Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Mastalucky23]

Has Thunderhead been in operation the last couple days?

[tndank]

I rode it a few times Wednesday. Not aware of it being down any significant time.

[neilnky]

I was curious if Mountain Slidewinder is already torn out or if they will do that over the season or off season? A park's work is never done is it lol

[TEDodd]

I was curious if Mountain Slidewinder is already torn out or if they will do that over the season or off season? A park's work is never done is it lol

Pete said it was just going to sit this season.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Will the park be slammed?

 

Yes.

 

Guess I'll be getting some skip the line passes. lol.

That's a good idea. We went Memorial Day weekend in 2017 and got the TimeSaver and had a great time. Yu basically get right on every ride, I don't think we waited more than 5 minutes for anything. Have fun!

[tndank]

Thunderhead currently closed. I can hear drills and hammering. Never saw the work being done. Surely it's not down all day today

...it's going to be packed.

[blk_mamba]

So next weekend will be my first time @ Dollywood. I hear that the park is nice but there are other must do places to visit. Anyone have some suggestions of places a first timer should not miss?

[jlp94]

^ Hit all the main coasters, they are each great in their own right. Obviously Grist Mill as well for the cinnamon bread, I think it's a bit overrated but even then I still loved it to death. Other rides to hit are Daredevil Falls and Drop Line (there are probably a couple others I'm forgetting). Best restaurants to eat at are Miss Lillian's Chicken House in Craftsmen's Valley and the Backstage Restaurant in Showstreet.

[A.J.]

I think he was asking about places to see in the vicinity of Dollywood rather than in the park itself.

 

Pigeon Forge is a tourist trap, so there are all the usual "weird museum" type places. There are a couple of mountain coasters along route 321. There's also The Island, which is a newer retail district with a ropes course and a Ferris Wheel. Down in Gatlinburg is another mountain coaster, more weird museums, and a Ripley's Aquarium, which is apparently actually really good.

[hagwar]

Hey y'all 2 quick questions please:

 

Any clue what the crowds might be like tomorrow (5/24) from open until 2 pm or so? Thinking of driving up to checkout Wildwood Grove.

 

Also, I tried to call and wasn't able to connect with anybody who knows but can I buy a single day admission and convert it to a season pass at guest services before we leave?

 

Thanks so much!

[TEDodd]

Holiday weekend Friday likely very crowded as people like to take extra days off (make it a 4 day weekend) and kids usually out of school.

 

Yes, you can upgrade ticket to season pass any day. There are bo days that it's not an option.

[tndank]

I would agree. I bet the park is very busy. If you're interested in riding a lot, the $50 TimeSaver Unlimited will still take care of you. And you can get reserved tickets to shows and skip those lines, too.

[hagwar]

I would agree. I bet the park is very busy. If you're interested in riding a lot, the $50 TimeSaver Unlimited will still take care of you. And you can get reserved tickets to shows and skip those lines, too.

Holiday weekend Friday likely very crowded as people like to take extra days off (make it a 4 day weekend) and kids usually out of school.

 

Yes, you can upgrade ticket to season pass any day. There are bo days that it's not an option.

 

Thank you both! Decided to hold off and head up at a later time.

[jedimaster1227]

So next weekend will be my first time @ Dollywood. I hear that the park is nice but there are other must do places to visit. Anyone have some suggestions of places a first timer should not miss?

 

Hit Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg while you're in the area. There's some really unique gems (combination of genuinely cool and so-bad-its-good) attractions down the stretch... Goats on the Roof (fun) and Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride (amazingly terrible) are both worth a stop. Plus there are tons of quirky options for mini golf if that's your thing!

[vertec909]

They have put the fronts back on the trains.

[Canobie Coaster]

I sort of liked the super openness for front row rides, but aesthetically this looks way better.

[megan]

Wildwood grove. Looks beautiful. Dragon flyer. Horrible capacity. Park not terribly busy today. No reason a ride in an area designed mainly for parents with younger childern(who are impatient to wait) has a 50 min wait 30 min before close. There had to be a way to run two trains (themed brake run,transfer track to second load) that would make this load quicker. The ride is WAY too short to pay off for an hour wait. This will be CRAZY on really busy days.

[TEDodd]

Not busy? I left at 4:00 and cars were parked in lot F. That's a fairly busy day.

not slammed, but still busy. I've been there when they barely got into D/E that had worse waits for the coasters.

