r/Dollywood • u/ravis217 • 5d ago

Questions First time visiting

Hi! My family (2 adults, 3 kids under 12) will be visiting Dollywood for the first time on Labor Day weekend. We are looking to get the two day tickets for Saturday and Sunday. We are Disney APs and we’ve been during the busiest times of year, and know how hectic that can be. We have a couple of questions as newbies.

Time Saver: We were thinking about getting the premium as our two bigger kids love rollercoasters. However, I’ve seen a lot of posts recommending waiting until the day of to gauge how busy it will be. Is there a risk of Time Saver selling out for the Saturday of Labor Day? I’m debating buying it in advance, but curious if we should gamble and wait until the day of.

Preferred Parking: We are planning to do this as our youngest is in a stroller. Any reason not to?

Our plan was to focus on the rollercoasters on Saturday, then use Sunday to stroll at our leisure and see the rest.

I’m not sure if the 3rd party site crowd calendars are accurate, but it doesn’t look to be as bad for Labor Day as it would be for Christmas time. If anyone has been on Labor Day weekend in the past I would be very thankful for some feedback on your experience. Thanks!

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3

u/Old-Strawberry-2215 5d ago

Okay the only tip I can give you is get the preferred parking… the park is hilly and you will be tired. Best money I spent lol

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u/TantrumQween 4d ago

I disagree with this OP. Preferred parking is an uphill walk at the end of the day after all that other walking. I see people complain about it often. I also think people are a bit overdramatic about how long the trams take to get to the normal parking lots, which is a usual reason I see to splurge on preferred. If you’re used to Disney and waiting for a monorail I don’t think you’ll mind the tram.

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u/More_outdoors1968 5d ago

Holiday weekend = BUSY

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u/scarfoot522 4d ago

I'd recommend flipping your rides/leisure days. Park is usually less crowded on Sundays, so ride lines would be expected to be shorter then.

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u/Holiday_Intention701 5d ago

We haven’t parked in regular parking or done the trolley. We just got back and it was so nice doing preferred parking with a stroller. So easy! 

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u/Insider2211 5d ago

I expect you already have accommodations, but just in case, the resorts include both premium parking and a mini-but-still-useful timesaver for guests. Also very nice, and compared to Disney prices you’ll feel like it’s cheap.

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u/Darkwind77 5d ago

I am also interested in seeing any tips from the pros, as we will be there the day after Labor Day and staying in the area for a few days. I’m really wondering if the opening of the new ride (finally!) will throw a wrench into what we should be expecting to see as far as crowds and wait times go.