4 Hidden Secrets in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Where To Find Them

former dome zipline attraction in pigeon forge, tennessee

Pieces of old attractions can be found around Pigeon Forge (photo by Bill Burris/TheSmokies.com)

Local lists most interesting links to Pigeon Forge history and some can still be found around town

Coming to Pigeon Forge for a long weekend or a full vacation doesn’t require a lot of planning. You can spend a day in the National Park, a day at Dollywood, a day exploring Gatlinburg and a day shopping the outlets around The Island. Throw in a golf day or a pool day and you’ve pretty well got that vacation knocked out. But Pigeon Forge is so much more than the big-ticket attractions. Pigeon Forge’s history is built on the out-of-the-way places, the attractions that grabbed attention even when they shouldn’t have. As popular as Pigeon Forge is today, it remains a place of hidden secrets

In a town where everyone is vying for attention, several attractions somehow remain under the radar. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the hidden secrets of Pigeon Forge. Whether it’s pieces of an old attraction being integrated into a new one, with the case of the former Magic World, or parts of an old train linking to modern-day Dollywood, these links to the history of Pigeon Forge may surprise you.

the slow and easy train at the sevierville station in the early 1900s
The Slow Poke and Easy was a valuable travel resource in the early 1900s (public domain)

1. The Gatlinburg train at the Dollywood ticket center

In 1910, a passenger railway known as the Slow Poke and Easy connected Knoxville and Pigeon Forge with plans on expanding the line to Gatlinburg. However, the advent of the automobile lessened demand. By 1940, the McCookville line proved useful in hauling material for Douglas Dam. But after the war, the demand plummeted. By 1961 the thing shut down altogether. The timing was fortunate, however, because that was the same year that Rebel Railroad – the precursor to Silver Dollar City and later Dollywood – was born.

The Rebel Railroad needed real trains and it just happened that the closing of the Slow Poke and Easy provided the amusement park with access to Southern Railway 107, a steamer engine built in 1887 and put into service in East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. The train was put on display in 1961 and remains in that service today, parked at the Dollywood Parkway Building which is formerly the ticketing center.

aerial view of hackers lost treasure golf shows parts of the old magic world park
Pieces of Magic World are believed to be part of what is now Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf in Pigeon Forge (photo by Daniel Munson/TheSmokies.com)

2. Magic World

Opening in 1971, Magic World offered Pigeon Forge visitors some competition for Goldrush Junction, which would later become Silver Dollar City and finally Dollywood. Magic World was based on a lot of copyright-friendly IP like Arabian Nights and Merlin the Magician. It was all very 70s. It was kind of low-grade and cheesy but also wonderful. There was a flying saucer and a huge volcano as well as a haunted castle and dinosaurs and a lot of it was questionable by today’s standards. Hey kids, meet Frankenstein and Dracula and our own executioner, we call him the Mad Headsman. No wonder us Gen Xers are like we are.

Magic World hung on as best it could, but the writing was on the wall when Silver Dollar City transitioned to Dollywood. In 1996, Magic World closed for good. Today, all that remains of this once beloved attraction are a handful of scenes that have been integrated into the mini-golf course at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf at 3010 Parkway. They are the volcano and what looks like part of the original ship. A plaque is also on display at the mini-golf course. It honors the original creator of Magic World and Professor Hacker’s James Sidwell. The plaque reads: “In memory and honor of James Q Sidwell, Sr. (Big Jim) … For your vision, integrity, friendship and leadership.”

The human pyramid (image from the Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus souvenir program)
The human pyramid (image from the Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus souvenir program)

3. Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus

Over the years, there have been many attractions that tried to give it a go in Pigeon Forge. Some were more successful than others. From the dolphins of Porpoise Island to Ogle’s Water Park, many of the water-based attractions of yesteryear are gone.

That includes Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus. Built on a manmade “lake” and running from the late 70s to the mid-80s, Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus was an extension of a Wisconsin-based ski show. Who the heck was Tommy Bartlett? He was to water ski shows what P.T. Barnum was to circuses. He built his reputation with traveling ski shows, earning himself a spot in the Water Ski Hall of Fame. He took his shows across the nation, to Far East Asia and four World Fairs. The Bartlett name lives on with the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory in Wisconsin Dells.

In Pigeon Forge, there isn’t a lot to keep Bartlett’s memory alive. It seems that even a 20-foot-tall dam and a lake holding 8.5 million gallons of water can come and go. And in the case of the Water Circus, it went. Sold to finance Tommy Barlett’s Robot World – a celebration of animated androids that is still operating – as the Exploratory.

You can still see the remnants of the Water Circus on land near the Life Changers International Church off Sugar Hollow Road, which is private property. The lake has been filled but the Summit Amphitheater on the property of the Summit Church marks the spot where the lake used to be.

The former Dome Ziplines Metal Structure
Dome Ziplines, until recently, stuck out above the trees as you ventured into Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge (photo by Bill Burris/TheSmokies.com)

4. Dome Ziplines

Once located on the south end of Pigeon Forge, the Dome Ziplines would have been all but forgotten if not for the geodesic dome-like structure that was left behind as you headed toward Gatlinburg. The location was off of Conner Heights.

What were the Dome Ziplines?


The attraction was a short-lived adventure park in Pigeon Forge. The 11-line course started at the SkyDome and carried riders more than 3,000 feet up to 150 feet in the air. When the attraction was open, you’d climb up to the top of the 65-foot sphere which had a balloon-like skin. You could then talk on a swinging rope bridge over to the next tower for launch.

It launched in 2016 and was supposed to be a breakthrough attraction. Guests were driven up the mountain on the Monster Bus, a tricked-out school bus with Monster Truck Wheels where guests could ride the Zip Coaster. At launch, the Zip Coaster ran on a rail, rather than a traditional cable. The rail added twists and turns to the ride – giving a feel akin to a roller coaster. The course took riders from inside the dome to out, through the forest and around. It appears that at some point, the attraction transitioned to a more traditional zip line function before it ultimately closed.

The abandoned attraction was certainly a source of curiosity in recent years, however, the Dome and other remaining structures were demolished in 2024 and a new attraction or eatery or both will likely take its place.

So, in general, in Pigeon Forge, changing with the times is necessary. If you can’t change, you disappear. And there’s little room left to mourn the past, much less recognize it. Sentimentality has no place when land is at a premium and there are tourism dollars to compete. Still, if you know where to look a few links to the weird past of East Tennessee’s tourist mecca remain.

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