31 May and 2 June, 2023
When planning this trip, I had to make some tough decisions. I had also wanted to go to Six Flags St Louis, Silver Dollar City, Six Flags over Georgia, and Fun Spot America. Budget and time were blowing out though, and I felt uneasy about ending the trip in Atlanta. This was because I knew that Dollywood was going to be so unbelievably awesome, that ending at any of the other parks would mean not finishing the trip on a high note. I hacked away at the itinerary and settled on Dollywood as a great conclusion to my fairytale trip.
The bus ride from Charlotte to Knoxville was a much nicer experience from my previous one. The only odd part was a transfer at a service station in the middle of nowhere as it was getting dark. I sent James a photo just in case I went missing, so police would have my last known location.
I had an uncomfortable discussion with a young guy at that service station, who was in tears, getting high, and commenting on my “sexy” accent. He had just left his partner and her child due to her abusive ways and hadn’t told them he was leaving. I was relieved when the second bus turned up! The driver asked if I had transport organised at the other end, in Knoxville East. I told her I had just planned to call a taxi or Uber. She said I had to figure it out before I arrived, because the area was not good, and she had other passengers who had gotten stuck there before. I intentionally booked the closest hotel I could find to the bus station, in case I couldn’t find public transport and had to walk. Strolling along a freeway with my luggage after midnight in an unfamiliar area was not appealing, so I called numerous taxi companies from the bus. I found that Uber and Lyft did not allow me to make advance bookings from multiple locations, including this one. I finally got on to a taxi driver from a small business, who was willing to come and collect me around 12.20am.
The bus arrived a little early, and the area was dodgier than I had envisaged with some shady looking people hanging around, and revved up cars flying through the back streets. There were a couple of security staff nearby, so I asked if they would kindly wait with me until the taxi turned up. After a five minute drive, things didn’t really improve at the hotel. I was exhausted and just wanted to check in and go to bed. However I was stuck behind a woman who had been arguing with staff for 3 hours, as she did not have funds on her card to pay for a room. She had been on the phone to her bank all that time, while staff appeared unable to help from the protection of Perspex screens. I had never ever been to a hotel before that had screens up everywhere, so this was not filling me with any confidence! 30 minutes later, staff asked the lady to wait in her car and to let them know when her bank had sorted it out. They were then able to help me, and the two men now also waiting. I went straight to my room, deadbolted the door, and tried to get some sleep despite the incessant traffic noise. Things could only go up from here!
I woke up early, keen to get out of that area as soon as I could! I was also unsure if I would find an Uber willing to take me on the 50-minute drive to Pigeon Forge, so I needed time to plan a backup. As it turns out, I was gifted with the loveliest driver who picked me up about 30 minutes later. We had a great chat the whole way, with lots of sightseeing tips and which tourist traps to avoid. He spoke so lovingly about Dolly Parton, and how she was such a big part of the three towns down this way (Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg). He said that the town will be simply devastated when Dolly passes away, as she IS the town. Dolly was known to occasionally make appearances at the park for new ride openings, or for the first day of the season etc, but I knew it was unlikely I would get to see her in person.
I arrived at All Seasons Suites which was about a 50-minute walk from Dollywood. I couldn’t justify the costs of the Dollywood onsite hotel (Dreammore) and felt that All Seasons was perfectly situated near the trolley (tram) station and in the middle of all three towns. It was really awkward when the hotel staff member said no to me storing my luggage at the hotel prior to check in. When I explained that I was from overseas, had no car, and had hoped to go to Dollywood that day, they kindly agreed to store my suitcase and my travel backpack behind the counter, insisting that they would not be responsible for it. This meant I could just take my daypack with me which was great.
I didn’t as yet understand the colour coded trolley system, and couldn’t download the apps to check the schedules. Google Play was telling me these apps were not available to my region, despite me using a US sim card at that point. So instead of wasting time trying to find out how to get to Dollywood, I just started walking along a very busy road. About 50 minutes later I made it to one of the major Dollywood car parks, and somehow ended up on the main trolley road instead of the pedestrian access. One trolley stopped and the driver told me I had to get on the other side of the fence. The fence looked a bit awkward to climb, so I lay down on the warm concrete and commando rolled my way underneath. Keeping it classy!
