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Staff has been at LR both trips so they are working through something but it is closed. Can anyone confirm if it was open on season pass holder day? Staff just said it's down for maintenance both days I asked with no resolution time of when it will be open. They just say "not today" Edit: so now that we are home I figured I'd add more after two visits to the park Mask: Yes mask are required. Signs everywhere say that. Mask really aren't that bad, but they do get hot. I'd say about 80% of people wore mask, about 30% wore them correctly. Most had them on their chin and under their nose. As the day got hotter, especially today, mask started coming off. By the time I left, I'd say only 50% of people wore the.. I'll admit, I even took mine off some, but the park was DEAD and a ghost town for a lot of sections. I did have my mask on when people were around and only took it off when no one was around. I couldn't find any "mask free" areas to rest without a mask. (Supposedly Dollywood has some) I've also seen these posted about in other parks but I had to make my own. Sorry if that offends anyone. As for enforcing mask, it wasn't happening. Those that weren't wearing mask were walking by host, security, even police and nothing was ever said. I've seen people post on Facebook about the park enforcing this, but I've yet to see it in person. Entering the park: you are required to have your temp checked entering the park. I recommend doing this in the parking lot before entering the tram. My wife and I skipped the parking lot check today, and the line to do so around the entrance gate was backed up around noon. Only two police checking temps there. Parking lot check had no one waiting, but we skipped it because we walked in. Reservations: I've had two completely different experiences here. First experience was a slap on the wrist because I was several hours late. Today however, reservation wasn't even checked. They were even allowing people to buy tickets at the ticket window and enter without a reservation! We met one couple who said they heard they couldn't get in without one but thought they would give it a shot. The had no tickets, purchased tickets at the window, and walked right in.. Saturday and Sunday looked booked up so curious if anyone has a different experience then. As of now, season pass holders can only book reservations at 9, 10, 11, or 12 and I was told my first visit, you must check in 30 minutes before and up to 1 hour later. That's why I was late my first visit, I went after work. Like I'd imagine most locals do. Today, we both had the day off due to juneteenth so we were on time Rides: they do make you use hand sanitizer before each ride and on the trams. both visits LR has been CD (closed for the day). Today, Blazing Fury broke down while we were on the train waiting to dispatch, Wild Eagle broke down both times we were in line, and then everything shut down once for thunder. Mystery Mine was always testing, but never saw anyone on it. Needless to say, we never got on a ride today. Bummer, but we got on some during our earlier visit this week Food:. Festival food is great! Online says buffets are cafeteria style, however, we found them to be "family style". Big difference! We greatly enjoyed a lot of the flower and food festival foods though! It was fresh, homemade, and very tasty! A lot of the different punches and lemonades were also amazing! Cleanliness of Park: I'm ashamed to say, all tables say "please wait until a host cleans" but both visits, we never saw a host cleaning. Tables were nasty. Hand washing stations out of soap and paper towls. Never saw anyone cleaning anything in queue lines or other high touch areas. All talk, little action here, at least from what we saw. A lot of stuff closed.. a lot of shops closed.. almost all shows closed. Several restaurants closed.. a lot of smaller rides never opened. Security: Wow, feels like entering a fricken airport! Metal detectors everywhere. Sheriffs department taking temps (if you don't do it in the parking lot) tons of police and security everywhere. I'm not sure if they are expecting riots or what but the security was worse than any park I've visited recently and that includes cedar fair parks and Disney. At least they have plenty of metal detectors! I feel this is really just to spread everyone out but entering right now almost looks like entering the magic kingdom. Crowd's: both visits, crowd's have been pitiful. Very low. Parking not really much past B. Like, we are talking street side park levels. Like from those jankey carnivals and what not! Hopefully they pick up. Saturday and Sunday look booked. But for summer level crowd's, it's actually really concerning everything is so dead.. and it's not due to the limiting of crowd's. I believe the parked turned in a capacity of 30,000 - 35,000 to the city so half of that is 15,000ish. Even that's a lot for Dollywood and today I would be surprised if they hit 1000. From the parking lot of say they had less than 500 today! Just a guess though. Curious if this is due to the mask debate? Or something else! People are in the area, just not at Dollywood Let me know if anyone has any questions! Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

