Dollywood Discussion Thread

[pinslasherI Love Donkeys!]

On 2/9/2017 Dollywood hosted us for the 2017 Media Construction tour. It was a gloomy day at the park with temperatures really never getting above 40 and having rain and snow. But is was a very good day.

Before we entered the park, the Dollywood team talked shortly about some of the side projects they were completing this year, including a new HR building, redoing the front gate restrooms as well as many new AC units and roofing, as well as a lot of painting. Did you know Dollywood uses approximately 20,000 of paint a year!

We started our day with a tour of the former Backstage Restaurant. This restaurant has been gutten and is receiving a complete transformation to a new theme called "Front Porch Café". It will replace the former movie theme with a new, brighter country theme. Representatives at Dollywood say it will have a new menu with some of the popular items returning as well.

It looks like it will be a very nice change for the area.


Next Stop the Glass blowing shop...

[pinslasherI Love Donkeys!]

Part 2 Dollywood Media Tour
GLASS SHOP:

Our next stop was the Rainbow Glass shop. During this off season, they have been hard at work, as you can see from the pictures. They are reconfiguring the craftsmen's area to be able to accommodate two craftsmen at one. So as I understand it, it means TWO glory holes!

The area that you see built off the side of it is a new, bigger area to blow your own glass, which will be pretty cool. They are also redoing the retail space of the business due to how dated the interior was prior. The cost of this renovation is around $300,000.00.

Lastly, the name of Rainbow Glass will be changed in 2017 to Mountain Blown Glass.

TIMBER CANYON:
A very nice modification coming to Timber Canyon in 2017 is the widened and partial straightening of the walkway leading up to Timber Canyon. This should help a lot during the busy summer months. They will also be adding better lighting, sound and theming to this path as well.

THUNDER HEAD:
Thunderhead received a new coat of paint on the main ride buildings. They are going with a green theme instead of the red to change it up a little.

LUMBER JACK PIZZA:
This restaurant is undergoing a big renovation to help with moving guests through the line and better service. They will no longer carry the giant pizzas. They will be adding 4 freestyle soda fountains, like the did in Red's last year, adding more POS Stations and reconfiguring the serving area. We shall see!

Now, probably what most are looking for...

WHISTLE PUNK CHASER:
This junior coaster will be located in the area between Thunderhead and Drop Line. It takes the space previously help by the children's playground and water areas. They were staking off for footers when we were there. (see pics below) I got as many pics as I could without getting in trouble in that area.
PROJECTED OPENING IS END OF MAY.

DROP LINE:
Drop line will be a 230ft Drop tower located in the space previously occupied by EVERYTHING from picnic tables, a Christmas tree, a crazy night show and the long gone Timber Tower. The existing q-line is expected to be used for this new ride. This ride will give you amazing views of the Great Smoky Mountains.
PROJECTED OPENING IS END OF MAY.

SPLASH COUNTRY UPDATED NEXT.

[pinslasherI Love Donkeys!]

Last stop was a very short trip to Splash Country

Mike Brown talked briefly about the Tailspin Racers coming to Splash in 2017. He said it was around a 2.2 million dollar expansion.

[chickenbowlNothing beats Cali coasters]

^ Great pictures! Can you confirm if they are still aiming to open Drop Line and the Kiddie coaster around Memorial Day?

[pinslasherI Love Donkeys!]

They are aiming at the end of May to open the 2 Dollywood attractions. Splash Country's slide will open with Splash.

[bluestreakBeware of the freeze-dried donkey!]

Very cool! Thanks for the pics!

[dstephe9Am I allowed to eat donkey during lent?]

I'm still sad about the pizza but the freestyle machines are welcoming

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[michaellynn4Can you see the donkey in my toast?]

Great pictures! Interesting to see all of the little updates being done throughout the park.

Wider pathways FTW.

[ytterbiumanalystWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Thanks so much for posting this! Getting excited for our trip there this spring!

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

It's always interesting to see how much work parks do in the off season, even if no massive new ride is involved. Thanks for the behind-the-scenes look.