Footage Of People Wading In Waist-Deep Water Goes Viral After Dollywood Deals With Intense Flash Flooding

While there are amazing theme parks and amusement parks all over the world, there's a reason that many of them are located in places like Southern California or Central Florida. Weather is a major consideration when deciding where to build a park, and what just happened at Dollywood is a big reminder of that.

Dollywood is one of the best theme parks in the world, an underrated gem located in East Tennessee that is excellent for families and thrill-seekers alike. It's also got some of the best theme park food around. Even if you don’t love Dolly Parton, and who doesn’t love Dolly Parton, it’s a place any theme park fan needs to visit. However, yesterday was a day at Dollywood that created the wrong sorts of thrills, as the park saw some extreme flooding that had some guests truly worried for their safety.

Video and photos are currently going viral on social media showing extreme flooding inside both Dollywood and the Splash Country water park. While strong storms were expected in the Pigeon Forge area yesterday, apparently over five inches of rain fell in a short period, leading to flash floods and mudslides.

As somebody who visited Dollywood for the first time just over a year ago, the worst thing I had to deal with weather-wise was the occasional closure of outdoor attractions due to fear of lightning strikes. Which, due to living in California, was a pretty unusual thing for me to see. I had to deal with some rain, which is far from unusual this time of year, but nothing like what’s going around on social media. I never dreamed we could see flooding quite like this. One guest posted images of people up to their waist in water trying to get to their cars.

Luckily, Dollywood reports there was only one minor injury as a result of the flooding. The park was scheduled to reopen at noon local time today, though reportedly two of the park's water rides, The raft ride Smokey Mountain River Rampage and the flume ride Daredevil Falls, did not open alongside the rest of the park as additional work is required.

A great deal of credit would appear to go to the Pigeon Forge Fire Department, who, according to ESPN's Ryan McGee, assisted in evacuating the park and helping guests get to safety.

Credit should also go to Dollywood employees, especially the maintenance workers, who, despite the massive flooring, were able to get most of the park back into working order by this afternoon.

We’ve seen the occasional minor flood at other theme parks that can get significant rain, such as Walt Disney World. Occasionally there’s enough rain that it floods the streets of a theme park making getting around difficult, and damp, but we’ve never seen the water get so bad it required park evacuation.

Dollywood is an incredible theme park for thrill seekers but this was certainly not what guests had in mind. Hopefully there’s no long-term damage to the park, and guests will be able to enjoy the rest of the summer with only the illusion of danger that comes with the park’s excellent roller coasters.