🤩✨ Rockstar Movie Screenings At Dollywood for Gold and Diamond Season Pass Holders! ✨🤩

Hi Everyone,

We have finally reached release week for Dolly's rock album, Rock Star!  She has teased the heck out of this album for over a year now, and we'll get to hear it in its entirety.   The musical movie will premiere around the country on Wednesday November 15th and some select encore performances on Thursday the 16th.  

I just learned that Dollywood will be showing the Rock Star movie in the Dreamsong Theater (next to former Chasing Rainbows museum) on Friday the 17th IF YOU ARE A GOLD OR DIAMOND PASS HOLDER, so if you happen to be at Dollywood, or are willing to make that trip on Friday, then you can really maximize your Dolly Parton exposure by watching it at Dollywood.  How many other artists can you really connect to like that??  NONE, the answer is NONE.  

CLICK HERE to see all of this important information, and to make Reservations, at dollywood.com's website.

https://www.dollywood.com/

https://www.dollywood.com

🔴🟢 Dollywood's Tasting Pass and Celebration Hall Buffet Info for 2023 🟢🔴

Hi Everyone,

I have a couple of updates about the Smoky Mountain Christmas food options for you today.

🔵 First, The Celebration Hall Buffet (Country Fair Area) is continuing from the previous festival into the Smoky Mtn Christmas Festival.

 🔹 One great way to access the Celebration Hall is to use the Handicapable pathway behind Dogs N Taters, that runs alongside the rampage ride, under the train and then boom, you're right there.  As opposed to going up the hill towards the Village, crossing the tracks, and down the hill into Country Fair.

Click Here to Buy Tickets at least 24 hours in advance, if you like, and you can read more details as well.

https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/dining/christmas-festival-buffet/

Here are the menu offerings - subject to change, it says!  Click image to Enlarge.

Here's a recent picture of the Celebration Hall.  I took this b/c they razed a little building, you can see how the pavement is different, but now there's plenty of space to linger!

🔵 Second, Dollywood has released information about its popular Tasting Pass for Smoky Mountain Christmas, so let's dig into it.  All this info comes from Dollywood.com/themepark/dinding/christmas-tasting pass - LINK HERE.

Menu Offerings for 2023, Click to Enlarge

Here's the link to the "BUY NOW" button above, click here.

What do you think about either of these options?  Will you and your guests use the tasting pass?  If so, what are your thoughts about it all?  Tell me in the comments!

Dollywood's Sensory-Sensitive Day for 2023

Hi Everyone,

Dollywood just announced its event for Sensory-Sensitive Day.  It is on Saturday, November 18th, 2023 from 8:30 am to noon.  The park opens at 10am, but will continue with this program until noon.

Go to FB via this link, for more info and to Register - here.

Join us at Dollywood on Saturday, Nov. 18 for Sensory-Sensitive Day. This event provides a welcoming space to enjoy some of Dollywood's world-class attractions with limited sound and light interruptions. This event begins at 9 a.m. before the park opens at 10 a.m. and will continue through noon. Event space is limited and only available for pre-registered event participants. For a full schedule and more information, click here: https://www.dollywood.com/.../sensory-sensitive-hours/

💵 Dollywood's DreamMore Resort Flash Sale - Up to 30% your stay, per night

Hi Everyone,

Just passing this promotion on to you all!

More info HERE 

🎄 Dollywood's Light The Way 5k - Friday November 10th, 2023 at 11pm 🏃🏼

 

Official Website Here.

There is nothing quite like Dollywood at Christmas. Experience a nighttime run in the nation’s most beautiful holiday park during the award-winning Smoky Mountain Christmas festival by registering for the 10th annual Light the Way 5K! It’s never too early to get in the Christmas spirit, so register now for the 10th annual Light the Way 5K to take place at Dollywood Friday, November 10 at 11 p.m.

Runners will begin at Dollywood’s Front Gate area and travel through the theme park twice, giving them time to take in the five million Christmas lights. Walkers will have the opportunity to follow the route for one loop around the park.

We are excited to announce that this year’s race is being facilitated by the Knoxville Track Club (ktc.org). KTC will chip-time the event and work with the event team to provide runners with the best experience possible. 

Medals will be awarded to every participant in Light the Way 5K 2023 and will be distributed at the finish line. Awards will be presented to the top three overall finishers for both men and women and all age groups.

