What ride would you like to see covered next on Expedition Dollywood? Let me know! Check out our store to pick up your own Expedition T-Shirt, Use Code HHN30 to get 10 percent off any design. expeditionthemepark.creator-spring.com/
How about the amazing Conan show at Universal Hollywood with that amazing water curtain? Or the Spider Man Rocks show that used that same theater years later?
I'm impressed with what Dollywood has become. I never thought it would last, let alone become one of the best parks in the USA. That said, I've seen tons and tons of stuff from this park. I'm eagerly awaiting Expedition Phantasialand.
I’d love to visit. My parents went to Silver Dollar City before I was born & we live 4 hours away. Been to WDW 38 times but never gotten to visit Dollywood. We dearly miss Opryland
After working there for years I can say they’re a great company and dolly while not owning as much as most think, has a hold on that park and whole county that’s beautiful and loved. Such a genuine beautiful woman.
Dollywood was my first job. Re-stocking all the shops in craftsman’s valley. Little insider secret, not a valley, massive steep hill when you have five cases of soda on a dolly (heh, I was a Dollywood dolly man). What was really cool though, if not a little bit noisy, one of the employee break areas in the valley was directly under the Tennessee tornado. Got to see all the mechanics that ran the station.
Awesome to finally see expedition dollywood, it's my local home town theme park and I've been watching the park grow and change for the better part of twenty years. I remember when the log flume closed, and the installation of most of the current rides. I even live on the path of the tweetsie now, its a thriving bike trail
There's an irony of having a Confederate-themed amusement park in East Tennessee, since East Tennessee was actually quite the stronghold of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. Many in East Tennessee were rebels--against the Confederacy!
@@ExpeditionThemePark It came to the point that, during The Civil War, East Tennessee and Northern Alabama attempted to join together to succeed from The Confederacy. Wishing to became a new Union State to be called Nickajack. Likewise rejection of The Confederacy continued with the short establishment of The Free State of Wilson in Alabama and The Free State of Jones in Mississippi.
I just love the fact that the guest had on suits and dresses to go to the park... Man it had to be rough to walk around wet all day... Just think about the smells.... Great content as always keep it up
I used to visit Dollywood quite often as a child and it was ever so fun. Getting to go to Shoney's for breakfast, riding the go karts with my grandpa and so many more lovely memories.
Dollywood is my home park, and it's absolutely one of the most-beautiful and well-kept parks with great employees who really go the extra mile to make sure every guest has a wonderful time. I got 18 rides on Lightning Rod last weekend. The ride ops got quite familiar with me as the guy who kept lapping their world-class RMC. Lol. Row 11, right side is the magic seat if you haven't been on it yet.
As an Appalachian gal who loves the channel and Dolly I loved this video so much!!!! So proud of her representing us and making employment opportunities for us mountain people!
On-topic: that guy talking about the log flume ride was so serious that when he mentioned "the great fiberglass forests," for just a moment I thought he meant it. "How foolish they were in the old days!" I scoffed. Yet in the end, 'twas I who was foolish.
I've been going to dollywood as a kid since 1992. It's crazy to see how much the park has grown and changed. I will say though the festivals were always great each year. Festival of nations is my personal fav
Dude, how do you get me excited in visiting things I never thought I would have an interest in?! First Halloween Horror Nights, now Dollywood! Keep the train rolling on Expedition Dollywood!
I've been to Dollywood before. My oldest brother lives near the park. This year he's moving to Houston, most likely near a defunct amusement park, abandoned ballpark and football stadium.
I grew up going to Dollywood. The shows are amazing and they aren’t overshadowed by the rides. The Christmas season is absolutely beautiful and the cinnamon bread is iconic.
That was always the first stop for me, my sister and my Mom when I was little. We'd go to the mill near Craftman's Valley, get some cinnamon bread and a drink before my sister and I broke off and headed straight up to the Tennessee Tornado to start our days.
Thank you for the history lesson about a family favorite. Gatlinburg is literally a family favorite to the point that we visit at least once a year. Heck, I even have 300 years of East Tennessee blood with family right outside of the Smokies.
Absolutely love learning more about the history of Dollywood!! It's such an amazing place to be and is always so much fun! The family atmosphere here is just incredible. I'm super psyched for your new series!! I would love to learn more information about all of their older attractions.
I just went to Dollywood for my first time with my wife and now we have season passes! It’s such a wonderful theme park and I had no idea the park was so many things before! Bless Dolly she’s one of the only good ones I swear
Honestly as someone who grew up living by Disney world and going often, a small park with a lot of local charm and originality was so refreshing! As much as I love both, it’s nice to experience a smaller more relaxed park
When it was Silver Dollar City I rode that log flume every time I went. I also remember thinking that it was a rickety looking structure each time and wondered how it was still standing! I still go every year to Dollywood and miss that old ride, along with the ferris wheel.
Finally an expedition Dollywood!! Been waiting forever! Thank you so much for doing some Dollywood videos! I love near the park and absolutely love it! Can't wait to hear all about the park! I've already listened to this one a few times!
