Greetings all. Our family is considering a summer getaway, albeit planning late, and we're considering Dollywood.

First, we're quite familiar with WD and that is the standard we'll use for comparison. What we want to know are a few things:

• Are the roller coasters comparable to WD?
  
• Are there enough attractions that keep us busy?
  
• We usually have the "food package" at WD; what is the food opportunity like at Dollywood?
  

Having grown-up with WD, our family's age is now starting at the very late teen years. So, is Dollywood a viable alternative to WD?

Dollywood and Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge are tourist traps in general. But if you’re looking for nice cabin and nature views there is plenty see in the Smokey Mountains.

Dollywood is no where close to being a D.W. but it is something to do and not that bad. The rides are minimal and alright for what they are. I haven't been there in over 15 years but we would get a cabin in the Smokies for a few days and just enjoy the area for what it is. Ober Gatlinburg is a touristy area but still ok to waste some time. They have a few things to do-shops, museums,etc., but will be costly.

Drove through the Pigeon Forge retail strip nearly 20 years ago. I think it was the first time I saw fast food restaurants repeat themselves. Of course, I live in a backwater with much smaller scale tourism.

Much smaller than WDW. They used to have more stage shows. I hear there's a new young kids area that just opened. Nice park in tourist area. While being a tourist area, there's still lots to do, and a lot free, like visit Cade's Cove. It's like Opryland if you ever went there.

Dollywood is more of a day or two park so no food plan. It's basically theme park counter-service meals. The entire area has tons of nice restaurants though, like Corky's, Calhouns, Bubba Gumps, etc.

Plenty of great coasters and rides at Dollywood. Very comparable to WD in that regard.

More shows to site down and watch at Dollywood I think.

No food packages, but plenty of places to eat. It will be expensive food as usual.

My daughters grew up with season passes and we didn't have a lot of money for fancy vacations. So we went often (and even at college age, they still go several times a year). One year my parents took our whole family to WD in FL. After the trip my mom asked the girls and (being honest children who didn't know they should have lied) they told her they liked Dollywood better...

Now that Harry Potter world is open, my girls probably would rather do that again than Dollywood if the time and effort were equal - but they aren't.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
Dollywood is no where close to being a D.W. but it is something to do and not that bad. The rides are minimal and alright for what they are. I haven't been there in over 15 years but we would get a cabin in the Smokies for a few days and just enjoy the area for what it is. Ober Gatlinburg is a touristy area but still ok to waste some time. They have a few things to do-shops, museums,etc., but will be costly.

If you haven't been in 15 years - the rides have quadrupled since then and are very upscale.

Just a thought, if you're into coasters then Cedar Point in Ohio wins.

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
Just a thought, if you're into coasters then Cedar Point in Ohio wins.

Kings Island beat Cedar Point back in my day, I'm sure things have changed since 1986

I have kept season passes for Dollywood for the last 9-10 years...my late wife and I would usually go at least a half dozen times a year, often with our kids and grand children. We live about 90 miles away and it's a pleasent drive taking US411...

Dollywood is not DW (not a bad thing IMHO) and is sure not Six Flags Over Georgia (a REALLY good thing...I vowed to never grace that place again 25 years ago)...

So back to Dollywood...it is my favorite theme park...it's an old park but it has been updated and modernized over the years. There are really good roller coasters...The Eagle is my favorite (great, smooth and ride) followed by Thunderhead, then the Tennesee Tornado...sadly I have never had the chance to ride the Lightning Rod (but it gets great reviews)...there is also a new section of the park just opened called Wildwood Grove (I have not seen it as of yet...

There are sections of the park especially tailored to younger kids...my grandkids aged 7 and 9 enjoy them...the live steam train is neat (I'm a retired railroader )...it was used to build the railway through Canada during WWII and is still 100% coal fired...

Food wise...I rank Dollywood towards the top...you have typical theme park food, but better than most at reasonable prices IMHO ($9.00 -$10.00 range. Drinks are priced accordingly...one thing that Dollywood offers is several "all you can eat" resturants with IMHO good (for a theme park) selections and quality...here is a screenshot from a video of prices and selection at one resturant as an example...



