Dollywood Discussion Thread

I say go this weekend. Your chances are better than next weekend, plus even if you dont get to ride Coasters, the experience of the Christmas Festival is worth it. I've only been to the one at SDC but I know they are very similar.

We did end up going and we had an amazing time. I'll start out by saying that I didn't get the whole Dollywood experience, and I definitely didn't get the whole Pigeon Forge experience but we have limited vacation days and only had one day to spend in the park and I think we made the most of it. I'm so glad we finally got to this great park!

We left the office on Friday night and started our 12 hour drive to the park. We got tired around 1:00 am and got a hotel room somewhere in Virginia, then in the morning we finished our drive and got there just before opening. Even when we pulled into the parking lot we weren't sure if the coasters would be operating but we saw a Wild Eagle train testing and got really excited. It turned out to be 42 degrees all day and at night it never got below 38 so the coasters were open from 11am to close. There is much more to this park than coasters, but the coasters are amazing and I'm really glad we got to ride them. In total we probably had 30-40 coaster rides.

Wild Eagle - This was our first ride of the day. Our first ride was on the right side of the train in the front seat and it was outstanding. I love the first 2 elements of this coaster and the view from the top of the lift is stunning. Later in the day we rode it in the front on the left side and decided it was our favorite seat. The ride was pretty much a 5-10 minute wait all day if you didn't wait for the front and only about a 15 minute wait if you did. It ran both trains pretty much all day. I lost count of how many rides we had on it (all in the front). We were the only ones on the last train of the night. I expected this to be my favorite ride in the park, but I think the other coasters actually topped it. That's nothing against Wild Eagle, it was great. It's really just a testament to their other coasters.

Tennessee Tornado - I have to admit I was a little bit nervous about this one since it's an arrow and I wasn't looking forward to my ears getting smashed when it was only 40 degrees out. I had read the reviews about how this wasn't like the arrows but I've heard that before and been burned every time. They were only running one train but they only needed to be, on our first ride we were the only ones on the train so naturally we went for the front seat. I have to say that this ride is absolutely amazing.

I love everything about this ride from the first drop in a tunnel, the use of terrain, the awesome station theming, the huge loops and the intense but smooth transitions. If Arrow made more rides like this not only would they still probably be in business, but they'd be making some of the best looping coasters in the industry. This ride is awesome!!! Much like Wild Eagle, we lost count of how many times we rode this. They generally filled the trains later in the day but this ride was a walk on all day.

Mystery Mine - This was probably my favorite coaster in the park due to the amazing theming, great finale and unique layout. I'd never been to Dollywood before so I was unprepared for the level of theming they had on all of their coasters. I loved everything about this ride but the incredible theming really sends it over the top. There are a few drops that really sneak up on you though, which rarely happens when you've ridden over 200 coasters. Again... we lost count of rides.

Thunderhead - Our expectations weren't too high for this since wood coasters generally don't run very well when it's 40 degrees out, especially early in the morning when we took our first ride. Our first ride was in the very back and we were really impressed with the crazy laterals and the way the coaster ripped through the course despite the temperatures. There wasn't really any airtime to speak of but it was a fantastic twister coaster that had an out-of-control feeling without being rough. This was an awesome ride.

... and then we rode in the front. Forget everything I said about the lack of airtime. We were flying out of our seats on pretty much every turn! There was airtime where I didn't even expect airtime. This ride absolutely blew us away (especially at night)... I can't even imagine what it's like in the summer when the wheels really heat up. We probably rode this about 5 times, and the line was about 5-10 minutes all day.

Blazing Fury - This coaster had the longest wait of the day... probably because of the temperatures. It was a really fun ride, I expected it to be a lot like Black Diamond at Knoebels and I think it was, but probably a little better. I love the drop with the collapsing roof.

In addition to the coasters we also rode the Barnstormer which was a lot of fun (and the theming was great), the Dizzy Disk, the Sky Rider and the kids coaster since we're whores. Sky Rider was pretty dull, this should not be listed as a thrill ride on their website. For what it is, it's a cool ride. I'm a big fan of Disk-O rides so we really liked Dizzy Disk.

We spent most of our day riding the coasters and walking around Craftsman's Valley looking at the trains, in the shops and at the eagles in the aviary. I did find it a little odd that besides Lumberjack Lifts and Barnstormer all of the operating non-coaster rides are together in one small corner of the park but even without any rides there was a lot to look at all over the park. I really wish we had more than a day here so we could have seen some shows and ridden that train ride which looked great.

