Dollywood Discussion Thread

[megan]

1 hour ago, tndank said:

I think it's a bit crazy how they flipped on reservations, especially considering it's the opposite at SDC. You can make reservations but they don't matter and you will have to wait when they hit cap even with them. 

The whole company seems a bit lost right now. 

[TEDodd]

2 hours ago, tndank said:

I think it's a bit crazy how they flipped on reservations, especially considering it's the opposite at SDC. You can make reservations but they don't matter and you will have to wait when they hit cap even with them. 

Well. What's the point of reservations there then?

Capacity caps were always an issue, but seldom (never?) hit before the reduced capacity during this pandemic.
But the whole point of reservations was to get in under the cap and guaranty entry.

 

[megan]

Park not opening today until 3 due to potential bad weather. Cue the entitled passholders comments already on social media. 

[tndank]

Lightning Rod started running 2 train ops again today.  

[coasterbill]

[dankeykang]

It’s back to one train today. Started with 2 but they had to take one off after a few hours

Edit: False alarm, they’re putting the second train back on. 

[Hilltopper39]

Quick Dollywood question before our trip this week, but what's the bag policy for rides? I can't really find anything on the website but can you leave loose articles (bag, jackets, water bottles etc.) in the station or do you have to put everything in a locker before entering the que. Are there any ride that require locker and others that don't? I think this will be our first family park trip without a stroller for the kids (FINALLY, I hate dragging that thing around), so I've kind of forgotten what it's like to go to a park without one lol. 

[tndank]

Lockers are not required for any rides. The ride ops will often take your stuff and put it away for you while you buckle up. 

[megan]

After having now seen the Winterfest Wonderland Parade 3x at Kings Island (no reservations needed thank you very much) Dollywood really needs to get the parade back next year. It adds a kinetic energy that fireworks just don’t have. I guess staffing the parade is an issue since they can barely get the food places open, but it does help the overall energy of the park. 

[betterday85]

Visited the park today and had a nice time! Was nice to see Lightning Rod operating and running 2 trains. Sadly, food operations are still struggling.  I feel like this year’s Christmas decor was less than previous seasons, though. Looking forward to 2022 and hopeful for a “normal” season next year. 
 

I did notice some work being done on River Rampage. Maybe it’s getting a much needed refurb? 

[megan]

For a park that makes suchcc be a big deal about their food, they really need to get that part figured out. At this point I’m thrilled I didn’t do passes to DW next season. Way too many negatives. Here’s to hoping next season is a rebuild and reset, or I’m a little scared for what things look like going forward. They have burned through so much season pass good will this year that they really need to find their footing fast. 

[u4icmusic]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:33 AM, Hilltopper39 said:

Quick Dollywood question before our trip this week, but what's the bag policy for rides? I can't really find anything on the website but can you leave loose articles (bag, jackets, water bottles etc.) in the station or do you have to put everything in a locker before entering the que. Are there any ride that require locker and others that don't? I think this will be our first family park trip without a stroller for the kids (FINALLY, I hate dragging that thing around), so I've kind of forgotten what it's like to go to a park without one lol. 

You cannot carry anything onto any of the rides, but most of them have storage areas in the loading area where you or the ride operators will store your items until you get off the ride. No need to get a locker unless you plan on storing a coat or change of clothing.

[u4icmusic]

Since when does Dollywood have a limit on the number of reservations you can make with a season pass? I realize the rest of the year has no open reservations remaining, but I've never seen a limit on the number of reservations that can be made on a diamond season pass.

[boldikus]

Have you considered calling that number they listed right there to I dunno... ask them?

[megan]

WOW what a smart arse response. 

 

[southpuddle]

It’s true though - I’m a typical millennial who hates talking on the phone as much as the next guy, but if there was a phone number to call plainly stated for answers to questions I would not get on a message board to ask my question

[boldikus]

6 hours ago, megan said:

WOW what a smart arse response. 

 

Are you new here?

[coasterbill]

The Dollywood and Silver Dollar City threads are always the biggest shitshows. Not sure why... maybe you people need a drink. Oh, wait...

[Hilltopper39]

We just got back from spending 2 days at Dollywood and a couple more days in the area for Christmas and honestly it was one of the best park trips we've had in a long time, we really had a great time. Here are few notes from our trip.

 

First off Lightning Rod. I know there's been a ton of talk about that thing here over the past couple of years but for the 2 days we were there it was running consistently with 2 trains both days. On the 22nd it closed at 7:30 along with everything else in the park because it was just under the 34 degree mark (VERY cold night). On the 23rd the park opened at 11 and an operator came out and said there was still frost on the track so it would be opening a bit late. We grabbed some cinnamon bread and headed up toward Firechaser/Wild Eagle  and by the time we got halfway up the mountain it was cycling trains and probably opened around 11:45 or so. So anyways 2 days of consistent operations and man that thing is still an absolute beast of a ride. I got a few rides in 3 years ago before the refurb and honestly I don't know if it's slower now or whatever, but it's still a top 5 ride for me. I got 2 rides the 22nd and ended up getting 5 on the 23 in about 1.5 hours, two in standby with my kids and three through the single rider line. Such an awesome ride, so hopefully these operations carry over into next season.