From the Cotton Candy car park, I caught a little Dollywood carriage to the main gate. I was finally here!! The crowds were huge, reminding me a bit of a Disneyland experience. I scanned the crowds and noticed a few things. Firstly, people were very happy, friendly and kind. They loved to have a chat, and were very good at over sharing with strangers. Secondly, people were very white. It seemed that the further south I travelled, the less diverse the population. Thirdly, I had never seen so many elderly people at a fun park before, and I loved it! I was very excited to step inside, and find out what it was that attracted people of all ages. Finally, the number of people renting electric or motorised scooters was massive. Some of these guests were elderly, and many were morbidly obese. Every fun park I had visited so far was very flat, but I had heard that Dollywood could be difficult to get around due to the hills. I liked that the park had made their experience inclusive and accessible, but must admit it was challenging at times navigating around so many scooters.
Before I even experienced any rides, I was so in love with the park. I had arrived during the Food and Flower festival, so the gardens and topiary were bursting with colour and creativity. The atmosphere was amazing, with Dolly songs, blue grass, or a bit of country greeting you at every turn. There were gorgeous little cottages and cabins dotted around the surrounding hills, and I wondered about the people lucky enough to live there. The park was very clean, and there were handy recharge stations which I had not found at any other park. There was also another bonus: hard copies of maps and show schedules!
Due to the beautiful surroundings, there was an abundance of birdlife around. Ducklings were swimming in every pond, plus the park also had some aviaries for eagles, vultures, hawks and owls. The eagles were not able to be released into the wild, but they did at least have the largest bald eagle aviary in the US.
Once I finally got through the gates, I went to buy a photo pass. I was shocked when they told me it would be $60USD just for the photo pass, especially as it only worked for a small selection of rides and roaming photographers! The other downside was that many of the photo booths at the rides were closed, so you had to remember the rough time of your ride, and head to the main photo booth near the entry at the end of the day, to try and find all your pictures to add. I was already getting the sense that this part of my trip would be very pricey.
I then headed to Lightning Rod in the Jukebox Junction area, the coaster nearest to the entry and the one that I was most looking forward to. There was a 10 minute delay with opening, during which the queue was forming outside of the queue area. By the time the chain was dropped, I was somewhere in the middle of that queue, and had a 30 minute wait ahead of me.
I had considered buying a fast pass, but was turned off by the $80USD cost for the time saver plus. While it was good for some of the rides, it only let you use it on Lightning Rod and Dragonflier once each, and you could not use it on their brand new coaster, Big Bear Mountain (which was fair enough). I could see that crowds continued to swell, so while I was waiting, I gave in and bought the fast pass online. At that point I was near the front of the queue, so that meant I could save the Lightning Rod single use for later in the day. I did find that by using a digital time saver pass in addition to the Dollywood app, my phone battery had no stamina. On several occasions, I had to charge it before lining up for a ride, so it had enough juice to get scanned. In the middle of the day I went to guest services for a hard copy/lanyard of the time saver pass instead. Dollywood must have sold a huge amount of fast passes, because even the fast pass queues were around 30-60 minutes long for Lightning Rod, Firechaser Express, Dragonflier and Mystery Mine. Every second person seemed to be dangling a fluorescent orange lanyard around their neck.
So was Lightning Rod worth the wait and the hype? Yes and no. The hot rod style theming was perfect, and I have never experienced anything like that launched uphill section, which was crazy fun! The track was a spectacular RMC creation with great drops, speed, twists and turns. The B&M style fakey drop after the first hill was unexpected, and the scenery was simply stunning. The front row experience was wonderful, but my turn in the back row (later in the day) was surprisingly rough. At one point, I came down really hard after one of the airtime hills and felt my spine compressing a bit. I don’t think the coaster was as great as other RMCs like Steel Vengeance and Goliath though, so in that respect, possibly not worth the wait. The other major issue is that Lightning Rod was notorious for breaking down. I read that the coaster first opened in 2016 as a pure wooden coaster, which was then considered the fastest wooden coaster in the world. However it experienced numerous issues early on and was converted to an RMC steel topper track just a few years later. While I was at Dollywood, there were at least 4 stoppages that I was aware of, generally lasting for an extended amount of time.
