Dollywood Christmas hours

I'm thinking of planing a trip to dollywood the end of november begining of december. I was wondering if anyones been there this time of year and what its like.Also been to hershey for there xmas event and theres no coasters open i was wondering what is or isnt open thanks.

http://www.hersheypa.com/events/christmas/candylane/

Click on the rides tab.

no i know whats open at hershey ive been there i was comparing hershey to dollywood.I wanna what rides are open at dollywood.

It depends on the temperature. I was there for Smokey Mountain Coasterfest last year and everything seemed to be running. The water effects were turned off on the Timber Tower. At the end of the night right as our ERT was set to begin on Thunderhead, the temperature got down to 45 (I belive) and they took one train off. If it got down to below 40, they would have shut it down completely.

So, the earlier you go, the better chance you have. Smokey Mountain Coasterfest this year is on November 17th. Registration must be postmarked by the 6th. If anyone wants to attend as a guest, I'll be there. Just PM me. *** Edited 11/5/2007 9:15:27 PM UTC by Jason Hammond***

^I will most likely be there as well. :) Luckily DW is one of those parks where I have a season pass to and can just "take off" on a whim. :)

I have gone every December for the past couple of years (as a birthday present to myself..lol) as well as a couple of times in the Spring but have never been there in November. I can't imagine how much different it would be crowd-wise. :)

From my experience about 80% of the people who go to Dollywood this time of year go for the Christmas shows and the lights, which are amazing. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are hoppin' this time of year. It's amazing.

I don't remember any of the rides being over a 15 minute wait, including Thunderhead. It's a much different experience in the Spring. ;)

But yeah, they close the coasters down if it drops below 40-ish. I think that only happened once when I visited in December, but it was almost closing time anyway. ;)

Since we have had strange (warmer than usual) weather I expect it to be "pleasant" for a while, but that's just me. ;) I don't remember Pigeon Forge being "cold." Actually, last December I remember Ober Gatlinburg having issues producing "snow" for the skiers. It was VERY warm.

-Tina

*** Edited 11/4/2007 7:42:16 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

^You are correct, the waits for rides were short, and the lines for shows were rediculous. That being said, I'm going to attempt seeing a show this year.

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Smokey Mountain Coasterfest this year is on November 17th. Registration must be postmarked by the 16th.

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I received an email today from Robert Ulrich, the event organizer, and the registration deadline is this coming Wednesday, the 7th.

We made an ill planned trip to Dollywood last Nov. spending part of the drive on the Skyline Drive, leisurely making our way to Pigeon Forge from Pa.. Well we were already late getting to the area for the 2pm opening time and then, wham, never saw that traffic on those six lanes coming down into tourist central. That slow crawl on a Friday afternoon got us to the park at 5 and the park closed at 9, however, that 4 hours was just magical. I spent most of this year trying to work a return trip but that never materialized but it's on top of my to-do list. If you've never been and enjoy a total park experience this place is just great (and I never even got to Craftsmans Valley). Oddly enough we did work in the Smokey Mountain Christmas show and that lived up to the reputation of Dollywood's great shows. Those of you fortunate to go this Holiday Season, soak some of it up for me.

I am planning to drive down with Dannerman from PA for the event. It will be the third year in a row for Dollywood Christmas for me.

Tina, remember last year when the sign for Thunderhead said wait time of "No" minutes? That was a great day.

This will be my first coasterfest event. I'm looking forward to it.

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thrillerman1 said:
I received an email today from Robert Ulrich, the event organizer, and the registration deadline is this coming Wednesday, the 7th.

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Oops. :) I accidentaly hit a "1" before the 6. I meant to put the 6th, since that's what is on the form.

I remember, Matt. :) That was classic!

-Tina

Help...I never usually eat much when I go to DW, but for the event this Saturday I want to sample some of the park's best. I've had their turkey legs and ice cream, but what else is recommended? Anyone?

I never have had their skillet fare but I know it smells damn good. Picture

I've had their BBQ over by Tennessee Tornado which was good.

thrillerman1, Stop in at the Grist Mill and get some of their cinnamon bread. If you are coming out of Craftsmans Valley, look to your right from the larger than life Christmas Carousel (christmas pyramid, candle driven carousel, or whatever you might call it), follow the train trestle to the pond with the water wheel. The water wheel is on the side of the Grist Mill building (you can enter it from the second story just uphill from the RR crossing.

Anyone else find the personalized wooden baseball bat stand on the downhill side of the train trestle a bit odd/out of place?

Any side trip planned to go over to ride Speedway Draft this weekend?

I know I plan on getting it and hopefully the Zorb and alpine slide too.

Thanks for the food tips. I'd forgotten about the cinnamon bread so that will be a must.

*** Edited 11/14/2007 12:07:16 AM UTC by thrillerman1***

I just received an email from Robert Ulrich about Coasterfest. This is what it said.

Due to the overwhelming response with members and guests coming from around the country, our ERT schedule for Blazing Fury will now start at 9:00 AM, and will last for an hour (originally it was scheduled for only 30 minutes).

Check in will be available starting at 8:30 AM at the main gate to the park.