Dollywood!

What trip to the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains would be complete without a trip to Dollywood? We visited Dollywood on our second full day in Tennessee as the kids couldn’t wait. It was pricey, but reasonable I guess compared to other amusement parks. I wasn’t prepared for how big it was. There’s no way you could do it all, or most of it all, in a day. On recommendation from one of the park goers we met on line we had the kid’s heights measured early on so we would be able to easily know which of the rides they would be allowed on. There are many coasters here and most of the park would probably be suited for kids a little bit older but we had a blast any way. 

We first got our feet “wet” at The Smoky Mountain Rampage Rapids and then moved onto the Dollywood Express Train Ride. Ryan just loves trains and the authentic Baldwin 2-8-2 Locomotive just made all the right sounds, motion and smells to make any train enthusiast grin from ear to ear. We then rode a few kiddy rides in the Owen’s Farm section of Dollywood and then had lunch as everybody was getting a bit hungry and tired. The kids were nice enough to put a performance on while we ate in a pavilion that just happened to be facing an open stage.

We rallied after lunch as we had to get Sarah on a coaster for the trip to be complete. I took Sarah on the Firechaser Express while Linda, Ava and Ryan went on the River Battle Ride and got totally soaked as she was outmatched with only a three and four year old on her boat.

The Firechaser Express was Sarah’s first backward roller coaster. She’s been around you know- Space Mountain! When you leave the “station” it looks as if you’re going to run into the back of the coaster that left right before you but they switch the tracks. You then go on a high speed ride to a fireworks depot which proceeds flashover while you’re in it! You then do the whole course backwards! Sarah loved it. She’s got an iron stomach.

All in all, we had a great time in Dollywood. A bit pricey as I mentioned before but Dolly Parton helped so many families in the Gatlinburg area after the wildfires that we couldn’t prevent ourselves from feeling that some of the money we spent there went to families that so need it so very much. More on the Smoky Mountains to follow so stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by.