I live in California, and Disneyland is my childhood theme park. But I know I'm not the only one here who dreams of vacationing at Dollywood. Dolly Parton is a living treasure. So glad you're covering this!
You should definitely start with Blazing Fury! It's my favorite ride in the park. Eventually, please do a deep dive into the incredibly strange moving theater attraction. I believe the theme (when I rode it at least) was dolly and her uncle(?) built a special vehicle that could explore the smoky mountains on land, water, and in the air. It was truly bizarre.
I miss that moving theater so much! During Christmas they showed Polar Express. Back when I was younger I didn’t ride any coasters and that was my favorite ride by far. Probably still would be tbh…
The theater was amazing! When I was a kid, it was at first, Thunder Road, and you rode along in a police chase after a shine runner that ended when the shine runner crashed. The version you're thinking of came after, The Smokey Mountain Adventure Tour, where you ride along with Dolly and her friend, not uncle, Clovis, an eccentric inventor that created the USS Dolly, capable of flying, floating and driving. The whole thing was a madcap adventure, from nearly missing bikers and atv riders, to crashing through a tent and getting face to face with an angry bear, followed by falling into the river to float into rapids towards a waterfall, where you took flight and flew off into the wild blue yonder. Only to bring it back to Clovis's barn, crash into it, and set off an explosion. It was amazing. I loved it so much that one of my Halloween costumes was actually as Clovis when I was in like 3rd grade.
I’ve been to Dollywood a few times and it’s extremely fun. It’s like if you made Disney’s Frontierland half of an entire theme park and the other half a county fair with people doing blacksmithing and old timey soap making and stuff. You can ride one of the largest roller coasters in the world and then see someone make cheese the old fashioned way.
Thanks for doing Dollywood! My grandparents and family would take trips down to Dollywood all the time, it's a really nice park and I live in Indiana, so it's only a few hours drive away.
I’ve been planning my first trip to Dollywood since long before COVID and still haven’t nailed down a date. This video increases my interest in the park and makes me want to go even more.
I definitely recommend going during a festival that the park stayed open into the night for the lights!! I first went in 2008 and the best times I’ve gone is when they’ve had a Festival of Lights like the summer one they used to have, the luminights like they did this year or even the Christmas festival. It’s beautiful!! And the coasters and rides are even better at night. Especially when you can see how beautiful the lights are
Awesome Job on the history of Dollywood. This has to be the best most informative video I have seen on the history of the park. Can't wait to see the next episode.
Yesss! Expedition Dollywood I knew this day would come! I love this park and it's history. I'd love to see an episode for Tennessee Tornado. It really makes you think what Arrow was capable of and what it would have become.
So i got the notification for this video on the bus home and genuinely said aloud 'yes, my son'. This is why people avoid me, but it is also the correct response to the fact that Expedition Theme Park is covering Dollywood.
I visited Dollywood when I was 7 or so. It was my first theme park experience. I also went to one of those restaurants where they did the jousting and medieval themed entertainment while you ate that same trip. It was a long time ago but I remember having fun as a kid.
I grew up in the area with passes to "Dollywood" every year. I remember the log flume, the train rides, Blazing Furry, the Davy Crocket show and so many others. The park has changed so much over the years.
I had hardly ever heard about Dollywood until seeing this, and I'm shocked at how much success and history is behind it! I should see it sometime when I have the chance.
I love it! It fills my heart with joy to see you covered Dollywood! I live less than 20 minutes away and I’ve grown up at Dollywood. It’s such a wonderful place. Thank you for doing a video on it! I had no idea that log flume ride was for the 1964 worlds fair. I wrote that so many times as a kid and had no idea. And I have a soft spot in my heart for blazin fury! Can’t wait for your video on that attraction.
I would like to see you talk about The Inventors Mansion/ The Rags to Riches museum. It opened up originally with SDC as a sister to the Crooked House in Branson, but after the park was converted into Dollywood it was turned into a walkthrough museum about Dolly Parton's life and career. The old facade is still in the park, and the tunnel that runs underneath the facade has references to SDC, and at one point a coaster car on display of the old Thunder Express coaster cars.
Is this the same attraction SDC calls Grandfather's Mansion? I've noticed the building in DW myself and wondered why they didn't keep it at DW after going through the one in SDC as I think it's a charming attraction.
The inventors mansion facade was torn down either two years ago or before, i’ve been going every fall since I was 9, last year I noticed that it had been completely demolished, the inventors mansion.
@@danielalvarado9019 It hasn't been there for at least 2.5-3 years, it was gone before I started going there. Where was it in the park? It might have been one of the attractions taken down to make room for either Time Traveler or Mystic Falls.
I have very fond childhood memories of Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. My mom even named our current cairn terrier rescue Boone in honor of the good memories we have there, since she has family in the area! I never knew of its troubled sister park, though, nor how Dollywood (a truly and surprisingly fantastic park I visited once as a child) came to be! I still remember seeing that doctor's medicine bag, so seeing it here definitely unlocked childhood memories I didn't even know I had lost. What a great episode!
