Welcome To Screamscape!

DOLLYWOOD & Splash Country
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Herschend Family Entertainment

----    THE LATEST BUZZ    ----
    (5/24/18) Dollywood - New 2019 and 2020 Attraction Rumors
    (5/18/18) Dollywood's Splash Country Opening This Weekend With Special Ticket Offer (MORE...)
    (3/30/18) 2019 Construction Site Progress Update (MORE...)
    (3/13/18) Dollywood Targeted By $400,000 Guest Lawsuit (MORE...)

Dixie Stampede (2016) Review

DOLLYWOOD’S SPLASH COUNTRY WATERPARK - OFFICIAL REVIEW

FireChaser Express Grand Opening & Review - Click Here

Dollywood DreamMore Resort (MORE...)

General Park News - (5/18/18) Dollywood reminds us that Dollywood's Splash Country waterpark will open for the season on May 19th, and to celebrate they are offering a special ticket deal: purchase a two-day Dollywood ticket and upgrade to a two-day, multi-park ticket for free! You can take advantage of this offer now through May 18th (FRIDAY) and the tickets can be used through to June 3rd.
    Splash Country will also showcase a number of upgrades for their 18th season featuring "Too Hot Turesday" where a DJ performs on the wave pool deck, a ton of new menu items throughout the park, new landscaping and some new paint and themeing elements to explore and even new shade structures over select queues. Screamscape readers know I'm a big fan of Dollywood's Splash Country as well... as I think it really is one of the best waterparks in the country to visit, both in terms of awesome attractions and a great relaxing themed atmosphere.
    Check out our review and video feature for more details if you have never been. You wont regret it.
    (3/13/18) Dollywood finds itself the target of another guest lawsuit, this one asking for $400,000 after the guest was injured in the park. What happened? According to this article a woman named Judy Eatherton visited the park in March 2017 and while attempting to climb out of the Rockin' Roadway car ride vehicle, she stumbled, fell and fractured her wrist.
    So yeah... she is asking for $400,000 in damaged for a self-stumble and a broken wrist? And the interesting part is she takes no blame for the incident, but instead claims to be suffering permanent impairment, disability and "loss of enjoyment of life' because the design of the car's is flawed because there is no open doorway to enter and exit through, which forced her to climb over the car into the seat.
    While there are some antique car themed car rides out there with large vehicles with open sides, the majority of car rides I've seen over the years, including those at the Disney parks, all require guests to step over the door to enter and exit the vehicle. This is typically done for an important reason... these are kiddie rides with no open doorways for small children to fall out and get hurt. Fixing this "flaw" would then put the small children that ride this attraction at risk, or force the park to increase the height limit which would then bar small children from riding.
    Lets hope logic prevails here and this case is tossed by the judge before this lady trips over herself again trying to sit at a picnic table somewhere.
 
    (3/12/18) While a lot of the focus on Dollywood right now is aimed at their 5-acre 2019 expansion (follow this link to see brand new information about that) some other interesting news was passed my way this week. According to the latest rumors, Dollywood may be considering plans to attempt to keep the park open year-round within the next couple years. As it is right now, Dollywood is almost open year-round, only closing down from early January to mid-March, which is pretty much the coldest time of the year for the area, and a time when tourism falls off at most of the area businesses in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, with things picking up once again in March... just when Dollywood reopens.
    The question here to be solved may be similar to the, "Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?" question. Does tourism in the area fade during this time just because Dollywood is closed, or would the tourists continue to visit if Dollywood were to remain open? We may just find out the answer to that question before too long, so stay tuned.
    (3/8/18) In addition to news about the 2019 expansion, Screamscape sources tell us that Dollywood has removed their small Ferris wheel attraction.
    (9/14/17) Dollywood won four awards from this year's Golden Ticket Awards presentation for: Friendliest Park (6th year in a row), Best Shows (9th year in a row), Best Christmas Event (10 wins) and for Best Food (4th win).

