Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Philrad71]

It's looking great there. And the lift hill looks like it's heading up to some kind of church!

 

Thanks for sharing your backstage tour.

 

Have to agree, Bill...and it IS in the heart of the bible belt, after all.

 

And some enthusiasts will probably think that riding LR is going to be like a religious experience...so you have that too.

[Nrthwnd]

^ And the night lighting for it could be amazing! Being shot up into a lit framework like that?

 

[cfc]

Yeah, I think Lightning Rod is going to be the big winner in 2016.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Well, there is that one over in Phantasialand, yes? No?

 

Or this could be the 2016 Hit of North America?

[mordecai-75]

I was going to stop by today but after seeing the wait times I will pass. Pretty crazy for a Tuesday at 2pm. Since I live within an hour of the park it is nice being able to check the lines before going. Would like to see a few webcams around the park. Hint hint Pete Owens.

And while your at it Pete, can you put a fan or two in Firechaser's loading station? It's like a sauna in there! (just in case you are following this)

[Big Papa]

I was at Dollywood today and it was by far the most crowded I have ever seen it. Granted I usually try to go when I think it won't be as crowded, but I figured on a Tuesday I should have been okay. I pulled into the parking lot 30 minutes after opening and parked in Lot F so I knew right then what kind of day it was probably going to be. Literally everything in the park had a long wait time...trams, roller coasters, kiddie rides, flat rides, shows, food, and ironically the timesaver pass booth. The screen shots of the ride wait times on the previous page are definitely accurate if not a little underdone. My friend and I were there for 6 hours and rode 3 rides, Wild Eagle, Thunderhead, and Firechaser Express. Wild Eagle probably took us about 30 minutes to get through around 12:30. Thunderhead ran only one train all day and the line for it went all the way out into the walkway going up toward Wildnerness Pass the entire time I was there. We were in line for it for at least an hour and a half. Firechaser was running three trains when we went through around 4ish, but still took an hour to get on. There were many disgruntled guests today making comments about how Dollywood was not prepared for the crowd today and I can definitely see where they were coming from. I feel bad for people who have made long trips to have a day like today be their only experience of the park. I live two hours away and get down pretty regularly so I wasn't too upset, but it did get very tiring.

[Dollywoodlover20]

It really looks to me like they're aren't ready for these big crowds at all. My only guess is people are still getting that last little holiday fun in before school/college kicks back in, and families are coming in to celebrate NYE. Plus Dollywood is having their very first celebration with that this year, are they ready? You know that next year for sure is going to be worse. We have the worlds first and only launched, fastest wooden rollercoaster coming. It's going to be hectic.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Am I the only one who notices the significant difference in the radius of the two crest of those hills?? The first crest is directly after the launch and appears to be much smaller (and almost lower) than the second crest. So either it's going to provide some extreme airtime, or I'm missing something here... (or maybe it's just perspective of the photo.)

 

Either way... I see a huge resemblance of Dolly in this photo.

[Dollywoodlover20]

In person it pretty much looks the same, the first drop/crest is smaller and looks like it's gonna give a "pop". Here's a picture I took around the beginning of December.

[Hilltopper39]

I've seen so many different pictures of this thing from different angles that I'm just done trying to figure it out, who cares' it's going to be incredible.

[SuperShawn]

Lightening Rod just keeps looking better and better, can't wait for March

[A.J.]

Am I the only one who notices the significant difference in the radius of the two crest of those hills??

Yes! I get to use this one! Finally!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFZrzg62Zj0

[HWFan]

Great pictures! Thanks to everyone who has been keeping us updated on this coaster's construction.

 

Even if it doesn't keep the wasps away, the covering at the top of the lift will be a great visual pull and has the potential to add a nice headchopper effect. I wonder why the didn't put coverings over the top of both hills. I'm sure there is some logical explanation, but I'm glad to see Dollywood being proactive.

[DJeXeL]

^^That clip fits in so many discussions.

