Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Dollywoodlover20]

In line for my 2nd ride on LR. Doing test runs it went down earlier. Row 1 is closed off but my first ride was in row 2 and this is the best coaster I've been on in my life. Sure packs a hell of a punch! Currently one train ops with a 35 min wait but it's building. Ride op told me earlier they're only doing 1 train ops today.

[dstephe9]

Heads up for anyone headed to Dollywood, 441, through the mountains is closed due to wildfires.. I know most probably come down the interstate though but just a heads up

 

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[Djwadeknox]

Heads up for anyone headed to Dollywood, 441, through the mountains is closed due to wildfires.. I know most probably come down the interstate though but just a heads up

 

Here are some pictures of Dollywood today. The smoke from the National Park fire is really bad right now. (Photo credit Mike Smiley Facebook)

 

On another note the news said Dollywood trains has been down since 11-17 due to the dry conditions. It been over 144 days since we have had a inch of rain in one day. Pray for rain and the folks in the way of the smoke and fire. Dreammore is not doing any fire pits right now either.

[The Great Zo]

Downtown Gatlinburg is now under a mandatory evacuation. The wildfire is within a mile of the downtown strip, with very strong winds continuing to blow it to the north off the crest of the mountains.

 

Rain is coming in tonight, which will help to some extent.

 

edit: update that Pigeon Forge south of Traffic Light 8 (Dollywood Lane / TN-449) is also under an evacuation order.

Edited November 29, 2016 by The Great Zo

[Nrthwnd]

Wow, my my. I hope Gatlinburg makes it through the night.

Good thoughts go out to everybody there.

 

[bluestreak]

Very concerned. Well wishes to everyone down there.

[Shavethewhales]

That freaking sucks. I can't believe this isn't getting media attention. Driving through the Smokies after DW was a big highlight of my last trip there. It sucks that it will be scarred for awhile. Hope it doesn't hurt the tourism too badly, though the trails should still be pretty awesome and it will green up again quickly.

[ernierocker]

Local news finally broke in to regular programming to cover it. The rain should be there in an hour but this will be a very tense night.

 

 

This video should show how intense it is getting. This is the main road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg that many of you have been on.

[CedarFanboy]

Praying for the towns and the people who live there. I hope they get plenty of rain this week.

[The Great Zo]

The Gatlinburg area is going to get a shot of rain tonight (probably under an inch) with more rain expected Tuesday night and Wednesday (hopefully a little over an inch). Also, the strongest of the winds are going to diminish in a few hours, which will help keep the fire from spreading so quickly after that occurs. With as bad as the drought is, though, it's unlikely the rain this week is enough to totally end the threat, especially with little-to-no rain in the forecast after Wednesday.

 

Dollywood is closed as regularly scheduled tomorrow (Tuesday), but at least as of now, has listed hours of 2PM-9PM on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

[coasterbill]

Here's a pretty terrifying video from Gatlinburg. This was taken at the Gatlinburg Park Vista hotel which may or may not still exist. This is only a few blocks from the main strip. Hopefully the few people inside can make it out of the building.

 

Edit: No link yet but it seems as if about 90 minutes after that video was shot (or about 20 minutes ago) they rescued everyone still in the hotel.

Edited November 29, 2016 by coasterbill

[ZambeziZinger]

I'm having trouble remembering... has this area had this big of a wildfire this close to town/attractions in recent history?

[coasterbill]

Dollywood is being evacuated. They're not on fire at this point but they have crews on standby. 19 cabins and 50 rooms at the Dream More resort have been evacuated.

[Coaster19]

Everyone thank you for the updates, just heard about all of this craziness. Praying everyone's family and friends are ok and safe. Hope this rain that is to come does help.

 

 

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[ernierocker]

We haven't had significant rain in weeks/months and a huge line of rain has moved through and appears to have saved the area around Dollywood for now. Everyone has been evacuated from the Park Vista hotel as reported so that is good news. There are still active fires on the spur/highway between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. National Guard has been called to the area, so I wouldn't recommend making a trip here until this situation has cleared.

[dstephe9]

A few very recent reports are reporting the fire at the edge of Dollywood property right now as of a few mins ago. Also about 30 structures in Gatlinburg, including a 16 story hotel (I assume the vista which is 16 stories) are on fire. Nothing on the strip yet.

 

I also confirmed this with some of my outdoor buddies that I hike with that are up there now helping with efforts

 

Remember, Dollywood had a lot of land that is unused

 

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[ScreaminNewEngland]

Word on the street is that the park has been hit and lightning rod is dangerously close.

[dstephe9]

Word on the street is that the park has been hit and lightning rod is dangerously close.

My buddies have confirmed it is at the edge of the park, the fire is but I believe it's on the other edge of the park from lightening rod

 

Edit: being reported that there is a fire on the other end of Dollywood as well now. I'm more concerned about the mountains though I'm up there weekly hiking or camping

 

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Edited November 29, 2016 by dstephe9

[ernierocker]

^^No damage to Dollywood as of now. The rain couldn't have come at a better time. People were reporting and posting videos of fires to the hills all around the park before the rain came.

[ScreaminNewEngland]

^ im hearing different, apparently fire fighters are on site guarding the park. NBC Nightly News is reporting.

[dstephe9]

^ im hearing different, apparently fire fighters are on site guarding the park. NBC Nightly News is reporting.

They have actually been on site for a few hours.. protecting things but nothing was on fire at that time. I still believe everything is outside the park

 

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[ernierocker]

There are a lot of resources on hand and more rain is on the way. Like I said, no significant damage has been reported yet. Let's hope we can say the same in the morning.

[ZeroGravity55]

According to NBC Nightly News, the fire is on upper Middle Creek Ridge, which would put it close to the County Fair and Lightning Rod if I'm looking at the map right.

 

 

Doing a twitter search, A guy posted photos claiming he was at the golf course on Dollywood Ln. He did say the rain was starting to fall pretty hard though.

 

 

 

 

Update: Pete Owens said that no structures in the park are on fire and that firefighters are still on standby. He did confirm that fire is on Middle Creek Ridge:

 

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/fire-close-to-dollywood-dreammore-resort-cabins-evacuated/357499792

[The Great Zo]

The first round of rain tonight produced only about 0.10"-0.15" of accumulation, which really isn't all that much. In the short term (i.e. the next couple hours) I doubt that's going to help that much.

 

The next batch of rain is still an hour or two away from Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge, but it will be heavier and could have a greater impact, especially as the winds start to die off.

[bluestreak]

I'm seeing on AccuWeather.com that he rain about a half hour away from Dollywood... of course that's a slight drizzle at first and it builds up over the following 30 or so minutes