|
Dollywood Pigeon Forge
Hooray for Dollywood!
Dollywood Pigeon Forge is widely considered the main attraction of Pigeon Forge and is, without question, one of the most popular vacation destinations in America. For decades, Americans have traveled to Tennessee's Smoky Mountains to enjoy their natural beauty, their unique environment, and their solitude. Today, you'll find not just peace and quiet, but also fun, glamour and excitement in a more people-oriented setting.
Hello Dolly!
It would be challenging to plan a family trip to the area without including a day at Dollywood Pigeon Forge. We planned to pick a nice overcast day, on a weekday hoping to miss the big weekend crowds. So on a Wednesday last summer the Sharp Family decided to spend the day and share our experience. Upon walking in, we glanced at the park map and noticed the huge variety of rides and attractions, and how everything is laid out in ten different areas. Dollywood Pigeon Forge is organized to reflect parts of Dolly Parton's life growing up. The ten themed areas are Showstreet, Rivertown Junction, Craftsmen's Valley, Village, Country Fair, Timber Canyon, the New Wilderness Pass, and Jukebox Junction, all reflecting the different realities and cultures of country Tennessee, and Dreamland Forest and Adventures in Imagination which reflect Dolly's rich childhood storytelling tradition and her imaginary life.
*Adventures in Imagination - Dolly Parton Chasing Rainbows museum, imagination theatre and Dollywood Pigeon Forge reservation center.
*Country Fair - Midway and children's ride area, with classic county-fair style rides interspersed with toddler-friendly rides like the Amazing Flying Elephants and Piggy Parade.
*Craftsmen's Valley - Arts and crafts found in the imagination rich Appalachians: quilting, woodworking, music, even theatre. Roller coasters and a water flume ride are also featured in this area.
*Dreamland Forest - A magical version of a forest, where every animal is your friend and berries lie around every rock. You'll find a great children's play area here and the Mountain Sidewinder ride.
*Jukebox Junction - Honors the classic 1950s, when music began to break out of the mountains and onto the radios and jukeboxes. The Pines Theatre here hosts some excellent musical acts.
*Showstreet - Entertainment, performances, and features the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.
*Rivertown Junction - Dolly's memories of her childhood hometown, and includes the whitewater rafting ride Smoky Mountain River Rampage as well as a replica of the two-room house Dolly grew up in.
*The Village - Dolly's memories of Pigeon Forge as a child. Alongside plenty of little shops, you'll find the Carousel and the main stop for the Dollywood Pigeon Forge Express steam train, an authentic coal-fired steam engine that takes you through five gorgeous miles of the Smoky Mountains.
*Timber Canyon - Celebrates the industries that supported the people of the area: mining and timber. The Mystery Mine coaster is here, as well as the Thunderhead coaster and other thrill rides.
*Wilderness Pass - Themed to the time of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. The new and exciting River Battle ride is located in the Dollywood Pigeon Forge along with some unique crafts.
Ride Dolly Ride
So, now you have a general understanding of the ten themed areas of the Dollywood Pigeon Forge. Your next step is to visit either the specific themed areas of personal interest or by the age of your family or group. If you have a family of varying ages or interests you might want to set a home base to re-group during the day. All in all, there are so many rides and attractions within Dollywood Pigeon Forge it would be a real achievement to see them all in one day. Here’s a handy break down based on age groups:
Amazing Flying Elephants
Fun for Tweens, Teens and More:
Blazing Fury
Fun for the Whole Family:
Calico Falls School House Chasing Rainbows Country Fair Games Dollywood Express Dolly’s Home on Wheels Eagle Mountain Sanctuary Lumberjack Lifts River Battle Robert F. Thomas Chapel Smoky Mountain Home Village Carousel
There is definitely something for people of all ages at Dollywood Pigeon Forge, so no need to worry about
We then went to the Mystery Mine. As the name suggests, the ride leaves you wondering what turn or drop is coming next. It gets pretty dark in the abandoned coal mine, and look out for the 85 foot drop, it comes out of nowhere and does jerk you around a little. It slows down for a while and rotates you upside down on a loop so that you are laying on your back and the car is being pulled straight up into the air for an extra thrill. This ride was awesome! We then moved onto the River Battle and this water raft ride was a blast. Everybody boards a raft
And then it was onto the Tennessee Tornado. This is easily the most thrilling ride at the park. It is the only actual steel roller coaster that Dollywood has and is a pretty smooth ride. As its name suggests, the ride twists around and around, said to reach speeds of 70 mph, and has over a 120 foot drop! Nothing to sneeze at, that’s for sure.
After the Rampage, we decided to take a walk around the park and check out a few things. We made the walk over to the Village and Country Fair areas of the park. The Country Fair features a lot of the
Dolly‘s in the Kitchen!
