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Dollywood Discussion Thread

P. 796 - Ride closing 10/30 to remove launch and install chain lift!

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Hey guys, I don't hang around here too often anymore, but I am finding myself in need of some advice and pointers as I make my first trip to Dollywood next month. We're staying in Pigeon Forge Saturday Aug 16th through Tuesday the 19th. My two choices for days to go to the park are Sunday or Monday. I'm assuming Monday would be less crowded and the better option? Also, how busy is the park this time of year and what are the lines like? Should I look into getting a Q-Bot? Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated!

 

EDIT: Just read some of the previous posts and had some questions answered, anything would be great though!

 

Monday will definitely be a better day, and during the busy Summer season I would spring for a Q2Q without hesitation. Oh, and in case it hasn't been mentioned here in this thread, be sure to get the cinnamon loaf at the Grist Mill. I hear good things about it.

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How quick does the Q2Q sell out? Should I reserve it before hand or should there still be some available if I get there when the gates open? Also, is there anywhere to get discounted single day admission tickets?

 

this is the Dollywoods discounts/Special Offers page...

www.dollywood.com/Deals/Special-Offers.aspx

 

You can reserve a Q-bot in advance if you want, on their website.

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So I'll be hitting up Dollywood here in 18 days for FireChaser Express on our way to our family vacation in Charleston and I have a few questions. It'll just be an afternoon into evening run to the park with the intention of nabbing FireChaser Express and spending one of the last Great American Summer nights getting in night rides on Wild Eagle and Thunderhead. My family was planning to let me just take the trolley to the park (assuming they don't want to do the Titanic Museum which I recommend for them). We did this back in 2012 but from Pigeon Forge. This time we'll be doing it from Gatlinburg. We're staying at Gatlinburg Inn and from there I need to figure out how to take the trolley. Looking at the website, it says I need to take the pink line trolley, but I'm a bit lost.

 

My questions:

*Where is the Gatlinburg Mass Transit Center and what does it look like?

*How long does it take to get to the park on the trolley?

*How reliable are these?

*How early do I need to show up to the transit center to catch the trolley?

 

I used to take public transportation to and from school before I got my license so I have some idea of what I'm doing, but Dayton's bus system seems to have had a better schedule than the Gatlinburg trolleys.

 

While I'm asking questions, how would one go about saving on Dollywood tickets?

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*How long does it take to get to the park on the trolley?

*How reliable are these?

*How early do I need to show up to the transit center to catch the trolley?

 

I can't totally answer your questions, but I can tell you that we usually park at Patriots Park and catch the trolley from there. It starts running 30 minutes before Dollywood opens for the day, I think it either runs every 15 or 30 minutes. The trolleys are pretty reliable from my experience to and from Patriots Park and we have never had to wait too long at Dollywood to pick one up to take us back.

 

While I'm asking questions, how would one go about saving on Dollywood tickets?

 

Dollywood discounts are far and few between but you can find some on the side of local coke cans, the side of local McDonald's cups, or some AAA offices provide a discount.

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My questions:

*Where is the Gatlinburg Mass Transit Center and what does it look like?

*How long does it take to get to the park on the trolley?

*How reliable are these?

*How early do I need to show up to the transit center to catch the trolley?

 

The Gatlinburg Transit Center is located on the side of Ripley's Aquarium along the street. You'll notice the awnings, benches and such. All trolley lines in town converge here. The trolley system is very reliable as long as there isn't a huge amount of traffic, which obviously affects them too. During the later evening, I don't foresee there being many people taking the Pink Line, as its only busy during the early morning hours. If I recall correctly, the trolley runs only once an hour to Dollywood, so be prepared for that. I believe its on the :15 every hour, but you may want to check with the driver to confirm and plan around that, as I've see people sit and wait an hour for the Gatlinburg trolley because they didn't know when it ran, which wouldn't be fun.

 

Going to the park this next Monday. Should crowds be reasonable? I don't think we're going for the Q2Q thing.

 

Crowds should be light to moderate. I always caution people to go see how long lines are before purchasing a q-bot, as it may not be necessary. The Q2Q people will tell you if lines are long if you ask, but DW ride lines are nothing compared to most other parks with 15-30 minutes being the average.

