mckayj93

I was able to attend the Winter Walkthrough today. I'm ashamed to say that I live only 2.5 hours from here and haven't been since the Six Flags days when I was younger. It rained like no tomorrow most of the time, although it stopped long enough to get a tour. Rob House and team did a fantastic job showing us around and providing lunch and answering all questions. Rob hinted at something big coming 2019, and I also took it as this might be the last year for Mile High Falls. They also showed that while they are mostly land locked, they own a decent amount of vacant parcels surrounding the park, or can acquire them easily. I didn't take a ton of pictures due to the downpour, but we did get to go to the top of Deep Water Dive to take some. We also got to walk around Storm Chaser. Overall a great day!

Since your more familiar with Dollywood, you might know some of these things already, but just offering if it will help. From Charlotte to Pigeon Forge you have to go through the Smokies. That drive could be a little intense at night if you have never done it before. I'd recommend taking I40 to Newport and then taking hwy 411 to Sevierville. The road is 2 lanes half the way and 4 lanes the rest. It would trim a good chunk of miles on I40 and dealing with Parkway traffic. This brings you on Dolly Parton Parkway near Veterans for a shortcut to Dollywood. There are also many hotels in the area. I definitely wouldn't recommend going through the National Park esp. at night if you haven't driven it before. There is also the chance weather will shut that road down anyway. That being said, the National Park has many great things to see if you haven't had the chance, even if you aren't the hiking type. I'd encourage maybe a morning or a couple hours the day before you drive home to see. As far as hotels for the whole trip- I'd pick Wyndham or Choice Hotels and learn to work the rewards program. I personally do Wyndham, I find their points system and prices work better for me. With that many nights in your trip you'd earn at least a few go fast or go free Wyndham nights. Currently offering a promotion stay 2 separate nights get a free night at any property til end of summer. No matter where you say, if its a budget brand always check TripAdvisor to make sure it's not a dump before hand. For Dollywood area hotels- prices fluctuate greatly based on the day of the week. I've stayed at most of every Wyndham hotel in town at least once if you have specific questions on any. If you don't care about any other touristy stuff I'd stay at the Baymont in Sevierville. It's one of the first hotels you get to if you come in via hwy 411. Their rates are normally good. If you are in town on a Friday or Saturday night the best Wyndham deal is the Pigeon Forge Howard Johnson go fast award for $35 plus 3000 points.

Just got my hotel room booked for season pass holder day for $27. Score! I saw some people mentioned Dolly would be there that weekend, has that been published anywhere? Just curious. Also stupid question- if you have a friend that wants to come with you Season pass holder day but they don't have a pass, can they use or buy a regular admission to get in? Didn't know if anyone had previous experience with this issue?

Definitely- Dollywood Holiday World Kentucky Kingdom Probably- Kings Island Lake Winnie Beech Bend Doubtful, but hopefully Six Flags Over Georgia Silver Dollar City

I got signed up as well!

https://blog.dollywood.com/index.php/2018/01/10/what-happens-at-dollywood-in-the-off-season/ I just ran across this on Dollywood's website. Shouldn't expect to expect anything major where Apple Jack's sandwich shop was torn down. It looks like from this that Rivertown Junction is getting the upgrades like Timber Canyon got last off season. It seems that the food eating area would be where the building was. Not exciting, but it did a good job opening things up in Country Fair when they removed Sideshow Spin. I also ate at Aunt Granny's at Christmas, while the food is good, it is very dated looking inside.

Most flats would look out of place here, thats why I thought of the tug boat style flat. They might also do to the area what they did when they removed Sideshow Spin and just make it open space and benches.

Yep, it was there when I last was in late October. This was the first time I was there since. I'm hoping for a flat ride.

