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Dollywood Discussion Thread

P. 799: 2026 addition teaser campaign begins!

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Posted

I was actually wanting to go to Dollywood next weekend but my gf wants to go to six flags instead. Haha so my first Dollywood trip of the year might have to be postponed a few weekends

Posted

Yes, The Official announcement for the 10 year Multi-million dollar investment that included Firechaser Express and the DreamMore Resort was in August.

 

@dstephe9: That's a bummer that your having to postpone your trip to Dollywood, but your still going to ride some awesome coasters!

Posted

My first rip to Dollywood was supposed to be last year. Then I figured I would wait a year so I can stay at DreamMore. Then all the hype over the 2016 attraction I decided to wait another year. Its making me so ansy. Its been my dream park since thunderhead. I have Dollywood memorabilia , hats , clothes , a vintage sweater from when the park first opened , just bought the book on Dollywood published this year. Its going to be such a great time when I get to experience the park for myself.

Posted
Yes, The Official announcement for the 10 year Multi-million dollar investment that included Firechaser Express and the DreamMore Resort was in August.

 

@dstephe9: That's a bummer that your having to postpone your trip to Dollywood, but your still going to ride some awesome coasters!

Oh yeah I love six flags and visit both parks 10 - 20 times a year haha.. It'll still be fun either way!

 

Sometimes we just go to Dollywood to eat and spend an hour or two so I'll have plenty of time there this season

 

Good news is I can leave my apartment and be in the gate of Dollywood in under 45 mins... (Gotta know the back roads through pigeon forge though lol) Six flags is about 3 hours away so it might be a good time to get the backwards batman in while I am off next weekend.. No telling how long it'll be before I have an entire weekend off again.. Have a six flags membership so we usually spend the entire weekend there when we go..

Posted

They really are and exit 407 was getting worse and worse last season.. It was pretty bad still a month ago when I went to hard rock to eat and decided to stop at bass pro on my way home

 

Bad during the off season isn't a good sign!

Posted
Dollywood's investments have been overwhelming recently with roller coasters (and significant ones might I add) in 2012, 2014, and 2016 - not to mention a massive resort and water coaster at Splash Country.

 

It's great to see the park thriving so much. The park has doubled in size over the last decade and not many other parks in the country have done anything close to that - especially with the economy dip in the middle of that. It sure didn't stop Dolly! ...well Adventure Mountain was delayed a season

 

It's not completely organic, by which I mean this isn't necessarily the growth rate they would have by default. HFEC is specifically putting this property on the fast track to being a national destination. In a decade they want Dollywood to be a household name and recognized place to go spend a week (or at least a few days) for vacation. It's something we'll probably only see happen like this once.

 

I was thinking earlier about how it seems like HFEC wanted Branson to be what the chain would turn into a national destination first, but the whole Celebration City/duel park approach failed, and now they've gotten smarter about it and are going full steam with DW since it has better demographics and layout to turn into a major contiguous resort. Maybe that was obvious, but I hadn't thought about it like that yet.

 

 

Anyway, about those backroads... since I've never been to Pigeon Forge, anyone feel charitable enough to draw a quick overlay showing where to go and where not to go to get to DW quickly?

Posted

There are several.. Not really sure the names but if I get more time I'll try and find you a path.. I just know my path but not names..

 

Simple really, just get on google maps and find you a route that bypasses the main parkway.. They usually come in the back of veterans blvd

Posted

I live nearby and one can completely avoid the 66 congestion by taking Chapman Highway from Knoxville and using a few side roads. Busy weekends it can save a couple of hours on your travel time.

- Coming from the west, your best bet is to exit I-40 by taking Exit 378A onto US 441 Henley Street through downtown Knoxville.

- Continue on US 441 (now Chapman Highway) for 21.4 miles.

- Turn right onto Pleasant Hill Road.

- Make a slight right onto Whites School Road.

- Make an immediate left turn onto River Divide Road.

- In 3.3 miles, make a left turn onto Henderson Road.

- In 0.8 mile, turn left onto Henderson Chapel Road.

