Dollywood's Future Plans - An Eye on 2026!

 

Hi Everyone,

Screamscape.com - a website dedicated to posting information about amusement and theme parks, has posted a video taken from the recent IAAPA Convention in Orlando, with Eugene Naughton, who is the president of Dollywood.  IAAPA is THE convention for Amusement Parks and Manufacturers to showcase new attractions.  This year, Dollywood and Vekoma revealed the train for Big Bear Mountain, Dollywood's roller coaster for 2023.

Ed Naughton said that Dollywood was on a buying spree for 2026!

Go To 2m 12s in the video above, or click here for a cued up version.

"We're working on 2026.  We're hard at work on a buying spree, and we're getting ready for some major things that will be added to our park in 2026."

"I love the show (IAAPA) and what it represents, but I love doing it at a nice pace, so you make better decisions, and better planning, and give our partners a better time to deliver an upscale experience in plenty of time to design.  So that's why it's only 2023, but we're talking 2026, so we have a lot of ideation time in our program."

He goes on to briefly mention that Dollywood is hosting Coaster Con, as well as the Golden Ticket awards next year.   

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??

I have no inside knowledge of what they're planning to do, but I am aware of the surveys that Dollywood has sent out to guests for feedback about future attractions.  That is the direction that they'll most likely go.  I think parks do make these sort of master plans, and five-year plans and so forth, but roller coaster and ride manufacturers come out with new concepts, and they kind of become the next flashy thing that every park wants to get first.  IAAPA is the best place for a manufacturer to premiere an idea because of the audience, the eyeballs are all on top of it.   That's part of what Ed is doing at IAAPA - he's looking for the best ideas and the best ride systems for these concepts that Dollywood has floated around and is looking to execute.

Let's dig into Dollywood's last survey from 2019.

IIRC, the question asked was What type of roller coaster would you like to see at Dollywood?

1.  Hyper Coaster

2. Indoor Coaster

3. Spinning Coaster.

So, those are three solid options.  The Spinning Coaster shown here is at Dollywood's sister park, Silver Dollar City.  Would they want the same concept at both parks?  Maybe, it wouldn't be the first time they've repeated concepts.  They could always change the theme and the layout to make them different enough.  This spinning coaster is made by Mack, and only a few have been made to date.  Another plausible reason for going with a spinner could be that Dollywood buys a spinner and a hyper, read on.

Dollywood can afford to work with any manufacturer they wish.  Some folks on the internet have said that B&M coasters would not put one of their hypers in Dollywood because of a "Proximity Clause".   It's an agreement that parks sign with B&M that states they won't sell another hyper-coaster (in this case) to a nearby park, so they're not competing with ride copies. I'm not aware of any such agreement, so that's an unknown variable.   King's Island, Carowinds, and Six Flags over Georgia form a triangle around Dollywood, and all three have B&M hypers.  B&M Hypers are really nice, but all very similar to one another.  Mack makes a great hyper-coaster product too, see the DC Rivals Hyper Coaster in Australia, and Vekoma would build one if asked...so when it comes to hyper-coasters, it could be from anyone.  Zamperla is one of Dollywood's go-to's for rides. Zamperla is beefing up their roller coaster manufacturing division and could even toss their hat into it.  Zamperla is CONFIRMED to be retrofitting Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point - a 420-foot coaster currently...so they have skin in the hyper game too.  Going back to my point about the spinner, would a Mack hyper and a Mack spinner make sense?  Yes.  The idea of discounts for a contract for two roller coaster purchases is also a long-rumored bargain, so, what if Dollywood buys two at once?   Not to drag this out, but Dollywood has two Gerstlauers, two Vekomas, two RMC projects when you include the partial retrack of Blazing Fury, two S&S arrow products with Tornado and Barnstormer.   

Maybe they will build all three options!!   The way Dollywood is dropping money, it might not be out of the question.   Dollywood needs more indoor attractions, given their stated desire to operate year-round.

Moving on...

The next concept they asked about was for an indoor attraction.  Let's take a look at the options presented.  

This sounds familiar.  This 'theme' was used on Big Bear Mountain instead of a dark ride.  They wanted you to shoot Benjamin Bear for a thousand points!!