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So I'll be hitting up Dollywood here in 18 days for FireChaser Express on our way to our family vacation in Charleston and I have a few questions. It'll just be an afternoon into evening run to the park with the intention of nabbing FireChaser Express and spending one of the last Great American Summer nights getting in night rides on Wild Eagle and Thunderhead. My family was planning to let me just take the trolley to the park (assuming they don't want to do the Titanic Museum which I recommend for them). We did this back in 2012 but from Pigeon Forge. This time we'll be doing it from Gatlinburg. We're staying at Gatlinburg Inn and from there I need to figure out how to take the trolley. Looking at the website, it says I need to take the pink line trolley, but I'm a bit lost.

 

My questions:

*Where is the Gatlinburg Mass Transit Center and what does it look like?

*How long does it take to get to the park on the trolley?

*How reliable are these?

*How early do I need to show up to the transit center to catch the trolley?

 

I used to take public transportation to and from school before I got my license so I have some idea of what I'm doing, but Dayton's bus system seems to have had a better schedule than the Gatlinburg trolleys.

 

While I'm asking questions, how would one go about saving on Dollywood tickets?

 

 

 

About the trolley....

A trolley leaves the Gatlinburg Welcome Center for Patriots Park in Pigeon Forge about every 20 minutes. Trolleys from Patriots Park to Dollywood run nearly constantly from my experience. I think they advertise that they run every 20 minutes, but I've never waited more than 10. From Patriots Park to DW is a very short hop via Teaster Lane, Veterans Blvd. and the old Dollywood Lane entrance to the park.

This option may cost you another 75 cents, but might be better than sitting and waiting an hour to ride straight from Gatlinburg to DW.

Also, a few hotels offer shuttles to and from DW. (Didn't know about this until last year.) The one we stayed at (it had Creek in the name is about all I remember) took us when we were ready to go, and picked us up within 30 minutes of calling for a ride back.

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Alright, thanks guys! We've decided to just drop me at the park since it sounds like a bit of a hassle but thanks!

 

I'll be going on Saturday the 2nd from 3-close. Will I need a Q-bot and can I get FireChaser Express reserved through that Q-bot? All I REALLY want to do is nab that FireChaser credit and get night rides on Wild Eagle and Thunderhead, maybe Tennessee Tornado and FireChaser. And can you reserve them through the website? If not, will I still be able to get one at 3?

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Alright, thanks guys! We've decided to just drop me at the park since it sounds like a bit of a hassle but thanks!

 

I'll be going on Saturday the 2nd from 3-close. Will I need a Q-bot and can I get FireChaser Express reserved through that Q-bot? All I REALLY want to do is nab that FireChaser credit and get night rides on Wild Eagle and Thunderhead, maybe Tennessee Tornado and FireChaser. And can you reserve them through the website? If not, will I still be able to get one at 3?

You are going to want to buy the Q-bot online ahead of time, because every time I have been on a weekend they are gone by 12 o'clock.

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Alright, thanks guys! We've decided to just drop me at the park since it sounds like a bit of a hassle but thanks!

 

I'll be going on Saturday the 2nd from 3-close. Will I need a Q-bot and can I get FireChaser Express reserved through that Q-bot? All I REALLY want to do is nab that FireChaser credit and get night rides on Wild Eagle and Thunderhead, maybe Tennessee Tornado and FireChaser. And can you reserve them through the website? If not, will I still be able to get one at 3?

You are going to want to buy the Q-bot online ahead of time, because every time I have been on a weekend they are gone by 12 o'clock.

Think I'll do that! Thanks!

 

My only concern is whether or not I'll need it.

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My only concern is whether or not I'll need it.

I have never actually used the Q-bot since we go over ten times a year but most rides lines will be 45 minutes plus. And if you get it you will also get to do barnstormer, daredevil falls etc.

Think I'm going to go for it! Just need the parents to confirm by booking the hotel and we're cool! And if anybody wants to meet me there, hit me up! It'll be from 3 to close.

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FireChaser Express is on the Q-bot. From what you are saying, your main priority is getting your FireChaser credit and then taking advantage of the extra hours. If $23 dollars is worth knowing you will not have to wait in a likely hour+ line, then definitely buy it. The lines will likely thin out as the night goes on, but you will be able to use your Q-bot to manage the lines before then.

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Trip report from last Saturday through Monday.