Online registration is encouraged for Light the Way 5K as the race is limited to 1,500 participants. The registration fee is $45 until September 5 and $50 from September 6 through November 10. Race day registration will take place from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. at Dollywood’s Splash Country. For information on group registration, email info@keepsevierbeautiful.org.

PACKET PICK-UP

Wednesday, November 8 - REI Knoxville (6700 Papermill Drive NW) 4:00 - 7:00 P.M.
Thursday, November 9 - REI Pigeon Forge (2655 Teaster Lane, Suite 310) 4:00 - 7:00 P.M.
Friday, November 10 - Dollywood’s Splash Country Pigeon Forge (2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd) 11:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.

THERE ARE NO REFUNDS FOR THIS RACE AND STROLLERS ARE NOT ALLOWED!

🎃 Promotion: Dollywood for $55 after 5pm! Through November 5th, 2023 🎄

Hi Everyone,

Dollywood is currently running a ticket promotion for the rest of the Harvest Festival/LumiNights and two days into the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival.  So, if planning is your thing, go ahead and purchase your Christmas tickets now for Christmas, in case they sell out, as they might as that date approaches.  As you see below, the promotion ends November 5th.

find this deal here: dollywood.com/tickets

That's TWO opportunities to see Smoky Mountain Christmas at a discounted rate.  Enjoy if you're able to take advantage of this opportunity.

🔵Blog Posts with other Helpful Trip Planning information

• Getting To Dollywood by Plane
• 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 many Big Bear Mountain construction updates from all of 2022.  Check out my 2022 End of Year Recap to see all of my Dollywood videos from 2022.
• Big Bear Mountain Preview Day Video - tons of off-ride footage.
• Sing-A-Long with Dolly Parton as she opens Big Bear Mountain + BBM POV!!!
• Mountain Coasters! - your complete guide to all of the mountain coasters near Dollywood - there's 13!
• Pigeon Forge Restaurants open past 2pm! - Here's a ranking of some of the best restaurants - decided by YOU - In Pigeon Forge that are open past 2pm....click here for that blog article.
• Pigeon Forge Trolley Explained - Check out this under-used perk of staying at a hotel on the Trolley Route.

Good luck with the planning process and ask any questions you may have in the comments below.  I'll do my best to answer or point you in the right direction.

#Dollywood #DollywoodTripPlanning #PigeonForgeTennessee #TennesseeTourism #vlog #blog #pigeonforgeattractions

🔴 Dollywood's 2024 Operating Calendar Released 🔴

Hi Everyone,

Dollywood has released its operating calendar for 2024.  They are opening one week earlier than ''normal'' on March 8th, 2024.

Source:  dollywood.com

Some key points I noticed:

• Earlier Season Opening, March 8th for Season Passholder Preview Day.
• New Festival - IWALY Festival.  Watch my video of the IWALY Celebration in 2023 (HERE)
• 10am opening every day through the end of Harvest/LumiNights festival.
• They have added a lot of extra days to their calendar for 2024.
• Gone for 2024 - the Tuesday Closures in May, September, October & November 2023.
• Also, Gone for 2024 - 6pm Closures during August & September 2023.
• June & July - Closes at 10pm in 2024, vs 9:30p in 2023.
• Summer Celebration will run longer in 2024.  It will end on September 1, 2024, vs August 6, 2023.
• Harvest Festival/LumiNights begins September 9th, 2024, vs. September 20, 2023!  Nearly two weeks earlier in 2024!
• Smoky Mountain Christmas begins a few days earlier in 2024, vs in 2023.

Did I miss anything?  

I think these are all positive changes and they follow right along with Dollywood's fast track growth plans.  I have THREE blog posts from 2022 about Dollywood's Future Plans and this tracks right along with what I wrote back then.

• 1-https://whatsupatdollywood.blogspot.com/2022/08/dollywood-has-big-plans-major-projects.html
• 2-https://whatsupatdollywood.blogspot.com/2022/10/dollywoods-future-plans-one-point.html
• 3-https://whatsupatdollywood.blogspot.com/2022/11/dollywoods-future-plans-eye-on-2026.html

Here's where I think this is headed - from article 2:

Oddly enough, or coincidentally, this week, two 'neighboring' amusement parks in the Cedar Fair chain, Carowinds and King's Dominion, both announced year-round operations.   Carowinds is southeast of Dollywood near Charlotte, and King's Dominion is near coastal Virginia, in Doswell, so its winters are pretty mild for the most part.

