Dollywood park has suffered flooding due to thunderstorms, leaving one person with minor injuries, according to The Associated Press.
Park employees and local officials guided park visitors to safety Sunday afternoon. Cleanup crews were reportedly deployed and within ten minutes, the entrance to the park was blocked due to heavy rain.
Flash flooding
In a statement released on X on July 28, Dollywood Parks & Resorts gave an update on the flooding conditions: “This afternoon, Sunday, July 28, a strong thunderstorm caused flash flooding at Dollywood. With the assistance of Pigeon Forge Police and Fire Departments, park personnel directed guests to safety during the storm. At this time, one minor injury has been reported.”
According to the statement, the park was scheduled to open Monday, July 29, at noon as officials continued to provide updates and assess conditions.
In a social media post on X, one user shared pictures of the flooding, including a photo of people wading through deep water. “I still love Dollywood... but we barely escaped today,” read the caption.
A flash flood warning was issued at 5:39 p.m. on Sunday in Sevier County, Tennessee, per CNN. As the rainfall grew more intense, a road near the entrance of the park collapsed.
Sarah Myers told CNN about her experience at the park during the flooding. Her family holds season passes and have reportedly been to the park before, but this visit “was definitely different.”
“It went from being, oh, this is a funny, ironic situation to this is a scary situation,” said Myers of the event. She told CNN that her husband carried their 6-year-old while she and her 8-year-old, 12-year-old and 14-year-old slowly trudged their way back to their vehicle.
“At one point, my husband said he felt like we were competing in the Oregon Trail because it was just like ‘who’s gonna make it out alive,’” Myers said.
Wes Ramey, Dollywood’s public relations director, told CBS News that the amount of rain was difficult for the park and the city to manage, but “the fact we have only one minor injury illustrates how well our hosts handled the situation and how well our guests followed their directions.”
“We will evaluate the response to determine if any changes are needed moving forward,” Ramey told CBS News just before Dollywood reopened, “but we are proud of our maintenance and operations teams for their hard work that allowed us to reopen less than 24 hours after an unprecedented flooding event like this one.”
What is Dollywood?
According to Dolly Parton’s website, the singer and star dreamed big when spending time on the West Coast in the 1980s.
“Every day, driving to and from the production studios, she would see the world famous Hollywood sign, and every day that sign would be a source of inspiration for her,” per the website. Dolly said: “I can remember looking up at the Hollywood sign the first time I was in L.A. and thinking I would like to change that H to a D.”
This dream led to the creation of Dollywood, a theme park meant to be “enjoyed by everyone” as a celebration of the “culture and people of the Smoky Mountains.”
“At Dollywood we celebrate the best of life as we light up the Smokies with rides, slides, music, food and laughter - day and night,” per the Dollywood website. “We invite you to our Tennessee home where you can hold on tight to those you love most in the great outdoors in each beautiful season of the year.”