We're passionate about all things Dollywood and Sevier County, and we want to share that passion with you. Come along as we explore all that this beautiful area has to offer. From Dollywood and Splash Country to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove, there's something for everyone in Sevier County.
We're also big fans of Dolly Parton, and we'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on her latest news and projects. We're sure you'll find something to love here.
This article includes all of my Videos from Opening Week AND A Photo Trip Report. Some of the pics from my visit. I want to try and include a Photo Trip report in my blog for every visit this season!
I have gathered up all of my videos so far from Dollywood's Opening Week - their 40th Season!
If they were put in chronological order, they would go this way.
Tram Ride In
Part One
Part Two
Glass Shop
From The Heart
Emporium
Emporium Short
A short about Dollywood's Project 2026.
Includes the Media Day Teaser video from Dolly and Eugene Naughton, park president....and a little construction zone footage from 3/18/25.
photo trip report - random order
Country Fair splashpad and enhancements
new permanent home for Imagination Playhouse, the Village Area
Country Fair - new signage and a new path - that used to be there a long time ago.
Country Fair - Fresh paint everywhere
Construction Update from 3/18/25, New Wilderness Pass Restaurant
Construction Update from 3/18/25, New Wilderness Pass Restaurant
Construction Update from 3/18/25, New Wilderness Pass Restaurant
Construction Update from 3/18/25, New Wilderness Pass Restaurant - outdoor dining area
Construction Update from 3/18/25, New Wilderness Pass Restaurant - this will be the Mobile Ordering Window.
Featured Menu Items
Celebration Sky, part of IWALY celebration
LOVE photo opp, part of the IWALY celebration
Face Paint and Henna Prices 2025
I doubt this is new, but new to me!
Some of the 40th merch - see my videos for lots more merch video.
This is happening later in the season.
The Depot Stage, where The Tones typically perform, has been removed.
Dollywood has placed these anniversary medallions on the buildings that have been around since day one of Dollywood, such as the Little School House seen here.
Seen at the Glass Shop
Seen at the Glass Shop
Seen at the Glass Shop
Seen at the Glass Shop
Seen at the Glass Shop
Seen at the Blacksmith Shop
Seen at the Blacksmith Shop
Here's #192 being prepped for service later in the season. Cinderella is pulling the train until then.
These two signs grabbed my attention.
This sign is at the Junction - you can't get close to it.
This sign is interesting - it has a hole where the train headlight is, and I think its a couple of LED lights in there, but not positive. It will be awhile before Dollywood is open after dark to see wether or not its a light. Wonder what this is connected to - a larger project or just a one-off thingy? This is between Blazing Fury and Tennessee Tornado.
I hope you enjoyed this visit to Dollywood! Let me know in the comments your favorite part, or least favorite parts! I would really love to hear from you!
UPDATES TO THIS ARTICLE APPEAR BELOW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.
Hi Everyone,
Before we go to the video about Project 2026, I want to be clear that I do not have any official information about Project 2026. I am a life-long amusement and theme park enthusiast, Dollywood enthusiast as well as a Dolly Parton enthusiast - and maybe a good guesser? So, this is all 100% W.U.A.D. Speculation. I will build my case for what I believe the ride system will be used for P'26. Are you with me? GOOD.
First however, note that UPDATES to this article appear below the original article, so scroll down to learn more about shipping containers headed to the park, and some dimensions on the new building, TRACK INSTALLED in the building. Scroll on down.
Dollywood teased Project 2026 at the Opening Day Media Event.
Let's go to the video...
TRANSCRIPT: In 2026 Dollywood is going further than we've gone before.
Up, over and through the Great Smoky Mountains and down to the heart of the ancient Wildwood Tree. Follow the light to discover the unexpected. What will you find when the sun goes down?
Take flight in 2026.
What is it?
"Further than we've gone before.'' What I think that really means is, ''We've written a gigantic check to a ride manufacturer.'' I'm coming around more and more to the Mack Inverted-dynamic-do-everything powered-coaster that will feature a few medium to high-speed roller coaster gravity driven moments. I am thinking this will be similar in nature to Blazing Fury (meaning slow parts and fast parts using theatrical scenes to help tell the story, very family friendly), except brand new state of the art ride systems by Mack. This is not a record-breaking thrill ride.
Where will it be located?
It is in Wildwood Grove. It will be behind Big Bear Mountain as you walk through Wildwood Grove. It is already under construction and at the time of publishing this article - the best way to see it is from the Dollywood Express.
Less likely possibility...
