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Took the family to Dollywood this year and it was by far the best run theme park I've been to. I was amazed at the cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, and h

Took the family to Dollywood this year and it was by far the best run theme park I've been to. I was amazed at the cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, and how well maintained everything was. The train was really cool too. One of only two times I've been able to see a real coal fired steam engine functioning.

strictnein 1y ago
It's a great park with some surprisingly enjoyable rides. Lightning Rod is one of the most intense coasters I've been on. Definitely a little rough at times, but man it does not hold back at all. And it's kind of hidden in the layout of the park, with a lot of the track over the top of a hill. A visit to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and the Smoky Mountains is great trip, especially with kids. Lots of quirky nonsense to enjoy, as well as some beautiful nature.
- jdironman 1y ago
  Also some fair dining. Local Goat, The Trout House, the apple orchards for sweets. it makes for a nice weekend / week getaway. clingmans dome (Now called Kuwohi Observation Tower) is a not so strenuous hike with 360 degree views. Highly recommend the drive up to it in the fall when the trees are golden and the sun is shining.
- madcaptenor 1y ago
  I live in Atlanta and have not been up there. I have kids. I should probably fix that. (That is, I should "fix that" by going up to the Smokies with them, not by getting rid of the kids!)
  - sarchertech 1y ago
    100% you should do that. I grew up in metro Atlanta and some of my favorite childhood memories are of family trips to the Smokies. Mingus mill is one of my favorite places in the world. I live in Chattanooga now and we take the kids every 6 months or so.
  - ThunderSizzle 1y ago
    Definitely should fix living near Atlanta, lol.
  - marcusb 1y ago
    It's worth it - just check to see if any big events are going on in Gatlinburg before you book. We went there one time (without checking) during a hot rod/motorcycle convention. The traffic was insane.
stusmall 1y ago
I never really liked theme parks. They are always noisy, crowded and tacky. When I was in high school we made a family trip to Dollywood on the way to somewhere else. The fact that I remember Dollywood but don't remember our intended destination says a lot. We all had a blast and didn't expect to love it so much. Just a fantastic place and they are doing a great job.
WorldMaker 1y ago
Dolly's amusement parks company Herschend took over operations of Kentucky Kingdom and it has been very interesting watching the care being put into that park, especially with comparison to when it was managed by Six Flags. Kentucky Kingdom is not yet "Dollywood North" by any stretch of imagination, but you can see enough of the care and emphasis on friendliness that you can kind of see the expected trajectory at this point. I've found it encouraging to watch.
- xp84 1y ago
  That's great to hear. With Six Flags being such a polar opposite to the kind of care Dollywood represents, especially. I'm still sad that Cedar Fair sold out to Six Flags, because they had at least a modestly better reputation. Six Flags in my opinion has long been run in a fashion that makes private equity proud: Reduce cap-ex to the minimum level, minimize cleaning, maintenance, staffing, etc. while extracting every last dollar possible for short-term gain.
  - WorldMaker 1y ago
    Yeah, Six Flags basically bankrupted Kentucky Kingdom before they left, sold off a lot of rides and left many in states of disrepair that were hard to come back from. (It didn't help that the bidding process to buy the park out of that bankruptcy involved the Hoosier owners of a rival regional park that eventually gave the impression they may have intentionally been sandbagging the process to stretch out the time the park was left non-operational and without active maintenance.) It's hard not to worry about the Cedar Fair parks under that sort of management having seen it at its worst first hand once already. Kings Island has a big place in my heart and I saw the Six Flags takeover with some grimacing from the viewpoint of a tiny, tiny shareholder in Cedar Fair. But also yeah, trying to come back from the CapEx problems Kentucky Kingdom was saddled with by Six Flags is a part of where I have a lot of respect for what Herschend has been doing at the park. It's slow, but steady improvement so far, with a CapEx plan that doesn't seem that aggressive, but also takes into account how much was needed and most importantly seems to be planning for the long term again (versus Six Flags' short-term mentality).

strictnein 1y ago

It's a great park with some surprisingly enjoyable rides. Lightning Rod is one of the most intense coasters I've been on. Definitely a little rough at times, but man it does not hold back at all. And it's kind of hidden in the layout of the park, with a lot of the track over the top of a hill. A visit to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and the Smoky Mountains is great trip, especially with kids. Lots of quirky nonsense to enjoy, as well as some beautiful nature.

jdironman 1y ago
Also some fair dining. Local Goat, The Trout House, the apple orchards for sweets. it makes for a nice weekend / week getaway. clingmans dome (Now called Kuwohi Observation Tower) is a not so strenuous hike with 360 degree views. Highly recommend the drive up to it in the fall when the trees are golden and the sun is shining.
madcaptenor 1y ago
I live in Atlanta and have not been up there. I have kids. I should probably fix that. (That is, I should "fix that" by going up to the Smokies with them, not by getting rid of the kids!)
- sarchertech 1y ago
  100% you should do that. I grew up in metro Atlanta and some of my favorite childhood memories are of family trips to the Smokies. Mingus mill is one of my favorite places in the world. I live in Chattanooga now and we take the kids every 6 months or so.
- ThunderSizzle 1y ago
  Definitely should fix living near Atlanta, lol.
- marcusb 1y ago
  It's worth it - just check to see if any big events are going on in Gatlinburg before you book. We went there one time (without checking) during a hot rod/motorcycle convention. The traffic was insane.

stusmall 1y ago

I never really liked theme parks. They are always noisy, crowded and tacky. When I was in high school we made a family trip to Dollywood on the way to somewhere else. The fact that I remember Dollywood but don't remember our intended destination says a lot. We all had a blast and didn't expect to love it so much. Just a fantastic place and they are doing a great job.

WorldMaker 1y ago

Dolly's amusement parks company Herschend took over operations of Kentucky Kingdom and it has been very interesting watching the care being put into that park, especially with comparison to when it was managed by Six Flags. Kentucky Kingdom is not yet "Dollywood North" by any stretch of imagination, but you can see enough of the care and emphasis on friendliness that you can kind of see the expected trajectory at this point. I've found it encouraging to watch.

xp84 1y ago
That's great to hear. With Six Flags being such a polar opposite to the kind of care Dollywood represents, especially. I'm still sad that Cedar Fair sold out to Six Flags, because they had at least a modestly better reputation. Six Flags in my opinion has long been run in a fashion that makes private equity proud: Reduce cap-ex to the minimum level, minimize cleaning, maintenance, staffing, etc. while extracting every last dollar possible for short-term gain.
- WorldMaker 1y ago
  Yeah, Six Flags basically bankrupted Kentucky Kingdom before they left, sold off a lot of rides and left many in states of disrepair that were hard to come back from. (It didn't help that the bidding process to buy the park out of that bankruptcy involved the Hoosier owners of a rival regional park that eventually gave the impression they may have intentionally been sandbagging the process to stretch out the time the park was left non-operational and without active maintenance.) It's hard not to worry about the Cedar Fair parks under that sort of management having seen it at its worst first hand once already. Kings Island has a big place in my heart and I saw the Six Flags takeover with some grimacing from the viewpoint of a tiny, tiny shareholder in Cedar Fair. But also yeah, trying to come back from the CapEx problems Kentucky Kingdom was saddled with by Six Flags is a part of where I have a lot of respect for what Herschend has been doing at the park. It's slow, but steady improvement so far, with a CapEx plan that doesn't seem that aggressive, but also takes into account how much was needed and most importantly seems to be planning for the long term again (versus Six Flags' short-term mentality).