My review of the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, including Dollywood

 

My wife and I got into the area on Saturday early afternoon. We went straight to white water rafting. It was a fun short hour and a half trip through mostly class 3's and a few class 4 rapids. This was my first time white water rafting and it was a blast! I was hoping it would be more of a workout, but it was really tourist friendly.

 

We got to our cabin after that, which was located about ten minutes out of Pigeon Forge. WOW! We're usually resort snobs (Hyatt, Westin, etc), but this place was amazing. Our cabin was really clean and secluded. Our cabin had a hot tub on the deck, a pool table, kitchen, and everything you could need. The only thing we didn't like is that there wasn't a gym nearby and no good places to go running. We need our daily endorphin release...

 

Gatlinburg: We spent our first night moon shine tasting and we had dinner at the Smokey Mountain Brewery. This was a great time. Our perspective was a little blinded by the moonshine on the first night. When we went back the next day, we realized how crowded the strip was with tourist traps, foreigner run souvenir shops, and chain restaurants. That coupled with the most amount of smokers we've seen in one place in a long time and people who don't know how to walk without obstructing traffic, we stayed away as much as possible. After that, most of our time in Gatlinburg was spent in the National Park area, aside from another return trip for Moonshine and the brewery.

 

Pigeon Forge: Just no, unless you love tourist traps and overrated restaurants. No offense to anyone, but it almost reminded us of a redneck Vegas strip or just a very large carnival. Similar to driving the strip on Gatlinburg, you couldn't get out of there without breathing in a ton of exhaust fumes. We were given the advice to stay away from the Pigeon Forge strip and we tried to keep to that, which turned out well.

 

Dollywood: I have mixed opinions on this park. We went on Monday and I was expecting staff friendliness comparable to Holiday Word. Instead, we got cold rude staff, with the exception of only a few. Southern Hospitality?? The park was nice, but it was no Silver Dollar City. We couldn't put our finger on it, but for some reason we just didn't care for the park that much. I hit all of my credits and I could tell my not-so-roller-coaster-enthusiast wife was having a miserable time. We left at about 130 and went and ate lunch in the National Park by the river. We waded around in the creek for a while, soaked up some sun, and relaxed. After that, we went back for some more moonshine tasting... another made another carb loading trip to the Brewery for some good beer and pizza... At 7 o'clock it was time to give the park another try! We may or may not have shared some Moonshine in the parking lot, since the park doesn't sell alcohol. The park at night was much better. I really liked the lighting package on Wild Eagle and my wife was tipsy enough to actually want to do water rides... Overall, we ended up having a decent time, despite our rocky start. We topped it off with a firework ride on the front row of Wild Eagle. We agreed the park was 'OK' in our eyes and we would probably come back if we were already staying in the area. Keep in mind I'm not really big into the Western themed parks and we usually have the best times at Cedar Fair parks. Another thing I'll have to comment on is the fact that the park was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be, but it was still decent.

 

My thoughts on the roller coasters:

 

My rating system:

One star: good for the credit, not for the re ride.

Two Stars: fun rides, mostly good for a ride or two

Three stars: My re rides, marathoners, what I usually like to spend my time on repeatedly:

 

Blazing Fury ( * ): This was a fun credit. I like old rides like this. We only rode this once.

 

Fire Chaser ( ** ): The coaster was fun and more intense than I thought it would be. My wife didn't know about the backwards launch, so it was fun watching her being caught by surprise. It still rates as a family coaster for me and that's where I'll leave it. We rode it first and only once.

 

Mystery Mine ( ** ): It was a little painful, but it was fun. I liked the scenery and it packed more punch that I would have thought. One ride. We would have probably ridden it again, but it wasn't worth waiting 20-30 minutes.

 

Tennessee Tornado ( ** ): Definitely Arrow's best work, but it didn't do much for me. My wife went into it hating it.. so she left hating it, which is why I only got one ride.

 

Thunderhead ( *** ): I really enjoyed this ride. It was rougher than most GCI's, probably due to age, but smooth enough for rerides. Although it probably is the best GCI I've ever ridden, it didn't stand out as the best GCI I've ever ridden like I thought it would. If all else fails, it's a great looking coaster.

 

Wild Eagle ( ***): This was our favorite and our second wing rider. I was really surprised by the punch it packed, since I was expecting a slower smoother ride, but still fun, like X-Flight. We finished our day at the park with our fifth and final ride during the fireworks in the front row.

