Pigeon Forge Tennessee News & Info : Pigeon Forge TN Development

Pigeon Forge's Dollywood announces River Battle Attraction

Ashley — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:15:00 GMT

Starting in 2008, Dollywood will be the scene of a battle.The park's next featured ride will be the River Battle, a water raft ride that will give passengers a chance to soak targets along the way - or each other. The $5 million attraction will be in Timber Canyon, alongside this year's new ride, the Mystery Mine roller coaster. Its nine rafts will hold up to eight passengers at a time as they ride around a 500-foot channel. Each of those passengers will have access to a water gun they can aim at...(read more)

New Water Ride for Tennessee's Dollywood

Ashley — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:53:00 GMT

Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park will be adding a new $5 million raft ride equipped with water guns to soak targets, other riders and bystanders. Scheduled to open in 2008, the River Battle sends eight passengers on rafts down a 500-foot channel lined with more than 100 targets. The targets include large-scale talking animals such as beavers, skunks, otters and bears, some of which shoot water back at the riders. Riders can also aim at other passengers on their raft or park guests...(read more)

Pigeon Forge's Mystery Mine named Best New Theme Park Attraction

Ashley — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:53:00 GMT

Since Dollywood unveiled its $17.5 million Mystery Mine in April, the ride has been heralded by roller coaster gurus as a success. That appeal recently translated into the Mystery Mine being named as themeparkinsider.com's Best New Theme Park Attraction."Mystery Mine has really been received very well by guests and enthusiasts," Pete Owens, Dollywood public relations director, said. "What makes this ride different is that it is the only Gerstlauer roller coaster in the United States. And it is the...(read more)

Water Park Fun in Tennessee

Ashley — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:50:00 GMT

As the temperatures heat up, families headed to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg will want a place to cool off.Water parks offer that - a place to relax, have fun and let the water cool off hot skin. The options for visitors are increasing. In addition to Splash Country, which is open to the public, several area resorts are opening parks for their guests.Westgate Resort in Gatlinburg opened its 60,000-square-foot facility in March. The Wilderness at Smokies resorts at the Sevierville Events Center will...(read more)

Dollywood's New Mystery Mine Attraction

Ashley — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:59:00 GMT

"Each time you make a turn, it gets more exciting.” That's how Ralph Nielsen described the new Mystery Mine roller coaster under construction at Dollywood. Nielsen is the creative director of the $17.5 million coaster on course to open April 13 and was on hand this week to provide a sneak peek at the coaster's progress.As for turns, there are plenty of them. Robert Urlich, regional representative for the American Coaster Enthusiasts pointed out there seemed to be only a few straightaways where...(read more)

The Cascades at Dollywood's Splash Country

Ashley — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:09:00 GMT

Construction on The Cascades, Splash Country's $2.8 million leisure pool, is under way. The project represents the largest capital investment in Dollywood's Splash Country history. The water park opened in May 2001. "The Cascades takes me back to my childhood when me and my brothers and sisters were lucky enough to discover a little mountain cove where we could cool off from the summertime heat," Dolly Parton said. "We'd keep that swimming hole a secret as long as we could, but I'm looking forward...(read more)

Pigeon Forge to Welcome Zorb Attraction

Ashley — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:31:00 GMT

Those looking forward to gliding down a hill in an oversized hamster ball will have to wait just a little longer. The opening of Zorb in the Smoky Mountains was originally expected to take place last summer. Instead, Zorb is now anticipating its Pigeon Forge opening in early spring. The Smoky Mountain Zorb will be located on Sugar Hollow Road in Pigeon Forge, between Cracker Barrel and the National Parks Resort Lodge."We were hoping to get open before winter," project assistant Winston Burbage...(read more)

Dollywood's Thunderhead Roller Coaster named Top Wooden Coaster

Ashley — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:15:00 GMT

For the second consecutive year, Dollywood’s Thunderhead coaster was named the “number one wooden coaster in the world” during the annual Golden Ticket Awards ceremony. Sponsored by Amusement Today Magazine, the Golden Ticket Awards are considered the Academy Award of the amusement industry. Winners are determined by the results of a survey conducted among hundreds of well-traveled park enthusiasts. “What is great about this award is it reflects the views f our peers and...(read more)

Tour Operators Applaud Value, Variety of Pigeon Forge

Ashley — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:12:00 GMT

Pigeon Forge is in a trio of cities that motorcoach tour operators say are the top destinations in North America for their groups to “get the most bang for their buck.” Ranked with Pigeon Forge are the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and the Midwest travel mecca of Branson, Mo. The praise came in the American Bus Association’s annual “Best and the Rest” survey of its members. They were asked to identify the best places for group travel. Results were reported in ABA’s magazine,...(read more)

Mystery Mine is new ride at Dollywood

Ashley — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:52:00 GMT

"You ain't seen nothing yet." With that declaration and a flash of pyrotechnics, Dollywood officials unveiled the park's next addition on Friday: a rare $17.5 million indoor/outdoor roller coaster. Mystery Mine is slated to open April 13, 2007. The ride will be the only one of its kind in the country, Dollywood public relations director Pete Owens said. "The thing I think a lot of ride enthusiasts will appreciate about this ride is it is unique," Owens said. "There really won't be...(read more)

New WonderWorks Attraction Officially Opens

Ashley — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:50:00 GMT

The topsy-turvy WonderWorks attraction officially opened with a ribbon cutting Thursday. Finally complete, the building now sports an upside-down facade that looks like an 82-foot-tall laboratory building crashed on the site. "Who knew so much construction could cause so much destruction?" General Manager Sande Weiss said to the crowd of about 1,000 who had gathered for the ceremony. Although the attraction has been open for business since earlier in the month, work crews from Denark Construction...(read more)

$182 Million Building Program Approved for Pigeon Forge

Ashley — Wed, 24 May 2006 21:17:00 GMT

The State Building Commission approved Pigeon Forge's blueprint for an $182 million building program on Thursday. The Building Commission approved the city's request to fund the construction of a civic events center, new parking facilities, road improvements and a needed wastewater plan expansion through the Convention Center and Tourism Development Financing Act of 1998. "We're very pleased," City Manager Earlene Teaster said. "There has been a lot of hard work going into it for about...(read more)

Crews Race to Finish WonderWorks Facility

Ashley — Wed, 17 May 2006 19:49:00 GMT

The end of May is still our goal," General Manager Sande Weiss said. "We've got crews working day and night, trying to get it up-and-running." The former Music Mansion on the Parkway is undergoing a complete transformation. When completed, the building will sport an upside-down facade that looks like an 82-foot-tall laboratory building crashed on the site. WonderWorks is planned to be an interactive entertainment center featuring a variety of educational hands-on activities. The interior...(read more)