Photo TR: The Johnson's finally get to Dollywood

[Erik Johnson]

Hey all! We just got back from a 3-day trip to Dollywood and back. I have been trying to find the time to fit Dollywood into our schedule for the past two years, but I am glad that we held off until this year. We were able to go to SFoG again for a few hours on Saturday as well as hit a new park for us, Lake Winniepesaukah.

 

I will first start of with our visit to Six Flags Over Georgia:

It was time to head out.

We ran out of time to be able to ride the Cyclone this year.

The park only has one Intamin drop tower now.

It is not open yet.

But Mini-Tatsu is still fun.

Superman used to be Leanne's favorite, until she rode Tatsu last March.

We actually had some quality airtime on it.

They had all of these home depot coaster facts all over the queues.

GASM was running well that day.

No thank you.

"Deja Vu Hair"

It only took Andrew two visits to clear the park. He just earned his Deja Vu Credit.

Since we had a Qbot, we only had to wait 15 minutes.

Oh wow, it still has not broken down.

We have to ride something new on every visit, right?

As well as the crappy log ride.

We had to ride Georgia Scorcher with its new paint first.

We noticed something running in the background.

I wonder if that is safe to drink.

Poor Andrew had to ride all alone, but he did not care...he was riding Mindbender.

Best ride I ever had on this was this day.

I thought you only saw this kind of action in zoos.

Without Qbot, the wait would have been 90 minutes.

Still running as well as last year.

This is more like it.

Oh yeah, we got to see Joe and Andrew.

We had to wait 30 minutes for our time on Goliath, so we rode the Gotham Crime Wave swings first.

Oh wow, Freefall really is gone.

Even though its took us 20 minutes, we have made a new best friend.

I had no idea they had a Qbot "preshow". This really sucked.

We had to get a Qbot, otherwise we would not be able to ride anything.

One of the many middle school bands.

They had a nice 40th display just after the gate.

I had no idea it was the 40th.

Lucky for us, all the gates were open so it only took us 5 minutes.

The seas of humanity in the form of middle school bands.

All these buses can not be any good.

Oh wow, the park is going to be really crowded.

We are ready to ride Goliath again.

That places looks familiar.

We stayed over at one of my best friends up in Atlanta.

Looks like we made it to Georgia.

We always start off these things with an "upset" cat photo.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Awesome. I love SFOG.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

[Swimace]

Hooray for Mindbender being amazing, GASM being fun, and Deja Vu being open! Great day at SFOG!

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, onto Lake Winnie. We only had about 2 hours to explore the park, but we were able to do just about everything we wanted to do. It turned out to be a really nice little family park with quite a few good rides. It was very clean and had a great atmosphere about it. Onward to our photos:

 

Also here is our Lake Winnie video:

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35184

 

It does feature onride footage of all three coasters.

Have a good night, Lake Winnie!

Trainload of people.

It is small, but a lot of people can ride at once.

We decided to ride the train, since we always ride the train.

The Rock City gnome, or Travelocity? You decide.

We waited 15 minutes, but we ran out of time.

Cannonball.

There are not any type of restraints on this ride.

Sploosh!

You enter here.

We had to ride the "classic" boat chute.

Sunset over Lake Winnie.

You get it?

White Lightning proved to be a bit painfull.

We decided to skip the drop tower.

Me and my cannonballs.

Another group ready to leave the station.

They still have the duo-manual braking system in the station.

It was a real suprise on this trip.

We had to wait about 15 minutes to ride.

Onward to the Cannonball, which was a lot of fun.

Onride POV picture of the Wacky Worm.

A face only a mother could love.

Our first Wacky Worm credit.

In order for it to be a real park, it must have a merry-go-round.

The pirate ship almost rocks over the lake.

There is a good assortment of rides here.

If we had more time, we would have bought unlimited ride braclets.

Its turned out to be a nice little family park.

The parking lot pavement looked brand new.

Lake Winnie is only 2 hours north of Atlanta. Its about 5 miles off I-75.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, onward to Dollywood. I should post a few notes about this park:

 

*Dollywood is the newest park to receive the Qbot (Q2Q) system. Its simply the most amazing/easy to use fast pass system I have used so far. It is also inexpensive (around $16.40 total for the both of us) They use it quite a bit differently than the ones in Six Flags parks. When you pick up you machine you walk over to a computer monitor which displays all the shows/times. You pre-program your Qbot with the shows and thier times ahead of time. When it comes to rides, every Qbot machine comes pre-programed with a list of all the rides on the system. Using the arrow keys you scroll up/down to pick which ride you want to ride next. Once you pick the ride, its usually ready within 15-20 minutes after your selection...sometimes sooner. You can only have one ride selected at one time, but you no longer have to run to the front of each ride, like you do at Six Flags, to "capture" your next time. You simply just select it from your personal machine. When it is time to ride you walk over to the Q2Q entrance where another employee will scan your machine with another Qbot. Once you are cleared you can immediatly select another ride/ride time on your machine. With this system we never had to wait more than 2 minutes from scanning to sitting on a train for Mystery Mine. We usually has to wait a bit longer for Thunderhead and T. Tornado (about 5 minutes), because you still have to queue up in a seating row after being let into the station.

