Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Canobie Coaster]

Hello everyone! Will be taking a trip to the Smokies this weekend and stopping by Dollywood on Saturday. The weather does not look to be all that great but I’m going regardless. What is Dollywood’s rain policy? Will the coasters (Lightning Rod specifically - it will be my 1st RMC) run in the rain?

 

Apologies if this was asked before. Much thanks!

 

I was there in a cold, rainy day in 2017 during Smoky Mountain Christmas. Dollywood kept everything running until the temperatures dropped into the mid-30s. Since the park has a ton of shows and non-coasters, they're far less likely to close than other parks.

[JJLehto]

So I see the park has weekday hours in Oct, and full day!!

I wanna commit to going to this park, and Im thinking this may be a great time. I mean a weekday in October?! Weather may be pretty nice too.

Anyone familiar with the park at this time of year? What are crowds like? I am thinking earlier in Oct to avoid possible halloween crowds?

 

Otherwise I will likely have to go on a Sunday in early June. I see the park has a fast pass type thing but does it allow only one skip on Lightning Rod? If so, I get it but I do wanna maximize my rides on LR.

[tndank]

If you buy the unlimited pass you can ride LR all day long. If it's running 2 trains, your longest wait will be a couple cycles.

 

Wild Eagle might be a 5-10 wait. It enters the station a bit earlier than others. The others will be walk ons or < 5 min for the most part with a pass.

 

Park may be packed but a higher percentage are there for shows and just to be outside versus other parks.

 

If you haven't been on Thunderhead and like classic woodies, I bet you'll find yourself shuffling between it and LR.

 

During the week in early Oct you might not even need the fast pass. But it's there if you really want to marathon it.

Edited April 18, 2019 by tndank

[JJLehto]

If you buy the unlimited pass you can ride LR all day long. If it's running 2 trains, you're longest wait will be a couple cycles.

 

Wild Eagle might be a 5-10 wait. It enters the station a bit earlier than others. The others will be walk ons or < 5 min for the most part with a pass.

 

Park may be packed but a higher percentage are there for shows and just to be outside versus other parks.

 

Interesting. It would be nice to squeeze it in June on Sunday and not make a new trip to it. Thanks, I guess I missed that unlimited option on the site.

[tndank]

They have a coaster event in July if you really want to do something different. Thrills in the Hills. Think I might try it this year.

[Canobie Coaster]

^^ Lightning Rod is particularly awesome at night. If your June visit is towards the end of the month, you should be able to get at least one ride in after sunset.

 

The unlimited option isn't written very clearly on their site, but Lightning Rod and Drop Line (not that you need it for this one) can be ridden as many times as you want with the Unlimited Timesaver. I would buy it in advance since Dollywood does sell out of these. You can actually keep track of how many are left if you try to put it in your cart and pick a specific day.

[JJLehto]

If you buy the unlimited pass you can ride LR all day long. If it's running 2 trains, your longest wait will be a couple cycles.

 

Wild Eagle might be a 5-10 wait. It enters the station a bit earlier than others. The others will be walk ons or < 5 min for the most part with a pass.

 

Park may be packed but a higher percentage are there for shows and just to be outside versus other parks.

 

If you haven't been on Thunderhead and like classic woodies, I bet you'll find yourself shuffling between it and LR.

 

During the week in early Oct you might not even need the fast pass. But it's there if you really want to marathon it.

 

Thanks! Good to know. And nah never been to the park. Excited to go, esp for Thunderhead.

Sweet thanks for all the input yall. This is why I love TPR.

I had no idea there was the ERT event...interesting.

[bgtgwazi]

^^ Lightning Rod is particularly awesome at night. If your June visit is towards the end of the month, you should be able to get at least one ride in after sunset.

 

The unlimited option isn't written very clearly on their site, but Lightning Rod and Drop Line (not that you need it for this one) can be ridden as many times as you want with the Unlimited Timesaver. I would buy it in advance since Dollywood does sell out of these. You can actually keep track of how many are left if you try to put it in your cart and pick a specific day.