The Flying Theater Concept has come up amongst enthusiasts, and many of us who speculate on stuff like this, and I just don't see that concept happening at Dollywood. For starters, it's sort of boring, in my opinion - compared to this fancy Mack coaster I'm about to try and sell you on, and I think Dollywood was rightfully sold on. Two, the flying theater concept falls into the one-and-done category until the film changes, which cannot be inexpensive. Theme Parks want people to want to ride over and over, AND they want to be able to change attractions in cost-effective ways to freshen them up from season to season...so, this detail just hammers the Mack system home for me. Dollywood wants to showcase the Smokies, per the video, so how many different movies about the Smokies can you really make - where they are different, unique and entertaining for flying theater audiences?
Silver Dollar City opened Fire In The Hole 2.0 (link to blog article). It is very well executed. It's a modern-day version of Blazing Fury...that is what they replaced. I'd encourage you to go to my blog post and look at the details in the scenes - the use of projected scenes is well done and uses the latest/greatest technology. I think Dollywood will tap into whatever resource was used there - for Project 2026. Dollywood said (I think)- we can use this Mack ride system to tell this story about the Smokies in a beautiful way. We can utilize space better with these scenes with the rides capability to spin 360'. We can get your feet close to waterfalls and streams.
There may be a scene of fireflies taking over whole areas of the Smokies like they do in real life. I imagine a big helix going around this ancient Wildwood Tree mentioned in the video. We'll see how it plays out.
Here's something else that crossed my mind as I was writing this part - Puy d'fou is supposedly - the Cherokee Indian development at Exit 407, with the Phase 1 of Buc ee's - part of their massive plan included a "museum /play/entertainment/education center'' - by Puy d'fou. THEY ARE AMAZINGLY DETAIL ORIENTED IN ALL THEY DO. Honestly, it's like a near-perfect recreation of everything. Google their theme parks or go to their website and dig around. They confirmed their involvement in Exit 407, then there was a pause on the project from the developer about the order of the Phases. That is the last update I recall - but this is on Dollywood's radar no doubt - this desire to be detail oriented now involves serious competition in your own backyard, where it did not exist.
Back to this amazing Mack Inverted Power Coaster...
There are a few examples of these Mack coasters- and their heavy theming - let's look at a few pics from RCDB. I'll link to each pic below it - if you want to click on it and look at other pics - go for it.
This is Arthur, at Europa Park in Germany - which happens to be an amusement park owned by - guess who? MACK. The park operates like a Showroom for amusement rides, as well as a theme park. Side note: Mack Trucks - Americans are more familiar with Mack Trucks, which is a separate division of the same German company. Amusement rides are industrial equipment, jazzed up.
Features of this Mack Inverted Ride System, include:
8 trains with 3 cars per train. Not sure how many trains DW will opt to get, if they go this route.
Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 12 riders per train.
Each car can rotate 360 degrees, so imagine the possibilities with looking at scenes in the dark ride portion of the experience. Scenes can be bunched up together and the car spins around to reveal a different scene to you - another cost-effective possibility!
Variable speed as determined by the needs of the story and the parks choices.
Gravity-driven sections. Parts of the ride will likely be driven by gravity, just like we see on Blazing Fury. I have to imagine we'll be flying over water features, forests with lightning bugs, big fields of flowers, barns and structures from the past, just like what you experience when you go to the Smokies - according to the teaser video I posted at the top of the article.
On-board audio to help tell the story.
Note that Herschend's two most recent additions have both included on-board audio...
SDC's brand new dark ride, Fire In The Hole 2.0, features on-board audio.
As did DW's Big Bear Mountain...Herschend loves it.
HIGH CAPACITY: 1,500 PPH (depending on amount of trains and other variables)
Conveyor Belt Station - easy loading and unloading.
The layout can be customized to the needs of the park. Some of the existing models of this coaster feature indoor sections as well as outdoor sections. All of the models have some gravity driven parts at some point in the ride - just like what you see on Blazing Fury - that's the kind of comparison I am referring to.
Now, going back to the DW video, they said "Follow the light to discover the unexpected. what will you find when the sun goes down?" To me, it sounds like they want to keep this as a ''night experience'' - so, if that holds true then I am not sure popping out into the 98-degree hot summer day, will fit into that experience they are hoping to achieve. They may choose to keep it entirely indoors to be able to have a consistent storyline for every ride. OR that could mean ''follow the light'' as in, the light at the end of the ride tunnel. We shall see!
Dragon Gliders, seen above, does not feature an outdoor section, but does enter into a large room that includes smaller rides....and DW could benefit from more indoor rides, or even semi-covered rides for when its raining....if they went with an all indoor version.
Here we see an outdoor section of Jurassic Flyers. Not sure what the interior scenes look like, but obviously they are dinosaur related, and no doubt highly themed per Universal's standards. Haha, i watched the video and I don't think I saw one dinosaur...still looks fun though.
