Passholder Day Guide To Help You Plan!!!

Hey, seasoned park vet here. I saw a few other posts with questions about the day and thought I would make one post that maybe might help people out. Ill break it into sections to help the clutter. Feel free to ask me things, ill try to answer what I can as soon as i can and others im sure can help out. I am not affiliated with the park by any means, just a TN resident who drives from Nashville way to many times for the love of Dolly. (but i mean... id be willing to listen to job offers Dolly haha)

GET THE APP.

The App is a game changer. When you enter the park you will be able to use it to see wait times for the rides, maps with GPS that can lead you to your destination and what food place offers what food items. It will show you the times for shows and let you set alarms for upcoming things to know when to head to them. Its the best single thing you can do to help yourself get the most out of your park experience.

The Parade:

We know what you are here for. A Glimpse at Dolly! This year its up in the air if thats gonna happen due to the passing of her husband. But she loves that place and her fans so Im gonna guess she will be there. Plan on setting up for the parade AT LEAST an hour before it starts if not earlier. Dolly will be in a car being driven down the street so everyone can get a good look, the best place to stand is up near the train across from Ironhorse Pizza. Secure your spot and don't let people just randomly walk up and stand infront of you. Eventually the park employees will come by and put up caution tape to hold the crowd back, stand against the tape. People will wait until the very last minute and then try to squeeze into any little spot they can. You will know the parade is starting because the music will get super loud to get the crowd pumped. Hold that spot! They will hand out pompoms and signs for you, just sit tight and they will come to you. After Dolly comes through the crowd will follow behind her and they will drop the tape, you gain nothing from this so instead go hop on a ride that would normally have a long wait. If you stood at the train area you will be on that ride before Dolly is even passing the ice cream parlor.

The Crowd:

Spoiler, its gonna be rough. Friday will be crowded. Saturday will be even more crowded. Sunday wont be to bad, but guess what... its gonna be crowded. Everyone wants to see Dolly. She is usually there the whole weekend, she will be in the parade (normally) and then through the weekend she might make guest appearances in some of the shows. So everyone wants a chance to see. Get there early. You can get into the park around 9 or a little before, then you go stand by the rope at the front gate. The rope will drop at 9:30 and then you will be free to enter the park. The park itself doesnt open until 10:00. So inside the park there will be a limited amount of things you can do, a few rides and a few spots to eat during that 30 minutes. You can go grab a tasting pass at the ice cream parlor or head around the other way up to the Whistle Punk Chaser and ride that if you have some small kids. On that note if you are bringing small ones, just past the Emporium (to the left of the entrance) is a measuring station where they will measure your child and give them an arm band. Each ride has a color on it so they will know if they are able to do the ride without being measured at every entrance. Super helpful. There will be security at the rope drops INSIDE the park and at 10 you are free to explore the park.

Food:

Source, im fat so hear me out. Aunt Grannys if you dont mind the price is the best play here. You can put your name in ahead of time, go ride some rides or see some shows and they text you when the table is ready. You will then have ten minutes to get to the door and be sat. Its all you can eat family style dining and its 100% worth it. Plan to put your name in well in advance, sometimes its an hour or more. Just check with the hostess at the door. Reds at the 50s area will be a solid choice, they have several registers open inside and can get you in and out fast. Its burgers so if you dont want that, pass it up. Front Porch Cafe can be a bit of a trap. They are quick to move people in an out but (unless its changed) there is no putting your name in. And you will just have to stand in line and wait and it takes up your time. The Dog House (corn dogs, hot dogs and such) is great if its not crowded as well. Everything else is a crap shoot but the food is all great. Miss Lillians BBQ spot can be a pretty fast entry also.

Tasting Pass:

This is around 40 bucks depending on your pass holder level. It gives you the opportunity to get 5 items at the tasting spots around the park. Its small portions but if you are just wanting to eat while on the go its a great option. Most of the tasting places will over 3 to 4 food items and then a drink. DO NOT WASTE A TASTING PASS SPOT ON A DRINK. The drinks are usually never more than 5 bucks while the food items are 12-13 dollars and you want to get the most value from that tasting pass.

The Rides:

What should you ride first??? Well, this really depends on whos in your group. If you want to tackle all the coasters head straight to the Lightning Rod. Because it will break down often. Hit it up early. Then I would say head to Wild Eagle or Big Bear Mountain followed by the Mystery Mine. Those all stay a little more crowded than the others. Most of the rides will have little TV screens on them that will sow you the wait times around the park and on that ride itself.