I continued in an anti clockwise loop, skipping the water rides in Rivertown Junction for the time being. The next coaster I came across was a weird little indoor dark ride called Blazing Fury. This was like a ghost train, but instead of ghouls you saw lots of models of old people. The mining themed ride was very slow, until you hit an unexpected drop at the end. I think this had the potential to shock little ones and elderly riders!
The third coaster of the day was Tennessee Tornado, which had a zero wait time. Located right at the back of the park, I could not believe this steel clunker had only opened in 1999, because it was equally as rough as some of the other Arrows I had ridden that were constructed in the 70s and 80s. I hung on tight to the harness in an attempt to keep my head still, but still copped a few smacks to the head!
Located nearby in Craftsman’s Valley, was the Wild Eagle. Signage was deceiving, and it looked like I would be forced to pay for a $12 locker for this attraction, I did so, and was annoyed to see there were actually storage boxes at the top. Dollywood was the only park I attended where there was no need to get lockers at all.
Wild Eagle was a solid looking B&M , and was apparently North America’s first wing coaster. I loved that the trains were built to look like giant eagles. Like Gatekeeper, The Swarm and X-Flight, I find these wing coasters super fun without being scary. Wild Eagle had a giant vertical loop, a little airtime hill and a few other inversion type features. It was also the first ride that I really appreciated the time saver pass on. The general queue was huge, and even though I still waited for about 20 minutes, I really felt for the other patrons who had 90-120 minutes ahead of them. While in the area I rode Wild Eagle twice, unsure if I would make it back later in the day.
The next coaster along was located in Wilderness Pass. Firechaser Express was a lovely little inclusion, themed around a volunteer fire station. It felt like the ride could also be a memorial towards the local firefighters, who had dealt with some intense forest fires over the years, including Gatlinburg in 2016. Firechaser was interesting to watch due to its mid ride changes where parts of the track rotated, enabling both forwards and backwards launches. Like most other experiences at Dollywood, the theming was very well done complete with a backstory!
Basically some crazy guy thought fireworks sounded like a good idea, despite the dry forest conditions. Mid ride, one of the big fireworks “explodes”, shooting the train out backwards, which I guess is sending it to fight the fire? I appreciated that the ride was pretty long for a family coaster, because the wait time for the general queue was astronomical, and close to 30 minutes for the fast pass queue. Unlike at the other parks I had visited, staff were better about letting smaller groups of fast pass people in, which was fairer to the rest of the visitors. Even though I had paid a lot of money for the time saver pass, I appreciated that this didn’t mean you just automatically got to go in front of everyone.
The nearby Mystery Mine was surprisingly one of my favourite coasters at the park. I knew this indoor/outdoor coaster would be a little rough, fondly remembering my time on the Eureka Gold Mine at Dreamworld as a kid. The first half of the ride had some short and sharp little drops which do a hurt a bit, but the second half of the ride was great. I really enjoyed the indoor vertical lift hill and drop and found the last part of the track to have wider turns and transitions making it much smoother. Again, the fast pass line still required a 30-minute wait, but I had some great conversations with those over sharers I mentioned earlier! I also enjoyed watching some of the trains go by with test dummies in them, which kind of looked like cordial bottles filled with sand. I returned to this ride later in the day and was much happier to get away with a 5-minute wait instead.
I ticked off the obligatory kiddy coaster, called Whistle Punk Chaser located in Timber Canyon. Riders had 3 laps of the short track, complete with a stupidly jerky little lift hill. It felt like your back was getting slapped, so there was no chance you would choke to death.
Right next door was Thunderhead. While I was in the queue there were some mechanical issues which resulted in a short delay. I found it interesting at Dollywood, that before they opened a ride to the public after downtime, they sent a staff member on a lap first. Was the park trying to say that they would rather their staff get hurt than the general public? I felt that if the ride was fine for the staff, it was good to go for me too!
Thunderhead ended up being another wonderful surprise, because all the hype at the park seemed to be around Lightning Rod and Big Bear Mountain. I truly loved Thunderhead , and realised I had missed the experience of a pure old school wooden coaster that had a fun rattle, instead of a painful rattle. Named after an actual peak in the Great Smoky Mountains, the ride had surprising speed and sharp turns, with a fun little section where the train went flying through the load area. The airtime was some of the best I had ever experienced. Similar to American Eagle at Six Flags Great America, the airtime was prolonged, and this occurred on numerous occasions. This was one of my favourite wooden coasters of all time, and it was tough deciding whether this one or Lightning Rod was my number one coaster for the day.
