Dollywood is one of the largest theme parks in the Southeast.
Located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Dolly Parton’s amusement park is nestled in the
heart of the Smoky Mountains.
Operated by Herschend, Dollywood is the sister park to Silver Dollar City and it has many
similarities.
Both parks have a charming atmosphere, solid theming, and for the sake of this video, a
top-notch ride lineup.
Dollywood in particular currently has 9 different roller coasters and several notable non-coasters
scattered throughout the park.
In this video, I will rank my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at Dollywood.
Before counting down this list, I want to note a few rides and attractions that I will
and will not include on this list.
First, I will add any defunct attraction that I previously rode that would have made the
list.
Second, I will be including the water slides at Dollywood’s Splash Country, which is
the awesome water park located next door.
Third, I will not be including any shows on this list.
I have only seen a handful of Dollywood’s shows over the years.
They have all been good, but I struggle to rank them compared to the rides and attractions.
15) Dollywood Express- This full-size steam train takes riders on a gorgeous 5-mile long
journey.
The attraction starts by circling around the perimeter of Dollywood before traveling deep
into the woods, offering a stunning view of the Smoky Mountains.
Few trains are as authentic and scenic as this one.
14) Big Bear Plunge- This is the first of two water slides that will appear on this
list.
Most family raft slides are relatively slow, consisting of turns and small drops.
Big Bear Plunge does things differently.
The slide has an amazing final sequence consisting of a large drop, a wild turn, and a giant
double down.
You don’t get any airtime, but the slide feels out of control given the side-to-side
movement of the raft.
13) Barnstormer- This S&S screamin’ swing is one of the park’s best flat rides.
This giant swing offers decent and sustained floater airtime on the max swings paired with
neat visuals- you will either be staring at the ground or directly into the sky.
And the barn theming around the attraction is a nice touch you don’t see on a lot of
other screamin’ swings.
I just wish the ride cycle was longer, but that’s a flaw with all rides of this type.
12) Blazing Fury- This hybrid dark ride and roller coaster is a solid ride.
The ride takes riders through a burning town.
I love the detail in the giant sets, but they do feel a bit dated.
Then the ride culminates in an exciting finale with not one, not two, but three drops.
And you can even get some airtime too.
Those in the back get pops of airtime on the first and third drops, while those in the
front get airtime on the second hill.
Mountainside Slidewinder- This unique water slide was built on the heavily wooded hill
in the center of the park.
The water slide had a lot of similarities to the more common wet/dry water slides, but
this one was taller, longer, and wilder.
If you had a heavy raft, you really swung far up the side of the trough.
That wild ride paired with the beautiful setting made this slide standout until it was removed
in 2019.
11) Smoky Mountain River Rampage- This Intamin river rapids ride is extremely refreshing
on a hot summer day.
A few of the rapids are absolute soakers.
This is among the longer rapids rides out there and it’s also a scenic ride as well
with all the landscaping.
The one thing I’ve noticed in recent years is that some of the effects have been dialed
back, particularly the waterfalls.
10) Dragonflier- This Vekoma suspended coaster is the anchor of the Wildwood Grove area.
Dragonflier is extremely reridable between the glass smooth trackwork and very open restraints.
The coaster starts strong with a good first drop into a tunnel and a very forceful overbank.
That overbank pulls some good Gs and it’s banked so severely that it feels like an inversion.
The rest of the ride has a series of moderately forceful turns and helixes more fit for a
family coaster.
9) Mystery Mine- This Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter had its layout modified in 2021, but it rides
fairly similarly to past years.
The mine theming in the indoor sections is excellent and something you rarely get on
a thrill coaster.
But the thrill elements occur outdoors.
The first drop still gives a good pop of airtime, but the rest of the first half is a slow,
plodding mess with some headbanging.
The second half is significantly stronger with an incredible beyond-vertical plunge
in the dark.
And then you have two more inversions- a whippy barrel roll and a hangtime filled dive loop.