 

DF was fun. Yeh, the 50 min wait for a ~1 min rid is rough. I expect it'll be better once it's it new.

 

The swing was fun too.

 

LR and WE we're in great form and only 15 min wait at noon today.

 

 

The ribs were great. Didn't get to try the brisket. Pulled pork was OK. The apple and blackberry sauces were interesting. Wouldn't want them all the time, but a nice twist occasionally.

[A.J.]

Wildwood grove. Looks beautiful. Dragon flyer. Horrible capacity. Park not terribly busy today. No reason a ride in an area designed mainly for parents with younger childern(who are impatient to wait) has a 50 min wait 30 min before close. There had to be a way to run two trains (themed brake run,transfer track to second load) that would make this load quicker. The ride is WAY too short to pay off for an hour wait. This will be CRAZY on really busy days.

Dragonflier is a cloned Vekoma suspended family coaster. The only way to make that happen would have been to go with a custom layout, as the main brakes are in the station. That's just how those coasters have been designed, Vekoma's smaller layout does it that way as well.

 

In Dollywood's defense, every other installation of the 453 meter Vekoma suspended family coaster has had no problems operating with only one train, so perhaps they're banking on the ride's popularity subsiding in the next few years. But on the other hand, it's interesting to wonder why Dollywood didn't go with a custom layout considering that every one of their other major coasters has one.

[megan]

I agree that for a little more $$$ the definitely should have gone to customization. Even the Dollywood express train makes cracks about the long lines as they go by. An hour for a new coster is t bad, but that the most I waited for lightning rod it’s first year. Again it was just a very odd choice for an area geared to young kids especially with NOTHING in the queue to entertain. Even if they made the extended line have some activities that when the extended line isn’t needed they could open as another attraction.

[megan]

I agree that for a little more $$$ the definitely should have gone to customization. Even the Dollywood express train makes cracks about the long lines as they go by. An hour for a new coster is t bad, but that the most I waited for lightning rod it’s first year. Again it was just a very odd choice for an area geared to young kids especially with NOTHING in the queue to entertain. Even if they made the extended line have some activities that when the extended line isn’t needed they could open as another attraction.

[DoinItForTheFame]

They have put the fronts back on the trains.

 

It is so tiny compared to the original...

[Canobie Coaster]

Wildwood grove. Looks beautiful. Dragon flyer. Horrible capacity. Park not terribly busy today. No reason a ride in an area designed mainly for parents with younger childern(who are impatient to wait) has a 50 min wait 30 min before close. There had to be a way to run two trains (themed brake run,transfer track to second load) that would make this load quicker. The ride is WAY too short to pay off for an hour wait. This will be CRAZY on really busy days.

Dragonflier is a cloned Vekoma suspended family coaster. The only way to make that happen would have been to go with a custom layout, as the main brakes are in the station. That's just how those coasters have been designed, Vekoma's smaller layout does it that way as well.

 

In Dollywood's defense, every other installation of the 453 meter Vekoma suspended family coaster has had no problems operating with only one train, so perhaps they're banking on the ride's popularity subsiding in the next few years. But on the other hand, it's interesting to wonder why Dollywood didn't go with a custom layout considering that every one of their other major coasters has one.

 

Outside of Lightning Rod, the longest line at the park is always Firechaser. It's clear the park attracts a lot of families so I was surprised they went with the one train clone as well. But by all accounts it's an enjoyable ride at least.

 

I also find it interesting Dragonflier isn't a one time only ride on TimeSaver. I thought they'd take that restriction off Drop Line (since it's never a bad queue) and put it on Dragonflier like Herschend tends to do on their new rides.

[TEDodd]

Outside of Lightning Rod, the longest line at the park is always Firechaser.

 

And is often 50+minuted when everything else is 15-20.

 

I'm really not surprised to see DF at 50 min. And it will likely stay there a good while just as FC has.

 

It was fun, just short.

 

 

I was glad they didn't limit it on TimeSaver.

Most of the target audience doesn't get much from TS now. This at least gives something they can use it on. And WWG gives them 3-4 rides to use it on.

[megan]

I was glad they didn't limit it on TimeSaver.

Most of the target audience doesn't get much from TS now. This at least gives something they can use it on. And WWG gives them 3-4 rides to use it on.

 

What 3-4 rides? You can only use it on Dragon Flyer,right?