Too much money and not worth it..

[Scrooged]

You might have talked me into it.lol. I’ll tag you in the spring if we make it. We should have a soccer tournament in Gatlinburg sometime soon, maybe we’ll stay an extra day and visit Dollywood.

Can confirm. Dollywood is essentially the Disney of East Tennessee. And it's worth it. It's a charming park, the staff is extremely friendly, and if you're there at the right time if they are promoting something you may get to see Dolly herself. Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine (has good themeing) and Wild Eagle are the coaster standouts. There is also a wonderful dark ride called Blazing Fury which relies purely on it's camp and prehistoric animatronics and that makes it a good ride too. ("Fire in the HOOOOOOOOOLLLE!") Also, The Dollywood Express is worth a ride- it's two full sized steam engines that used to run the WPYRR line in the post war period- and they are a beautiful sight to behold chugging through the park.

 

[21stamps]

Can confirm. Dollywood is essentially the Disney of East Tennessee. And it's worth it. It's a charming park, the staff is extremely friendly, and if you're there at the right time if they are promoting something you may get to see Dolly herself. Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine (has good themeing) and Wild Eagle are the coaster standouts. There is also a wonderful dark ride called Blazing Fury which relies purely on it's camp and prehistoric animatronics and that makes it a good ride too. ("Fire in the HOOOOOOOOOLLLE!") Also, The Dollywood Express is worth a ride- it's two full sized steam engines that used to run the WPYRR line in the post war period- and they are a beautiful sight to behold chugging through the park.

thank you! Sounds like a great place to visit!

 

[Tanna Eros]

Can confirm. Dollywood is essentially the Disney of East Tennessee. And it's worth it. It's a charming park, the staff is extremely friendly, and if you're there at the right time if they are promoting something you may get to see Dolly herself. Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine (has good themeing) and Wild Eagle are the coaster standouts. There is also a wonderful dark ride called Blazing Fury which relies purely on it's camp and prehistoric animatronics and that makes it a good ride too. ("Fire in the HOOOOOOOOOLLLE!") Also, The Dollywood Express is worth a ride- it's two full sized steam engines that used to run the WPYRR line in the post war period- and they are a beautiful sight to behold chugging through the park.

I loved Gatlinberg before the fire, it was kitschy and fun. I should like the steam engine. You've sold me on Dollywood, also.

 

[Mr. Moderate]

I'm find myself wanting to go to Dollywood and do have plans to be in the area next summer and I'm really thinking it may be a way to get my Disney fix in without paying the extreme prices. I've been doing research and Dollywood does seem to have a Disneyland charm from years ago, going for it.

 

[crispy]

Can confirm. Dollywood is essentially the Disney of East Tennessee. And it's worth it. It's a charming park, the staff is extremely friendly, and if you're there at the right time if they are promoting something you may get to see Dolly herself. Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine (has good themeing) and Wild Eagle are the coaster standouts. There is also a wonderful dark ride called Blazing Fury which relies purely on it's camp and prehistoric animatronics and that makes it a good ride too. ("Fire in the HOOOOOOOOOLLLE!") Also, The Dollywood Express is worth a ride- it's two full sized steam engines that used to run the WPYRR line in the post war period- and they are a beautiful sight to behold chugging through the park.

Dollywood is great! We live in the Nashville area and usually buy a season pass every other year for around $600 total for our family of four (we add the gold pass for one family member to get free parking and better discounts on food and merchandise). The best part is seeing and meeting Dolly. We seem to have a knack for showing up the same days as her so we have seen her a few times. Dollywood also has some really nice festivals throughout the year. The Festival of Nations, Harvest Fest, and Smoky Mountain Christmas are fun and there is no extra cost to attend. Love, love, love the shows during the Festival of Nations.

Dollywoood is obviously not the same scale as WDW, but the coasters are fantastic and there is so much to do in the surrounding areas like Great Smokey Mountain National Park, Ripley's Aquarium, corny dinner shows, etc. Super fun place for kids and a heckuva lot cheaper than Disney.

 

[danyoung56]

One was the room had to be on the MK side of the tower building and it had to be an upper level.

I did exactly this back when the Contemporary had a special AP rate of $100 a night. But then I caught the cold of the century, and spent a lot of time at my 11th floor window, whimpering while watching all the people out there having fun!

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The price of food is high, but honestly, as someone else has mentioned, it’s not really any higher than most other theme parks and other special activities.

