Tag: Family Vacation

Titanic Museum Attraction will open in less than a week

Posted by Rick Laney – April 2, 2010

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – The new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. will open in less than a week 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 on board the Titanic and includes a christening of the ship.

The weekend-long Grand Opening Celebration at the new Titanic Museum Attraction includes the christening by Philbin, a free concert by country music legend Neal McCoy, a free concert by Beatles cover band Liverpool Legends (hand-picked and managed by George Harrison’s sister), nightly fireworks displays and special events and performances through Sunday, April 11.

Titanic Museum Attraction 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 Attraction, visitors find full-size reproductions (built to actual Titanic blueprints) of Third-Class quarters, a First-Class suite, dining rooms and – the museum’s centerpiece – a $1 million exact reproduction of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase. The First-Class suite in the Titanic Museum Attraction, which is dedicated to Isidor and Ida Straus who co-owned Macy’s Department Stores, was also the cabin used in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic as Rose’s suite.

A third class cabin

In addition to being a world class museum in the truest sense of the word, Titanic Museum Attraction 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 90-minute 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”
  • 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 eight years and younger explore the special interactive Tot-Titanic Play-and-Learn Room
  • Dive to Titanic’s wreck site via spectacular underwater camera footage

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 Attraction, which will open April 8 after 3 p.m. (invited guests will tour the Titanic prior to 3 p.m.), are now available online at www.TitanicPigeonForge.com. (Note: The outdoor Grand Opening and christening are free and open to the public, but admission to the Titanic Museum Attraction requires a ticket.)

A master key to the Titanic's first class suites

The Titanic Museum Attraction will be open seven day a week from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Cedar Bay Entertainment is a privately owned entertainment and development company headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the 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

Wilderness at the Smokies to open new Runaway Canyon indoor waterslide in November

Posted by Rick Laney – October 28, 2009

Sevierville, Tenn. – Wilderness at the Smokies in Sevierville, the southeast’s largest indoor and outdoor waterpark resort, will open its newest attraction, Runaway Canyon, in November.  Runaway Canyon will be located in the Wild WaterDome indoor waterpark at Wilderness at the Smokies.

RunawayCanyonSmallRunaway Canyon is a five-story high enclosed waterslide measuring more than 450-feet and featuring a total drop of almost 60-feet.  Using more than 8,000 gallons of water per minute, Runaway Canyon propels up to four people in rafts through a series of exciting, totally enclosed twists, turns and drops.

Runaway Canyon sends entire families rocketing through winding channels and gargantuan tunnels.  This dark journey has you blasting through water curtains, climbing high onto steeply-banked walls, and leaning into explosive turns, 360-degree loops and pulse-pounding dips.  Runaway Canyon features themed lighting, music and sound effects that provide the ultimate family thrill.

General Manager David McGregor said Runaway Canyon represents an additional local investment by Wilderness at the Smokies of more than $1 million.

“Our guests are going to love Runaway Canyon,” McGregor said.  “It is an exciting slide for the entire family.  We’re so excited about it and can’t wait until it opens in coming weeks.  Guests are going to recognize that Wilderness at the Smokies plans to give them something new every time they come to stay with us.”

The name “Runaway Canyon” was selected by fifth grade students at Catlettsburg Elementary School in Sevierville.  With the help of Principal Jerry L. Wear, Wilderness at the Smokies asked students to help them pick the name of the new attraction.  As a reward for selecting the name, fifth graders from Catlettsburg Elementary will be among the first people to experience Runaway Canyon when it opens.

Wilderness at the Smokies resort opened in June 2008 with the Stone Hill Lodge and Salamander Springs outdoor waterpark.  Six months later, River Lodge and the 60,000-square-foot Wild WaterDome indoor waterpark were added.  In May 2009, Wilderness at the Smokies expanded again with the addition of Lake Wilderness, the resort’s second outdoor waterpark.  Lake Wilderness features Cataloochee Creek Adventure River, the Wilderness Rapids Wave Pool and a set of poolside cabanas.

Wilderness at the Smokies, located minutes from Interstate 40 and situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is establishing a new standard for family vacations to East Tennessee.  With two outdoor waterparks, an indoor waterpark with a wave pool and surf rider, hot tubs, and countless waterslides and attractions, Wilderness at the Smokies has something for all age groups.  For more information about Wilderness at the Smokies, visit www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.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