Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Djwadeknox]

I'm amazed at how far folks will travel to come to Dollywood. I have lived within 45 minutes of the park for over 38 years and I was wondering what is the longest distance anyone's has traveled to Dollywood?

 

I am taking the family there for 5 days in June and we live in Las Vegas. But there's probably some TPR members that have traveled from Europe or Asia to visit Dollywood.

 

Awesome been to Vegas twice. I have family out there. Red Rock Cannons is so awesome. Enjoy the mountains of East

Tennessee.

[VegasBaby]

Awesome been to Vegas twice. I have family out there. Red Rock Cannons is so awesome. Enjoy the mountains of East

Tennessee.

 

Will do, we plan on doing a bunch of activities in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area in addition to Dollywood. If there are any must see attractions for a first timer, feel free to share them!

[Devins3]

I'm amazed at how far folks will travel to come to Dollywood. I have lived within 45 minutes of the park for over 38 years and I was wondering what is the longest distance anyone's has traveled to Dollywood?

I live in upstate New York and drive 14 hours twice a year to go to Dollywood. Leaving to come down Thursday morning, can't wait!

[dstephe9]

Awesome been to Vegas twice. I have family out there. Red Rock Cannons is so awesome. Enjoy the mountains of East

Tennessee.

 

Will do, we plan on doing a bunch of activities in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area in addition to Dollywood. If there are any must see attractions for a first timer, feel free to share them!

The mountains! You must plan a day to visit the mountains and hike or something.. even if it's just the short hike up Laurel Falls (very popular hike with tourist, so popular it's paved)

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Djwadeknox]

I'm amazed at how far folks will travel to come to Dollywood. I have lived within 45 minutes of the park for over 38 years and I was wondering what is the longest distance anyone's has traveled to Dollywood?

I live in upstate New York and drive 14 hours twice a year to go to Dollywood. Leaving to come down Thursday morning, can't wait!

 

 

Cades Cove is a must in the GSMNP.

 

The Chimneys and is also awesome place in the park to see the MTN's.

[STDog]

In line for LR now. Was 20min, now shows 45.

 

People in front of me are from Chicago, 12hrs sway.

 

[STDog]

Cades Cove is a must in the GSMNP.

 

The Chimneys and is also awesome place in the park to see the MTN's.

 

Of course Chimney trail is closed due to the fires.

[coasterbill]

^^You should stand up straight in line instead of crowd surfing and laying sideways or people might start to give you funny looks.

[STDog]

The mountains! You must plan a day to visit the mountains and hike or something.. even if it's just the short hike up Laurel Falls (very popular hike with tourist, so popular it's paved)

 

Much better waterfalls that are only a few miles in.

 

Laurel Falls is too crowded most days.

[STDog]

^^You should stand up straight in line instead of crowd surfing and laying sideways or people might start to give you funny looks.

Not sure why the photo was rotated. I took it in portrait mode [screwy]

[STDog]

Try again...

Nope, TT is getting the rotation wrong.

 

 

2 trains running.

Edited March 29, 2017 by STDog

[coasterbill]

You clearly need a new phone.

[dstephe9]

I'm amazed at how far folks will travel to come to Dollywood. I have lived within 45 minutes of the park for over 38 years and I was wondering what is the longest distance anyone's has traveled to Dollywood?

I live in upstate New York and drive 14 hours twice a year to go to Dollywood. Leaving to come down Thursday morning, can't wait!

 

 

Cades Cove is a must in the GSMNP.

 

The Chimneys and is also awesome place in the park to see the MTN's.

 

Cades Cove is a must in the GSMNP.

 

The Chimneys and is also awesome place in the park to see the MTN's.

 

Of course Chimney trail is closed due to the fires.

Exactly, I was about to say the same.. Chimney is nice but closed. The Newfound Gap trail to Charlie's Bunion is a very similar hike though with a large rock at the top you can climb for views

 

Clingmans Dome is also a nice hike and short (although steep) but has plenty of benches to rest on.. the road was closed last week when I was there but I assume it was due to the late season snow as it should be open by this time of the year

 

If you aren't into hiking or are into hiking but not familiar with the area, NOC, in Gatlinburg will find you some nice hikes that aren't as crowded as places like Laurel Falls, Clingmans Dome, and even Newfound Gap. They will also make sure the hike is right for your skill level.. I also like he REI trails app (called the REI National Parks Guide I believe) and it can find you some great hikes that aren't as crowded.. remember, the AT even comes through this area..

