Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

I usually don't eat it hah. I eat the giant pizza when I am there.

 

But the giant pizza was great. My girlfriend and I usually split a slice BC its so big. The pizza fries and large drink (all to share) is one of the least expensive meals for two at the park. $12.00 with gold card hahaha.

 

I did grab a giant cheese danish on my way out though. Buy one get one free right before closing.

[brenthodge]

Was nervous about yesterday reading posts from Weds about crowds, but not too bad. Firechaser went to about 11 and minimal (30-45) min wait. Rode 2 time at 6:30 with no wait. Great ride - better appreciation the 2 and 3 times. My 5 year old LOVED it and proved that DW really knows whet they are doing with their strategy of creating "family experience" rides. Overall park looked good.

Country fair still looks a bit rough, but it looks like maybe they are still doing the painting in "color shifts" like sign pylons had fresh glossy red, but the white was filthy and the stars looked bad -like they are doing ALL red, then blue, then white etc tp schedule the work out? No awnings up in the poles and some of the canvas posters missing so I think it is still a work in process before high season.

 

New entrance looks good with the new marque and landscaping, but it looks like they added a new marque to the theathre but did no other restoration - still lots of rot and missing wood in areas - odd that they did work to this area but didn't schedule a full refurb. I know its the main entrance and you don't want it under construction when the season begins, but its the main entrance and.... I think DW could take a page out of the disney book and have some photo scrims created for some of their buildings so they could perform routine maintenance during open times an minimize the visual interruptions.

 

I though Jukebook was getting love to the buildings - these are looking a bit rough as well - just dirty and all the metal needs a good cleaning and some paint touch up.

 

I know this was a bad winter so painting was probably difficult and maybe they have it scheduled for the next few weeks leading up to high season, but this is such a simple fix that makes to park look SO much better and saves the buildings in the long run (rot and wear etc)

 

DW has the luxury of a lot of buildings that really don't need "clean up" because the aging adds to the theme (like craftsman valley) thats there's really no excuse for the ones that do need it really looking PERFECT at all times - the contrast between the "painted and polished" and the "raw and aged" makes the park more visually interesting. When the stuff that isn't supposed to look aged starts getting that way it looks like the whole park is "getting old"

[dstephe9]

Yeah I had a friend that went yesterday again. He also went Wednesday. Said the crowds where much much smaller

[fireman1000]

What happened? There's been no posts for a while........

[dstephe9]

Guess forum members aren't visiting Dollywood haha. I'm considering probably going tomorrow depending on weather

[ernierocker]

What happened? There's been no posts for a while........

 

Either there has been a gigantic force field around the park and no one has figured out how to infiltrate it, OR there hasn't been anything to post about late about. We prefer quality posts over quantity on TPR, and sometimes park discussion threads go a few days without having posts. Don't worry, it will be okay.

[aCoasterStory]

Same thing happened with the Knoebels thread when Flying Turns opened.

[cfc]

What happened? There's been no posts for a while........

 

Either there has been a gigantic force field around the park and no one has figured out how to infiltrate it, OR there hasn't been anything to post about late about. We prefer quality posts over quantity on TPR, and sometimes park discussion threads go a few days without having posts. Don't worry, it will be okay.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Little known fact: Dollywood is entirely run by faeries. If you stop posting about it, the park will disappear. EVERYONE BELIEVE IN THE DOLLYWOOD FAERIES!

[pianojohn]

Planning my 1st trip to Dollywood in years.

 

Are there any better discounts on tickets than the $5 off from Club TPR or AAA?

 

Thanks!

[dstephe9]

Local coke cans have discounts but I believe only $5 off per ticket. Don't even know if they started running the coke can deal yet. When you get in town just purchase a 12 pack locally and see

 

Besides that, don't know of any. They will eventually run a $5 deal at McDonalds or normally do every year

Edited April 25, 2014 by dstephe9

[ernierocker]

Yeah, Dollywood discounts are usually only $5 off general admission.

[coasterfreaky]

Dollywood keeps their discount, or "Special Offers'' page on their website up to date...

 

http://www.dollywood.com/deals/special-offers.aspx

[dstephe9]

One of the best kept secret deals at Dollywood is not to buy bottled water. All restaurants and kiosk will give free water. Good sized cups to with ice lids and a straw if requested! Not those little spit cups six flags give that make you thirstier haha

 

I usually make it out of Dollywood without buying drinks

 

Ends up saving a ton on hot days plus you feel better not having those giant sodas

[aCoasterStory]

Planning to be at the park next Thursday. Got any recommendations on which order to hit the rides? I wouldn't expect the park to be too crowded, but it's always good to ask.

[jimmiemac02]

Well, if you want to ride FireChaser Express, I would defiantly ride that first.

[dstephe9]

Thursday is usually their least crowded day. I'd hit fire chaser and those rides first if you get there at opening.