Those are great and seem very Dollywood-appropriate, so I like them all.

Below are some other ideas Dollywood was floating around in 2019.  I think it was in 2020 that the Candlelight Choir began performing at the Chapel in Dollywood, a low-key nod to this concept.   A Flying Theater was built on The Island in Pigeon Forge, and opened in 2021, so that idea may be off the table perhaps.  An interactive walk-through sounds interesting and could have lots of potential.

That's a lot of information to think about.  The good news is that Dollywood is planning its growth!  We're not discussing sad scenarios here, so that's fantastic news to someone who has lost two beloved amusement parks in his life - not slightly bitter or anything about that, lol-sob.  

You can read my extensive blog post about Dollywood's Future Plans that I wrote back in early August 2022...here.

Of course I'll keep one eye on this, and report back any news I find out.

Until next time!

Dollywood's DreamMore Resort - Winter Concert Series packages have returned!

 Hi Everyone,

Dollywood's DreamMore Resort has brought back its Winter Concert Series for another year.  In January, February, and early March you'll be able to see artists in a small setting at the resort.  In order to attend, you can buy either individual tickets or a room package that includes two tickets to the performance of your choosing.

source: https://www.dollywood.com/resort/dmr-events/winter-music-series/

Here are the eight artists you can choose from...click an image to enlarge.

I caught a few songs of the Young Fables back during the Harvest Festival at Dollywood.  I've cued that moment up in the video I produced, and you can watch that at this link - click here.

To buy tickets or room packages, go to the link here.

🎇 Dolly Parton to co-host NBC New Year's Party with Miley Cyrus 🎇

Hi everyone, 

Dolly announced on Monday that she, along with Miley Cyrus, would be hosting a New Years Eve Party

from Miami, that will air on NBC beginning at 10:30pm Eastern Time, as well as NBC's streaming

service, Peacock!

courtesy Dolly Parton facebook page

Let's watch Dolly's video, below.

🦋🦋🦋

Let’s dig into the details from my local-Knoxville NBC Affiliate, WBIR. 

Author: Elizabeth Sims

Published: 2:40 PM EST November 21, 2022

Updated: 6:10 PM EST November 21, 2022

MIAMI — Good golly! Dolly Parton is teaming up with her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus,

 

to co-host a New Year's Eve party. (link to Dolly's twitter of this same video)

 

Miley Cyrus' New Year's Eve Party will be live from Miami on NBC and streaming

 

on Peacock on Dec. 31 starting at 10:30 p.m. EST, according to a tweet.

In the post, Dolly invited people to "watch [them] rock out the show" to ring in 2023.

   

The team-up comes shortly after the teaser trailer for Dolly's new Christmas special,

 

"Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas," which will premiere on WBIR and other NBC

 

stations on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 8/7c. It will also be available on NBC's streaming service,

 

Peacock.

 

Cyrus is set to guest star in the special.

🦋🦋🦋

This comes on the high heels of a busy year for Dolly.  As the article states, her movie will air

December 1st - set you DVR’s and VCR’s! 🤪 AND, Dolly was just inducted into the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame in November, which was a treat to watch.  By the way, if you want to see

only Dolly’s portion of that event, it the last half-hour of the four-hour program on HBO…. they

saved the best for last, as they say. The entire program was a treat to see, if you have time to

watch the full show. Dolly has had a busy year as I’ve covered for most of 2022

on this blog.

Will you be watching Dolly and Miley on New Year's Eve?  Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time!

🚨NEW VIDEO 🚨Big Bear Mountain Construction Update from Nov. 16, 2022🚨👷‍♂️👷🏻‍♀️🏗️

 Hi Everyone, 

I was able to get some footage from Big Bear Mountain's Construction site on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022.

Here are some pics from the video.

waterfall basin

pump house / plumbing for basin

behind Black Bear Trail ride

behind Frogs and Fireflies

to the immediate left of the indoor play area/restrooms

station area / 2nd half of the ride

wide shot of the area around the station

What are you most looking forward to on Big Bear Mountain?  Let me know in the comments.

Until next time!

