Holtskee

Disneypix has several Big Thunder Mountain construction photos: www.disneypix.com/MagicKingdom/Frontierland/BTMC/MagicKingdom-FLBTMC.htm I also found this pic of Big Thunder from the train before Splash Mountain. That entire area use to be a big open space - in a way it kind of looked like a real southwest vista: www.disneypix.com/MagicKingdom/Frontierland/1981c/FL1281-04.htm

Wow! Thanks for pointing these out...must have been amazing to visit WDW in those first few years.

Yea, but like I said, don't forget that the Herschends bought the carnival-like Branson USA park and rebuilt it as Celebration City. HFE does seem to be looking for more theme parks at the moment.

Perhaps if Etheridge had left most of the original (professional) management in place the park would have fared better. Heck, Etheridge fired his PR guy, yet the next day Hersheypark immediately hired him to run their marketing department. Anyway, I wonder if the Herschends would look into purchasing Wild West World. They did turn the small carnival-like Branson USA park into Celebration City.

I would go back to 1976 or so and tour across the country to the larger regional theme parks back in their heyday- Carowinds Kings Dominion Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Over Mid-America Great America(s) AstroWorld Magic Mountain Opryland USA Of course I'd also like to go back even further to visit some of the old classic theme parks like Riverview and Coney Island (Ohio).

This park has taken a lot of unnecessary flak. Its small, its built by a local developer, of course its not going to be very big or impressive. It just needs to get on its feet. IMO the themeing looks exceptional considering the circumstances and budget - all of the “Main Street” buildings look very nice. The rides area needs some more props and of course the whole park needs a BUNCH of trees and landscaping, but after a few seasons I'm sure this place will have matured nicely.

One must consider though that the Busch Gardens parks both rose during this time period (Granted Busch Gardens Africa has actually existed since the 50s, however it was rebuilt as a theme park in the 70s) yet they are still wonderfully kept and maintained.

I believe that the 1920s are typically considered the "Golden Age" of amusement parks. There were supposedly ~2,000 parks in the US alone. Of course, you're talking about theme parks, which are a different animal. I thought Nrthwnd was quite clear when he said the 1970s where the golden age of theme parks. During the decade the large, modern, regional theme parks were being built all over the country. The concept of "leaving the real world behind" and entering a different environment peaked during this period. For the classic amusement park, the 1920s is reasonable, however this thread is about the sect of parks that are themed.

I use to do that back when I was hooked on the game in the RCT/RCT2 days. When I'd make a park I'd set an opening year (like 1970) and then add new rides corresponding to the years they were first built. I tried to capture the feel of parks in that time period as well.

I love the old Kings Dominion photos - that park looked amazing when it first opened. Carowinds comes to mind as well. Some pics of this park from back in the day below: Retro Carowinds The original Six Flags parks use to be very nice...for years SFOG was considered to be one of the top regional parks in the country. Basically, the corporate chain parks don't value that sort of thing anymore. Parks are more streamlined for maximum profitability these days...they don't have to spend a lot of money on landscaping, themeing, etc, so they don't. (Perhaps the exception is the Busch parks) You have to go to the smaller parks like Silver Dollar City and Dollywood to find the fully rounded experience now.

Great pics from coasterdave (as usual!). Can't wait to go to the park in a few weeks to take some rides on this thing myself. I can’t say enough about how impressive this ride’s themeing looks. I believe it has really raised the bar for regional parks. Mid-West? Dollywood is in east Tennessee - it's the Southeast.

Penn Central/Bally in the late 70s and 80s. Those were the golden years of the Six Flags chain...not many coasters, but all of the parks were well run and nicely themed.

I think this looks to be a nice little park. Hope it does well. Glad they seem to have done some themeing.

Carowinds - hardly looks anything like it did in 1973: http://members.aol.com/k9660r/earlywinds.html Dollywood has changed quite a bit over the years as well, having grown from a small tourist attraction in 1961 to a full park by the 1990s. (Changing names five times in the process!) However they tend to expand outwards rather than reworking what is already in place, so some of the older stuff is still around. The main entrance to the park has been relocated four times over the years as new areas have been added.

Looking at Terra Mitica and Port Aventura pics makes me wish we still had the ultra-themed regional parks here in the US. Anyway, some of my favs: Opryland entrance (RIP): Carowinds' southern mansion entrance:

It's not just Kings Dominion/Paramount. Putting Busch Gardens aside, ALL of the regional theme parks from the 60s and 70s have changed. As ownership of a park bounces over the years, each new party that takes over has a different vision for what the park should be. It works like that for any business... (We can't forget that theme parks are a business) That said, what the industry values as a whole is different these days - unfortunately, "the experience" (theming, atmosphere, etc) is no longer considered to be important at most parks. Of course now nearly all of these parks have 10 + roller coasters, so I suppose the change in direction has actually been an advantage to coaster enthusiasts.

