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USA 24: Coasting 9 To 5, What A Way To Increase Your Cred Count - Dollywood

 


Dollywood should probably be on every theme park fan’s bucket list. The park is stunning, probably the most beautiful theme park I’ve ever been to. Situated in the basin of The Smokey Mountains and home to some excellent attractions, I was beyond excited to visit. 

The drive from our holiday house was incredible, we had to stop to get a better look. 






We realised whilst booking this trip that we would be going to Dollywood during Tennessee week, during which is the time the locals get heavily discounted entry. We therefore booked ultimate fast passes, well those who needed all the coasters did, to try and combat the queues. If you do visit during this week, you will need fast pass. 


The group spilt into people who needed all of the creds and people who didn’t. I led the people who needed everything straight to Lightning Rod (667). Now in its third incarnation, Lightning Rod is no longer a launched coaster. It’s a decent coaster, fairly smooth, fast and fun! 


I had no real idea where we going, as I’d never been to Dollywood before, but we came across Blazing Fury (668) so we gave it a ride. 

Part coaster, part dark ride and part weird humour, it was great! 

Tennessee Tornado (669) was next! 


The coaster is pretty hidden amongst the mountainous backdrop, impressive considering it’s a big Arrow Looper! It rode really well, no roughness at all! 

We took a flight on Wild Eagle (670) next:



I rode front row and thought it was excellent! There was a surprising amount of airtime and I loved how floaty this coaster is. It’s right up there with my favourite wing coasters!





Right next door is FireChaser Express (671) a fun family coaster with a backwards launch! 



Continuing round the park, we came across Mystery Mine (672). 

I either didn’t take a photo or it was hard to get one. The coaster was a little rough, but still decent. I wasn’t expecting the indoor vertical lift hill! 

We were making surprisingly good progress, so decided we had time to ride the drop tower on the way past. Normally it’s creds first! 

The view of the mountains was awesome! 


Back to creds! Thunderhead (673) was next! 


Really smooth and really well paced! Enjoyed this coaster a lot! 

The kiddie cred, Whistle Punk Chaser (674) was next door so we grabbed it. 


Look at all those enthusiasts….

Just two creds to go! Both in the new area, Dragonflier (675) was first! 


I like these coasters, they’re just fun! 

Despite the park getting busier and busier we only had one coaster left to ride and it wasn’t even lunch time! 

Big Bear Mountain (676) guess how many bears you see on this? I’ll tell you shortly. 


1 bear. The coaster was fun though!

With the coasters all ticked off, we headed to the water ride to cool off.



As you can see I was at the front. The moment the boat moved a huge wave came out of nowhere and I was completely drenched. 

Time for lunch! 


The food at Dollywood is amazing! We had a family style lunch, with plenty of meat and veg! Sadly they don’t sell beer in the park. 

Post lunch we rode the rapids, which were decent! 


We then rode all of the best coasters again, finishing with a ride on Lighting Rod.

Wow, what an amazing park! Easily one of my favourite theme parks! I love the atmosphere, food and rides. My only wish is that they served beer, as it would be an awesome place to have a pint. 

Thanks for reading! Next up in the USA 24 series is our ‘rest days’. 











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