Dollywood has lengthy been a mainstay of Smoky Mountain holidays, and visitors now have yet another huge, furry purpose to go to the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, theme park — Dollywood’s latest coaster, Huge Bear Mountain.
Because the Smoky Mountain-themed coaster’s backstory goes, there’s proof of a “Huge Bear” on the unfastened within the park, however he has by no means been noticed. Huge Bear Mountain invitations visitors to enterprise into the forest and at last discover the elusive bear as they tear by way of the Tennesee mountainside.
Dolly Parton herself was available for the grand opening and shared extra concerning the inspiration behind the family-friendly coaster.
“You recognize, I grew up not removed from right here and there is been a legend all my life concerning the ‘Huge Bear,'” Parton stated. “It was type of our model of Bigfoot. We had this huge bear that everybody was at all times making an attempt to catch and he would simply terrorize all people.”
From the legend of that elusive bear, Huge Bear Mountain was born.
The $25 million coaster stretches 3,990 ft alongside the perimeter of Wildwood Grove, the park’s latest space. The $37 million, 6-acre enlargement is the most important in Dollywood historical past and opened to the general public on Could 10, 2019. An extra enlargement shall be revealed this fall when the 302-room HeartSong Lodge & Resort begins welcoming visitors.
At over three-quarter miles lengthy, Huge Bear Mountain is the most important single attraction funding for the park and the longest coaster ever constructed at Dollywood. It is also the primary Dollywood attraction to function onboard audio, which implies that the growling Huge Bear at all times seems like he’s proper in your heels.
On every “expedition” by way of Huge Bear Mountain, riders expertise three separate launches; wind by way of a number of twists, turns and airtime hills; and journey by way of a number of tunnels, together with a go behind a cascading waterfall.
Parton is fast to confess she will not be hopping on Huge Bear Mountain anytime quickly.
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“I feel I would lose my hair,” she laughed. “I would lose my nerve earlier than I even bought on.”
No matter her personal emotions about coasters, she loves that the experience was designed to be family-friendly.
“Children are gonna find it irresistible, however I feel all of us are children at coronary heart, so dad and mom are gonna find it irresistible, too,” she stated on the grand opening. “It offers you a very good excuse to be a child once more, so to talk.”
Huge Bear Mountain has a 39-inch minimal peak requirement, zero inversions and a prime pace of 48 mph, making it accessible each to households and to visitors who could also be intimidated by a few of Dollywood’s taller and quicker coasters.
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Huge Bear Mountain is considered one of a whopping 9 curler coasters at Dollywood, and it falls squarely in the course of the park so far as depth and scare issue.
The park has greater than 20 kid-friendly rides and points of interest. On the different finish of the spectrum, the Lightning Rod coaster hits a prime pace of 73 mph and Wild Eagle climbs to 210 ft earlier than hovering again down the hill.
Like Goldilocks and her bowl of porridge, Huge Bear Mountain is excellent for all Dollywood guests and a must-do in your subsequent Dollywood trip.
And should you’re craving for extra Dolly Parton, try the video beneath for a particular go to our resort reporter Tanner Saunders bought to have within the Dolly universe.