Not a lot of info on RCDB about this one - it's under construction. He does say it's similar, if not the same layout as Arthur....so two definitely are clones and I think the other two are custom layouts.
Let's check out some POV's from these attractions. First up Arthur.
Dragon Gliders
Jurassic Flyers
So, that's a look at all the installations of this Mack Inverted Powered Coaster from RCDB.
🟡🟡UPDATES SINCE ORIGINAL ARTICLE, BELOW🟡🟡
🟩Late Breaking Development:
Yesterday, 4/3/25,I noticed someone found the shipping information for Dollywood - from Germany to the port of Charleston, South Carolina. Hmmm - who is in Germany?? Mack is in Germany, and this is one more CLUE that this is what I think it is. I haven't had a chance to confirm the shipping information, but I will naively believe it is real. A Vekoma coaster would come from the Netherlands, a B&M - Switzerland. So, this effectively rules out many other manufacturers.
Again, this is all speculation, however I can see many of my fellow speculators are also coming around to this idea of a Mack coaster more and more as seemingly insignificant details - like a shipping tag - can help paint a picture of what's to come.
Thoughts, ideas? Let me know in the comments.
🟩Update from the 40th Anniversary Media Day Event on May 2, 2025.
I was hoping they would spill all the beans during the event, but they chose to give us a bit of a teaser instead. According to Eugene Naughton, park president, he said that it would be hard to not notice the 44k Sq. Foot, Five Story Building going up in the construction area in WWG. And then they moved the conversation right along as if nothing had even been mentioned about it. So, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more as it develops!
🟩Update from Tuesday June 3, 2024.
I rode the train today to peek at the construction site. On the way back to the station, the train announcer said it was going to be called "Hidden Hollow Aviation". I could be mistaken, but the size of the building looks approximately the same as Blazing Fury's building.
After a bit of research, I think this new building is a bit bigger. My teal rectangle is just a guess based off of what I saw in person on June 3, 2025 from the train.
I notice that there are not any visible ''holes'' in the structure, which could indicate that the entire ride will be inside the building. I addressed this in the original article - that in order to stay ''in theme'' with the 'nightime in the smokies' broader theme, then it would need to stay indoors to help make the story cohesive. Dipping out into a 99-degree summer day would not be ''in theme'' of the story they've mentioned in the video. Things can always change, of course.
Here is video from the train ride - seen from Left & Right side of train.
🟩June 12, 2025 - Pete Owens will be on 'Inside Tennessee' on Sunday at 9:30am, WBIR-TV, and probably online afterwards. He'll discuss Hidden Hollow Aviation and probably other Dollywood stuff. An official announcement is scheduled from sometime in September. $50 million dollar budget - largest addition in Dollywood's history.
Here's an interesting quote from Pete: ""It's an opportunity for us to do something that no one's ever done before. I think families are gonna love it. But it's gonna allow us to do a couple of things, including having an attraction that will help us extend our season."
Here's the video of the panel discussion with Pete Owens. Topics include Dolly's involvement with the park, economic impacts, Project 2026 information, and lots more!
Project 2026 is discussed at 21:30 if you want to skip to that part.
🟩New Video from 6/23/25
🟩June 2025 - New Official Website for "Hidden Hollow Aviation" is available to check out here. You can watch videos and sign up to receive information for finding out what happens when the sun goes down. Click Here.
🟩June 29, 2025
Another Ride System Possibility has bubbled up to the surface. A very similar system to the Mack Inverted Coaster is apparently an all-new design CONCEPT (never built as far as I am aware) from Vekoma that uses single cars on an overhead track versus the three car train that Mack uses. Here is a video of this system in action - click here to see it. The video is impressive! I'm a bit skeptical that this is the route Dollywood will chose to go since this is a concept for a ride that's never been built. Dollywood has been planning this attraction for at least two years, maybe longer. Eugene was at IAAPA in Orlando in 2023 giving an interview about preparing for the "Hidden Hollow Aviation" project. You can see that video on my blog post HERE. This Vekoma concept wasn't around when Eugene was on ''the buying spree'' for 2026....so, this concept seems unlikely to me. But honestly, until Dollywood comes out and tells us, it's all speculation....they can easily afford to buy anything they wish....but the timing on this isn't right. The second reason I am skeptical about this Vekoma system is that someone has already done the sleuthing and has found shipping documents from Germany to Dollywood via the port of Charleston, so, as I mentioned then, knowing the ride is coming from Germany eliminates other manufacturers. A Vekoma product will be shipped from the Netherlands where Vekoma is based. Dollywood recently worked with Vekoma on both Dragonflier and Big Bear Mountain. These two companies have a working relationship with one another, especially now that Herschend has bought up all of these new theme parks in the US, many of which have Vekoma coasters. While anything is possible, this Vekoma systems SEEMS unlikely to me, but it certainly is impressive and I look forward to seeing that in real life somewhere.
