We were pretty happy to hear after the fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that Ober Gatlinburg had managed to remain unscathed, especially as it is one of the main tourist stops in town. During a visit a few weeks ago, I got to ride on the Ober Gatlinburg mountain coaster as well as the alpine slide.
Both Rides Are Great For Daredevils and Chickens Alike
Pictured: me prior to any kind of thrill ride
Bruck, bruck! Yes, I am a huge coward. Rollercoasters are not my bag. But one of the benefits of both the Ober Gatlinburg mountain coaster and the alpine slide is that you can control the speed with a brake you operate with your hands. So if you wanted a more thrilling ride, you could skip the brake, save for the parts of the track where signs indicate to slow down. We were urged prior to riding the mountain coaster not to use the brakes too much, but this was mainly because it would make the ride less exciting for us.
Ober Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster Is A Bit More Pricey
Ober Gatlinburg Alpine Slide
It is $15 per person over 3 years old…..and from memory you are not permitted to ride if you are under 3 years old anyway. I rode with my 4 year old daughter, so it ended up being an expensive ride. The alpine slide, in contrast, was $7 per person, and while still a thrill ride, I was able to take my not-quite-yet-3-year-old son with me.
If You Have Vampire-Pale Skin, You Might Look Photo-shopped In The Coaster Photo
I saw the photo of my daughter and I flying down the mountain on the mountain coaster and instantly loved it and needed to buy it. There is no denying, however, that the effect of the flash on my rather pale skin makes us look like we were just photo-shopped into the pic.
“Try to look like you’re really riding it!”
A friend who has previously got up to some mischief with my photos asked if she could make it look “more fake”. I told her to do her worst.
Was not disappointed.
What could make this ride more thrilling? Frickin’ sharks!!!
No, make that frickin’ dinosaurs!
(My site contains some affiliate links and ads, from which I can earn commission. So far it is making me an Centenaire, but I dream of someday being – a Dollaraire! Feel free to buy through my links to help me reach this lofty goal).
I am an Aussie currently enjoying my time as a non-resident legal alien in the US. You can find me on Facebook and I have also just started lurking around Twitter and Instagram. Come lurk with me!
Damn Bella! Is Edward in the car behind you? You aren’t kidding. It does look like you guys were photo-shopped in. Looks like fun though. I’d like to try that Alpine Slide.
*Disclaimer – I’m not a Twilight fan. Just saw parts of the movies because my wife is a fan. Not sure why I felt I needed to make that clear, but I did.
A friend of mine had a Twilight drink bottle that he got for free during a visit to the movies (not even to see Twilight) and we teased him mercilessly for it 😀
If you don’t think it’s a problem you can leave it up and you are welcome. 🙂
I deleted it just in case but saved the pic for me 🙂
Your skin really does look especially fabulous in that picture. The dinosaur one is definitely my favorite!
My fave is the sharks but the pic isn’t as good quality as the dinosaur. The sharks look so ridiculous, she even put one on the coaster with us and it was so small I didn’t notice it!
I think the sharks really make for a good souvenir photo. They should just print them out that way for people.
I’m considering making that pic the new cover photo for my site, it fits me much more than the (lovely) current one.
Normally roller coasters aren’t my bag either (although now I’ve got James Brown’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” stuck in my head, thank you very much) but the Mountain Coaster looks fun and it looks like you and your daughter are both having a good time.
The sharks are just icing on the cake.
Actually the sharks look less scary than that chair lift thing in the background.
We stupidly took our 2 year old son on a chairlift there to get to a lookout last winter and he spent the entire time trying to throw himself off it. Last time I rode a proper rollercoaster I spent a significant part of the ride yelling out stuff like “I HATE THIS!!!!” “I WANT THIS TO BE OVER!!!”
I love riding these coasters! I rode one when John and I went back in 2015 for New Years. We didn’t use the brakes either! Also, I love those photoshop pictures!
I used the brakes a little. I was scared, dammit!