Weâre planning Disney in the next year or two so we decided to forego Dollywood season passes after purchasing two years in a row. We will set aside the money we would have spent on a season pass and put it into our Disney savings.
We go on Thursday, 10/28, as a family. Me, DH, DS5 DS3 and DD8months.
Weâll drive 3 hours, ride some rides, eat some food, see some lights, then drive 3 hours home. With these three precious gremlins.
Just reread your other thread and it made me excited to possibly revisit Dollywood this summer. With it being summer and us wanting to crush every coaster, I believe weâre looking at the fast pass, and will be staying off site.
We went two years ago and it was fun, but neither kid could or would ride any of the big coasters so the is time should be even better as theyâre both fanatics.
Oh that is so exciting!! Itâs so good when the kids are big enough to ride the rides! Our 5 year old was so brave and adventurous last time. I canât wait to see what he does this time!
The night before Dollywood and weâre up late because of Bible study. Our 3 year old is outgrowing naps so he skipped his 1-2:00 nap and took a 4-5:00 nap instead 
And I have a Disney trip on the books for 2/21-2/29/2024 
so cheerâs to that!
âMom, why do we have to go to Dollywood when itâs still dark?â
One of those questions that could have multiple answers. âBecause itâs three hours awayâ âbecause we want to maximize our time at the parkâ
Instead I go with âBecause Iâm a Linerâ
Eta 9:30, a half hour before park open
I just found out the train is closed. What a bummer. Car ride is rough. 2 out of 3 are crying. We left around 6:40 and weâve already had several slow downs. Original ETA was 9:30 and now itâs 9:38. Park opening at 10:00. The mountains and fall colors are gorgeous!!
This is what I want to see if someday we are able to get to Dollywood!
Weâve gone in October, November, and May. October is where itâs at!
Some liner I am. We didnât get into the park until 10 minutes after official open got into the parking spot at 9:38, and took us 20 minutes to get three kids dressed and then walk into the park. Not bad!
We bought a tasting pass and 2 overpriced pumpkin spice cold brews. I told them I have a passholder discount and they gave me the discount without looking at my season pass. I even asked if she wanted to see it and she said she already gave me the discount. Definitely depends on the person. We have been checked before. But I also offer it most times, so who knows if they would or wouldnât normally
No joke, most rides are a walk on and EVERYTHING is 15 minutes or less
Itâs been a beautiful, non-crowded day. We cycled through the new coaster, Big Bear Mountain, in about 15 minutes with child swap. It was a lot of fun and long for a coaster! I liked not having to worry about my glasses falling off my face. It remains to be seen if we will make it until sundown to see the Halloween lights. Theyâve already started putting up Christmas decorations here.
Our longest wait today was 13 minutes for Black Bear Trail, a childrenâs ride.
Also, with this season pass, we got a refillable mug good for one day. We used it in May and again today with no problem. I may have mentioned this in previous trip reports- there are refill spots throughout the park, but Redâs drive-in has the same pop machines as Disney where you can mix and match flavors, so it is undoubtably the best place to fill up
On our way home. We decided to skip the Halloween lights. Kids were over it. We ended the day with dippinâ dots, which DS3 promptly spilled half of. But someone didnât collapse in a puddle of tears until we were on our way out of the park. Our eta to home is 10:00. All 3 kids are asleep. DH and I are just having good conversation 