[rebelrailroad]

As a long time Dollywood fan, I'm concerned that the park is not able to keep up with incoming crowds and continue to provide a high level of customer service that long time guests are accustomed to. I've been visiting the park a couple times per year since 1998. I've seen a gradual decline in customer service pretty much every year. In the past couple years, the decline has been more pronounced. Not sure if this is due to the new leadership on park or if it strictly coincidental. Even my 13 year old daughter, who has grown up at the park and is now a roller coaster junkie, has mentioned that she misses how "friendly" the park staff used to be. Not sure if the hosts are just tired/stressed/underpaid/overworked but this is definitely different than the way it used to be. Don't get me wrong there are still a few hosts left with some customer service "charm" but they are few and far between compared to the old days.

 

When I was on park last week, two separate front gate hosts on two separate days had the personality of typical fast food workers. Gone are the days of "Welcome to Dollywood" with a friendly host and some southern charm. I know that there service levels are still above other parks, but I'm concerned they are quickly approaching customer service levels provided by the "other" parks. There customer service has always set them apart from the others.

 

The parking ticket staff have also changed, no more friendly greeting. I handed my wife's gold season pass to the host, and her only words were "is that you?". No hello, welcome to dollywood, no how are you. I know it sounds petty, but in the old days, this would not have happened.

 

've been reading the complaints/questions on tripadvisor and facebook and I find it almost unimaginable that Dollywood doesn't have a social media person who responds to complaints and questions. I almost feel sorry when folks ask questions/complaints on social media, and the park doesn't respond. Or if there is a response, it is a cut/paste response that is the same multiple times. Brian always did a great job of responding and providing a social media presence. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a Thrills in the Hills event and he had Dollywood's "old school" customer service. Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed that the once small park continues to change every year, but in the past couple years the customer service levels are plummeting. As the park packs more and more guests into the park with new attractions, they need to seriously revisit their staffing levels, number of food service locations that are actually open as compared to those that have been closed for years (Applejacks, the defunct restaurant place beside Heartsong, etc.).

 

In my opinion, Dollywood is quickly losing its' southern charm and hospitality. Investing millions of dollars into new attractions is awesome and I'm glad to see it. However, they need to continue to invest in their staff and their customer service skills in order to supplement the new attractions.

Edited December 30, 2015 by rebelrailroad

[larrygator]

^Maintaining the quality of customer service is always a huge concern of growing companies. I'm not sure how easy it is for Dollywood to find the best employees.

 

The social media concerns do shock me since a company like Herschend should have the pieces in place. However, many companies have gotten lazy in this area of marketing over the past two years.

[Hilltopper39]

You would think they would have a full-time staff member in charge of Social Media like most companies do these days, then again you'd probably be surprised how many companies don't do as much with their social media as they should.

 

I have always wondered how some parks like Dollywood and Holiday World can keep up their customer service given the staffing that's available in their areas. I mean Sevier County, Tennessee at least has a permanent population of about 90,000 people where as the area around Holiday World is pretty rural. Customer service is probably always a challenge with places who have seasonal employees as a large percentage of their workforce.

[Shavethewhales]

The same issues are affecting SDC, and I assume the rest of the chain. It's just the way things go when companies grow this large, but you can point to any number of macro or micro issues behind it.

 

The company is so much bigger now than it was back when DW started, or even just ten to fifteen years ago. What started as a family run attraction is now a corporate juggernaut, and the character and ideals that made it what it is have slowly been replaced by modernization and bureaucracy. The parks used to be operated with so much more care and attention to detail, and staff members used to be treated pretty well. It wasn't unusual to see staff members stick around for decades, and most of them loved it.

 

The older generation that once served the parks had a different perspective than the current one. Hospitality and customer service were an even bigger deal back then because the parks were less about individual rides and attractions and more about the overall experience that started right as you walked in the front gate. It was like a completely different culture around the parks back then, and friendliness was much more valued. Plus, once upon a time it was much easier to support one's self on a lower wage job, and it wasn't looked down upon the way it is now.

