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

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🏆🏆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.

Post #2 - Dollywood 2022 So Far (and a bit of late 2021)

 Hi Everyone,

Right now in East Tennessee we are in the sultry throws of a June heat wave and it is really really hot, but I'm still working on content about Dollywood.   So far, 2022 has been pretty busy for me and for Dollywood.  Crowd levels are high on most days with a few exceptions that I hear about on social media where some folks have had the park to themselves....lucky ducks.

I recently published four videos related to Dollywood's Flower & Food Festival, one focusing exclusively on the Festival, another one of which is a general park update more or less, and two video updates of Dollywood's more popular stores....The Sweet Shoppe / Southern Pantry as well as the Mountain Blown Glass Shop.

Let's take a look...

I captured images of the menu boards at a few of the eateries - Front Porch Cafe, Aunt Granny's, Kettle Corn, Ironhorse Pizza, Food Truck park- Gus and Son's Greek Grill and Dazzle Delights.  AND, this was new to me, all over Dollywood are Picnic in the Park locations for quick grab and go meals.  They sell Turkey Wraps, PBJ, Apples, Pickles, Hard Boiled Eggs, etc - take a look at those offerings.  I've heard some constructive criticism that the food lines have been unusually long this season, so that might be a quicker option than waiting to eat at one of the restaurants.  These are spread out all over the park - I found four locations but I would think there are even more.  I believe the same stuff is at Splash Country too.   You can see the first one I found at 04:30 in the general update below. 

In March, I was at Dollywood for Season Passholder Preview day, this was on Friday March 11th and it felt so nice to be back at Dollywood, doing something that resembles normalcy again.  It was a great day and I documented my take on it in this video.

There were a lot of changes over the brief off-season.  I knew the parking lot was redesigned and the traffic pattern would be one-way, among other changes, so that's included.   I knew the beloved tunnel between Craftsman's Valley and The Village had been removed and renovated, so I included that in my video as well.  In Wildwood Grove work looks to be ramping up on Dollywood's 2023 coaster, so I captured that too.  The two food trucks are featured.  I learned on my April trip that the one next to Tennessee Tornado is the Food Truck Park, while the one up the hill in Wilderness Pass is the Food Truck Plaza, so keep it straight people!  You can take a look at that video - above this.

The Dollywood Emporium was transformed in the off-season.  My first impression was Wow, There Is A Ton of Dolly Merchandise!  In the past there was some Dolly merch for sure, but now, finally, this is where you want to go to find Dolly's mug on a mug, or on a t-shirt, or a shot glass or nearly anything else you can think of.   Plus, the aisles are clearer, the check out area is more organized and since its the main exit to the parking lot, that makes a lot of sense that they kept the high traffic areas a bit more open.

You can watch my video about the new Emporium here...

On this same trip I took a quick run through the Mountain Laurel Store and made a video about that.  You can watch that quick video here.

Back In February I took a trip to Dolly's DreamMore Resort to check that out and I think it's a nice hotel with a lot of benefits that one would enjoy if Dollywood or Splash Country are on your itinerary.  For one, there's door-to-door shuttle service from DreamMore to the parks.  Another is the Complimentary TimeSaver Pass that gives you access to shorter ride lines for Eight Dollywood Attractions of your choice, and Unlimited access to Shows (does not work at Splash Country).  They offer package delivery.  So, if you buy an oil lamp at the Mountain Blown Glass shop, they will deliver it to DreamMore and you can go about your Dollywood-day, and pick it up when you're delivered back to DreamMore - how cool is that.  Lastly, on Saturdays you can get early entry into Splash Country or Dollywood and get a head start before it opens to the public.  Much of this information is subject to change, so for the latest information I would recommend looking at their website, which is here DreamMore Perks.

In this video I walk around the entire property, taking a look at the lobby, the group meeting rooms, lots of patios, the pool area, the fire pit and cornhole areas around the pool, the indoor pool, playground, game room, excercise room, The Song and Hearth Restaurant and lounge, The Pantry, Dolly's Time Capsule, Dolly's Hallway of Album Covers, walk past the Spa (closed on the day I was there), and as an added bonus, Dolly's explanation of her "Gypsy Wagon", which, as you will see in the video, it's Dolly's recently retired motor coach and it will be transformed into a Suite available for booking at a later date...it's called the 1986 Suite and you'll hear what she has to say about it.  Another Bonus - I stopped by the Dolly statue at the Sevier County Courthouse to check in with her there - she's doing pretty good.

Please watch my DreamMore video here: 

Might as well go back a little further...we're all dressed up and our hair looks great!

In November of 2021 I published my nearly-hour long look at Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas.  You can watch that in it's entirety here...

In September of 2021 I published my look at Dollywood's Great Pumpkin LumiNights Event.  This was my first night time video and I was a bit disappointed in the footage when I took it into edit, so I am sorry it is so shaky. It is below my standards.  However, it was a learning opportunity and 2021 was the  year of the learning curve for me, so, important to learn from it....which I did make major adjustments for the Christmas video.