That's great news for those who work at those parks and can now be employed year-round, and it's great for the guests who are looking for entertainment in January and February.    I see lots of potential in winter operations doing things that are challenging in the summer, like snow tubing & ice skating as a couple examples.

My understanding is that these two parks will be open for weekends-only during the two coldest months of winter, which obviously is weather dependent.  Other parks that stay open year-round cycle the operations of the rides in and out of service, so that routine maintenance can be performed.  It would not be reasonable to expect every single ride to be in operation during the winter months.  That's what happens in other year-round parks such as Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Disney-World-Land-Epcot, Universal, Sea Worlds, & Busch Tampa.  

It's interesting to me that these two parks have chosen to operate year-round.  Was it a way to beat Dollywood to the punch?  Done so in their own interest?  It's impossible to say.  Will Six Flags over Georgia follow suit?  At this point I doubt it.  Six Flags seems somewhat in operational disarray.  Six Flags Magic Mountain has, for several years, been open year-round and recently announced that they were scaling that back, which is unfortunate for those who bought season passes who were promised year-round operations.

What would year-round operations look like at Dollywood?  I don't have any insider info to know what they're thinking about doing, but based off of Ed Naughtons' comments, he said they would consider using the entrance as a sort of hub, making use of the theaters and restaurants.  Chasing Rainbows Museum is not far away from the entrance, and it was closed in 2022 for a major re-thinking of the experience.  Will it move closer to the entrance to align with the 10-year plan? [10/17/23 - now we know the Dolly Parton Experience will take over the space of Chasing Rainbows!]

Drop Line can operate in temps down to 5-degrees F and Thunderhead has, I think, four trains.  I believe they have the two trains from Celebration City's shuttered GCI coaster, so that means two trains could be in rehab at any given time and potentially would never have seasonal downtime, or at least not very long.  Mystery Mine seems to struggle with cold temperatures, so Im not sure it would open on the coldest of days.  So, Dollywood could open The Entrance area/Showstreet, Timber Canyon and maybe Wildwood Grove for winter, which would allow for seasonal maintenance in the rest of the park.  As years went on, they could introduce Wilderness Pass, then Craftsman's Valley the year after that.  They love to incrementally grow things, so that would seem to make sense.

Another possibility is that Dollywood adds an entire Snow Themed Area in the park that features cold-weather activities like snow tubing, ice skating, bonfire areas, stuff like that.  Before it was cancelled, the Nashville combo Water Park/Snow Park was a real idea they had.  They were set to partner with Gaylord, but it fell through.  So, they're well aware of the types of things they could do to make a snow park work.

Like I mentioned, I have no idea what they'll end up doing.  They hold their secrets pretty well.  I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for any developments.

2024 Season Pass Renewal Info for Dollywood (Updated 10/11/23)

Hi Everyone, (Update & 2nd Update & 3rd update- Below)

On Tuesday October 3rd, Dollywood sent some passholders information about renewing their passes for 2024.  I did not receive the email and its possible many others didn't either.  However, I logged into my account and discovered that my pass was eligible to renew, and so I went through the process up until pulling the trigger at Checkout.

What I could not find was the info graphic that was all over the place online, but not anywhere to be found in my Dollywood account.  WEIRD.

Im not 100% sure this info graphic is the first one, or the updated one.⬆️

Here's the info graphic, above.

So, after studying I notice several components of the 2023 pass are missing, so is that on purpose?  I saw somewhere online that Dollywood is still working on details.  Typically, they have all of that worked out before an announcement, not that they don't tweak things, but usually it's mostly sorted out.

At this stage it feels too early to offer any type of color commentary or advice, so I will hang on for more information and be sure to pass that on to you all when I learn more.

My post last year about the 2023 passes was published on October 17, 2022, and you can read that HERE if you would like to.  I would imagine by the middle of October they will have more information to share.  Maybe they are just getting a jump start on the renewal process?

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Quick Update - Thursday 10/5/23

I am seeing a lot of folks online who are frustrated at this.  There are a lot of passionate Dollywood fans out there!!

At some point soon, all of the correct details will sort themselves out.  I hope that happens sooner than later, lol.