I have such fond memories of Tweetsie, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. I have very vague memories of Ghost Town In the Sky. It makes me happy to see a video about some of my favorite places. We still go to Gatlinburg every year.
I rode that log flume ride a million times and I never knew it was from the NY Worlds Fair! I even worked in that section of Dollywood for two summers during high school. In the late 80's it was the carnival ride section called "Fun Country". I also worked in the Old Town with the train depot.
It's all gone now unfortunately. All the original rides in the country fair have been replaced. I probably rode that flue 400 times as a kid. Was a favorite. They took out the ferris wheel a few years ago. Super sad.
I remember visiting the Rebel Railroad in the early 60's but I had no idea it was connected to Tweetsie and Dollywood. This filled in the gaps of long distant memories.
I grew up going to Tweetsie Railroad every year for my birthday when I was a child. We live 30 minutes away. I have got a chance to go Dollywood, once, but I've always wanted to go back!
The drive through Maryville south of Pigeon Forge is just as beautiful if not more than Gatlinburg. I enjoy that more than anything. Pigeon Forge is now WAY too touristy to be charming anymore. The Christmas place used to be on the very edge of town. Now it is almost exactly in the center. Gatlinburg has changed, in my opinion, for the worse as well. There's no longer a southern feel to either city. The chair lift briefly shown at the beginning of the video is still there but now it is yellow. I miss how small both places were in the early 1990's. If you do visit you absolutely MUST eat at The Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge. It's one of the few original dining experiences that hasn't changed and the window seats over the river have gorgeous views.
Absolutely loved this. Had no idea Dollywood and Tweetsie were connected. I used to go to Tweetsie at least once every summer when I was a kid. Thanks for sharing such great history
Well done with this video. I have lived in North Carolina my whole life (since 1990) and Tweetsie Railroad, along with Carowinds, were popular summer vacation spots for my family. I also went to college in Boone, NC, so Tweetsie was a popular summer job location for many of my friends and classmates. Amazing job finding music for this one, it really brought me back to the Smoky Mountains!
Wow. I grew up right behind Milligan college and the railroad being so close on the map threw me off. The percs of modern maps, but I never thought I’d see anyone on any platform ever cover anywhere close to my area. There was old track up there forever before the city made it into a bike path, but I never knew it was that old. Thanks for including that bit.
I love Dollywood! I also loved it when it was still Silver Dollar City. I went there once when I was a kid. Dolly has done such a wonderful job of updating and growing the park while keeping the same feel that it had when I was a kid.
While the majority of the park is still owned by Herschend Family Entertainment, Dolly Parton does own a piece of it and is very much involved in planning for events and attractions.
Hello Sam David here from Sebring Florida USA 🇺🇸 I been a Disneyland fan and collector of Disneyland for over fifty years. I have been a fan of Jackie for many years after seeing one of your videos I am a fan of yours! I injoy seeing the history of them parks, keep up the great work! 😎
Very smart business-sense for the owners to reach out to Dolly instead of waiting for her to become a competitor. Everyone ended up winning with that partnership.
We used to go to tweetie rail rd as a kid! We loved it. Do something about Carowinds next and you will have covered just about every parknI have been to.
@@ExpeditionThemePark carowinds used to have a big wooden roller coaster called Thunder Road which was my favorite. It sat part on NC and part on SC border and used to let you ride backwards and forwards. Western theme and was fun to know you were going back and forth on the state line. That would be cool to have covered.
The evening was just like any other evening at home with someone calling up my daddy, Frank COFFEY. But the phone had a special ring the night Dolly Parton was calling to speak with him about STEAM ENGINES❤️.
This is really cool to see the history of the park that later became Dollywood. I went to Dollywood for the first time just last month. And the church on the property? It looked beautiful. Didn't get to ride the train though because the weekend I went, it was real windy.
@@ZRodTW I wouldn’t say they were white supremacists, that’s just the theme of Cowboys times. Is it racist? Yeah I can see that. But that doesn’t mean they were white supremacists since they wanted to stay on the themes of the past
Gonna put this edit up top: I gotta give a big shout out to Dollywood's very own Southern Gospel quartet The Kingdom Heirs and Dollywood's tenure as a long time host to the Southern Gospel Music Association's museum. Sadly that came to an end no thanks to coof related issues. Also, long comment warning. As a railfan who has a *_VERY_* early memory of Tweetsie Railroad that has resulted in me being a VERY avid railfan and overall public transit enthusiast, it makes me *thoroughly* happy to see someone make a video about Dollywood's history and acknowledge the HUMONGOUS roles the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, and Tweetsie Railroad played in Dollywood's creation. Also, for the REALLY curious, Klondike Katie's an United States Army Transportation Corps S118 2-8-2 meant for usage on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, the same as its still intact sisters 190; the Yukon Queen that is Tweetsie Railroad's main engine; and 195; unnamed and in a not-so-good condition in the city of Skagway, Alaska just off the mainline of the White Pass & Yukon, though unlikely to be restored and ran on its home rails. The 192 is also joined by two other fellow WP&Y engines, those being number 70, a.k.a. Cinderella, and number 71, unnamed, of the very plainly named 70 class. Sadly, number 71 is the parts engine that gets cannibalized for parts when they're needed. 71 can be seen beside the engine shed/backshop during the train rides and from the Patriots Park based trolley service that the City of Pigeon Forge operates and is, if you ask me, the best way to get into the park due to a lack of having to pay for parking and worry about doing the final few bits of the journey or so into the park yourself. But I digress. 70 and 71 also have an operational sister engine still in Alaska on the WP&Y in the form of engine 73, also unnamed as far as I know, that is living out a very lovely preservation era career on its home rails. Oh that 90's Tweetsie commercial is amazing. One can pin it down to the 90's due to a few factors, that being camera quality, the way engine number 12 looks, and the way its whistle sounded. Its whistle had been damaged after hitting a shop door and has since been repaired and sounds just as good as it ever did.