At the risk of being too common...we are very experienced WDW visitors, and we now generally find we are able to eat better quality food at Universal for less $ than WDW.

Locally (at home), I'm a huge fan of the new fast casual options we have. Many fun places offer healthy, quick food, and I get to pick exactly which veggies/starch/meat combos we want. WDW now has Blaze at least in that kind of category, and it is VERY popular. WDW needs more Blaze-type offerings and less bland food courts.

It just seems like an improved dining style, IMO. The classic WDW food courts feel a bit dated.

I dunno...I feel like WDW has fallen a bit behind where food is concerned. some places have okay offerings, but WDW could also easily be more amazing.

I mean, I just posted about the new popcorn offered in GE. It tastes okay. It is oddly brightly colored.

But you know, they could have gone with offering a big pot of FRESH kettle corn! Why doesn't WDW offer fresh kettle corn anywhere?

 

[Tanna Eros]

Maybe they are lowering expectations on purpose.
I can sit stranded on the top of the helix of the Beast for an hour in October in Ohio, and can still be like, "Pass the poi." But I'd stub my toe in DisneyWorld and get all katiebug on you. Maybe they want people to expect less, so they less

 

[Shouldigo12]

Maybe they are lowering expectations on purpose.
I can sit stranded on the top of the helix of the Beast for an hour in October in Ohio, and can still be like, "Pass the poi." But I'd stub my toe in DisneyWorld and get all katiebug on you. Maybe they want people to expect less, so they ***** less

And when it was open, get a concussion on the Son of Beast and consider it a good day.

 

[Tanna Eros]

And when it was open, get a concussion on the Son of Beast and consider it a good day.

"I'm still alive!" as you exited SOB- it was a very good day.

 

[SSH]

Locally (at home), I'm a huge fan of the new fast casual options we have. Many fun places offer healthy, quick food, and I get to pick exactly which veggies/starch/meat combos we want. WDW now has Blaze at least in that kind of category, and it is VERY popular. WDW needs more Blaze-type offerings and less bland food courts.

While I hear ya - and get the appeal of customized choice - omg - people take forever and seem baffled by the simple QS menus in the parks now - they seem to have great difficulty choosing between the burger and the chicken sandwich. I shudder to think how slow the lines would be if we gave everyone MORE customized choices. lol

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

While I hear ya - and get the appeal of customized choice - omg - people take forever and seem baffled by the simple QS menus in the parks now - they seem to have great difficulty choosing between the burger and the chicken sandwich. I shudder to think how slow the lines would be if we gave everyone MORE customized choices. lol

I hear ya too!

But I think most folks do fine at Blaze. In my experience, people like to see what they order. I truly think part of what slows people down is that some folks have some trouble picturing food items I their head.

Most fast casual places are structured so that you get only a few choices at a time. Think Chipotle. first you choose form one of three bases, then you choose white or brow rice, black or pinto beans, which meat/protein, then one- three 'salsa' toppings, then one-three rich toppings.

 

[Greg in TN]

Dollywood is great! We live in the Nashville area and usually buy a season pass every other year for around $600 total for our family of four (we add the gold pass for one family member to get free parking and better discounts on food and merchandise). The best part is seeing and meeting Dolly. We seem to have a knack for showing up the same days as her so we have seen her a few times. Dollywood also has some really nice festivals throughout the year. The Festival of Nations, Harvest Fest, and Smoky Mountain Christmas are fun and there is no extra cost to attend. Love, love, love the shows during the Festival of Nations.

Dollywoood is obviously not the same scale as WDW, but the coasters are fantastic and there is so much to do in the surrounding areas like Great Smokey Mountain National Park, Ripley's Aquarium, corny dinner shows, etc. Super fun place for kids and a heckuva lot cheaper than Disney.

Dollywood has a great "on property" resort hotel, too. Dolly's Dream More Resort is fantastic. Kinda feels like a cross between Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Free transportation to/from the park, as well.

 

[SSH]

Dollywood has a great "on property" resort hotel, too. Dolly's Dream More Resort is fantastic. Kinda feels like a cross between Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Free transportation to/from the park, as well.

