Special Features: River Battle debuts at Dollywood

Posted at 11:31 PM EDT (0331 GMT)

Apr. 14th, 2008 -- Friday, April 11 dawned quite unusually at 70 degrees in Pigeon Forge, Tenn (last year it was in the upper 30s) and it was time for me to check out the newest addition to Tennessee’s only theme park, Dollywood.

Keeping with tradition, Dolly Parton herself was on hand to debut the new ride that is not only new to the park, but also new to American theme parks as well.

Following in the tradition of Mystery Mine and Timber Tower, River Battle is a type of ride that debuted a few years ago in Europe. Dollywood being the innovative leader they are, has brought another great ride to the states.

As with the previously mentioned rides, Dollywood took the time to give the ride it’s own Dollywood spin, instead of just installing a standard model.

Riders leave a ranger station and take off for adventure on the high seas. OK, while not exactly the high seas at only a few feet deep, riders must be on the lookout.

On this twisting, turning adventure there are different creatures that you can aim for, and I’m not just talking about the beavers!

People standing outside the perimeter of the ride have the chance to soak and be soaked themselves!

Riders and non-riders have pump-action guns that when activated will shoot a stream of water several feet. There are more than 100 targets along the way, including large-scale talking animals—beavers, skunks, otters, bears and more. Some of the targets shoot back, while others display a variety of special effects, creating surprises at every turn and ensuring that no two rides are exactly the same. Riders can also shoot off the ride and aim for people on the shore, that are trying to soak them!

River Battle cost $5 million and features nine rafts, each with room for eight passengers providing a capacity of 800 passengers per hour.

Along with the new ride, Dollywood made this enthusiast very happy by cutting a pathway to the back of the park! Now instead of Timber Canyon being a dead-end, the pathway loops on around to Tennessee Tornado. One can only imagine what the park might do with all the new open areas of land this creates.

The new pathway also provides great new photo opportunities of Tennessee Tornado and Mystery Mine.

For more information on River Battle, visit Dollywood.

Also, feel free to check out the video of Dolly debuting River Battle!
 

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