 

*We thought Mystery Mine was fun. It does have great theming and it does have that great "suprise" that everyone is talking about. We give the ride a solid "B". Just be warned if you ride on an outside seat that you will get thrown around a bit.

 

*We liked Thunderhead quite a bit, especially when we rode in the first row. It really has that "out-of-control" feeling as well as some nice moments of airitme. We ended up riding it three times.

 

*Tennesse Tornado proved to be my 2nd favorite standard Arrow coaster. While on the short side it proved to be very fast and intense...as well as suprisingly smooth.

We simply love our new friend.

Then you use the "ride Menu" to pick which ride you want to ride next.

You first decide on what shows/times you want to see.

As well as Qbot items to proudly buy and wear.

There they are, waiting to be rented.

Check out how inexpensive it is. You would be stupid not to try this out.

You can use it on these attractions/shows.

Here is the building to pick them up.

So we can get one of these brand new Q2Q machines.

Time to enter the park.

No Huss flat ride for us today.

Ok, that is much better.

Oh no! We came to the wrong park!

See, more butterflies.

Almost to the park gates.

The parking lot was filling up fast.

Dolly Parton's butterfly logo can be found everywhere in the park.

The World Showcase, Dollywood style.

At least the parking lot was open.

There was a long line to get into the parking lot 60 minutes before park opening.

If you work at Dollywood, you pick up your uniform here.

Though it has the world's shortest pool slide.

We stayed here. Nothing too special, but it was clean and inexpensive.

[Erik Johnson]

More Dollywood!

Blurry tornado damage.

Is this the largest loop that Arrow built?

While on the short side, this one is very fast and intense.

Up the super tall lift hill.

Everyone put down the restraints.

See what I mean?

There is a coaster station inside this building.

Like this impressive Arrow coaster.

I guess you can go to church while in the park, but we still had credits to earn.

Instead of standard paper cups. We got plastic Mystery Mine ones.

We should have bought 3 of them.

Yummmm...The cinammon bread was amazing.

Something really amazing is created by this mill.

I guess all the kids had to sleep on the floor since there was only one bed.

We visited Dolly's childhood cabin recreation.

Awww....We miss Soren.

See! More amazing theming.

Heart attack in a pan.

This is where you start seeing and smelling some amazing things.

The entire park was this nice.

Who said playing with scissors wasn't fun?

With the shows, you get to sit in the very best section...kind of like Busch Platnium passholders.

30 minutes for Thunderhead, or 5 minutes? You decide.

Ok, that's much better!

Awwww....Mystery Mine looks lonely.

Hey! What is that new building above your head?

Just in case you forgot its name.

We enjoyed Thunderhead, especially in the front row.

Yes, its closed.

The turns of this coaster are very tight.

While not rough, some of these coaster transitions can shake you up a bit.

The theming was quite top notch.

30-60 minute wait? Or a couple of minutes? You decide.

It only took us around 90 seconds from entering the station and getting seated on a car.

All about Mystery Mine.

But who cares? We got our Q2Q machine.

Boy that line really looks long.

The birds on this ride are simply evil.

Everyone's Photo TR has this shot.

I think everyone here already knows about Mystery Mine.

Plus they have rides as well.

Dollywood is simply a really nice park.

[hemmy]

Man they have built soooo many rides since my last visit!!!

 

They only had Tennessee Tornado coaster wise then. I must have went on the perfect day, because not only were there no lines, we didn't even have to get off the rides to go again, they just said if you want you can stay on.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, final section of this Photo: TR.

Thank you Dollywood, and thank you for reading.

Make sure you get your Qbot early. I understand they sold out quickly.

Even though the park was closed, you could still reserve ride times.

Never seen this photo before.

Sploosh!

We though it was one of the better water flume rides.

Water ride #2

The train ride was fun. It goes up a mountain for a 5 mile round trip ride.

These Irish shows are still very popular.

The girl in green was simply amazing.

Time for another show.

While it may look like it, you do not have to steal a kid to ride this ride.

These cars are not built for tall people. It was a real struggle to sit down with the lap bar.

