Dollywood, Tennessee, United States

5Doug69RR 5:00 PM Dec 31, 2022

Smoky Mountain Christmas, another great Dollywood visit
I am dismayed at reading some of the recent poor reviews. They do not mirror the experience of myself and my wife. Some background, we are retired, live 500 miles away from Dollywood yet are gold pass holders and visit a couple of times a year. Our most recent visit was the beginning of December for Christmas in the Smokies. It was another enjoyable visit from start to finish. Parking was no issue. There were multiple employees directing folks at the tram stop. We have found we never wait more than a couple of minutes for a tram. As always, pretty much every square foot of the park was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Our previous visit was the start of September for Harvest Festival. It is truly amazing how quickly the park is transformed from season to season. If you plan to eat in the park, the tasting pass is a great value for main courses. Not so much if you only plan to use it for the seasonal drinks. We are show folks, not ride folks so cannot comment on the rides other than to say it is not hard to find monitors displaying the wait time for each ride. The shows are always great. There are multiple shows running throughout the day at the many show venues in the park. We usually spend two days at the park just enjoying shows. If going on a Sunday, you may find the church service at the onsite chapel enjoyable. You must plan on staying after dark and heading up to Glacier Ridge to check out the lights and other sights, depending on the season. As with any trip, planning is everything. I can't imagine visiting Dollywood the last week of the year. I'm sure some do not realize that is the last week of the season for Dollywood. They don't open again until March. I would expect them to be understaffed with many employees leaving before Christmas. I would encourage those that had a bad experience to give it another chance. Maybe watch some of the many YouTube videos. I know we are planning to go back in June.

4Jenny D 5:00 PM Dec 29, 2022

Smoky Mountain Christmas
We had a great trip on Thurs Dec 27th. We arrived at 9:30 a.m., paid $45 for preferred parking ($20 more) which was totally worth it because it was a short walk into the park vs. riding the tram. We got the Christmas tasting pass and enjoyed the turkey hoagie, chicken pot pie cone, turkey nachos, and two ice cream cones. We also enjoyed the famous hot cinnamon bread. Although it was crowded we were able to ride 4 roller coasters with the longest wait being an hour long. We did ride early before a lot of crowds arrived. The Christmas in the Smokies show was spectacular. There were live musicians accompanying the singers/dancers including an amazing fiddler/violinist. The Christmas lights were absolutely beautiful. If I was able to return again in December I would come before Christmas during the week. From what I understand the week between Christmas and New Year’s is super crowded everywhere in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg especially when bad roads close down the National Park. Yes it was crowded but knowing that in advance and understanding that everyone is there to make memories with their families at the most special time of the year makes me appreciate that I have the ability to take my family on vacation and enjoy it to the fullest. Thanks Dolly ❤️