 

A lot of these people have been forced out, retired, or have passed on. They have been replaced by cheaper, younger workers who are only there for a season or two and view the job in far less esteem than their older peers. They can be friendly enough, but DW isn't their life in the same way that it was for some of the older workers, and their relationship with the company is no where near the same. Park guests also have a different set of perspectives and expectations now. We're all there to ride the biggest rides. Customer service is nice, but not a requirement, just like theming and many other things that were once essential to the experience.

 

That's just my view. I don't mean to dog HFEC or DW, but it's undeniable that there's been a huge amount of change on all scales in the past fifteen or so years. It's simply a different place for a different (and much larger) group of people now, and that's just the way things go in this industry.

 

Makes you wonder what HW will be like in 15 years.

[Djwadeknox]

What a difference a day makes. I know we have a rain showers around, but not a washout. I have known Pete about 20 years and I know he does all he can to make the park great via all forms of media. The last couple of years the park has grown so much with the new rides, resort and all the extra media attention Dollywood has gotten in the last couple of years. This next year it critical that Dollywood puts in place bigger staffing levels and more places to eat. Most people expect to wait an hour on a good ride at a theme park, but not for a hotdog and a drink. I checked out the comments from the last couple of days on Facebook and it saddened me see a park I have been going to for over 37 years and always gets awesome reviews getting the bad comments I have seen. I am proud of the park and want others to feel just as good about the time they spend at the park. I don't have all of the answers but I am willing to help anyway I can.

[prozach626]

This goes along with the trip report I made a couple years ago. We were expecting this awesome customer service, but instead it was like just another day at a Cedar Fair Park. It wasn't quite as bad as Six Flags level, though.

[KBrylczyk]

I blame the Facebook generation. Me me me. Whine whine whine. Why should I be nice to this guy? Can't they see I'm taking a selfie?

[Djwadeknox]

Maybe a list of things we would like to see at Dollywood is in order???

 

Here are a few on my list in random order.

 

1. More places to eat. Expand some of the current places.

2. Getting back to the southern friendly training that made Dollywood so special.

3. Better line management. (Not sure how) maybe loading and unloading faster on some rides if possible.

4. More social media and website interaction. Facebook, trip advisor and so on.

5. Staying open in the summer till at least 11p.

6. Better tram management. Getting people picked up.

 

I'm sure I could think of more but these are off the top of my head.

[rebelrailroad]

I think Pete should have a group of us down for a brainstorming exercise on how to help the park! Here are a few of mine:

 

1. Exiting through the Emporium: I hate this setup. It is a bit better this year since they moved some of the merchandise/registers out of the aisles so you can at least sorta get through when there is a mass exit. Exiting through the Emporium is fine in concept, but only have the merchandise to the left or the right. Nothing quite like trying to weave through the personalized dolly mugs, the t-shirts, christmas ornaments, fresh fudge, package pickup, etc. just to get out after a long day at the park. Pretty easy to fix this, just keep the whole center section open for exiting guests. It would sorta be like walking through the Market area where there is food to the left or the right, but yet a clear path in the middle. It has the impression of trying to milk one last dollar out of you before you leave when it looks like an obstacle course. I also don't think this is the safest setup when you have 30,000+ people in the park with only one exit. I was actually in the Emporium years ago when the Fire alarms went off in the building. What a mess that was, finally after about 10 minutes they let guests exit through the entrance, but only after people just stormed the entrance and jumped the chains. And that nasty floor on a rainy day is beyond disgusting. At least in the open areas of the park, the rain washes down the concrete/pavement.

 

2. Add some guest relations hosts: In theory all hosts on park should be concerned about guest relations, but take the best of the best and have them interact with guests. I know years ago, there were folks in costume near the entrance who would randomly chat with incoming guests. They would also ask for feedback and even survey guests. I'm not talking about having overly aggressive staff pestering all incoming guests. They may be doing this now on a limited scale, but it seems like most of the costumed folks who did this in the past are gone. I haven't been asked to participate in a survey in many years, so I'm not sure how this is handled now. At one point there were email surveys but that must be a thing of the past too.

