Dolly Parton jointly owns Dollywood alongside Herschend Family Entertainment
Country singer Dolly Parton has announced plans for the US$37m expansion of her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
To feature new rides, live entertainment and dining experiences, the Wildwood Grove expansion will open to the public in 2019.
“When I’d be out exploring in the hills around our home in the Smoky Mountains, I’d let my imagination roam free,” says Parton. “I’d pretend that the frogs and butterflies were my friends. I’d imagine what it would be like to fly with a dragonfly or to follow a bear family through the woods. Now all these things are coming true for our guests in Wildwood Grove.”
Visitors will enter Wildwood Grove through the trunk of a giant fallen tree, emerging into the imaginative land envisioned by Parton. At the heart of the land, a 55ft-tall (16.7m) tree grows from a cluster of natural rock and boulders, offering a natural platform for live performances from the park’s entertainers.
At night, the tree will come to life, with a show featuring “butterflies glowing in a kaleidoscope of spectacular colour.”
The main attraction will be Dragonflier – a suspended family rollercoaster. Joining it will be the Treetop Tower, Black Bear Trail, Mad Mocking Bird flying carousel, Sycamore Swing swinging ship and the Frogs and Fireflies carousel.
A 4,000sq ft (371sq m) indoor play area is also included in the plans. Called Hidden Hollow, the space is a climate controlled area with climbing structures, slides and games. A second play area, called Wildwood Creek will offer an outdoor playspace featuring pop jets and splash pools. The space will also feature a set of instruments available to play.
“This area is going to give families a place to explore, play and imagine together, but more importantly, it’s a place where they can spend more time together,” Parton says.
“I believe everyone has a song in their heart that needs to be set free. Wildwood Grove will be a place where families can learn together about what their heart song truly is.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 3
People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Dolly Parton jointly owns Dollywood alongside Herschend Family Entertainment
Country singer Dolly Parton has announced plans for the US$37m expansion of her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
To feature new rides, live entertainment and dining experiences, the Wildwood Grove expansion will open to the public in 2019.
“When I’d be out exploring in the hills around our home in the Smoky Mountains, I’d let my imagination roam free,” says Parton. “I’d pretend that the frogs and butterflies were my friends. I’d imagine what it would be like to fly with a dragonfly or to follow a bear family through the woods. Now all these things are coming true for our guests in Wildwood Grove.”
Visitors will enter Wildwood Grove through the trunk of a giant fallen tree, emerging into the imaginative land envisioned by Parton. At the heart of the land, a 55ft-tall (16.7m) tree grows from a cluster of natural rock and boulders, offering a natural platform for live performances from the park’s entertainers.
At night, the tree will come to life, with a show featuring “butterflies glowing in a kaleidoscope of spectacular colour.”
The main attraction will be Dragonflier – a suspended family rollercoaster. Joining it will be the Treetop Tower, Black Bear Trail, Mad Mocking Bird flying carousel, Sycamore Swing swinging ship and the Frogs and Fireflies carousel.
A 4,000sq ft (371sq m) indoor play area is also included in the plans. Called Hidden Hollow, the space is a climate controlled area with climbing structures, slides and games. A second play area, called Wildwood Creek will offer an outdoor playspace featuring pop jets and splash pools. The space will also feature a set of instruments available to play.
“This area is going to give families a place to explore, play and imagine together, but more importantly, it’s a place where they can spend more time together,” Parton says.
“I believe everyone has a song in their heart that needs to be set free. Wildwood Grove will be a place where families can learn together about what their heart song truly is.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 3
People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
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