LR has been CD (closed for the day) on both of my trips for those curious. Also, I know aunt Granny's is popular on here so PSA, they are family style right now. The website says cafeteria style. Family style is different than cafeteria. As a table you pick two entrees, 4 sides, and two sweets. Still all you can eat within your choices. Cafeteria, in my mind, is buffet where someone serves you. Aunt Granny's isn't that Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Same here. Wife and I are here again today (on time this time) and they didn't even check our reservation today lol. Dollywood has always been very inconsistent on their policies, always depends on who you get (it's possible the reservation is now on the pass though, although it says to bring your reservation slip) Also, both trips this week, they haven't been saying anything to guest not wearing mask. I'm happy to say the majority are but they haven't said a word to anyone that I've seen. It's dead today so I've taken mine off when no one's around and host haven't said a word. Just be safe about it Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

I was actually like 5 hours late lol, but this was never mentioned online and I called the park about 8 times to ask what would happen if we didn't come until later and was never called back, was on hold for over an hour then hung up on and my email was responded by a robot didn't even come close to answering this question ha. No option to book anything past 12 is a real buzz kill. We even considered just getting refunds for our passes when we found this out but was told to call for that so we sucked it up and will just go less And yeah that's the killer, it's almost like they don't want local pass holders to come with all the limitations, I agree, most probably come later aside from those week long trips where a pass is less expensive than tickets Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

FYI, If you are a season pass holder it appears you can only enter at 9, 10, 11 or 12. If you are more than an hour late they give you a super hard time and almost didn't let me and my wife in. Considering we visit in the evenings a lot, there is no way to book anything past 12 with our season passes! I was told it's so they could cancel your reservation and let someone else in if you don't show early enough........ Just tossing this out there Dollywood, why not make evening specific hours for season pass holders as well! Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

I might be mixing them up with someone else, but I thought I read, they would be available in limited qty Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Calhoun's has been in trouble for not following rules. They are based here in Knoxville and have been all in the news for it. I'm surprised they even had tables off limits Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

That is awful. Not only are those people littering on natural landscape, they're also preventing someone who would actually use the mask from having it. I'm getting tired of head-ranting every time I read something like this. Skylfit tried to make it a souvenir type item. They printed or stamped Gatlinburg Skypark on them I didn't get one, I had my own Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

I did want to make a comment on the reduced capacity at restaurants. A lot actually are doing this, they've just removed tables unlike a lot of places that place signs on the table not to use. An example of this is old reds. They normally have double the amount of tables they have right now. When they remove tables completely, it gives a look like you aren't reducing capacity but really are Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Yup same thing I said about the skylift a few weeks ago. They give them out and ask you to wear, but most people tossed them off GOING UP the lift, onto the ground. Ripley's had a free mask making station to make cloth mask! It was free the day I went (I'm sure it still is) the girl said 3 people had stopped to make mask. They were trying to make it fun, to encourage people to wear by teaching how to make one! It's going to be very hard for Dollywood to enforce unless they kick everyone out of the park. I can already see mask tossed everywhere at Dollywood We will see how it works out for them. Even the outdoor attractions that required them, people weren't wearing and just ignored all requests when asked to put them on. These businesses really had nothing they could do bc it was everyone doing it, so how do you even attempt to handle that? With everything else going on, how do you even try and control thousands of people who refuse without simply closing your doors? Disclaimer: This is not an anti-mask post. This is what I've truly observed around the area. My wife and I have been able to find some fairly thin mask at OLD Navy that seem fairly cool Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

