First Dollywood Visit: 7/16/07

Had a wonderful trip to the Smoky Mountains National Park last week, but our one day at Dollywood was the highlight. The trip was made with my elderly mother so we were going to skip DW altogether because-being a park/coaster junkie myself-I didn't think she would care for it. Surprisingly she suggested we go and we are so glad we did. Thanks to the tips and advice I got from the forums here, we all had a great day.

I just can't say enough wonderful things about Dollywood. I started a thread here for help with trip planning and to everyone who sang DW's praises in that thread...you were right! It turned out to be an ideal place to take my older mom. She was in awe of the lush landscaping and sheer beauty of the park, loved all the shows. She saw 5 shows that day while we rode rides. In fact, there was almost MORE for her to do as a non-rider than us. No complaints about the rides though, what they lack in number of rides, they make up for in overall quality. Mystery Mine blew me away! Loved it! Timber Tower had reopened, so got to try it. It's unique but not nearly the thrill of a frisbee. TN Tornado has to be my favorite Arrow looper. I could go on and on about Thunderhead, but if you've ridden it you know what I mean. I still haven't been to Holiday World, but I'm going ASAP if Legend, Raven, or Voyage is even half as good as Thunderhead. I thought it was a truly amazing ride. Maybe the best coaster overall I've ever ridden. I'm liking the wood more and more.

The food (as everyone said) was fantastic but the real highlight at Dollywood is the staff. Each and every person we came in contact with was sincerely polite and friendly and went the extra mile with everything without even being asked. It was more like being a guest of a 5-star resort than a theme park. These people actually seem to like..no, LOVE their jobs and take great pride in the park. It was refreshing to see so many "older" people as employees-especially operating rides. You don't see that everyday. I certainly don't have anything against teenagers having a summer job in an amusement park, but it's just another nice/unusual thing that makes Dollywood unique. Hard to top the park's actual setting though on the mountain. The train ride gives a great view of the '08 attraction's construction area. This thing is going to be quite large. We were there before the official announcement, so we had no idea what was going to go there. It's great that with it they are connecting the two back areas of the park. I hope to see Dollywood grow and grow, but not too big to lose it's charm. This was the first of many visits here I hope. In many ways, my favorite park yet.

We bought into the Wyndham timeshare system last year, in part to support our park visiting habits--they've got resorts in Orlando, Anaheim, Williamsburg, Branson, the Dells,
San Antonio, and Sevierville, among others. Now we can stay near the parks in 2BR condos rather than hotel rooms. A big step up, for those of you with kids.

We're staying in the Sevierville resort in late August, and really really looking forward to it. Each of these stellar TRs gets me more and more geeked for the trip.
*** Edited 7/26/2007 2:25:12 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

Yup, this is one park that bucks the system and ELDERLY ATTEND REGULARLY. The times I've been there the rides were never real long waits, The shows however pack em in.

Chuck, who calls it one of the true family parks out there.

If you liked Thunderhead, Holiday World is a MUST! IMO, Voyage stomps on Thunderhead!

Oh, and Raven and Legend aren't that bad either. ;)

Thunderhead and the Voyage are so good at what they do. They are such different rides, but I still have found no competition for the Voyage.

Looking forward to the Fall Affair!

Nice TR!

Peace.

Glad you had a good time at DollyWood. IMO, it is the best park, period for all-around fun.

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Brian Noble said:
Each of these stellar TRs gets me more and more geeked for the trip.

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I didn't write a TR for report this spring, but Dollywood may be my favorite park in the country now, and Thunderhead was closed. ALL DAY.

I was (I think understandably) a bit sullen for a good part of the morning when I found out the ride wouldn't be opening but by the end of the day it was one of the best times I've ever had at any park.

Seriously, the place was just. that. good. The next time I make the trek from Connecticut I'm going to go when the waterpark is open and dedicate no less than 3 days to the whole thing.

IMO anybody who has a day like I did at Dollywood and doesn't describe it like a raving "oh my god this place is amazing" lunatic is probably selling the park very short.

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matt. said:

Seriously, the place was just. that. good. The next time I make the trek from Connecticut I'm going to go when the waterpark is open and dedicate no less than 3 days to the whole thing.

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Oh! If you had fun in the park.... YOU WILL LOVE THE WATERPARK!