Shows:

Plan to get to your show at least a half hour early. Yeah, they have plenty of seating at most shows and you CAN show up right before they start but you are gonna have a better experience sitting in a front tier spot as opposed to the nose bleed seats. Most shows have cover or are inside and are nice and comfy climate wise. Occasionally Dolly will show up at them, mainly the show that her niece puts on. Heidi Parton's Kins and Friends at the Dreamsong. She pops into a few others but this one the most but nobody ever knows when so just roll the dice and see. Most of the shows are musical in nature. Most shows play multiple times a day, so grab a schedule off the website and plan out what shows match up to your schedule the best. Pick at least 2 rides and 2 shows that you just cant miss and plan the day around those and then fill the rest with what you find along the way.

Time Saver!!

Do you need this? Probably not. We have never needed one and usually manage to do most of the stuff there but its very up in the air on how that goes for you. If you want to pay the extra for that peace of mind go for it, but that is just something you are gonna have to judge for yourself.

Blacksmith:

Want to forge a knife? Go STRAIGHT to the blacksmith shop at park open. People will fill up spots super fast so you are likely to miss out if you dont get your name on the list asap.

Other crafts:

Just hop in. They are usually not that crowded or busy so if you are walking by the candle shop or the glass blowing area and decide you want to partake you should be right as rain.

Shopping:

If you want to spend some time in the gift shop and are doing a rope down till rope up kind of day just hold off until the park closes. You will still be able to shop and buy things after the gates are closed. If its any other shop in the park do your shopping as you walk AND take advantage of pickup in the gift shop. Whatever you purchase can be sent to the gift shop for you to pick up as you exit the park, saving you from having to carry it around all day.

Breaks:

Plenty of time to sleep when you are dead. But if you have a small kiddo with you and you need some time to chill head up to Wildwood Grove. They have a indoor play area there with only one entrance that you can sit and see the entire area from. You can charge your phones here and relax in the air or heat depending on the season.

THE TRAIN:

Im saving the best for last. The train is gonna be crowded. It leaves the station on the hour every hour starting at 11. Get there EARLY. But if you show up and you see a huge line, just stand there. The train can hold a lot of people. Its a 20 minute ride so keep that in mind. It is a coal fired engine so it does produce embers so if you have sunglasses i would recommend wearing them although ive only got an ember to the eye once and it wasnt painful just irritating and I was able to wipe it out myself right then. If that does happen they will give you instructions on what to do before the train rides starts. I see some people take food with them on the train, i would not. They pack you in 5 or 6 to the bench and it can be crowded plus as stated above... ash. I wouldnt want my pizza to have a coating of coal embers to go along with the pepperonis. Try to sit between the middle and the endof the train but not on those exact spots. Like 3/4th of the way down. The front has way more embers and the back gets plenty also but the middle to back middle area is pretty nice. Plus if you are on the ends of the seat you will be able to get a GREAT shot of the train as it rounds the bend at the apex of its journey.

Cinnamon Bread:

Ok just kidding THIS is the best for last. Get the bread. Are you on a diet? Great nobodys gonna tell on you. Get the bread. There is usually a line but there are two locations you can get this from. You can grab it at the Grist Mill with the line forming by the leather shop location or you can get it at the bakery near the front of the park where you can get a 25lb apple pie for 200 dollars that feeds up to 32 people.....

Im sure there are a ton of little things im leaving out and if you have questions feel free to ask or have contributions feel free to toss those in. And if you see a 6'5 guy who is shaped like Shrek wearing a blue zip up hoodie with shorts on accompanied by a lady (who sometimes admits shes his wife) and a tiny strawberry blonde girl wearing some form of attire with Dollys face plastered all over it thats me! Id be more than happy to hear this helped you out and give you a fist bump! The park is so fun on passholder day, ive seen people handing out perler beads, friendship bracelets, making unofficial scavenger hunts for groups with prizes, impromtu singing and dancing groups (ok that ones not my kind of stuff but hey fun for everyone!) and so much more. Take your time, bring your camera, dont forget your appetite, and tell your wallet its gonna be ok at the end of the day. Lastly, be nice to everyone there. Its a busy day for the workers and your fellow park enjoyers. Everyone has the same goal there so don't turn up when things go south. Like Dolly says, if you want to see the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain.

SEE YALL NEXT FRIDAY!!!!