    (8/24/17) I'm kinda sad about this one, as I used to have a blast riding this with my kids on a hot summer day, but according to an official post by Dollywood on their Facebook page the park will remove the River Battle attraction at the end of the summer season... so your last day to ride is Sept. 4th. I'm guessing that perhaps the site may be used for something else next season perhaps. Anyone know more?
    In other news Dollywood has announced their plans to launch an all new family friendly fall event this year after dark to be called Great Pumpkin LumiNights. The idea is to take the same concept that the park does at Christmas time by filling the park with thousands of lights, but for the fall the park's Timber Canyon area will be illuminated with glowing pumpkins everywhere you look.
    During the daytime the park will host Dollywood's Harvest Festival presented by Humana from Sept. 29 through Oct. 28 where the biggest names in Southern gospel take to stages every day throughout the park with more than 500 individual performances during the run of the festival.  This will be followed nightly for the first time by the new Great Pumpkin LumiNights.
    Families will bask in the glow of thousands of intricately-carved pumpkins as they wander through immersive harvest-themed displays throughout Dollywood’s Timber Canyon. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities to create thrilling memories together. With so many carved pumpkins needed to create Great Pumpkin LumiNights, Dollywood has a number of “pumpkin artists” who will host demonstrations to help guests learn how to produce the perfect pumpkin masterpiece.
    Unique harvest games and attractions—including a glow maze—for kids, a nightly Pumpkin Boogie dance party, and friendly costume characters help add to the festive atmosphere. New themed food options and exclusive harvest-themed Coca-Cola products make Great Pumpkin LumiNights the place to be when the sun goes down in the Smokies.
    The park’s Year of the Family continues with America’s most-loved holiday theme park event, Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana (Nov. 4- Jan. 1, 2018). Honored for nine-consecutive years with Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket for Best Christmas Event, Dollywood is home to a festive holiday atmosphere that truly puts guests in the holiday spirit.
    “I just love Christmas at Dollywood, and I know you all do too,” Parton said. “The Parade of Many Colors is back this Christmas, along with seven holiday shows and four million beautiful lights. We even have Rudolph and his friends back for another year of creating family memories. It will be a November and December to remember!”
    From the spectacular shows and elaborate holiday decorations to the four million sparkling lights and Christmas-themed menus, Dollywood captures the essence of Christmas in the Smoky Mountains.
    Parton also spoke about her newest project, a children’s CD entitled I Believe in You. The CD will be released in September and features songs she has written throughout the years for Dollywood’s Little Engine Playhouse. It includes a new version of Coat of Many Colors which debuted in the playhouse this summer.

 

2018 - The “Season of Showstoppers” and “The Venue” - (2/24/18) Dollywood has posted a nice update to their Blog showing off how they are progressing inside the park on various off-season improvement projects inside the park. New paint, a look at the new Festival Plaza mixed-use space, word that big changes are coming inside Aunt Granny's restaurant, upgrades all around Rivertown Junction and much more.
    (1/18/19) Dollywood has announced their Spring Mix Music Series schedule and Festival of Nations lineup for the 2018 season. To help enjoy all the fun the park is now offering a special multi-day ticket option for guests, allowing for the flexibility to enjoy the special performances across multiple days during a visit to the park.
    Festival of Nations will run from Mar. 17 through to Apr. 9, 2018. This year's lineup will feature three internationally-known groups new to Dollywood: The National Dance Company of Siberia, The Flamenco Kings starring Los Vivancos, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Also new in 2018 is JigJam, a quartet from Ireland that blends traditional Irish music with bluegrass, creating what they call "Celtgrass". Other returning performers include the Caribbean's Invaders Steel Drum Orchestra and Ecuador's Atahualpa.
    Dollywood's Spring Mix will feature three weeks of musical performances at the park from Apr. 11 to Apr. 29, with a different genre focus each week:
Week One (Country)
Wednesday, April 11- Crystal Gayle and Suzy Bogguss
Thursday, April 12- Shenandoah and Restless Heart
Friday, April 13- Janie Fricke and The Malpass Brothers
Saturday, April 14- Connie Smith and Mandy Barnett
Sunday, April 15- T.G. Sheppard and Sylvia
Monday, April 16- Pam Tillis and Exile
Tuesday, April 17- DOLLYWOOD CLOSED

