A local’s advice on the 4 worst rides at Dollywood In its 40 years, Dollywood has shown a willingness to make the tough decisions to improve the park. If a ride isn’t working for enough guests, Dollywood isn’t afraid to move on. Looking at you, Riverboat Battle. Some sacred cows like the Flooded Mine were taken to the metaphorical slaughterhouse
These are the best attractions in Pigeon Forge in 2025, says Smoky Mountain local Growing up, my favorite thing to do in Pigeon Forge was the Slick Track, a fairly tight circular go-kart track next to the indoor skydiving place. The appeal of the Slick Track was it was – well – slick. The cars weren’t faster than any of
Local ranks best roller coasters at Dolly Parton’s theme park I spent my formative roller coaster years as a child of the Midwest visiting King’s Island, Six Flags and Cedar Point. These amusement parks were the roller coaster meccas of my youth. When I came to Pigeon Forge TN for the first time, I was a tourist. Back then, the
How early does Dollywood open in 2025? Over its 40 years of existence, Dollywood has become one of the truly great American theme parks. It is a worthy rival to Universal and Disney and has passed other parks like King’s Island or Six Flags. At least in my opinion. However, Florida theme parks have an advantage over Dollywood in that they
Smoky Mountain Smash is Now Open at SkyPark in Gatlinburg For years or decades or maybe even generations, the fare atop the SkyPark in Gatlinburg could best be characterized as OK. It would do in a pinch – or prove useful in the zombie apocalypse. Still, offering a handful of snacks, hot dogs and pizza, it was never what you’d
A Local Offers Tips on What Not To Do at Biltmore Estate In the mountains of Western North Carolina stands America’s answer to Versailles the one in France, not Kentucky. An opulent mansion built by the grandson of one of America’s great robber barons, Biltmore stands as a beautiful testament to vision, persistence and the power of obscene amounts of
An all-new racing mountain coaster is coming soon to Pigeon Forge, TN Success in the Smokies is often built on the shoulders of those who came before you. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it’s also a pretty good business model in the Smokies. Often, someone comes in with a new idea like a go-kart track, mini-golf
A local offers his advice on 5 things not to do when booking, attending dinner shows in Pigeon Forge Dinner and a show. Sounds like the perfect night out – or matinee – in Pigeon Forge. Dinner theaters have long been part of the fabric that is Pigeon Forge. But it’s only in recent years that everyone wised up and
These are the best attractions in Gatlinburg in 2025, says Smoky Mountain local Things can move quickly in the mountains. One year, you’re on top. The next you’re being closed to make way for the next trend. The only real thing you can be sure of is that if you have a successful idea in Gatlinburg, somebody’s gonna try to copy
Officials at Dollywood are hinting at a big update to a major attraction in 2026, this is what we know so far In the 40 years since Silver Dollar City became Dollywood, the one constant has been change. But not just change for the sake of change, the park has been on a consistent upward trajectory. It is now considered among