Dollywood Discussion Thread

[bert425]

and we got SOOOO lucky to catch that. . they were cancelled on Saturday.

 

and the park just posted this update:

 

 

perhaps unrelated. . but after the Friday fireworks?  there were a LOT of sirens heard for a while after.   
I'm wondering if perhaps something caught on fire and that's why they've cancelled for the rest of the season?

[prozach626]

That preferred parking advice is on-point. Thanks. No idea why I didn't think about that, especially since we'll still have to leave mid-day for a nap.

The resort is out, because we'll need our own room/living area, unless we plan on going to bed at 8:30 every night. 

[TEDodd]

1 hour ago, bert425 said:

but the view from the Decks in our Air BnB cabin we rented

Nice. I've never stayed in the cabins up there.

Plenty of others from north of Sevierville to just down the hill from Ober Gatlinburg to Townsend.
Even down McCarter Hollow past the DW entrance.

[TEDodd]

1 hour ago, bert425 said:

I'm wondering if perhaps something caught on fire and that's why they've cancelled for the rest of the season?

Maybe, but they've been cancelling a lot the last couple of weeks (per Twitter/Instagram posts).

I fully expected they'd just cancel for the rest of the year.

Of course I won't be there until New Years.

 

[TEDodd]

1 hour ago, prozach626 said:

The resort is out, because we'll need our own room/living area, unless we plan on going to bed at 8:30 every night. 

Some of the "rooms" are suites with separate bedrooms. 

[teacherkim]

We legit got lost in the Dollywood parking lot once (we were there for an early entry event and had to park in a specific lot) and I use to teach Geography.............

[megan]

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. 

[TEDodd]

16 hours ago, 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. 

FITH still has the water features. FITH is also several years older.

DW removed the water years ago. That means the ride has not deteriorated at much/fast as FITH. I think it has many years left.

[TEDodd]

Seems they had 45 days impacted by weather. So Big Bear Mountain won't open with park. Pete still says spring.

 

Date supposed to be announced march 11.

 

[thrillseeker4552]

Anyone have experience with the Econo Lodge Pigeon Forge Riverside? I heard some decent things on Twitter and it has great rates for when I'm going.

I'm traveling solo and pretty tolerant with hotels as long as it's not a total crap hole, but just wondering if anyone has opinions (or other recommendations) for affordable accommodations in the area. I'll be there in late April. I'll also have my own car and willing to stay within a reasonable distance of the park if anyone else has suggestions! Thanks in advance.

[tndank]

Over a 4 on Google rating with 2000+ reviews.  It'll be just fine for a night or two.  Recent reviews seem to be good.

 

[coneyislandchris]

On 2/27/2023 at 8:19 PM, thrillseeker4552 said:

Anyone have experience with the Econo Lodge Pigeon Forge Riverside? I heard some decent things on Twitter and it has great rates for when I'm going.

I'm traveling solo and pretty tolerant with hotels as long as it's not a total crap hole, but just wondering if anyone has opinions (or other recommendations) for affordable accommodations in the area. I'll be there in late April. I'll also have my own car and willing to stay within a reasonable distance of the park if anyone else has suggestions! Thanks in advance.

Stayed there about four or five years ago pre-pandemic, thought it was leaps and bounds better than your average Econo Lodge at the time. Some of the rooms have outdoor entry and others are indoor; we got an outdoor one and it was absolutely fine. The rooms were nice and clean. Complimentary breakfast buffet had a lot of food and it filled up fairly quickly in the morning. Good central location. Can't complain. If the rates are reasonable then yeah, snap it up.

[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.