Category: Titanic

Regis Philbin will christen Titanic Museum Attraction on Thursday, April 8 with descendants of those on board

Posted by Rick Laney – February 16, 2010

Regis Philbin

Regis Philbin

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – The new $25 million dollar permanent Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. will open on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 10 a.m. with a star-studded Grand Opening hosted by Regis Philbin.  The event, which is open to the public, also will be attended by descendants and family members of those onboard the Titanic and includes a christening of the ship.

Philbin, best known for his television shows including Live With Regis & Kelly (Kathie Lee) and Who Wants to be A Millionaire, will serve as master of ceremonies during the Grand Opening.  Philbin’s television career started more than 50 years ago when he was a reporter in San Diego.  Since that time, he has become a national fixture with a string of Emmy Award-winning shows.  The christening and Grand Opening events, which take place outside of the Titanic Museum Attraction, are free and open to the public.

Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge is a half-scale, permanent, three-deck reproduction of the Titanic.  The museum houses 20 galleries to display hundreds of authentic, priceless Titanic artifacts that were either carried from the ship and into lifeboats by passengers and crew, or were found afloat soon after the sinking and quickly salvaged by rescue boats.

Inside the Titanic Museum, visitors find full-size reproductions (built to actual Titanic blueprints) of a First Class suite, First Class hallways, Third Class accommodations and – the museum’s centerpiece – a $1 million exact reproduction of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase.  The First Class suite will be a tribute to Isidor and Ida Straus, owners of Macy’s Department Stores, which  was also the cabin used in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic as Rose’s suite.

“We pay respect to Titanic by telling the story of the ship and her passengers,” said John Joslyn, owner of the new Titanic Museum Attraction.  “Visitors learn the individual stories of those onboard the ship as they are learning about the ship itself.  We have spent years researching these people – and their stories are absolutely amazing.

“In addition to an unparalleled collection of artifacts, we have built the Titanic Museum as a completely interactive attraction.  You hear the wonderful stories as you’re going through the museum, but you are also experiencing things the way they were in 1912 when Titanic sailed.  It’s one thing to hear about the men who shoveled coal into the boilers – but it comes to life for you when you pick up that shovel and feel what it means to shovel coal into a furnace.”

A gallery in Titanic Museum Attration

A gallery in Titanic Museum Attration

In addition to being a world class museum in the truest sense of the word, Titanic Pigeon Forge is also highly interactive and offers a hands-on experience for children, teenagers and adults.  The ship is anchored in water to create the illusion of Titanic at sea, and a two hour self-guided tour gives guests the sensation of sailing on the original ship’s 1912 maiden voyage. Upon entry, each guest receives a boarding pass bearing the name of an actual Titanic passenger or crew member whose fate is revealed on the Memorial Wall at tour end. Along the way, powerful emotions surface as guests:

  • Walk Titanic’s Grand Staircase
  • Touch the frozen surface of an “iceberg”
  • Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night”
  • Test the 28 degree water
  • Interact with various Titanic models
  • Grip the ship’s wheel and follow the Captain’s command
  • Tour world-class galleries and the 300 rare historical artifacts
  • Sit in a Titanic lifeboat and listen to actual survivors tell their stories
  • Send an SOS from the Marconi Wireless Room
  • Test their balance while standing on mini-decks built to show the ever-steeper slope of Titanic as she sank
  • Watch children eight years and younger explore the special interactive TOT-Titanic Play-and-Learn Room.  1) steer a ship  2) Meet the Titanic Polar Bear 3) build the Titanic ship
  • Dive to Titanic’s wreck site via spectacular underwater camera footage from the owner who put the second Titanic expedition together and produced the first Titanic TV special.

The Titanic Museum Attraction Grand Opening event begins on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 10 a.m. and continues with special events and celebrity guest appearances throughout the weekend.  Tickets to the new Titanic Museum, which will open April 8, are now available online at www.TitanicPigeonForge.com.  (Note: The outdoor Grand Opening and christening is free and open to the public, but admission to the Titanic Museum Attraction requires a ticket.)

Cedar Bay Entertainment is a privately owned entertainment and development company headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the original site of Cedar Bay’s first Titanic Museum Attraction.  Since its April 2006 grand opening, it has welcomed more than 2,000,000 guests.

###

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge launches national search for ship’s legendary commander

Posted by Rick Laney – November 10, 2009

LogoPigeon Forge, Tennessee –  He’s out there somewhere—a tall, distinguished  middle-aged gentleman with a nicely trimmed grey beard and a quiet flamboyance.  The search is on:  Titanic Pigeon Forge is looking for a special actor to fill the shoes of the legendary Captain Edward J. Smith.  This full-time position starts in March 2010. 

Once finished, Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge will employ approximately 75 crew members and staff.

