The Great Smoky Mountains Are the Perfect Place to Get Away in 2023! Let's See What's Up!

Hi Everyone, I came across this detailed article in the Knoxville News Sentinel about all of the new attractions coming soon to Sevier County-Smoky Mountain FunPlex Area.  Obviously, this is a great story to share on the blog for all of you trip planners from out of town or region.   Check out their article below.  Source:  https://www.knoxnews.com/

Looking for things to do in the Smokies? These attractions are open now or will be soon.

Here's what's new in the Great Smoky Mountains in 2023 including roller coasters, water slides and treehouses!

Devarrick Turner - Knoxville News Sentinel

Published 5:10 AM EDT Apr. 14, 2023 Updated 5:10 AM EDT Apr. 14, 2023

The vision for the 407: Gateway to Adventure attraction on Interstate 40 in Sevierville is becoming a reality. Smoky Gap, the area’s entertainment hub, just broke ground and Buc-ee’s is slated to open in the coming months.

But you don’t have to wait to have some springtime fun. Various new and updated attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have opened and are available to enjoy right now, including waterparks, treehouse adventures and, of course, Dollywood.

More attractions will open as summer moves in, and there are plenty of new experiences and expansions to look forward to as well.

What's open in spring 2023 in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg?

Anakeesta

• The mountaintop adventure park is open, and guests can enjoy its newest attraction, Astra Lumina. The celestial experience brings the stars into a Smoky Mountain Forest lit with projections and lights.

• Other things to do at the park include Chondola and Ridge Rambler rides, Treetop Skywalk, Vista Gardens, and the TreeVenture Challenge Course.

• You can check anakeesta.com/events for a full list of attractions and events available.

• Location: 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg

• General admission tickets: $22.99-$34.99; Free for children age 3 and younger; Astra Lumina add on: $15.99

Dollywood

• Offering rides, shows, food and Dolly Parton, one of America’s favorite theme parks opened for its 2023 season in March.

• Dollywood’s Flower and Food festival begins April 21, Splash Country waterpark open May 13 and the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration starts June 17.

• The 2023 calendar can be found at dollywood.com/calendar.

• Location: 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge

• Tickets: $89+

Sanctuary Treehouse Resort

• This unique treehouse resort with mountain views in Sevierville offers luxe accommodations outfitted with slides, drawbridges and scavenger hunts.

• The first seven treehouses, including a double tree fort, are open for reservations, but there is limited availability until around July. More treehouses will be built and available for reservations throughout the year.

• Location: 107 Pheasant Ridge Road, Sevierville,

• Single treehouse price: $275 to $796 per night; Double treehouse: $651-$1,522 per night.

Wilderness at the Smokies

• The Lake Wilderness outdoor waterpark and the yearlong Wild WaterDome, Tennessee’s largest indoor waterpark, are both open.

• Only the slides are currently open at Lake Wilderness. Full access to the outdoor waterpark begins May 27.

• Visitors also can enjoy the dry indoors family entertainment center, Adventure Forest. Admission for those who aren't resort guests is based on availability.

• Check wildernessatthesmokies.com for pricing options and passes.

• Location: 1424 Old Knoxville Highway, Sevierville

"Sanctuary Treehouse Resort in Sevierville," "Dollywood," "Anakeesta in Gatlinburg"

What’s opening soon in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg

Soaky Mountain

• The waterpark’s 2023 season begins the weekend of May 13-14. It will be open daily starting May 20. Regular day admission is $47.99.

• Location: 175 Gists Creek Road, Sevierville

Salamander Springs outdoor waterpark

Visitors enjoy at Soaky Mountain waterpark, Buc-ee's' billboard, Dolly Parton during an event at the resort's construction site of HeartSong Lodge and Resort

• Salamander Springs at Stone Hill Lodge is the second Wilderness at the Smokies outdoor waterpark, and is scheduled to open May 27.

• Check wildernessatthesmokies.com for pricing options and passes.

• Location: 190 Gists Creek Road, Sevierville

Dollywood’s Big Bear Mountain

• Dollywood’s longest roller coaster, Big Bear Mountain, is set to open in May.