#pigeonforgenews #dollywood #bigbearmountain

Trailer Released for Dolly's movie - "Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas" - Airs December 1st on NBC

Hi everyone,

NBC has released a trailer for Dolly's upcoming movie, check it out in this article from our local NBC Affiliate, WBIR-TV.  Set your DVR's and VCR's to record it on December 1st!

Source:  Dolly Parton's new Christmas movie airs Dec.1 on NBC | wbir.com

Author: WBIR Staff

Published: 4:01 PM EST November 17, 2022

Updated: 4:21 PM EST November 17, 2022

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — It's nearly the most wonderful time of the year: Dolly Parton is about to star in a new Christmas special!

"Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas" will premiere on WBIR and other NBC stations on Thursday, December 1, at 8/7c. It will also be available on NBC's streaming service, Peacock.

NBC released a teaser trailer for the movie this week, which you can check out below.

Earlier this summer, Dolly was spotted filming at Dollywood with celebrities such as Willy Nelson and Jimmie Fallon. Several passholders at the theme park were able to take videos and photos of Dolly.

Other stars in the movie include actress and comedian Ana Gasteyer, Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus, country artist Jimmie Allen, Christian rock artist Zach Williams, and more.

The movie-musical is set in Dollywood and tells the backstage story of making a network TV special.

"This sentimental holiday movie takes viewers on a journey through time as Parton is visited by the Three Wise Men. The entertainer is taught valuable lessons, ultimately challenging her notions of the real magic of Christmas," NBC said.

Dolly Parton is recipient of Jeff Bezos award for Courage and Civility

 Hi Everyone,

Dolly Parton has been acknowledged for her philanthropy and giving by becoming the latest recipient the 2022 Bezos Award for Courage and Civility.  An important part of this award is receiving One Hundred Million dollars to do with, as she wishes!

I may be a little biased, but I am challenged to think of a more deserving recipient of such an award.  As it is well known and I have covered on this blog, Dolly is generous in her giving and she does it for genuinely heartfelt reasons, not for publicity.  

Here's what Forbes has to say about it: 

Jeff Bezos announced he is donating $100 million to singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton for her to give away to the charitable groups she chooses. Bezos shared the news and a short video on Twitter (see video below) on Saturday of an event at which he and his partner, Lauren Sanchez, gave the 2022 Bezos Courage and Civility award to Parton.

Sanchez, in her remarks, explained that the award “recognizes leaders who aim high, find solutions, and always do it with civility. Each awardee receives $100 million to direct to the charities that they see fit.”

Upon receiving the award, Parton first said, “What? Did you say a hundred million dollars?” She went on to say, “When people are in a position to help, you should help,” per the video. “I know that I’ve always said I try to put my money where my heart is,” she continued. “I will do my best to do good things with this money. Thank you Jeff.”

Parton is known for donating books to children through her foundation’s Imagination Library. She also donated $1 million toward the research behind Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. In July 2022, she was named an awardee of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Her Dollywood Foundation is a public charity, which means that it brings in funding from anyone who wishes to donate to it. In 2020, the most recent year for which finances are available, the Dollywood Foundation made $3.6 million of contributions and grants.

You can finish the article at Forbes.com, here.

🦋🦋🦋

We’ve just announced a new Courage and Civility award recipient — @DollyParton, who leads with her heart, and will put this $100 million award to great use helping so many people. She joins prior awardees, @VanJones68 and @Chefjoseandres. Congrats, Dolly! pic.twitter.com/dzTuoGVp3G

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 12, 2022

🦋🦋🦋

This is obviously fantastic news, Congratulations to Dolly!

Dollywood Big Bear Mountain Front Car of the Train Reveal! AND New POV footage!

 Hi Everyone,

Dollywood has revealed the front car for Big Bear Mountain at the IAAPA Convention currently going on in Orlando, Florida.   IAAPA is THE place to be for amusement park industry professionals.  Manufacturers set up elaborate booths there and they use this time to make big announcements, like Vekoma has done today with Dollywood.

Dollywood published this tweet on Monday night...

Got the urge to share some BIG news tomorrow…

— Dollywood Parks & Resorts (@Dollywood) November 14, 2022

And so, word got around that it was a reveal for the front car of Big Bear Mountain AND an animated POV for the ride.  You may be asking yourself didn't they have an animated video at the announcement?  Yes, they did, but it was not a POV entirely.  It was some POV footage spliced with off-ride animated footage, so this will be a full POV from start to finish, as if you were riding it.

