Dollywood, Cheaper in the evening?

I'm going to be in Johnson City, TN for a religious convention on July 16-18. I will probably have the option to go down early on thursday, and it looks like I may be able to hit Dollywood for a few hours for a first time visit to hit Thunder Head & Tornado(is Blazing Fury a coaster?;)) and add about 3 new coasters to my record(not that such things matter...).

What I was wondering, and before anybody says anthing(ahme*justcuzisaidso*ahem), I lookd on Dollywood's website, but it dosen't say anything about cheaper admission to the park in the evenings. I dont' want to go if I have to pay the $42 for just a few hours in the evening, as I'm kinda strapped for cash that week anyhow. Are there any lower prices for evening visits like most parks? And if not, any coupons/promos for cheaper entry?

Thanks a bunch!
clint b.

I didn't see anything about "starlight" tickets when I was there. They do let you go to the park after 3 and come back the next day but that doesn't sound like it will help.

Clint, I live in Johnson City. Email me if you want restaurant recommendations. Here's a hint .. they all involve bbq. :)

I don't have any tips on Dollywood discounts, though. I have a Coke can, but it's $5 off a two-day "Splash n Play" ticket. What a bargain :-\

When I went, I talked to the guy at the hotel and he said that Dollywood does not do any single day discounts. I had looked several places for coupons already and found none. The hotel had 2 day tickets for the price of one, and the parks had the after 3 PM get the next day too deal. If you have a Silver Dollar City or Celebration City season pass, I think you get half off, but other than that I think you are stuck paying full price.

AAA has single day ticket discounts.

Its about $30-32 if I remember correctly.

Didn't know about the after 3pm deal, that works great for me since I'll be there after 3pm on a Sunday and want to go back Monday morning for a few morning "wake up" Thunderhead rides.

George

AAA in Johnson City says they don't have any discounts of any kind for Dollywood.

I guess the park IS trying to pay off Thunderhead!! ;)

xrae said:

"Clint, I live in Johnson City. Email me if you want restaurant recommendations. Here's a hint .. they all involve bbq"

You do? cool. I live in Linville, it's about 45min. away in NC. :)

Anyway, I've never encountered any discounts for Dollywood other than the occasional Coca-Cola can thing above. Dollywood claims that some Pigeon Forge hotels offer dicount tickets, but actually these are just regular tickets that you can buy before you get to the park.

Also said above, there is "After 3 Next Day Free", but it looks like you won't have that much time on your hands.

Food City (a local retail chain) offers Season Passes at a discount, but I believe they only do this when the park opens for the season in April.

*** Edited 7/13/2004 4:50:28 PM UTC by Dukeis#1***

AAAsouth.com has tickets for 33.25 but you have to be a aasouth member to order online. The area around Dollywood is not in the aaasouth region, they are covered by aaa East Tennessee which does not have any such discounts.

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but actually these are just regular tickets that you can buy before you get to the park.

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Even if they are not discounted, I would strongly reccomend doing this... especially if you arrive at the park in the morning. What seemed like the longest line of the day was the one we had to stand in to buy our tickets at the front gate.

No discounts/coupons that I can remember Clint, but TRUST me, whatever money you spend on admission will be WELL WORTH IT! Trust me on this one.

Like the Nike commercials say.....just DO it! ;-)

-Tina

Never been there myself, but I'd set up a lemonade stand to earn enough money to get in. I've only heard good things about the place.

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Dukeis#1 said:
xrae said:
but actually these are just regular tickets that you can buy before you get to the park.

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No. They don't have discounts for single day tickets, but the tickets they sell (at least at the hotel I was at...Holiday Inn Express) was good for two days for the price of one. You did not have to get it after 3. It was a two day pass, but the second day must be used within 2 days of the first.

Dollywood does not offer Starlight admissions, because for one, they close unusually early in the summer (6PM-8PM usually when say, many SF parks may close as late as 11PM) plus, even if they did offer starlight tickets, they don't have any laser/fireworks shows or anything (not Yet, they probably will soon) so all you'd have is the rides (No Shows or Crafts, which what makes this park).

Sorry, no cheap tickets in the evenings, even though it would make sense for some people who just want to ride the rides anyway.

I still haven't figured out why DW closes so early...especially on weekends. Seems like they could make more money if they were open later and offered discounts after 4 pm. Maybe sending home employees early saves them more money than keeping the park open later.

They used to be open later in the 90's, but as ive said for a while, Opryland kept DW in shape, as it was their only competition.

I hope they stay open later in the future.

Once upon a time, the park actually stayed open until eleven, when they had the Sunset Music Festival (Much better than Kidsfest) in '92 and '93. Riding the Slidewinder after dark is soooo crazy. :)

I wish they would at least bring back the 9pm closings. Eight really crunches your schedule if you get to the park later in the day. Hopefully Dollywood will never result to SDC like hours. (Park closes at 6:30-evan in the summer!) *** Edited 7/14/2004 1:08:27 AM UTC by Dukeis#1***

I tihnk im gonna send an email to DW asking why they close so early, they usually appreciate comments and suggestions for park improvement, I told them they needed a new coaster last year, and look what happened! lol....

Well I know the MiG crew is getting into DW 1/2 price by using our SDC/CC/WWB pass. It annoys me how DW is owned by HFEC, but you still have to pay to get into DW. Do DW pass holders get the same 1/2 deal on SDC?

Yep, we used our DW Gold Passes this year to get into SDC for free and half off admission to CC. If you have the regular season pass, you still get half off at SDC.

I got a DW pass as well.......it will come in VERY handy for Branson later this month. :-)

-Tina