Guide to Dollywood

Dollywood’s history dates back to 1961 when it was opened as “Rebel Railroad.” The Robbins brothers from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, modeled the park after Tweetsie Railroad, which they opened in 1957. In 1964, the park was renamed “Goldrush Junction” when it shifted from a Civil War to a Wild West theme. In 1970, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell purchased the park and owned it till April 1976, when it was sold to the Herschend Family.

Since 1976, Dollywood has been owned and operated by Herschend. The park was known as “Silver Dollar City Tennessee,” until Dolly Parton bought an interest in the park and it was renamed Dollywood in 1986.

Dollywood features a theme park, a water park called Splash Country, two resort hotels, and cabins.

Travel Tips

The closest airport is McGhee Tyson Airport, which is south of Knoxville, Tennessee. It’ll take about an hour to drive from the airport to Dollywood.
Knoxville’s skyline features a golden dome observation tower called The Sunsphere. The tower was featured on The Simpsons and was built for the 1982 World’s Fair, the last successful World’s Fair in the United States. 1982 was the same year that EPCOT opened at Walt Disney World. EPCOT is known as a permanent world’s fair.
Pigeon Forge and nearby Gatlinburg are both touristy areas that feature many shows and attractions. Pigeon Forge is known as the “mountain coaster capital of the world” due to its high concentration of mountain coasters.
The Island in Pigeon Forge is a 23-acre entertainment district featuring shops, entertainment, attractions, and hotels.
While more expensive than many nearby hotels, Dollywood offers two on-property resorts with restaurants, activities, pools, and a shuttle to the parks. Dollywood's DreamMore Resort & Spa has a more upscale style, while HeartSong Lodge & Resort is more rustic.

Must-Do Attractions

Big Bear Mountain opened in 2023 and is the longest roller coaster in the park at 3990 feet. The coaster was manufactured by Vekoma and is themed to the legend of a black bear named “Big Bear.”
Blazing Fury is a family-friendly indoor roller coaster and dark ride. The custom-built attraction debuted in 1978, and the park continues to keep the ride in good shape by replacing track and adding new effects. Silver Dollar City in Tennessee had a similar ride called “Fire in the Hole,” which opened in 1972 and closed in 2023 (Silver Dollar City added a new coaster with the same name in 2024).
The Dolly Parton Experience is a new-for-2024 area of Dollywood featuring a walk-through story of Dolly Parton’s life (“Songteller”), an exhibit dedicated to Dolly’s fashion and creativity (“Behind The Seams”), one of her tour buses (“Dolly's Home-On-Wheels”), and a theater with live performances (“Dreamsong Theater”). If you only have time for one thing, you should walk through Songteller.
The Dollywood Express is the name of the park’s narrow-gauge heritage railroad, the oldest attraction at the park. Today, Dollywood operates three Baldwin Locomotive Works locomotives, including #192, “Klondike Katie,” which has been operating since the park’s early days as “Rebel Railroad.” The railroad runs along a 2.5-mile loop track.
FireChaser Express is a steel family-friendly launch coaster manufactured by Gerstlauer. The coaster opened in 2014 and is themed to a volunteer fire station. The popular television show American Pickers helped source some of the firefighter-themed antiques in the queue.
Lightning Rod is a hot-rod-themed coaster that debuted in 2016 as the first launched wooden coaster of its kind. However, in the 2021 season, it became a steel roller coaster when Rocky Mountain Construction (the manufacturer) replaced over half of its Topper Track with its steel I-Box track. For the 2024 season, the ride’s trains were replaced, and the original launch up a hill was converted to a chain lift.
Mystery Mine is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter steel roller coaster with some of the park's best theming and on-ride special effects.
Tennessee Tornado opened in 1999 and was one of Arrow Dynamics’ last major roller coasters. It’s a steel custom looping coaster designed by Alan Schilke.
Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster that was manufactured by Great Coasters International and opened in 2004. The ride is consistently ranked among the best wooden coasters in the world.
Wild Eagle was the first-of-its-kind steel wing coaster in the United States when it opened in 2012. The coaster was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, reaches a height of 210 feet, and has a maximum speed of 61 MPH.