• The two-minute roller coaster ride in the Wildwood Grove section of the Pigeon Forge theme park will travel through hills, turns, tunnels and even waterfalls at speeds up to 48 miles per hour and maximum elevation of 66 feet.

• Location: 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge

Buc-ee’s

• The popular travel center is opening its Great Smoky Mountains location in Sevierville. A grand opening had been set for early June but has since been delayed to a yet-to-be-announced date, a spokesperson told Knox News.

• It will be open 24 hours a day and will feature 120 fueling stations, a 250-foot-long car wash, and, of course, the famous Buc-ee’s snacks and beaver mascot merchandise.

• The 74,000-square-foot location is set to be the world’s largest Buc-ee's, until a slightly larger one opens in Texas later.

• Buc-ee's will be the first business to open as part of upcoming 407 attraction in Sevier County.

• Location: 170 Foretravel Drive, Kodak

Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge and Resort

• The massive 302-room resort inspired by Parton’s love for the Great Smoky Mountains is scheduled to open in November. Many of the rooms will have balconies with a view of the Smokies.

• Located in Pigeon Forge, the resort will feature family suites, bunk rooms, a large pool, balconies on half the suites and even a Dolly suite that will be available when she’s not using it.

• Reservations for the resort will open in June. Visit dollywood.com/heartsong for more information.

• Location: 2525 Dollywood Resorts Blvd., Pigeon Forge

New Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg attractions opening later in 2023 and beyond

Dig ‘n Zone

• This construction-themed park for adults and kids is scheduled to open in Sevierville this spring.

• The park will have more than 25 attractions allowing families to ride, drive and operate different construction equipment like forklifts on a go-kart track and excavators with modified buckets to swing around.

• An opening date has not been announced yet, but tickets are available. Tickets are $50-$55; it’s free for children age 4 and younger. More information is available at dignzone.com.

• Location: 1707 Veterans Blvd., Sevierville

BirdVenture and Hellbender Mountain Coaster

• A $34 million expansion is still underway at Anakeesta and is expected to open in 2023.

• BirdVenture: This interactive attraction will feature three large birdhouses, a dozen adventure zones and seven giant slides.

• HellBender: Named after the salamander species native to the Smoky Mountains, this roller coaster will navigate a steep mountain incline, sway through tunnels, slither through twists and turns and offer 360-degree views of the Smokies.

• Location: 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg

Wilderness at the Smokies expansion

• The Sevierville waterpark and resort is celebrating its 15th season with a $40 million and 40,000-square-foot expansion set to open in fall 2023.

• The expansion includes a three-story water coaster with a 22-foot drop at 29 mils per hour, a lazy river with an immersive tunnel experience, rooftop pool with glass edges and a new XD adventure theatre.

• Location: 1424 Old Knoxville Highway, Sevierville

407: Gateway to Adventure

• Development of Smoky Gap, the planned entertainment district at the 407: Gateway to Adventure attraction off Interstate 40, began April 11. The entertainment hub is set to open in 2025.

• Smoky Gap, an immersive entertainment experience, will have an Americana theme with restaurants and retail stores. The area will also be home to a Marriott Courtyard hotel and a still-to-be-announced attraction that will anchor the Smoky Gap district.

• Phase two of the massive 407 project will feature a resort, which might be sports-themed.

• Location: Exit 407 off Interstate 40

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208. 

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

© 2023knoxnews.com, All rights reserved.

$34 Million Dollar Expansion for Anakeesta

Hi Everyone,

Anakeesta - one of the newest and larger theme parks in the area, has announced massive new expansion plans.  In fact, they are planning to double in size!

🚠🚠🚠

Here is WATE’s report on this expansion:

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) – Gatlinburg theme park Anakeesta on Thursday announced a $34-million expansion that will double the size of the guest experience over the next three years.

The park will add a new mountain coaster, a night walk with lighting and guided audio, a bird-house themed play area, and a European-themed village.