- At the traffic signal, turn right onto the Parkway, then make an immediate left at the next traffic light onto Teaster Lane.

- Follow Teaster Lane 2.4 miles, then turn left onto TN-449 (Veteran's Blvd.).

- After 1.4 miles, turn right at the entrance to Dollywood!

 

I'll try to see if I can attach a map here to make it easier to visualize.

Posted

With Passholder Preview day coming in 5 days...the park's contractors have now been working almost 24/7 to get the massive parking lot renovation completed. We drove by yesterday and work was being done everywhere, however, there was quite a large area that hadn't been paved yet. Expect to see some major congestion in the lots as well as some fender benders as drivers familiarize themselves with the new traffic patterns.

image.thumb.jpg.b0e82423ec530458d821ad170ff1db52.jpg

Here's another look at the new entrance road...some portions have been paved, while others are still pretty rough. I'm sure the entire road will receive a new layer of asphalt to top it off soon. New que lines have been constructed for the tram stops out of the white fencing...and covered areas are going up! I'm excited to see how the lot looks this weekend!

What do you think of the new white fencing? Love it or hate it?

image.thumb.jpg.443a34b04b0010564ecbdf94a5d9504c.jpg

There's going to be a whole new path for the entry road, as it will now skirt the edge of the entire parking are and run alongside McCarter Hollow Road and Veteran's Blvd. looks like we will be getting a new Dollywood entrance sign as well...since it's now been replaced with a pile of dirt!

image.thumb.jpg.6f59921f03f47ed6e1c555453d6fbc46.jpg

Here's where the turnoff will be for the DreamMore guest and VIP parking areas...more gates at the tram crossing.

image.thumb.jpg.b607b465a26218cee36ed9a49c5fbdb4.jpg

Its great to see the Eagles up and flying again after a cold, long winter!

image.thumb.jpg.09ca79f4137151de226da0fb29871a51.jpg

As you reach the split where the Splash Country access road splits off, we've got new gates and light signals to let the trams pass through...sure to cause some backup issues.

Posted

Hopefully they have traffic guards out directing traffic until people get used to it..

 

I know they normally do but if you get there and it isn't busy there isn't a single person working the lots it seems haha

Posted
I live nearby and one can completely avoid the 66 congestion by taking Chapman Highway from Knoxville and using a few side roads. Busy weekends it can save a couple of hours on your travel time.

- Coming from the west, your best bet is to exit I-40 by taking Exit 378A onto US 441 Henley Street through downtown Knoxville.

- Continue on US 441 (now Chapman Highway) for 21.4 miles.

- Turn right onto Pleasant Hill Road.

- Make a slight right onto Whites School Road.

- Make an immediate left turn onto River Divide Road.

- In 3.3 miles, make a left turn onto Henderson Road.

- In 0.8 mile, turn left onto Henderson Chapel Road.

- At the traffic signal, turn right onto the Parkway, then make an immediate left at the next traffic light onto Teaster Lane.

- Follow Teaster Lane 2.4 miles, then turn left onto TN-449 (Veteran's Blvd.).

- After 1.4 miles, turn right at the entrance to Dollywood!

 

I'll try to see if I can attach a map here to make it easier to visualize.

When I lived in south Knoxville that was my route! I don't take Chapman anymore though

Posted

Thanks for the pics. I like the white fencing, and the crossing gates for those two busy intersections, interesting.

 

Did you get any close up pics of the new trams? I see some off in the distance in one of the pics, but I cant' tell much about them...i'm just curious what make and model they are - so I can obsess about DW just a little bit more

Posted

The crossing gates are to cut down on the need for humans to stand out there directing traffic, sometimes at night, which can be dangerous as people don't like to stop sometimes!

Posted

Did you get any close up pics of the new trams? I see some off in the distance in one of the pics, but I cant' tell much about them...i'm just curious what make and model they are - so I can obsess about DW just a little bit more

 

So far....no new trams at all! They've been starting to bring the old ones down from the Splash Country lot and servicing them in the tram maintenance shed....I wonder if we will be getting any new ones this year or not! Perhaps they spent too much on the parking lot job and skimped on the trams? Seriously if they don't show up in the next day or two I'll be severely disappointed!