 

Like STdog says, Laurel Falls is very crowded because it is a very touristy hike but it's also a good hike for folks who really aren't into hiking.. it's almost impossible to get lost and the trail, at least up to the falls is paved.. I see wheelchairs going up it everytime I hike it.. I love hiking past the falls though to the fire towers. No one really goes past the falls unless they are a hiker. But there are a lot of waterfall hikes in the area that are better.. Amazon actually has a book of them I recommend.. (I forgot the name right now but I'll find it at home)

 

Just know, driving through the mountains is very pretty but in my opinion, you really can't enjoy the true beauty of the park until you get off the beaten path and actually explore it.. in Cade's Cove, get out of the car and hike to Abrams Falls (or any of the other trails in the cove) and you will have a much better appreciation of the cove! I promise!

 

Again, a good resource for those who aren't from around the area is NOC, in Gatlinburg.. yeah, it's a huge retail store but the will also help you find hikes and other outdoor activities and they will not pressure you at all to buy stuff.. I go there all the time for gear and clothing and they have never pressured me once. They have a desk just for trip planning.

 

Another good store for advice is the "Day Hiker" in Gatlinburg.. it's a smaller store, a little less known but they love the outdoors.. The visitor center at Sugarlands is nice but the advice I get there is mixed.. sometimes good but a lot of times it's advice for the tourist and they pretty much only recommend the popular touristy hikes. I pretty much just stop there now to buy National Park Gear

 

As you can tell, I love hiking and had over 200 miles in hikes last year lol

 

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Edited March 29, 2017 by dstephe9

[STDog]

[emoji38] You clearly need a new phone.

Need a better app. But TT shut down the last guy that tried.

[STDog]

2 trains running.

 

Just timed 3 minutes from train 1 topping the hill to the next. So not horribly slow.

[LukeFlynn]

I don't think it's had a full day of downtime yet (it was up earlier today), so at least it has that going for it.

[ernierocker]

Please, do not post photos that violate park rules to the forum. Unless Dollywood has changed their policy this year, no photos are allowed while riding Lightning Rod. It is always best to check park policies before posting photos while on a ride to the forum.

 

Thanks!

Edited March 30, 2017 by ernierocker

[boldikus]

Speaking of photos...

 

Knowing of Dolly's aversion to the rides @ her park, I saw this on FB and immediately imagined how during this photo shoot Dolly is saying through her teeth "Yall ain't never gonna catch me on this death machine!"

 

[LukeFlynn]

Speaking of photos...

 

[attachment=0]Dolly.jpg[/attachment]

Knowing of Dolly's aversion to the rides @ her park, I saw this on FB and immediately imagined how during this photo shoot Dolly is saying through her teeth "Yall ain't never gonna catch me on this death machine!"

 

 

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ ^ I just want to see Dolly ride Lightning Rod!! . . . Just once!!

[Nrthwnd]

^ ^ I just want to see Dolly ride Lightning Rod!! . . . Just once!!

 

#Itllneverhappen

[STDog]

Please, do not post photos that violate park rules to the forum. Unless Dollywood has changed their policy this year, no photos are allowed while riding Lightning Rod. It is always best to check park policies before posting photos while on a ride to the forum.

 

Thanks!

Dunno. Didn't see anything about that. It was after the brake run, rolling into the station. Phone was in a zippered pocket, per ride rules during the ride (unlike the lost phone that flew past several of us during the ride).

 

 

And editing the post to remove the photo would have been enough vs removing the whole post.

Edited March 30, 2017 by STDog

[TB305]

Hey guys, quick question:

 

How large are crowds around spring break time, say, two weeks from now on a week day? Average wait time?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[STDog]

So they were testing Drop Line some.

 

 

 

One of the guys working in it confirmed the seats rotate on the way up.

 

[Dollywoodlover20]

Nothing is safe on LR. I've been on and had change Flu by my head, had to duck from a phone during the quad down and then caught a mans hat in the wave turn. Something always flys haha