I found Wildwood Grove a little awkward to access, and could see that if you missed a sharp turn you would have walked past it all together. Thanks to the physical paper maps though, I could easily trace the path and headed to Dollywood’s newest coaster, Big Bear Mountain. This only opened a couple of weeks before I arrived, so I expected teething issues like all new coasters. There was significant down time throughout the day, so I thought I had better join the queue while it was at least operating. The line was intimidating, and time saver passes could not be used on this attraction.
The queue system wound its way through three tent-like structures, and then various outdoor sections too. The theming helped to pass the time though, with various props to read and examine. The premise was that a mythical big bear had been roaming around Wildwood Grove, and people were desperate to see it. There were logbooks, posters, and various other information about bears throughout the queue area. The staff were working really hard to keep the line moving, and despite its length, I was pleasantly surprised to get to the loading area in about 45 minutes.
Your safari style car launches out of the load area, into an experience that really is fun for the whole family. It is very flat to the ground for most of the way, so younger rides won’t freak out with any massive heights or drops. There are multiple launches, a pass under a waterfall, and some very zippy sections. The theming continues in the trains, with speakers in each carriage encouraging you to look out for the bear. This Vekoma really is a beauty that takes you on a fun journey through a story, and through a good chunk of the park! The track is over one kilometre long, so it is also a good rest for your feet. Big Bear Mountain is a perfect example of how wonderful a family coaster can be. It doesn’t need to be slow, rough or compact, and it can have some thrilling elements like fast launches.
I also asked a roaming staff member to take a photo of me with a nearby bear mascot. Wouldn’t you know it, the staff member was Clover! This guy had a bit of a fan following online due to his super happy and kind nature, and his desire to take selfies on other peoples’ phones. I felt lucky enough to get one such Clover selfie!
The last coaster left on my list was Dragonflier, another Vekoma. Known as a suspended flying coaster, this was so much better than what I was expecting. Like similar models (Rugrats, Kiddyhawk etc), I was anticipating a slow and rough ride. It was really smooth though, with quite a forceful first drop. I loved that the coaster employed a lap bar instead of a harness, meaning the ride was very pleasant. I was beginning to wonder if Vekoma were the leaders in family coasters, because here was another example of a ride that was not “dumbed down” for kids, but was not over the top either. The only annoying aspect was that Dragonflier just had one train running. This was the only coaster at the entire park in this predicament and did result in a slow-moving line for both the time saver pass and general queue.
I went on two non-roller coaster rides for the day too. The first was Barnstormer in the Owen’s Farm area, which is a giant swing. I find these really fun, but must admit I would feel better with a harness or secondary restraint system. The floating sensation can be full on, but I guess nobody has died on one yet. Secondly, I also rode the Daredevil Falls. The day had been very hot and humid, so I enjoyed cooling off a bit on this log ride.
While in the area, I also stopped to watch a bird show called Wings of America. The show was a little slow, filled with very annoying dad jokes, but the birds were stunning. I loved the little Eastern Screech Owls that looked like a mix between a bird and a cat. There were so many other shows and little Dolly Parton attractions to see, but I had already decided to use another day solely for that purpose.
My second last coaster for the day was a re-ride on the Firechaser Express. Wouldn’t you know it, the ride got stuck, and after a 15 minute delay we were evacuated off. A couple of the adults on board were freaking out, but I quite enjoyed the novelty. I am sure I would feel differently if I was on a ride that got stuck upside down.
The timing was a bit unfortunate though, as I had come to love the final hour at each park. Crowds were right down, so you could just hit rides one after the other as long as you had some energy left to walk quickly or run between the attractions. The ride stoppage took a chunk out of that last hour for me, so I only got on one more coaster, which was Lightning Rod number three.
What a day! Dollywood was the first and only park of the entire trip, where every roller coaster was actually open. Even the drop tower was open, which was only the second time throughout the trip I had seen one in action. Without peer pressure, I had no desire to ride it however hehehe! Due to all the coaster closures at other parks, I sadly did not reach my 300th coaster at Dollywood. I would now need to rely on the mountain coasters in the region, which was going to be an expensive endeavour.
