25 Sneaky Dollywood Ride Tricks

We can’t wait to share our favorite tips and tricks that we picked up from our time in Dollywood!

We recently headed to Dollywood, and we were blown away by how much fun we had! We’ve already shared tons of fun updates from our trip, like the incredible food and unique entertainment around the resort. Now, we’ve put together a list of 25 Dollywood ride tips to help when you’re planning your own mountain getaway!

How to Maximize Your Time & Ride Strategy

First, let’s start by taking a look at some planning you can do ahead of time to set yourself up for success! There are over 50 different rides and attractions around Dollywood, so if your goal is to experience as much as possible, these tips will be essential to getting off on the right foot!

• TIP #1: Unlike some other major theme parks that never seem to have much of an “off season,” it IS possible to plan a Dollywood visit that’s easygoing and not super busy. We visited the park on a Wednesday in early May, and it was incredibly relaxing and easy to navigate! If you can visit during a weekday outside of peak travel times, you’ll have the best chance of experiencing lighter crowds, allowing you to maximize the number of rides you can do without paying extra.
• TIP #2: Speaking of paying extra, if you don’t have flexibility in your travel dates and have to visit during a weekend or a busy travel season, it may be worth investing in TimeSaver, a service that allows you to skip the regular lines at select attractions for a shorter TimeSaver line. There are three different levels available, which start at $60-$99 per person.
• TIP #3: If you stay at one of the official Dollywood hotels — DreamMore or HeartSong — you’ll get 5 free TimeSaver entries to use on the rides of your choice (as long as they have a TimeSaver line). This might make staying at a Dollywood hotel the best deal if you were already planning on investing in TimeSaver for your trip.
• TIP #4: You can also choose to upgrade to a higher-level TimerSaver from the ones included with your hotel stay at your resort’s front desk. You’ll just need to pay the difference, which tends to be around $50 per person but can vary in price based on park demand.

• TIP #5: If you do get TimeSaver, you’ll be given a wristband to wear and scan to access the service. The wristband can’t be loosened; it can only be adjusted tighter, so make sure not to tighten it too much and cut off your circulation!
• TIP #6: Dollywood hotel guests also get Golden Hour access, which allows you to enter Dollywood Park an hour before the general public, giving you priority access to the park’s biggest rides. This is a huge leg up, so plan to take advantage of this perk if you stay in a Dollywood hotel and map out which rides you’d like to prioritize ahead of time so you don’t waste any of that precious Golden Hour!
• TIP #7: You can set up Wait Time Alerts on the Dollywood app, which notifies you via push notifications when a ride drops down to a select time that you’re willing to wait.

Now, let’s make sure we’re starting the day out right!

Best Rides to Rope Drop

Here are some things we learned about strategizing which rides to do first!

• TIP #8: If you’re using TimeSaver, consider riding attractions that aren’t included first thing in the morning before the lines rack up, especially if you’re there for Golden Hour. For example, we started with the kiddie ride Rockin’ Roadway because it tends to have a long wait and doesn’t have a TimerSaver line.
• TIP #9: When entering the park, most people head to the right first since this takes you down Showstreet. It tends to be the most crowded this way, so we’d probably avoid it, UNLESS you plan to start with the popular roller coaster Lightning Rod, which is the first coaster you’ll reach if you head to the right after the park entrance.

• TIP #10: If you’re a roller coaster person and want to tackle as many coasters as you can at rope drop before the crowds hit, turn left after the park entrance to head towards the Timber Canyon area, which is where most of the park’s coasters are located.
• TIP #11: If you prefer to start the day with fewer crowds, keep heading straight after the entrance to head to the back of the park first. This is also one of the best times to hit up the attractions over in Wildwood Grove for minimal waits.

Now, let’s get into some tips for some of the most popular rides!

Tips for Popular Dollywood Attractions

We picked up some extra tricks and suggestions from some of our favorite rides around the park that will help you get the most out of your experience!