Overall we absolutely loved the park, I really can't think of a single complaint... the rides were great, the food was great, the theming was great, the place was immaculate and everyone was friendly (and the ride ops on Wild Eagle, Mystery Mine and Tornado always remembered us and greeted us when they saw us walking into the stations). We got season passes (even though the park is 12 hours away) so we can come back in the Summer, and coming in December will be a new Christmas tradition for sure. We need more parks like Dollywood!

Oh and then there's that cinnamon bread... WOW.

Glad you had a good time. Outside of Country Fair, there are actually a fair amount of non-coaster rides but the majority of them are water rides and are closed this time of year. You will have to come back sometime in the spring or summer because you missed four decent water rides.

I noticed that, River Battle looks awesome... they did a great job hiding the other water rides so I couldn't really see them but from what I see online they look great.

I have to say there were a few things that really blew me away about the theming of this park. On River Battle I noticed that the "E" was missing on one of the signs and it really looked like it just ripped off. I turned to say something to my girlfriend about how surprising that was since the park was so immaculate and then I looked down and saw a big squirrel holding the "missing" E.

Also, on Mystery Mine after the first lift the car takes a slight jump onto the trestle and they made it look like one of the beams under the track is cracking. You can only see this from the ride and honestly only one person out of 10 will even notice it, but they still did it and I really appreciated it.

I don't mean to go on and on about how much I love this park but I can't help it. The fact that it's 12 hours away and we bought season passes is really all you need to know.

^And another believer is born.

Did you get to any of the shows?

We didn't which is a shame but we just ran out of time since we only had one day at the park. I was just so happy to be riding coasters in December that we kept riding them over and over again. I really wish we had more time at this park since I want to check out some shows and ride the train... luckily we're season pass holders now so we'll be back!

^But you missed the HoloDollygram.

Everytime someone misses the HoloDollygram an Elf kills another reindeer.

Guy "Christmas is ruined." Koepp

Glad you had a good visit! It's definitely one of the top parks in the US for me!

^^^hopefully you'll get to ride Thunderhead in the rain some day. As much as I love it normally, it was crazy fast in the rain.

^^^hopefully you'll get to ride Thunderhead in the rain some day. As much as I love it normally, it was crazy fast in the rain.

True Dat!

^^^hopefully you'll get to ride Thunderhead in the rain some day. As much as I love it normally, it was crazy fast in the rain.

Having Thunderhead in the rain to myself for 5 hours during my 2009 visit was one of the greatest days ever!

I cant wait to get back to Dollywood! Its been far too long! My last visit was in 2002.

I just noticed something; Firechaser Express is Dollywood's 7th coaster, and the station has a sign on it that reads "Fire Station No. 7," could they have picked this number for that reason?

In regards to the rain, I think that Wild Eagle is best ridden immediately after the rain. When we went last year it was pouring when we rolled into Pigeon Forge but it stopped and we not only walked on Wild Eagle but seeing the mist evaporate off of the Smokies on the ride was great, still my favorite ride on that coaster to date.

Does anyone know how to find discounts on Dollywood tickets during the Christmas event? I would love to go this year, but Google wasn't much help...

^ Dollywood has a discounts page on their website. You may want to give them a call about it as well.

http://www.dollywood.com/Online-Discount.aspx

You can also buy a 2014 pass now, and use it this year.

You can also buy a 2014 pass now, and use it this year.

Since it's less than 4 hours away that's what we usually do. When we go for Smoky Mountain Christmas, we buy season passes and go a few times the following year since they include the remainder of this season. That's usually your best value for Dollywood if it's not too far for you to make a return trip or two.

My admiration for this park grows and grows every time I visit. We just returned from our Christmas visit and I was SO impressed. Just the fact that all the buildings were outlined in perfect straight rows of lights in different colors was impressive. The attention to detail with that (no bulbs where they shouldn't be, no excessive visible cords, adding fresh cut trees throughout the park - all lit different solid colors - just WOW. I'm used to our zoo which just tosses a bunch of lights on the bushes and kings island which does...well NOTHING for the season. This park proves to me over and over that you can have a quality product that appeals to all members of the family - young and old - without breaking the bank. The shows (regular and christmas) are amazing for a theme park "included" entertainment. Especially when our "main stage" offering this year at Kings Island was Ed Alonzo doing a few magic tricks with a handful of "dancers" to taped track music. We live 5 hrs away from this park and 20 min from Kings Island. Guess which park we DIDN't get passes to this next year. It is worth the 5 hr drive to this great gem in Tennessee.

^ I don't know if I'm going crazy but I recall being at SDC earlier in the year (July? August?) and a staff member pointed to a building that they had already started putting Christmas chaser lights on, they put a lot of time and effort into making sure everything is right in this chain!

