The Hidden Secrets of Dollywood

[Music] theme parks are loaded with hidden secrets all have them some more than others but dollywood's packed with them they're so easy to miss because you're walking around with tunnel vision distracted by the sound of your favorite ride the smells of your favorite foods and all the excitement around you at least that's what happens to me but that's okay because today i'm going to make things easy and break down dollywood's 10 best our first hidden secret is located in the craftsman valley section of the park right across from a blacksmith shop you'll find a wood carving building named the valley wood carvers the first thing you'll probably notice is all the bird houses on the front porch but inside is where the real hidden secret is located walk over to the front counter and look down towards the floor and you'll notice a hole inside's a small mouse peeking out a former employee named mary ann used to say the shop really needed a mouse after she was no longer able to work at the shop one of her co-workers decided to carve out the little mouse and name you guessed it marianne next time you're walking through craftsman valley make sure to go and see this wonderful addition to the shop our next secret is located just outside of the park at the dollywood dreamwork resort after becoming an owner of the park in 1986 building a resort was always very important to her in 2015 that dream finally became a reality i was lucky enough to get a chance to stay on this beautiful property in 2019 and while looking around and taking in everything this resort has to offer i stumbled across a wooden box located in a glass case it's called the dream box inside the cd that has the last song dahlia will ever release it's entitled my place in history it states on the plaque that only dolly knows the melody and the content the dream box will be open for the world on dolly's 100th birthday january 19 2046. i can only imagine how special it'll be when the day finally comes to open this wooden box our next secret is located in the newest section of the park wildwood grove if you walk over to the gift shop you'll notice a tree inside the building while it appears that the building was built around this massive tree that's not the real story the team went out and searched for the perfect tree to place inside this tree was curved and had three big branches and was the perfect one when cutting it down one of the branches actually broke off even so the tree was still used in the project and that branch that broke off well it was also used for some of the theming of this restaurant and while i won't spoil that instead see if you can spot it on your next visit this next one's not really a secret since it's listed on the app and the web page but you'd be surprised at how many people overlook it over in the rivertown junction section of the park you'll find a replica of dolly's childhood home it was built by her brother bobby and her mother helped with the interior many of the items inside belonged to the family growing up make sure to take a look at dolly's tennessee mountain home next time you're in rivertown junction take one look at fire chaser express and you'll know they knocked its theme in at the park sure it won't blow you away with cutting edge state of the art technology or will it but that's never really been the game plan at this park instead it's to immerse you in a comfortable and realistic world with incredible attention to detail you know the small things it's easy to spot that 1941 ford fire truck the life-size fire station and the design of those coaster trains but it's so much deeper than just the obvious look around when you're walking through the queue and you'll notice small details everywhere for me the greatest detail of them all is the used fire hoses stretching down from the ceiling they were no longer in service and donated by local fire stations the park staff then took them around to other fire stations in tennessee and had those teams sign them while getting signatures many of those departments donated items you can find as you wait to ride in total the park got more than 1300 signatures they even included their own hosts that served on fire teams as part of the signatures i just think it's a wonderful way to recognize those heroes to spend every day preparing to help and save lives of the communities that they care so much for [Music] almost everyone's noticed the robert f thomas chapel sitting right in the middle of craftsman valley it's named after the doctor that delivered dolly pardon and if you didn't know they even have a 30 minute service every sunday the parks open even though the church appears to be much older it was actually built in the 70s many of the items such as the windows doors pews the bell on top and even the stained glass behind jesus were donated from churches and schools around the area some of those items are over a hundred years old dollywood's own craftsman even carved jesus so make sure to go inside and look at all the detail next time you're in this section of the park one walk through the back end of the park and you'll notice that water is used to power several different things including the grist mill but what i find the most interesting is the water clock it blends in perfect and it's pretty easy to miss if you're not paying attention the first time i noticed it i was in the area waiting to get some footage of dollywood's amazing train i said okay that's a clock being powered by water coming down i see the time day month and year but the year said 1880 to 1887. that's when i realized this park's really serious about wanting you to feel like you're back in the 1800s once i left the clock and started walking through craftsman valley with that information