• TIP #12: Quincy named Mystery Mine in Timber Canyon as her FAVORITE Dollywood ride! It’s super unique and highly themed. Be sure to keep an eye out for all of the hidden touches because we found it to be the most detailed coaster in the park.
• TIP #13: Speaking of the many details of Mystery Mine, if you want to know more about the lore behind the attraction’s story, find the animatronic vulture outside the ride. He’s got a LOT to say, and he’s filled with plenty of sass for good measure!
• TIP #14: One more note on Mystery Mine: Be extra careful on this attraction! If you’re short or your head is too relaxed during the ride, you can bang your ears on the ride vehicle, which HURTS. This is especially true if you’re wearing stud earrings, so you might want to take them out and keep them secured if you’re concerned this might impact you.

• TIP #15: Continuing our personal list of favorite coasters that we’d prioritize on our next Dollywood trip, Emma lists Lightning Rod as her top choice! It’s a massive wooden coaster with ’50s-style hot-rod theming, continuous momentum that never slows down, and GORGEOUS sweeping views across the park.
• TIP #16: On top of being an ultra-thrilling ride, we HAD to put Wild Eagle in Wilderness Pass on our must-do list, because it has the unique history of being the first winged coaster in America!
• TIP #17: Big Bear Mountain in Wildwood Grove is another fun coaster, especially if you’re looking for something a little less on the wild side. It’s a super smooth ride that we’d compare to a slightly more intense version of Slinky Dog Dash in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so it could be a good “step-up” coaster if you’re visiting with someone who’s working on building their coaster tolerance.

• TIP #18: Blazing Fury is an indoor roller coaster with an experience that varies WILDLY based on where you sit. It’s actually a pretty chill ride if you sit near the front, so that’s your spot if you want a calmer experience. But if you’re a thrill seeker, you’ll want to sit in the back, because it’s an entirely different, way more intense experience! If you sit in the back, the momentum from the other cars will crank up the experience, and you’ll get so much air time that it feels like you’re practically standing upright as you go down the hills.
• TIP #19: Before you take off on the classic driving attraction Rockin Roadway in Jukebox Junction, ask the ride host if you can have a pair of fuzzy dice to go around your rearview mirror for an extra touch of fun.

• TIP #20: Dollywood is also home to a genuine, coal-burning steam train that will take you on a scenic trip throughout the park. But since it’s a real, coal-burning train, there’s a chance you might get some of that residue in your face during the ride, so remember to put on your sunglasses before you board to help protect your eyes.
• TIP #21: One of the newer attractions in the park, Dollywood opened an immersive, self-guided walkthrough museum called the Dolly Parton Experience back in 2024. This takes you through the life and career of Dolly Parton herself and is home to TONS of cool artifacts, including her costumes and even a tour bus! It doesn’t cost extra to experience, so we’d say it’s worth a visit if you’re even mildly interested in Dolly or the music industry.

Let’s take it home with a few problem-solving tips to help make your trip a success!

Problem-Solving Ride Tips

We’re rounding out our list with some tips that help solve some common concerns!

• TIP #22: Here’s something to make navigating the park with kiddos a little more seamless! After you enter the park, head past the Emporium gift shop on your left-hand side, and you’ll find a measuring station where a Dollywood host can measure your children and then give them a color-coded wristband that shows which rides they’re tall enough for. That way, when your group gets up to the front of a ride line, all they have to do is show the ride host their colored wristband, and then they’ll be free to enter without having to get remeasured at every ride.
• TIP #23: Speaking of the littles, if your child isn’t tall enough for a certain Dollywood ride but the rest of your party still wants to go, you can use the free parent swap option. This works pretty similarly to how other theme parks like Disney and Universal handle it. One adult waits with the child in the parent swap area while the rest of the group goes on ahead to ride the ride. After they’re finished, the adults will “swap” places without having to wait in line all over again.

• TIP #24: There are paid lockers available, but if you just need to store your stuff while you’re on a particular ride, the attractions have free cubby shelves where you can stow your stuff right before you board.
• TIP #25: Most of the Dollywood rides have tester seats outside the queue, giving guests the option to try them on for size before committing to the line.

We had SO MUCH fun exploring Dollywood, and we hope these tips help you get the most out of your next visit! We’ll continue to report back with more theme park updates, including Disney, Universal, and beyond, so stay tuned to AllEars for more!

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Have you been to Dollywood? Share your favorite ride tip in the comments!

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