Dig’n Zone is a brand new theme park where “Kids” of all ages will have a blast riding, driving and operating real construction equipment! Dig’n Zone is the world’s largest construction-based theme park with over 25 attractions spread over 27 acres. This is family focused entertainment where children and adults can spend a full day operating or riding on various types of construction equipment. From crushing a toy bus with a pavement roller, driving a skid-steers or taking a wild ride in the bucket of an excavator, this park will let you live out big equipment dreams.

My family has been following with excitement the construction of Dig’n Zone since it was announced several years ago. Dig’n Zone opened in March of 2024 as the newest theme park offerings in the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville area in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. The park is approaching its one year anniversary at the time of writing this review and the park felt like it had worked out any kinks and hit its stride during our visit. Dig’n Zone has extremely generous year round operating hours, only being closed for some weekdays January through early March, with closing time ranging between 5pm in the winter and 10pm in the summer.

Dig’n Zone is conveniently located just to the east of the main strip on Veterans Boulevard, just 7 minutes north of Dollywood. Accessing the park couldn’t be easier with great signage and 100% free parking right next to the entrance. Walking to the ticket booth there will be some great photo ops and a standard day ticket will include operating all the equipment with the exception of crushing a toy car with the pavement roller, the arcade and gem panning being a slight upcharges. Tickets are $69 for adults and $55 for kids and seniors with 2 and under being free. This compares quite favorably to the $92 for adults and $82 for kids you’d pay for Dollywood. The park also offers a “TurboPass” which is their version of a “skip the line” program, however on the fall weekday we went it wasn’t busy enough to warrant it. However, some of the experiences are longer and lower capacity, so on a busy summer day it could be nice to have.

When you walk in the Dig’n Zone you’re immediately greeted with opportunities to play and an amazing photo opportunity with a giant tire. The first thing you’ll probably notice is “The Decimator” which is one of the park’s only real true “rides” as almost the rest you’ll be driving and operating yourself! The Decimator is a giant excavator where the bucket has been replaced by a seating area and is powered by a 50,000 pound CAT 320. This ride will send you on a wild ride as the CAT 320 spins 360 degrees as well as up and down. The CAT 320 is operated manually, so every ride is unique and interacting with the operator who holds your fate (and your stomach) in his hands is a lot of fun.

The attractions here fit into a few categories or “buckets” to keep the construction theme. The first bucket is a line of excavators where you accomplish some sort of task. This could include knocking down buildings, hooking/lifting various items, playing an excavator version of the “Barrel of Monkeys” game or free digging in sand. The tracks on the vehicles are disabled, but you have full control of the boom.

The second bucket is driving a cool big vehicle on a track. These include giant rollers, tractors, lawn movers, skid-steers and John Deere Gators. There are also some tracks with smaller battery powered cars for kids and some fun peddle cars. Many of these rides double as great advertisements for John Deere are there are signs on the rides giving details about the models you will be operating. Nothing here is a high speed experience, but you certainly feel the power of the equipment and the staff is great at providing instruction to get you going.

The third bucket are the “rides” or the things where you’re not in control. These include “The Decimator”, “Li’l Loco” barrel train and the “Diggy Bear Express”. We’ve already talked about “The Decimator’ and the later two are train style rides that will give you a tour of the whole property. If your joints aren’t what they used to be and getting into a barrel is too much, there’s also the Diggy Bear Express which is more of a tram than a train that does the same route.

The final bucket are the special attractions which are additional charge items. These include “The Crusher” where you use a roller to crush a toy care, gem panning and the arcade. I wanted to draw special attention to “The Crusher” as it was really a unique experience. For “The Crusher” you essentially buy two identical metal toy vehicles (in our case school buses) and then crush one of them over with a pavement roller (steamroller without the steam). My 8 year old was giddy with excitement at getting to do this simple act of destruction as the vehicle inched forward followed by the satisfying crunch of metal and plastic windows. You also get a small bag to carry both the crushed and uncrushed vehicle home to forever show to your friends. We did pay $19.99 extra for this experience, but it was totally worth it.

The height requirements here are all quite low meaning kids should be able to go on almost everything. My 3rd grader at 50″ could go on 100% of the attractions. The tallest height requirements are 48″ for “The Decimator” and 52″ to drive a “Rock’n Roll’n” big roller. Most of the other rides have a minimum of 36′ to 48″ for a solo driver/operator and then a lower requirement for passengers (with most having no requirement and even allowing lap children). When you hold this up to something like Dollywood your average 36″ – 48″ grade school kid will be able to experience many more attractions at Dig’n Zone and at a lower price point too.

The restaurant here was a real surprising gem. Our group tried almost everything across the menu including a chicken sandwich, burger, pizza and a corn dog with everyone leaving happy. There’s a veggie bar where you can dress your burger or chicken sandwich to your liking with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and more. The French fries here were also standout and the fried chicken sandwich was one of the best I’ve had in a while as it was done German schnitzel style and was HUGE. Prices are standard fair for theme park food, but it is great that there are so many kid options to choose from.

We tried to experience everything at the park and were successful riding everything once and having lunch in about 5 hours on a slow fall weekday. If the park were busier like I summer and if we looked to do some of the attractions more than once it could easily be an all-day experience. Speaking of summer, if you do visit in warmer and sunny weather be sure to bring your sunscreen. The park is built on a mostly treeless and flat plot of land meaning it has great sightlines to watch all the equipment operating from anywhere in the park, but not a lot of protection from the sun (other than a few sun shades) while waiting in lines or walking around. There is a fun picnic pavilion, restaurant, arcade and shop though if you need to get out of the sun. Also, unless you are a construction professional, you may not be very good at controlling an excavator or driving a skid-steer at first, but be patient, you’ll get better with practice.

There are a few other things to point out to not be missed on a trip to Dig’n Zone. The first is all the vintage equipment and little nuggets of history on plaques throughout the park. Most of the equipment is from the collection of Robert Stewart Trump, the late brother of President Donald Trump, and was donated by his family. These pieces of equipment double as great picture spots too. The arcade here is top notch too and the picnic pavilion has some free challenging skill games to play too, both offering an escape from any heat, sun or bad weather. The park also plans to expand with plans for a splash pad, play structure, construction-themed mini golf course and more rides.

We sincerely enjoyed Dig’n Zone and it was amazing family entertainment. Although we received complimentary base tickets (no food or extras), we would happily pay to return again. The pricing for the amount of activities available is more than fair, especially in a town where a 5 minute ride on a mountain coaster can cost near $20. The staff could also have not been friendlier and more helpful. Our group ranged in age from 8 to 80 and literally everyone left grinning ear to ear about the wonderful and unique experience we had together as a family. If you’re headed to the Smokey Mountains I couldn’t recommend adding Dig’n Zone to your list of things to do on your vacation.