I visited Dollywood last Thursday and Friday for my last time this season. The decorations were spectacular in the front of the park, not as many in the back. Last Thursday was absolutely packed, apparently it was Knox County's first day on break. Luckily weather kept crowds away but coasters open last Friday. As usual all the shows are fantastic. Even if your not a show person, it is worth seeing at least one. Christmas In The Smokies is always the best. I took some pictures from the train of the area they are clearing out. Everyone has said it, but it is absolutely massive. The area covers roughly from the group parking area behind Thunderhead to near FireChaser Express. The clearing didn't touch the train loop, but most of the area next to the train ride on the way up to the loop. Also the old Apple Jacks Sandwich shop in Rivertown Junction near River Rampage has been leveled. No clue what they could have planned there. Given there are so many food and shops nearby, I hope its a small family flat like a tug boat or something fitting to the theme. The spot where Apple Jacks sandwich shop got tore down. Shot of former River Battle from the train

I know multiple hot drinks are available at different places in the park. I'm 95% sure the Spotlight Bakery has it up front, and I'm sure there is more other places that has it and other holiday drinks. I haven't had it to comment on it, but I'm sure like most food there it's good quality. If you have mug should be a $2 refill.

I was planning on visiting December 21-22 for my Christmas visit this year. However considered coming January 2-3 because I saw they added those days. When I come for Christmas, I'm there more for the shows than other times in the year, although low waits on Lightning Rod are always welcome. I came between Christmas and New Years last year and the crowds were crazy. Any ideas for those of you who have visited before Christmas before?

For Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 2 of my favorite shorter hikes that aren't too far away are Laurel Falls and Grotto Falls. They are under 4 miles roundtrip. Townsend might be your best bet for rafting, they have some tubing options that aren't extreme at all. I also recommend any of the free ranger programs, very good quality. It would be very feasible to leave Nashville have lunch in Townsend, drive Cades Cove and Little River Road and be at Dollywood by around 4pm for the promotion. Those times get posted about a month before. If you wind up going with Wyndham- if you decide not to do a cabin then I think the Days Inn On the River or Baymont is a good fit. They are a short walk from the main activity of town, and have nice river views. You have to pay to park in Gatlinburg (except at hotel) , but the good thing is you could leave car at hotel and ride the trolley for less than $1 per ride. Also not sure what kind of roads you are used to driving on, but some of the roads in the National Park and mountains can be a bit nerve racking if your not used to the elevation. Again, let me know if you need info about hiking, Dollywood, or lodging in the area! I live just outside of Nashville! Everyone thinks of country music, but there is a little of everything going on here. Downtown is very pedestrian friendly, I'd never be afraid to walk around. Main drag is Broadway. There are all kinds of bars playing all kinds of music with some great talent at all hours. They have windows open so you don't even have to go in. Also some neat shops. You can spend as much or little time walking around. I wouldn't stay downtown unless you just are dying to. You can stay for half as much 5-10 miles out. For the direction your coming from and going I'd recommend staying around Opryland or the airport. Parking can be high downtown, but you can park at the Nissan Stadium assuming nothing is going on there and walk across the Cumberland River pedestrian bridge, which is a neat experience as well. In the last 5 years or so Nashville has grown a pretty cool food scene. Some of the cooler places to eat are in the Gulch and East Nashville, although downtown has some neat places too. Nashville is known for hot chicken, Hattie B's is one of the better options. If your into Country music I'd check out the Country Music Hall of Fame, and RCA Studio B if your into Elvis. Ryman Auditorium is worth a paid tour, and there are all kinds of tour and party busses. Lane Motor Museum is a cheap and good way to kill an hour if your into cars. If your into art there is a replica of the Parthenon with a museum inside, or the Frist Museum downtown. The Tennessee State Museum is downtown, and its free and worth a walk though. I'd check the calendar for while your there, there are literally dozens of venues in town, and there is always a game, concert, or show going on. TPAC normally has a production touring from NY, but the best show for an outsider would be the Grand Ole Opry. Even if you don't like country music, its a fun show that has at least 8 or so artists.