 

Shoutout to Dollywood for running Wild Eagle with a 50 In height requirement instead of 54 like every other B&M in the country. My youngest was able to ride this year and loved it. 

 

Thunderhead as running pretty well for it being in the 40s in December. It's wasn't the smoothest GCI I've ever been on but was good enough to knock out 4 rides in a row with no wait. 

 

Mystery Mine seemed more temperamental than Lightning Rod while we were there but that's still a really fun ride, and I love the view you get of it from the path to Wildwood Grove (which was new to me). 

 

Speaking of Wildwood Grove, I get the complaint about ripping out the trees up there as it does look a little out of place, but it looked great at night with the Christmas lights and the kids had a blast. Can't wait to see what the new coaster for 2023 will be.

 

Is Dropline the best drop tower in the world? No it's not, I know it's not, but man the views on that thing are amazing and there was NEVER a line for it over 2 days which was weird. Thunderhead and Mystery Mine would both have 45 minutes to an hour long que at times and Dropline was still a complete walk on? When all the coasters closed at 7:30 the 22nd, you guessed it, Drop Line still an absolute walk on. So again it's not the best drop tower in the world but that view makes it one of my favorites. 

 

All of the Christmas decorations looked great and the fireworks show at the end of the night was a nice close to the day. We also watched the "Twas the Night Before Christmas Show" which was really cute and well done for a 45 minutes theme park stage musical. 

 

Wait times and crowd flow at this park are kind of weird. Lightning Rod would have a 2 hour line in the mornings then be down under 30 minutes at mid day. Thunderhead was all over the place all day, from 45 minutes to a complete walk on. Mystery Mine and Firechaser stayed pretty consistent around 45 minutes- 1 hour both days. One thing I really appreciate about Dollywood is that Tennessee Tornado and Wild Eagle were pretty much walk ons all the time. Maybe we got lucky but it's nice to always have a decent coaster available with a short wait.

 

The park was closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas day but we headed over to Dreammore for breakfast  at Song and Hearth and had a great meal. That resort is really nice and I'd love to stay there next trip. The breakfast was just a buffet, but a pretty decent one, and for $18.00 I'd go back in a heartbeat. We also grabbed a couple loaves of cinnamon bread at Dreammore with NO WAIT to take back to our cabin, which made for a nice treat on Christmas day.

 

So again overall we had a great trip, the park is as beautiful as it ever was and I found the operations to be pretty good for the 2 days were were there. My only complaint is I wish they could find a way to have the cinnamon bread line move faster. If this park was like 3 hours closer I'd probably go twice a year, but we'll be back in 2023 for the new coaster.

[coasterbill]

I cleaned this thread up a bit. Chill out. It's not that serious...

[u4icmusic]

On 12/23/2021 at 10:09 AM, boldikus said:

Have you considered calling that number they listed right there to I dunno... ask them?

No, because I don't have all day to wait on hold for a clueless rep to answer and give me bad information.

 

This is what is shows on the Dollywood website for my Diamond Pass:

Diamond Season Pass

Receive access to all-new Golden Hours & Events, unlimited visits to both Dollywood theme park and Dollywood's Splash Country water park, FREE parking, and the largest discounts on food and merchandise.

 

It say UNLIMITED visits, which is what I paid for. There's nothing on it about how often you can go. Unlimited should be unlimited.

[coasterbill]

I think you're misreading it, though it is a weird message. The operative word is probably "or" and reaching the maximum number of reservations is just listed as one of the two reasons that the message could be appearing. It's probably not actually the reason and not actually a thing. The first reason listed "There are not any available dates at this time" is probably the reason.

Boldy is right though, all we can do is guess. The best option is to call them to be sure.

As for complaints about the reservation system existing at all when you have a season pass that promises unlimited visits, that's a separate issue and I'm not commenting on that.

[JJLehto]

Glad you had a great visit Hilltopper39! Kudos for going at this time of year. IDK how people do rides, big ones too, when its like 40s and 30s lol 

It really is a great experience. I wont lie in my mind I figured it was at least a bit overhyped but I was totally wrong, the park was as fantastic as everyone says. Already plotting next year's trip. Glad LRod was running well. Maybe the kinks got ironed out over the season? I know early on it was a little spotty and when I went it wasn't open with the park and they wouldnt guarantee it may, but did open around 3 PM. That was May though, still early on. And now that its been crossed off this list I can skip some rides and do more of others like Thunderhead and Wild Eagle. I really liked both but only got 1 ride each.

[u4icmusic]

Dollywood is claiming a new section called Hoot Owl Hollow will be new for 2022 for Great Pumpkin Luminights, but I remember seeing these owls the last two years, so not sure how "new" it will be.

I'd like to see a section that is a little more Halloweenie, or maybe a scare zone for the adults. Even a walk-through haunted house would be great. The harvest theme is TIRED.

[boldikus]

On 12/29/2021 at 12:01 AM, JJLehto said:

Kudos for going at this time of year. IDK how people do rides, big ones too, when its like 40s and 30s lol

You're in NJ, have you not once been to HITP?

Riding rides in the winter is just like any other winter outdoor activity (skiiing/sledding/snowboarding/barhopping/etc), you just bundle up to stay warm. And drink alcohol... also to "stay warm".