Week Two (Inspirational)
Wednesday, April 18- Amy Grant and The Martins
Thursday, April 19- Chonda Pierce and Triumphant Quartet
Friday, April 20- David Phelps and Wayne Watson
Saturday, April 21- Blind Boys of Alabama and Dallas Holm
Sunday, April 22- The McKameys and Carman
Monday, April 23- Selah and Larnelle Harris
Tuesday, April 24- DOLLYWOOD CLOSED

Week Three (Classic)
Wednesday, April 25- The Marshall Tucker Band and The Drifters
Thursday, April 26- Orleans and Al Stewart
Friday, April 27- Atlanta Rhythm Section and Maureen McGovern
Saturday, April 28- Firefall and In My Life: A Beatles Tribute
Sunday, April 29- Debby Boone and The Tams

    (11/6/17) Another note from Dollywood describes "The Venue", a new themed multi-purpose area that will replace the park's closed River Battle ride between Mystery Mine and the entrance to Wild Eagle. While it will have a natural looking theme to it, the area is being designed with the idea of being able to overlay extra themeing to it to tie into whatever special event or seasonal holiday is being celebrated in the park at any given time of year.

    (11/4/17) Dolly Parton and Dollywood have announced that in 2018 the park will make their 'largest entertainment investment in history'. This will take the form of an unprecedented lineup of performers coming to Dollywood throughout the 2018 season in what Dolly has called a, "Season of Showstoppers".
    “Music is the universal language that unites all of us,” Parton explained. “It celebrates our people, our families and our communities. I’ve made music my life’s work because I feel each and every one of us has a special song to sing. I’ve made sure that here at my Dollywood, we use music to encourage and inspire those songs in each and every one of our shows.”
    Dollywood’s 2018 entertainment roster reads like the nomination list from an awards ceremony. A range of performers—from CMA Hall of Fame members to emerging artists—ensure there is something for everyone. Combined, the headlining artists performing at Dollywood in 2018 have 42 gold albums, 18 platinum albums, 30 Grammys, 14 Country Music Association Awards, 10 American Country Music Awards, five American Music Association Awards and 62 Dove Awards.
    It all begins with Dollywood’s Festival of Nations (March 17-April 9) which includes headliners National Dance Company of Siberia, The Flamenco Kings starring Los Vivancos, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
    April plays host to three weeks (April 11-29) of stellar performances during the all-new Spring Mix music series. Dollywood guests can expect performances by Dollywood entertainment alumnus Bogguss, Sheppard, Pam Tillis, Gayle, Connie Smith and Shenandoah during the first week of the event. The second week plays host to artists such as Amy Grant, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Larnelle Harris, David Phelps and comedienne Chonda Pierce – also known as “The Queen of Clean.”
    Classic artists like The Marshall Tucker Band (Can’t You See and Heard it in a Love Song), The Drifters (Under the Boardwalk and Save the Last Dance for Me), Debby Boone (You Light Up My Life), The Atlanta Rhythm Section (So Into You and Imaginary Lover), Firefall (Just Remember I Love You and You Are the Woman), and Al Stewart (The Year of the Cat and Song on the Radio) entertain park guests during the final week of the event. Individual concert dates and show times will be announced at a later date.
    Already one of the nation’s best bluegrass events, Dollywood’s Barbeque & Bluegrass (May 25- June 10) adds an extra week of concerts from the biggest names in the business. Guests should expect hundreds of live bluegrass performances during the festival with headline shows from Grammy and IBMA winner Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, and IMBA winners Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Dailey & Vincent, and many more.
    Families have a multitude of world-renowned options to keep them entertained during Dollywood’s Summer Celebration. iLuminate, finalists on America’s Got Talent in 2011, bring their electrified glow-in-the-dark costumes to DP’s Celebrity Theater to perform dynamic dance routines and illusions to thrill guests. Summer 2018 also sees international touring sensation DRUMLine Live! visit the park with riveting rhythms, bold beats and ear-grabbing energy. Developed by the consultants of the hit 2002 movie Drumline, the band featured in this exhilarating show creates a synchronized musical masterpiece for guests—it’s more than just the typical halftime performance! Dan Dunn—America’s favorite speed painter—brings his innovative and mesmerizing PaintJam to Dollywood. Audiences will be astonished as he creates stunning works of art on a spinning 360-degree canvas, while he dances and moves throughout the performance.
    Dollywood’s popular Rock the Smokies moves to August 25 with TobyMac and Crowder serving as headliners. Multiple contemporary Christian artists perform throughout the park during this exciting conclusion to the summer.
    Dollywood’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 28 – Nov. 3) provides more fall family fun with the expansion of the new guest-favorite Great Pumpkin LumiNights and the largest Southern gospel event in America. During the festival, several hundred performances by Southern gospel royalty take place during the day, while at night, thousands of carved pumpkins illuminate the dark with an expanded number of displays and activities for families to enjoy.  Dollywood guests also can enjoy the spectacular artistry of visiting crafters from across the country, or sample the special harvest-themed food items from Dollywood’s award-winning foods team.
    Dollywood’s 2018 season again ends with America’s favorite theme park holiday event, Smoky Mountain Christmas. Voted as the best theme park Christmas event for a decade, Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana (Nov. 10, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2019) features four million spectacular lights, classic holiday entertainment—including Christmas in the Smokies and It’s a Wonderful Life—Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Friends, and the heartwarming Parade of Many Colors. 