fresh on my mind i had a whole new appreciation for this area of the park it was no longer just a path to get from the grist mill to tennessee tornado everything i saw seemed to put a smile on my face it's the attention to detail at every corner of craftsman valley to have me searching for more and that's the day i finally noticed tennessee tornado it's something more than just one of the best custom looping coasters aero ever built i used to think of the theme in a tennessee tornado nothing more than a unique track color and inversions flipping you around as if you were in a tornado i even noticed a little scattered debris too but i never really cared about that stuff too much i was more interested in the ride experience the unique first drop the massive first loop and the intense ride that followed you see this ride is located at the very end of craftsman valley and after noticing the water clock and searching this section of the park with a fine-tooth comb i started to notice the theme and started even outside the route area itself which is kind of what you would expect with a tornado right i saw mine carts up in trees farming equipment scattered in the woods even the fence around the coaster appeared to be damaged from the tornado i noticed that really old looking building and debris like wagon wheels and barrels stuck into the side okay so everything scattered seemed to fit into the time period of that water clock but why this sign and this prop as you enter the queue that's when i noticed the sign that read tennessee mining company finally everything made sense this was used to help build mine shafts and these were the mine carts that the tornado pulled from the mine shafts and tossed far away but the most important thing in my eyes was the incredible first drop that tunnels deep into the cold earth before you exit at the bottom of the loop what i once considered as one of the most unique and rare elements on a coaster was instantly leveled up and now understood as the entrance that took you deep into that mine shaft barnstormer is one of the most popular flat rides at the park that s s screaming swing gives a great dose of air time but a barn blue plain and located in owens farm what's it all mean well like most things at dollywood it's actually a pretty neat story owen's farm is named after dolly's mother's family since the pardon name is so well known she wanted to honor her mother as well it's also dedicated to the family of pete owens who's the head of dollywood's publicity department dolly's grandpa jack owned a farm where people enjoyed gathering for food and fellowship the big red barn hosts all kinds of activities as far back as the 1800s barnstormers would fly over the property performing tricks in their planes and would even land on the property offering rides to those attending for a small fee so when dollywood decided to add a screaming swing addition to the park this would be the perfect story to finish off the ride with some great history and theming [Music] now before we get into my personal number one favorite hidden secret at dollywood i just wanted to take a second to let you know that this is my second video of a five part series that i'm releasing on dollywood i recently uploaded the first which is titled the ultimate guide to dollywood so in case you missed that one i'll make sure to link it at the end of this video and remember there's still three left that will be released to complete this series also if you're enjoying this video it'd mean the world to me if you gave it a thumbs up as that really helps out the channel a ton and i hope you'll consider subscribing okay enough of that let's get to the last hidden secret we all love going to theme parks but have you ever wondered what it's like to work at one i know i have especially dollywood considering it was just named by forbes as one of america's best employers in 2021 many people enjoy working at this park so much they've even crossed the 30-year employment mark and when i heard what dollywood does for these employees it left me speechless as you walk around the park it's hard not to notice these signs posted at nearly every corner you turn they blend in so well with each area i never understood the true meaning until recently each sign is dedicated to an employee that's worked at the park for 30 years in total there's over 30 of these signs on my last visit i was on a mission to spot them all and while i only found about 10 i had a blast searching the park all over for them trust me it's easier said than done with so many unique signs throughout the park these just kind of blend in and at times can be hard to spot i think it's one of the greatest things i've ever seen a park do for its long time host so much in fact i found myself daydreaming of what it would be like to work for dollywood hopefully i got at least 30 more years in me and i sure do love the smoky mountains and the sound of that tree it's hard not to imagine what your sign would look like if you worked at the part and crossed that milestone but for some reason i got a good idea mine would end up like his [Music] it's [Music] [Music] you

Channel: okaycoasters

Views: 229,040

Keywords: dollywood, Dollywood hidden secrets, secrets, Dollywood rides, Dollywood 2021, Dollywood top 10, Dollywood best rides, Dollywood new coaster, lightning rod, pov, pigeon forge, tennessee, pigeon forge tennessee, Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg tennessee, silver dollar city, Dollywood documentary, Dollywood history, Dollywood easter eggs, history, Dollywood pov, Dollywood top 10 coasters, okay coasters, okaycoasters, okcoasters, grist mill, cinnamon bread, Dollywood food, dolly wood

Id: C_kMYTA1Y8I

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 23 2021