re: Chattanooga/Gatlinburg Trip Report - With Some Pictures

Monday was Dollywood Day. We got there early, parked (there is a parking fee) and rode the tram to the front gate. Getting in was pretty easy. Got in, and they have a central measuring station, which youngest went to, got measured, and then got a wristband that indicated which rides she could go on (in her case… all but one, oldest had no restrictions). Dollywood is a fun theme park… lots of rides and shows. It is not a huge park, and considering it was Monday of a holiday week… wasn't that crowded. A number of rides, we walked on or had a very short line. Several of the rollercoasters were a bit out of our league, but it seemed the longest wait all day was 45 min long… and the longest wait we did was for about 30 min. They sell a refillable drink mug that once you pay for… offers 99 cent soft drink refills and $1.99 ICEE refills. It's a good deal and the more mugs you buy, the cheaper they are. We had burgers and milkshakes for lunch.

The only unfortunate part of the day - not anyone's fault - was around 6 pm, a storm moved in with some lightning. It never rained much, but the lightning pretty much prevented all the outdoor rides for operating the rest of the night. We shopped, did an indoor ride, toured some other indoor attractions, and saw the fireworks at 930 pm. Getting out was pretty easy as well. Maybe it's because I'm used to Disney crowds… but the relative lack of a crowd made for a nice day.