The park can get crowded on weekends during the summer but we alway hit it in the middle of the week and crowds were lighter and sometimes nonexistent...no lines or waits but YMMV.

You might do a YouTube search for Dollywood to get a feel of the place.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/IXraCnbpfU8

All the touristy towns. Hats, t-shirts and taffy. Same crap in different states.

My kids are roller coaster fanatics - so much so that I get to plan family vacation destinations around them. We have visited 20 Coaster Parks since 2010.

Cedar Point is the without a doubt the roller coaster capital of the US - with 18 coasters - 8 of which are classified as "Corellian class" - whatever the hell that means. (my sons terminology). But - Cedar Point is an adult/teen park - and does not have much to offer younger kids and toddles other than a new waterpark. The good thing is that the park is laid out on a beautiful peninsula at Lake Erie - and you can stay in the park at Breakers, which is right on the lake. It's expensive - but there's a TGIF with a great bar right on the Beach for Mom & Dad.

It's been maybe 4 years since we went to Dollywood. The kids would have been 5, 7, and 9. The park was clean and we had fun. It had some good roller coasters.

We've been to Disney World twice and have done all the parks there. Despite being Florida residents and getting discounted Disney World tickets Dollywood was a better value.

Two things really struck me about Dollywood. First, after handing someone your ticket, you just walked in. No cavity searches, no metal detectors, etc. Magic Kingdom on the other hand, wait in line to get on the boat, wait in line to get give someone your ticket, wait in line to go through security, wait in line to the into the park. This may have changed at Dollywood as most parks have been adding more security theater in the last few years. The second thing was you could buy a t-shirt inside the park that said "Sometimes you jave to call 1911" with a nice 1911 on it.

That all being said. We've done Cedar Point each of the last 5 years on our way to Michigan for the summer. If you want roller coasters, Cedar Point. If you ride them all once, you'll have been on 12 miles of track, inverted 28 times, launched to 120mph in 3.6 seconds, and over 400 feet up. Unlike most parks that have 5 or so roller coasters and one stands out as your favorite, Cedar Point has 18 and 5 or 6 of them are exceptional. Really hard to pick a favorite. They also have a Chick Fil A inside.

King's Island is owned by the same company, Cedar Fair and some of the roller coasters there are similar to the ones at Cedar Point. But King's Island has some unique ones as well that would make it worthwhile. The Beast: a wooden roller coaster with over 7,300 feet of track. We haven't been there yet, but are thinking of stopping on the way back to Florida.

quote:

Originally posted by OMCHamlin:
Well, it's been OVER 30 years since I've been there, but I do recall a time when it was called Gold Rush Junction, then Silver Dollar City before Dollywood. And those names were a loooong time ago!

Either way, when we go back to that neck of the woods, hopefully this fall, MY "Dollywood" is going to be Smokey Mountain Knife Works and Buds Guns, both within the same parking lot! I also intend on visiting some realtors in surrounding areas, I might just want to end up retiring in that area, just like pop did in the 70's. I lived there through my teen years, before I joined the Navy in '83, and I miss it (but not the tourist traffic, I remember that much!)

There's also a large pawn shop just south of the knife works - with a large gun selection. Bought my last gun there a few months ago. Then went to knife works to buy some boxes of ammo for it...

quote:

Originally posted by craigcpa:


First, we're quite familiar with WD

What is WD?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by craigcpa:


First, we're quite familiar with WD

What is WD?

Walt Disney. As in World.

Thanks, all for the input. I'm pretty sure our decision is made. Video from Bisley gave us what we wanted, now onto scheduling and figuring how to lock this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
Just a thought, if you're into coasters then Cedar Point in Ohio wins.

Kings Island beat Cedar Point back in my day, I'm sure things have changed since 1986

Gotta love the Beast. And the rides for smaller children were better at Kings Island. My boys were 5 and 6 in 1986.