 

3. Mug refills from previous years: Give your long-term guests a discount for using previous years mugs. I'm not saying that it should be the same price as the 99 cent current season mug, but lower the price more from what it is now. If I remember right, a previous season mug refill is the same price as a new drink. In the old days before their 99 cent deal, you could bring in any season's mug and get a discount. Not so much anymore, they want you to buy the new mug.

 

4. Trams: Spend a few dollars and update the awful sound systems that blares at the guests. Maybe the few new trams are a bit better, I'm not sure. Last week when I was there, we literally had to hold our ears because the volume of the speakers was up so loud. The poor host riding on the back of the tram probably didn't even need a speaker, let's just say she was VERY loud and enjoyed being heard as she barked orders at us. Amplify this with a microphone and multiple speakers per car, and you have a situation that is very similar to being yelled at. She also uses this same microphone to talk to folks walking through the parking lots and waiting to board, she just turned it up a notch to make sure she was heard! I'm pretty sure that the folks all the way in Gatlinburg could hear our host as she explained "Dollywood is a non-smoking park, for your convenience designated smoking areas are located throughout." Which by the way, that statement also doesn't make sense to me. LOL

 

5. Facebook & Social Media: Answer questions and provide feedback, basically have a presence. Kind of sad seeing folks compliment the park on social media with no response from the park. Same way with simple questions that would take a few seconds for a social media person to answer. I couldn't see this as a large expense to employ a few folks to check the various social media areas a few times a day and answer questions/comments. Brian did a good job of this. Now there is essentially no presence except the main PR type posts.

 

Dollywood is still the best park but I'd like to see it keep that title by making a few changes.

[CP Maverick]

I kinda skipped the last couple pages.

 

This unusually warm weather has put a strain on the typical seasonal staffing forecasts. You can only promise to pay so many people, so fluke weather will mess with those patterns.

 

The downside is that the employees start feeling overwhelmed and then become unfriendly or worse, just quit and put even more strain on the now smaller staff numbers. If you aren't prepared 2 weeks ahead of business, you won't be able to catch up.

[28YearDollywoodFan]

Hello. I used to post on this site several years ago and took a hiatus. I worked at Dollywood from 2005-2007. I remember receiving my weekly work schedule, and on it was the projected attendance for each day. Back then, if we hit 20,000+ guests on one day, we each received a meal voucher good at certain restaurants as a "Thank you" for "Making memories worth repeating." I really miss working at Dollywood. I'm not sure how it is now to work there, but for me, it was awesome. I was a ride attendant on Thunderhead from 2005-2006, and then was transferred to Mystery Mine in 2007 when it opened.

 

As far as guest relations is concerned, I am also worried that Dollywood is beginning to get too corporate-based and losing the Southern charm it once had. There have been several times that my family and I visited the park this year and had to wait for 10+ minutes on a tram from the parking lot to the entrance, and vice versa. I sent in a comment via the Dollywood.com website, and received a response within five days. The lady who responded apologized for the poor tram service and the poor attitudes the tram hosts were having that day. I hate seeing the trams come all at once, instead of having them spread among each tram stop, especially at park closing. We waited a while for a tram at the loading station outside the Emporium, and they all came at one time, instead of being spaced apart.

 

I agree about the Emporium being a poor set up for the park exit. It would make more sense to do like Disney and other larger theme parks and have certain turnstile lanes opened for guests coming into the park, and certain ones set up for guests exiting the park, that way the turnstile hosts could monitor the number of people entering and exiting the park, and keep the park attendance from reaching its capacity level.

 

I am very excited to ride Lightning Rod in the Spring. I also agree with the previous posts that the park needs to consider larger staffing and get a handle on crowd control ideas over the month and a half the park is closed, so come March, the hosts and hostesses, as well as park management will be prepared to handle larger than normal crowds. They need to focus on guest service, line management, keeping multiple trains or cars running on 10,000+ guest projection days, and provide more food choices and more table seating restaurants spread throughout the park. I would even suggest bringing back Rides/Attractions Line Greeters, like we had in early 2000's to greet the guests as the enter the ride and attraction lines, measure the children prior to getting in line/check their color-coded wrist band, be accessible to answer guest questions, and monitor and change wait times on the new digital screens.