How to cut cost at Dollywood questions

[mickeys friend]

Does anyone know if Dollywood has any ways for familys to cut cost with food and drinks?Could use any info about Dollywood (not the water park).Thanks

 

[tina.tina]

If you buy a gold pass you'll get 20% off of purchases and free parking.

 

[tng]

You can get ice water for free at any stand with drinks. We bring snacks in with us also. The prices for the the buffets are really not that bad. We went to breakfast last year and the adult buffet at Aunt Granny's was $9.99, kids $6.99 with 4yrs and under free.
Hope that helps. We have season passes and are there a lot. If you have any more questions, ask away

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Is anyone in your traveling party in the military or retired from it? You can save some serious $$$. We took the trolley for free to Dollywood. If you chose to pay to park I would take a cooler for food and go back to the car for lunch.

Here are some of the current deals
One-Day Ticket Special Offers

FREE Meal Offer (Exclusively Online)

Purchase your Dollywood full-priced one-day admission tickets online and receive a FREE meal voucher valid now - August 17, 2011. Learn more
Splash & Play Ticket

If you would like to visit both Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country, we have a Splash & Play Ticket available. Learn more

After 3:00 PM, Next Day FREE!

Purchase a one-day Dollywood admission and arrive after 3:00 p.m. and visit the next day FREE! Learn more

Military Discount

Receive 30% with military ID. Learn more

 

[pal-mickey]

Last summer we did the go after 3 pm and get the next day free. It worked out well for us. We went near the end of august. My dd, who are 17 & 13, were able to do all the roller coasters several times. When we went back the second day they knew exactly which rides to do.

 

[julieamedeiros]

We are going to the same area at the end of August and I was thinking the same thing! I had heard the food was expensive and not that great...

We are used to getting the dinning plan at WDW and having great meals so I was alittle worried about the food at Dollywood.

Is Dollywood big enough to spend the whole day there?

 

[mickeys friend]

We have free tickets to Dollywood,so we won't have to buy them and we are also use to WDW dinning plan.This will be our first trip to Dollywood and are only planning on doing one day there.Some people have said the food was good and didn't cost alot,but I know all theme parks,fair's,etc food cost alot because they know you have to eat and drink while you're there.I guess it depends what theme parks,etc,you're going to try and figure out how much it's going to cost.I know it's not Disney,and so far I've figured out the food should be cheaper than WDW (wish I was going there).Do they have refill able cups? And are they worth buying if they do?Thanks for all the help so far.Keep them coming.

 

[merekc]

I may be wrong but I believe Silver Dollar City (which is owned by the same group) allows outside food and drink to be brought in.

Also, SDC has souvenir mugs with cheap refills. In fact, they allow any year's mugs to be brought back so if the same is true at DW if you have any old DW mugs take them.

You would need to see if any of these things also apply to Dollywood. Actually, pps may already know the answers to these.

 

[tng]

^^^^
Yes, you can bring food and drink in (as long as it's not in a cooler, etc. of course)
You can buy a refillable mug. This year's mug is $15 and refills are .99. Probably not worth it for one day. If you do happen to have a mug from past years, refills are $2.99. There are several places to eat and the food is really not bad. There is one place that sells footlong corndogs and fries for $6.99, hamburgers/fries at another for around the same price. Pretty standard for theme parks. They do have a bigger variety of food, though than most places. Fajitas, taco salads, polish sausage, etc. and get a funnel cake! Yummy!
There is plenty to do to spend a whole day. There are 3 major roller coasters and a new thrill ride, Barnstormer that are all good if you like that kind of thing. There are several shows if that's more what you like. There's also a kiddie area/ Country Fair that has lots of rides. There are water rides, too. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much there is and how clean and nice it is. Of course it's no Disney, but it still has plenty to offer.