I am SO happy that you were finally able to get to do one of my favorite parks (especially since Dolly took it from it's messed up past to the AMAZING park it is, today- that woman is a freaking gift to this earth)! I was the one that asked if you were going to be doing a video on it a few months back.^-^ You just keep knocking out bangers!^^
Fantastic story. I haven't been to Dollywood since I was a child, although we stay in the Gatlinburg area frequently to get away. It's time to take my own kiddos :)
hey wow, you did one close to home for me this time :) I'm a little less than an hour away from this park! Have been there many times in my life! Blazing Fury is THE BEST! Now we just need someone to do a video on the former Magic World that was right down the street! So glad I went to that one before they tore it down!
What ride would you like to see covered next on Expedition Dollywood? Let me know! Check out our store to pick up your own Expedition T-Shirt, Use Code HHN30 to get 10 percent off any design. expeditionthemepark.creator-spring.com/
Thunder head
Barney's Day at the Park at Universal
Slidewinder or daredevil falls. Or doing a whole episode on splash country would be awesome.
How about the amazing Conan show at Universal Hollywood with that amazing water curtain? Or the Spider Man Rocks show that used that same theater years later?
Many just an expedition Phantasialand. It might be worth watching to
I'm impressed with what Dollywood has become. I never thought it would last, let alone become one of the best parks in the USA. That said, I've seen tons and tons of stuff from this park. I'm eagerly awaiting Expedition Phantasialand.
I’m working on it. Thanks
I’d love to visit. My parents went to Silver Dollar City before I was born & we live 4 hours away. Been to WDW 38 times but never gotten to visit Dollywood. We dearly miss Opryland
@@FigmentForever We were just talking about Chaos and fright nights.
@@realestateunplugged6129 Chaos was wonderful!
Dolly Parton: one of the greatest Americans ever, I'm convinced.
Agreed
10000%
It would be difficult to think of someone more positively emblematic. She's great.
If she didn’t tell everyone to get jabbed I’d agree
@@jamiec4478 gotta push that agenda! it's every public figure's job, first and foremost. she's also super into gays. it's all just part of the plan...
After working there for years I can say they’re a great company and dolly while not owning as much as most think, has a hold on that park and whole county that’s beautiful and loved. Such a genuine beautiful woman.
Dollywood was my first job. Re-stocking all the shops in craftsman’s valley. Little insider secret, not a valley, massive steep hill when you have five cases of soda on a dolly (heh, I was a Dollywood dolly man). What was really cool though, if not a little bit noisy, one of the employee break areas in the valley was directly under the Tennessee tornado. Got to see all the mechanics that ran the station.
thats awesome!!
Awesome to finally see expedition dollywood, it's my local home town theme park and I've been watching the park grow and change for the better part of twenty years. I remember when the log flume closed, and the installation of most of the current rides. I even live on the path of the tweetsie now, its a thriving bike trail
That’s amazing! Such a beautiful area
her hotel is beautiful too
One of the smartest businesswomen in America & an incredibly talented singer songwriter, Dolly really is incredible.
Yes she is incredible but also she is considered very attractive by a lot of men and that is very perverted
@@JamesChessman Finding someone attractive is perverted? huh?
@@JamesChessmanhuh? How? She’s a grown woman. What is perverted about a grown man finding a grown woman attractive?
10 year old me would of loved that train ride, adult me is impressed at how dedicated the actors were to the point of getting injured.
There's an irony of having a Confederate-themed amusement park in East Tennessee, since East Tennessee was actually quite the stronghold of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. Many in East Tennessee were rebels--against the Confederacy!
yeah.... not ideal
@@ExpeditionThemePark It came to the point that, during The Civil War, East Tennessee and Northern Alabama attempted to join together to succeed from The Confederacy. Wishing to became a new Union State to be called Nickajack.
Likewise rejection of The Confederacy continued with the short establishment of The Free State of Wilson in Alabama and The Free State of Jones in Mississippi.
Yeah my great great grandparents were union soldiers in East TN
The great state of Franklin and east Tenn has always been interesting to me for some strange reason
Thank goodness. My ancestor didn't get hanged for releasing a horse to the north for nothing
I just love the fact that the guest had on suits and dresses to go to the park... Man it had to be rough to walk around wet all day... Just think about the smells.... Great content as always keep it up
Right?!
I used to visit Dollywood quite often as a child and it was ever so fun. Getting to go to Shoney's for breakfast, riding the go karts with my grandpa and so many more lovely memories.
This is my home park. Every time I do there is feels like stepping back to my childhood. There are parts that have not changed in twenties years!
So many classics in there!
Dollywood is my home park, and it's absolutely one of the most-beautiful and well-kept parks with great employees who really go the extra mile to make sure every guest has a wonderful time. I got 18 rides on Lightning Rod last weekend. The ride ops got quite familiar with me as the guy who kept lapping their world-class RMC. Lol. Row 11, right side is the magic seat if you haven't been on it yet.
As an Appalachian gal who loves the channel and Dolly I loved this video so much!!!! So proud of her representing us and making employment opportunities for us mountain people!
thank you so much!!
With the coverage of Tweetsie, this is by far the most comprehensive history of the park I've seen. Tweetsie is the part many often forget.
On-topic: that guy talking about the log flume ride was so serious that when he mentioned "the great fiberglass forests," for just a moment I thought he meant it.
"How foolish they were in the old days!" I scoffed. Yet in the end, 'twas I who was foolish.
that guy cracked me up
@@ExpeditionThemePark I think that was Edwin Newman from NBC News
@@mikerocks56 Newman….. -.-
When the script is delivered so dry & bitterly sarcastic that it actually comes full circle, and makes you stop & think "...... hang on a minute!?!" 🤣
The people on the log ride did not look like they were enjoying it haha
As a native of Bristol, thanks for making this video!
I’m so glad this series is starting! I’d love to hear more about the early days of Dollywood.
Yay!
I've been going to dollywood as a kid since 1992. It's crazy to see how much the park has grown and changed. I will say though the festivals were always great each year. Festival of nations is my personal fav
Can’t wait to be back there in a couple weeks
@@ExpeditionThemePark the entire area has grown over the years. My mother, step-father, and myself worked for Dollywood.
I love how the guy in the log flume film was wearing a full suit and tie!
Barely need a pressing
As a longtime fan of this channel and a Sevierville resident I've never clicked so fast
Hope you enjoyed
This has to be one of my favorite theme parks ever, such a happy place
Agreed!
Dude, how do you get me excited in visiting things I never thought I would have an interest in?! First Halloween Horror Nights, now Dollywood! Keep the train rolling on Expedition Dollywood!
Yeassss
We were just at Dollywood for the first time this summer. It was great seeing the history of the train we rode and the park. Keep up the great videos.
Thank you so much
I've been to Dollywood before. My oldest brother lives near the park. This year he's moving to Houston, most likely near a defunct amusement park, abandoned ballpark and football stadium.
I grew up going to Dollywood. The shows are amazing and they aren’t overshadowed by the rides. The Christmas season is absolutely beautiful and the cinnamon bread is iconic.
That was always the first stop for me, my sister and my Mom when I was little. We'd go to the mill near Craftman's Valley, get some cinnamon bread and a drink before my sister and I broke off and headed straight up to the Tennessee Tornado to start our days.
That MCU reference at the end with “Expedition Dollywood will return” was amazing. You NEED to do this “will return” thing more often.
I went as a child when it was Silver Dollar City. I grew up at Tweetsie. My favorite ride was the Mouse Mine and I met Cowboy Fred Kirbie many times.
I love Tweetsie!
So many memories at Dollywood and on Blazing Fury. I haven’t been back to Silver Dollar City in Branson in like 20 years, but I want to go back.
Please do more episodes about Dollywood!
Wow, Dolly sure did good to the park, she gave back not just to her home, but to the doctor who helped deliver her to this world.
yepppp
Thank you for the history lesson about a family favorite. Gatlinburg is literally a family favorite to the point that we visit at least once a year. Heck, I even have 300 years of East Tennessee blood with family right outside of the Smokies.
Absolutely love learning more about the history of Dollywood!! It's such an amazing place to be and is always so much fun! The family atmosphere here is just incredible. I'm super psyched for your new series!! I would love to learn more information about all of their older attractions.
Thank you! More to come
I just went to Dollywood for my first time with my wife and now we have season passes! It’s such a wonderful theme park and I had no idea the park was so many things before!
Bless Dolly she’s one of the only good ones I swear
Hope you had the best time
Honestly as someone who grew up living by Disney world and going often, a small park with a lot of local charm and originality was so refreshing! As much as I love both, it’s nice to experience a smaller more relaxed park
When it was Silver Dollar City I rode that log flume every time I went. I also remember thinking that it was a rickety looking structure each time and wondered how it was still standing! I still go every year to Dollywood and miss that old ride, along with the ferris wheel.
Finally an expedition Dollywood!! Been waiting forever! Thank you so much for doing some Dollywood videos! I love near the park and absolutely love it! Can't wait to hear all about the park! I've already listened to this one a few times!
Love the Expedition Dollywood icon 🦋
Dolly is a true treasure. I've only been once but loved every bit of it
Yes!
I live in California, and Disneyland is my childhood theme park. But I know I'm not the only one here who dreams of vacationing at Dollywood. Dolly Parton is a living treasure. So glad you're covering this!
You would be in for a great trip! That whole area is beautiful.
You should definitely start with Blazing Fury! It's my favorite ride in the park. Eventually, please do a deep dive into the incredibly strange moving theater attraction. I believe the theme (when I rode it at least) was dolly and her uncle(?) built a special vehicle that could explore the smoky mountains on land, water, and in the air. It was truly bizarre.
It’s on my list for sure!
I miss that moving theater so much! During Christmas they showed Polar Express. Back when I was younger I didn’t ride any coasters and that was my favorite ride by far. Probably still would be tbh…
The theater was amazing! When I was a kid, it was at first, Thunder Road, and you rode along in a police chase after a shine runner that ended when the shine runner crashed.
The version you're thinking of came after, The Smokey Mountain Adventure Tour, where you ride along with Dolly and her friend, not uncle, Clovis, an eccentric inventor that created the USS Dolly, capable of flying, floating and driving.
The whole thing was a madcap adventure, from nearly missing bikers and atv riders, to crashing through a tent and getting face to face with an angry bear, followed by falling into the river to float into rapids towards a waterfall, where you took flight and flew off into the wild blue yonder.
Only to bring it back to Clovis's barn, crash into it, and set off an explosion.
It was amazing. I loved it so much that one of my Halloween costumes was actually as Clovis when I was in like 3rd grade.
Loved learning the history running up to Dollywood. As always, a well-researched and presented video :)
Thank you!
So happy with this episode! Between this one and Opryland (my home town theme park) I am over the moon. Great job!!
thank you so much!!
I’ve been to Dollywood a few times and it’s extremely fun. It’s like if you made Disney’s Frontierland half of an entire theme park and the other half a county fair with people doing blacksmithing and old timey soap making and stuff. You can ride one of the largest roller coasters in the world and then see someone make cheese the old fashioned way.
Thanks for doing Dollywood! My grandparents and family would take trips down to Dollywood all the time, it's a really nice park and I live in Indiana, so it's only a few hours drive away.
That’s amazing!
That ad for the flume ride is hilarious. Can you imagine wearing a SUIT to an amusement park?
We were thinking the same thing! Can't imagine wearing your Sunday best to a theme park. lol Just seems so odd nowadays.
I’ve been planning my first trip to Dollywood since long before COVID and still haven’t nailed down a date. This video increases my interest in the park and makes me want to go even more.
hope you get to go soon
I definitely recommend going during a festival that the park stayed open into the night for the lights!! I first went in 2008 and the best times I’ve gone is when they’ve had a Festival of Lights like the summer one they used to have, the luminights like they did this year or even the Christmas festival. It’s beautiful!! And the coasters and rides are even better at night. Especially when you can see how beautiful the lights are
Awesome Job on the history of Dollywood. This has to be the best most informative video I have seen on the history of the park. Can't wait to see the next episode.
Thank you !
The Dr. Thomas /Dolly Parton connection blew my mind.
Yesss! Expedition Dollywood I knew this day would come! I love this park and it's history. I'd love to see an episode for Tennessee Tornado. It really makes you think what Arrow was capable of and what it would have become.
yess!
So i got the notification for this video on the bus home and genuinely said aloud 'yes, my son'. This is why people avoid me, but it is also the correct response to the fact that Expedition Theme Park is covering Dollywood.
hope you enjoy it!
@@ExpeditionThemePark yes, yes i did
I visited Dollywood when I was 7 or so. It was my first theme park experience. I also went to one of those restaurants where they did the jousting and medieval themed entertainment while you ate that same trip. It was a long time ago but I remember having fun as a kid.
I grew up in the area with passes to "Dollywood" every year. I remember the log flume, the train rides, Blazing Furry, the Davy Crocket show and so many others. The park has changed so much over the years.
It has!
Dollywood is a beautiful success story… I can’t wait for more Expedition Dollywood. 🦋
I had hardly ever heard about Dollywood until seeing this, and I'm shocked at how much success and history is behind it! I should see it sometime when I have the chance.
I love it! It fills my heart with joy to see you covered Dollywood! I live less than 20 minutes away and I’ve grown up at Dollywood. It’s such a wonderful place. Thank you for doing a video on it!
I had no idea that log flume ride was for the 1964 worlds fair. I wrote that so many times as a kid and had no idea. And I have a soft spot in my heart for blazin fury! Can’t wait for your video on that attraction.
I can't wait to be back there later this year!
Ufda...The Rebel Railroad sure was something else... Great video as always!
Thank you!
That’s a nice way to put it…yeesh!
@@DocZFlux Right!?!?
Ahhhhhhh! Thank you for finally doing Dollywood! This is awesome! Loving seeing the history behind my childhood park!