 

Honorable Mention: Sidewinder was a great ride. I've never been on anything like it and we really enjoyed it. The flume was OK and we rode our first ever, and probably last ever, splash battle (thanks moonshine...). It was fun, but I'll wait until we have kids to ride anymore...

 

Here are a few pictures we took of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Dollywood:

 

Getting ready to wake up from our 8 hour drive with white water rafting

 

Our Cabin

 

 

Moonshine tasting

 

Dangerous stuff

 

After... moonshine tasting...

 

Enjoying Gatlinburg

 

More downtown Gatlinburg at Smokey Mt. Brewery

 

Kade's Cove in the national park

 

Trying to enjoy some nature

 

 

The building looked really neat

 

Not really feeling it at this point

 

Love them or hate them, I love it when you have a B&M towering over you throughout the park

 

Wild Eagle

 

meh Chaser Express

 

 

The backward launch was more fun than I thought it would be.

 

Ready to leave for a while..

 

Thunderhead looks really good.

 

A little break from the park we weren't digging at that time.

 

Having much more fun. Moonshine makes everything better.

 

Having fun

 

Wild Eagle looked really nice at night.

 

My wife was getting really annoyed with me nerding out with the camera.

 

Super cool

 

The verdict: Not bad! (but a far cry from our favorite park)

 

Bye Dollywood! I'm sure we'll see you the next time we get the urge for white water rafting and moonshine tasting!

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We went on Monday and I was expecting staff friendliness comparable to Holiday Word. Instead, we got cold rude staff, with the exception of only a few. Southern Hospitality??

 

You must of had some random bad luck here because normally Dollywood has one of the friendliest staff of any park in the country.

 

And good choice on Smoky Mountain Brewery, love their beer selection!

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The staff really surprised me. I really tried to be friendly expecting the same in return, but I got nothing! We did have a few good encounters, but I think we just got unlucky with the bad apples.

 

Our favorite encounter with a good staff member was with a middle aged woman loading the eagle. She jokingly said "Yall have been having some fun... I can smell it!" I told her we'd been moonshine sampling and she said "Of course you have, this is Tennessee! And I'm jealous, too!"

 

We laughed about that one for a while. We didn't know how she was going to respond after her first accusation, since the park doesn't serve alcohol, lol.

 

Another thing I forgot to mention which seemed odd to me is how all of the coasters were on one side of the park.

 

 

We went on Monday and I was expecting staff friendliness comparable to Holiday Word. Instead, we got cold rude staff, with the exception of only a few. Southern Hospitality??

 

You must of had some random bad luck here because normally Dollywood has one of the friendliest staff of any park in the country.

 

And good choice on Smoky Mountain Brewery, love their beer selection!

 

The had one of the best IPA's I've ever had. The brewery was great. The pizza was excellent. Yelp steered us in the right direction again!

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My problem with Dollywood staff is that they do sometimes come off as unfriendly. I have noticed this for a while BUT I believe I have this feeling, not really because they are unfriendly, but because they are an older staff that's not nearly as upbeat and positive as staffs like sfog. Sfog I used to hate but now they are one of my favorites. Their staff might not be as friendly but IMO they come off friendlier BC they are very very excited and upbeat.

 

Dollywood staff isn't rude by any means, except I have ran into an old grouch a few times but normally they are fine. Just not nearly as upbeat and fun as younger staffs.

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Wow! All this talk of rude, unpleasant Dollywood employees. Has the world ended and I wasn't raptured? This is unheard of. In the 7 years that I have had a season pass, I have never run across any employee that has been anything less than sweet and personable. Now granted, it wouldn't shock me if most of the employees are just thankful and happy that they've woken up in the first place. I mean seriously, if you had 9 toes in the grave, you'd have a more joyous outlook on every day you're alive. Cause you know, it's better than the alternative.

 

Is it just me, or did this post get rather grim?

 

Anyhoo!

 

What I was trying to say is that I have never had a bad experience, or felt that anyone had been anything less than welcoming and nice. Me n' tha fam love Dollywood. And we will continue to get our season passes as long as they'll have us.

 

Guy "Thank you for riding Firechaser Express. Ya'll go out there and have a ding dang digitty dog day here at Dollywood. And remember, be sure to try the cinnamon loaf over yonder at the Grist Mill. It is deeeee-licious! And each loaf is sealed with a kiss from the Baby Jesus himself. Ya'll come back and see us real soon." Koepp

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