You can not use a Qbot for this one.

You pretty much see the entire layout in this photo.

This is a totally shameless credit.

How is it going Julie?

We got a little wet on this one.

An American in jail.

The dark scary loading area.

Scary looking fire fighter.

Yes that is its name.

There is a dark ride/coaster in this building.

[Axman]

Ohh, I just love Dollywood! In 10 hours, I rode every ride, Thunderhead 3 times, and between lunch and dinner, I ate a box of Potato Skins, 2 scoops of ice cream, 1 handful of saltwater taffy, and an entire bag of multi-colored Kettle Korn! Dollywodd has the best themepark food ever!

 

There were no lines, so I could take my time, do lots of shopping, and take lots of pictures.

 

Timber Tower is nothing special. Do not regret missing it much.

[Ryan King]

ERIK!!!

 

Dude! Glad to see you had a blast! Every time I see an Erik Johnson PTR, I get excited. You do a fantastic job at making me feel like I'm actually tackling the parks with you!

 

Thanks!

 

-Ryan

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Great TR!!! Cant wait until I visit DollyWood this summer! I am pretty shocked on how low the prices are for Qbot at DollyWood, I will defiantly be getting one!

[easytoremember]

Aww man I cant wait to get there! You got me all excited about the Q Bot, but then I saw that you must be 18. Why is that? The Prices are so cheap, I MUST get one.

[Cameron]

Great report Erik .. Makes me want to return to Dollywood, and visit SFOG (which I have yet to visit).

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Cameron.

[crazydaveh]

Makes me want to skip Cinco De Meyo at Mexico (Epcot) and head to the hills!

 

Did you visit the famous Gatlinburg while up there?

 

Go DAWGS!

[cfc]

I can't get over how cheap Q-bots are at Dollywood as opposed to, say, Great Adventure.

 

Execellent TR, as usual, Erik.

[JamminJ]

What the heck?! I stayed at the exact same hotel over this past weekend. (mmm free pancake breakfast) When did you guys go? We could have hung out.

 

Anyway great report, I hope I can get to Lake Winnie later this year.

[Erik Johnson]

What the heck?! I stayed at the exact same hotel over this past weekend. (mmm free pancake breakfast) When did you guys go? We could have hung out.

 

Anyway great report, I hope I can get to Lake Winnie later this year.

 

How weird is that, since I think you are the first person I ever talked to on TPR (You helped me plan our Carowinds trip if you remember). We got in late Saturday night, ate pancakes at the same place on Sunday morning before hitting Dollywood. We ate them again Monday morning before heading out of the area around 10.

[Erik Johnson]

Makes me want to skip Cinco De Meyo at Mexico (Epcot) and head to the hills!

 

Did you visit the famous Gatlinburg while up there?

 

Go DAWGS!

 

We did not go there on this trip, but I have been there before.

[JamminJ]

Well crap. I was at the hotel from Thursday to Sunday and went to Dollywood on Friday and Saturday. I guess I should have gotten up earlier Sunday for breakfast.

 

Maybe next time...

[Shavethewhales]

So they crowds would have been pretty bad without Q-bots? What day did you go on? How bad do you think it would be in the middle of the week? I ask because I myself am planning a trip up there soon. If it's anything like everyone says, I'll have to shoot for a couple of days there, is that what's 'needed'?

[Erik Johnson]

So they crowds would have been pretty bad without Q-bots? What day did you go on? How bad do you think it would be in the middle of the week? I ask because I myself am planning a trip up there soon. If it's anything like everyone says, I'll have to shoot for a couple of days there, is that what's 'needed'?

 

It was very crowded when we were there on Sunday. There was no way that we could have done as much as we did without the Qbot. While a weekday will be less crowded, I would still recommend getting a Qbot. They are really inexpensive for everything it does. You get guaranteed seating for the main shows (and sit in the best seats). Why wait 20 minutes for a ride when you can get on in less than 5? You really only need one day to see Dollywood, especially when you have a Qbot.

[Erik Johnson]

I just posted a video from Lake Winnie, click the link below (if you are a TPR member) if you would like to watch it.

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35184

[PKI Jizzman]

Awesome photo TR Erik! It's really cool to see another Dollywoo trip, along with SFOG and Winnie. Q2Q looks like it will REALLY help at Dollywood! Seems as if no one had knowns about it yet! I will have to use that on my trip. Looks lik eyou had alot of fun!

 

-Zach

[tigerxeyez]

Great pictures! I wanna go to Dollywood!!!!!!

[Shockwave]

Erik, this was an excellent trip report. I'm looking forward to going to Dollywood in a month and I'm seriously contemplating getting the Q-bot if the lines are long.