So let's take a look at the just released images and video! 🐻🐻🐻

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ride On Orlando (@rideonorlando)

Search for Big Bear through the Smokies in this adventuring vehicle — accompanied by the voice of Ned Oakley and other immersive onboard audio — when Big Bear Mountain opens in spring 2023 🐻 pic.twitter.com/4SRPkhQorq

— Dollywood Parks & Resorts (@Dollywood) November 15, 2022

 

I am loving all the little details, the working head and tail lights, the fuel cans and the old-school Tennessee license plate on the back of the train, all the detailing on the front.  The bear scratches and the little bit of mud on the jeep body.  Very nice.  Now let's check out the animated POV below.

 

BIG Coaster. BIG excitement. BIG POV reveal. BIG 2023 incoming for Big Bear Mountain. pic.twitter.com/dQ9RNFqLZj

— Dollywood Parks & Resorts (@Dollywood) November 15, 2022

Big Bear Mountain will open at Dollywood some time in 2023.  It hasn't been officially announced when exactly but follow my blog and youtube channel for updates about that and all things related to Dollywood, including Dolly Parton related news!

Special thanks to Coaster Crew for providing media and coverage of this event.  Check their facebook page out here.  As well as RideonOrlando over on Insta.

And Special thanks to Dollywood for providing media on twitter.  Dollywood's Twitter Link is here.

Until next time.

🎠🎡🎢Dollywood's Weather Guidelines for Rides! 🎠🎡🎢

 Hi everyone, 

I see tons of the same questions in the Spring, Summer & Fall about Storms.  "When do the rides close for storms????? Or, When do they reopen?"  Let's answer this before moving on to Temperature Guidelines.

Here's the answer....

Source: dollywood.com

In November, December, and January the weather/temperature question is ..."Do the rides operate during Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas? The answer is Yes!  The two water rides typically close for the season at the end of October every year, but aside from that, yes, they run the rides with an eye on the temperature for Smoky Mountain Christmas.

Rides will close at certain temperatures and precipitation may also cause some rides to close as well.  These temperatures are not arbitrary.  Each ride manufacturer comes up with a temperature based on the materials used in the rides.  For example, hydraulics can freeze and moving parts can have difficulty doing their thing.  Roller Coasters will experience more friction in the wheels when the temps drop.  Flat rides that operate with only motors are less likely to close in cold temps.  So, since Dollywood is open in colder months, it has a list of the rides and the temps in which they operate, so let's dig into that!

Click on image to see full size version.  

Source: dollywood.com

As you can see it's all pretty straightforward.  They have a note that a few rides cannot begin to operate for the day until the temperature reaches 40 degrees and those are Mystery Mine, FireChaser Express, Whistle Punk Chaser and Lemon Twist.  Everything else should be able to operate above the listed temperatures.  

Some rides have really low temperatures, so if other rides are closed, you might want to turn your attention to these rides.  Blazing Fury is a good choice.  The Waltzing Swinger and the Black Bear Trail ride can operate until 23 degrees.  Drop Line can go all the way down to 5 degrees! 

There are several rides not listed, like the Scrambler, Dolly's Demolition Derby Bumper Cars, Busy Bees, Piggy Parade, Lucky Ducky, Mad Mockingbird, Rockin Roadway, Village Carousel and Dollywood Express.  The commonality here is that these rides operate with motors and no hydraulics, so no worries about issues with freezing temps.

I've been at the park many times when the temperature dips and they begin the process of shutting down the rides. Typically, they make announcements about the temperature at each ride and then let everyone in the line take a final ride before they close it for the night.

Some notes about braking.... because we want rides to stop at some point. 😀 Most of the roller coasters and some flat rides at Dollywood operate with magnetic braking, which is foolproof in the event of a power failure, any weather or other interruption.  With magnetic braking you have no contact in between the brake itself and the train or ride vehicle, so they are extremely safe and in fact they are much smoother than the pinch-style brakes that became popular in the 70's until magnetic braking became the preferred industry standard around the year 2000.  If you want to learn more about magnetic braking, google Eddy Current Brakes.  You'll see that they're used in many types of environments outside of amusement parks.  At Dollywood, Thunderhead has its original pinch brakes and Whistle Punk Chaser may be the only other coaster without magnetic braking, but I am not positive.

