@Dollywood
We made our first ever trip to Dollywood last week. Overall, it was a great trip, but wasn’t exactly what I expected...

We stayed at the #DreamMoreResort and instantly fell in love! It has an amazing southern homey feeling to it. We had a family suite so the boys had bunk beds in a room that could be closed off and they loved it!

The food at @Dollywood’s DreamMore sealed the deal. We much prefer to spend evenings by the pool for dinner than fighting crowds at a touristy place. The poolside food was the best we’ve ever had. Burgers, fries, salads, sandwiches, pork tacos... it was all delicious.

Staying on property also gave us the convenience of riding the trolly to and from Splash Country and @Dollywood. The boys thought that the trolly was the coolest thing ever and chatted it up with the drivers.

We honestly didn’t do too much research on @Dollywood’s Splash Country before we arrived. We were blown away by the mountain landscape setting. It was also great to have so many rides that we could all ride together!

RiverRush water coaster was a huge hit. It’s the first one that we’ve ever ridden. The big winner of the day was Mountain Twist! It’s a single person mat slide that all of us could do. Also, the 2 family raft slides were great.

Overall, @Dollywood’s Splash Country blew away all expectations! It would be amazing to see @SDCAttractions start over with White Water and use more of the SDC theme and setting than the current tropical theme in the middle of Branson.

Up next was @Dollywood! First, having a ticket booth and entrance specifically for the trolly made entrance fast and efficient. The mountain setting and the park landscaping was beautiful.

We started out the day with rides that we could all do. Rockin’ Roadway and River Rampage we’re big hits! Rockin’ Roadway was especially fun since it is something that we don’t have at @SDCAttractions.

The Country Fair area was full of kiddie rides and carnival games. We were surprised to see so many carnival games the light the park... which we aren’t fans of. We spent very little time in this area.

The @Dollywood Express was a must for us. It was cool to see an authentic coal-fired steam train. It was a scenic ride up the mountain with great views of the park and the Smoky Mountains.

Two coasters that we came to @Dollywood specifically for were FireChaser Express and Dragonflier. They did not disappoint!
FireChaser is a double launched family coaster with a fun show building and backwards section.

Dragonflier is a suspended family coaster in the new Wildeood Grove section. The was the smoothest ride is the day and was really fun. Just wish that it was longer!
This area of the park was well themed and one of our favorites.

The Timber Canyon area was also nice. The boys had fun on their little coaster and I took in the amazing views from 200’ up on Drop Line. I really enjoyed Drop Line as it was a nice floating free fall that didn’t bother me at all like some drop towers.

Daredevil Falls was well themed and just the right amount of splash! It is much better themed than American Plunge at SDC.

Blazing Fury is @Dollywood’s version of Fire in the Hole at @SDCAttractions. It is smoother and has a nice bridge drop effect on the first dip. However, we like the original at SDC better. In a weird way the smoothness took away from the drops at the end and we missed the water.

Thanks to our TimeSaver passes that we got for staying at the DreamMore, I was able to ride some of the bigger rides without the family having to wait too long. This was a huge advantage and really helped our day love along.

Lightning Rod - The launches hill was super unique and fun. I also liked the hops down the hill were also fun. I do like the quick intensity of Outlaw Run @SDCAttractions more overall though.

Wild Eagle - This was my first winged coaster. It provides a unique and fun experience. Wild Eagle is on the ridge in the middle of the park so it provides some great views.

Mystery Mine - Great theming and fun dark coaster with some outdoor sections. The building is very well themed unlike Tennessee Tornado.
Unfortunately, the projector at the top of the lift was way out of alignment.

Since this was a family first trip, I want able to ride everything in this trip, but just gives a reason for a return trip!

The layout of the park was really surprising and the mountain in the middle of it made hopping around the park difficult since there isn’t a way to cut through the middle.

Overall it was a great trip!
DreamMore and Splash Country stole the show for sure. We much prefer @SDCAttractions to @Dollywood, but we did enjoy it and will be back again!

In a dream world, I would;
• Replace American Plunge with Daredevil Falls.
• Add FireChaser to Fireman’s Landing.
• Add Dragonflier to Grand Expo.
• Add Mystery Mine between Wildfire & PowderKeg.
• Replace WW w/ Splash Country in the woods by SDC.
• Add a resort hotel.

Forgot to mention that the bin system is great at @Dollywood.
On most rides they have a set of bins for each train that they open and close so that your stuff is blocked off when another train is in the station. Would love to see @SDCAttractions implement this system.