Associated parks:
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA
My wife's annual conference is in May each year, so this is a convenient time for me to do something that's not high on her list. This year, I spent the week in Sevierville hiking in the National Park and taking in all that Dollywood has to offer. Home base for the week was Wyndham Smoky Mountains. This is a great location, with easy access to Veterans Blvd. Between Veterans and the Gatlinburg Bypass, you can get to most points in the National Park avoiding almost all of the disaster that is the Parkway. It's also an easy 5-10 minute drive to the Dollywood parking booths.
When I'm here for this long, I usually get a season pass so I can come and go in the park rather than try to pack everything into a couple of days. This isn't the cheapest way to do it, but at Dollywood it's still not that expensive. The Gold pass is $230+tax, and includes parking plus a 15% discount on food and merch. Something new (to me) with this pass: you can use it for the expedited queues in the first hour of operation. In most of the park, that doesn't matter. At Lighting Rod, it can be very useful. Big Bear does not have its expedited queue open yet--standby only.
It looked like Thunderhead had some retracking done---a good chunk of wood that is new and not yet as weathered as the rest of the structure. From poking around the Interwebz, it seems as though it's been a multi-year process. It's in great shape now, and is remarkably smooth. Definitely a strong improvement over the last time I was on it in '19.
Lightning Rod was only running one train for the first several days, leading to some painful lines. They got the second train on during my visit, but I ended up with an aborted launch and a walk-off that day. The second train was back the next day, and the ride seemed more reliable, but YMMV with this one. The train still hauls, and there are a few spots where things are less-than-perfect-RMC smooth--from what I can tell, all of these are spots that still use the topper and were not replaced with I-Box in the '20-'21 off season.
Big Bear is going to be a solid addition if not a hit for the park. It's a great family coaster, with some thrilling moments but nothing that is too scary for the bulk of the guests. Based on the lines that Firechaser (the other family-demographic coaster) generates, there is clearly demand for this. As noted, no expedited queue, so the standby line moves as fast as it can, and they were still generating consistenly among the longest lines in the park (except for one-train LR). Some of that is because it is the New Hotness, but I suspect it will carry forward for a while. I didn't get a front-ish ride, (or if I did, it was not memorable), but the back row is surprisingly fun.
Flower and food is...okay. If you are thinking Epcot, this is nothing like that. The food in particular was uninspired, and there were only a handful of things that even seemed interesting. There are several great topiaries, but they are limited to a fairly small section of the park--pretty much just Showstreet and Rivertown. On the other hand, there were a few festival-only entertainment acts added to the usual outstanding lineup. For those that haven't been, Dollywood has among the best live-e anywhere. Bloom was fun, definitely different, and worth watching. Not everything is a hit--the "new-to-me" acts in Back Porch and Village Depot were only okay. For me, Dreamland Drive-In is the must-see of the bunch. It is working on its 18th year or so, and is still just great. It's probably the longest in-park show I've ever seen, clocking in at just over 50 minutes or so, but even then it feels like it could be just fine if it were a bit longer; the last all-cast scene packs a lot into a short bit.
As mentioned, the festival food was...meh. But Granny Ogle's is still pumping out great pit ham, beans, and greens for a good price. A meal and an unsweet tea came to maybe $19 before tax and tip. The same at the Smokehouse--a plate of pulled pork and sides was $16.
GSMNP is not summer-busy just yet, but it is definitely busy. If you plan to go to any of the crowd favorites, it's worth getting there early. This was also just a little bit late for spring wildflowers. I got in late Friday night, so got a late start Saturday. I pulled into the Clingman's Dome parking lot about noon, and there were only a handful of parking spots left. I parked in an empty Little River trailhead around 9A a few days later, but by the time my hike was done at 11:30, it was full. Of the hikes I took, Hen Wallow Falls was both my favorite and easily the least crowded.
One of the downsides of this area is the food--a lot of tourist traps that are mediocre or worse, and "country cooking" everywhere you look. The latter can be very good, but it all sort of bleeds together. The Applewood Farmhouse is one of the better country cooking spots. The Appalachian, in town in Sevierville, is an exception to the rule--the trout I had was trying to do one too many things, flavor-wise, but it was still very good, and a cool ambiance. It is more of a locals night-out spot than a tourist destination, which is probably why it's Not Like All The Others.
Finally, the park has always been what I'd describe as "faith-forward." They do not have a holiday festival, or a winter festival. It is a Christmas festival. One of the biggest and longest-running acts is a Gospel quartet, and you'll get some of that in most of the musical acts. None of that has changed, of course, and the guests have always been long on the same. But, I noticed a lot more christian nationalism and all that goes along with it among the guests than I have on prior visits--the most recent was about a year before the '20 federal election and associated fallout. I'm not sure if I'm just paying more attention, or if it's truly gotten more visible, or maybe a bit of both. Worth keeping in mind if you're planning a visit.
Brian Noble:
The Applewood Farmhouse is one of the better country cooking spots.
Agreed 100%. I could probably be fine just eating their “complimentary” Apple fritters and drinking apple juleps all night, but their food is really good. Same goes for the Old Mill Pottery Cafe closer to Dollywood and the Five Oaks Farm Kitchen across from the Tanger Outlets. Both had outstanding food (Old Mill’s desserts were phenomenal) and the service was great. One place I cannot recommend though is Paula Deen’s over at The Island. I guess for tourists who don’t know any better it’s a good place, but I thought the food was on the same level as high school cafeteria food. Plus, they didn’t have biscuits during lunch/dinner. How does a southern place named after a woman who made biscuits on her show more times than I can count not have them on the menu? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks for the TR. it’s been 4 years since I’ve been down there… I think it’s time to get back again!
No biscuits seems like a major miss. Those Big Name places are usually at best okay and often bad. Another board I’m on asked for “foodie” recommendations in the area. Short of the Appalachian and maybe the Local Goat (I haven’t been) there is nothing even in the ballpark that I can think of.
That didn’t stop someone from recommending Guy Fieri’s Flavortown though, which always reminds me of the best worst restaurant review I’ve ever read.
We ate at the Local Goat for lunch on our last visit based on the reviews and we liked it. Wasn’t the greatest restaurant ever, but it was definitely better than the chain places (looking at you Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen!). Plus they had fresh-cut fries, so that’s always a win in my book, and again, the service was outstanding. I’d give it a recommendation if you’re back in the area again. It’s also next door to that weird powered mountain coaster and the suspended one with Boo Blasters attached… it doesn’t get any more Smoky Mountains-ish than that! 😄
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