It's now become a bit more common to see parks operate a longer season.  Growing up, my home park Opryland closed up from October to April and Dollywood did too until they started their Christmas season in 1990 or 1991 - which became a game-changer for them and the surrounding area.  Two Cedar Fair parks that operated in that same manner recently announced year-round operations (I have a blog post about that here), so it's becoming a bit more common to see parks operate in colder weather.  Of course, Florida rarely shuts down for cold temps, so it's a non-issue for the most part there...same for southern California.

Pro Tip:  Most folks know that Dollywood lists its Ride Wait Times on its app, but that only works if you are inside Dollywood.  If you're outside of Dollywood, you can still see the wait times!  How??  Well, go to this link to Queue-times.com to see.  Click Here for Dollywood's page.  If you dig around that website, you'll find other parks as well, so enjoy!

If you have any questions, ask them in the comments!

Until next time!  

Dolly Carton - Meet artist JJ Barrows, Artist, Comedian, Dolly Parton Enthusiast!

 Hi Everyone, 

I love stories like this.  Stories of folks who are inspired by Dolly Parton so much, that they have to create!   Let’s meet artist JJ Barrows, who was profiled by our local NBC Affiliate, WBIR. At the bottom of the article, there is a video tutorial from JJ Barrows - be sure to watch.

Source: WBIR-tv

Artist creates "Dolly Carton" crowns to spread joy and uniqueness

JJ Barrows finds joy in being herself and putting her creativity on display. That's why she spends hours creating "Dolly Carton" cake toppers and crowns.

Author: Katie Inman

Published: 6:09 PM EST November 7, 2022

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — An East Tennessee artist combines her love of Dolly Parton and creativity to craft a crown she dons at Dollywood. JJ Barrows is most herself while covered in craft supplies. Her art studio in her Chattanooga home is filled to the gills with glitter, paint and pom poms.

"When I can't find the words to express myself, I'm creating, I'm painting, I'm getting it out," Barrows said.

Barrows is an artist, author and comedian.

"I wear a lot of hats," Barrows said. "I make some of them, but I also just wear some."

One of her favorite "hats," though, is an ode to East Tennessee's favorite songbird. It's called a Dolly Carton, because two egg carton pieces are fastened to the front of Dolly's chest.

The crowns were first cultivated from curiosity.

"I just looked at the bottom of my egg cartons one day," Barrows said. "I just looked at them laying there upside down one day and I was like, 'Dolly Parton!'"

Credit: JJ Barrows

Barrows and her husband moved from California to Chattanooga not long ago. It wasn't long before they decided they wanted to make one of the biggest commitments they could make in their marriage: getting Dollywood season passes.

"I kind of joked I went from Hollywood to Dollywood," Barrows said.

Now, this passholder wears the well-rounded work of art with pride to the queen's theme park in Sevier County.

"People always like to comment on them when you wear them in public or for any kind of like fun event," Barrows said. "It's so fun."

With each paint stroke, pipe cleaner and pom-pom, she finds her purpose.

"At a certain point in life, it came really important for me to let who I am out and show up instead of trying to continue to conform to who I thought I was supposed to be or who other people wanted me to be," Barrows said.

That's why she admires the busty blueprint, who has paved the way for so many others to embrace who they are.

"She's just an inspiring individual for being yourself, being true to yourself, showing up as yourself, not apologizing for who you are," Barrows said.

This artist is finding the masterpiece in the mess, with the musician's help.

"Life is hard and beautiful, and you have way more freedom than you think or know to show up as yourself," Barrows said.

Barrows wears a lot of hats, and she'll never stop creating new ones.

You can make your own Dolly Cartons at home. Linked here is a video showing you how to make the craft using basic art supplies.

You can also order products from Barrows on Etsy.

For Barrows' comedic side, she will be hosting a fundraiser comedy show on December 15 at the Comedy Catch in Chattanooga. It's all to support Meals on Wheels.

owns.