The family was getting hungry and it was around lunch time, so we began the food search. We didn’t have to search long. Believe me, at Dollywood, there is no shortage of good food. Southern cooking is an art form all its own at Dollywood Pigeon Forge.
After lunch, we wanted to find out a little more about Dollywood Pigeon Forge. We went to the visitors center and checked out the brochures and pamphlets. We found out that there are festivals and special events inside the theme park all throughout the season:
Kidsfest: usually the last two weeks of June
This is jumping a little ahead, but some families “like ours” also stay for dinner. We chose to eat at Aunt Granny’s which is an all you can eat buffet where you get everything including your dessert. This restaurant was very good with traditional southern foods like fried chicken, fried catfish, fried chicken, vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, biscuits, corn bread and a ton of desserts including ice cream, pies, brownies, strawberry shortcake and more. It was excellent food for a theme park and we ate enough to make sure we would survive on it for a few days.
Restaurants to choose from in Dollywood Pigeon Forge:
Aunt Granny's Backstage Restaurant Berries 'n' Cream Crossroads Funnel Cakes Frosted Nuts Fury Canteen Grandstand Cafe Hickory House BBQ Kettle Korn LumberCamp Restaurant Market Square Midway Concessions Mini Melts Miss Lillian’s BBQ Pit Miss Lillian's Chicken House Miss Stella’s PaPaw Flat Bread Pork Rinds Ranger’s Cook House Red’s Diner Sausage Works Shaved Ice Slinter’s Spotlight Bakery Sugar Mountain Funnel Cakes Sweet Shoppe Victoria’s Pizza Whistlestop Grill Village Ice Creamery Wrong Way Joe's
Dolly’s Live!
Like its namesake Dolly Parton, the Dollywood Pigeon Forge delivers the best in live entertainment. You can see shows that offer country, bluegrass, southern gospel, classic rock and 50's music presented by some of the best in the area. There are always at least three shows going on somewhere in the park at any given time, and impromptu music performances outside in the street could happen anytime. Many guests come to Dollywood’s Showstreet area for just this single area of entertainment. Some people we met earlier in the day recommended the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary. It was truly one of the most amazing highlights of our entire trip. This 30,000 square foot aviary houses the country’s largest presentation of bald eagles. We got an extraordinary glimpse of some of natures most impressive birds of prey in this beautiful mountain setting. Another show we really enjoyed was the Professor Seymour Magic Show . He really had some amazing illusions. We also had time to watch the Dreamland Drive-In show that has some young performers singing hits of the '50s and '60s. The doors for many of the indoor shows open 30 minutes prior to showtime. I would recommend getting in line early as they are quite popular and fill up fast during the busy season.
Great American Country Show
Smoky Mountain Craftsman
Not so long ago, the pioneers who settled here in the Smoky Mountains relied on the skills of the area craftsman to create many of life's every day necessities. Thanks to the unique culture of Dollywood Pigeon Forge you can still watch master craftsmen continue these centuries old traditions with daily demonstrations.
For example you can visit Valley Carriage Works, one of this country’s remaining working wagon shops, crafting a variety of authentic wagons. We are not talking about a kid’s wagon, we’re talking the big wooden spoke wheel, the kind of wagons pulled by horses to haul people and supplies. If you’re in the
It was built not only to look authentic, it was built exactly as it would have been more than a century ago. All the work was done by Silver Dollar City (what Dollywood was named then), the park's glassblowers made all the window panes, the window frames where made on site using steam power, and the park’s blacksmiths made all the hardware on the mill's doors. The giant water wheel is authentic and used today to grind corn and wheat while you’re watching. You can actually purchase stone ground meal to take home or simply eat some of the breads and rolls made right on site. The other area I really enjoyed was the Blacksmith & Foundry . It is just amazing to watch those guys work so hard to forge and form steel right before your eyes. There are plenty of other shops to visit for things like hand made wood crafts, hand-blown glass making candy, candles and lye soap being made.
Blacksmith & Foundry
Dolly’s Shopper's Paradise!
Wow! Dolly must love to shop! With over 40 shopping locations spread all throughout the park, Dollywood Pigeon Forge offers everything from specialty apparel and home furnishings to handmade crafts and foods. We did manage to visit a few shops. It looked like one of the main attractions for shopping was the Dollywood Emporium.
It basically shows off the best of all that Dollywood’s many unique shops offer. We of course purchased the very necessary but not such a great souvenir chocolate fudge. While we were in Craftsman's Valley we made a stop at the Hillside General Store. The General Store is literally just like stepping back in time. Inside you'll find a selection of old fashioned goods that remind you of an old five and dime store, plus other interesting items such as souvenirs, handmade decorations and much more. Before you depart, just take a few moments to sit on the front porch and let yourself imagine a much simpler place in time.
