Dollywood/WDW back to back trip comparision

[L&Lfan]

I love Dolly, thrill rides and Jesus Christ (not in that order, of course) so Dollywood would be right up my alley. Too bad we live so far away (NJ). Legal guns and animal heads on walls don't bother me. We have a local steakhouse (Dakota) with tons of animal heads in each dining room and a stuffed bear at the entrance to the lounge.

 

[amberpi]

Well, I'm from TN, non-religious, anti-guns personally/pro guns as a right, try to be fashionable, don't listen to country music but LOVE Dolly for her amazing charitable works, and I adore Dollywood. It has NOTHING to do with the local area though. It's absolutely just a tourist trap - in the good way. It might be indicative of East TN in the 1920s when running shine was popular, but otherwise, it truly has nothing to do with the local populace.

 

[mousefan73]

Dolly does come across as a sweet soul though I never met her.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Well, I'm from TN, non-religious, anti-guns personally/pro guns as a right, try to be fashionable, don't listen to country music but LOVE Dolly for her amazing charitable works, and I adore Dollywood. It has NOTHING to do with the local area though. It's absolutely just a tourist trap - in the good way. It might be indicative of East TN in the 1920s when running shine was popular, but otherwise, it truly has nothing to do with the local populace.

Does anyone not love Dolly?

The area is a tourist trap and I'm a traveller but not into tourist traps. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge somewhat remind me of Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. Without the guns and religion. Didn't make it to Dollywood but I wish I had. I wanted to see the museum.

The OP was giving her personal view and it might help someone. Some people go back regularly to Niagara Falls. It's just personal taste.

 

[amberpi]

Does anyone not love Dolly?

The area is a tourist trap and I'm a traveller but not into tourist traps. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge somewhat remind me of Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. Without the guns and religion. Didn't make it to Dollywood but I wish I had. I wanted to see the museum.

The OP was giving her personal view and it might help someone. Some people go back regularly to Niagara Falls. It's just personal taste.

Everyone should love Dolly!

I have no issues with the OPs assessment, except to the extent that it reflect the local populace. Dollywood does have a ton of Jesus, guns, bad food, but awesome thrill rides and a lack of indoor activities. Its just a touristy area. It is very much like Niagara Falls. I'm a traveler too, and you just have to appreciate things for what they are, but recognize they aren't part of the real local area. Dollywood isn't representative of people who live in "the hills" anymore. That's usually rich folks with second homes

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Closer than where we often stayed. I haven't been there in a few years though. Never saw a machine gun rental by the hour billboard in my life. I don't even want to know why someone needs to rent a machine gun for an hour.

You don't get to leave the building with it. You just punch holes in paper.

 

[wonder whisper]

I remember being taken to visit Silver Dollar City (which eventually became Dollywood) by my grandparents back in the mid 1960s. Back then, the primary attractions were the Frisco Silver Dollar line train ride featuring the riders experiencing a holdup mid trip trip by "bandits," a trip to the Marvel cave and a staging of the Hatfield/McCoy feud, complete with a massive shootout on main street. Interesting to hear how much it has changed since then. Here's some images of the park from that era, including a visit from the then prime time stars of the Beverly Hillbillies.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Everyone should love Dolly!

I have no issues with the OPs assessment, except to the extent that it reflect the local populace. Dollywood does have a ton of Jesus, guns, bad food, but awesome thrill rides and a lack of indoor activities. Its just a touristy area. It is very much like Niagara Falls. I'm a traveler too, and you just have to appreciate things for what they are, but recognize they aren't part of the real local area. Dollywood isn't representative of people who live in "the hills" anymore. That's usually rich folks with second homes

She's giving her assessment as a tourist. I gave my assessment as a tourist. No one is trying to say what it is like to move there and live amongst the locals.

Besides the inside of my cabin, sitting outside on the deck, we heard constant gun shots all day long. I think there was a fire range in the area. At night after we went to bed, the locals would drive up and down the pitch dark mountains, whooping and hollering and throwing beer cans and bottle all over the roads. These are severely steep switch back mountain roads with little to no guardrails. Our cabin was about 4 feet from the main road that wasn't even wide enough for two cars in many spots. I was terrified that the crazy drunks were going to smash into our cabin. There is a for sale sign on every second cabin in the area and I think I know why.

