You've

probably seen some new things at DixieLand Amusement Park

if you've driven past it this summer.

They

recently built two new miniature golf courses with a

mining theme, "The Dahlonega Challenge," to

make their park bigger and better. Of course, all of your

old favorites are still there; the go-kart tracks, the

batting cages, the arcade, the bumper boats and the lazer

tag room. Watch out for the gigantic speed bumps when you

pull in, though. They are almost like a ride themselves.

The

Dahlonega Challenge consists of two 18-hole miniature

golf courses. Most of the holes are par two and the

obstacles are built into the green instead of the props

plunked down in the middle kind. The scenery for the two

courses is that of a mining town, complete with the

colors and vegetation of the Southwest - a

waterfall, a pond and a shanty.

The pond

may have been key in attracting as many mosquitoes as

there were on a recent visit to the park. Standing water

has a tendency to do that.

The course

felt very easy and the game this reporter played for the

review went by very quickly. All of the golfers seemed to

enjoy the course, though, each golfing very relaxed and

with relative ease. The original miniature golf course is

still open and looks refurbished. The cost of playing one

of the new courses is $5; the old course fee is $4. After

the quick game of golf, we headed to the arcade.

The arcade

was jammed with racing games. It seems that with all of

the advances in technology, computerized auto racing has

benefitted the most. Many of the old favorites still had

space in the arcade, including Ms. Pac-Man, Teenage

Mutant Ninja Turtles, Operation Wolf, and NBA Jam.

A big

factor in any arcade now are games that produce tickets

and DixieLand's arcade is no exception. Skee ball,

basketball shooting games, and Whac-a-Mole all spit out

tickets for certain numbers of points.

Also in the

arcade building is the lazer tag game. The waiting area

and arena are covered in science fiction/fantasy type

pictures painted in glow-in-the-dark paint. The room is

illuminated with a black light to give off a spooky glow.

For $5, you get eight minutes in the arena with a chest

plate and a lazer gun. Participants are split into two

teams and the object is to get to the other team's base,

while shooting members of the opposing team as much as

you can.

The arena

is a maze of sorts, looking very much like a sci-fi set.

As you stalk the hallways of the darkened gaming room, a

soundtrack of alternative rock plays loudly, possibly to

mask the sounds of the person behind you. When the game

is over, each player receives a computer readout of the

standings, including hits, misses and team score.

A little

beyond the lazer arena, there is a kiddy playland area,

filled with obstacles and a ball pit. The snack bar also

is in that wing of the building.

Back

outside, the bumper boats and the go karts race wildly.

There are two tracks for the go-karts, a slick track and

a road track. The slick track is shaped like an oval and

sprayed in two spots with a hose. When the cars hit the

wet patches, mayhem ensues. It is quite common for a

go-kart to get stuck against the railing, requiring a

DixieLand employee to take to the slick track and

dislodge the kart.

The road

track is full of hairpin turns and sloping straightaways

and is more enjoyable when there are numerous other

competitors.

One thing

that was missing when I went the other night was the

bungee jump/skycoaster area. During the last few years,

the area to the left of the tracks has been lit up by a

bungee jump platform. The platform is still there but it

was not lit up and it looked as though the skycoaster was

gone. I have only ridden the skycoaster once, but part of

the amusement at DixieLand always came from watching

terrified people bungee jump or coast the sky.

It had been

awhile since I had been to DixieLand and I can honestly

say I'll be back sooner than later. Sure, there's more to

do at say, Six Flags, but you'll drop a lot less money at

DixieLand and it's a lot closer to home.

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