Travel Guide
Ride The Thrilling Wild Vortex At Wilderness at the Smokies Resort
If you have a need for fast thrills and love water parks then head to the Wilderness at the Smokies Resort that features the new Wild Vortex. This is unlike any other water park ride you'll experience; with a trap door launching pad and a gravity-powered loop-the-loop experience at 2.5 g's this ride will have all the adrenaline-hungry guests lining up again and again. The Wild Vortex stands 66-foot tall, and the slide is the only near-vertical, translucent, looping waterslide in the Southeast. When you get up to the Wild Vortex you'll enter the capsule at the top of the ride, standing vertically over a trap door. Once the trap door is released, the get ready for a extreme thrill as you accelerate into a 39-foot vertical free fall before reaching the inclined loop. For the entire seven seconds of the ride you'll be in for an amazing ride you won't forget!
In addition to the Wild Vortex, Wilderness at
the Smokies is adding the adrenaline-pumping spirit of competition to its
outdoor waterslide collection with the debut of the Cyclone Racer. This
four-lane high-speed waterslide called the Cyclone Racer transforms riders
into hydro-powered drag racers. Starting on a racing tower 50 feet above the
ground you'll race each other down the spiral course in mere seconds. Along
with the popular Wild Vortex, the Cyclone Racer will feature 1200 feet of
combined waterslide lanes. Each lane combines a mixture of open flume racing
and enclosed tunnels using aqualucent striping to provide strobes of color
to the experience. A water flow of 1200 gallons per minute fuels the
high-speed racing experience.
“The Cyclone Racer will give our guests
something different to enjoy at Lake Wilderness, and will certainly get the
competitive juices flowing between family members and friends,” said Steve
Cruz, General Manager of Wilderness at the Smokies. “It will be a fantastic
complement to all of our outdoor water attractions, especially the newly
added Wild Vortex.”
Along with the exciting water park, the Wilderness at the Smokies Resort features the Adventure Forest family entertainment park, a ‘dry’ indoor park that has doubled the resort’s indoor park offerings. The Adventure Forest has three-story ropes course, a multi-level enclosed laser tag arena, mini-bowling, and black-light mini-golf. Plus, there's over than 100 arcade games, a ‘Laser Maze,’ a 23-foot climbing wall, special birthday party rooms, another restaurant and lounge, in addition to other attractions and activities that do not involve water.
Wilderness at the Smokies, located minutes from Interstate 40 and situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is one of the area’s only year-round vacation destinations. With a 36-hole championship golf course, two outdoor waterparks, an indoor waterpark with a wave pool and the Southeast’s only Surf Rider, hot tubs, and countless waterslides and attractions, Wilderness at the Smokies has something for everyone to enjoy!
By Leroy Worley
Getting There: The Wilderness at the Smokies Resort is located at 1424 Old Knoxville Highway in Sevierville, TN. To learn more about activities and plan your trip visit the The Wilderness at the Smokies Resort website at www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.com or call toll-free 1-877-325-9453.