Pigeon Forge Delivers

New Features for 2007

Visitors have a lot to do in Pigeon Forge, including rides, entertainment, dining and shopping. Many travel to their activities via the area's trolley. Much is new for 2007 as detailed in the article below.*

What's new in Pigeon Forge this year? Well, visitors will find an eclectic mix of activities and attractions. For example, how about a hotel where it's Christmas every day of the year? Or, a new-to-North-America attraction called Zorb? 

And Dollywood has a thrilling new coaster and new waterpark elements this year. (For all the Dollywood details see our full-bodied story by freelance writer Kay Fernandez on the Theme Park page)

Pigeon Forge also has new restaurants, is expecting a new Harley-Davidson dealership with retail outlet, and three venues are celebrating their first anniversary.   

Let's Zorb

By early summer, Pigeon Forge will be the first North American site for Zorb. This peculiar attraction -- to be called Zorb Smoky Mountains -- was invented in New Zealand, the nation that gave us jetboats and bungee jumping. 

Zorb is somewhat calmer than jetboats or bungee jumping but just as exciting. Many participants find it more fun. 

Imagine a translucent plastic sphere 11 feet in diameter with an inner compartment six feet in diameter.  Then imagine yourself inside the smaller sphere while careening down a hillside. 

Add water and two other people and you're Zorbing. If you¹re lacking in imagination, see it on the Web at www.zorb.com.

Holiday and Magic Fare 

Opening in June is the Inn at Christmas Place, where the décor is holiday fare to the max. This 145-room inn, which will have meeting and conference space for up to 300 people, will reflect the picturesque mountain-village architecture of the European Alps.

The new inn is appropriately located across the road from the Incredible Christmas
Place, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year as one of Pigeon Forge's favorite retail destinations. So if you love everything Christmas, this may be the spot for a vacation.

Magic and illusions are on tap at the new Magic Beyond Belief Theater, which opened in March. Terry Evanswood is the resident magician. 

The 400-seat venue, formerly the Old Smoky Hoedown Theater, now has new lighting, a new sound system and two large video screens to display the production's sleight-of-hand tricks, illusions and other magic.

VRRROooooom and Yummmmm

Wherever Harley dealerships go, retail options follow for Harley fans. Slated for an August opening is Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, a full-service, 10,500-square-foot dealership.  It will be part of the Phase 2 project at Walden's Landing, a popular Pigeon Forge shopping and dining development.

New dining options within Pigeon Forge are also plentiful. For example, Little Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant in Teaster Crossing opened earlier this year. A Sonic Drive-in on the Parkway is set to open by Memorial Day, as is Starbucks, in Teaster Commons at the corner of the Parkway and
Christmas Tree Lane. 

A Texas Roadhouse and McAlister's Gourmet Deli both will open in July on the Parkway. A Chili's restaurant will open late this year or early next at Teaster Commons.

Celebrating Their First Birthday

If you haven't been to Pigeon Forge in more than a year, you also might not be aware of these three new venues -- all celebrating their first birthday this year. 

• The Miracle, a multi-million dollar production in a 1,700-seat theater, chronicles the life of Jesus.
• Helicopter Whirl'd Adventures is an $8 million attraction devoted to wingless
  aviation.
• WonderWorks, a $9 million attraction that combines science
  with entertainment, is an amusement park for the mind.