One of my most memorable family vacations growing up was when we visited Tennessee about 25 years ago. Even though I was barely old enough to be in school I can still remember bits and pieces such as when we visited Dollywood for the day. Dollywood was amazing even back then, before all of the extreme coasters and thrill rides. Before I headed out to Tennessee for Brandcation, I was looking through all of my photos trying to find the perfect one for the 80’s party. While going through this huge stack of pictures I had a flashback as I came across several of our family taken back in the 80’s during this trip to Dollywood. I was so excited to see some of the familiar backgrounds that I had remembered as a kid. One of the photos that I found was of my sitting on a wooden fence across from the Nine to Five and Dime store, I knew I had to try and recreate this photo of my next visit to Dollywood.
I had no clue when I stepped through the gates at Dollywood how much they had grown over the past several years. The park is huge and holds some of the countries most extreme roller coasters including the newest ride The Wild Eagle. We all had the chance to not only ride the Wild Eagle but a film crew was also there shooting a pilot for a new reality show and guess who all got to be filmed! You guessed it, all of us thrill seeking mom bloggers got the chance to ride the Wild Eagle with some really cool roller coaster guys all while being filmed. The ride was incredible but also pretty scary and not for the faint at heart. It’s extreme. After the Wild Eagle some of us rode a few other tamer rides, shopped around and checked some of the beautiful scenery that Dollywood has to offer. We also got the chance to see a gospel show that was playing during lunch.
In addition to the rides and shows, Dollywood is also known for it’s down-home cooking! When you first walk into the park your greeted with the sweet aroma of freshly backed pastries, you know with my sweet tooth I couldn’t resist so I had a cinnamon roll the size of my head. No joke, this thing was HUGE and it tasted delicious. I don’t even want to think about the calories that I consumed while eating that cinnamon roll but I will tell you it was worth it. At lunch we had Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Greens, Coleslaw and Beans and Ham. Oh but we can’t forget the dessert, which I ate so quickly I didn’t have time to take a picture of the blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
So your probably wondering if I was able to recreate that picture that I mentioned above. Well things have changed at Dollywood a lot in 25 years but there are a few familiar things and I’m happy to report that even though it’s not exactly the same I was able to take a picture in the exact same spot at 31 as I did at 6! Check it out below.
Dollywood is definitely a contender when it comes to amusement parks with amazing rides but they also have so much more and appeal to just about everyone from toddler’s to grandparents and everyone in between. For information on Dollywood including prices and hours be sure to visit them online at http://www.dollywood.com/.
*Dollywood provided tickets to the park as well as lunch during our Brandcation Event. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own.