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Dollywood: 5 Things to Know About the Theme Park's Opening Day

Dollywood will open for its 2018 season on Friday with a celebration with Dolly Parton and new additions.
Credit: David Becker/Getty Images
Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton attends the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It's almost time to return to Dollywood.

The Pigeon Forge theme park will open for its 2018 season on Friday with Dolly Parton in attendance and some new additions.

Here's five things to know about Dollywood's upcoming opening day and 2018 season.

1. Parton at the park

Dollywood will open its gates and start up its "Season of Showstoppers" on Friday.

Parton will kick off the park's 2018 season and make appearances in the park throughout the day.

2. New entertainment venue to open

Friday will be the first day park attendees will get a glimpse of the park's new entertainment venue, the Plaza at Wilderness Pass.

The Plaza occupies the spot where the park's River Battle Ride was and sits in between roller coasters Mystery Mine and FireChaser Express. It will house different events that correlate with the park's many festivals throughout the year.

"So what will happen is throughout the year we'll be able to take the programming for each of the festivals and theme that area so that guests have an immersive experience they can sit down, take a break and just enjoy the atmosphere for whatever festival we're in," said Dollywood Public Relations Manager Wes Ramey in a previous News Sentinel story.

3. Festival of Nations features new acts

Dollywood's season will begin with its annual Festival of Nations, which highlights different cultures around the world. It will go through April 9.

This year, the event will feature three headliners who are new to Dollywood: the National Dance Company of Siberia at DP’s Celebrity Theater, the Flamenco Kings starring Los Vivancos at the Pines Theater, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo at the Showstreet Palace Theater.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo has a connection to Parton. The group worked with her on her 1996 album "Treasures."

The festival will also feature acts including JigJam at the Back Porch Theater, Caribbean’s Invaders Steel Drum Orchestra at the Valley Theater, Ecuador’s Atahualpa at the Showstreet Gazebo and Zebra Stelzentheater, who will roam throughout the park.

4. Ticket/season pass information

Dollywood has a number of ticket and season pass options. Here's what you need to know.

Tickets for the theme park come in single-day, two-day and three-day varieties, according to the website.

For ages 10-61, it costs $69 for one-day tickets, $89 for two-day tickets and $99 for three-days. For ages 4-9, it costs $56 for one-day tickets, $76 for two-day tickets and $86 for three-day tickets. For seniors (62 and up), it costs $64 for one-day tickets, $84 for two-day tickets and $94 for three-day tickets.

Season pass options include a theme park season pass for Dollywood, a water park season pass for Dollywood's Splash Country and two types of combo-passes.

Each pass offers its own set of perks. For more information on those, visit https://www.dollywood.com/Tickets/Season-Passes.

5. New Spring Mix coming soon

After Festival of Nations wraps up, Dollywood's new three-week spring concert series will begin on April 11 and run through April 29 at various venues in the park.

The series will feature country artists in its first week, inspirational artists in the second week and classic artists in the third week.

To view a full schedule of the Spring Mix concerts, visit https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Festivals/Spring-Mix.

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