If this ride had lap bar only trains, it would place far higher since the ride’s only weakness
is that aforementioned headbanging.
8) Firechaser Express- This Gerstlauer family coaster is one of the best family coasters
out there.
Not only does it have a low height requirement, but it has a diverse and engaging layout.
There are two launches with some decent punch- one forwards and one backwards.
The first half has several weak pops of airtime and the second half has one or two snappy
turns taken in reverse.
I wish something like this existed when I was a kid.
7) Daredevil Falls- This Hopkins log flume is one of my favorite flumes out there.
The ride is isolated from the rest of the park and the setting is amazing.
Daredevil Falls starts in a dark cave, winds around some trees, and then climbs up a hill
with some top-notch rockwork.
Then the final plunge is great s well.
It’s quite tall for a flume and even offers a tiny pop of airtime.
And the splash is the perfect amount of wetness on a hot summer day.
6) Drop Line- This Funtime drop tower is Dollywood’s best flat ride.
Drop Line rotates on the way up, which gives everyone a full 360 degree view of both Dollywood
and the Smoky Mountains.
It’s one of the best views of any drop tower.
This drop tower is fairly tall too, standing 230 feet or 70 meters tall, and it feels even
taller since you tower over the nearby Wild Eagle.
And the final drop is great too, offering a great stomach drop sensation almost on par
with an Intamin drop tower.
5) RiverRush- This ProSlide water coaster is the best reason to visit Dollywood’s
Splash Country.
This isn’t the longest water coaster, but this one has 3 steep drops giving good airtime
on par with the best drops on Holiday World’s Wildebeest.
And since this is a hydromagnetic coaster, the uphill ascents are swift and do a good
job maintaining the ride’s speed.
4) Wild Eagle- This was one of the first B&M wing coasters; however, it has a layout more
reminiscent of a floorless coaster.
This ride doesn’t have the usual layout or near-misses.
Instead, it has a great first reminiscent of a B&M hyper with the floater airtime.
And then you have 4 straight inversions.
The vertical loop offers good positive Gs and then both the zero-G roll and corkscrew
offer hangtime.
The rest of the ride is just ok and feels like filler, but it does have a great setting
on that wooded hill.
3) Tennessee Tornado- This was one of the last Arrow loopers and it rides much differently
than the others.
It’s glass smooth and the supersized elements are profiled much differently.
The first drop is incredible.
It plunges through the mountain and offers some great sustained floater airtime.
The first inversion offers a little bit of hangtime while the next two inversions pile
on the positive Gs.
The only downside to this coaster is its incredibly short length.
2) Thunderhead- This GCI once won the Golden Ticket award for the world’s best wood coaster.
While I don’t think it ever was the world’s best wood coaster, it is one of the best GCIs.
With the recent trackwork Dollywood has put into this attraction, it’s running very
smoothly.
This coaster has a delightfully twisted layout with fast-pacing and several quick pops of
airtime- particularly into the turnarounds.
I have a separate review going into more detail, but this is a really fun coaster.
1) Lightning Rod- This Rocky Mountain Construction creation is a maintenance nightmare.
It took me 4 tries to finally ride it.
But when it’s open, it’s perfection.
It starts with one of the best settings of any coaster.
The ride is built on a mountain and even though the park ripped down a lot of trees in 2021,
you still feel isolated in that valley.
The layout itself starts with a deceptively forceful launch and then it goes nuts.
There isn’t a moment of wasted track on Lightning Rod and the ride gets crazier as
it progresses.
The first drop is very underrated and the giant wave turn offers some crazy and sustained
sideways floater airtime.
Then the remaining elements are powerful ejector airtime, with the highlight being the famous
quad down.
That is one of the greatest elements on any coaster and the little hump afterwards just
feels like a continuation of that element.
Lightning Rod always leaves me breathless and that’s why it’s not only the best
ride at Dollywood, but also my favorite roller coaster.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at Dollywood.
What are your favorite rides at Dollywood?
I would love to hear your thoughts about any of the park’s rides and attractions.
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