This is primarily a travel blog in which I write about traveling in our motorhome. Our travels have

Nacogdoches, TX, United States
I began this blog as a vehicle for reporting on a 47-day trip made by my wife and me in our motorhome down to the Yucatan Peninsula and back. I continued writing about our post-Yucatan travels and gradually began including non-travel related topics. I often rant about things that piss me off, such as gun violence, fracking, healthcare, education, and anything else that pushes my button. I have a photography gallery on my Smugmug site (http://rbmartiniv.smugmug.com).

Monday, October 10, 2016

When In Rome....

Since we are in Pigeon Forge, TN, the amusement park of the Smokies, we decided to do as the thousands of other tourists are doing and go to a dinner show. There are many of these productions to choose from up and down the "strip". We decided on Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede and booked tickets for yesterday's 3:30PM show, one of three shows each day. It would be an early dinner or late lunch but the traffic would be lighter at that time on a Sunday afternoon. We were told it was good to get there early and since the doors opened at 2:00PM, we left the RV park at 1:30PM and with directions in hand, waded out into the three lanes of slow moving traffic. It only took about twenty minutes to move from stoplight #3 to #8 (they are all numbered) where we turned off of the parkway. However, we missed our next turn (there was no street sign) and had to turn around and get back into line for the turn.

The parking lot was huge but we were early enough to park fairly close to the entrance. It only took about fifteen minutes waiting in line at the "will call" window to pick up our $50 (each) reserved seat tickets. We were then ushered into an area which contained about eight photo booths where pictures were taken of the guests so they could sell them to you before the show was over. We turned down the opportunity and passed on through the photo area into a huge two-story "saloon" where they gathered everyone (seating was for 1, 094 people) before letting you enter the "arena". Of course there were snacks and drinks available for purchase and a country music band to entertain us as we waited for show time. A sign at the "bar" advertised two hurricanes and popcorn for $15, which seemed to be a pretty good deal until I discovered that the "hurricanes" were alcohol-free. So it was really just two icees and a tub of popcorn for the $15. Of course we got to keep the free souvenir glasses (actually plastic).

Just prior to 3:30PM the doors were opened and everyone was moved into the horseshoe-shaped arena. It looked very much like a rodeo arena with the dirt floor. Seating was on benches at long narrow tables, which were on tiers to provide good lines of sight. A singing cowboy/Master of Ceremonies rode out into the arena and greeted everyone with cheesy jokes and divided the arena into the North and South. Each side was supposed to cheer for a team in the horsemanship competition. If you had a mouthful of food you were supposed to stomp your feet. I don't care for audience participation shows and was somewhat bored.

The thing that amazed me the most about the whole experience was how they managed to serve almost 1,100 people at the same time. The menu included a small rotisserie chicken, a slice of pork loin, half a baked potato, bowl of soup, biscuit, and a fried apple pie for dessert. Everything had to be eaten with your fingers as no utensils were provided. We heard about that before hand and smuggled in some plastic wear. They called us "cheaters".

The show and the food were "OK", but I really wish I could have seen the kitchen. That had to be quite an operation. At three shows a day, that amounted to almost 3,300 chickens and ticket sales of over $150,000 a day!

1 comment :

cantinero 46 said...

Davey Crockett had nothing on these guys!