I would like to see you talk about The Inventors Mansion/ The Rags to Riches museum. It opened up originally with SDC as a sister to the Crooked House in Branson, but after the park was converted into Dollywood it was turned into a walkthrough museum about Dolly Parton's life and career. The old facade is still in the park, and the tunnel that runs underneath the facade has references to SDC, and at one point a coaster car on display of the old Thunder Express coaster cars.
i will for sure
Is this the same attraction SDC calls Grandfather's Mansion? I've noticed the building in DW myself and wondered why they didn't keep it at DW after going through the one in SDC as I think it's a charming attraction.
The inventors mansion facade was torn down either two years ago or before, i’ve been going every fall since I was 9, last year I noticed that it had been completely demolished, the inventors mansion.
@@danielalvarado9019 It hasn't been there for at least 2.5-3 years, it was gone before I started going there. Where was it in the park? It might have been one of the attractions taken down to make room for either Time Traveler or Mystic Falls.
I have very fond childhood memories of Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. My mom even named our current cairn terrier rescue Boone in honor of the good memories we have there, since she has family in the area! I never knew of its troubled sister park, though, nor how Dollywood (a truly and surprisingly fantastic park I visited once as a child) came to be! I still remember seeing that doctor's medicine bag, so seeing it here definitely unlocked childhood memories I didn't even know I had lost. What a great episode!
I love Tweetsie. Thank you!
Dollywood is actually one of the best theme park I have ever been too. Everything was amazing.
Gotta be my boy Mystery Mine, though you could also start with an older one like Blazing Fury or Tennessee Tornado
All good suggestions
Dollywood and SilverDollar City are badass theme parks with awesome rides.
And Expedition Extinct on The Flooded Mine would be amazing!
And if you need any original footage captured, let us know. We have season passes.
Thank you!
10:03 It's hilarious seeing people dressed up to ride the log flume. 😂
I have such fond memories of Tweetsie, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. I have very vague memories of Ghost Town In the Sky. It makes me happy to see a video about some of my favorite places. We still go to Gatlinburg every year.
I rode that log flume ride a million times and I never knew it was from the NY Worlds Fair!
I even worked in that section of Dollywood for two summers during high school. In the late 80's it was the carnival ride section called "Fun Country". I also worked in the Old Town with the train depot.
It's all gone now unfortunately. All the original rides in the country fair have been replaced. I probably rode that flue 400 times as a kid. Was a favorite. They took out the ferris wheel a few years ago. Super sad.
I remember visiting the Rebel Railroad in the early 60's but I had no idea it was connected to Tweetsie and Dollywood. This filled in the gaps of long distant memories.
I grew up going to Tweetsie Railroad every year for my birthday when I was a child. We live 30 minutes away. I have got a chance to go Dollywood, once, but I've always wanted to go back!
The drive through Maryville south of Pigeon Forge is just as beautiful if not more than Gatlinburg. I enjoy that more than anything. Pigeon Forge is now WAY too touristy to be charming anymore. The Christmas place used to be on the very edge of town. Now it is almost exactly in the center. Gatlinburg has changed, in my opinion, for the worse as well. There's no longer a southern feel to either city. The chair lift briefly shown at the beginning of the video is still there but now it is yellow. I miss how small both places were in the early 1990's. If you do visit you absolutely MUST eat at The Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge. It's one of the few original dining experiences that hasn't changed and the window seats over the river have gorgeous views.
Absolutely loved this. Had no idea Dollywood and Tweetsie were connected. I used to go to Tweetsie at least once every summer when I was a kid. Thanks for sharing such great history
Well done with this video. I have lived in North Carolina my whole life (since 1990) and Tweetsie Railroad, along with Carowinds, were popular summer vacation spots for my family. I also went to college in Boone, NC, so Tweetsie was a popular summer job location for many of my friends and classmates.
Amazing job finding music for this one, it really brought me back to the Smoky Mountains!
Thank you!
Well Done! What a thoroughly researched and thoughtfully presented history of this lovely family park. As Per Usual!
Currently working at Dollywood entertainment! It’s a truly beautiful park, especially the new area, Wildwood Grove.
Beautiful voice.
What a time to be alive!!!
right?!
Wow. I grew up right behind Milligan college and the railroad being so close on the map threw me off. The percs of modern maps, but I never thought I’d see anyone on any platform ever cover anywhere close to my area. There was old track up there forever before the city made it into a bike path, but I never knew it was that old. Thanks for including that bit.
I love Dollywood! I also loved it when it was still Silver Dollar City. I went there once when I was a kid. Dolly has done such a wonderful job of updating and growing the park while keeping the same feel that it had when I was a kid.
Dollywood isn't owned or ran by Dolly. It's still belongs to the company that owns Silver Dollar City
While the majority of the park is still owned by Herschend Family Entertainment, Dolly Parton does own a piece of it and is very much involved in planning for events and attractions.
This is crazy, I just began planning a trip to Dollywood last night! This will be useful.
Hope you have the best time!
Glad to see one of my favorite theme parks being covered, I can’t wait to see you cover wildwood grove and wild eagle
I live in East Tennessee pretty close to dollywood and grew up going there a lot. It's pretty fun and the food tastes really good!
So glad to see someone do this! Do the history year by year!
Dolly is a saint!