2019 - Expansion Project - (5/24/18) According to an early rumor, the current massive expansion project underway at Dollywood for 2019 may be given a water or river themed name, with the name Geysers Gulch being tossed around as a possibility at the moment. Another interesting rumor sent my way claimed that the removed River Battle ride may return as part of this expansion… but with a shorter layout. Our source tells us that the boats and hardware for the ride are still on-site at the park in storage. Keeping with the river themeing, one of the kiddie flat rides is said to be themed as paddle boats. Look for construction to kick into full gear sometime in July.
    But the fun may not stop there… more could be added in 2020! (See below)
    (3/30/18) A new video from Coaster Studios shows off the 2019 construction site progress as of March 22, where everything has now been cleared out entirely to make way for the expansion. Compare this to how it looked in late 2017 and it's amazing at how level they have made this land compared to how it used to be.


    (3/12/18) Some concept art showing off the layout of the new 5-acre land being added to Dollywood for 2019 can be found at the PigeonForgeTNGuide website. Just scroll down a bit to get to the "March 6" update, and they've posted some of the artwork shown to the town officials, which include the layout of the new coaster, which is an exact match for the Orkanen coaster, just as I said it would be, which looks to be keeping that fun underground tunnel dive element as well.
    You can also make out a number of new flat rides being added to the area, which is always a good thing, along with some kind of tracked ride, but I'm not sure if this is a car/tractor style ride, or a small flume. The other interesting features I see are two large buildings being added... one near the pathway entrance by Mystery Mine and the other at the far end just before you reach the coaster. One description mentioned an indoor play attraction space, but what is the other building for? A restaurant? New shop? A dark ride maybe? It's hard to say just yet, though the bigger one near the coaster appears to be at least two-stories tall. 
    (3/9/18) According to Screamscape sources the new coaster coming to Dollywood in 2019 will actually be a new Vekoma Family Suspended coaster, featuring the latest in Vekoma's train and comfy restraint designs. As for the layout itself, I'm told it will actually be a clone, or near clone of Orkanen (Farup Sommerland, Denmark). Orkanen is known for having a unique custom layout that flies out over the water and even has an underwater dive element through a tunnel, so I'm guessing a Dollywood version could offer a unique terrain-run style, over and through whatever theming they choose to populate the new expansion area with.
    (3/8/18) Following up with the on-site reports from December showing off a huge new clearing being made at Dollywood behind Thunderhead, the local news now confirms that this will be for a new 5-acre expansion to Dollywood that will include eight new "attractions", a new restaurant along with other assorted amenities.
    While there is no official word from the park on what the new attractions will be, the files spotted by the news report mention seeing what they believe is an enclosed family coaster, a swinging pendulum style ride and indoor play area. The picture shown of the swing ride looked like your typical swing-ship ride.
    Just a thought, but either way 2019 is going to be a big year for Dollywood. As for the expansion itself, Screamscape has been told that the access pathway to the new area is located pretty much right next to the Mystery Mine building.
 
