Dollywood

• Little Kid Rides:
  • Black Bear Trail
  • Busy Bees
  • Firehouse Fun Yard
  • Frogs & Fireflies
  • Granny’s Garden
  • Hidden Hollow
  • Lemon Twist
  • Lil Pilots Playground
  • Lucky Ducky
  • Lumberjack Lifts
  • Piggie Parade
  • Rockin’ Roadway
  • Shooting Star
  • The Amazing Flying Elephants
  • Treetop Tower
  • Village Carousel
  • Wildwood Creek
• Big Kid Rides:
  • Big Bear Mountain Roller Coaster
  • Demolition Derby
  • Dragonflier Roller Coaster
  • Firechaser Express Roller Coaster
  • Great Tree Swing
  • Sky Rider
  • Smoky Mountain River Rampage
  • The Mad Mockingbird
  • The Scrambler
  • The Waltzing Swinger
  • Whistle Punk Chaser
• Thrill Rides:
  • The Barnstormer
  • Daredevil Falls
  • Drop Line
  • Lightning Rod Roller Coaster (In my top 2 best wood/steel hybrid coasters in the country!)
  • Mystery Mine Coaster
  • Tennessee Tornado Roller Coaster
  • Thunderhead Roller Coaster
  • Wild Eagle Roller Coaster
• Shows and other experiences:
  • The Dolly Parton Experience
  • Calico Falls Schoolhouse
  • Craftsmen – glass blowing, candle making, blacksmith, etc.
  • Dolly’s Tennessee Mountain Home
  • Dollywood Express Train
  • Eagle Mountain Sanctuary
  • Kingdom Heirs
  • Heartsong
  • Wings of America Bird Show
  • And many other shows that change seasonally – check the website to view all the shows. People who don’t like rides can have a great, full day at Dollywood!

• Dollywood Resorts – There are two Dollywood hotels – HeartSong and DreamMore. The biggest perk to these hotels is you get TimeSaver passes included with your stay so you can skip the regular lines at Dollywood. If Dollywood is your main priority and you’re visiting during a busy time, this perk alone might make this worth it. They are also lovely hotels!
• Wilderness of the Smokies – A waterpark resort! There are a variety of room types to choose from and they all come with access to the outdoor AND indoor waterparks making this place fun year-round! If you enjoy water parks – pick this one!
• Rent a Cabin – There are a lot of cabin rentals in the area. SO so many that it’s hard to recommend a few in particular. Look around on AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com and find one that works for your family. You’ll find cabins with mountain views, cabins by streams, cabins with hot tubs and pools, cabins that can fit large groups, and much more.
• Other Hotels/Resorts – you can find cheaper places to stay than the hotels above if you want to keep your budget smaller. If deciding between what area to stay in, we prefer the quaintness and mountains of Gatlinburg over the busy highway of Pigeon Forge.
• PRO-TIP: Consider a split-stay. It can be a pain to pack-up and switch hotels, but you could do a Dollywood hotel for a night to get the included TimeSaver passes, then switch to Wilderness for a few days to enjoy the waterpark, then stay somewhere cheaper in Gatlinburg for a few days so you’re closer to the National Park. It could help maximize your time, your fun, and your budget.

• Tickets: One-day tickets are the most expensive, but also the most common. You can typically do most of the park in one day if you stay the whole day. Two-day tickets are a better value. For only $30 more you can have an entire second day to spend in the park. Compared to other attractions in the area, $30/person for another day at Dollywood is a great value! If you like waterparks, you could also do one day at Dollywood and one day at Splash Country, which is also a better value than 1-day tickets. Dollywood also makes a big push toward annual passes. If you want to spend more than 2 days at Dollywood or will be back for at least one more visit within a year, then the annual pass is the past value for sure.
• Food: The food at Dollywood is pretty typically priced for a theme park. You can bring in your own food and snacks to save on costs.
• Do I need a TimeSaver Pass? The TimeSaver is the name of Dollywood’s skip the regular line pass that works on SOME attractions. It’s an additional $60-99/person which can really add up for a family with multiple kids. In my opinion, it’s not worth it. If you can arrive at the park before it opens, follow one of the plans below, and stay through closing, you should have no problem getting most things done on normal crowd days. Another thing to consider is buying a 2-day ticket (only $30/person more than a 1-day ticket) and you can enjoy 2 days in the park with plenty of time to get things done vs. spending an extra $60-99/person to do it all in one day. HOWEVER – if $60-99/person is in your budget and you only have 1 day to spend in the park – go for it! Just know that it does not work on every ride! Review the list of eligible rides and see if it makes sense for your family. You can also use our Dollywood touring plans to save you time in lines without needing this pass.
• Parking Pass If driving, general parking is $25 and is pretty far from the park entrance so it will require you to use a tram. We highly recommend splurging on Preferred Parking for $50. I don’t love spending that much on a parking spot, but Preferred Parking means you can walk to the park without having to wait for a tram. The lines for the tram can get really long, especially at the end of the night, and are difficult to get a stroller on. You also get a special entrance so you’ll have shorter lines getting into the park. Trust us, it’s worth the extra $25.

• Hickory House BBQ – you can eat good BBQ next to the Bald Eagle sanctuary!
• Aunt Granny’s Restaurant – this is a family style sit-down meal with all-you-can-eat southern classics.
• Till & Harvest Food Hall – the food is nothing special, but you can mobile order your food while your kids are playing in the kid areas nearby, then pick up your food and eat in the shaded patio.
• Cinnamon Bread – this is a Dollywood Classic! You can get it at the Grist Mill or at the bakery on Showstreet
• Some of the best food to be found is at the seasonal festival booths. Check the app for a list of what food stands are there when you visit.

Height Requirements

• 55″ – Drop Line
• 50″ – Wild Eagle
• 48″ – Barnstormer, Lightning Rod, Dizzy Disk, Mystery Mine, Tennessee Tornado, Thunderhead
• 42″ – Blazing Fury, Daredevil Falls, Demolition Derby, Sky Rider, The Waltzing Swinger
• 39″ – Big Bear Mountain, Dragonflier, FireChaser Express
• 36″ – Black Bear Trail, Great Tree Swing, Shooting Star, Smoky Mountain River Rampage, The Mad Mockingbird, The Scrambler, Whistle Punk Chaser

If you have kids with varying heights, use Parent Swap

This park is in the mountains!