In my snail mail today, I received a newsletter with the info graphic for the passes.  I learned yesterday three important things on the Dollywood Annual Passholders FB page.

1) This promotion for early renewals was meant to highlight some key features but was not supposed to be detail oriented.

2) The original info graphic - the one up above, has some errors (i think), so ignore that one, maybe.

3) A follower of Dollymania.com pointed out on this same FB page, that they had done some in-depth research, and had some solid answers to many of the questions.  So, I'll show you all a screen grab from that informative exchange.   You can click the image to enlarge it. 

I hope this helps provide some much-needed information to those seeking it out.  And it all sounds like the entitlements are going to be pretty good, but until I see this information come straight from Dollywood, I hesitate to offer any suggestions or colorful commentary.  Kudos though to Dollymania.net for trying to get answers.

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Second Update - Monday, October 9, 2023

Dollywood has created it's own, official, Facebook page specifically for Season Passes, and all the information that goes a long with it.

go here: Dollywood Parks & Resorts Season Passholders | Facebook

This should be a great resource, so go and sign up for it.

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Third Update - Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Dollywood has updated their information, and it looks pretty complete, I think.

Where is this information??

Okay, on a desktop computer, you'll find it here.  Or, do the following:

1. Log into Dollywood.com
2. go to Theme Park
3. go to Season Passes
4. Scroll down to "Season Pass Renewals."
5. There, you will find this 2024 Info Graphic.  Dollywood is still selling 2023 passes, so be aware of what you're looking at, it's easy to mix it up.

⭐Lightning Rod received a lot of off-season changes - Opens March 8th, 2024!

March 6, 2024 Announcement ⤵️⤵️⤵️

👉👈

Big News out of Dollywood regarding Lightning Rod:

• LSM Launch will be replaced with a High-Speed Chain Lift.
• The new chain lift experience will be very similar to the current launch experience.
• 13 mph - the speed of the chain lift, per the video.
• The rides peak-speed will stay the same at 73 mph.
• It was not said, but I think the structure of the lift hill will change materials, from wood to steel.  Not Confirmed.
• Spring 2024 New and Improved Lightning Rod will open.
• Two Brand New Trains for Lightning Rod.
• No mention of any changes above the chassis.  We'll see!
• No other specific changes were made regarding the replacement of the wooden track to IBox Steel track.
• About 40% of the current track remains the original wooden "Topper Track".
• In 2020/21 Off -season, the process of replacing much of the wood track to steel was completed.

Watch Dollywood's Video to hear all of the details they share:

Well, that is certainly promising news.  I think we all know that Lighting Rod has had its share of down time since it opened in 2016.  I know that pain of travelling far away to go ride something and then you get there, and it's down.  Its unfortunate, it really is.  And Dollywood realizes that, and they are going to try and remedy that.  Yay Dollywood! 

Dollywood, to my knowledge, has never really said what exactly the issues are, but from all the credible internet rumblings that I have heard, it boiled down to the lift hill being made of wood, which created some sway and stability issues and all the sensors working properly, and so on.  So, based on what Dollywood is changing, and what Pete & Eugene said about realizing that 'now they know why launches and wooden coasters don't pair well together' - paraphrasing, but you get the idea. ...that seems to me to be the likeliest scenario.

Enjoy Lightning Rod until the end of the Harvest Festival as it will close on October 30th for a major overhaul and two brand new trains.

Follow me and of course I'll post more as details come out.

What are you thoughts about it?  Let me know in the comments!

🔴🔴🔴

Here a couple of pictures of Lightning Rod from Tuesday, November 28, 2023. All of the old hardware used for the launch has been removed. The overhead structure at the top of the lift has been temporarily removed to allow for the installation of the new high-speed chain lift.

November 28, 2023

November 28, 2023

🔴🔴🔴

🎃 Dollywood's Harvest Festival 2023 - Tasting Pass, Park Info + More! 👻

Hi Everyone,

Dollywood has released information related to the Harvest Festival, including the Tasting Pass and their festival menu.   The Harvest Festival starts on Wednesday, September 20th thru October 30th, excluding Tuesdays.  

Just FYI for your planning: Dollywood is closed Tuesday October 31st thru Friday November 3rd, then Dollywood opens back up on Saturday the 4th with the Christmas Festival.   Also, Dollywood is closed Every Tuesday until Tuesday December 4th.

