Dollywood’s Splash Country opens for 19th season with new offerings

Guests can dive into summer fun at Dollywood’s Splash Country starting May 18 for the water park’s 19th season. This year will offer fun events, new offerings, and innovation to provide a better guest experience.

Guests will find more picnic tables and shade than ever before this operating season. In addition to 6,000-square-feet of newly-shaded space on the wave pool deck, new structures now cover more queue lines – offering a cooler wait for Splash Country attractions.

“Safety and guest excellence are the two most important measurements by which we judge our season’s success,” said Janet Dawson, general manager of Splash Country. “In the heat of summer, our water park may be the coolest place to be in town, but it can still get hot! For the best experience, we’re always on the lookout for ways to give guests more shade. We think we came up with some new spots that our guests will truly appreciate this season.”

New for this year, guests can upgrade their private Retreat experience for a Deluxe Retreat, which offers a couch, love seat, a fridge stocked with bottled water and barstool seating overlooking the water park’s lazy river.

Another upgrade for this season is more TimeSaver H2O options. On busy days at Splash Country, guests can take advantage of four ways to spend less time waiting in line. Depending on the level that guests purchase, the wristband technology will allow them to cut their wait time up to 90 percent.

An additional new offering is a new dining option called Picnic in the Park. This new option allows guests to place their meal order ahead of their visit to the water park, so that the food will be ready when they are.

“Our guests tell us they love our food, but they’ve asked us to find ways to cut down their wait time,” said Dawson. “With Picnic in the Park, guests can pre-order their food so it’s waiting for them to pick up! We think this will revolutionize the lunchtime experience at our park.”

Live entertainment will also keep the party going, as the wave pool deck will host live bands every Saturday in July and August. Splash Bash LIVE will bring artists of all genres, and Too Hot Tuesdays with Hot 104.5 will return with a live DJ and interactive games. Splash Country will also host the American Cornhole Organization’s tournament on June 1, and Water Safety Day along with the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson on June 20.

Dollywood’s Splash Country will open for its 19th season on Saturday, May 18, and daily operation will continue though Sunday, Aug. 11. After that, the park will move operations to Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends through Aug. 25. The water park will then open one final weekend from Aug. 31 – Sept. 1, with its last day of seasonal operation on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 2).

To learn more, call 1-800-DOLLYWOOD or visit Dollywood.com.