Dollywood Discussion Thread

[prozach626]

I swear, the COVID conversations won't die in this thread... I've thought for months there should be a title change from DW to Official COVID 2021 thread... relevant conversations of park policy updates are nice to know, so thank you for that, but by now we're not going to change mindsets in the Dollywood thread of an amusement park enthusiast website. Pointless waste of text.

  

18 hours ago, ytterbiumanalyst said:

Personally I just avoid Facebook altogether, never saw any value in that site)

Completely agree, so I try not to spread negative repetitive social debate elsewhere.

 

In other news... I'm glad to hear LR is running more consistent. I wish I had the time for a short visit, but I have to settle for easy warm weather trips like a few nights in Vegas, for now.

[tndank]

LR running well lately. Was holding about a 10-15 min line the last couple hours they were open last night. Ops were pretty good, too. 

[coasterbill]

Luckily any day now Lightning Rod is probably due to launch a wheel into a mountain or spontaneously combust or something so we can stop talking about covid...

[prozach626]

16 hours ago, tndank said:

Ops were pretty good, too. 

The operators have been well rested.

[teacherkim]

17 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Luckily any day now Lightning Rod is probably due to launch a wheel into a mountain or spontaneously combust or something so we can stop talking about covid...

SHHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't taunt LR before we get there on the boy's 18th birthday trip and 3rd attempt to get on.

[JJLehto]

IKR its finally running fairly well and people just gotta tempt fate for us 1st timers. All a big joke when you've ridden already XD 

Also glad to see the waits are looking back to normal, (prepared to say the stupid huge crowds really were all spring break) Can anyone confirm how quickly TimeSaver has been selling out, or has it generally still been available day of? Im thinking when I go it'll prob be quiet enough to not be necessary. It SEEMS like on weekdays its generally been like 30 mins and under which is fine, I can tolerate that. BUT looks like $44 for up 8 skips? Lets say I use like 1 on MM 7 on LR or 8 on LR for $5ish per skip (basically)? Not a bad deal tbh.....

[tndank]

You can keep an eye on # of Timesavers left if you try and buy on mobile.  8 skips on any ride is good.  The unlimited one also works well.  But, probably not needed if you're there at open and stay till close on a weekday.  If you did have one, I would imagine you could ride everything more than you care to.  dollywoodwaittimes.com makes it easy to see daily wait times.  They ping their wait times every 15 minutes.  And those are typically a bit more than reality. TV said 35 min on LR, and it was less than 15 on Friday while we were there.

 

 

[u4icmusic]

Dead today at Dollywood. Today, I arrived at about 9:30 am and got in line for Lightning Rod. They opened it just before ten and the short line went quickly, in less than 10 minutes. Then I walked the opposite way most people do and went to Thunderhead and walked right on. Zero wait. Then I went over to Mystery Mine and again walked on with no wait. I thought the lines might be longer later in the day, so I rode it twice before hitting Firechaser, Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado. I walked on all of them, all with zero wait time. I don't recall Dollywood ever being this slow, but I was happy. By 11:30 am, I rode all the coasters and some other of my favorite rides (Daredevil Falls Drop Line and Barnstormer) and several of them multiple times. As we all know, masks are not required outside in the park, although about 25% of the guests still wore them. The ride operators were adamant about wearing the masks in line and on the rides, which was fair. Some guests had to be told multiple times to wear their masks while in line, but overall, mask usage was good.  They also brought back the big jugs of hand sanitizer and were making everyone use it. They stopped doing this last year and I'm glad they brought that back. I think they have struck the right balance for a safe day at the park.

 

My only though was that I felt sorry for the people that purchased the Timesaver Passes, as they were completely unnecessary today. The lines for the food were long, as usual, but the rides had no wait. Mystery Mine and Lightning Rod were both down for a short time, which is not unusual. Mystery Mine is still fun without the horseshoe loop and I've never found that ride rough. It does tilt back and forth a lot, but it's not rough to me. Overall, a great day at the park. The parking lot where the campers usually park was closed. They redid the blacktop and were painting new parking lines this afternoon when I left for the day. It needed it.

 

The food they were offering for the Flower & Food Festival looked really good, but I didn't try anything. I was trying to find the Belgian Waffles, but never did find them. Next week, when I go, I'll have to ask where they are.

[dankeykang]

1 hour ago, u4icmusic said:

My only though was that I felt sorry for the people that purchased the Timesaver Passes, as they were completely unnecessary today. 

Nah, personally I wouldn't feel sorry for them.  Thinking that a line skipping pass is necessary on a Wednesday in April (not during spring break) is fairly poor judgement at almost any theme park IMO.  

Sounds like most people have been having pretty positive experiences at Dollywood so far this year, which is good to hear.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Keep in mind that DreamMore also gives out the 8-ride TimeSaver as a perk for their guests.

