Dollywood recently announced a “game-changing” attraction will debut in 2026 – does this mean a new indoor coaster is on the horizon? If you’ve watched the park grow at all from the days of Silver Dollar City, you know there is one immutable fact at Dollywood: Change is coming. As someone who remembers the days before Dolly partnered with the
Now I live in the Smokies. But my first trip to Dolly Parton’s theme park surprised me My first visit to Gatlinburg was in 2011. With every trip, my family and I always vowed to go to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. However, we would change our minds, or something would happen causing us to put it to the side yet
Local weighs pros and cons of the rebranded Ober Mountain If you want to learn about inertia, there are worse places than a mountain top. For many years, Ober Gatlinburg made its money in inertia – skiing, tubing and summer sledding. But over time, another type of inertia set in. Ober was in decline. The quality was lessening. Other places
Pros and cons of visiting Anakeesta in Gatlinburg TN As a local, do you know my favorite part of Anakeesta? It’s leaving. But I don’t mean it as a slight. Anakeesta features fun attractions, quality dining, stupendous views and some diverting shopping. But the best part is the Chondola ride down the mountain at night, bouncing your way silently toward
Everything you need to know about Skyland Ranch before you visit As someone who grew up in the Smoky Mountains, I’ve explored just about every attraction in town and eaten at most of the local restaurants. As a result, I’ve experienced some great attractions and great dining, and I’ve also had a few not-so-great experiences. With this in mind, I
What to know about the famous walk between trees in Tennessee at Anakeesta The famous Skywalk, which is known as a walk between the trees, is located at the Anakeesta attraction in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Anakeesta bills itself as a mountain-top theme park, and it has a variety of Smoky Mountain-themed activities. However, it’s the Treetop Skywalk that tends to be
Diving into the internet rumors regarding Dolly selling Dollywood I couldn’t have been much more than 8 or 9 on a spring morning and I was in bed dreaming of baseball or Star Wars or some other of my boyhood passions. “John!” my mom shouted. “Wake up! It’s snowing. You won’t have to go to school today.” I threw off
Meet the attraction that pre-dates the park itself, The Dollywood Express, the oldest ride at Dollywood Before there was a Dollywood or a Silver Dollar City, there was a railroad track and a dream. In 1961, a pair of brothers from North Carolina desired to recreate the success of Tweetsie Railroad, a popular theme park between Blowing Rock and Boone, North
A Dollywood fanatic remembers rides and attractions that have been removed over the years Dollywood’s master plan is a thing of wonder. The 36-year journey from niche theme park to being named the No. 11 theme park in the world, according to TripAdvisor, is a remarkable testament to strategic planning and execution. But with remarkable progress, there is some element
Branson’s Silver Dollar City looks like a 1990s Dollywood sans the Dolly Parton theme Most loyal fans know that Dollywood has a sister park located 700 miles away in Branson, Mo. And it goes by the name of Silver Dollar City. It may sound familiar because Dollywood also used to be called Silver Dollar City. And both are still owned,