To escape the crowds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park during our five-night visit to Gatlinburg, we went to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. Is a jammed theme park actually less crowded than a national park? It feels less crowded because it is properly engineered for crowds. Unlike in the national park, it is possible to find a parking space at Dollywood (pay up for premium parking; there is a separate entrance from the premium lot and no waiting in line for security or ticket scanning). Unlike in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, it is fairly easy to get a counter-serve or table-serve meal (plan ahead for dinner, perhaps, but overall the food-to-customer situation is vastly better than at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom). Here’s the health food shack (pork rinds):
In addition to long lines and hassles to get basic food, the Orlando theme parks suffer from a lack of local feeling. Few of the park workers are from Orlando and, except perhaps for Legoland (in Winter Haven, FL) with its botanical gardens and water ski show, there isn’t much that relates to Florida. Disney is reasonably successful at finding people who are happy to be working at Disney, but the other parks are often staffed with people who seem disappointed that they couldn’t get a job at Disney and/or that they have to work at all. Dollywood is the opposite, being centered in eastern TN culture and staffed with people who grew up in the area, love the area, and are happy to be working at Dollywood.
Dollywood is built into a hillside and retains the mountain steam train ride from which it was seeded. In addition to the expected terrifying rollercoasters there are a lot of music shows. One artist that you won’t hear too much, not even covers of her songs, is… Dolly Parton. She uses the park to showcase lesser-known musicians. There are some craft demonstrations. Our boys (7 and 8) were fascinated by the blacksmith shop in which visitors can participate (makes sure to wear closed-toe shoes and stop by early in the day to book a slot).
The associated water park is underwhelming by Florida standards and there weren’t enough slides to handle the crowds of a hot weekday afternoon. Definitely invest in the line-skipping pass if you’re going to hit the water park.
The evening fireworks were worth staying up for, though the Oshkosh blow-out puts them to shame! There is a creative pre-fireworks drone show. Traffic into and out of the park is well-organized so you won’t be stuck trying to get out.
Budget $1,000 for a family of four if you want to hit the main park, the water park, and pay for line-skipping and premium parking. (If $1,000 seems like a lot, remember that you don’t have to take the day off work so long as you’re a member of the laptop class. Just answer the occasional email from your phone while in line for a ride.) The day after you can return to Great Smoky Mountain National Park with a renewed appreciation for the woods:
Re: “renewed appreciation for the woods”, I don’t really get the woods’ appeal. The pics look like what I played in in the west end of Alexandria. Perhaps you had similar woody play sites in MD. And the mountains and falls are not exceptionally more scenic than Great Falls or the many many portions of the Appalachian range from Georgia to Maine. I fail to see the pull of the Smokies for people who live more than a 100 miles away (unless they find a hellbender in a stream or get a synchronous firefly night show which are fascinating and unique wildlife attractions experienced my few visitors).
SA: The low areas do look a lot like the DC suburbs! One thing that is different is the option of climbing up to 5,000′ or so and walking around in the cool air up there (should lose 8 degrees C compared to the 1,000′ base).
That’s a very non-Elitist and fair review from what I’ve read. I’m not surprised Dolly Parton tries to give other musicians a start, instead of simply using the park as a complete monument to herself and her music. As of 2020 she was still making new albums and performing, and I think she knows that if she ever needs a few million dollars for herself, she can release a new record or go on a mini-tour. In other words, my sense is that she’s managed her money pretty well and genuinely wants to help other people succeed and lift themselves out of poverty. At least, that’s my impression over the years. A talented and warm-blooded person who hasn’t forgotten her beginnings, in other words. I don’t have any of her albums, myself, but my mother has several:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton
“Dolly Rebecca Parton was born January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee.[2] She is the fourth of twelve children born to Avie Lee Caroline (née Owens; 1923–2003) and Robert Lee Parton Sr. (1921–2000). As of 2021, Parton has three deceased siblings.[3][4] Parton’s middle name comes from her maternal great-great-grandmother Rebecca (Dunn) Whitted.[5][6] Parton’s father, known as “Lee”, worked in the mountains of East Tennessee, first as a sharecropper and later tending his own small tobacco farm and acreage. He also worked construction jobs to supplement the farm’s small income. Despite her father’s illiteracy, Parton has often commented that he was one of the smartest people she had ever known in regards to business and making a profit.[3][7][8]”
…
“In 2001, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[83] In a 2009 interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, she said she had written “at least 3,000″ songs, having written seriously since the age of seven. Parton also said she writes something every day, be it a song or an idea.[84]”
Dolly is a partner in Dollywood, but it’s owned and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment.
The original Herschend park is Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri. The two parks are very similar and share a lot of concepts. Before Dolly bought in, the park was named Silver Dollar Tennessee.
You might enjoy SDC, too.
I do not understand why there is so much negativity given to the Orlando parks comparing them to Dollywood. I have been to the Disney parks and Dollywood and there is no comparison! The Disney parks have so much more for all ages and Dollywood is mostly roller coasters and country type food. The Disney parks have rides and a variety of food items to choose from for all ages. Disney parks are my and my family’s favorite hands down!
I’m a Disney Florida/California hater because they’re too crowded (i.e., they are so bad that everyone wants to go there) and because the system for getting on rides is too complex. If they’re going to pack the parks so tightly that lines stretch to 5 hours then I want them to organize visitors on a schedule so that I can just go where I’m told (see https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2022/03/25/should-disney-sell-a-planned-itinerary/ ). The last few times that I was at Disney, once with a VIP guide, it was challenging even to get fast food and a table at which to eat it.
I will definitely go back to Disney if they follow my suggestion about a sexual orientation and gender identity dark ride! https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2022/03/30/should-disney-world-offer-a-ride-educating-kindergartners-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity/
And I had a great time at Disneyland Shanghai in November 2019 (maybe I was the person who brought COVID-19 to the US?). It was just the right level of crowding and you didn’t need to be a smartphone wizard to get onto rides without epic waits.
@Laura, @philg: If I was a betting man, I’d wager that Disney is well aware of the crowding phenomenon, exactly how big it is, when it is most acute, and why. They probably have better analytics for what goes on inside their parks than most casinos do, and that’s saying a lot.
“Tomorrow at 4:32 PM, the wait for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride will be somewhere between 3:51:22:30 and 3:51:22:43 with 99% probability.”