 

Has this definitely been confirmed for this season? I know it was the case in 2017 (unlimited included LR) when I went but the language on the website has gone through a couple changes this season, making it less clear.

[tndank]

Normal one is a lanyard with 10 hole punches (2 of which are orange and can be used for LR or Drop Line).

 

The Unlimited is a lanyard with a date written on it. No punch holes. Unlimited. Been plenty of times this year and seen them in action.

[bgtgwazi]

Normal one is a lanyard with 10 hole punches (2 of which are orange and can be used for LR or Drop Line).

 

The Unlimited is a lanyard with a date written on it. No punch holes. Unlimited. Been plenty of times this year and seen them in action.

 

Awesome, great to know. This was affecting planning of a possible summer weekend trip. Thanks!

[robbalvey]

We are looking for someone who can attend the media day for Wildwood Grove on May 10th! If you are able to go, can shoot photos & video and post a trip report to the TPR Forum please email me: robbalvey@themeparkreview.com ASAP!

 

Thank you!

[A.J.]

Oh how I wish I had the extra vacation days to take off, because I would totally take you up on that if I did.

[operative_me]

I finally got to visit Dollywood on Monday. Had a fun time, I'll try to post more about it later. I know this isn't Dollywood specific but I did try to visit the coaster at Goats on the Roof. The store was open but the coaster was closed. The lady working the store said it took some storm/flood damage a while back, and it would be closed for at least another month. Her exact words were "they have a lot to put back together". Ouch, that sounds unfortunate. Hope they are able to get it back together.

 

I did ride Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster twice. That was a hell of a lot of fun, my first alpine coaster experience and I rode it at night. Kind of creepy flying through the woods with no one around!

[TEDodd]

I did try to visit the coaster at Goats on the Roof. The store was open but the coaster was closed. The lady working the store said it took some storm/flood damage a while back, and it would be closed for at least another month.

 

They posted was Feb 24, It's been down a while.

[lhgolfr]

I did try to visit the coaster at Goats on the Roof. The store was open but the coaster was closed. The lady working the store said it took some storm/flood damage a while back, and it would be closed for at least another month.

 

They posted was Feb 24, It's been down a while.

 

We went by back in March during spring break. My kids love Goats on the Roof. Went up stairs and looked out the window and they were shoring up the hill side. It appeared during all of the rain in February, the hill side had slide away. This was the section just as you come out of the station. So we went back to Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster and they loved it too.

[neilnky]

Just about two weeks until Wildwood Grove opens. Any local folks thinking its looking on schedule? I haven't seen any videos or pictures of the tree going up yet. Hoping too soon. Was curious if folks were seeing lots of planting to give it the "Grove" feel. I know they are spending at least a million on landscaping.

[Bobby2889]

The Wildwood Grove page on Dollywood’s website has a construction cam. It records a small time lapse and refreshes sometime around noon each day. The tree is getting its branches and greenery.

[neilnky]

Thanks so much! I haven't checked it in awhile I wasn't sure if it was really working lol. I see the tree is coming along. I just found a new video showing how the tunnels going into Wildwood Grove are now looking like trees. I thought that would happen soon. I knew those concrete tunnels didn't look like a fallen log but now they are getting there!

[tndank]

Here's 2 pics I took this afternoon. Spent a couple hours there doing all the coasters a few times and getting my steps in for the day. Place was empty and everything was a walk on. Nice couple hours before heading home. There were a few cranes working on the tree today. Still saw branches laying out back in the gravel lot behind it. They are going to be working their butts off to finish.

[neilnky]

Thanks for the pics! Very nice! Loving the fallen log entrance! I can sort of tell their designer guy used to work for Disney

[jjconner1976]

Heading to Pigeon Forge the first week of June. One or two days for Dollywood? Can you buy one day and add second at discount rate? Will be traveling with wife and two boys ages 8 & 11 and we want to see and do it all!!