So the park finally posted a video that explains the categories. Low capacity are days that are filling up and "low capacity" is left. Honestly, Pete or if anyone from Dollywood is reading. Why not call this 75% full and then 90% full or 50% full and 75% full? Much easier to understand! Also, please explain what happens if I book on a green day and that day turns yellow or red? (Low capacity & almost full) am I now charged one of those statuses? I renewed our passes today but noticed I can't book an entry time past noon? Hopefully they won't hold us to that noon entry time because if so, the pass will be useless. I'm hoping they are assuming anytime past noon, the lines will be down to allow distancing Here's to hoping Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

That was supposed to say if your test are correct it might work out for us haha sorry about that! Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

So it might not be as bad as people think. This is a bad marketing strategy for Dollywood, if people can't understand the system. We are waiting to get access to my sister and laws pass to give it a try ourselves this weekend before we buy ours. If your test are correct, it might work out for u I'm still unclear on the low capacity days though! What does that even mean? Days where they know the park will be dead and are staffed lower? Why limit those days! Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

So it's not clear what the second point means. I get 2 days on weekends (so a Fri and Sat or 2 Fridays and such). and no more than 3 days in a row (but can't be Fri, Sat, and Sun per #1). But what are "Low Capacity" days? And is "Almost Full" based on when the reservation is being made or some other measure? So today I could reserve Mon-Wed for 2 different weeks but if any are flagged with those tags then they count against the 3 for the month? And while today a given day may not be "Almost Full" and wouldn't count against the 3, tomorrow it could be and thus count? My sister in law, who we purchased tickets for, could only book 3 total weekdays a month and two total weekend days. After she hit those totals nothing else would accept for that month I believe they worded it as low capacity and almost full days to cover a wide spectrum, but should just say weekdays. Are you saying it let you book more than 3 weekdays in one month? Maybe it glitched out or they are working on something else as a solution. Did you book season pass holders day? Maybe those days don't count on the total? Maybe the days my sister and law booked all had those tags. Maybe low capacity days are those where they only have a very low number of slots due to staffing? While almost full days are those that fill up. In my opinion if they end up doing this I MIGHT be alright with it. I understand a weekday in September is probably a low capacity day, staffing is ultra low, however, I don't know how I feel about a day like that counting towards my total. If anything, the park is already generally dead then, those should be days that don't count. Idk, they need more clarification. Maybe list the days so folks know ahead of time, similar to a Disney blackout day Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk Also another thought or solution Evening guest not counting towards the total visits for the month. A lot of locals just visited during the evening. If the park has no shows, if the park tracks when people leave, if there is space it should allow on demand reservations that doesn't count even if it's a Saturday or Sunday. (I know you can book the day of, but it still counts) Example I get off work, wife and I want to go and walk and eat, if the park has capacity I can reserve and it doesn't count a booking. This is where the parks making money on food purchases anyway. When this counts towards my total, that's the whole reason I do not like this system and the majority of our visits are UNDER 3 hours. That would be a waste Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

