Wilderness trip 2012

My children are students at one of the many schools to take part in Wilderness at the Smokies fundraising partnerships in the resort’s effort to broaden their reach and invite students’ families to the resort at a special rate while allotting a portion of the proceeds to the school. It’s a win-win-win; a family affordable vacation to introduce the summer, the school gets supported and the Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort in Sevierville gets publicity and a jumpstart on their busiest season. Accommodated in the Stone Hill Lodge, we were capsized in an adventurous water world. Outside our lodge was Salamander Springs Water Park which included pools, water slides, and water play place and activity tower. A shuttle took us to the River Lodge just down the hill and a skip, hop and a jump we were in the Wild WaterDome located inside the hotel. There is a wave pool, surfing, indoor tanning, indoor/outdoor hot tub and pool, water play place, three tube slides, toddler water play area, restaurants, and a tiki torch watering hole for those who want to take in a shaken not stirred beverage and a game on the flat screens. We climbed to new heights in the new attraction the Wilderness Adventure Forest, an indoor arcade complete with a rock climbing wall, two-level ropes course, bowling, gaming, laser tag, laser maze, black light mini golf, and a large climbing den play area for younger visitors. These activities give a welcome break to water logged guests and can be added to the reservation package. The Wilderness Adventure Forest creates the new concept of enjoying the great indoors with the activities of the great outdoors! I impressed my family by climbing the rock wall to the top and hitting the buzzer, perfecting my agility in the laser maze without breaking a single laser and whole heartedly braving both tiers of the ropes course. They have never seen me so athletic and versatile and learned very quickly how competitive their mama really is. Then there is Lake Wilderness outdoor water park and a beautiful 18-hole mini golf course. Lake Wilderness has a flowing river that circles you through gentle rapids, sprayers and wave pool. We noticed a flock of life guards making their way to the Lake Wilderness part of the park and since we were heading that way thought we would see what the hubbub was about. There didn’t seem to be an emergency and it turns out there wasn’t. What was happening, thought, was the new slide the Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort had planned on opening earlier hadn’t been completely tested and the life guards were invited to be the guinea pigs. “It’s insane. Insane,” one life guard said to me with an obvious adrenaline rush as he was walking back to his post in the Wild WaterDome after having been a tester of the newest addition to Wilderness at the Smokies. The tube slide, called the Wild Vortex, was approved to open to the public Sunday June 3 and its name says it all. Yours truly was one of the first guests who stepped into the capsule at the top of the tower to the Wild Vortex and standing with my head back and my arms crossed over my chest I heard from the speakers a very calm, “Four…three…two…one.” From there I felt the bottom of the capsule disappear beneath me and I, screaming, fell with the jet stream of water down the 39-foot vertical drop and arched up the sharp loop and down again and into the slender pool which acted as a speed buffer. Spiking speed with the jet water stream, gravitational pull of the vertical plummet and sleek design it took about three seconds to slide down the Wild Vortex. I agree with the life guard, it is insane. However, it is possible to get stuck in the slide as some of the other guests found out on Sunday. A common trend shared by those who got stuck are sliders who broke formation or didn’t gain enough speed to make it up the arch and they actually stagnated before making it to the loop and slipped back to the area below the vertical drop. This trend is why a secondary tower over looks the area that arches up to the loop and is monitored by another life guard who can open one of two escape hatches located near the platform to assist sliders. This was one of the reasons I was comforted enough to try such an outrageous slide and it was enough of a reason to keep my claustrophobia at bay. The Wild Vortex is, in short, Vortextremely Feral! Being a parent and having the opportunity to help our school while making these incredible memories with my family at Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort where I got to enjoy with the delight of a child all the amenities of a water theme park, imagination and adventure of the great indoors, and comfort and luxury of a four star hotel all made every bit of being a grown up (and the coolest mom ever) one of life’s major perks.