I went to Dollywood on 7/7 and 7/8 and had a blast! Got to take advantage of their great online ticket deal which if you enter the park after 3pm on the first day, then you get a 2nd day free. On top of that it includes a free meal at your choice of 3 restaurants.
The park overall is excellent. I even dare say I like it better than all the Orlando parks.
Lines were almost nonexistent; never waited more than 10 minutes for anything. The queues aren't even set up to hold much at all. Barnstormer's line was out the queue into the walkway and it was 10 minutes. I also really like how on some rides the line splits into two lanes: one for parties of "1 or 2" and another for parties of "3 or larger."
All the staff were great. They were all very friendly and seemed to enjoy what they do. They all had a "down home" friendliness to them as opposed to what I call the "brainwashed Disney employee" friendliness. Ride operations couldn't be better. They were great about calling for single riders to fill every seat and I liked how they would grab your loose articles from you instead of having everyone cross the train to use the bins. The employees weren't afraid to call out people on being dumb either which I enjoyed.
Food was very very good for a theme park. Definitely the best food of any park. Ate at the Ham and Beans place as well as Aunt Granny's buffet. The cinnamon bread at the mill is also something you can't miss!
I give this park the award for strangest parking lot layout. It just seemed all over the place. Tram service was very efficient so it didn't matter how far you were as a tram was always nearby.
I wanted to mention a funny situation I ran into at the end of our first day. There were 3 in my party (My sister, girlfriend, and I) and only 2 seats left on the tram we were trying to board. Naturally we turn to get back and wait for the next tram, but an employee walks up and says "why don't you just have her (my girlfriend) sit on your lap?" Being so used to the overprotective nature of the Orlando parks it surprised us to hear that. That would never fly on the trams here where they even go so far as to have doors to keep people from jumping out
Now onto the rides I rode.
Thunderhead:
Amazing, amazing, amazing. This ride packs a punch. Lots of airtime with an out of control feeling. Rode in the back and towards the middle. The back definitely whips you around, but I got more airtime sitting towards the middle.
Mystery Mine:
Lots of fun. I really liked the indoor section, and the drops as well as the final inversions were great! Two negatives to this ride for me were that the first outdoor section is pretty rough and the restraints got way too tight on my manhood.
Blazing Fury:
Such a fun and cheesy ride. Definitely a classic. The dark ride portion will make you laugh and the drops at the end pack a surprising punch. Also, the bridge falling effect is really good for being so old.
Tennessee Tornado:
Surprisingly smooth for an old Arrow. It's short, but a great ride. It is built into the terrain very well. The first loop feels funky.
Barnstormer:
A great time for all. I'm a big fan of the Screamin' Swings.
Mountain Slidewinder:
Basically a big waterslide ridden on a toboggan. A pretty wild ride. You really get up high on the turns. Got to see footer work for the new ride on the way up.
Daredevil Falls:
A nicely themed flume ride.
All in all we had a great time. You can get a good look at the track for the new coaster from the train and it definitely looks B&M.