Nice pics Jarmor! Must be great to catch the park on a deserted day...I went on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the park was so crowded one could hardly walk around. Infact, it seems that Dollywood is ALWAYS crowded now...its been several years since I've visited on a dead day. Hyper coaster at Dollywood? Ehhh...a hyper would clash too badly with the mountain landscape. It would never fit in with the rest of the park. I'd rather they leave that sort of stuff to the "thrill parks". This year Dollywood had a lot of toy decorations to go along with the "Babes in Toyland" show. They seem to have an overall theme for the Christmas festival that changes from year to year - one year it was Angels, and another year it was "Old World Europe". The park also used more colored lights this year. I'm not quite sure of the number of lights used. Dollywood claims to have 3 million, but I read SDC has more.

I agree. A Skyride would be too theme park-ish. Yea, but that's probably because you didn't visit Dollywood prior to the "big" coasters. You only see it as being a theme park with rides, not grasping the other aspects of the park. It use to be something much more unique... Most of the coaster enthusiasts over looked Dollywood during those years because there was nothing of any significance there. I've been visiting DW since “two AD" (Two years after Dolly invaded), and I firmly prefer the park back then compared to now. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and you didn't feel as if you were in a stampede of people all the time. If you can believe it, the themeing was stronger as well. (Not that its shabby today!) Of course there were no big rides back then, but you weren't really expecting that sort of stuff when you visited the park anyway.

After Mystery Mine, Dollywood doesn't need anymore coasters. IMO the park is becoming too ride-oriented. They need to do some other things to round it all out. I'd rather the park move back towards what it use to be - become more like Silver Dollar City again.

Great pics. I love visiting the park during this season because of the atmosphere of the Harvest Festival. I believe that it used to be some sort of mining attraction but it has been closed for quite some time. The building is now used by Dolly when she visits the park. The building is the Lucky 7 Mine. Back in the Silver Dollar City days the upper floors contained a funhouse type attraction called "The Inventor's Mansion". In 1986 it became the "Rags to Riches" Dolly Parton museum. (The museum was moved to the current location down near the entrance in 2002.) There was also a mineral shop on the mine-themed ground level...I think it was closed after the '04 season.

I agree, but on the basis that a Screamin Swing doesn't belong in a park like SDC - it's too amusement park-ish. I don't care how themed it is, HFE may have jumped the shark with this one. I was kind of hoping Silver Dollar City wouldn't follow Dollywood in becoming more "ride oriented".

Rockin’ Roadway is sandwiched - to the left is the creek, at the top is a maintenance road and the railroad track, and to the right is the entrance road. The Rampage is immediately across the creek. The car ride was apparently designed to make the most of that space by looping around and over itself. I don't think Zippin Pippin could be squeezed into that area with Rockin' Roadway left intact.

^Since you asked... I've built up a collection of old Dollywood brochures, maps, and pics. Below is what is I've currently got on Photobucket. From the early years (1961 - mid 70s) when the steam train was the primary attraction: [LINKS REMOVED] Silver Dollar City Tennessee (1977 - 1985) [LINKS REMOVED] Early Dollywood (late 80s) [LINKS REMOVED] The park didn't heavily advertise rides back then, which explains the lack of ride pics. Theme Park Brochures.com also has some stuff: 1989 Brochure 1992 Guide Map 1994 Guide Map

Definitely Dollywood. They have full-size steam locomotives...no dinky little engines there. Plus, the train climbs a very steep grade...wonderful for any railfan! Too bad they discontinued the "robbery"/gunfight show a few years back. Busch Gardens Europe's train ride is nice as well. It snakes through the park's beautiful scenery, and has the two high bridges.

I agree with jarmor. I don't think Mystery Mine is a replacement for Blazing Fury. If you look at the satelite picture of the park from the last page, the two rides will still be over a ridge from each other. I'd rather the steam train stay in its current format. Turning it into a transporation ride just seems too amusement park-ish...it would be degrading to the park's beautiful RR equipment. Plus, there is quite an incline between the the upper train loop and the new Mystery Mine. One of the train engineers said the elevation change between the upper loop and the valley floor is over 700 feet.