When slow-moving thunderstorms forced the shutdown of roads, the East Tennessee theme park reported one injury.
Summertime visitors to Dollywood were forced to evacuate the Tennessee theme park on Sunday due to flooding caused by severe rains. Some of the visitors had to wade through water nearly waist deep to reach their cars. Get news, advice, and recommendations to help you travel more effectively and experience local culture wherever you go. Every Thursday, in your email. Social media users posted images and videos of brown water sloshing across pedestrian zones and pooling in the parking lot. One user described their “craziest Dollywood experience in my almost 32 years of going” on TikTok, sharing a video of people leaving the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee park while dousing themselves in ponchos and the pouring rain.
Dollywood said on social media that there had been one minor injury recorded in the midst of the rainstorm and flash flooding. According to the statement, Pigeon Forge police and fire personnel assisted in guiding “guests to safety during the storm.” On Sunday night, as slow-moving thunderstorms moved throughout the region, there was flooding. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 5:39 p.m. that stayed in effect until 10:45 p.m. Up to 4 to 5 inches of rain, according to the Weather Service, resulted in “multiple road closures, washouts, and even mudslides” in the area.
The fact that there was only one minor injury shows how well our hosts handled the situation and how well our guests followed their directions, even though the volume of rain was challenging for the park’s and the city’s infrastructure to handle, Dollywood public relations director Wes Ramey said in a statement.
Between Monday night and Tuesday night, there is a chance of further showers and storms, which could result in severe gusts and increased flooding, according to the prediction. The Weather Service said that certain places would receive up to three inches of extra rain.
Sevier County vice mayor Bryan McCarter stated on his Facebook page on Sunday night that there was “significant flooding” in certain areas of the county. He reported that washout or flooding had forced the closure of multiple routes, one of which was close to Dollywood. A number of people claimed on social media that the flooding prevented them from leaving the parking lot. One user posted on X with a video showing cars driving onto flooded roadways while it continued to rain, saying, “Didn’t have being stranded in the @Dollywood parking lot due to major flooding on my 2024 bingo card.”
According to a park release, Dollywood is providing assistance to visitors whose vehicles were impacted by the weather incident. The theme park is located 35 miles southeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, and eight miles north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the statement, Ramey said that tickets valid for a future visit on Sunday will be honored by the park. The submitted rain checks will also be accepted by the park. “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,” he added. “We will evaluate the response to determine if any changes are needed moving forward.”
When slow-moving thunderstorms forced the shutdown of roads, the East Tennessee theme park reported one injury.
Summertime visitors to Dollywood were forced to evacuate the Tennessee theme park on Sunday due to flooding caused by severe rains. Some of the visitors had to wade through water nearly waist deep to reach their cars. Get news, advice, and recommendations to help you travel more effectively and experience local culture wherever you go. Every Thursday, in your email. Social media users posted images and videos of brown water sloshing across pedestrian zones and pooling in the parking lot. One user described their “craziest Dollywood experience in my almost 32 years of going” on TikTok, sharing a video of people leaving the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee park while dousing themselves in ponchos and the pouring rain.
Dollywood said on social media that there had been one minor injury recorded in the midst of the rainstorm and flash flooding. According to the statement, Pigeon Forge police and fire personnel assisted in guiding “guests to safety during the storm.” On Sunday night, as slow-moving thunderstorms moved throughout the region, there was flooding. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 5:39 p.m. that stayed in effect until 10:45 p.m. Up to 4 to 5 inches of rain, according to the Weather Service, resulted in “multiple road closures, washouts, and even mudslides” in the area.
The fact that there was only one minor injury shows how well our hosts handled the situation and how well our guests followed their directions, even though the volume of rain was challenging for the park’s and the city’s infrastructure to handle, Dollywood public relations director Wes Ramey said in a statement.
Between Monday night and Tuesday night, there is a chance of further showers and storms, which could result in severe gusts and increased flooding, according to the prediction. The Weather Service said that certain places would receive up to three inches of extra rain.
Sevier County vice mayor Bryan McCarter stated on his Facebook page on Sunday night that there was “significant flooding” in certain areas of the county. He reported that washout or flooding had forced the closure of multiple routes, one of which was close to Dollywood. A number of people claimed on social media that the flooding prevented them from leaving the parking lot. One user posted on X with a video showing cars driving onto flooded roadways while it continued to rain, saying, “Didn’t have being stranded in the @Dollywood parking lot due to major flooding on my 2024 bingo card.”
According to a park release, Dollywood is providing assistance to visitors whose vehicles were impacted by the weather incident. The theme park is located 35 miles southeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, and eight miles north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the statement, Ramey said that tickets valid for a future visit on Sunday will be honored by the park. The submitted rain checks will also be accepted by the park. “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,” he added. “We will evaluate the response to determine if any changes are needed moving forward.”
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