^No, you are not crazy. That is exactly what they said and were doing.

So, I wonder when Dollywood will get their RMC? Lol its pretty much inevitable! Maybe that will be when they expand up to the train loop? OMG it would look amazing with a beautiful RMC Woodie up there!

^I certainly wouldn't complain!

^Neither would I!

I honestly think that when they do get their own version of Outlaw Run that they will end up putting it over by the County Fair section, though. They need a big ride over in that area.

I had planned to go to Dollywood this weekend, but just too hectic with Christmas this weekend and coming week. Going up there on closing weekend (Jan 3-5) to get my 2014 Pass Processed and weather permitting, getting a few last rides in until March!

I went to Dollywood yesterday and took a few pictures so I decided to make a trip report. This is my first one so any comments or critiques would be greatly appreciated. Anyway, Fire Chaser Express looks wonderful. There is lots of track in place and they were working to put track in place while I was there. Although they do not have the track completed yet, it looked like about 50% of it was in place.

As for Smokey Mountain Christmas, the park looked great! I didn't think A Christmas Carol was that great, but I guess the Holograms were cool. All the other Christmas shows I had seen before and were great as always. As for Dolly's new family show, I thought it was a great update from the Kinfolks show that was there before it was.

Part 1:

On our way to Dollywood we always pass the Bush's Baked Beans plant, they make good beans

Construction on the new Dream More Resort

Construction on the new Dream More Resort

We made it

I think we're in the right place...

Super long line here, fortunately we have a gold season pass, so we don't pay for parking

Wild Eagle from a packed parking lot

Time for a tram ride

Please keep your hands and arms inside the tram...

We're going into motion

We made it inside

Moose decorations

The bakery always smells good

More Moosen

Pretty tree in front of Market Square

Jukebox Junction needs a refurb

Cars look nice though...

Where Carol of the Trees will be later tonight

Is this considered a Dan Approved water ride now?

Inventors Mansion sits empty once again

More decorations

Original section to the 1961 park Rebel Railraod

One of those Plinko games I saw from a video at IAAPA

Country Fair area

Nerd Shot

Sky Rider was a fun ride

Nerd Shot

Another Nerd Shot

Bench the ride

Overlooking the Country Fair Area

The train shop

Wild Eagle THROUGH THE TREES

Dry Docked River Rampage

Barnstormer THROUGH THE TREES

An arcade where the mine used to be

Blazing Fury car

Miss Lillian is a hoot

Magic happens here

Gold bricks

Good Stuff

This is how I celebrate a perfect 4.0 semester in college

Who wants one of these when it's 27 degrees outside?

You know you're in the south when...

This place ROCKS!

Blacksmith doing his thing

Bald Eagle

Train setup in the Wings of America theater

Train setup in the Wings of America theater

Remnant of the Flooded Mine Ride

Blazing Fury doing its thing

EDIT: Arrow's finest

No Q2Q was needed today, everything was a walk on

Big Loops

The building trains are blasted backwards out of

Track

More Track

More Track

Station Shot

Station Switching Track

Launch Track

Station

Switch Track

For the Lift Hill Enthusiasts

Track

More Track

Twisty

More Twisty

Track

Track

They were lifting this into place today

I think it's part of the lift hill

The track to nowhere

Wild Eagle doin' its thing

Wild Eagle doin' its thing

Wild Eagle doin' its thing

Wild Eagle doin' its thing

Another Dan Approved water ride?

Mystery Mine still going strong

Twisty

Hang Time

Thunderhead looked nice today

They should really do something with this...

Drop

More Thunderhead

Weee

2 Golden Tickets

You would think this is a line for a ride...but it's actually a line for...

A Christmas Carol! I didn't really like the show because I couldn't hear the actors. But the Holograms were cool!

Saw the train while standing in line

Nice set

Cool Holograms and the Dollygram

Rockin Roadway got themeing for Christmas

A nice hood ordament

Carol of the Trees

One Soldier didn't have any legs

New Theater

All the moving seats were gone

The set

Part 2:

The Family

Beautiful lights

Cool Tree

More lights

New Nativity Scene

Craftsman's Valley

Cool Tree

The Chapel

More decorations

The General Store is lit up for the holidays

Good to see these boxes being put to use somewhere useful...

Another Cool tree

Living Nativity Scene "O Holy Night"

My favorite thing to do at Dollywood during the holidays is to ride the train at night

Klondike Katy

Wild Eagle's lift

Looking up Timber Canyon

Thanks for reading!

Great Pics! It was nice to finally see Firechaser Express Construction!

Amazing! Thanks for the TR/update! Fire Chaser Express looks great.