The new “Astra Lumina Enchanted Night Walk” will feature immersive lighting, projection and guided sound in partnership with Moment Factory, an award-winning multimedia entertainment studio. This will be Moment Factory’s first Lumina Night Walk experience in the United States and 15th in the world. It is set to open in November.

courtesy Anakeesta 

courtesy Anakeesta

In Spring of 2023, a “European-Themed Village” will open and offer two new attractions. The park will add a second mountain coaster called, “Hellbender.” One of the new attractions will be a double-railed mountain coaster in addition to the existing single-railed coaster, “Rail Runner.”

The second will be a birdhouse-inspired play zone as part of a new “European-Themed Village” where kids can enjoy three larger-than-life birdhouses, dozen adventure zones and seven slides winding more than 50 feet down the mountain.

• 

  European Village - courtesy Anakeesta↑

  
  

• 

  Bird House play area - courtesy Anakeesta↑

The first phase will also add a waterfall and cave system to their walking trails and gardens, allowing guests to walk behind falls and explore caves.

😻😻😻

Wow - I feel like I have been saying that over and over lately.  This is great for Anakeesta of course.  I have yet to visit this attraction, mainly because I wasn’t sure there was enough to do at the top of the mountain to justify it, and I’ll be honest, if you don’t go first thing in the morning, you will be faced with a very long waiting line at the bottom and the transportation to the top, specifically the chair lift/3 gondolas, or Chondola, as they call it, moves at a snail's pace and stops a lot.  So, my first impression of Anakeesta from the street level has not been impressive.  However, in reading about guests' experiences there, those have been overly positive for the most part.  I don't see many negative experiences.  So, I guess people don’t mind that the chondola is slow, they like what Anakeesta is serving, and they're about to give you lots more of it!

These attractions have staggered opening dates over the next three years, so  in some cases we’ll be waiting a bit to experience some of these attractions.

Let’s dig into the details a bit…

• New Mountain Coaster - Named “Hellbender”, named after the Smoky Mountain Salamander. The only other detail offered is that it’s a double-rail coaster.  Anakeesta’s other coaster is a single-rail - and that happens to be the only one of that type in the United States.  I’ve lost count, but there are at least a half-dozen other double-rail coasters in this area, and all but two are manufactured by Weigand (link https://wiegandsportsusa.com/).  Weigand makes a lot of cool stuff!  Another manufacturer, ADG Mountain Coasters (link ADG Mountainsides® | Mountain Coasters, Mountain Slides Design/Build (aquaticgroup.com)) is behind Ober Gatlinburg’s ‘Ski Mountain Coaster’.  A company called Brandauer made Anakeesta’s single-rail coaster “Rail Runner”.  Brandauer was acquired by SunKid, and that's how it is currently known - you can check their website out here (Sunkid: leisure experiences for the whole family (sunkidworld.com) .  So, it remains to be seen which company Anakeesta has chosen to make their second coaster, but often times, parks will buy two (or more) roller coasters from the same manufacturer in order to help with supply chain issues, spare and replacement parts, familiarity with the parties involved, and other advantages you would find by working with familar vendors.  That’s a lot of nerdy details!  Bottom line, we will not know more until Anakeesta tells us, or until it opens and someone - like me - goes and checks it out.

• Light Show - “Astra Lumina Enchanted Night Walk”.  This looks and sounds like it will be an immersive visual and audio experience.  I looked at Moment Factory’s website, and it boasts many very impressive projects that are unique and eye-catching.  Just check out their website to dig deeper because the pictures and video are impressive.  The article states that this will open this November, so we will find out soon enough.

• European Village - looks to me like more food and merchandise opportunities centered around a waterfall structure.  It does remind me of The Village in downtown Gatlinburg - like a block or two away from Anakeesta’s ‘storefront’ on the parkway.

• Birdhouse Playhouse with Slides - This is an extension of the European village and it looks pretty elaborate to me with play areas to run around and then the various slides, which are all unique.  Hopefully, adults will be able to enjoy the seven slides as well.  I look forward to checking this out when it’s completed.

