dstephe9

We'll also, it's a drop tower.. other than a crown and the station, not really much you can do with theming.. plus Dollywood is known to go with smaller, less known companies for rides.. The one they built is definitely not transportable and doesnt look anything like a cheap carnival ride in Dollywood. It's very nice looking.. it's beefy looking and looks like a permanent ride for years to come Also, Dollywood has limited space.. this ride has probably been planned for a while, even though they just now built it.. the location has been ready for a new ride for years, after the timber tower failure. Not much else could go in it's space and the fact that Dollywood kept it's space probably means they have been planning for a drop tower eventually but they really couldn't go with one of those larger drop towers from other makers. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I hate Quaker Steak and Lube because they replaced mr ghattis pizza which was one of the best pizza buffets ever! Haha with that being said, their hot wings are good.. they opened one here in Knoxville as well. I like them, locally though, I know a lot of people who don't like them for some reason.. One of the managers told me the one in Knoxville is actually struggling.. not sure about the one in Pigeon Forge, they always look full but so did Mr Ghattis when it was there. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Yup, there are some folks here who know more about it then me and they will explain it better when they see the post but essentially it was a fun house before Dollywood, then her museum and now they open it for some odd and end things every now and then but that's it.. a few years ago they had a small coaster museum in it Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I'm fond of Bubba Gump Shrimp in Gatlinburg personally.. I know a lot of folks hate the Landry's restaurants (Bubba Gump, Rainforest Cafes, T-Rex Cafe and the other restaurants designed for tourist) but u love Bubba Gump food. On a side note, Bubba Gumps is the only Landry's restaurant in the area but if you have the Landry's Select Card you can use it at Bubba Gumps Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It was a fun house way before Dollywood.. It was then Dolly's museum.. it's actually attached to the cave underneath it which was part of the fun house as well Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It's busy but not like the busy when they extend hours.. Lot F isn't even full but as of now, no extended hours for today Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I stopped in today at Dollywood. Setting here at Ms Lillians now enjoying chicken! Fairly busy day Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Usually, rides like LR, and firechaser will have waits of over an HR, usually an HR and a half when they extend the hours Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

With that being said, depends on the ranger if the rules are enforced not. I was up there two weeks ago and the ranger just drove by three kids flying a Quadcopter (Drone). now I love drones and have a Phantom 4 but would never fly it in the national park as they aren't allowed in any national park.. Also, Laurel Falls usually only has a volunteer monitoring it.. I find the volunteers are a little more strict than the actual rangers and they do try to follow he no pets rule.. A lot of the trails that are less traveled have no one monitoring them. But still for your safety I would recommend not having dogs. Bears are bad in the area and I have seen them chase dogs I personally try to follow all laws and rules in the park though because one or two people are what causes them to create these rules haha With that being said, Dollywood does have kennels for pets and there are some hotels that will keep pets while you enjoy the National Park.. Dogs are allowed in campsites and picnic area just not on trails. Just keep them leashed, I hate it when I'm camping and cooking and a dog from another campsite comes over and their owners won't make them come back.. I know every dog owners feel that other people love dogs.. I don't hate dogs but I don't want them bothering me while I eat either.. the leash rule is there for a reason haha But yah, the no pet rule is actually for MOST if not all National Parks, not just the Smokies around Dollywood Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