Hi! I live in Nashville, Tennessee and maybe can help on your itinerary between Nashville to Pigeon Forge. I recommend the suggestion of adding in Holiday World to your trip on your Kentucky Kingdom day. Both places are the same distance from Nashville with very little traffic. I find Holiday World's dry park better with generally better clientele. Definitely take advantage of the out of state or the TPR deal for those parks. From Nashville to Pigeon Forge is a fairly scenic drive on I40. If I was you I'd take the scenic way in, that would allow some National Park Sightseeing. Take Interstate 140 all the way to Townsend. This allows you to bypass downtown Knoxville. Very scenic route, great local places to eat lunch before entering National Park. From there take Little River Rd through National Park (Don't miss Cade's Cove). This brings you to Sugarlands Visitor Center at Gatlinburg (5 miles from Pigeon Forge). If you do this you will cover the western 3rd of the park and miss some backtracking on further exploring. Most people find Townsend a better place to raft because there is much less people. Other must see's are the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, Newfound Gap, Clingmans Dome. If you want suggestions on hiking trails I can help, there are tons of varying levels of difficulty. Since it looks like you'll be in Pigeon Forge a while, I'd do Dollywood's enter after 3pm deal and get the next day free. Great value considering Dollywood is open til 10pm most summer days. If crowds look crazy the full day you can always buy a Time Saver for fairly cheap. Most of Pigeon Forge is a tacky mess, but there is some good things in the area as well besides Dollywood. Lots of great local restaurants such as Old Mill, Pottery Barn, Alamo, Apple Barn, and tons of pancake houses lol. If you decide to do hotel instead of cabin, I've stayed at almost every Wyndham property in town, and there are also a lot of really cheap and nice mom and pop hotels in town. I second the thought of sticking with a certain hotel chain, I'm a fan of Wyndham. Like Coasterbill said, Wyndham and Choice are your best options for having a range of budget options as well as having a property to stay at everywhere you go. Let me know if you need more info about Wyndham, but the short version is Baymont, Wingate, Microtel, Wyndham are always fairly consistent, Ramada, Days Inn, HOJO, Super 8 can be ok if you check TripAdvisor first. Reward redemptions might be quicker if their system is played right. Any property can be redeemed for the same amount of points, so you could get 1-2 really nice places in NY or near the end of your trip. Thats a lot of info but happy to help!

Guess no ride in River Battle's area. Which I guess a event venue in the back half of the park will be a good thing. I'm excited about some of the names they have coming for the new concerts! I'm curious to see if they make this area bigger and start removing that retaining wall that was across from where River Battle was. It's looking like this plaza will be the new hub if a new path splits off toward where they are clearing or the train loop.

Nice report! I live a few hours away from Pigeon Forge. I actually remember when the hotel was built. Surprisingly opened as a Econo Lodge. The demand for hotels in town is really high or low, which results in the wacky prices. I always time my trips right and can stay at one of the nicer Wyndham properties for less than $50

