The sweet, irresistible aroma of chocolates, candies, ice cream and taffy now greets guests in Dollywood’s Showstreet area of the theme park. It’s 6,500-sq-ft. of YUM! The brand new Dollywood Sweet Shoppe includes an ice cream parlor, candy shop and taffy kitchen. Guests can visit the new 100-seat Victorian-styled ice cream parlor which featured a variety of Edy’s® Ice Cream.
Selections include hand-dipped ice cream served in fresh-baked waffle cones, milkshakes, Coca-Cola® and Barq’s root beer floats and family-sized "build your own" sundaes. More than 70 toppings are available at the "ultimate topping bar," where everything from sprinkles to syrups allows guests to create one-of-a-kind sundaes. Next-door in the Candy Shop, Dollywood's master candy makers entertain guests as they make fudge, brittle, potato candy, caramel, candied apples and Dollywood’s own special recipe for Smoky Mountain Mud.
Dollywood's 20th-anniversary season introduced a new National Music and Harvest Celebration. The celebration featured 38 days of free concerts. Award-winning country, bluegrass, Americana and Southern gospel artists were showcased on stages throughout the park. Dolly said,
“I’m a fan of every kind of music, but I wanted our music festival to reflect the music that has been a part of my life growing up here in East Tennessee. Every artist on our lineup knows how to bring a crowd to its feet, and I hope everybody’s looking forward to that kind of entertainment—I know I am!”
Considered the Academy Awards of the amusement industry, the Golden Ticket Awards are presented to the "best of the best" in 22 categories based on the results of an international poll conducted by Amusement Today magazine.
The Thunderhead roller coaster was also named Coaster of the Year and Best New Wood Coaster at the 2005 Coasters' Choice Awards. It was the first wooden coaster to take the top honor in the awards' five-year history.
Dollywood hopes to hear guests shouting a mighty "tim-berrrr!" in 2006 as Dolly's theme park unveiled its new $6.5 million Timber Tower, the first and only ride of its kind in North America. Construction began in the park’s Timber Canyon area where Timber Tower will stand 65 feet in diameter. Situated in the middle of a 5,100-square-foot pond, Timber Tower takes passengers high into the air above Timber Canyon. The ride vehicle rotates nine times per minute as it makes its way to the top of the tower. Once there, the tower begins a side-to-side swinging motion, allowing the ride vehicle to topple multiple times in various directions at a 60-degree angle. Once completed Timber Tower will increase Thunderhead Gap from its existing five acres to six.
Dollywood's KidsFest welcomed a brand-new lineup of superstar children’s characters to headline its seven-week summer festival during Dolly’s park’s 20th anniversary. Dolly said,
“I’m just a big kid at heart, and I believe that having fun is the best way to spark a child’s imagination, and I hope we can ignite that spark in each and every guest at KidsFest.”
This year’s festival featured Clifford the Big Red Dog™, Mad Science® Movie Magic—the Science Behind the Movies and some of Nickelodeon’s® most popular characters like SpongeBob SquarePants™. In addition to these favorite children’s characters, KidsFest also included Dolly’s Imagination Playhouse featuring the Penguin Players.