Source:  Dollywood - PDF Calendar

🎃 🎃 🎃

I have rounded up all the information that I could find and put it one place for you to look over.  Let me know if I have missed anything in the comments.   Let's see what's up, let's dig into it all!

🟠FOOD

We'll start with what Wes Ramey had to say about the offerings in the Dollywood Blog:

"Dollywood’s award-winning culinary team has been hard at work incorporating the comforting smells of sweet pumpkin treats and warm apple cider into delicious fall dishes, drinks and desserts, including a pulled pork sandwich with pumpkin spice BBQ sauce, three bean pumpkin chili, salted maple potato tornado, toasted pumpkin sausage and ricotta flatbread, and spiced pumpkin bisque with toasted pepitas. Are you hungry yet? I know that I am, and the items I just listed are just a few of the tempting tastes found parkwide as part of the Harvest Festival menu."

Click on any picture to enlarge - These are from the Dollywood Website, Check it out HERE.

🟠TASTING PASS

🟠What's New Around The Park?

Dollywood Blog writer Jennifer Webb shares what's new for the festival this year!

Every season, we try to give our Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health a “glow-up,” and this season is no different. The award-winning nighttime experience once again features a number of whimsical pumpkin displays, like the pumpkin spider, the pumpkin guitar, and new this year, the pumpkin honey bees.

This season, Great Pumpkin LumiNights makes its way to Market Square. The area serves as the centerpiece for the event with the focal point—the 40 ft. tall expertly-carved pumpkin tree. New this year is the Honey Bee display. During the day, this bee-autiful display offers a pop of color near the returning Hug A Bee Beekeeper experience. By night, these buzzing bees create a sweet lighted moment for your family.

 In Craftsman’s Valley, the pumpkin guitar glows to life as it strums Dolly’s famous hit, “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” and the not-so-spooky pumpkin spider greets you with his glowing grin.  Other guest favorites include the friendly pumpkin frogs at Drop Line Pond, the bright-eyed pumpkin bats at Mystery Mine and much more. These vivid displays bring crisp autumn nights alive, making Great Pumpkin LumiNights the ultimate fall event for creating special family memories and Instagram-worthy moments.

There are plenty of activities your family can enjoy during Great Pumpkin LumiNights. With thousands of carved pumpkins throughout the park, it takes a number of talented pumpkin carvers to create the festive displays. Everyone in the family will enjoy learning how to carve a pumpkin masterpiece from Dollywood’s “pumpkin artists” during these demonstrations. Kids-and kids at heart-will love turning into human jack-o-lanterns with Glow face paint. Face painters create unique designs with glow-in-the- dark face paint during the day that come to life at night!

The Great Pumpkin LumiNights Tour offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Great Pumpkin LumiNights, and Gold and Diamond Passholders receive a special discount! This two-hour guided walking tour highlights all of your festival favorites. Participants will enjoy festive refreshments, a dip-your-own-candle activity, character meet & greets, front-of-the-line access on Mystery Mine and more. To learn more about booking the Great Pumpkin LumiNights Tour, visit our website.

Make sure your Dollywood days turn into exciting theme park evenings during Dollywood’s Harvest Festival featuring Great Pumpkin LumiNights.

🟠Photo Opportunities

According to this blog post written by Wes Ramey...

My family loves to take photos when we visit, and there’s a colorful new photo op right when we enter the park called Harvest Sky. We can’t wait to stand beneath the thousands of vibrant, shimmering leaves swaying in the breeze along Showstreet. Then we’ll definitely have to stand in front of the colossal pumpkins—last year’s pumpkins ranged in weight from 800 to 1500 lbs. each and came from growers across the East Coast. We also love stopping by and seeing all the visiting artisans to see what amazing handmade wares they have brought with them, with many of them demonstrating their skills and techniques while creating one-of-a-kind treasures that we can purchase to take home with us to relive our time at Dollywood this fall whenever we want.

🟠Music 

Once again, Wes Ramey from Dollywood Blog:

Want some tunes as part of your Harvest Festival day at the park? You’re in luck, because live music is at the heart and soul of fall at Dollywood with Southern gospel, bluegrass and country artists found performing throughout the park. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, Jeannie Seely, Emily Ann Roberts, Dailey and Vincent, Triumphant Quartet, Hannah Dasher and The Isaacs are just a few of the performers set to take the stage – be prepared to sing along and enjoy some new music that just might head to the top of your musical favorites list. Performances take place on indoor and outdoor stages throughout the park, allowing the beautiful sounds to echo through the landscape here in the Great Smoky Mountains.