We did enjoy our short time in Knoxville. Very different vibe. Didn't make it to Nashville although I would have loved to visit.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

You don't get to leave the building with it. You just punch holes in paper.

Thank god! I actually wasn't sure.

 

[elaine amj]

if you are into Country Music and Dolly Parton, there should be enough for a whole day.

That's awesome! It's really not worth bringing my teen son at this point (Disney was tough enough!) but someday, DH and I will plan a couples trip there. I would totally geek out there

Oh we had the bears too. Lots and lots of bear motif. That's what I was bracing myself for when I rented the cabin from looking at the pictures. I did make sure there was no animal head on the wall before I rented. That wasn't easy since most cabins do.

Haha...my Smokey Mountains cabin had some deer heads. Scared my DD when she stumbled across them in a quiet corner!

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

That's awesome! It's really not worth bringing my teen son at this point (Disney was tough enough!) but someday, DH and I will plan a couples trip there. I would totally geek out there



Haha...my Smokey Mountains cabin had some deer heads. Scared my DD when she stumbled across them in a quiet corner!

I would have made my husband throw a sheet over the head. Then I probably would have felt bad for the deer and made him take it off.

 

[luvsJack]

Well, I'm from TN, non-religious, anti-guns personally/pro guns as a right, try to be fashionable, don't listen to country music but LOVE Dolly for her amazing charitable works, and I adore Dollywood. It has NOTHING to do with the local area though. It's absolutely just a tourist trap - in the good way. It might be indicative of East TN in the 1920s when running shine was popular, but otherwise, it truly has nothing to do with the local populace.

Not sure its fair to say its completely NOT representative of TN. Of course not everyone. No state can be truly represented by one small area. But Dolly herself is a local and she is very much represented by what is in Dollywood. When my parents and I went to TN on many trips and in many different areas, we went to places off the beaten trails and not so much a 'tourist trap" and we still found the bluegrass music, the country cooking, the guns and the religion.

 

[amberpi]

Well, she's giving her assessment as a tourist. I gave my assessment as a tourist. No one is trying to say what it is like to move there and live amongst the locals.

Besides the inside of my cabin, sitting outside on the deck, we heard constant gun shots all day long. \
We did enjoy our short time in Knoxville. Very different vibe. Didn't make it to Nashville although I would have loved to visit.

That's the kind of minority crap that happens and makes the whole area look like idiots...I went to school in Knoxville (under grad and grad) and I live in Nashville. I just hate the stereotypes and that the OP (being from overseas) thinks that's what the local populace is like. I've been to the UK enough to know that Londoners and Brightoners are very different

ETA: my bit of TN is hard to distinguish from Williamsburg.
Also, I don't doubt at all that you that experience, its very much part of the above.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

That's the kind of minority crap that happens and makes the whole area look like idiots...I went to school in Knoxville (under grad and grad) and I live in Nashville. I just hate the stereotypes and that the OP (being from overseas) thinks that's what the local populace is like. I've been to the UK enough to know that Londoners and Brightoners are very different

Sometimes the stereotypes do reflect the area somewhat. I rented my cabin from a local. Found out she was extremely religious and made sure her cabin was decorated as such. There was no corner left untouched. The constant gunshots were real. Some of the locals going crazy at night drunken zooming up and down the mountains were real. The open carry is real. You are used to it. Some are not and are uncomfortable with it. No need to defend it. The locals in many ways reflect exactly what the OP and I have said. All of them? Of course not. But that is the vibe of the place. Since Gatlinburg is packed to the rafters with tourists, it's a vibe that many are comfortable with.

I come from a place that has a very big tourist population in the summer. There are great things to be said about the area, as a tourist. Wouldn't want to live there but I would visit again and again.

Some places I've been and would not return: Sevierville, TN and Egypt (anywhere in that country).

 

[wonder whisper]

Poor Dolly is getting some increasing flack about her Dixie Stampede dinner shows in Branson, MO and Pigeon Forge, TN, since they feature a competition between the North and South (complete with performers dressed as Union and Confederate cavalry soldiers). Haven't heard about any protests or calls for boycotts yet, but in the present environment fear it's only a matter of time...