 

[julieamedeiros]

^^^^
Yes, you can bring food and drink in (as long as it's not in a cooler, etc. of course)
You can buy a refillable mug. This year's mug is $15 and refills are .99. Probably not worth it for one day. If you do happen to have a mug from past years, refills are $2.99. There are several places to eat and the food is really not bad. There is one place that sells footlong corndogs and fries for $6.99, hamburgers/fries at another for around the same price. Pretty standard for theme parks. They do have a bigger variety of food, though than most places. Fajitas, taco salads, polish sausage, etc. and get a funnel cake! Yummy!
There is plenty to do to spend a whole day. There are 3 major roller coasters and a new thrill ride, Barnstormer that are all good if you like that kind of thing. There are several shows if that's more what you like. There's also a kiddie area/ Country Fair that has lots of rides. There are water rides, too. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much there is and how clean and nice it is. Of course it's no Disney, but it still has plenty to offer.

Good to know...Is there anywhere you can get discounted tickets?

Thanks for the info!

 

[tng]

In years past, can cokes around this area had $5 off on them and Wendy's had coupons for $5 off on their large drinks. I haven't seen any this year yet, but I haven't bought either lately to know for sure if they have them this year.
That is the only discounts I know of, unless of couse you want to sit through a timeshare presentation

 

[jacksmomma]

A great way to save money...don't go! Our family has tried to go there 2 different times since it opened and it was completely dreadful! Do not waste your money!

 

[maleficentmom]

If you buy a gold pass you'll get 20% off of purchases and free parking.

I bought my husbands wedding band there years ago and got my 20% off..lol..they even let me do lay-away then...Food City stores sell discount passes at certain times of year(there is one in PF).Like folks have said,this isn't Disney,but Dolly expands the place with new rides and shows each season and there are things there that you won't see in other parks...clogging,blacksmithing,lye soap making,bluegrass and southern gospel music ,etc...buy some lye soap,let the kids dip candles at the candle shop,eat breakfst at Grannys and eat later at Lillians Chicken House...the lady there is so funny! We like it too that Dolly really gives back to her hometown..she even has a program called Dollys Imagination Library,where all preschool age kids in TN get free(nice) books mailed to them every so often just for signing up.Food City here mails my little one a free admission to Dixie Stampede Dinner Show(Dolly owns this too,as well as the one in Myrtle Beach which just reopened as a Pirate theme) every year on her bday...you just sign up for their Food City ValuCard card,and then tell them you want to also join the Kids Club....we get enough Disney that we don't do Dollywood often,but we do like it.

 

[Twinklee]

I love Dollywood and yes, there is plenty to do to keep you there for the whole day. This is the only theme park outside of Disney that I actually like. It is a beautiful park, very well themed and small enough that you can criss cross the park multiple times without wearing yourself out. Be sure not to miss the shows. It worth visiting even if you don't do a singe ride and just see all the shows. As for the food...typical theme park food. Our favorite place to eat is the 50's themed diner. Not much you can do to ruin a hamburger and they have good milkshakes.

Go one day after 3:00 and you can go the next day for free. Not only does that save you some money, but the crowds after 3:00 are much more managable.

 

[ljcraw555]

We just got back from TN. We went to Dollywood one day. It was more than enough for us! I realize that it is NOT Disney, but it just was not a great experience.

My DS (8) and I rode the ferris wheel. It was dreadful. They couldn't get it to stop in the right spot, so they kept making us go forward than backward. I think we were on it for 1/2 hour. The girl at one of the carnival games told us that they have that problem with it all the time. Oh and I didn't mention, it was about 98 degrees last week when we were there.

I really wished we would have saved our money!

Also, for what it's worth, we were told we were NOT allowed to bring in any food or drinks and they would check our bags. But that we could get ice water for free.

Another thing, if you get one of those many coupon books that are everywhere down there, there are coupons for a few restaurants in Dollywood - B1G1 (sometimes a free kid's meal and others are adult meals).
Good luck! Hope you have a better time than we did!!

 

[swilshire]

^^^^
Yes, you can bring food and drink in (as long as it's not in a cooler, etc. of course).

We always bring a soft cooler with drinks and snacks. No problem.

We have season passes so don't stay all day. We usually eat at the Apple Barn before or after our park visit or eat somewhere closer to home.

Sheila