🎢🎢🎢

That about covers this analysis.  I think it's pretty impressive in the past couple of months that there have been four big announcements for the area. Dollywood's Big Bear Mountain Roller Coaster - and more, an all new construction amusement park Dig'n Zone, a $40 million dollar indoor water park expansion of Wilderness at the Smokies, and now Anakeesta's $34 million dollar expansion. We've seen an announcement this year that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will partner with one of the most immersive amusement park operators - Puy Du Fou for a storytelling experience at the Exit 407 project in Kodak, off of Interstate 40, along with a Buc-ees giant fueling center/food court/idk how else to describe it. Great things are in the works for the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville areas of East Tennessee.

Have you been to Anakeesta and if so, what were your impressions of it?  Are you looking forward to one or more of these announced additions, if so which ones?  Let me know in the comments.

Until next time!

Post #3 - Dollywood is Tripadvisor’s 2022 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards

Source

🏆🏆Congratulations to Dollywood!! 🏆🏆

Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Awards

Dollywood (Pigeon Forge) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (tripadvisor.com)

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. -- — During the 2022 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards on Tuesday, Tripadvisor officials announced Dollywood as the number one theme park in the United States and the number eight theme park in the world. It’s an honor that probably doesn’t come as much surprise to Dollywood’s guests, who frequently compliment the park on its exemplary guest experience.

Dolly Parton's Tennessee theme park beat out popular destinations like Disney's Magic Kingdom Park and Universal Studios Florida. The award was calculated based on reviews and ratings from travelers on Tripadvisor from the 12-month period from May 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022.

“I’m so proud of the work my people do to make Dollywood such a great place for families,” Dolly Parton said. “When I started dreaming up Dollywood all those years ago, I hoped it would be somewhere folks were excited to come visit and enjoy time together. To hear that they are leaving so many positive comments about their time here really shows what we’re doing is working. In the current world, I want Dollywood to be a place where the light shines every day.”

Eugene Naughton, President of The Dollywood Company, echoes the thoughts of the park’s Dreamer-in-Chief. “We’re working every single day to ensure our guests have the best possible time while they are with us,” explained Naughton. “This award is a little bit different because there is no voting factored into these rankings. The Tripadvisor rankings come from actual reviews left by guests about their time here with us at Dollywood. It is extremely gratifying to see this recognition for the effort our hosts give to ensure our guests have an unforgettable time while they are here."

Dollywood announced it has enjoyed several top honors including being named in a three way tie for NAPHA Favorite Theme Park of 2021 as well as winner of 45 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 28 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment (more than any other theme park in the world).

According to the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best website, “The Best of the Best Things to Do Awards are calculated based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings for experiences, tours, activities, and attractions on Tripadvisor.”

The United States top-10 List:
1. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
2. Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Orlando, Florida)
3. Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park (Orlando)
4. Universal Studios Hollywood (Los Angeles, California)
5. Universal Studios Florida (Orlando)
6. Silver Dollar City (Branson Missouri)
7. Funland (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware)
8. Fun Spot America (Kissimmee, Florida)
9. Santa’s Village (Jefferson, New Hampshire)
10. Busch Gardens Tampa (Tampa, Florida)

The worldwide top-10 list is:
1. Siam Park (Adeje, Spain)
2. Puy du Fou (Les Epesses, France)
3. Beto Carrero World (Penha, Brazil)
4. Puy du Fou España (Toledo, Spain)
5. The Milky Way Adventure Park (Clovelly, United Kingdom)
6. Hot Park (Rio Quente, Brazil)
7. Waterbom Bali (Kuta, Indonesia)
8. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge)
9. Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Orlando)

10. Parque Terra Magica Florybal (Canela, Brazil)

This worldwide list is interesting.  Puy du Fou recently announced a new experience that will be located at the The 407: Gateway to Adventure, in conjunction with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  While it doesn't appear that this project will be a theme park, this does indicate to me that the experience at the Puy du Fou parks is on a very high level.  I would anticipate that to be the case with this project with the Cherokee Indians as well.  Gateway 407 will be a large project that people will pass on their way to Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains.   Thousands of visitors pass through this intersection of I40 and State Highway 66 every day, and enter the area this way.  

If you want to read more about the Puy du Fou project, do so here: 

• www.businesswire.com/
• www.visitmysmokies.com/blog/
• WATE News - Knoxville

Exit 407 development in Sevierville courtesy of Rick Laney Marketing.