[Taylor Finn]

Yeah, if your'e going during the week and are very ambitious, in one day, you can do the coasters, the train, a flat or two, a bit of shopping, and see a show or two.

 

If you want to DO IT ALL and see most all the shows, shop hard, ride the coasters multiple times and just bask in Dollywood, two days is better. Tough to say what is perfect for your family. You can just as easily spend one day at Dollywood and spend another exploring the Mountains (Cades Coves, Clingmans Dome, Alum Cave Trail and Roaring Fork Motor Trail are the best four things in the mountains IMO), exploring Gatlinburg (Sugarlands Distillery, quirky shops, Crockett's Breakfast Camp, and Hillbilly Golf), and exploring Pigeon Forge (The Island, Old Mill and Pottery House restaurants, outlet shopping, go karts, etc). These are all fun things that I still love doing visit after visit.

 

Ticket wise, it is $74 for one day and $94 for two days for adults and a bit cheaper for 9 and under. You can always do a two day ticket and take it much easier and enter later or leave earlier.

 

TL:DR: The park is definitely tough to do in one day (especially with Wildwood Grove being a thing), but you can accomplish a lot there depending on whether you go during the week or on the weekend, what kind of park guests you are, and what your interests are.

[Canobie Coaster]

If you plan to only do the rides, Dollywood can be done in a day. If you want to enjoy the shows and/or Craftsman valley demonstrations, you'll need at least part of a second day.

[operative_me]

Well after spending a few days at Carowinds, climbing up a few mountain peaks, and enjoying the small town of Hot Springs, I headed towards SMNP and my first chance to visit Dollywood. We spent Thursday night in Cherokee, NC, hitting up the casino and planned on a leisurely drive on Friday through the Smoky Mountains up to the Pigeon Forge area where our cabin was. Not so fast my friend. Friday the area got about 3.5" of rain, and US-441 (the only road through the park) was closed due to flooding and high winds, so we had to detour east around the whole park. Once on I-40, we were greeted with a 20 mile traffic jam since a recent landslide reduced the freeway into 1 lane each way. So what was supposed to be a 1 hour drive turned into 4 hours, effectively killing a good part of the day. We got to our cabin and pretty much called it a day. We left in the evening to go ride the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster in the drizzle after dark. That was a lot of fun, and a re-ride is $8, which I took advantage of.

 

Saturday we did Gatlinburg, it was a good time albeit a bit touristy. The aquarium is quite nice. Sunday was Easter, a lot of things were closed, but the road into the National Park was open so we went to Clingman's Dome where we found a good quantity of snow. Seriously I drive all the way from Cleveland to drive up into the mountains so I can find snow. I'm an idiot.

 

Monday was finally on to Dollywood. I had originally thought of doing 2 days, but with the extended detour and the fact that my girlfriend is not as gung-ho about rollercoasters as I am, we decided that 1 day would be enough and I was fine with that.

First thing to say: TIME SAVER! Do it. $50 dollars for the unlimited Time Saver? Are you freaking kidding me? Fast Lane plus at CP is 2-3 times that. Holy cow it's a no brainer. Secondly, I love the themeing of this place. Seeing as how I am usually at Cedar Point, where their idea of themeing is "Hey we fixed the effects in the Maverick launch tunnel after years of neglect!", it was nice to experience. The setting in the hills is fun and a lot of the rides interact with the terrain really well, which I'll rave about plenty as this goes on.

 

The park was plenty busy, but with Time Saver it really didn't matter to me. I don't really care about the shows, but they certainly seem to have a lot of them. Of course when I arrived at park opening I looked to see if Lightning Rod was open. It was not. It wouldn't make or break the trip, I mean I had a great time, got a year older, climbed some mountains, visited 2 new parks, spent some quality time with my girlfriend, so one coaster being closed isn't going to rui- OMG PLEASE LET THIS THING OPEN DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!