Despite the massive crowds, staff were working well and really churning people through rides as best they could. They were cheerful, social, and seemed to project a little bit of Dolly spirit themselves. It was also really interesting seeing a lot of young Thai people running the rides. Honestly I had not seen many people of Asian origin the whole trip, aware that migration patterns in the US are very different to Australia. People I spoke with mentioned that the area had a successful student exchange program running with Thailand, in an attempt to curb some of the staffing issues that many places were experiencing.
I didn’t buy any food at Dollywood, but was tempted by the local speciality, hot cinnamon bread. Alas the fast pass and photo pass had broken the budget alone, so the bread would need to wait.
As was a common experience on this trip, no single rider queues were in operation at Dollywood. It is therefore very frustrating to see train after train with empty seats, knowing it would speed up the entire queue by filling those seats. Staff were not even trying to fill them, and were not calling out for any single riders in the queue like they had done in the past. The more I thought about, the more I knew this was about money. If rides were running too efficiently and people didn’t freak out with the size of queues, nobody would buy overpriced fast passes. So parks actually needed queues to make money. Damn Capitalism!
I was totally exhausted after my first day at Dollywood. I went to the trolley station to get my way back to the hotel, and the line was unsurprisingly very long. The trolleys were packed, so instead of waiting for another one that I may not fit on, I shared an Uber home with a lovely young couple I met in the line. I collected my luggage from reception, and was so happy with my suite! It was a huge room complete with my first living area and kitchen of the trip. This was much cheaper than Dreammore, but it still felt like I was splurging a bit. It was so nice to be able to spread out, do a load of laundry, and feel really settled for the next few days.
Day 2
2 June
I decided I needed a rare day off from fun parks, so I didn’t return to Dollywood until 2 June. I was now very comfortable with the trolley system, so I walked to the Old Mill Mass Transit Station near the hotel, and paid $1US to get the trolley to the front gates. I had bought a three day Dollywood pass that could be used within five days, which gave me great flexibility with my days.
The park was much quieter than my first visit, so I didn’t worry about the time saver passes. As soon as I was through the gates at around 9.30am, I headed left to Big Bear Mountain. According to Facebook, delays meant that the ride didn’t operate at all the previous day, so I was keen to ride it again if it opened. I was stopped about half way, and I reckon around half the people in the park were now gathering at this junction. As soon as the clock hit 10am, the chain went down and off we went. I knew all those hours bushwalking and playing roller derby would come in handy! Although I was stuck in the middle of the pack, I was able to dodge and overtake most of the people on the long walk uphill, meaning I was one of the first to ride Big Bear that day (yes, it was open!)
The queue for Dragonflier was non-existent, so I had another re-ride on that one too. I did a bit of shopping in this area, checked out a neat little indoor playground, then got down to business and started scheduling the shows.
First up was a novel outdoor experience called Bloom. This Cirque du Soleil style show was part of the Food and Flower festival, and involved three artists doing cool stuff on bendy poles. I couldn’t help but think of Kate Miller-Heidke’s Eurovision entry, and sang Zero Gravity to myself. The artists started off in costumes that looked like little green buds, then they removed these cloaks and bloomed into beautiful twirling flowers. I loved the bearded performer who was clearly feeling so much joy in his flower dress. This was a great show, and I was surprised more people were not sitting around watching.
I visited a nearby trailer, which Dolly herself apparently used when touring in the 1990s. This was pretty glamorous complete with makeup corner and gold fittings!
I wandered through a replica of Dolly’s childhood home too. I’ll admit I didn’t know much about Dolly’s family, so I was surprised to learn she had 10 brothers and sisters, growing up together in relative poverty in a tiny home. Dolly’s story is that she had big dreams, and never stopped dreaming. She encourages others to do the same.
Harmonies of the Heart was a wonderful 30-minute show where it felt like you were part of the family. Six singers and several additional musicians performed shortened versions of Dolly’s classics, mixed with some down to earth story telling about the life of Dolly. Her niece and cousin were two of the singers. The images projected on the screen behind them were beautiful, and the whole vibe was just so wholesome!
My favourite show of the day was probably the Hall sisters. They performed in front of the little chapel, which actually ran services on Sundays. Dolly is a woman of faith, and I love that so many parts of her life and ethos could be found in the park! The Hall sisters were very talented singers and musicians, and I adored their cover of Avicii’s Hey Brother. Their harmonies were beautiful. I now follow them online and look forward to downloading some of their tunes. They hung around after their set to sell merchandise, showing that either their talent was severely underappreciated, or they were just super down to earth gals.
