The last time Eugene Naughton, president of Dollywood Parks, spoke to blooloop, the resort was embarking, after a decade of unparalleled growth, on an ambitious investment strategy.
Dollywood’s ‘Big Bear Mountain’ coaster – with SUV ride vehicles and on-board audio – opened last spring. Dollywood’s largest-ever single attraction investment, the $25 million Big Bear Mountain roller coaster is situated in Wildwood Grove, and references the mythical ‘Big Bear’, said to live in the hills nearby.
With a top speed of 48 mph, Big Bear Mountain takes riders through three launches, numerous airtime hills, high-speed carousel turns, tunnels, and a pass behind a waterfall. Built by Vekoma Rides, it is Dollywood’s longest coaster to date. The first to feature onboard audio, it also features SUV-like coaster trains with working head and taillights.
Its introduction was followed in November by the opening of Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. This is another part of Dollywood’s $500m expansion, and the second world-class resort to open at the iconic destination as it continues to expand.
HeartSong Lodge & Resort
HeartSong Lodge & Resort encourages families to explore nature, make memories, and, inspired by the Great Smoky Mountains that Dolly Parton loves, find a heartsong of their own.
It is characterised by The Cove, which boasts an outdoor pool, cascading waterfall, zero-depth entry, a splash pad, a hot tub, and seasonal poolside dining. Guests also benefit from a fire feature and gas fire pits for cosy gatherings.
There is a range of activities for families, including Camp DW which encourages children and parents to play and create together and an Imagination Library Story Hour. At night, guests are invited to gather around the wood-burning fire pit for marshmallow roasting and a campfire sing-along.
Dining offerings include a full-service restaurant, Ember & Elm: Tastes Rooted in the Smokies, as well as High Note: Casual Dining & Drink and the Songbird Market. The Acoustic Lobby is a private dining room inspired by Dolly Parton.
A further expansion, the new Dolly Parton Experience, is due to open in May 2024.
Big changes at Dollywood
With the HeartSong Resort and Big Mountain Coaster open and new plans in the pipeline, Eugene Naughton brought blooloop up to date.
“When we last spoke, we were talking about a board-approved half a billion dollar investment over the next 10 years, and were in the middle of our design phase for Big Bear Mountain and HeartSong,” he says:
“We are staying focused on our overall strategic intent of being the number one family destination in the United States. I called 2023 our down payment. We spent over $130 million in one year on a big transformation for us as a company. Adding Big Bear Mountain was a lot of fun for me. The rider height, at 39 inches means the average 5-year-old can get on that ride. It was important for us to add experiences to the park that are multi-generational in fashion.”
Big Bear Mountain
The Dollywood brand is strongly linked to tradition.
“Coming to Dollywood Parks and Resorts has been a family tradition for many, for a long time. It’s a lot of fun for parents and grandparents to remember their first visit to Dollywood, getting on their first coaster and riding with their parents. It’s fun for us to be able to see grandparents riding with their grandchildren and having comfortable fun, and that’s a real distinction.
“When I say ‘comfortable’ fun, that doesn’t mean Big Bear Mountain is a boring ride. It’s the longest ride in Herschend’s history. It has over 21 airtime moments and lasts almost three-quarters of a mile. You fly through a waterfall, and you dip under the path so your friends and family who aren’t riders get a chance to wave at you as you come through the tunnel.”
The ride has been incredibly well received:
“Even though it opened in the middle of May 2023, it has our third highest ridership in our entire campus already. We’re proud of that: it’s a ride everyone loves, and it’s a repeatable experience.
New accommodation for Dollywood
HeartSong was imagined as a tribute to Dolly’s love of the Smoky Mountains:
“She loves her hometown, she loves being here. She has written many award-winning songs about the Smoky Mountains. The HeartSong Lodge and Resort is a perfect blend of the outside experiences, bringing them inside.”
HeartSong takes many of its learnings from DreamMore, which celebrated its eighth-anniversary last year:
“We added a lot of improvements to HeartSong. One of the most interesting examples is our outdoor balconies. Outdoor people come to the Smoky Mountains to enjoy the outside. DreamMore only has a few outdoor balconies associated with rooms on the first floor.”
“With HeartSong, we have provided balconies as a space that allows families to enjoy the outside in a peaceful setting. It’s a big change.”
Another major difference in this venue is the addition of over 26,000 square feet of convention space:
“What I love about that is we all know companies have a lot of meetings, and those meetings can separate families. Children miss their parents. HeartSong is a really beautiful opportunity for us to be able to extend family vacations. After a company-wide meeting, conference-goers can stay and enjoy Dollywood Parks and Resorts and HeartSong and enjoy being at Dollywood with their families.”
A tranquil retreat
Another difference lies in HeartSong’s size and scope:
“DreamMore sits on 15 and a half acres of property,” Naughton explains. “HeartSong is over 28 acres. The outdoor family space accompanying our new resort is dramatically different overall. We even have individual fire pits outside for families to enjoy.”
The overall landscaping approach at HeartSong is different, too:
“We planted trees over a year earlier than we opened the building. That’s because we wanted to have our trees and landscaping in place, and the trees fully blossoming when we opened the building in October. This was a big learning from the opening of DreamMore, where we missed that step, and the surrounding foliage was a little bit sparse in the beginning. HeartSong looks like it’s always been there.”