 

Fortunately around noon they started cycling trains on LR so I jumped in line, and shortly thereafter it opened for business. I got about 12 rides on it in all, so I'd say that's a pretty good day.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the park, although I'm glad I only did 1 day. Apparently I'm not as mature as I thought and my coaster nerdom is still strong, I was able to knock out the rides I wanted pretty easily and was satisfied with that. (TIME SAVER! Remember these words!).

 

Dollywood Express- A 2-8-2 Mikado? Holy crap! Maybe the coolest train ride I've taken in a park to this point. It runs on a schedule every hour (I assume on days they run 2 trains it's every 30 minutes) so it's not like other parks where you just get in line and wait for the next train. Check the schedule and get there 15 minutes before it departs. A very fun and scenic ride, and gave a good view of Wildwood Grove. They still have a lot of work to get done as far as they finishing touches, but it looks like it will be an awesome addition to the park.

 

Blazing Fury - After collecting my Time Saver, this was the first coaster I came across. It's a cool ride, focusing on thematics as opposed to a crazy intense ride. Good for families and younger riders, I can think of a certain park up North that could use something like this.

 

Tennessee Tornado - You been on 1 Arrow looper, you've been on them all right? Nope. Easily the best Arrow Looper I've been on. Normally before riding these I need to make an appointment with my chiropractor, not the case here. Uses the terrain to it's advantage. This is a good coaster. Not good for an Arrow, a good coaster in general. It seems like Ron Toomer oh wow Alan Schilke got the bending system right this time.

 

Firechaser Express - Another fun family ride. Don't let the "family" part fool you. Although young kids can ride it, this ride is very cool even as an adult. Once again takes full advantage of the terrain to really make the ride pop.

 

Wild Eagle - I've only been on 1 wing coaster (Gatekeeper), so that's all I have to compare to. I like this ride a lot. Once again, takes advantage of the terrain in a fun way, going up and down hills and whistling through the trees. It seems the forces are stronger than Gatekeeper and it doesn't lose it's speed halfway through. I got several re-rides on this and enjoyed the front and back seats the same. Only thing I think is better on GK is the first drop and the keyhole.

 

Thunderhead - I'll admit I didn't know much about this ride going in, so it was a pleasant surprise. A good woodie, it seems like they have been doing some retracking on the 2nd hill/turnaround. I thought it was pretty smooth for a wooden coaster (remember for years I had to ride Mean Streak so take that with a grain of salt) and had a lot of the good elements of a GCI. I got several re-rides on this as well.

 

Mystery Mine - Another coaster I didn't know much about going in, so the actual ride was a total surprise. I actually didn't know it had 2 vertical lifts. A good blend of drops and inversions and themeing and effects. A little jerky in some parts but overall pretty good.

 

Lightning Rod - Yes, yes, and more yes. I've seen plenty of POVs so I don't know why the launch surprised me, but it did. It really whips you up the mountain. Once again, they took full advantage of the terrain, and it makes for a really unique experience. So much has been written about it that I don't think I need to go into great detail, but wow. Steel Vengeance is the only other RMC I've been on, so while I don't think LR as intense with the forces, I think that is a good thing. I could ride this thing for days. It's one of those rides you wish didn't end.

 

One small note about Lightning Rod, and Dollywood in general, is that the staff is so freaking nice it hurts. Maybe too nice. I've never seen so many, um, larger folks not being able to ride. And I thought Wicked Twister was bad. I don't want to shame anyone, and don't wish the walk of shame on anybody, but some of these folks were so large they would have trouble fitting in a taxi. It wasn't even close. I don't know how you can nicely encourage folks to try to test seat but damn.

 

I also want to thank everyone on this forum who posted good advice about visiting this park. Once again, by reading this forum I was able to get some valuable insight before visiting, which helped immensely. (TIME SAVER)

 

A couple of lousy pics and I'm done.

Easter Sunday. 70 degrees. And yes the cabin I stayed in was called "Moose on the Loose"

1 hour later at Clingman's Dome. 35 degrees. This is what you could see on a clear day.

This is what I actually saw.

Well worth the price of admission.

[TEDodd]

operative_me,

 

You need to go back for LR at night.