From Dollywood to Anakeesta to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there’s fun in the Smokies around every corner. And if you’re looking for something new to get into, even more fun is on the way in 2025.
Start making plans now to enter the vibrant world of Crayola, rush down a massive waterslide, play golf with Scooby-Doo and even experience powerful biblical stories as if you were really there.
For those who absolutely can’t wait to get the fun started, one attraction is open right now, months earlier than expected.
Here’s a look at some of the new attractions you can expect when you visit the Smokies in 2025.
Do you wish you could explore the Garden of Eden, ride on Noah’s Ark, roam the Tower of Babel or witness the birth of Jesus? A new Pigeon Forge attraction coming in 2025 will let you journey through these biblical tales virtually.
Truth Traveler is an immersive virtual reality experience developed by Answers in Genesis, the creators of the Ark Encounter in Kentucky.
Truth Traveler in Pigeon Forge will have a biblical VR experience and planetarium.
The 26,000-square-foot facility also will feature a planetarium with a massive 30-meter-diameter dome. Guests will wear VR headsets and sit on benches that move during the experience, adding another layer of realism to the experience.
Answers in Genesis President Joe Boone described the attraction as a “fun, entertaining, engaging way to learn about biblical history.”
Truth Traveler is expected to open in March 2025. The attraction’s popularity at the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and Pigeon Forge’s strong tourism led to the decision to expand to East Tennessee, a June 2024 press release noted.
Location: 2680 Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang are rolling into Pigeon Forge in the spring. The crew won’t be solving any mysteries, but those who join them for 36 holes of mini-golf will be in for a few surprises.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Putt is an immersive 36-hole mini golf adventure with two Scooby-Doo-inspired courses: Coolsville Mine and Coolsville Cemetery. Guests can also look for gems and stones at the Coolsville Gem Mine and enjoy a few “Scooby” snacks and merchandise at the clubhouse.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Putt is the first mini-golf course themed around Scooby-Doo and the mystery-solving characters. It is developed by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences and CinePutt.
“We’re thrilled to bring the beloved Scooby-Doo franchise to life in this unique and exciting way,” CinePutt President Justin Freer said in a statement. “Pigeon Forge is a special place for families to make memories, and this attraction will offer guests a chance to step into Scooby-Doo’s world for an unforgettable experience.”
Location: 2545 Teaster Lane at the Mountain Mile in Pigeon Forge, TN
Come spring 2025, the longest continuous zip line in the United States will be in Pigeon Forge. The MegaZip at WildSide will fly riders 5,771 feet across the Smokies. That’s over a mile long!
The zipline begins 2,472 feet in the air, overlooking the mountain ridges and will descend more than 1,000 feet. Work to place the steel for zipline towers began in early December, WildSide announced via its social media accounts.
WildSide, an off-road and mountain bike adventure park, opened during the summer of 2024.
“Our goal with this new attraction was to push the boundaries of adventure and provide our guests with a unique and unforgettable experience you won’t find anywhere else in the United States,” WildSide founding partner Bryce Bentz said when announcing the zipline.
For now, the Catamonster Zip at Catamount Mountain Resort in Hillsdale, New York, is the longest zip line in the country at 5,523 feet.
Location: 1099 Laurel Lick Road in Pigeon Forge, TN
A six-person raft slide that starts eight stories high, reaches speeds up to 19 mph on the way down, and spans 825 feet is set to open at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in Sevierville by May 2025. The popular water park broke ground on the project in early November.
“Rafter’s Rage will be different than most water slides with high banking turns and steep drops because instead, it will feature four artfully crafted arcs that rafts will laterally accelerate over sideways,” Dave Andrews, the park’s general manager, explained in a press release.
A rendering of Soaky Mountain Waterpark’s upcoming thrill ride, Rafter’s Rage. The ride starts eight stories high and can reach speeds up to 19 mph.
Soaky Mountain was named one of the best outdoor water parks (No. 8) in the country in the 2024 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Location: 175 Gists Creek Road in Sevierville, TN
The colorful and interactive Crayola Experience in Pigeon Forge was announced in summer 2023 and was scheduled to open fall 2024. The opening date has been pushed to sometime in 2025.
The 30,000-square-foot entertainment facility will allow kids – and adults’ inner kids – to immerse themselves in a vibrant world of creativity and self-expression through more than 20 interactive attractions. Activities include naming your crayon color, creating wax art, and a custom coloring book. The venue also will have a food and beverage area, as well as a retail store.
The Pigeon Forge location will be Crayola’s sixth attraction in the United States and is part of the brand’s plan to develop, operate and manage new Crayola Experience locations in the country over the next several years.
Location: 2046 Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN
An expansive Nerf Action Xperience is now expected to open in 2025, along with its neighbor, the Crayola Experience. The Nerf project will feature Blaster battle zones, sports challenges, an obstacle course, a food and beverage area and a retail store.
If you want to drop the Crayola crayons and pick up an arsenal of NERF blasters, the new Nerf Action Xperience will be directly beside the Crayola Experience. It also had been slated to open in 2024, but Nerf Action Xperience is now expected to open in 2025 “on or about the same time” as its Crayola-themed counterpart, according to attractionsmagazine.com.
The 29,000-square-foot venue will feature blaster battle zones, sports challenges, an obstacle course, a food and beverage area, and a retail store.
Location: 2046 Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN
For those expectantly waiting until 2025 to try out the new waterslides and activities at Country Cascades Waterpark Resort, go ahead and get your swimming suits now. The Braxton Beaver’s Shipwreck Bay expansion has already opened.
Shipwreck Bay, a 16,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, features four slides, a zero-entry splash pad play structure and other interactive elements. The two larger slides are Lasso Looper, which has twists, turns and translucent details, and Swirl & Twirl, a dual mat racing slide.
Bayside Lagoon is an activity pool offering basketball, swimming and more. It even has a warming spa for adults to unwind and relax.
The $14 million expansion opened in late November. It had been slated to open in “early 2025,” when the project was first announced in 2023.
Location: 204 Sharon Drive in Pigeon Forge, TN
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email [email protected]. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: New attractions in this Southern town: Crayola, Scooby-Doo, ziplines
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