9 Mistakes That Scream “This Is My First Time in Dollywood”

If you’re a newbie to the Dollywood experience, don’t worry! We’re here to help!

Situated in the Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Dollywood Resort is made up of one theme park, one water park, two resort hotels, and some scenic cabins. Themed around the ICONIC Dolly Parton, this theme park resort is PACKED with wonderful theming, tasty eats, and rides for all thrill levels. If you’re planning on visiting or it’s been a minute since your last Dollywood vacation, check out these tips, so you can be an expert on your next visit!

If you haven’t been somewhere in a while, it’s easy to forget the simple things! Here are nine mistakes you should AVOID during your next Dollywood visit!

Picking the wrong attractions first

Instinctively, when you enter the park first thing in the morning, you might want to turn right and immediately go to the first attraction you see (aka: The Dolly Parton Experience).

Instead, you could turn left and hit up back-to-back BIG rides while the crowds are still light.

The Dolly Parton Experience is a walk-on all day and those bigger rides may not be, so to save you some time and stress, head to the back of the park first!

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Forgetting about the Dollywood app

Yes, Dollywood has its own app! It’s not essential to getting through a park day, but it does come in handy.

This free app includes interactive maps, updated showtime schedules, mobile ordering, ride wait times, and a wait time alert system that notifies you via push notifications once a certain ride drops down to a more manageable wait. It’s a great tool to use if you don’t want to be running around the park looking for information all day!

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Mobile ordering too late

Timing is everything with mobile ordering at Dollywood. For example, during a recent visit, we checked the mobile order offerings around lunch time, and it wasn’t just all booked up for then, but for the WHOLE DAY!

Not every quick-service restaurant has a mobile order option (you can verify ahead of time with the Dollywood app), and the mobile order menus are often more limited than what you’ll find on the physical menus. On busier park days, you’ll need to lock in your order extra early if you want to mobile order at all.

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Not being prepared for all the walking

The Dollywood theme park is about the size of Magic Kingdom, BUT it’s in the mountains, so the incline is brutal. They’re tough even for our young reporters, and we can’t imagine pushing someone in a wheelchair around the park.

You’ll likely end up doing 20,000+ steps a day over hills and inclines, so it can feel way, way worse. We can’t stress enough how important it is to pack the right kind of shoes and get ready for leg day before your visit.

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Not getting the cinnamon bread

Not getting the cinnamon bread is a BIG MISTAKE! A famous treat at Dollywood, this beloved treat is warm, freshly baked, slightly gooey, and hits the spot every time.

This is one of those rare hyped-up treats that lives up to its billing. It’s sold at several locations around the property, but it’s most famously served at Grist’s Mill inside Craftsman’s Valley.

For an extra $1.59, you can get a cup of icing OR apple butter to go along with it. Best of all, if you’re staying at one of the Dollywood Resorts (DreamMore Resort & Spa OR HeartSong Lodge & Resort), you can get Cinnamon Bread delivered to your room for breakfast! To do this, you’ll need to fill out an order form in your room and hang it outside your door before midnight on the night BEFORE you want your bread delivered.

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Thinking this isn’t a good theme park for food

Speaking of food, Dollywood is underrated. There are tons of great offerings all over, and something for everyone.

This theme park has really upgraded its food and festivals over the last few years, and the results have been delicious!

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Paying for water/refills

Dollywood sells refill cups that work for an entire year! When you purchase a refillable mug at the start of your Dollywood vacation, you get FREE soft drink refills inside the park and hotels (where applicable) through the end of the yearly season.

Mugs start at $25 each and are discounted when you buy two or more.

If you don’t want to pay for drinks at all, you can head over to one of the Dollywood quick-service restaurants and request a free water cup.

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Not using TimeSaver

A Dollywood vacation can be easy-going, but that’s not always a given. Weekend days and peak travel season can lead to long waits. In this case, Dollywood’s TimeSaver is a wise investment.

This premium skip-the-ride-line service is available in three different tiers:

• Standard (starting at $60 per person) — You receive five TimeSaver scan-ins (cannot be used for Mystery Mine, FireChaser Express, Dragonflier, Lightning Rod, or Big Bear Mountain)
• TimeSaver Plus (starting at $80 per person) — You can scan in and skip the line for FireChaser Express, Dragonflier, and Lightning Rod once, but you’ll have unlimited entries for all the other TimeSaver-eligible attractions (EXCLUDING Big Bear Mountain)
• TimeSaver Premium (starting at $99 per person) — You get unlimited skip-the-ride-line privileges for all eligible TimeSaver attractions.

These TimeSavers do come with a wristband that tightens around your wrist, so don’t tighten it too much because you don’t want to risk cutting off your circulation!

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Paying for storage

There are paid lockers that you can rent during your Dollywood day, but you might not need them. Most of the attractions have FREE cubby shelves where you can stow your stuff right before you board the ride. The only rides that don’t have free cubby shelves are the water rides. Instead of ponying up for locker space, if all of your things can fit inside a cubby, save your money or buy more cinnamon bread instead!

We’re visiting theme parks all around the world, so be sure to keep it posted right here at AllEars for the latest theme park updates, tips, and reviews!

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If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

Share your best Dollywood tips in the comments below!

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