🟩July 16, 2025
News Article from KnoxNews: "Dollywood's most expensive ride ever is being built. Here's what we know - so far." Link to the story, CLICK HERE. I didn't see any new information, unfortunately.
🟩July 25, 2025
Track Pictures!
I've seen the pics and videos of track at the worksite, floating around the internets on Thursday. I'm having a hard time connecting the track seen in the pics to the Inverted Coaster. I suppose it could be for maintenance/workshop areas where the triangular track isn't needed?? Interesting clue for sure. Is it possible that this could be (at least) two attractions in one building? Yeah, it is possible. Is it likely?? Now that's a tougher question and possibly premature to ask. Pete did say "SINGLE ATTRACTION" in the WBIR program "Inside Tennessee''. Two attractions for $50 Million - that makes more sense to me than one for $50 million - which seemed a bit excessive, in my opinion. Stay Tuned - Announcement due in September!
🟩July 28, 2025 - Track Installed Pictures! Picture of Track at Dollywood, Compared to Possibly Similar Track used in the Mack Rocking Boat Attraction - Mission Bermudes in France.
Screamscape has posted pics from Amusement Insider that shows track placed inside the building (in France) in what appears to be a basin designed to hold water.
My Mistake - The Pics with Track Installed are NOT at Dollywood - it's just a comparison of the track for the photo. I do not believe any track is installed at Dollywood at this time. Confirmed, no track has been installed as of 7/29/25.
It's also interesting to see they've installed some type of switch track situation (in France, which you can see in action in the POV when it goes backwards to the elevator lift at the end). I guess the hardware for the switch will be in the trench. Very Interesting! A good mystery will throw in some blind-sides, and this seems like one to me.
Mack just opened their first version of this type of 'rockin boat ride' and it is called MISSION BERMUDES at Futuroscope Theme Park in France. The boat rides on the track, but there are some scissor-looking connections to the track that allows the boat to float and rock in a somewhat boat type of way, while staying the course along the track. No bumping into the sides of things like nearly every other log/boat ride that's come before.
Let's look at POV from that attraction. There's off-ride and then POV footage, then POV highlights. This video is great - it shows the many capabilities of this attraction. We may not see all of these at Dollywood - OR we may see something not featured in M.Bermudes!!
Interesting Development! I have followed the construction of Mission Bermudes and I find it a fascinating ride, but I was not expecting Dollywood to install one. I think it's a great idea because they are in need of more water rides for one and definitely need more indoor attractions. I know lots of folks are nostalgic for Flooded Mine and this creates a whole new attraction that new generations will vibe with and enjoy for a long time, as they did with Flooded Mine. I will be interested to learn how these boats will 'get their wings' and takeoff. Maybe that could be the Roller Coaster sections like how 'Mission Bermudes' ends - with the elevator lift - (at the 5:00 point in video) that lift could be the takeoff, then the descent is coming back down to the water. I can see it! I noticed the splash down didn't soak everyone, so this could run in the winter months.
This is a 'new' ride system from Mack, but they have been working on prototypes of this for several years. I remember the first prototype version of it had a boat in an above-ground pool that was tethered to a wire and was giving major carnival attraction vibes. But, it turns out that prototype was just a budget conscious version of what it could become! This does jam with my timeline of Eugene Ride Shopping at IAAPA in 2023 - see up above in the Updates section.
Interesting note - Dollywood's sister park, Silver Dollar City at one time had a similar'ish attraction. It was a water coaster attraction called Buzzsaw Falls, built by Premiere Rides, and it was an unfortunate ride fail. But all was not lost as they were able to salvage much of the roller coaster sections of the track. They removed the water and boat elements but added a compressed air launch and it became Powder Keg, from S&S Power. These boats did not feature the ability to rock like a boat, as the Mack Rocking Boat will be able to do.
To try and be clear - It's the far backside of that same fence. Back where you see the trucks. The fence makes a 90' turn on the left of the pic, then heads towards BBM's Maintenance Shed - the roof in the upper right. See map below.
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🔵Blog Posts and other Helpful Trip Planning information -
Hotels with High Ratings in Pigeon Forge. I have created a spreadsheet that incorporates ratings from different reliable sources and ranked hotels in the area. I've listed out columns for things like indoor pools, hot tubs and more on the spreadsheet. Very helpful if you, or someone in your group is looking for a specific amenity.
Top Breakfast Restaurants in Pigeon Forge. I have created a list of the best Breakfast restaurants in Pigeon Forge using ratings from various reliable sources and ranked them in my blog post.
Tons of YouTube videos - I have so many YouTube videos of Dollywood including every festival and lots of general park updates as well as Big Bear Mountain footage.
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