    (12/24/17) Screamscape has been getting some interesting reports about new construction taking place at Dollywood as of late. As previously reported, River Battle is coming out to be replaced by "The Venue". Meanwhile, over the last several years we've witnessed a slow but steady clearing of the land along the upper end of the train route. Several years ago the large circle / turnaround area at the top of the line used to be forested, but was cleared out for unknown reasons, and ever since then the land near the train tracks leading up to this point behind Firechaser Express and now down to the hillside behind Thunderhead has been slowly been cleared and leveled for some kind of unknown future project.
    Well now it looks like this clearing is suddenly going full speed ahead and has really expanded in scope. Coaster Studios dropped by the park this week and posted some video footage of this huge land clearing taking place as seen while riding the train, which you can watch below. You can compare the video footage to some photos a reader sent in about 10 days ago and see how much more the site has been cleared since then. Based on the video, I've marked on an aerial image where I believe this clearing now is, as if I'm right, this is clearly a big enough space to build an entirely new land, if that is what the park wanted. I would look for something huge to appear here in 2019.
    Lastly, you see a bit of it at the end of the video, but it seems the park also quietly demolished the old "Apple Jack's Sandwiches" restaurant structure leaving no trace of it, other than a construction fence. I'm told that Dolly used to have a private little apartment space on the second floor of the building she could use a long time ago, but the space was said to have been cleared out completely about 6 or 7 years ago. (Of course, Dolly now has her own Suite at the DreamMore Resort...)

2020 - New Coaster - Rumor - An early rumor claims that Dollywood may be looking to build their next major coaster as a Phase 2 expansion to the 2019 project. Manufacturers are being looked at, but rumor has it they may be leaning towards B&M simply for a reliability standpoint.  What kind of coaster may be up in the air as well, though after just opening Fire Chaser Express and Lightning Rod, they definitely are not looking to have another launched coaster at this point. While a B&M Hyper may be considered a likely choice, I believe Dollywood is too close to Carowinds and Six Flags over Georgia for that to happen with the typical B&M contracts that prevent similar coasters from being built too close together too soon. A B&M Inverted may be a possibly however, even though Carowinds has one as well, simply because Afterburn was built in 1999, and by 2020 enough time should have passed to allow for it. Plus I think it would be kind of cute to open the rumored family inverted coaster in 2019… and then follow it up with a monster sized version that could run wild through the mountainside and trees, much like Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
    That’s just a dream on my part however, Dollywood could very well opt to go with an entirely different manufacturer to get a Hyper or anything else they want. Stay tuned while we listed for more rumors on the wind.