Also I hope Australia's Wonderland/Wonderland Sydney is still somewhere on your list.
It is!
If it talks about Dolly in any shape or form, I already love it 😍
Hello Sam David here from Sebring Florida USA 🇺🇸 I been a Disneyland fan and collector of Disneyland for over fifty years. I have been a fan of Jackie for many years after seeing one of your videos I am a fan of yours! I injoy seeing the history of them parks, keep up the great work! 😎
Very smart business-sense for the owners to reach out to Dolly instead of waiting for her to become a competitor. Everyone ended up winning with that partnership.
We used to go to tweetie rail rd as a kid! We loved it.
Do something about Carowinds next and you will have covered just about every parknI have been to.
i will!
@@ExpeditionThemePark carowinds used to have a big wooden roller coaster called Thunder Road which was my favorite. It sat part on NC and part on SC border and used to let you ride backwards and forwards. Western theme and was fun to know you were going back and forth on the state line. That would be cool to have covered.
9:30
"made of fiberglass from the mighty fiberglass forests of north america" no laugh, no joke, complete straight face
hay hay! Finally a place ive been to! Tweetsie Railroad, man, its been....2 decades and change
Thank you for taking about Dollywood because I’m from Tennessee.
thank you for watching!
The evening was just like any other evening at home with someone calling up my daddy, Frank COFFEY. But the phone had a special ring the night Dolly Parton was calling to speak with him about STEAM ENGINES❤️.
Thank You....... Tweetsie Railroad was a special place for me..... Boone, N.C.
This is really cool to see the history of the park that later became Dollywood. I went to Dollywood for the first time just last month. And the church on the property? It looked beautiful. Didn't get to ride the train though because the weekend I went, it was real windy.
Going here as a kid was the best
That whole civil war train thing is...problematic to say the least.
different times... kinda
@@ZRodTW Or, it’s just theming!
@@ZRodTW I wouldn’t say they were white supremacists, that’s just the theme of Cowboys times. Is it racist? Yeah I can see that. But that doesn’t mean they were white supremacists since they wanted to stay on the themes of the past
My parents, big brother and I went to Dollywood every summer when I was growing up ❤️
Ahhhh! I am SO excited for this next chapter of expeditions. 🦋💜😝
me too!
Gonna put this edit up top: I gotta give a big shout out to Dollywood's very own Southern Gospel quartet The Kingdom Heirs and Dollywood's tenure as a long time host to the Southern Gospel Music Association's museum. Sadly that came to an end no thanks to coof related issues.
Also, long comment warning.
As a railfan who has a *_VERY_* early memory of Tweetsie Railroad that has resulted in me being a VERY avid railfan and overall public transit enthusiast, it makes me *thoroughly* happy to see someone make a video about Dollywood's history and acknowledge the HUMONGOUS roles the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, and Tweetsie Railroad played in Dollywood's creation.
Also, for the REALLY curious, Klondike Katie's an United States Army Transportation Corps S118 2-8-2 meant for usage on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, the same as its still intact sisters 190; the Yukon Queen that is Tweetsie Railroad's main engine; and 195; unnamed and in a not-so-good condition in the city of Skagway, Alaska just off the mainline of the White Pass & Yukon, though unlikely to be restored and ran on its home rails. The 192 is also joined by two other fellow WP&Y engines, those being number 70, a.k.a. Cinderella, and number 71, unnamed, of the very plainly named 70 class. Sadly, number 71 is the parts engine that gets cannibalized for parts when they're needed. 71 can be seen beside the engine shed/backshop during the train rides and from the Patriots Park based trolley service that the City of Pigeon Forge operates and is, if you ask me, the best way to get into the park due to a lack of having to pay for parking and worry about doing the final few bits of the journey or so into the park yourself. But I digress. 70 and 71 also have an operational sister engine still in Alaska on the WP&Y in the form of engine 73, also unnamed as far as I know, that is living out a very lovely preservation era career on its home rails.
Oh that 90's Tweetsie commercial is amazing. One can pin it down to the 90's due to a few factors, that being camera quality, the way engine number 12 looks, and the way its whistle sounded. Its whistle had been damaged after hitting a shop door and has since been repaired and sounds just as good as it ever did.
I used to go to Tweetsie every year what an awesome place to be a kid.
I am SO happy that you were finally able to get to do one of my favorite parks (especially since Dolly took it from it's messed up past to the AMAZING park it is, today- that woman is a freaking gift to this earth)! I was the one that asked if you were going to be doing a video on it a few months back.^-^ You just keep knocking out bangers!^^
Fantastic story. I haven't been to Dollywood since I was a child, although we stay in the Gatlinburg area frequently to get away. It's time to take my own kiddos :)
Have the best time!
I live in Branson where Silver Dollar City is. I had no idea it originated in Gatlinburg and is now Dollywood.
hey wow, you did one close to home for me this time :) I'm a little less than an hour away from this park! Have been there many times in my life! Blazing Fury is THE BEST! Now we just need someone to do a video on the former Magic World that was right down the street! So glad I went to that one before they tore it down!