Never thought about dollywood before - thanks to the posters in this thread, this sounds really nice. Seems like a great idea and a nicer, saner change from a WDW holiday trip - will have to look into this for 2020

 

[*Disney Princess*]

I going to give a teens view on going to WDW or DL because sometimes I hear they grow old of it. Here is my take on it being too expensive. Well first off I don't have to pay for it that is my dads department, but my souvenirs I needs to save up months and months of my own money to purchase the ears I want to get. My parents get me one T-shirt or hoodie on each trip we go. As for the food I think it is pretty darn good and here is my moms take on the food. She thinks it is great because she is not having to cook it. I think what is lost for some people when they go to Disney is that it is suppose to be about family fun. When that is lost in all this other stuff than like the OP said it is time to step back and take a break from it. My Mom, Dad, and I haven't lost that and I hope we never do and when I get a family of my own I hope I can do the same.

 

[drizgirl]

I going to give a teens view on going to WDW or DL because sometimes I hear they grow old of it. Here is my take on it being too expensive. Well first off I don't have to pay for it that is my dads department, but my souvenirs I needs to save up months and months of my own money to purchase the ears I want to get. My parents get me one T-shirt or hoodie on each trip we go. As for the food I think it is pretty darn good and here is my moms take on the food. She thinks it is great because she is not having to cook it. I think what is lost for some people when they go to Disney is that it is suppose to be about family fun. When that is lost in all this other stuff than like the OP said it is time to step back and take a break from it. My Mom, Dad, and I haven't lost that and I hope we never do and when I get a family of my own I hope I can do the same.

I'm glad you're enjoying your trips, But this thread is about cost and value. If mom and dad are paying for the trip, it's hard for a 16 year old to have a discussion about whether something costs too much (which is what this thread is about).

 

[*Disney Princess*]

I'm glad you're enjoying your trips, But this thread is about cost and value. If mom and dad are paying for the trip, it's hard for a 16 year old to have a discussion about whether something costs too much (which is what this thread is about).

I disagree. I understand that my Mom and Dad pay for the bulk of the WDW and DL vacations that I get to enjoy but how do I get to learn about the best way to budget and what value is without experiencing it somewhat on these trips myself? That is why my parents let me experience it by having to save for want I want to purchase on these trips. Sure it isn't the park passes or the air fare or the resort but to me it makes the vacation what it is. That is the value to me and that is what I am learning for the future so I know when I am an adult how to budget so I can enjoy my WDW and DL trips and I don't have to worry about if the food is nasty or not because I am there to enjoy my vacation with my family.

 

[drizgirl]

I disagree. I understand that my Mom and Dad pay for the bulk of the WDW and DL vacations that I get to enjoy but how do I get to learn about the best way to budget and what value is without experiencing it somewhat on these trips myself? That is why my parents let me experience it by having to save for want I want to purchase on these trips. Sure it isn't the park passes or the air fare or the resort but to me it makes the vacation what it is. That is the value to me and that is what I am learning for the future so I know when I am an adult how to budget so I can enjoy my WDW and DL trips and I don't have to worry about if the food is nasty or not because I am there to enjoy my vacation with my family.

Since you save and purchase what you want as souvenirs, you can certainly speak to the value of what you spent on those. But it's very hard to speak to the value of what resorts stays, park passes and food cost unless you have earned and saved that money yourself. As I said though, I'm glad you are enjoying your trips and making some great family memories.

 

[Nunu]

I going to give a teens view on going to WDW or DL because sometimes I hear they grow old of it. Here is my take on it being too expensive. Well first off I don't have to pay for it that is my dads department, but my souvenirs I needs to save up months and months of my own money to purchase the ears I want to get. My parents get me one T-shirt or hoodie on each trip we go. As for the food I think it is pretty darn good and here is my moms take on the food. She thinks it is great because she is not having to cook it. I think what is lost for some people when they go to Disney is that it is suppose to be about family fun. When that is lost in all this other stuff than like the OP said it is time to step back and take a break from it. My Mom, Dad, and I haven't lost that and I hope we never do and when I get a family of my own I hope I can do the same.

I think t's a good thing that your parents are teaching you about the value of money, saving and spending habits. If more parents did that with their children at an early age, less people would get into irresponsible spending leading to debt, imo.

 

[*Disney Princess*]

I think t's a good thing that your parents are teaching you about the value of money, saving and spending habits. If more parents did that with their children at an early age, less people would get into irresponsible spending leading to debt, imo.

I love that my parents are that way. It gives me responsibility for one and teaches me the value of not only money but also things that I want like Mickey Ears.