Dollywood Discussion Thread

[thrillseeker4552]

Thanks for the advice all. I went ahead and booked the Econo Lodge. I'm so excited to finally visit Dollywood!

After countless attempts to visit over the years, it feels good to finally be booked in for this April. It's only one day and to be honest, Big Bear may not even be open by then, but I don't care! As long as Lightning Rod is!

[bert425]

100% if no one told you?   pay for Preferred parking.  It's not that much more expensive, and lets you park in your own lot way up at the front.

it also has a dedicated entrance to the park.    AND a dedicated exit from the parking lot at the end of the day.

 

[BitterOldHag]

^ This... The Preferred Parking is totally worth it.  Not having to exit through the Emporium Gift Shop at the end of the night is a bonus that makes the extra fee completely acceptable!  No worries about the trams, no long waits to get in, I wish more parks did this! 

[tndank]

Hundreds of visits and I've never parked in preferred.  I've also never used the trams.  I like walking and I'm cheap.

 

 

[prozach626]

Preferred parking sounds pretty nice if you had a small child with a mandatory mid-day break for nap time.

[IzzyB]

Lightning Rod was open for part of the day on Passholder preview and same with Sunday.  Got to rid it twice on Sunday as it was a walk on.  Everything was a walk on on Sunday.  We weren't planning to go but when I saw waits of 5 minutes for Firechaser we decided to head out.  It was 0 by the time we got there and twice firechaser went out with just my family on it.  It was a great day.  Doubt any other day will be that empty this week.

Passholder wasn't bad either.  The parking lot was FULL when we arrived at 3 PM, but lines were fine. 

[IzzyB]

So after going 3 days this week I have to say they don't seem to have the staffing issues they had the past 2 years.  More restaurants are open, all rides were running except ones down for maintenance.  Even the kiddie areas the rides were all up where in the past some were down due to low staff.  Even barnstormer was running both sides which I haven't seen in awhile.  Lots of trams running all day long.  Overall the staffing levels seemed pre-pandemic.  Also, Lightning Rod was up all day today.

[u4icmusic]

On 3/15/2023 at 10:21 PM, IzzyB said:

So after going 3 days this week I have to say they don't seem to have the staffing issues they had the past 2 years.  More restaurants are open, all rides were running except ones down for maintenance.  Even the kiddie areas the rides were all up where in the past some were down due to low staff.  Even barnstormer was running both sides which I haven't seen in awhile.  Lots of trams running all day long.  Overall the staffing levels seemed pre-pandemic.  Also, Lightning Rod was up all day today.

That is great news. The weather has been so cold and wet that I haven't used my annual pass yet this year. Those were my complaints over the last two years too.

[u4icmusic]

On 2/15/2023 at 7:10 PM, megan said:

Wonder how much longer for BlazingFury with SDC retiring FITH next year. Can’t be long for the world if the “original “ is about to meet its demise. 

Dollywood paid big money for RMC to retrack parts of Blazine Fury last year, so I doubt it is going anywhere.

[prozach626]

They've had such good luck with RMC that it's no wonder they hired them to do the track work on BF.

[tndank]

RIP Lighting Rod single rider line.  

[TEDodd]

15 minutes ago, tndank said:

RIP Lighting Rod single rider line.  

That's a bummer. They need more not less.

Though it wasn't real useful. The grouper would often ignore people in the line for long periods instead of filling trains.

 

[tndank]

That line was great for me.  I often just visit for a couple hours in the mornings.  They were usually great about basically let me walk through.

[IzzyB]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:56 AM, tndank said:

RIP Lighting Rod single rider line.  

I asked the ride operator about this and they said it is complex and not completely going away.  So not sure if they changed it and it is going away for good or if they are doing something else.

[tndank]

RIP kids under 14 being able to ride Lighting Rod and others by themselves at Dollywood.  I'm told this new policy along with signs started appearing last weekend.  Seems odd.

 

[CaptainUnknown]

I wonder if it has anything to do with the park wanting to discourage parents from using the park as a daycare center?

[prozach626]

That's a big stretch.

[TEDodd]

16 hours ago, tndank said:

I'm told this new policy along with signs started appearing last weekend.  Seems odd.

 

Got a photo of the signs? Maybe a link to one?

I trust you, but I'd like to have it to share with others that don't know me.

 

Seems like a big mistake. Lots of 8-13 year olds there with parents/grandparents that don't ride.

Shoot if my daughter was there with her mother (who won't ride coasters) a few years ago she wouldn't have been allowed to ride.

[jarmor]

How do you know how old someone is though???

[prozach626]

You're required to provide a certified copy of your birth certificate if you look seventeen years old or younger.

[tndank]

Unfortunately I haven't seen a poster yet.  I'll post one if I see it.  I wont be back at the park for a couple weeks.  

I think I'd just tell me kid to say they are 14.  Agree with Jarmor here.  If this is real, it seems really strange. 

 

[u4icmusic]

Packed at Dollywood today. Park is still understaffed. Took about 30 minutes just to get in the park with my season pass. Lightning Rod broke twice in the first hour, the second time while I was on it for a rollback. Not sure if it ever opened up for the rest of the day because I left early because ride wait times were 2 hours. They also closed the Timesaver check-in inside the park and built a new Timesaver building outside the front gates that also houses a rental annex for scooters. They also built a new security building so all the white tents are now gone. These two new buildings look much nicer. Not sure what they will do with the old Timesaver building, but that entire area of the park is looking desolate. Big Bear Mountain appears to have all its track in place too.

[megan]

More like Big. Bare mountain (with a little hill with a waterfall) I think a different name would’ve gone a long way for me-like BearQuest or BlackBear Run. Putting mountain in the name kinda makes me expect a… mountain

[southpuddle]

Yeah I’m hoping about 45,000 trees are going to be planted around the ride to make it feel less like Big Bear Wide Open Field. 

[Shavethewhales2]

Man, what could have been. The little landscaped fly though looks nice. You know they originally planned for a lot more rockwork, especially around the end of the ride where there were two "mountains" on the original plans. The lack of any sort of vegetation around most of it is just depressing though. I'd say I hope they come back and finish the theming and landscaping, but... you just don't know with DW anymore. I'm sure they'll eventually plant some trees somewhere.