Help me with some Sep-Oct trip planning!

[A.J.]

Hey everyone -

 

I'm planning an autumn trip this year for myself!

 

Tentatively, the plan is to spend a day and a half at Dollywood, a half day checking out Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, two days poking around Smoky Mountain National Park, and one day at Carowinds. Basically, fly out of Orlando on a Monday, trip Tue > Sat, and fly back on Sunday.

 

The motivation for this trip is to check out the National Park in its full autumn colors glory, go to a park I've never been to (Carowinds) and finally go back for that Lightning Rod credit I miss... I MEAN go back for that cinnamon brea... I MEAN darn it Dollywood is so amazing.

 

However, Cedar Fair just threw a wrench into my plans with their Presidents' Day sales - admission AND Fast Lane for $60! So now I'm torn. Do I:

 

- Bite the bullet on the sale ticket to save $100, but lose out on the autumn colors since the ticket is only valid through the 13th of September

 

OR

 

- Go during October, but only get 10 AM to 5 PM at Carowinds, because I'm not interested in attending nor paying for the extra hard ticket of Scarowinds

 

I'm running under the assumption that I'd have regular TimeSaver for at least one of the two days at Dollywood and Fast Lane at Carowinds. I really want more than one day at Dollywood because it's seriously one of my favorite places. Whether the half day ends up being an evening or a morning is still to be determined, though I'm leaning more toward evening.

 

If I go with the sale option I'm thinking about going Labor Day week - when I visited Dollywood in 2015 on the Tuesday after Labor Day, the park was really slow and I got to do everything I wanted multiple times.

 

Or am I just completely crazy? Advice is appreciated!

[Xcelerator4]

I would definitely go for the sale and more time at Carowinds. Dollywood in the fall is beautiful and all, but when I went to Carowinds in early 2019 with no lines I was regretting booking a flight that night, as I had to leave 3 hours early. Fury really is that good and any extra time cycling that beast is time well spent. Those extra hours at Carowinds are certainly nice, but the $100 off from the Presidents Day sale really pushes it over the edge for me and makes that option 100% the way to go.

[A.J.]

So why would I spend more time at Carowinds when I'm using Fast Lane, in a slow part of the season? If I were to purchase the earlier ticket I would be going on a day when the park is open from 10 until 8.

[The Great Zo]

I like Carowinds -- but if you're doing a solo trip with fast lane, even for a first time visitor, 7 hours should be enough. I presume you'll want to make time for photography, especially for Fury, but with the way they pump out trains even that should go pretty quickly. You'll want re-rides on Fury, Copperhead Strike, and Afterburn (and maybe Intimidator) but probably nothing else in the park.

 

Plus, October gets you the fall colors in the mountains, and you know I'll vote for that.

[tndank]

They will most likely have a $120 parking+admission+fl+all day dining up and running much of the season. I doubt you're really saving $100 if you wanted to visit in the fall. But, the current deal is great if you want to visit before the cutoff.

 

Heck, pick up one for Kings Island and cut out your second day in Pigeon Forge.

 

But, late summer can be slow at Dollywood. Show up during the week and the park is all yours some days. Same for Carowinds. Look at the queue-times for those weeks last year.

[A.J.]

I like Carowinds -- but if you're doing a solo trip with fast lane, even for a first time visitor, 7 hours should be enough. I presume you'll want to make time for photography, especially for Fury, but with the way they pump out trains even that should go pretty quickly. You'll want re-rides on Fury, Copperhead Strike, and Afterburn (and maybe Intimidator) but probably nothing else in the park.

 

Plus, October gets you the fall colors in the mountains, and you know I'll vote for that.

Smoky Mountain National Park in autumn color was the main motivation for this trip in the first place, so I'm partial to going later for that reason, and you nailed it on desired re-rides. That day is "successful" so long as I get on the four rides you mentioned, and get some photo time in. Everything else is a bonus. Thanks for the assurance!

 

Heck, pick up one for Kings Island and cut out your second day in Pigeon Forge.

Not ideal, though thanks for suggesting it. I want to be able to keep round-trip out of Charlotte to save on airfare and my rental car.

 

But, late summer can be slow at Dollywood. Show up during the week and the park is all yours some days. Same for Carowinds. Look at the queue-times for those weeks last year.

I know, like I said, when I visited Dollywood on Labor Tuesday back in 2015, I actually ran out of things to do. I'll have to do some poking around Queue Times' histories to try and figure out a good couple of days to go. The "I hate photos of empty trains" side of me wants to find a day at when it's predicted to be quiet, and then a second day when it's predicted to be busy.

[tndank]

FYI: Orlando/Tampa to Knoxville is often under $100 roundtrip on Allegiant.

[A.J.]

^ Yeah, well, but then I would be flying Allegiant, so...

[Hilltopper39]

I'd say stick to your original plan of going in the fall for the colors but keep an eye on the Carowinds socials for sales late in the season. I don't remember if I follow Carowinds but I know Kings Island and Cedar Point have had specials in the past around October pushing annual pass sales for the next year that comes with a fastlane and the an admission or the current year or something. Depending on what your 2021 plans are you might be able pick up a Cedar Fair platinum pass and get a free 2020 admission and Fastlane out of it or something.

 

If not like other have said 10-5 that time of year even without fast lane should be enough time to make it worth your while.

[tndank]

2020 passes with free FL+ went on sale ~Aug 15th of last year if that helps plan.

[Canobie Coaster]

I would recommend sticking with your original plan for two reasons. One, if your primary motivation was to see the National Park in fall colors, you should keep that as the focal point of your trip. Two, Dollywood has longer hours in October so you can maximize your time there. Plus you'll have more time at Dollywood after nightfall and Lightning Rod at night is one of the best coaster experiences in the world.

 

While I haven't been to Carowinds in October, Canada's Wonderland had a similar structure for their haunt event where they open the park for the daytime and have a separate ticket event at night. I went during the day and Canada's Wonderland was a ghost town, which almost never happens. Maybe it's the same with Carowinds if you go in the day?

[A.J.]

While I haven't been to Carowinds in October, Canada's Wonderland had a similar structure for their haunt event where they open the park for the daytime and have a separate ticket event at night. I went during the day and Canada's Wonderland was a ghost town, which almost never happens. Maybe it's the same with Carowinds if you go in the day?

That's what's implied on their calendar - it's general admission from 10 to 5 and then hard-ticket Scarowinds afterward. They're weekend only for all of October, and every operating day has Scarowinds.

 

Historically according to Queue-Times, it's always been busy those days. Looks like Fast Lane will at least come in handy for Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike!

 

...and Lightning Rod at night is one of the best coaster experiences in the world.

Now, now, don't raise my already-high expectations!

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Because Carowinds assigns seats on the major coasters (they did seem to take seating requests in 2019), FastLane will get you on the next train in most cases.