So it's not clear what the second point means. I get 2 days on weekends (so a Fri and Sat or 2 Fridays and such). and no more than 3 days in a row (but can't be Fri, Sat, and Sun per #1). But what are "Low Capacity" days? And is "Almost Full" based on when the reservation is being made or some other measure? So today I could reserve Mon-Wed for 2 different weeks but if any are flagged with those tags then they count against the 3 for the month? And while today a given day may not be "Almost Full" and wouldn't count against the 3, tomorrow it could be and thus count? My sister in law, who we purchased tickets for, could only book 3 total weekdays a month and two total weekend days. After she hit those totals nothing else would accept for that month I believe they worded it as low capacity and almost full days to cover a wide spectrum, but should just say weekdays. Are you saying it let you book more than 3 weekdays in one month? Maybe it glitched out or they are working on something else as a solution. Did you book season pass holders day? Maybe those days don't count on the total? Maybe the days my sister and law booked all had those tags. Maybe low capacity days are those where they only have a very low number of slots due to staffing? While almost full days are those that fill up. In my opinion if they end up doing this I MIGHT be alright with it. I understand a weekday in September is probably a low capacity day, staffing is ultra low, however, I don't know how I feel about a day like that counting towards my total. If anything, the park is already generally dead then, those should be days that don't count. Idk, they need more clarification. Maybe list the days so folks know ahead of time, similar to a Disney blackout day Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Good post, and a great example of that is the CDC and WHO. Not even they agree. Which one is right or wrong? This forum is one of the worst though when it comes to name calling or not allowing others to have an opinion at times. I've seen it on this mask issue a few times already I have also stopped watching the news and it has really opened my eyes up a lot. Just being out in society, I can probably even guess what news source people are watching based on a lot of their opinions One thing that's clear, watching parks open, they can't win or lose when it comes to the mask policy. Again, I don't have any issue with the mask policy at Dollywood, although I really don't care for it. My issue is them, even today on their site, says season passes are unlimited. But with the new reservation system, I'm now limited to two weekend visits a month. Being local, I go a lot. Dollywood 1.) Needs to change their site and remove the unlimited portion from their pass advertisement temporarily and make it right with those who have already purchased a pass (they are kind of doing this but one big loophole, I'd pass was used for Christmas you are out of luck. If imagine the majority of passes were used already) Or 2.) Extend the passes for all of 2021. They know what they are doing, why didn't they extend? Because most locals are now still required to buy a pass for this year and next. The June extension does not help us if we plan to visit as often as a lot of locals do We purchased a few for gifts this Christmas but haven't purchased ours yet. We've had luck getting refunds on those that weren't used for Christmas but nothing offered for those only used once during the Christmas season. We even asked if we could just move those passes to next year. Dollywood is really treading on thin legal ground here.. I'm sure their TOS says somewhere that pass TOS can be changed at anytime, but it seems that credit card companies and even the local court systems are siding with the public on these issues when disputes happen. Essentially they've taken something touted as unlimited and put very strict limits on it. I understand reservations! And if they say ticket buyers get first dibs on reservations ahead of pass members, I'd even be fine with that. Go one step further and give pass holders same priority for their first two reservations as ticket buyers and then give them lower priority and maybe they can only book their reservations 5 days out! This would still be unlimited opportunity as long as the park had space and would be no different than turning people away at the parking booth. During the week the park is dead but I can still only go three weekdays a month. Really?? Some people are attacking locals on Facebook asking how many times do we need to go! How many times do people here visit their local parks a month if live close? I promise you, Dollywood makes more money on me than most families of 5 who only vacation a week (unless they maybe stay at dreammore). We spend $50 each visit just on food. So I don't feel it has to do with anything financially on their end, just not thought out well Finally, I also understand that everyone is in the same boat and everyone has had to make sacrifices. Not anyone has not been affected financially due to this. In my mind, that makes it even worse they aren't trying to help those out who buy an unlimited product with very strict limits, at least for now. These limits might not last long but who knows how long? I feel very bad for anyone working in customer service right now. We lost our customer service lead at my job due to how people treat them, I feel bad for Dollywood's Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

So it also appears a season pass is not unlimited visits this year..... At least they are refunding people it looks like At Dollywood, which may be subject to change, you can reserve: Up to two (2) Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays per month. Up to three (3) Low Capacity or Almost Full days per month. Up to three (3) consecutive days at any time. Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

With that being said, the reservation system is what's keeping me from buying a pass.. if I can't use it when I choose, I'm not ordering or buying one. I'm not wasting my time making reservations, especially considering my wife and I don't plan when we go They will have to offer a significant discount in order to get me to buy a pass and I doubt they will do that just because the entire goal is to limit capacity. Same with Disney, we cancelled our trip there after they couldn't guarantee we would be able to enter the parks with our tickets. Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

They are going to have a hard time enforcing it. I was at skypark this weekend (the chairlifts and large bridge). Skypark was handing them out, and making you put them on. 99% were taken off after the ticket window. Most were actually being thrown on the ground going up the lift. It was sad Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

