Earthquake The Ride is a subway car, a dark tunnel beneath the Parkway, and a disaster movie happening around you — quakes, floods, fire, a gorilla, and effects timed like a vaudeville routine. It has survived in Gatlinburg for decades on the strength of being gloriously, knowingly terrible. The Carpetbagger's verdict (the only ride of its kind in America, completely deranged, he rode it twice) is representative of the cult that keeps it running.

Watch: first looks

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Earthquake The Ride - Full Experience / Front Seat Train Attraction Ride Thru (Multiple Times)

TheDailyWoo

TheDailyWoo's definitive 2018 full experience - front-seat ride-throughs, more than once: the subway train, the oncoming-train crash, the fire, the caved-in ceiling, and the gorilla reaching out for the car - with a Space Needle overview of the Parkway to set the scene.

Key takeaways
  • Ride it more than once - the scenes reward a second pass
  • The gorilla is the set piece everyone remembers
  • Pair it with the Space Needle across the Parkway for the full Woo route

Earthquake The Ride - Gatlinburg,TN - W/AdamTheWoo

Never Too Late

Never Too Late ride it a few times with Adam the Woo in November 2018 (the same week as his own full experience, also on this page) to catch everything the ride throws at you, plus a rainy-day Space Needle view. (The only caption track is a Bengali auto-translation; loads as watch content.)

Earthquake: The Ride in Gatlinburg – The Worst Theme Park Ride in the World! #gatlinburg

The No Pants Show

The No Pants Show's 2025 prosecution of 'the worst theme park ride in the world': the gypsy out front, the frozen mannequins, and the ride itself - a group of friends making the case, laughing the whole way through the disaster.

Key takeaways
  • Its defenders and prosecutors agree: it's gloriously strange
  • The mannequin scenes are part of the legend
  • Go with friends who can laugh at a disaster

The experience

Board the subway car in the fake station; the car shakes, tilts and gets menaced for a few minutes of practical-effects chaos. The complete-ride POV films the entire thing — usually discouraged on rides, tolerated here because the ride is its own advertisement. The local vlog's full visit weighs the ticket against the laughs; the quick-review film is the short version: cheap, short, unforgettable in a specific way.

Who it is for

Kitsch collectors, rainy-day passers, groups with twenty minutes and a sense of humor. It is not a thrill ride; it is a piece of surviving roadside theater, and Gatlinburg — a town that keeps its old attractions alive — wears it proudly. The films that call it 'so bad it's good' are compliments in this town's dialect.

Watch: more views

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

My First Time on Earthquake The Ride in Gatlinburg, TN! Full Experience, Front Seat!

NatashaVentures

NatashaVentures' first ride in 2024, front seat: buckled in alone at first, then the jammed throttle, the train crash, the fire, the random gorilla and the caved-in ceiling - 'that was so fun' by the end.

Key takeaways
  • First-timers: buckle up, literally - they check
  • The crash-and-fire sequence is the peak
  • Verdict from a skeptic going in: 'that was so fun'

THE MOST UNHINGED DARK RIDE?! Earthquake: The Ride in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

ThemeParks by Natti

ThemeParks by Natti's 2024 POV of 'the most unhinged dark ride I have ever been on': a Universal-inspired disaster ride jolting through its strange scenes. (No usable caption track exists for this film; it loads as watch content.)

Earthquake The Ride - Full POV - Gatlinburg, Tennessee 2020

Theme Park Shark

Theme Park Shark's full POV from December 2020 - the ride in its post-2019-revamp form, beginning to end. (Watch content; no transcript attached.)

The strip context

Earthquake sits in the classic mid-Parkway attraction band with the mirror maze, the haunted houses and the mini golf — the old Gatlinburg economy of small, strange, walk-in amusements, most of which have their own pages here.

Sources: the 9 videos on this page, filmed at Earthquake The Ride in Gatlinburg.

Watch: the full set

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

EARTHQUAKE Dark Ride - Subway ride & Angry Gorilla | Tourist Attraction 2023

Attractions 360°

Attractions 360° ride in 4K in 2023: subway train No. 13, the catastrophe, and the angry gorilla. (Watch content; no transcript attached.)

EARTHQUAKE THE RIDE Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Riley's Tours & Tales

Riley's Tours & Tales ride it in January 2026 - the current state of the Parkway's strangest little attraction. (Watch content; no transcript attached.)

Earthquake The Ride - Gatlinburg TN

Smokies Plus

Smokies Plus ride Earthquake in March 2024 and report back. (Watch content; no transcript attached.)

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