“The landscaping is local, beautifully vibrant, and it’s naturally connected to the Smoky Mountains.”
HeartSong’s setting contrives to give an impression of remote tranquillity:
“I’m often shocked at just how hidden you feel,” he observes. “When you’re at HeartSong or DreamMore you can’t hear the excitement of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. It’s a very quiet and intimate setting.
“One of the things that our guests love about visiting our resorts is the fact that they’re so close to the excitement, but they feel like they can peel away and enjoy the restfulness of the Smoky Mountains.”
More resorts to come at Dollywood
Dollywood’s plans don’t end with the HeartSong Lodge and Resort, however.
“Our master plan includes five resorts in total, plus an outdoor resort. Grass doesn’t grow underneath my feet. So, when we needed dirt to fill our site for resort number two – HeartSong – I took it from Resort number three’s site. This means the land preparations for resort number three are already done.”
Resort number three is in design, with an opening planned in 2028.
“The ball is rolling, the playbook’s been created, and we’re hitting historically high marks on attendance and visitation,” he comments. “It’s been a fulfilling time for us. The team has received a lot of accolades over the last couple of years. We’re proud of being recognised for the job that we’re doing from a service perspective. But we’re also winning a lot of employment brand awards for our employment experience.”
When he last spoke to blooloop, The Dollywood Company employed around 2,900 people. It now employs 4,100, showing impressive growth.
“2024 is another big year,” Naughton adds. “We’re getting ready to do our media construction tour to show some of the key changes that we’ve made. I’m going to be so excited to be able to show everyone about the Dolly Parton Experience.”
The Dolly Parton Experience
The previous version, the Chasing Rainbows Museum, was, he explains, a static approach to chronicling Dolly Parton’s life:
“After standing next to her for a few years, I know there’s nothing static about her,” he remarks. “She’s a vibrant and very lively person, and that’s what the new Dolly Parton experience is going to represent.”
The Songteller Museum is a beautiful multisensory digital display of Dolly Parton’s life story.
“It’s a cool immersive storytelling experience that I know is going to blow people away. It’s a wonderful tribute and a way to add to her story because nothing stays the same with Dolly.”
“She released a platinum record recently that I know will be the number-one album she’s ever released – and it’s a rock album. Nothing before this says ‘Rock and Roll Dolly Parton’, but her rockstar album is unbelievable. I listen to it all the time in my car on the way to work.”
Another new feature, Behind the Seams, showcases Dolly Parton’s wardrobe, and the creativity that characterizes it:
“She’s never in the same thing twice. Behind the Seams will be a perfect opportunity for us to tell that story, and to honour a few of the key people that have been around her. Steve Summers, her creative director and brand manager, is the one who ideates all of her wardrobe long-term. Her niece Rebecca, the family historian, is handling a lot of information regarding her artefacts. It will be a great chance to honour her experience throughout Dolly Parton’s life.”
New shows for Dollywood
Rebecca Seaver is the director of archive services for Dolly Parton. A creative production specialist, archivist, and draglesque performer who has been working for Dolly since their early teens, they have curated numerous museum exhibits for the music legend, most notably at Dollywood, the Grand Ole Opry, the Grammy Museum, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Rebecca is also rewriting the Family Show, which will open with the new area in May 2024.
He adds:
“Dolly’s friends and family have always meant so much to her. We’re adding an experience called Precious Memories that will help her tell that story of connection to important family and friends.”
Additionally:
“We have three brand-new production shows we’re adding to the portfolio that will open in March. One of them is From the Heart, a show about Dolly’s life. It’s a rewrite of a very popular show that existed on the property several years ago, called Paradise Road. We had 20 years of material to add, so we’ve done a rewrite and changed the name. I know everyone’s going to be blown away.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. The last few times I’ve been on stage with Dolly, she’s tried to get me to sing with her. I just can’t do that. My kids would be looking at me being a bad singer for a lifetime on YouTube.”
A game-changing attraction still to come
However, he adds:
“We are adding a Dolly Parton sing-along show. This will give her fans the chance to sing some of her more popular songs. It’s going to be a fun and active show for everyone involved. Then there’s one more show that we’re adding, The Trio.”
Trio was a collaborative album by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, released in 1987 by Warner Bros. Records.
“We’re going to celebrate this with a group that we’ve had here before, Three Times A Lady,” Naughton says. “You can see the energy and excitement that we have about fulfilling our need to deliver on our experiences for our guests.”
It doesn’t stop there:
“2025 is heading to Dollywood’s 40th anniversary in partnership with Herschend and Dolly Parton, and we have a lot of fun things up our sleeves.
“One of the easiest things I can point to is that, as a result of the fact we’re growing in attendance and running out of parking spaces, we are adding on some new space to make it easier for our guests to be able to come to see us.”
Food is a staple at Dollywood, he adds:
“I love food, and I always love the impact of our food experience on family time together. We are going to be celebrating a part of our 25th anniversary by adding a brand new restaurant to the park.
“There will be a lot of other things, too, but I can’t share all of them yet. I can say, though, that our new attraction for 2026 will be a game changer. It will be a ground-breaking family attraction that is befitting of a world-class theme park.”
