- August 18th, 2010, 11:15 am
#42442
We went to WinterFest at Carowinds in 2005 and really enjoyed it. Since they have discontinued it, we are always looking for something to do in December. Last year we decided to go to Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood for a long weekend. After looking at ticket prices it made more sense to get season passes for 2010 which covered the Christmas festival and are good through January of 2011.
I will point out that it is well worth one person in your party getting a gold season pass. Not only does it get you free parking, it also gets you 20% off anything in the park under $1,000. (Yes, there are items in the park for sale over $1,000.) There are no hassles with buying 'bucks' or anything like that, just show your pass anywhere and they give you 20% off.
The night before our trip there was a big snowstorm between Charlotte, NC and Pigeon Forge but we decided to go for it anyway. It was quite an adventure making it to Pigeon Forge but since I grew up in the North, I still remember how to drive in snow.
Smoky Mountain Christmas is great to see and something that I recommend you do at least once in your life. With over 4 million lights decorating the park, it easily gets you in the holiday spirit.
You can't have a Christmas festival without a snowman.
Even Dollywood Express has some extra lights on it for the holidays.
The greatest thing about Smoky Mountain Christmas is they try to open a majority of the rides (but obviously not the water rides). I did find it surprising that they had Blazing Fury open where we got a little wet. You should note that as long as it is above 40 degrees, they will run all the coasters. While we hit an unusual cold spell during our trip, we were fortunate that it stayed above 40 degrees for a few hours every afternoon that we were there.
When you are ready to warm up, there are a dozen quality shows going on, most of which have a Christmas theme and are in heated buildings. Without the rides, the shows in and of themselves warrant the ticket prices and make the trip worthwhile. All in all, I recommend a trip to the family friendly Dollywood at least one time, and especially during Smoky Mountain Christmas.
I will point out that it is well worth one person in your party getting a gold season pass. Not only does it get you free parking, it also gets you 20% off anything in the park under $1,000. (Yes, there are items in the park for sale over $1,000.) There are no hassles with buying 'bucks' or anything like that, just show your pass anywhere and they give you 20% off.
The night before our trip there was a big snowstorm between Charlotte, NC and Pigeon Forge but we decided to go for it anyway. It was quite an adventure making it to Pigeon Forge but since I grew up in the North, I still remember how to drive in snow.
Smoky Mountain Christmas is great to see and something that I recommend you do at least once in your life. With over 4 million lights decorating the park, it easily gets you in the holiday spirit.
You can't have a Christmas festival without a snowman.
Even Dollywood Express has some extra lights on it for the holidays.
The greatest thing about Smoky Mountain Christmas is they try to open a majority of the rides (but obviously not the water rides). I did find it surprising that they had Blazing Fury open where we got a little wet. You should note that as long as it is above 40 degrees, they will run all the coasters. While we hit an unusual cold spell during our trip, we were fortunate that it stayed above 40 degrees for a few hours every afternoon that we were there.
When you are ready to warm up, there are a dozen quality shows going on, most of which have a Christmas theme and are in heated buildings. Without the rides, the shows in and of themselves warrant the ticket prices and make the trip worthwhile. All in all, I recommend a trip to the family friendly Dollywood at least one time, and especially during Smoky Mountain Christmas.
370 Coasters