Posted

Did you get any close up pics of the new trams? I see some off in the distance in one of the pics, but I cant' tell much about them...i'm just curious what make and model they are - so I can obsess about DW just a little bit more

 

So far....no new trams at all! They've been starting to bring the old ones down from the Splash Country lot and servicing them in the tram maintenance shed....I wonder if we will be getting any new ones this year or not! Perhaps they spent too much on the parking lot job and skimped on the trams? Seriously if they don't show up in the next day or two I'll be severely disappointed!

 

No new trolleys for the park this year; I've heard that will be 2016. The DreamMore trolley will be ready though for its summer opening.

dreammoretrolley.jpg.81644d03a15e262b05a5cba43f3b26ac.jpg

DreamMore Trolley

Posted

^Yay, thanks for the trolley design. Well that's a bummer to hear about the trams, but that's okay with me...they have a lot going on already.

 

The DreamMore trolley's will be fueled with natural gas. I assume the new trams for the park will be also. I've just been curious what they will look like.

Posted

Did you get any close up pics of the new trams? I see some off in the distance in one of the pics, but I cant' tell much about them...i'm just curious what make and model they are - so I can obsess about DW just a little bit more

 

So far....no new trams at all! They've been starting to bring the old ones down from the Splash Country lot and servicing them in the tram maintenance shed....I wonder if we will be getting any new ones this year or not! Perhaps they spent too much on the parking lot job and skimped on the trams? Seriously if they don't show up in the next day or two I'll be severely disappointed!

 

No new trolleys for the park this year; I've heard that will be 2016. The DreamMore trolley will be ready though for its summer opening.

 

I was told and then later read that they will be getting two sets of trams one at the beginning of the season and one later in the season. I don't know where you heard that they will not be getting new trams this year.

Posted

I just checked the press release section of Dollywood's website and found this dated December 10th, 2014:

 

"Dollywood celebrates its 30th anniversary season in 2015 with a festive nod to its past while unveiling a new project designed to enrich the award-winning theme park for years to come. Officials today announced an impressive schedule for the upcoming season, including a new contemporary Christian music event, as well as plans for a $5.5 million project to enhance the guest arrival experience.

 

Upon their entrance to Dollywood in 2015, guests will find larger and more easily navigable parking facilities, along with new trams to more efficiently transport them to the front gate."

 

Those trams better be rolling in soon!

Posted (edited)

For all we know they may already have them but there just not in the public's view yet and trust me I wouldn't have the trams drivers to train on the new ones until I knew what where doing! lol

Edited by coasterknutt
Posted

Also, it never says they are replacing all the old trams.. There are several generations of trams being used right now at Dollywood.. They might just be working new trams into the rotation and be phasing a few of the older trams out each year.

 

If that's the case that's why we see them getting the older trams ready. They will still be using some of them

Posted
Also, it never says they are replacing the old trams.. There are several generations of trams being used right now at Dollywood.. They might just be working new trams into the rotation and be phasing a few of the older trams out each year.

 

If that's the case that's why we see them getting the older trams ready. They will still be using some of them

 

That's a possibility. I exited through the Splash Country parking lot and some of the old trams have new 2015 advertisements on them. So obviously they are planning on using at least some of them for the near future.

Posted

I'd say that's probably what they are doing.. I'd say they might be retiring some of their older generation trams and buying a few new trams

 

Some of their newer trams are still in really good condition.. No reason to replace them all..

 

I vote on getting rid of all the busses! They just piss me off on a busy day BC they fill so quickly

Posted (edited)

I pulled up the 2015 map today and noticed a couple things: 1) a new group entrance and DreamMore shuttle stop 2) Cas Walker's store in Jukebox Junction is gone.

 

I also looked at their website today and noticed that they are offering preferred parking for about $3 more than regular parking. They say that there is a separate ticket window and you will not have to take any trams.

EDIT: It's actually $10 more

 

To anyone going on Friday, could you ride Blazing Fury and see if you can tell if RMC did any retracking over the off season?

Edited by jimmiemac02

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