DOLLYWOOD’S SPLASH COUNTRY -
Review by Lance Hart
Posted: 4/23/16

    Here at Screamscape our family are big fans of waterparks, and we've traveled across the country to visit many of them over the years, and have written quite a few reports about our favorites which you can find scattered throughout our many "Features" articles.
    Today we add to this famous list another waterpark that is very deserving of your attention: Dollywood's Splash Country. The park is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, just across the road from the world famous Dollywood theme park, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, nestled right in-between the theme park and Dollywood's DreamMore Resort, surrounded by the lush and beautiful hillsides that make for the perfect terrain for a truly incredible waterpark.
    In fact once you get your ticket and head down the path to the park entrance, you may just quickly forget just where you are, as you pass into what may be one of the most well themed and beautifully landscaped waterparks anywhere. Your ears will be filled with the sound of waterfalls, trickling rivers, laughing children and gentle music as you enter the first area where the entry to the Downbound Float Trip (aka: Lazy River) sits to your right, with a backdrop of cascading waterfalls. To your left is the Little Creek Falls kiddie play area for the little kids, and there are plenty of lounge chairs on either side here if you wanted to plop down and park your stuff.
    Of course this is just the tip of the ice-berg, as Splash Country has several great areas you can sit and relax in.  You can keep walking straight ahead and up a rise to find the huge Mountain Waves area, dominated by a 25,000 sqft wave pool. Or head down the hill to your left and you can hang out at Bear Mountain Fire Tower area, dominated by a huge water fortress structure, complete with a massive bucket of water on top that dumps down on everyone below every couple of minutes. Keep walking down the path from here and you'll come to one of my favorite and very secluded areas, The Cascades... a highly themed 8,000 sqft lagoon that you can wade in, with a zero-depth entry point on one end for the kiddies with fun interactive elements, or play on the two kiddie sized slides in the middle, or wade out to the far side to hang out under the rocky waterfalls.
    While The Cascades is surrounded by plenty of lounge chairs, the area also features a deluxe upgrade that can really up the relaxation factor of your day at Splash Country to the 100% satisfaction level. I'm talking about the Retreats and Canopies the park has available for rental. The Retreats are bigger (200 sqft) and offer you not only a shaded space where you can relax, but a safe place to keep your valuables (with a locker box) and your own sun-deck if you want to catch some rays. The Canopies are smaller (65 sqft) shaded spaces, perfect for couples, complete with two chaise-lounge chairs.
    You will spy Retreats and Canopies scattered out around the park in various areas, though a large number of the Retreats are in The Cascades. While I've never been one to try out this kind of thing before at other waterparks, my family and I were able to try out a Retreat in The Cascades and I may never be able to go back to roughing it again. Ours also featured a nice table, a phone where you can order food to be delivered right to you, and a TV to watch if you so desired (so no missing the big game!). However sometimes the benefits of the Retreats are more than what is advertised... especially as a parent. The Retreat gives your group of kids a "base" where they can not only keep their stuff for the day, but your kids can venture off on their own, allowing the older kids to go wild and slide for a bit while you focus on the smaller kids, and everyone knows to come back to the Retreat to check in. The park also offers refillable drink bottles, which you can't take on the slides with you, but the Retreat makes a perfect place to take a break every so often, rest, get re-hydrated, maybe eat something and head back out for more fun in the sun. They are available on a first-come basis as you enter the park, so inquire about availability, it really will make your day.

    With everyone's gear settled, sunscreen applied, its time to head out into the waterpark for some wet fun and wild thrills. I've already mentioned a few of the more mellow ways you can spend your day, so lets focus now on the more WILD times you can have. If you are near The Cascades or Mountain Waves I'm sure you've spotted the huge Fire Tower Falls slide tower, featuring a pair of near vertical dive slides that you wont soon forget. Not far from here is the Big Bear Plunge (big raft) slide that winds through twists and tunnels along with a big splashdown, or take on the parks newest thrill slide, RiverRush, which has Tennessee's first and only water coaster slide that will take you on a wild experience like no other.
    Venture over to the other side of the park and you'll find a wild assortment of other slides like the Wild River Falls (raft slides) or the short but wild Butterfly slides that are themed to look like the Dollywood butterfly logo. Near here is the Raging River Rapids (big raft) slide, the three Mountain Scream body slides, the SwiftWater Run bowl slide, the Mountain Twist slides that you go down head-first on matt that are much wilder than they look, or venture up the valley to race your friends down the always fun Slick Rock Racer.
    After visiting so many waterparks that are essentially giant concrete pool pads, roasting under the harsh sun standing in long lines, a day spent at the lush Splash Country waterpark where you are never far from the natural green landscape that surrounds the whole park will change your mind about how a great a day at the waterpark should really be. Check the park website for the official schedule, but it’s usually open from about Mid-May to Early to Mid-September. So treat yourself to an enjoyable and relaxing experience at Dollywood's Splash Country... you'll thank me later if you've never been.

DOLLYWOOD’S DREAMMORE RESORT -
Review by Lance and Kerry Hart
Posted: 4/28/17