Rowdy Bear Ridge Adventure Park is an interesting complex in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The foothills of the Smoky Mountains are filled with mountain coasters,
particularly those from Wiegand. But Rowdy Bear Ridge has two rarer coaster models from Wiegand
plus a few other attractions. But your visit may be costly. Find out why in this review!
The original Rowdy Bear Mountain Adventure Park opened less than 10 miles away in Gatlinburg.
This park has a traditional mountain coaster plus two zipline coasters.
In 2019, the company built a second location in Pigeon Forge on a hill.
It opened with a suspended coaster from Wiegand and a tubing hill,
but it has been expanded over the past few years to also include a playground, axe throwing,
and the prototype Wiegand CoasterKart. Then in 2022, a third location will
open just 1 mile down the road in Sevierville named SkyLand Ranch.
But back to Rowdy Bear Ridge, make sure you park in the correct parking lot. This complex has a
sizable free parking lot, but it can easily be mixed up with the one for Local Goat Tavern.
Although I do recommend the latter. It’s one of the best restaurants in town.
My biggest qualm with the park is the cost. The only way to ride the two coasters are to
purchase a combo wristband for nearly $30. It grants you one ride on the Laser Gun Coaster,
one ride on the Power Coaster, and a third ride on the one you liked more.
That’s quite high in my opinion for what you get. I’ve visited this complex twice and both times,
I’ve been the only person riding the coasters. I know most mountain coasters are pricey,
but they offer superior ride experiences than the two coasters at Rowdy Bear.
The Laser Gun Coaster is a funky suspended coaster. You ride in individual cars and move
through the layout at a super slow rate. It’s not the least bit thrilling. The one redeeming quality
is that each rider is given a laser gun to fire at these posts with 2D targets. It basically feels
like a dark ride minus the show building and the theming. I definitely do not recommend this ride
during the day since you can’t see what you’re shooting at. It’s a bit better at night when the
targets are easier to spot, but it still isn’t as good as your standard indoor shooting dark ride.
The Power Coaster feels like the hybrid of a mountain coaster and a bobkart. You again ride
in individual cars and are given a throttle to control your speed. Typically I go full tilt on
rides like this. I tried that on one ride and while the initial acceleration had some kick,
the rest of the ride maintained the same speed whether I was going uphill or downhill. The layout
isn’t too inspired and has minimal theming. The best part is this bunny hill with a shockingly
large drop. If you time your acceleration, you can get a little bit of weightlessness.
The ride was unique, but I prefer the thrilling descent of a standard mountain coaster.
The other amenities include axe throwing, a playground meant for kids, and a tubing
hill. The latter is a snow hill in the winter and a dry tubing experience in the summer.
I have never done it, but it’s advertised as the fastest tubing hill in the region.
So do I recommend Rowdy Bear Ridge? For tubing, maybe. But I think the two coasters
are overpriced. They’re unique, but neither excels in the thrills or visual department.
I would recommend spending money on one of the town’s mountain coasters instead.
So those are my thoughts on Rowdy Bear Ridge. I know this review was focused mostly on the
two coasters, but I suspect those are the two rides most of you are interested in.
What are your thoughts on the two coasters? Do you even consider them coasters?
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it
if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot more roller
coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!