No other park has a setting this nice, you can see Wild Eagle peaking up from the park between mountains and valleys entrance to the main festival theming- daytime the side of Mystery Mine dark pic but the pasta from Lumberjacks. It was pretty good. Didn't have a pic of the cider. Drop Line with it's theming and amazing light package front of Mystery Mine. Looked more impressive in person Had a disco ball up over the graves with scarecrows dancing to music. Didn't even get a pic of the 2 big pumpkins or the torches. Again, much cooler looking in person. I'll definitely make plans to check this out again next year! Just got back to my room from Illuminights and other festivities going on at Dollywood. I got to hand it to them, they did a fantastic job with this new festival. More on that later. I also got my first night ride on Lightning Rod, and holy crap is all I can say. Everything in the park gives a good night ride, my favorite was a tie between Tennessee Tornado and Wild Eagle, but this was insane. More on the festivals: the daytime stuff was as good as ever. If your into the gospel bands, they are good. Quality wise the ones in Celebrity Theater are best, then Showstreet, then meh after that. The front half of the park has the typical fall decor out with craft vendors set up everywhere who are very neat to watch. I never saw a line ride get above 5 minutes all day, including Lightning Rod and Fire Chaser. Weather was good for everything, not too hot, but still warm enough to enjoy water rides. As far as daytime festival food- anything they are making at the shop back behind market square and kettle corn will be amazing. Grilled potatoes, onions, sausage, chicken, vegetables, etc. Some thoughts on Luminights- the theming started at the Timber Canyon path at Showstreet and continued up to the River Battle site, although the really heavy theming stopped at Mystery Mine. Glow Maze was in River Battle due, the rest of the ride was already gone with a fence around it. Covers more space than I originally thought. All the food vendors had special options for the festival. I had a chicken, bacon, and tomato garlic pasta from Lumberjacks, it was pretty good. The iced apple cider was phenomenal, $2 in the refill mug. There was other options I saw, like candy apple sundaes, and a Fanta Float. The theming was through the roof. I'm glad this end of the park has a festival to call its own- as the other ones all focus on the front end of the park. The pics I have do it no justice to how well done and immersive it was. It had more detail than most of the Christmas elements. The pumpkin carvers were very cool. I saw the tail end of the dance party, it got moved from Timber Canyon to Showstreet due to the crowd level. The character's acting and costumes were all great. The "dance party" consisted of hits like Thriller, Macarena, etc. The whole festival was I felt exactly what they were aiming for- it wasn't too scary or too childish or corny. Only complaint was the speed of the how the crowd moved. There were no where near as many people as the pics as last weekend, but not enough people to have this many traffic flow issues. October is usually bad in the park due to the old people in the electric scooters. Most of them along with people with strollers were all in Timber Canyon and gave no thought to parking in the middle of the path and stopping both sides of the flow to either take a picture or fumble through a bag or pocket. Thats my only complaint though. Here are some pics!

I was there for part of today, and I'll be there tomorrow night to check out the festival and coaster night rides. While I was there the longest wait anything had was 5 minutes, including Lightning Rod. If anyone is there during the day the Gospel groups that are performing in Celebrity Theater are very good. I can also verify the two old men ride ops at Barnstormer acted like butt wipes. Never had seen a bad ride op experience there before. It was those 2 with a older lady, at least she was nice. Rolled her eyes at one point when one of the dudes yelled at a kid on the mic for going the wrong way.

It's back to zero. Glad to see Lighting Rod averaging a 10-25 minute wait. Will be good for my trip next week!

Wonder why the 3 hour wait for Daredevil Falls?

I went to Christmas In The Smokies last year the week between Christmas and New Years, it was insanely packed lol. I'd recommend 1st week of December. That is when I planned my trip. I normally judge expected crowd levels by hotel prices, and I'm staying at my 2nd favorite Wyndham property in Pigeon Forge for $32 each night lol. If you haven't been to the festival in a few years, It's A Wonderful Life was fantastic last year, as was Christmas In The Smokies

I think where you sit on the train affects that a lot, especially on Wild Eagle. The back is much more forceful than the front, and the left and right are different experiences. Even with your experience you mentioned, there is nothing I'd be afraid to ride at Dollywood. Just save Lightning Rod for last

It's noticeable, but all of the other ride elements keep getting better. I'd rather have a tad less airtime at the top of the hill rather than constant down time and 1 train operations. But just my opinion lol

I'n in Nashville and consider Dollywood my home park. Luckily Dollywood doesn't have a SLC or Boomerang Dollywood really doesn't have a bad ride. I will say the only thing I've never rode is River Battle (a splash battle). Never had many people, it looked like it would be a lot of fun with kids. Dollywood's other fantastic water rides get you wet, while this one gets you head to toe drenched. It's closing after this weekend. Thought about making a special trip just to say I did it, but not going to be able to. Don't feel too bad though, more excited to see what will be put there instead.

What do y'all think the crowds and lines will be like for Labor Day?

If anyone is going to the park by Friday, I have a extra bring a friend ticket. This one kind of snuck up on my and my friend can't make it before it expires. Let me know and I can email it to you.