Captain Edward Smith

Captain Edward Smith

“Captain Smith will be the most important crew member at our new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee,” said Titanic Museum owner John Joslyn.  “He’ll serve as the official greeter, will officiate in special Titanic events, and he’ll also help recreate the formal elegance and style that was Titanic.”  Joslyn, also president of Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC, said the Captain Smith cast member is one of the most public faces of the Titanic Museum Attraction.

“It’s important for applicants to eventually have an extensive knowledge of both Titanic’s history and its legacy,” Joslyn said.  “We are committed to accuracy and recreating the environment on board the Titanic.  Captain Smith is a huge part of that experience for our guests.” 

If you fit the bill, please mail your resume and a photo to Officer D. Brown, Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC, 3027 W. 76 Country Blvd. – Suite G, Branson, MO 65616 or email them to CaptainSmith@TitanicPigeonForge.com

Captain Edward Smith on board the Titanic

Captain Edward Smith on board the Titanic

With an April 2010 launch date, Titanic Pigeon Forge will be filling a number of exciting positions.  Casting decisions for Captain Smith and the ship’s regular crew members will begin the first of March.

Titanic Museum Attraction is a celebration of the ship, her passengers and crew.  Guests will get to know the passengers and crew in the galleries where over 400 priceless personal and private artifacts are on display. Each artifact has a unique story that relates directly to a passenger or crew member.

As guests enter the world of the Titanic, they will be given a passenger boarding ticket. On this ticket is the name of an actual Titanic passenger or crew member and the class they were traveling.  Guests will learn that individual’s story and, in the Titanic Memorial Room, they will find out the fate of their ticketed passenger.

During the approximately 90-minute self-guided tour, guests say they experience powerful emotions as they:

  • View hundreds of artifacts
  • Learn about the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the personal stories of its passengers
  • Walk the Grand Staircase
  • Touch the frozen surface of an “iceberg”
  • Listen to survivors’ stories as they sit in actual lifeboats
  • Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night”
  • Stand on the mighty ship’s bridge and hear the Captain’s commands
  • View life onboard, see a First Class Stateroom and a Third Class cabin
  • Explore world-class gallery rooms with rare historical artifacts
  • Try to send an SOS signal from the ship’s wireless communications room
  • View an exclusive exhibit of the only known interior and exterior Titanic photos
  • Visitors to the new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge can expect to see Titanic in a whole new light. Unlike traveling exhibits, Titanic in the Smokies is a permanent three-story, $25 million museum attraction shaped like Titanic herself.  The signature building will be built half-scale to the original Titanic and towers 100 feet above the Parkway.  The structure is anchored in water to create the illusion of the Titanic at sea.  Construction photos are updated weekly at www.TitanicPigeonForge.com.

Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC, is a privately owned entertainment and development company headquartered in Branson, Missouri, also home to Cedar Bay’s first Titanic Museum Attraction, which has welcomed more than 1.6 million guests since its April 2006 grand opening.  For more information about Captain Smith or the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, visit www.TitanicPigeonForge.com.

A free Titanic Museum preview center is now open daily at 2134 Parkway in Pigeon Forge. 

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

New Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge is getting attention half way across the country

Posted by Rick Laney – November 3, 2009

John Joslyn

John Joslyn

Springfield, Missouri – The new Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. has people talking in Missouri. This week, Titanic Museum owner John Joslyn was featured in a Springfield Business Journal story about the famous ship that is dropping anchor in East Tennessee.

The article by Matt Wagner says, “The second Titanic attraction is a $25 million endeavor that will be larger and more interactive than its sister ship in the Ozarks.” Opened in 2006, the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri quickly became one of Branson’s most popular attractions.

The Springfield Business Journal says there is one big difference in Pigeon Forge and Branson. “While Pigeon Forge has fewer permanent residents than Branson, the town of 5,800 is inundated with some 11 million tourists each year. Branson, in contrast, sees about 8 million visitors annually. Cedar Bay’s projected first-year attendance at Titanic Pigeon Forge: 750,000 people.”

Those who have traveled through Pigeon Forge in recent months have seen the half-scale replica of the Titanic rising high above the Parkway. A free preview center is open every day in front of the construction site which provides visitors with a sneak peek at all the attraction will offer. Once completed, guests at the Titanic Museum will:

A gallery in the Titanic Museum

A gallery in the Titanic Museum

• Walk Titanic’s Grand Staircase

• Touch the frozen surface of an “iceberg”

• Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night

• Study some of the largest, most detailed Titanic models ever built

• Grip the ship’s wheel and follow the Captain’s commands

• Tour world-class galleries and the rare historical artifacts they hold

• Sit in a Titanic lifeboat and listen to actual survivors tell their stories

• Send an SOS from the Marconi Wireless Room

• Test their balance while standing on mini-decks built to show the ever-steeper slope of Titanic as she sank

• Watch children six years and younger explore the special interactive Titanic Tot Play-and-Learn Room

• Dive to Titanic’s wreck site via spectacular underwater camera footage

Leon Downey, Executive Director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, said in the Springfield Business Journal story that he is looking forward to the opening of the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge next April.  Downey said if the crowds that are showing up every day at the free Titanic Preview Center are any indication, the Titanic will meet its first year attendance projections of 750,000 guests.  “Titanic blew me away,” Downey said.  “It’s a first-class attraction.”

For more information about the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, visit www.TitanicPigeonForge.com.

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Passengers and crew members of Titanic will be remembered at new attraction in Pigeon Forge

Posted by Rick Laney – October 20, 2009

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee – Passengers and crew members of the Titanic will be the focus of the new $25 million Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. Beth Haynes of WBIR television explains what vistors will experience as they tour the museum when it opens early next year.

Click picture to watch video on WBIR

Click picture to watch video on WBIR

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge is making waves

Posted by Rick Laney – October 20, 2009

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee — The new Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge is making waves and drawing attention as it towers above the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.  Scheduled to open next April, the Titanic Museum will be a permanent tribute to the ship and its passengers. Knoxville’s WATE television featured the Titanic and its owner, John Joslyn in this report.

Click picture to watch video on WATE

Click picture to watch video on WATE

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge is moving full speed ahead

Posted by Rick Laney – October 9, 2009

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. — The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge is taking shape quickly.  In recent weeks, the number of visitors to the attraction’s free Preview Trailer has steadily increased.  In anticipation of the Titanic Museum’s grand opening in early 2010, visitors are getting a sneak peek at what guests will experience when the Titanic Museum opens next year.  Visit www.titanicpigeonforge.com for more information.

Constructiono1

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Ackermann PR will launch the Titanic

Posted by Rick Laney – September 15, 2009

Titanic Branson

Knoxville, Tenn. — Something exciting is about to set sail in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. and Ackermann PR is going to help launch it.  The new $25 million Titanic Museum Attraction has hired Ackermann PR of Knoxville to provide strategy and manage its public and media relations activities.

Thanks to owners John Joslyn and Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, the great Titanic story lives on. A towering symbol of hope and courage is literally being recreated in all its splendor at 2134 Parkway in Pigeon Forge.  The 30,000-square foot ship-shaped structure is already visible next to the Black Bear Jamboree.  The only other permanent Titanic Museum Attraction is located in Branson, Mo. and is also owned by the Joslyns.  Since opening in 2006, more than 1.6 million visitors have toured the museum.

“I had the privilege of touring the Titanic Museum in Branson,” said Cathy Ackermann, founder and president of Ackermann PR.  “It is an incredible, first-class museum unlike anything else we have here in East Tennessee.  I felt as if I truly got to know some of the passengers and what their experience was like on board the Titanic.”

Titanic Museum Attraction is a celebration of the ship, her passengers and crew.  Guests will get to know the passengers and crew in the galleries where over 400 priceless personal and private artifacts are on display. Each artifact has a unique story that relates directly to a passenger or crew member.

As guests enter the world of the Titanic, they will be given a passenger boarding ticket. On this ticket is the name of an actual Titanic passenger or crew member and the class they were traveling.  Guests will learn that individual’s story and, in the Titanic Memorial Room, they will find out the fate of their ticketed passenger.

During the approximately 90-minute self-guided tour, guests say they experience powerful emotions as they:

  • View hundreds of artifacts
  • Learn about the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the personal stories of its passengers
  • Walk the Grand Staircase
  • Touch the frozen surface of an “iceberg”
  • Listen to survivors’ stories as they sit in actual lifeboats
  • Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night”
  • Stand on the mighty ship’s bridge and hear the Captain’s commands
  • View life onboard, see a First Class Stateroom and a Third Class cabin
  • Explore world-class gallery rooms with rare historical artifacts
  • Try to send an SOS signal from the ship’s wireless communications room
  • View an exclusive exhibit of the only known interior and exterior Titanic photos

Visitors to the new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge can expect to see Titanic in a whole new light. Unlike traveling exhibits, Titanic in the Smokies is a permanent three-story museum attraction shaped like Titanic herself.  Titanic RenderingThe signature building will be built half-scale to the original Titanic and towers 100 feet above the Parkway.  The structure is anchored in water to create the illusion of the Titanic at sea.  Construction photos are updated weekly at www.TitanicPigeonForge.com.

For nearly 30 years, Ackermann PR has worked for some of the nation’s largest, most successful companies and organizations.  Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Ackermann PR is a full-service public relations and marketing firm providing strategic planning, research, marketing, account management, graphic design, media relations, crisis communications, writing, social networking and online/database management services.  Ackermann is ranked by PRWeek and the Council of PR Firms as one of the top 100 firms in the United States (one of only three in the state of Tennessee).

The new Titanic Museum is set to open next spring.  For more information, visit www.TitanicPigeonForge.com or www.AckermannPR.com.

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com