, but Climb Works Canopy starts your trip out strong with, dare I say it, a death defying ride up the mountain and ends it with a little “surprise” at the end. In between it is just you, some friends, and the beauty of the Smokey Mountains. The day we went it was drizzling and the mountains were covered in the fog that gives them their smokey appearance. Since it was early October many of the trees were just turning their brilliant shades of russet and gold, so zipping through them at 30 mph was just breathtaking and somewhat surreal.

Shh, don’t tell them I told you, but if you want, they will let you try riding upside down on one of the lines. Remember don’t tell them I told you! Oh, and read the plaques on the platforms.

I loved Climb Works Canopy and if I get a chance to go back to Gatlinburg I will be heading out to see them and try out their new Night Zipping. And don’t tell my husband this, but I think they only hire good looking people to be part of their crew, because everyone we saw working there was gorgeous.  I want to put a little shout out to Sierra and Thomas, and thank them for making our trip so fantastic. I think they kind of liked us too!

Climb Works Canopy graciously hosted our ziplining for free. All opinions are genuine and my own.