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Senior Tours
Pigeon Forge, TN
In September 2018 we took a seniors bus tour to Pigeon Forge, TN. We did a lot in a short time. We are finding that the entertainers in places like Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO are just as talented and we think in most cases more talented then big name entertainers that you pay a lot more to see.
Pigeon Forge Itinerary
Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Gatlinburg
Soul Of Motown
Magic Beyond Belief
America's Hit Parade
Titanic Museum
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud
Smoky Mountain Opry
As we went from place to place we noticed things we would like to do that were not on the schedule. We decided to return to Pigeon Forge and do some of these things on our own. On our 2019 winter trip we did return to Pigeon Forge.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Gatlinburg
Some places spell the name "Smoky" and others "Smokey". We are going with the National Park Services site spelling "Smoky".
The park was formally dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in September, 1940. He spoke from the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap astride the Tennessee - North Carolina state line. On the way up to Newfound Gap we enjoyed the scenery from the bus and at the overlooks where we stopped. At Newfound Gap we got to stand with one foot in Virginia and the other foot in North Carolina, see the dedication plaque, and view more of the beautiful scenery.
The Great Smoky Mountains get their name from the constant fog coming up from the vegetation. A more complete explanation can be found at this site.
On the way to the park we passed through Gatlinburg, TN. On the way back to Pigeon Forge we stopped for a little while in Gatlinburg. We were only there for a little while so we just had a light lunch and walked around.
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Soul Of Motown
Soul Of Motown is a show at the Majestic Theater. The show features impersonations of some great Motown artists and some R&B artists that inspired the Motown sound such as The Platters and Sam Cooke. Motown artists impersonated in the show included The Drifters, Smoky Robinson, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight & the Pips. The impressionists did a great job with all the songs. The show included a gospel/hymn portion and a patriotic salute to veterans.
This is a dinner show that includes an all-you-can-eat buffet. There was a large selection to choose from and everything we opted for was really good.
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After the show most of the performers were standing along the walkway between the exit and the parking lot. As we neared the end of the line, one perform noticed Ernie's hat
and said he liked it. Ernie asked if it applied to him and he said yes. The next performer in line excitedly said "It applies to me too!" and was practically jumping up and down. Ernie gave him a hug and said, "Glad to meet you brother."
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Magic Beyond Belief
We attended a morning performance of Magic Beyond Belief. The illusionist's name is Darren Romeo. As we are not big fans of magic shows, we had not previously heard of him, but he is a well known illusionist. Some of the illusions he did were quite impressive. Since we do not try to figure out how the illusions are done, we were able to just sit back and enjoy his ability to make them look real. He also included comedy, singing, & piano playing in his act. It was a relaxing, enjoyable way to spend the morning. Though most of them came out blurry, we found some decent
pictures.
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America's Hit Parade
America's Hit Parade features jukebox hits from the 1950's & 1960's plus music from the 1970's through today's hits. The music ranges from teen idols (Bobby Darin, Fabian, Paul Anka, etc) from the 50's & 60's to The Righteous Brothers to psychedelia/flower power/bublegum/disco from the 1970's to some recent hits. Of course there was an Elvis impersonator who along with Elvis' rock hits sang some of his gospel hits. There was a patriotic tribute to veterans. Ernie thought the hit of the show was the impersonator that sang Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" in the voice and style of several famous singers. He was so good he did not have to tell us who he was impersonating. Very few impersonators try to impersonate Roy Orbison and the few we have seen try did not do very well even singing one of Roy's songs. When this impersonator did a section of "Achy Breaky Heart" as Roy, we thought we were actually hearing Roy sing it. As good as all the shows were on this trip, this was by far the best. This was another dinner/show, it was at 5:00 PM and we had eaten a large lunch so we did not eat much, but what we had was very good.
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Titanic Museum
The Titanic Museum is in a building the looks like the front half of the Titanic
. There are several artifacts in the museum that are from the Titanic. Some rooms are setup to resemble similar rooms on the Titanic. We do not have any pictures of the inside of the museum.
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Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud
The Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud is a dinner show. Unlike the other dinner shows this one is not a buffet, the food is brought to your table. The food is really good and there is plenty of it. The show consists of hokey, but very funny, comedy and country/bluegrass music.
When we first arrived we could not go in immediately, but that gave us an opportunity to walk around outside checking out the displays and barnyard. This was the most fun attraction we attended.
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Smoky Mountain Opry
The Smoky Mountain Opry is not a country music show, though some country music is included. The show consists of production numbers from a wide range of music genres. The show also includes dancing and silks acrobatics. As with all the shows in Pigeon Forge, we really enjoyed this show. This was an afternoon performance so it did not include dinner.
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jul 14 2019