⭐Check out Dollywood's Website for the latest information about Special Harvest Entertainment.  HERE.  

🎃 🎃 🎃

The 2023 Harvest Festival at Dollywood is just around the corner! Check out my video from last year's festival to get a preview of all the fun you can expect.

🔵Blog Posts with other Helpful Trip Planning information

• Getting To Dollywood by Plane
• Big Bear Mountain Rider Preview Day - Dollywood's Newest Roller Coaster.
• Guide to all Mountain Coasters in Sevier County
• 30+ Great Places to Eat in Pigeon Forge after 2pm!
• All of Dollywood's Menus 2023 Edition
• 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 many Big Bear Mountain construction updates from all of 2022.  Check out my 2022 End of Year Recap to see all of my Dollywood videos from 2022.

🚨New Video!🚨 - Good Vibes - Full Show - June 28, 2023

Hi Everyone,

As summer comes to a close in the United States, I wanted to share a highlight from Dollywood's Summer Celebration: the full performance of "Good Vibes." I included this same show in Part 1 of my Summer Celebration series, but I believe it deserves its own stand-alone video. I find myself watching it several times a week for pleasure - I love this show and the cast this year has such great harmony!

 

I hope you enjoy it!

Silver Dollar City Announces Fire In The Hole 2.0 - Dollywood's Sister Park

Hi Everyone, 

This is a follow-up to my original post about the retirement of Fire In The Hole, found HERE.

On August 14, 2023, Dollywood's Sister Park in Branson, Missouri - Silver Dollar City - announced the replacement for the soon to be retired Fire In The Hole indoor roller coaster and dark ride.  Dollywood fans will recognize this as a mirror attraction to Blazing Fury.  SDC's original ride has reached the end of its working lifespan, and so a very impressive new version is set to open in 2024!

Let's check out the renderings and information provided by Silver Dollar City's Press Releases...

Source:  SDC Press Release | Burning Bridge Scene reimagined.

Source:  SDC Press Release | Overview of Ride in its new neighborhood.

Source:  SDC Press Release | Mural in the station

The wagon wheels will not be on the actual ride, but you can see these new trains are pretty faithful to the original, but these have a sort of bucket-seat and individual restraints rather than the shared bench with a safety bar found on the original.  Also new - on-board audio!

Source:  SDC Press Release | new logos

Source:  SDC Press Release | new logos

Source:  SDC Press Release

Source:  SDC Press Release

Source:  SDC Press Release

MidWest Info Guide has a great trip report from the construction tour that followed this announcement.  Tons of pictures!

Check that Trip Report out Here

Here are a few of the pictures that they shared, in random order.

Source:  midwestinfoguide.com | the burning bridge dip in the track

Source:  midwestinfoguide.com | new sets under construction

Source:  midwestinfoguide.com | Close Up the nearly identical to the original Splashdown

Source:  midwestinfoguide.com | Splashdown with maintenance switch track - just like the original.

Source:  midwestinfoguide.com | new station area

FITH has it's own unique soundtrack!

This looks fantastic to me because I was concerned that this might somehow be a ''lesser'' version of the original, but NO, this is a very faithful recreation of the original using new technology for the scenes, and all new ride components, new every single thing.  They have chosen to keep the water splashdown finale.  It's even about the same length, so I am impressed.  

Will Dollywood Be Getting This Too?  NO, not likely anytime soon.  As I wrote in my first post about FITH, Dollywood's version was upgraded in many ways in 2014, which is sure to expand its lifespan by several years.  As I explained, SDC's version is in a different state of being - it's deteriorating, basically, and so this more drastic solution was required.   $30 Million Dollars is obviously a lot of money and given that this isn't a priority at Dollywood, a replacement is far from happening.  At the moment Dollywood is hard at work on its next two or three (or more!) attractions.  One of which is rumored to be an all-new indoor roller coaster for the next phase of Wildwood Grove.  I look forward to finding more out about that!

That wraps this up.  Of course I'll keep an eye out for new details as they come up and share them here on my WhatsupatDollywood Blog.