Just visited Dollywood for the first time over the weekend and loved it. Wrote a review for TripAdvisor and I figured I'd share it here too. :ears:
Made the trek to Dollywood for the first time this weekend to celebrate my birthday and absolutely loved the park. I got the 3-day Splash & Play ticket which at about $91 or so was an amazing value. I spent 2 of those days at Dollywood and still felt like I didn't get to see everything and there was plenty more I wanted to do.
First, the service was incredible. It's mostly seniors working here and most of them were real sweet and friendly. Especially loved the ladies working at Chasing Rainbows, the Dolly museum! We did have one bad experience with one kettle corn worker but a quick visit to Guest Services and it was quickly sorted out.
What the park lacks in major rides, it makes up for in atmosphere. As much as I'm a themed ride and thrill junkie, I'd trade those for just taking in the sights and sounds of Dollywood all day, from the real train (which I didn't have a chance to ride), to the blacksmith workers, to Dolly's music piped in all over the park.
But the rides were great too. Barnstormer is definitely the best pendulum swinger I've ever been on, while Mystery Mine was scary and unpredictable. Thunderhead was the fastest, most thrilling wooden coaster I've encountered, and the Tennessee Tornado was fast but fun.
Blazing Fury was like stepping back into the 70's, Daredevil Falls was nicely done, Mountain Slidewinder was unlike anything I've ridden, and I got some big laughs out of Dolly's Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure tour. I missed out on River Rampage, Adventure Mountain, and River Battle.
Of the shows, I saw Sha-Kon-O-Hey, which was incredibly impressive, and Dreamland Drive-In, both some of the best produced theme park shows I've seen with equally talented casts. I also wanted to catch Wings of America and Dolly's Heartsong film but didn't have time for either!
As for food we ate at Aunt Granny's buffet and it was pretty good. We paid out of pocket though and still found it worth the price, especially for a theme park. I know there was a meal deal going on but it wasn't part of the Splash & Play. The cinnamon bread from Grist Mill was DELICIOUS as were the kettle corn and the bakery items, like the Maple Sticky Bun. Yum! Almost forgot the BIG Skillet sausage sandwich from Market Square. Eating that by the Friendship Fountain was a great lunch.
As for the prices.. I see a lot of people complain about the prices and I found a lot of things at Dollywood to be a BARGAIN. I'm from Florida which means I know the Orlando theme parks really well. Maybe you're unaware that parking at the Orlando parks is at whopping $15, which makes Dollywood's $8 a steal in comparison. Also, the $57 entrance fee is nothing when the Orlando parks have reached $90 a day.
There's so much to do at Dollywood. I didn't get a chance to see it all so I'm looking forward to next time, hopefully during Smoky Mountain Christmas where I hear the park is beautiful. But my first time at Dollywood was wonderful and I won't forget it. Thanks Dolly!