We should have met up. I didn't think about it until too late this morning and of course no cell signal. Was originally going to do an easier hike, Baskin Falls, but I got confused as to where the trail head is. Ended up on Rainbow and went for it. My wife and daughter weren't thrilled at 2 hrs in, but the deer made them happy. 4 white tails. They crossed the trail in front of us, then parallel for a while before coming back and using the trail a while. Finally down to the creek just before the first bridge. It was a last minute decision for me haha Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Rainbow Falls is a nice hike, I was actually up in that area today as well.. hung up my ENO beside the river and napped for like 2 hours haha. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Well, I'm here this week for spring break. Average wait? What ride? General not long in the spring. I didn't check a lot, but... TH and WE were ~10 min of the day FCE was 45 min everytime I looked. MM and TT were 20-30 min, but MM was down a few times. Warmer weather, later in the spring will be longer lines. Watch the times using the app and see. I check on and off daily and these times are accurate.. LR normally backs up quickly to 35+ minutes according to the app.. Anyone curious about wait times can download the app.. it's not like the old six flags app that requires you to be in the park to see wait times.. I find the apps wait times to be fairly accurate and on the generous side.. for example if it says a 45 min wait I'd expect it to only be 30 mins or so Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I live in upstate New York and drive 14 hours twice a year to go to Dollywood. Leaving to come down Thursday morning, can't wait! Cades Cove is a must in the GSMNP. The Chimneys and is also awesome place in the park to see the MTN's. Of course Chimney trail is closed due to the fires. Exactly, I was about to say the same.. Chimney is nice but closed. The Newfound Gap trail to Charlie's Bunion is a very similar hike though with a large rock at the top you can climb for views Clingmans Dome is also a nice hike and short (although steep) but has plenty of benches to rest on.. the road was closed last week when I was there but I assume it was due to the late season snow as it should be open by this time of the year If you aren't into hiking or are into hiking but not familiar with the area, NOC, in Gatlinburg will find you some nice hikes that aren't as crowded as places like Laurel Falls, Clingmans Dome, and even Newfound Gap. They will also make sure the hike is right for your skill level.. I also like he REI trails app (called the REI National Parks Guide I believe) and it can find you some great hikes that aren't as crowded.. remember, the AT even comes through this area.. Like STdog says, Laurel Falls is very crowded because it is a very touristy hike but it's also a good hike for folks who really aren't into hiking.. it's almost impossible to get lost and the trail, at least up to the falls is paved.. I see wheelchairs going up it everytime I hike it.. I love hiking past the falls though to the fire towers. No one really goes past the falls unless they are a hiker. But there are a lot of waterfall hikes in the area that are better.. Amazon actually has a book of them I recommend.. (I forgot the name right now but I'll find it at home) Just know, driving through the mountains is very pretty but in my opinion, you really can't enjoy the true beauty of the park until you get off the beaten path and actually explore it.. in Cade's Cove, get out of the car and hike to Abrams Falls (or any of the other trails in the cove) and you will have a much better appreciation of the cove! I promise! Again, a good resource for those who aren't from around the area is NOC, in Gatlinburg.. yeah, it's a huge retail store but the will also help you find hikes and other outdoor activities and they will not pressure you at all to buy stuff.. I go there all the time for gear and clothing and they have never pressured me once. They have a desk just for trip planning. Another good store for advice is the "Day Hiker" in Gatlinburg.. it's a smaller store, a little less known but they love the outdoors.. The visitor center at Sugarlands is nice but the advice I get there is mixed.. sometimes good but a lot of times it's advice for the tourist and they pretty much only recommend the popular touristy hikes. I pretty much just stop there now to buy National Park Gear As you can tell, I love hiking and had over 200 miles in hikes last year lol Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Will do, we plan on doing a bunch of activities in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area in addition to Dollywood. If there are any must see attractions for a first timer, feel free to share them! The mountains! You must plan a day to visit the mountains and hike or something.. even if it's just the short hike up Laurel Falls (very popular hike with tourist, so popular it's paved) Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Yeah, can't really trust ride ops haha.. plus, last year when the ride was having major issues, maintenance even made them leave the station. At that time, most were honest and said they had no idea what the issues are because they couldn't stay.. Eventually, just like any job, people start "talking" which turns into rumors lol Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Which is probably why they got it going fairly quickly.. last year, it didn't have many true roll backs.. all launched coasters have a roll back every now and then.. when they had the refusal to launch issues last year ( it still went up the lift about 10ft or so) it was down most of the day.. I'm assuming due to actual issues then haha Looks like it has gone down again though and park looks like it is getting fairly busy.. this time last year was one of their record breaking days with over 35000 guest haha.. so I'm surprised it isn't busier though Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Exactly, it is good to see they got it going without much downtime today though Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Actual roll back on the hill or did it shut down before the launch? Exactly, this is what kept giving it a bad name last year.. while I guess it is technically still a rollback, it wasn't like the train made it halfway up the hill and just didn't have the power to crest the top.. Some safety feature or something shut it down before the launch hill could even start the launch Most of them last year had signs of being shutdown right when the train hit the hill launch. I don't really consider these a rollback myself.. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Is that from this morning? I'm surprised none of the rides have a wait yet for today! It's going to be a beautiful day looks like.. maybe everyone was at LR haha.. LR wasn't down long though, I see it just switched back from TC to under 15 mins Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

My theory is that we will find a whole new area in the next 4 - 5 years branching off wilderness pass somewhere and it will include the kids rides for the area.. This has been their original plan for years and with the new planning survey that has asked for theme suggestions shows that they might be in the planning phase now Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It was open to anyone.. I don't remember how you got signed up.. you either purchased it online or called Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Ahh. I've never seen any promotions about tours, so I assumed it was just exclusive. Nope, it was on their website last year.. I think it was limited to 6ish people a group.. I'd assume something like it will be back.. it was fairly popular I thought, although not a huge moneymaker for the park due to the small limit. Not sure if they took several groups a day or not. I know the tour included breakfasts and everything but I can't remember the price. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It was open to anyone.. I don't remember how you got signed up.. you either purchased it online or called Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

They offered it last year on select days.. maybe to early in the season to offer it right now? Or maybe they plan to move the tour to LR? Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

If LR manages to stay open to closing, it's very easy to catch a few rides on it at the end of the day.. last season, I had several days where I got several back to back rides around closing.. Dollywood empties out about an hour before closing and always has, unless it's a very busy day where the end of extending park hours. Now don't expect this to happen during summer nights or the Christmas​ festival (both those festival's are designed for late nights) and probably not during the October Festival this year but other parts of the season it's very easy to get walk on rides on even LR Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Haha.. I purposely walk close to it on hot days so the kids can spray me but I have never been on it, that song would annoy me to death though if I had to ride it a lot Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk