Poll shows that Smoky Mountain fans desire an expansion of Dollywood the most
In the Smoky Mountains, enough is never enough. To keep the tourists coming and the money flowing, we need bigger and better and more. To that end, there are always ideas on the horizon. Wishes, dreams, thoughts of what could be or might be.
So, staff at TheSmokies.com asked our readers which potential new attraction or restaurant they would be most excited about coming from the Smokies. Some of the results are more realistic than others. But this is a wish list, so what’s the point of being realistic when you’re wishing?
TheSmokies.com asked our readers on social media what attraction or restaurant they would be most excited about coming to the Great Smoky Mountains, specifically around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We provided a few possibilities and our readers provided a few more. The winner by a comfortable margin involved a major expansion of a very familiar place: Dollywood.
1. A new Dollywood park (19%)
With 19% of the vote, a second gate – or second theme park – for Dollywood took the top spot. Of course, I don’t have any inside scoop, but I believe this wish will be granted at some point. In the nearly 40 years since Silver Dollar City became Dollywood, the park has been among the best-run in the country. Expansions and additions have been well-planned, well-executed and well-received. And while we believe there is still room for expansion at the original Dollywood, it seems like the time is near for a second park to be built.
Notably, Dollywood has announced an aggressive campaign to build multiple hotels and resorts in the coming years. While Dollywood and Splash Country are great, the park and waterpark represent a three-day vacation at best. Dollywood consistently rates with the best theme parks. But the big boys all have something Dollywood does not – multiple gates. A new Dollywood theme park would take the current facility from great to elite. It’s an idea that must be in discussion.
2. Whataburger (14%)
This is another entry whose arrival might be imminent. Whataburger – the Texas-based burger chain – has expanded into West and Middle Tennessee, and it’s just a matter of time until its variety of burgers make their way to the Eastern part of the state. I have confirmed that multiple developers in East Tennessee are pursuing franchises for their development. Whataburger drew 14% of the vote in our poll, placing it just in front of another burger place.
3. Pal’s Sudden Service (11%)
As upper East Tennesseans, many of us have long praised Pal’s Sudden Service. In fact, this website’s founders might be the franchise’s No. 1 fans. This quirky, regional fast-food chain mostly serves burgers but also has a small variety of sandwiches and hot dogs.
Known for the iconic light blue Lego block-style building adorned with giant sculptures of popular menu items, Pal’s has crept into Hamblen and Jefferson counties. The Smoky Mountains might be just outside its 90-mile radius limitation, but we can still have hope that the fast food establishment might just expand a little further.
4. LEGOLAND & Universal Studios (Tie, 9%)
Now, we enter the realm of the unlikely. There was a two-way tie at 9% with LEGOLAND and Universal Studios. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, I suppose, but I think it’s highly unlikely. Universal did announce plans for a mini, kid-focused park in Texas. Could that model work in Pigeon Forge? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Dollywood has too big a head start and I believe could gear up and launch the second gate before LEGOLAND or Universal Studios could get up and running.
It will be interesting to see if the Crayola and Nerf experiences make it. If so, LEGO could look at some smaller type of facility like that, but I don’t know that the park in Florida is financially strong enough to support expansion into other markets.
5. Disney park and a zoo (Tie, 7%)
I think Disney would have the same issues as Universal or LEGOLAND. And in terms of a zoo, I don’t see it. I’m a Zoo Knoxville kind of guy. It’s 40 minutes from Sevierville and has a lot of nice, new exhibits. I don’t think East Tennessee can support two full zoos within a half hour or so of each other.
Honorable mentions
Some people voted for another Buc-ee’s. Plans are afoot to build at Exit 408 to take traffic as the area around the current Buc-ee’s – aka the Gateway to Adventure – comes online. I would give everything I own and more if they would announce in that time they are building another Buc-ee’s at exit 408 or across the interstate at the soon-to-be former Smokies Stadium. The surrealism of two Buc-ee’s close together makes me giddy with joy.
Also, currently making me giddy is the idea of a Cirque Du Soleil attraction in the Smokies. I’m a Francophile. I studied French in high school and college and have been to France a few times. I love it. Now, I know Cirque comes from Quebec which has a different vibe. However, seeing that French artistic sensibility put on display in the Smokies would be almost unimaginable. Acrobatic clowns and mimes and surrealist circus performers in show-themed around mountain life and bluegrass music? C’est magnifique.
To be clear, the French are supposed to be on their way to Sevier County – at the Gateway to Adventure to be exact. But that show being developed by Puy du Fou is centered around the stories of the Cherokee nation and the role its members played in World War I. Of course, I don’t expect it to be overly Frenchy, filled with mimes and street performers and the like.
In the Smokies, wishes can come true. And I believe several of these will. It may be a while before we see a second gate at Dollywood, but if there’s not a Whataburger in the area in 2025 – 2026 at the latest – I will be shocked. As for Disney and Universal and LEGOLAND? Well, some dreams might just have to stay dreams.
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