[u4icmusic]

Has anyone heard about Dollywood transitioning to Silver Dollar City over the next two years? Dollywood is having a huge auction next weekend. They are saying they are getting rid of surplus items from the park. Others think it is due to the transition from Dollywood back to Silver Dollar City. Here is the info on the auction:

Auction Story

 

Is Dolly Parton getting out of the theme park business and selling her stake in Dollywood to Herschend Family Entertainment? Does this auction have anyting to do with the park being renamed? It is all a rumor?

 

Here is a screenshot of a survey from Dollywood. Notice how it says Silver Dollywood for one of the questions? Something is going on and inquiring minds want to know.

 

Discuss!

 

[DollyWould]

23 minutes ago, u4icmusic said:

Has anyone heard about Dollywood transitioning to Silver Dollar City over the next two years?

I give it MULTIPLE thumbs down, if true!

 

[u4icmusic]

40 minutes ago, DollyWould said:

I give it MULTIPLE thumbs down, if true!

 

Things are changing at Dollywood. There has been a lot of odd things going on around the park. Such as all the theming removed from the upper train loop, the Stampede ticket booth disappearing from Dollywood, Dolly's thank you picture taken out of the Emporium, and Dolly's pictures have been taken off the exterior of the Dolly's Closet store in recent years as well. The lease for the Gospel Museum was also not renewed. We all think changes are coming to Dollywood soon. This could very well be goodbye Dollywood and Hello Silver Dollar City East! Maybe season passes will be good at both Silver Dollar City parks if that happens.

[sdcfan88]

It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Prior to 1986 before Dolly came in, the park was known as SDC Tennessee back when the Hershends first took possession. Also you can already get deep discounts with a SDC or Dollywood pass to gain entry to either park.

[SharkTums]

Dolly Parton is a great human. Maybe she's decided she wants out of the theme park biz? I won't judge her for it. 

[tndank]

Rumors of Dolly leaving the park have been making the rounds the last 6-12 months.  I've heard it'll happen in the next few years.  No idea when their current agreements end.  I can't say with any certainly this is happening, but I first heard it last fall from a friend, and a couple times since then.  I live in the area. Not sure how the market would react.  That would be something to see.  Social reaction would be wild.

 

 Wouldn't really bother me.  I grew up with it being SDC.  I wouldn't post this myself, but can't say I haven't heard these rumors from different friends in the area.

[tinaalsgirl]

 Dolly is what makes Dollywood so unique! But I also respect that she's not getting any younger and probably doesn't want to have to deal with promotional stuff as much and what-not.

But what will happen with her museum? That thing HAS to be rebuilt elsewhere if they want to get rid of it at the park. I could've spent the entire day in there! People need to know what an amazing woman Dolly is!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Hmm, interesting. Seconded on the museum though, that was absolutely great, as was the show with all of Dolly's family performing. It wouldn't be the same, but an SDC Tennessee wouldn't be bad either. Dolly's smart; if she does get out, she'll have a damn good reason for doing so.

[coneyislandchris]

I just don't see it happening, honestly.

[SharkTums]

46 minutes ago, coneyislandchris said:

I just don't see it happening, honestly.

Yeah, but I also didn't see a global pandemic shutting parks down for over a year and yet here we are!  Nothing surprises me anymore. 

[KarlaKoaster]

I guess it's easier said than done, but even if Dolly wants to step down it would be nice if they were able to continue using her name like they do at Bobbejaanland.

[A.J.]

If Dolly Parton is in fact selling her stake or whatever, there can still be licensing agreements in place to keep the museum going, bring her and others in for shows, etc...

I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons that she's stuck around for so long is because she and Herschend's brand mesh together so well. Silver Dollar City and Dollywood are IMO the best theme parks in the US not named Disney or Universal, I don't see that changing a whole lot. Maybe a little less butterflies though.

[u4icmusic]

Here is the full screen shot of the Dollywood survey showing the name change to Silver Dollywood for next season. Was it a typo or is an announcement going to come soon?

[BRTeller]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:11 PM, dankeykang said:

Nah, personally I wouldn't feel sorry for them.  Thinking that a line skipping pass is necessary on a Wednesday in April (not during spring break) is fairly poor judgement at almost any theme park IMO.  

Sounds like most people have been having pretty positive experiences at Dollywood so far this year, which is good to hear.

Fortunately it doesn't matter all that much since Dollywood gave us a refund for this exact situation no questions asked (we opted for a transfer). We admitted it was our fault and they actually let us apply it to the next day which was much busier. SWO is another park that's also been really good about this kind of thing as well.

I don't have it in my anymore to wait hours on end, so it's not a risk I take anymore when planning trips especially over 5 hours away. Dollywood can easily be a park that it's needed for when it is busy.

[DBru]

Dollywood is such an iconic name for a park. Even my non-enthusiast friends around the country are familiar with it. I really hope even if Dolly parts ways with the park that Herschend can strike a deal to continue using her name.

Would certainly miss her presence, regardless.