 

So firechaser then double back and hit wild eagle, mystery mine and thunderhead. Head back up the hill and hit them all again and work your way down the back side of the park.

 

That's almost always my pattern anyways. If a ride isn't crowded I'll even ride it a few times before moving on. It takes Dollywood a little while for lines to build up this time of year

 

Thursday will mostly be schools and families with small children and older people shopping and shows. I believe this is an off week for festivals which will help crowds... Schools won't start arriving until 11 usually and are gone by 4. Lines usually die all the way down 2 hours before closing when a lot of schools are there

 

Most of May will follow this same pattern. Weekdays in May are my favorite time in the park crowd wise. Like I said mostly just schools who arrive late and leave early. I usually go a few times during the week in May

[mmkaycomputer]

Pardon my ignorance, but I have a question with regards to driving to the park/Pigeon Forge I was hoping someone could answer. We're looking to go in early June, but we may have to start driving at 6 p.m. from Raleigh, NC. If so, we'd be likely arriving in Pigeon Forge around midnight (route: US-40 to US-411), barring potential traffic and weather issues.

 

Is this unwise? I'm a good driver but have limited experience driving through/in the mountains, and despite a casual Google search suggesting I'd be fine and a seemingly simple highway route, I figured I should ask before planning a nighttime road trip through an area I'm completely unfamiliar with. Thanks for your help.

[Heelsfan25]

Hello there, I'm from right down the road in Chapel Hill and I thought id help answer your question about driving to Dollywood. My girlfriend and I just made the trip two weeks ago, and it was our fourth trip to the pigeon forge/gatlinburg area. The trip took about 5hrs from chapel hill (driving about 70 mph most of the time). It is a really easy trip. Down i-40 and 85 past winston salem. You follow the highway all the way to the exit for the parkway in gatlinburg. None of the roads are particularly tricky or hard to drive. Just stick to the main highways and the parkway when you get near gatlinburg. Do not follow your gps down some of these small side highways and roads as they can be long and hard to drive on. Have a good trip, that area of Tennessee is beautiful.

[mmkaycomputer]

Awesome. Thanks, heelsfan25. Sounds like we should be OK.

[jynx242]

Pardon my ignorance, but I have a question with regards to driving to the park/Pigeon Forge I was hoping someone could answer. We're looking to go in early June, but we may have to start driving at 6 p.m. from Raleigh, NC. If so, we'd be likely arriving in Pigeon Forge around midnight (route: US-40 to US-411), barring potential traffic and weather issues.

 

Is this unwise? I'm a good driver but have limited experience driving through/in the mountains, and despite a casual Google search suggesting I'd be fine and a seemingly simple highway route, I figured I should ask before planning a nighttime road trip through an area I'm completely unfamiliar with. Thanks for your help.

 

I'd go with what Heelsfan said as well. If you are driving back home during the daytime, however, the smaller roads through the mountains are BEAUTIFUL.

[CPSFMMCW]

Driving through pigeon forge is like the Las Vegas strip. It's just one long road. There are I believe about 9 stop lights along the road so if there's traffic then it can take a bit. The good news about that is that there's always something to look at! So if you're bored, admire all the awesome stuff there! But there can be a lot of traffic, but I guess it really depends on the time that you're going. I was there during Christmas break, so it might've just been me. The roads in the mountai are pretty good. No sketchy roads as far as I saw. But you do get some good views of the mountains, I will last that!

[coasterfreaky]

Pardon my ignorance, but I have a question with regards to driving to the park/Pigeon Forge I was hoping someone could answer. We're looking to go in early June, but we may have to start driving at 6 p.m. from Raleigh, NC. If so, we'd be likely arriving in Pigeon Forge around midnight (route: US-40 to US-411), barring potential traffic and weather issues.

 

Is this unwise? I'm a good driver but have limited experience driving through/in the mountains, and despite a casual Google search suggesting I'd be fine and a seemingly simple highway route, I figured I should ask before planning a nighttime road trip through an area I'm completely unfamiliar with. Thanks for your help.

 

 

My only advice for I40 westbound through the mountains - West of Asheville to about MM 440ish or so... It is pitch black at night except for the couple of tunnels you pass through...and obviously very curvey. I would advise making sure you have a full tank of gas as there is maybe one gas station that is open overnight during this stretch (about 60 miles) of I-40. Otherwise you shouldn't have any traffic to deal with.

[Bobby2889]

So am I late at catching this, or just the first to think, that FCE is Dollywood's take on the classic mine train coaster that nearly every major park has.

 

Either way I cannot express how excited I am to ride this coaster in late may.

 

Also, is this the wrong place to speculate what Dollywood's next addition will be?

[dstephe9]

Your not the only one, it reminded me of the old mine train coasters. Mainly BC of looks and speed though. I don't think Dollywood was going for a classic mine train but I do see the similarities