Forever Country was a show not on that day, but a few other pop up acts were around like the Wild Roots Band.
After ticking off all the shows I was keen to see, I went back to the rides to get in a few extra thrills. I revisited Wild Eagle, Lightning Rod and Thunderhead. I also stumbled upon the Country Fair area, which I had not seen at all on my previous visit. It was kind of hidden on the east side of the park, needing to cross the railway line to get there. This was a bit annoying when the train came past, because the boom gate went down for what felt like an extended period of time. The Country Fair area was kind of like a mini carnival with lots of kiddy rides. The only one I went on was the Dizzy Disk which was another half pipe style ride. This area was really quiet and under visited. It felt like a good option for families who were looking for a calmer section of the park.
It was another hot and humid day in the mid 30s (celcius) which I was finding quite sapping. I ended up calling it a day in the early afternoon, and went back to the hotel for some R&R. This meant that I could build more energy for another afternoon/evening of mountain coasters. Many of the tourist attractions around Pigeon Forge didn’t close until 11-12pm, so there was plenty of life in the day yet!
Dollywood was just as wonderful as I had anticipated. Although I am not a huge fan of Dolly Parton’s music, I am a fan of her as a human being. She promotes kindness, love, faith, dreams, family and fun, and is just so down to earth, spirited and generous. She owns who she is and does not apologise for it. I ended up buying a book of “Dollyisms” because her truth and way of seeing the world is inspiring. Was Dollywood the greatest park in the world? Well, first and foremost I am a roller coaster enthusiast, and not an amusement park enthusiast. Therefore, Cedar Point and Europa are still my favourite fun parks in the world in terms of the quality and variety of coasters. Dollywood did not have the greatest assortment of high thrill rides, but made up for this with stunning landscaping, theming and atmosphere. I put Dollywood alongside Alton Towers and Busch Gardens in terms of parks that are just beautiful to visit.
I had planned to revisit Dollywood again on my final day in Pigeon Forge, but really felt that I had got everything out of the park that I had hoped for. Therefore I opted for a day in the Great Smoky Mountains instead. There was one major problem…staff at All Seasons would not let me store my luggage there on check out day. I Googled other storage locations, and the options were not great. I knew of a service called Bounce where local shops or services would agree to store your luggage for about $20 a day. This was a win-win because they had some space and could make a bit of extra cash. However there was only one Bounce location in the area, based at the UPS store. Due to it being a Saturday, the store closed at 3pm however. I had no idea if I could make it back to the store by 3pm, and therefore risked being stuck overnight and possibly missing my plane in Knoxville the following day. There appeared to be luggage storage available near Splash Country at Dollywood, but I was trying to avoid travelling in the wrong direction, which would have meant more Ubers and more money. There were no luggage storage options at any of the transit centres either. For an area that revolved around tourism, the lack of luggage options actually made it very difficult for tourists without cars.
When I explained all this to the hotel staff member and asked what I should do, he simply shrugged, offering no suggestions. Eventually he compromised and said he would be willing to store the suitcase only, again taking no responsibility. I had already packed a lightweight day pack, and put my other heavy items like my Chromebook into my travel backpack. He refused to store anything but the suitcase though which was already jam packed, so I ended up combining my two backpacks into one. Yes, I was about to go hiking with around 14 kilograms of weight, including essential outdoor items like my Chromebook, noise cancelling headphones and reading material.
I still had a great time walking around some of the low level trails in the Great Smoky Mountains, but was a little annoyed because I know I could have gone higher, longer and faster if I didn’t have to carry all the excessive useless items with me on a very hot and sweaty day. I returned to the hotel just after 3pm, and grudgingly gave the same staff member a tip for storing my suitcase. Next time, I would definitely consider staying at a cheaper hotel, and paying for a room for an additional day either side just to store my luggage. Alternatively I could hire a car and just leave it at the hotel as portable storage.
It was a shame that one of my final experiences in this area was conflict over stupid luggage, as Dollywood and Gatlinburg were two of my favourite experiences from the entire trip.
Roller Coaster Ramble 