The Inventor's Mansion

DollarCityBoy · June 09, 2011, 09:29:15 AM

I found this page while looking up random facts about Dollywood / SDC Tennessee. I am not sure if this topic has been brought up before on our fan site, so sorry if it has. I have known for some time about the simularities between Dollywood and SDC Branson. Blazing Fury (Fire In The Hole) Flooded Mine (Dollywood's is no longer there), Train, etc. But have never known about this "Inventor's Mansion." Apparenty it was there during the SDC days, and a couple of the Dollywood days. It was our equivalent to Grandfathers Mansion. Click the link and read the article, very interesting.

http://brentrobinson.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/dollywood-part-3-rides-of-the-past/

Also, on another Dollywood note, I found a Facebook Page intitled "Petition to bring back the flooded mine to Dollywood." It has about 200 memembers, and its last post I believe was in 2010, but interesting that it was started.

DollarCityBoy · June 09, 2011, 09:49:13 AM

Also, I found this picture taken in 2009 of the former "Inventor's Mansion" from a Flickr account. Not sure if this is someone from out fansite or not. Goes by Toby-SDC on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53826242@N00/3419993818/in/photostream

DollarCityBoy · June 09, 2011, 10:39:19 AM

Well just did a bit more research, and found a thread from Copper about his 2009 trip to Dollywood. The above Flickr page is his.

shavethewhales · June 09, 2011, 01:21:14 PM

Awesome stuff! I'll be sure to add this to the Dollywood wiki when it goes live.

It's a real shame that DW lost so many of the original SDC rides, particularly the flooded mine. I really wonder what was truly the driving force in shutting it down. If snakes were the issue I assume a park as advanced as DW could find a solution - SDC obviously has been able to avoid the problem.

Ozark Outlaw · June 09, 2011, 11:12:15 PM

Nice research DollarCityBoy!

I am not as familiar with Dollywood, and I had never known of their Inventor's Mansion. Such a shame it had to go since I couldn't imagine it being that big of a burden on park operations. Maybe it could be reopened as the Dolly Parton mansion. Now that would be scary!

Just teasing of course.

DollarCityBoy · June 11, 2011, 05:46:20 PM

I sent Dollywood an e-mail about The Inventor's Mansion. I'll give them this, it says it might take 8-10 days to reply, and I got a responce in 1.
However, their responce to me was this: "we are not sure what you are talking about."

Ozark Outlaw · June 11, 2011, 11:20:37 PM

Ha!

Well granted the Customer Service person working there is probably a summer intern (just teasing), but you still would think they, or someone could do a little research about their own park.

Fury Fire Chief · June 12, 2011, 01:07:36 PM

The Inventors Mansion at SDC/DW first opened in 1979 at the bottom of Craftsmen's Valley. It was the 3rd attraction added to Silver Dollar City Tennessee since the name change. The rides started with the first being the Flooded Mine in 1977, Blazing Fury 1978, and then "The Great Inventors Mansion" 1979.

According to a map I have from the 1986, the first season of Dollywood, it shows the Inventors Mansion attraction gone and replaced with Dolly Parton's "Rages to Riches" Dolly Parton Story Museum within the same building the Inventors Mansion previously occupied.

In 2002, Dollywood Blvd. was renovated into Adventures in Imagination and featured the "Chasing Rainbows" Dolly Parton Museum. This is the time that the museum moved from the Mansion into the new area.

I am really not 100% sure of anything else that was in the building after 2002 till the present. I have heard it was used for meeting space and storage, but don't quote me on that!

To this day, the mansion still sits high on the hill overlooking Rivertown Junction and surrounding areas and you can still walk through the cave underneath it that connects Craftsmen's Valley and The Village.

I hope that this helps!

Coaster · June 12, 2011, 10:33:50 PM

It does! Thank you for the information Chief!!

While it seems to us like Dollywood is getting many of the newer attractions each year, and that does make me jealous sometimes, I am also extremely glad that we still have many of our old favorite attractions at SDC. FITH, Flooded Mine, Grandfather's Mansion....SDC has, for the most part, looked the same for the past 30 years.

DollarCityBoy · June 13, 2011, 08:29:30 AM

Thank you Chief for that great detailed description!!

And Coaster, Yes, I am glad too that SDC still has so much of its original character and charm.
I plan on e-mailing Dollywood back and giving them some information on their own park! haha, thanks to Cheif! My main question I was trying to ask them is what (if any) were their plans for the building.
Also, if you look at a Dollywood park map, you will still see the building drawn out (not labled).

Fury Fire Chief · June 13, 2011, 08:51:41 AM

I believe that they leave the house on the map as a reference point on the map to help locate places around the park.

DollarCityBoy · June 13, 2011, 02:20:46 PM

Sent Dollywood another e-mail, and got a responce within 3 hours! WOW! Their quick!

Here is what they said:

"Thank you for your interest in Dollywood and for the brief history lesson on Inventor's Mansion. As a longtime visitor to Dollywood, I appreciate it very much! At this time, there are no plans in the future to re-open the Inventor's Mansion at Dollywood. We're very sorry to disappoint you. But you never know because plans can change.
We hope you can visit us in the Smoky Mountains and at Dollywood soon."

marolinesdad · June 13, 2011, 06:19:49 PM

Well thats a whole lot of Fluff.

Ozark Outlaw · June 13, 2011, 07:22:14 PM

Nah, it's not that much fluff at all. In fact here, I will highlight the parts not fluff.

"Thank you for your interest in Dollywood and for the brief history lesson on Inventor's Mansion. As a longtime visitor to Dollywood, I appreciate it very much! At this time, there are no plans in the future to re-open the Inventor's Mansion at Dollywood. We're very sorry to disappoint you. But you never know because plans can change. We hope you can visit us in the Smoky Mountains and at Dollywood soon."

See hardly any fluff. Actually the three hour response time is impressive, so it holds its own merit I suppose.

betamike · July 24, 2011, 10:55:20 AM

I was fortunate enough to visit Dollywood when it was still Silver Dollar City. While I am glad that Dollywood is part of the Herschend Family and has made an iconic name for itself over the years, I still pine for the simple pre-Dollywood days and enjoyed the park very much in that old fashioned state.

I VIVIDLY recall Inventors Mansion and ran through it 8 or 10 times on a single visit there. In fact, it was just about closing time and I had to make one more pass through there as a kid.

I still have the collector's map from that time period that proudly highlights it. (see attached)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/4485413099/sizes/o/in/set-72157601729928940/