 
You can watch the LumiNights video here...it still turned out pretty good I think 😀

Finally, I am so thankful that I shot the Chasing Rainbows museum in 2021.  During the off-season, Dollywood announced that it would be closing, hopefully just temporarily.  At this time there have been no announcements about its return, so we'll have to wait and see what Dolly plans to do with it.  So, take a good look at it in it's last year of operation in the Adventures in Imagination area of Dollywood.

You can watch the Chasing Rainbows Museum video here....

Coming up is Dollywood's next festival, The Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration.  That runs June 18 to August 7th, so that will be my next video for Dollywood.  That will likely publish in late June I hope 🤞.  

Read more about that festival at Dollywood.com - here Summer Celebration.

Thanks for reading and watching! Until next time, take care!

Jeff

Post #1 - Welcome!

 Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the first post at What’s Up At Dollywood - a bloggy/Vlog!

toot, toot, toooooooot

Hi Everyone!,

I want to be able to convey information about Dollywood to my followers in between publishing videos.  My videos are editorial and it's challenging to publish videos quickly - it's a time consuming process.  

So, be sure to follow not only my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JeffBurkhardt), but also this vlog/blog. Put the RSS feed into your favorite news aggregator, (Feedly, for example) or wherever you keep up with other blogs and news stories.

Now you can follow me on Facebook at Facebook - What's Up At Dollywood.

A bit about me!  I'm Jeff Burkhardt and I love amusement parks!  As a kid growing up in Nashville, I loved Opryland.  Once I overcame an initial fear of roller coasters, I became fascinated by how they worked, how they were designed and built.  Eventually, that led to a fascination with all types of flat rides, water rides and roller coasters too.  I think my favorite flat ride at Opryland was the Barnstormer Ride.  

The Barnstormer at Opryland USA - in its ''unextended'' formation.

Spec Sheet from the manufacturer.  This details the ride cycle. | source:  Internet / Unknown

World's of Fun's version of the Barnstormer | source: http://unwof.blogspot.com/2011/01/is-for-aerodrome.html

Old Chicago's indoor Barnstormer, the prototype, 70-foot tall version, early 1980's | source: internet / unknown

It was an enormous ride to me as a child.  It was a 100-foot tower with 12 bi-planes attached to a star-shaped circle with cables.  The ride started ascending and rotating. Once at the top it would bounce as it locked into place.  After a few moments of spinning, the hydraulic counter-weight would somehow switch the cables - I'm still unsure how this worked! - the planes’ cables would extend and the planes would flare about 20 to 30 feet outward, creating a diving sensation.  Eventually, it would be hoisted back to the top of the star formation, unlock, and begin the descent back to the ground.   Each of those movements would create a bounce that caused all those who were unfamiliar with the ride to gasp, but once I learned how it operated, it took the white-knuckle feeling out of the experience, and I could relax and enjoy it for what it was...very fun.  Only three models of this type were made. The prototype was at Old Chicago indoor park and was a 70-foot tall model. World's of Fun had the 100-foot tall version like Opryland, but early on it suffered a hydraulic leak incident which injured several riders and it lost its diving feature, but continued to operate for some time. The Opryland Barnstormer was the longest lasting of the three, and operated with the diving feature the entire time it was at Opryland.

In addition to Opryland, Nashville was the home of a very small amusement park called Fair Park, and it was at the Nashville Fairgrounds.  It had its own unique charm, a little shabby and completely unlike Opryland.  Many of the rides at Fair Park were geared towards young kids, though not all of them.  One of my favorite memories was from their Haunted House attraction, which was a Pretzel Dark ride (Wiki for Pretzel Rides - Pretzel Amusement Ride Company - Wikipedia).  There were many gruesome horror scenes throughout the ride, but the one that stands out was a person being sawed down the middle of their body with a giant rotating circular saw.  Eek!  But the cool part to me was the two or three roller-coaster dips in the middle of the haunted house.  I can remember riding with my mom and we were both surprised at the roller coaster dips, which must have been about 10 to 15 foot drops.  It’s so funny to look back and to remember being so frightened of that, but now I regularly enjoy roller coasters with 200, 300, 400 foot heights.

Haunted House at Fair Park, as I remember it. | source: Fair Park in Nashville Photo Gallery by Chip Curley at pbase.com

"Paris after Dark" preceded the Haunted House, Fair Park, Nashville, Tennessee.  You can see the dips in the center of the ride.| source: Fair Park in Nashville Photo Gallery by Chip Curley at pbase.com

Yours truly, Kodak Film/Cigarette/Candy store/Shotgun Red store, Western Area, Opryland 1990.   Anyone need some Rock Candy, 110 film and Marlboro Reds?

Unfortunately, in the mid 1980’s Fair Park was razed and in 1997 Opryland was razed to make way for a shopping mall…. just around the time when shopping malls were beginning their decline in popularity.  So, my wonderful childhood memories at Opryland and Fair Park could not be re-experienced and that does sting, a lot actually, and now if I want to ‘’revisit’’ it has to be done through the generosity of others who upload photos and videos to YouTube or social media in general.  Thank you to everyone who pulled out their camcorder back in the day, and took the time to document that, save it all these years, which is a miracle that it survived, and upload it for others to enjoy.

