Dollywood Expansion 2019

We have exciting news regarding Dollywood’s plans for 2019! Over the years, we have brought you breaking details on some of the biggest and most exciting additions in Pigeon Forge including the world record-breaking Lightning Rod, Firechaser Express, Margaritaville, Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, Hard Rock Cafe, Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud, and so much more. This, however, is perhaps our largest reveal yet as it features a 5 acre expansion to Dollywood! As we have done in past breaking stories, this will be a “live” post that we will continually update as we get new & confirmed information from various sources. We post the date along with the details we receive on that date so that we can piece together clues as to what will be included in this new expansion. We hope you love finding clues and piecing together everything just as much as we do! So let’s get started!

Feb 27, 2018

Dollywood representatives met with the Pigeon Forge Planning Commission to review a 5 acre site plan for the Dollywood expansion. The location of the expansion is described as being located near the Thunderhead roller coaster and the parking area. We have drawn an area on the aerial map below to highlight our best guess as to where the expansion will be located. Again, this is our guesstimate of the location…not an official map from Dollywood. Keep in mind that the red outline is larger than 5 acres…so the expansion should be located somewhere within this area.

At 5 acres, this expansion appears to be larger than Country Fair or the 50’s area, which means it will be the parks biggest addition since they expanded up to create the Wild Eagle and Firechaser Express.

Community Development Director David Taylor was quoted in the local newspaper, The Mountain Press, saying “There’s going to be about eight different attractions, a restaurant, separate building for restrooms, there’s going to be water features, shade structures; just a lot of different things in this area.”

Officials are hoping the expansion is ready to open in 2019, but details on exactly when in 2019 is dependent on all sorts of things with an expansion of this size. While we’re hopeful that it opens at the beginning of the 2019 season, we’re holding off on pinpointing timeframes until construction & approvals get underway throughout the year.

We’re excited to see what this new expansion will bring and possibly what it will be themed as! The 2018 season hasn’t even started yet and we’re already looking forward to 2019!

March 6, 2018: Blueprints revealed, location confirmed, and it’s geared for kids!

Local news station WBIR featured the Dollywood expansion in a recent broadcast. It shows the construction as well as the blueprints presented to the Pigeon Forge Planning Commission! The blueprints reveal an enclosed family coaster, a pendulum style ride, an indoor play area, and more which all but confirms that this new expansion is going to be geared more towards the younger crowd! This is great news as families have long been wishing there were more things to do between Thunderhead and Wild Eagle.

Below is the WBIR news feature of the Dollywood Expansion.
http://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/dollywood-developing-5-acre-expansion/51-526144541

Below are the blueprints shown in the video, which provide an idea of the layout as well as a couple of the proposed rides!

This blueprint reveals a variety of rides…but our question is if these are the “actual” rides proposed or if they are somewhat “placeholders” until all of the construction proposals are approved for storm drainage, sediment & erosion control, etc. Either way, this looks to be a fun new addition!

Woohoo! Location and size confirmed! It appears that the “entrance” to the new addition will be located where the Mystery Mine track crosses over the walking path. Also, this pretty much confirms that they are not adding another entrance into the park like some had suspected.

The blueprint below is throwing us off due to the tube structure…and are those “large fans” or are they supports for the structure? Any guesses???

The blueprint below shows what appears to be a classic pendulum ride such as the classic pirate ship ride.

Using the blueprints above, we combined it with a satellite image to show the approximate location & size of the new expansion. This could, of course, my altered and modified as they obtain permits & approvals. Pretty exciting to get a feel for what this new area will be like!

March 10, 2018: Is THIS the new coaster????

Rumors are swirling throughout forums of coaster enthusiasts that the blueprints above reveal that the new coaster is a Vekoma 453m Suspended Family Coaster. The RCDB website (which is a massive database of roller coasters around the world) has already added this info to their website. RCDB goes on to state that the coaster will not be an “enclosed” coaster as described by WBIR in their initial report, but instead the blueprints are showing a “reach envelope” of the suspended coaster.

Here is the breakdown of why coaster enthusiasts believe that the new Dollywood roller coaster for 2019 will be a Suspended Family Coaster built by Vekoma.

First, here is the overhead blueprint from above…we zoomed in and rotated it so you can see what happens next.

Now, here is a blueprint of a coaster called Orkanen located at Fårup Sommerland. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s because it’s in Denmark.

Finally, we take the Orkanen blueprint, rotate it, and lay it on the Dollywood blueprint, and voila! You can see an exact match in the layout. So unless Dollywood is using this as a “placeholder” (which we are seriously doubting), then you are looking at Dollywood’s brand new roller coaster for 2019!

Want to take a ride on the coaster? Check out a front seat view on Orkanen to see! This looks like a fantastic family coaster and a great addition to Dollywood!

So, what do you think so far??? We’re excited and can’t wait for the next update!!!

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Your Thoughts?

We’d love to hear what you think about this new expansion coming to Dollywood! Use the comment form below to share your thoughts. Also, be sure to check out our guide on Dollywood discounts as well as our complete guide to Dollywood featuring the schedule, new shows, and more.