Storms bring flash flooding to Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee

PIGEON FORGE, Tennessee — Severe thunderstorms caused flooding at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in eastern Tennessee.

Park staff and Pigeon Forge police and firefighters helped guests to safety Sunday afternoon, and one minor injury was reported, park officials said in a statement. The theme park said it was assisting guests whose vehicles were hit and that cleanup crews were deployed. The park reopened at noon Monday, and the park’s Splash Country, which was not affected, opened at its regular time.

According to Pigeon Forge police, McCarter Hollow Road at the entrance to Dollywood was closed Sunday evening due to a road collapse.

JeMiale McKinney of Knoxville and his wife and two daughters are season pass holders and went to the park on Sunday. Sometimes when there is a threat of bad weather, that is the best time to go because a lot of people leave and when the weather clears up, you get shorter ride times, McKinney said.

But it was pouring rain and within 10 minutes the entrance was blocked. People saw it wasn’t worth it to drive through the water, which in some places was up to their thighs, McKinney said.

“We got stuck in the parking lot faster than we thought,” he said. They were stuck there for two hours until a crew broke down a fence so people could get out.

“I was surprised how calm people were,” he said.

According to Dollywood spokesman Wes Ramey, nearly five inches of rain fell in the area in about an hour.

“While the amount of rain was difficult for both the park and the city’s infrastructure to handle, the fact that we only had one minor injury illustrates how well our hosts handled the situation and how well our guests followed their instructions,” Ramey said.

The park will evaluate the response to determine if changes are needed, he said.