How does that relate to Dollywood?  Well, I want to produce videos for people to enjoy, and also videos that are helpful for those who, perhaps, want to know what to expect if they’ve never been, or want to see what is new, or different.  It will be interesting to look at these videos in the future to see how things ‘used to be’, as they will undoubtedly change, it's just the nature of it all.  Nothing is really permanent at amusement parks, and sometimes the park itself just goes away - it’s happened to me twice now. Poof, Gone!  Dollywood is not hesitant to remove attractions to make room for other things, and sometimes they remove things to create open space, it happens quite a bit actually.  I started going to Dollywood in 1992 when I moved to Knoxville from Nashville and in that time they’ve removed at least a dozen attractions that I was quite fond of.  The Flooded Mine, the Country Fair Falls log ride from the 1964 World’s Fair in New York - or more accurately, one of the two log rides at the fair.  They’ve removed a tilt-a-whirl, a Ferris wheel, a Zamperla Balloon Race, a Chance Yo-Yo, a Trabant, The Mountain Slidewinder!, River Battle, The Cloud Grabber, a 200 foot tall observation type ride by Von Roll, Inventors Mansion and its adjoining tunnel, Thunder Express mine train coaster, Timber Topper, the Adventure Mountain ropes course, the Zip Line attraction, they closed the Chasing Rainbows Museum -Dollys own Museum, hopefully temporarily. (In 2024 "The Dolly Parton Experience" will replace Chasing Rainbows). The list is long.  So, I want to document as much as I can through video, and share that with others.  By comparison, I can recall that Opryland removed only three attractions (actually Four attractions - The Angle Inn in the late 1980s) in my time going there - the antique carousel, the boat float around Eagle lake, and later, the Tin Lizzie car ride, which by a weird twist of fate, was sold to Kentucky Kingdom, and can still be ridden today, and is now owned by Dollywood's parent company, Herschend Entertainment. Change, although its challenging to deal with it at times, it's a constant thing....and perhaps Opryland didn't do enough of that?

Here's a look at some attractions that are no longer at Dollywood.

All Gone - Country Fair Falls Log Ride, Butter Churn (trabant), and Swingamajig (yo-yo), and Imagination Station play area. | source: Dollywood - Pre-1985 Silver Dollar City Park Brochure - Mark's Postcard Paradise (themeparkreview.com)

All Gone - Von Roll "Cloud Grabber" behind Swingamajig (yo-yo), Butter Churn (trabant) and a former carousel.| source: Dollywood - Pre-1985 Silver Dollar City Park Brochure - Mark's Postcard Paradise (themeparkreview.com)

The Flooded Mine interior, Dollywood or SDCtenn | source:  unknown /internet

Map from early 1980's.  Highlights are Flooded Mine (left), Inventors Mansion (center), Country Fair Falls (right'ish) and Cloud Grabber (right) - Gone.  | photo courtesy of Dukeis#1

Inventors Mansion and adjoining tunnel - gone | source:  unknown/internet

Wonder Wheel, an Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel.  1993 to late 2010's | source: Jeff Burkhardt

Adventure Mountain Ropes Course, 2009-end of 2012 | source: Jeff Burkhardt

Adventure Mountain Ropes Course, 2009-end of 2012 | source: Jeff Burkhardt

Dreamland Forest Playhouse and Bullfrog Creek Splash Pad in then Dreamland Forest | source: Jeff Burkhardt

  

Dreamland Forest Playhouse Razed for Barnstormer Ride a S&S swing - no relation to Opryland's Barnstormer Ride, a Bradley and Kaye bi-plane ride.| source: Jeff Burkhardt

Chasing Rainbows Museum, Closed at the end of 2021 season.  This is the museum's second location, the first being inside Inventors Mansion and called Dolly Parton - Rags to Riches. | source: Jeff Burkhardt

Imagination Cinema / Turbo-Motion Simulator, at one time, the world's largest. 1996-2012.  The movie would change out frequently. | source: Jeff Burkhardt

Mountain Slidewinder, designed and made in-house by Dollywood Maintenance.  1986- 2019.| source: Jeff Burkhardt

Myself, on Sky Zip attraction in 2011 | source: Jeff Burkhardt

River Battle, a Mack Splash Battle ride, 2008-2018| source:  Jeff Burkhardt

Timber Tower, a Huss Topple Tower ride, 2006-2012 | source:  Jeff Burkhardt

Dolly Parton's own apartment at Dollywood, above Apple Jacks in 2013 - Gone!  Nothing is sacred enough to spare lol.  

Fast Forward to more recently, I have been producing cable television for about 24 years and then pivoted with a career change, which led me to producing content for YouTube, and I love doing it!  

Thanks for reading my first post, Welcome to the Blog/Vlog, and be sure to bookmark me, or save it or however you read blogs these days, And of course Subscribe to my YouTube Channel - here https://www.youtube.com/c/JeffBurkhardt and my W.U.A.D. Facebook channel here

Until Next Time,

Jeff