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We just went on our first trip this year to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area as well. We did the 3 day pass at Dollywood, and the first thing my kids said when we got there was that it was just like Disney World. I thought the theming in both parks was pretty top notch. The food was decent as far as comparing to Counter Service, and we did try the famous cinnamon bread, which was out of this world! Auntie Grannie's Buffet was a huge disappointment for us. I guess I expected this to be like Paula Deen's, and nothing seemed to be made fresh. I'm pretty sure those mashed potatoes were instant. The Drive-In show (which was an HOUR long!) is just as good as many Disney shows- a LOT of talent there. With kids from 2-20, I felt your assessment of the rides what exactly what was missing for me as a parent- the only thing we could ride together was the cars. (And since my 2 year old could "drive" Dollywood wins with this one.) My older kids- 18 and 20, however preferred having the thrill rides that Disney is lacking. The customer service was very much like Disney, which is a huge contrast from Six Flags and Hershey Park, both of which we have also visited this summer.


For the general area, I really didn't think Jesus and guns were THAT prominent, but Moonshine certainly is! Love having free tastings everywhere! The biggest thing for me was the customer service everywhere we went. Everyone was so friendly everywhere, and even for a tourist trap, nothing seemed crowded. (We went the first week in August.) The whole Pigeon Forge area attraction strip is basically the same as Myrtle Beach without the beach, but with better customer service. And downtown Gatlinburg still has the cute, quaint feel. Our family of 4 generations rented a cabin in the mountains (no dead animals or Jesus signs, just a lot of mountain and bear themed decorations), and it was the perfect vacation for all ages. I would definitely go again!

 

[mousefan73]

Does anyone not love Dolly?

The area is a tourist trap and I'm a traveller but not into tourist traps. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge somewhat remind me of Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. Without the guns and religion. Didn't make it to Dollywood but I wish I had. I wanted to see the museum.

The OP was giving her personal view and it might help someone. Some people go back regularly to Niagara Falls. It's just personal taste.

OP here, I would not compare Gatlinburg to Dollywood.. We did both.. Gatlinburg IMO was a tourist dump, totally differnt vibe than Dollywood.. BUT we loooved the Great Smokey National Park.. which is right there. Everyone at the tourist info/park info were super nice, sweet old ladies volunteers... Park Rangers we met were awesome, and loved to be asked questions. Gatlinburg is nice for an hour or so to stroll up and down the strip.. We stop by many as support for what the town went through with the fires.

Don't want to offend anyone, but many tourists came across kinda trashy, maybe it was just that day.... You know those "People of Walmart" FB threads.... We could have done the same that day with some of the freaks we saw that day...on the other side we saw a lot of family reunions, older ladies. Was an intereting observation.. You have on the strip most shops selling knick knacks, spray paint shirts and Moonshine etc..... and then the Starbucks which had a complety different type of crowd. The ski lifts/gondola did nothing for us, but we live in Europe and are in the Alps all the time, so for us nothing new.

We ate at the Mexican Place ( forgot name but has the escalator up and roof top, on the strip).. Worse dining experience for us in the Smokies.... I was blown away.. my DD ordered Mac and Cheese.. The server walks to our table with her plate WHILE SQUEEZING THE MICROWAVE BAG OF MAC INTO HER PLATE AS HE WAS APPROACHING OUR TABLE!! and then just walked away with the empty bag... Sureal... I mean I know in most places Mac and Cheese is most likely not made on location and heated but man, do it in the kitchen !!!

 

[mousefan73]

That's the kind of minority crap that happens and makes the whole area look like idiots...I went to school in Knoxville (under grad and grad) and I live in Nashville. I just hate the stereotypes and that the OP (being from overseas) thinks that's what the local populace is like. I've been to the UK enough to know that Londoners and Brightoners are very different

ETA: my bit of TN is hard to distinguish from Williamsburg.
Also, I don't doubt at all that you that experience, its very much part of the above.

Actually I am from Chicago originally.

 

[L&Lfan]

At first glance I read sneezing for squeezing....both are unacceptable, imo.

I'd love to try Paula Deen's Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge.

 

[amberpi]

Not sure its fair to say its completely NOT representative of TN. Of course not everyone. No state can be truly represented by one small area. But Dolly herself is a local and she is very much represented by what is in Dollywood. When my parents and I went to TN on many trips and in many different areas, we went to places off the beaten trails and not so much a 'tourist trap" and we still found the bluegrass music, the country cooking, the guns and the religion.

Wow, you've vacationed here

Actually I am from Chicago originally.

Welp, thanks for the broad generalizations. As I'm sure you know, the same could be said of your local Walmart.