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All Aboard! The Polar Express 4-D Experience™

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JOINS DOLLYWOOD’S SMOKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL LINEUP 

Park’s annual festival recently named industry’s Best Christmas Event at Golden Ticket Awards.

Dollywood’s 19th annual Smoky Mountain Christmas festival, recently awarded the industry’s international Golden Ticket award for Best Christmas Event, begins Nov. 8, highlighted by the arrival of the Polar Express 4-D Experience™.      

“This Christmas, I’m inviting families to take a spectacular holiday journey where dreams become real, and everybody knows I dream bigger than just about anybody else, ” Dolly Parton said.  “On The Polar Express 4-D Experience, all you have to do is believe, and I sure do!

For the first time, Smoky Mountain Christmas continues through Jan. 3, 2009.  Operating days and times vary.

The Polar Express 4-D Experience is presented daily in the park’s Imagination Cinema. This holiday season…What if there is a place beyond your imagination and to get there all you have to do is BELIEVE!  Dollywood guests are invited to come journey to the North Pole where dreams become real and all of their senses come alive in this magical 4-D Experience.  When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on an epic journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.   The Polar Express 4-D Experience is based on the film from Warner Bros. Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, inspired by the beloved Caldecott Medal children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, and includes 3-D and 4-D effects that will make you BELIEVE.

“The Polar Express is by far the finest magical cinematic experience of our lifetime, ” Mark Cornell, SimEx-Iwerks Vice President, Attraction Development said.  “This iconic film is further brought to life with the perfected use of our own 4-D Special FX technology, and makes for an unforgettable multi-sensory adventure, leaving all who see with hair-raising goose-bumps!  Upon your arrival at the North Pole…it actually begins to snow inside the 4-D Special FX Theater and when the conductor sings “Hot Chocolate” and the dancing waiters begin to pour, the audience can smell the delightful aroma of every cocoa cup!!  The state-of-the-art 3-D Digital projection system allows you to see images virtually leap off the screen and when combined with 4-D FX, a blend of realism and fantasy unlike anything seen before is impeccably delivered.  A must see for the whole family!!”   SimEx-Iwerks is the worldwide exclusive distributor of The Polar Express 4-D Experience. 

In addition to a winter wonderland of more than four million holiday lights, Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas festival includes a lineup of award-winning entertainment.  Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland, highlighted by the march of the 21 toy soldiers and a spectacular surprise finale, won the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Honorable Mention for 2007 Best Overall Production.  Rounding out the Christmastime entertainment lineup are Christmas in the Smokies, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, An Appalachian Christmas, Christmas with the Kingdom Heirs, The Victorian Melodies, O’ Holy Night, Carol of the Trees plus the nightly Lighted Christmas Parade.  All shows are included with park admission.    

Families also can explore Santa’s Workshop, a magnificent 500-square-foot home away from home featuring larger-than-life-sized toys including “Jumbo the Elephant, ” which measures nine-feet-tall; a seven-foot-tall sailboat; a five-foot-tall tricycle; an eight-foot-tall dollhouse; a six-foot-tall View?Master® that displays a variety of holiday images and more.           

Dollywood is a 150-acre family adventure park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and operates mid-March through Jan. 3, 2009.  Dollywood offers more than 40 rides and attractions; five award-winning seasonal festivals and live entertainment featuring country, bluegrass, gospel and mountain music; and a dozen crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region.  For more information, call 1-800-DOLLYWOOD or visit dollywood.com.  Operating days and hours vary.  

Media: Contact Dollywood Public Relations Manager Pete Owens at 865-428-9486, 865-755-7972 or email at powens@dollywood.com for B-roll, photography and more information. Check the Dollywood Press Room at Dollywood.com/PR/Press.asp for updates and new images.

About SimEx-Iwerks

SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment is a private company based in Toronto and Los Angeles. SimEx-Iwerks first projects were the legendary Tour of the Universe created by Moses Znaimer at the CN Tower, Toronto, which was the world’s first Simulator-Based Attraction. We trade under the name “SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment” since the merger of SimEx (Toronto) with Iwerks (Los Angeles) in 2002.
SimEx-Iwerks is the leading entertainment company specializing is 3-D and 4-D cinematic experiences.  We have installed over 300 Attractions in over 40 countries and are the largest distributor of 2-D / 3-D / 4-D Attraction films. With over 125 titles (see film Library). Our passion is the delivery of highly immersive motion picture presentations that use proprietary 3-D Projection, 4-D Special Effects, Motion Seating and Blockbuster films. SimEx-Iwerks is respected for its worldwide client support and the extraordinary impact of its Attractions.  

Recent SimEx-Iwerks clients include National Aquarium Baltimore, Cincinnati Zoo, Landry’s Kemah Boardwalk, Universal Studios; Six Flags; Busch Entertainment; Warner Bros; Paramount Parks; Stone Mountain, Volkswagen; Ogden Entertainment; Pier 39 San Francisco; COSI; Reuben H. Fleet Science Center; Detroit Zoo; San Diego Wild Animal Park; National Museum of Science & Industry, London (UK); Osaka Maritime Museum; Singapore Science Centre; Shanghai Film Studios; Shanghai Scienceland; The Beijing Planetarium and Dalian Ownar Cineplex. 

For more information, please visit our website at simex-iwerks.com. 

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About The Polar Express

Castle Rock Entertainment Presents, in Association with Shangri-La Entertainment, a Playtone / ImageMovers / Golden Mean Production of a Robert Zemeckis Film: Tom Hanks in The Polar Express. Directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis & William Broyles, Jr., the film is produced by Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Gary Goetzman and William Teitler and is based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. Tom Hanks, Jack Rapke and Chris Van Allsburg are the executive producers. The production team includes directors of photography Don Burgess, A.S.C. and Robert Presley; production designers Rick Carter and Doug Chiang; and editors Jeremiah O’Driscoll & R. Orlando Duenas. Senior visual effects supervisors are Ken Ralston and Jerome Chen. Co-producer is Steven Boyd. Music score is by Alan Silvestri, and original songs by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri. The Polar Express is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Soundtrack album on Warner Sunset/Reprise Records. This film is rated G by the MPAA. For more information, please visit polarexpressmovie.com.

THE POLAR EXPRESS and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

See Also:
Dollywood was excited to announce Adventure Mountain for 2009
Dollywood names TVX Group as Sponsorship Consulting Firm
Ken Bell named president of the Dollywood company

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