Ashley’s Photorium
Top Ten Tips!
Before you go to Dollywood Pigeon Forge please consider these pre-planning tips for a long, fun day at the water park:
Tip #1 - Check the Dollywood Pigeon Forge website for current information and ticket offers.
Tip #2 - Ride the Trolley to avoid paying for parking. A trolley ride is .50 per person and it will take you right to the entrance.
Tip #3 - Get to Dollywood Pigeon Forge as early as possible to beat the traffic, have best access to entrance, and avoid the long lines so you can experience the rides as many times as possible.
Tip #4 - When you arrive in the park, head straight for the back, or go to the areas to your left first. It will be a lot less crowded doing the opposite of everyone else.
Tip #5 - If you can go on a weekday, you might find shorter lines and you will be able to enjoy your favorite rides over and over again with less waiting.
Tip #6 - Since you will be there all day, remember to bring sunscreen.
Tip #7 - If you want to avoid lines for lunch, grab something to eat at one of the Dollywood Pigeon Forge restaurants around 11:00 am or after normal lunch hours.
Tip #8 - It can get really hot and humid in the summer. You can purchase soda drinks to cool down, or as a option you can ask for a cup of water at any food or drink concession in the park for free.
Tip #9 - Bring a disposable waterproof camera for your family pictures! If you bring your family camera bring a plastic bag to zip lock it into. You will likely get wet on one of many water type rides.
Tip #10 - We did rent a locker for the day and it was well worth it. We didn't have to carry everything around with us.
Tip #11 - If it is raining when you leave Dollywood Pigeon Forge and your visit is shortened by the rain, you can request a Rain Check at the Season Pass Center.
Tip #12 - Have FUN!!!
Admission Information
Overall, Dollywood Pigeon Forge is the perfect place to take your family. I can’t say enough about how friendly the staff was when we had questions and how clean the park is kept. As I said before, there is something for everyone of all ages, and you will not be bored one bit. You and your family are guaranteed a good time at this park, and you can’t put a price on good family fun! Time absolutely flies by when you are in this place.
Before we knew it our day was over. You definitely need two days to truly experience all that the park has to offer. I felt like we got through a lot of the activities, but more likely we probably only got to see half of it. On that note, Dollywood does have special offers for guests who want to make it a two-day experience. After you purchase a one day admission, you have the option of purchasing the next day ticket for a really reasonable rate! As another option I would urge you to consider that Dollywood Pigeon Forge also offers the next day free if you entered the park after 3 pm. Here are some of the regular season admission options.
One Day Admission
Season Pass
Hours Open
Parking
Ride Requirement
Dress Guidelines We hope you enjoy your Dollywood Pigeon Forge experience as much as we did! Should you need information to plan your trip, or to find the best deals on area entertainment or lodging we have often found Reserve Pigeon Forge to be an excellent resource.
Splash & Play TicketsDollywood Theme Park is located right next to Splash Country with the opportunity to double your fun. The parks offer a money saving ticket option to play at both parks for a lower price than purchasing separately. The best deal is that the tickets are good for 3 days and not necessarily consecutive days.
How to Contact Directions
Dollywood Pigeon Forge
Check out the official website by clicking on Dollywood for more information.
Online Ticket & Reservation Window
To help with your vacation planning we have been given access to hundreds of Pigeon Forge discounts for attractions, lodging and shows. We understand that traveling or vacationing in popular tourist areas can be slightly more expensive. We hope you find this to be helpful with your vacation budgeting.
For convenience, we offer these travel services to give our readers the option to pre purchase Instant Reservation Tickets before ever leaving home. It’s now so easy to buy your tickets online & simply print them on your home computer. And when you purchase in advance, you will frequently receive additional price discounts. Plus, you can skip the reservation desk and go straight to the front of the line with your reservation voucher.
- How to reserve Pigeon Forge fun attractions online.
- How to reserve Pigeon Forge show tickets online.
- How to reserve Pigeon Forge lodging online.
When you arrive at your destination, your E-Ticket reservation vouchers will be exchanged for your selected theater show, attraction or lodging preference. It’s similar to how the major airlines handle online ticketing. The benefit of using E-Ticket reservation vouchers is that you can always reprint them from this website if they are misplaced by a simple login to your account - click on orders - and reprint.
We would like to offer credit for several of the photos on the Dollywood page. They were taken by many other amateur photographers who visited the park. We requested and did receive permission for use of these photos on this website. These photos are protected under copyright laws. Thank you for your generosity!
Jared @ jared422 80 Clint @ C.E. Beevers Rick @ rcvernors Patrick @ E-Beemy
|
