Great Smoky Mountain Railroad - Winter Excursions

Unless you have taken the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad December Polar Express trip, you might find a train ride an odd suggestion for the winter months. Yet the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad takes riders right into the Smoky Mountains for an up-close look at nature's beauty. Taking the train while the leaves are absent and the mountains deceptively dormant-seeming allows riders to appreciate the foundation of spring, summer and fall's loveliness.

And when the mountain is revealed without its cloak of many colors, we see the shape and texture of the land, the craggy rocks, the forest floor carpeted by years and layers of decaying leaves feeding the generations to come.

The January excursion is a four-hour trip from Bryson City to the Nantahala Gorge with a 30-minute layover. Only available on Saturdays, the trip has an 11 a.m. departure time. In March, the expanded schedule begins again. Also in March, the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad will start offering first-class seating, a new perk.
 
Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, Bryson City, (800) 872-4681.



From the Winston Journal

Celebrate New Years At Gatlinburg Space Needle Ball Drop

Gatlinburg New Years Eve Ball Drop  12/31/10            


Don’t miss out on our New Year’s Eve street party. Come bring in the New Year with thousands at Gatlinburg’s New Year’s Eve Ball Drop and Pyrotechnics Show!

Celebrate and mingle with partygoers while watching the New Years Eve countdown clock and lighted ball drop bring in the New Year.

This event continues to grow each year with a live band and an exciting pyrotechnic fireworks show planned right after the ball drop at midnight. Cost of admission to this event-FREE!

More info on the Gatlinburg Space Needle

Christmas Light Show-Smokies Stadium

Synchronized Christmas Light Display - Sevierville, TN I-40 Exit 407 at the Smokies Baseball Stadium. Light Shows -Nightly 6:00 - 10:00pm till January 2, 2010


Fully computerized LED lighted displays will light the route along with holiday tunes. The route is nearly a mile long and lasts approximately 20 minutes. Hours are 6p.m.-10p.m. or later daily.


FREE Local Discount Card with Admission! Valid all year! 1 Per Vehicle. Extra cards $10

Admission as follows for 2010:

Cars or Family Vans (Mon-Thurs)……………………………$13.67 + Tax = $15

Cars or Family Vans (Fri-Sun, Holidays, & Dec 20-23)….$18.23 + Tax = $20

Activity Van, Limo, and Mini/Half Bus……………………….$27.34 + Tax = $30

Tour/School Bus…………………………………………………$68.34 + Tax = $75

New this year! Santa’s Village with petting zoo, pony and camel rides, photos with Santa, a Christmas Tree lot, and festive refreshments including Hot Cocoa, Apple Cider, Funnel Cakes, Christmas Cookies, Pizza, Kettle Corn and so, so much more!!!

The Christmas Wonderland is an award-winning drive-through and light show that is the largest of its kind in the country. Featuring hundreds of thousands of LED lights dynamically synchronized and dancing to the music, this experience is sure to be something you and your family won't soon forget!

For additional information, please contact Shadrack at (423) 652-0120 or visit the company's Christmas Wonderland page here 

The Pigeon Forge Titanic- Christmas In A Winter Wonderland

Every Friday and Saturday Evening at 7pm.  

November 13, 2010-January 1, 2011
Free in Parking Lot - Bring your Cameras!

It will snow this holiday season in Pigeon Forge; Titanic Museum Attraction guarantees it. Starting Saturday, November 13, it will snow – yes, REAL snow – at the Titanic every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00pm through January 1, 2011. The snow is part of the museum’s “Christmas in a Winter Wonderland,” which is dedicated to honoring and celebrating the lives of the 2,208 passengers and crew of the Titanic.

Titanic Museum Attraction co-owner Mary Kellogg-Joslyn is pulling out all the stops this Christmas and invested $150,000 in snow equipment (the same equipment used to make it snow at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom every Christmas) that will produce real, falling snow every weekend at the museum. An additional $100,000 will be spent on Christmas trees, lights and decorations that will decorate the interior and exterior of the Titanic Museum Attraction.

“Everything about our Christmas in a Winter Wonderland Celebration is aimed at giving our visitors and their families a unique, memorable holiday experience. A memory that will last forever – and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?”

For reservations call 800-381-7670 or visit the Titantic website