My opinion, although very controversial, when it comes to amusement parks, you are going at your own risk knowing you will possibly catch Covid-19. I'll be going when they open. I'll be wearing a facemask if they require. If not, I probably won't except for congested areas to protect people, that probably shouldn't be there. I DOOOOO wear them all the time to essential places like Walmart and will continue. Why? I know at risk people will be there because they need to be. Will at risk people be at Dollywood? Or any other amusement park? Yes! But why? Same for shopping malls and anywhere else people gather. I work for a company that has many locations in malls.. we are providing our associate's mask but aren't requiring they wear them. 75% of our guest are ok with that. 20% don't care. 5% complain and every complaint starts with "I'm at risk"... Why are you at the mall then? I understand that we need to protect each other, that's why I do it at essential places BUT I strongly feel these guidelines parks are putting into place bring a false sense of security and safety. I feel it's marketing to make at risk feel safer.. Unless someone is following every guest, spraying down everything they touch... It's not really much safer at all. I do feel parks should limit capacity, provide extra hand washing stations, both will be the safest way to prevent anything.. all other steps and measures, I don't believe are necessary and that we should protect ourselves. I went to Gatlinburg yesterday and only 25% or less of people had facemask. Coming to the area is a huge risk for those willing to take it, but come knowing it's a risk. Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Most appear to be open yes, not sure if they are normal hours or not. I saw most running this weekend. Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

This is due to their work camper program. I'm curious if they put this program on hold this year and focus more on their college outreach and church outreach programs for staff Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Lots of rumors floating around at various parks on how to limit guest. nothing confirmed anywhere A few I've seen (none of these have been heard about Dollywood, just rumors from other parks I've read about. I'll try and list the parks, but some of these will also work for Dollywood 1.) Hotel Guest Only (Disney) 2.) Locals only (Multiple Parks) 3.) 50% capacity (Dollywood hardly ever reaches capacity, they stop allowing folks when parking is full but if you can get a ride, they still let you in. 30,000ish is when this happens so 15,000 a good guess of capacity at 50%?) 4.) Season pass holders only (Multiple Parks, including Disney have rumored this) 5.) No limit at all but require facemask and temp screening. 6.) Virtual lines Again, just rumors I've heard around the web Most of the area where Dollywood is located is limiting capacity to 50% so I'd say it's safe Dollywood will do the same but good news, Dollywood doesn't reach capacity often, unless it's a very pretty weekend. My guess will be 15,000 people What will hurt Dollywood is no virtual line system what so ever anymore.. at least with the old qbot systems, the technology was there for virtual lines, although, I'm not sure how much hardware parks could get Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

I wonder if Trump wanting to get the country opened back up will speed up the decision? Either way, they missed their busy part of Spring already by missing out on Spring Break. The area is still slammed with folks right now with nothing to do. Hotels here at doing fine right now! I just hope these closures won't cause more serious economic issues in the area. I know my employer is bleeding over 2 million every two weeks just on payroll and we don't have any income right now. Right now my employer is paying everyone but I know they won't be able to do it much longer Regal Cinemas, who's HQ is also here, has already furloughed most of their employees. I'm not sure they will even bounce back from this, that business was already going downhill A lot of the businesses in the area of Dollywood were already hurt by the Cade's Cove closure this winter so this isn't going to help BTW, I'm not into politics and I'm not for or against our president, but I can see this issue causing a lot more than health concerns in our area and around the world. Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

From the document I saw, I believe this is another multi-year investment plan vs a new ride. Yes, it will probably include new rides so we might see all the "teased" rides.. We've seen surveys recently on 1.) Coasters 2.) Dark Ride 3.) Theater Type Ride 4.) Walk through experiences We've seen surveys on themes. Such as caves, ski resort theme (three or four years ago) and so on. Among other stuff. We also know that Dolly herself has already slipped up and said a new resort is "probably" on the way As for the $50mil, mentioned that hasn't been spent yet, there's a lot of general maintenance type stuff that Dollywood has done during the last plan and it could easily eat into the 50 mil or they plan on just moving into their next plan without finishing the 2013 plan. I'm betting this investment plan will be 10 years 500mil. That would account for inflation between their last investment plan plus extra money making this truly a larger investment! Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk