Dollywood is giving coaster fans a chance to jump aboard Lightning Rod, its newest record-breaking offering, before the final pieces of track are even in place! Thanks to Los Angeles-based 3D Live, anyone with a smartphone can stream via YouTube 360 optimized, point-of-view footage of Dollywood’s Lightning Rod and take a virtual ride on the world’s fastest wooden coaster.
The pioneering 3D technology is new to the amusement park industry, and something 3D Live CEO Nathan Huber says will revolutionize the way guests visit a theme park. Huber said,
“This year has been crazy for us. We’re doing a bunch of great new stuff, and we said ‘let’s jump into this world (theme parks).’ This is something fun and we see a huge future of bringing people virtually to theme parks."
Huber went on to say,
“Imagine hospital patients that may never be able to go to a theme park. Now, this is at least the first step in bringing that experience to them. There is something about creating these immersive experiences; you can take something that would be difficult for them to experience and make it accessible. Now they can sit in their living room, put on a VR headset and be inside the park for a minute.”
The opportunity to work with Dollywood and its innovative new coaster was something Huber said was the perfect fit for his company’s groundbreaking technology. Huber said.
“We love the opportunity to be able to explore and find ways to deliver information to people. We’re excited to continue pushing boundaries.”
Due to working on the footage for Dollywood, Huber already has been able to make several circuits of Lightning Rod—albeit virtually. When asked about his thoughts on the thrilling new ride, Huber was quick to respond saying,
“It is scary. I like scary rides. It looks like it is going to be a ride to freak me out when I get a chance to come to Tennessee to ride it, which is going to be as soon as possible. Watching this ride, I’m just like, ‘wow!’”
As NQC (National Quartet Convention), gospel music’s largest annual event, returns to Pigeon Forge for its second year, Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede will once again celebrate the event by hosting two special, NQC-themed shows. Southern Gospel groups, Soul’d Out Quartet and Tribute Quartet, will both perform on Tuesday, Sept. 29 and Friday, Oct. 2.
Fans are in for a treat as they will get to enjoy Dixie Stampede's All New Adventure along with special appearances by two of gospel music's top artists. Each of these NQC shows begins at 2:15 p.m. in the Dixie Belle Saloon with a performance by Dixie Stampede’s bluegrass band, Mountain Ruckus. Guests then enter the main arena where the gospel show featuring both quartets will take place at 3:00 p.m., followed by Dixie Stampede’s main show and traditional four-course family feast at 3:30 p.m. Woody Peek, spokesperson for Dixie Stampede said,
“This has been an exciting year for Dixie Stampede and having the National Quartet Convention back again fuels even more excitement.”
Peek went on to say,
“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase both of these talented quartets for each show. We strongly encourage everyone that attended the NQC show last year to come back and experience our new adventure at Dixie Stampede. We’ve been working in conjunction with the NQC to ensure attendees can enjoy our special shows without missing any of the events at the LeConte Center.”
For more information, visit DixieStampede.com
Dollywood takes its location at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains seriously in terms of preserving the natural beauty of the area, and that extends to its construction projects.
Last month, Dollywood announced the addition of Lightning Rod, both the world’s fastest wood coaster and the world’s first launching wood coaster. While the thrilling $22 million ride marks the single largest attraction investment in The Dollywood Company’s history that investment will extend to keeping the ride’s construction area clean as the first litter-free construction site in Pigeon Forge.
Dollywood, in conjunction with ride manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction, has committed to being an initial partner with Keep Sevier Beautiful’s Litter-Free Construction Program. This unique program educates workers and supervisors on proper disposal of waste and encourages them to maintain the property of the entire construction site, including incidental litter and debris. Keep Sevier Beautiful (KSB) Board Chair Tom Leonard said,
“Any litter within the site reflects upon the company, and pride in the construction site and in the beauty of our Smoky Mountain area is the key to the success of this program.”
Gene Scherrer, Dollywood Vice-President and General Manager said,
“The natural beauty of this region is unparalleled and it is important for us to preserve that charm for visitors and residents of our community. As we continue to work on ensuring we leave a positive footprint on our environment, we knew the Litter-Free Construction Program was one in which we wanted to take part.
Scherrer went on to say,
Lightning Rod is a world-class attraction and we want the construction site to reflect the extraordinary quality we expect from the ride. We hope this program will educate construction site employees, as well as the general public, on the importance of maintaining orderly and clean work sites throughout Sevier County.”
As part of the Litter-Free Construction Program, the city of Pigeon Forge has provided a dumpster for the collection of garbage in the form of office/food wastes/litter and waives the associated hauling fee. Keep Sevier Beautiful will provide specifically marked individual litter collection containers for the construction site, and Dollywood is responsible for emptying these containers into the dumpster as well as providing litter pickup labor, making sure the policy is followed and workers are educated about the program. In addition, all waste leaving the construction site must be covered to prevent negligent litter.
Keep Sevier Beautiful will designate the Lightning Rod construction area as a participant in the Litter-Free Construction Program with a sign in front of the construction site. The site will be visited by a KSB representative regularly for the purpose of assessing the level of litter visible on the site and will continue for the length of the project, which opens in March 2016.
Keep Sevier Beautiful (KSB), an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, is a volunteer-based organization which focuses on waste reduction/recycling, litter prevention and beautifying public spaces through education and community-based programs. KSB’s goal is to protect the natural beauty of the area that millions of visitors come to see each year.
Dixie Stampede's 2015 Whoadeo is a fun filled event for kids and families with games, prizes and a FREE carnival. Whoadeo events include stick horse competitions, a parade of horses, and costume contests in the Dixie Stampede arena for children ages 3-12.
Families are invited to attend the free carnival from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Dixie Stampede parking lot. There will be games, bounce houses, magic tricks and much more.
Bring your favorite stick horse for the Parade of Horses and stick horse races beginning at 9:45 a.m. in the facility’s arena. Your stick horse can be purchased or homemade.
First, second and third place trophies will be presented in each competition for each age group and there will be one Whoadeo Best of Show trophy.
On-site registration for Whoadeo events opens at 8 a.m. Every registered participant (ages 3-12) receives a free Dixie Stampede admission ticket to the 6 p.m. dinner show on Sept. 26 with the purchase of an adult ticket. Each Whoadeo participant also receives a Kid’s Club backpack from Food City (while supplies last) and a one-day child’s admission ticket to Dollywood. Food City also will provide complimentary boxed lunch meals for participants. All children must be accompanied by a parent and/or guardian.
Visit Dixie Stampede for more information on Whoadeo 2015.
Dollywood hosts The Band Perry in concert as part of the Showcase of Stars concert series benefiting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. One of the most dynamic acts in music today, the sibling trio proved to be a powerful new force when they delivered their platinum self-titled debut: "The Band Perry," which offered up five hit singles, including the quintuple-platinum chart-topper "If I Die Young."
In recent years, the band has earned multiple awards from The Academy of Country Music, The Country Music Association, CMT Music Awards and The American Country Awards including a 2014 ACM award for Vocal Group of the Year. This is the first time the group from nearby Greeneville, Tennessee has performed at Dollywood.
The Band Perry will appear on Saturday, Sept. 19. Tickets available here.
Dolly Parton announced the return of Dollywood’s popular Showcase of Stars concert series in March as part of the award-winning park’s 30th anniversary season. Parton, whose last benefit concert at Dollywood was in 2005, kicked off the series with four sold-out concerts Aug. 8-9 at D.P.’s Celebrity Theater, and raised $500,000 in the process.
Showcase of Stars offers guests the experience of great performances in an intimate setting, while allowing them to simultaneously support a worthy cause. Dollywood season passholders have the first opportunity to purchase tickets to the show. Passholders will receive an email with an exclusive link to purchase. Any remaining tickets will be made available to the general public at a later date.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program administered through the Dollywood Foundation which provides an age-appropriate book each month to children from birth to age five in participating communities. To date, the Imagination Library has provided more than 71 million books in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
