Roller coaster enthusiasts from across the country gathered at Dollywood last weekend for the annual Smoky Mountain Coasterfest, which is organized by the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Southeast Region.
This year’s event entailed exclusive ride time (ERT) on Lightning Rod, loaves of delicious cinnamon bread, priority seating at the Christmas in the Smokies musical and several other perks. Plus, seeing the park illuminated by 5 million lights as part of the Smoky Mountain Christmas event was a treat in itself.
The day started well before the park opened to the public with a breakfast of danishes, fruit and coffee at Hickory House followed by ERT on Blazing Fury. Unfortunately, the ride was (abnormally) down for most of the hour.
But to make up for the downtime, the park opened Tennessee Tornado and Wild Eagle early.
That was a more than generous trade-off, I think.
For the next few hours, attendees were free to explore the park at their leisure. I met a Dollywood first-timer, so I enjoyed experiencing the park alongside someone with a fresh perspective of everything the park has to offer.
Our next scheduled activity was a hike up a (very large and very steep) hill to see Lightning Rod from a vantage point not accessible to the public.
I consider myself to be in fairly good shape, but this trek was intense. I was out of breath once we reached the top.
But the view from the top was worth the wheeze.
Seeing those hot-rod trains crest the top of the second hill and plunge down the 165-foot-drop was surreal. I’ve careened over that hill countless times, but seeing it from the ground was so cool.
I also didn’t realize how close-to-the-ground the top of the first wave turn was.
Seeing the peak of Wild Eagle’s 210-foot-tall lift hill at eye level made me feel better about the intensity of our ascent.
But as difficult as scaling the hill was, walking down it was nearly just as difficult. I felt very accomplished for not losing my footing.
After that experience, it was only fitting that we took a couple of rides on Lightning Rod. With both trains operating, our wait was less than 20 minutes each time.
The grouper was stationed at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the station platform — something I’ve never seen before. The TimeSaver line was re-routed through the main queue, but I’m not sure why.
Lightning Rod was running as great as always, though we did seem to crest the launch/lift hill more slowly.
Fortunately, that perceived slower start had little impact on the rest of the ride. It’s still “lightning” fast from start to finish.
And more importantly, the coaster seems to be operating more consistently than ever. I don’t recall ever seeing it closed at any point during the day — at least for any extended period of time.
After our rides on Lightning Rod, we headed to the Celebrity Theater to see the Christmas in the Smokies musical. The 55-minute show packed with holiday songs features 14 performers and eight live musicians. This was my first time seeing this long-revered show, and I can see why it’s remained so popular.
The precision of the choreography was impressive, and I loved the well-designed, detailed set pieces that changed throughout the show. If you aren’t already in the holiday spirit before seeing Christmas in the Smokies, you will be once you leave.
After the show let out, we grabbed a bite to eat at Red’s Diner while we waited for what was for some (me) the most anticipated part of the day — the cinnamon bread.
Each attendee was served an entire loaf of Dollywood’s world-famous cinnamon bread. I jokingly tell people that the fluffy, buttery, cinnamon-infused bread is my favorite ride at Dollywood. I have a perpetual sweet tooth, and this cinnamon bread is near the top of the list of my all-time favorite sweet treats.
Calories don’t count at Dollywood. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. I earned it after that hike. It took every fiber of my being not to eat the entire loaf. But I knew I had many more coaster rides ahead of me, so I restrained myself.
After the cinnamon bread, we walked across the park to hit some of the coasters we had missed earlier in the day, including Thunderhead and Blazing Fury. We also took a back-row ride on Tennessee Tornado, which I haven’t done in quite some time — especially at night.
After a spectacularly exhilarating night ride on Wild Eagle, it was time to return to Lightning Rod for our hour of exclusive ride time.
As the park had closed, we were able to walk through a mostly-empty Craftsman’s Valley and Rivertown Junction, allowing us to see the millions of twinkling lights unobstructed.
I’ve said this countless times, but photos do Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas no justice. Each year, they leave me speechless. And each year, they add even more. We’re up to 5 million now.
But as badly as wanted to stop and admire the decor, we were on a mission — ride Lightning Rod as many times as possible in our extra hour of ride time.
According to Dollywood’s website, the temperature must be at least 37 degrees for the coaster to operate.
As we jumped in line, the temperature dropped from 38 to 37. We were playing with fire (more like ice) with each ride. Would this be our last? I halfway-jokingly told everyone to start talking. We needed all the hot air we could get.
I don’t know where the thermometer was, but I wanted to keep it at that critical 37 degrees.
Thankfully, Mother Nature held onto that 37 for the entire hour. We were able to ride Lightning Rod well into the night, enjoying pitch-black ride after pitch-black ride.
I’ll leave you with a selection of Smoky Mountain Christmas photos from across the park.
Glacier Ridge remains my favorite stretch of the park. It runs from Timber Canyon through Wilderness Pass.
This year, it also extends into the new-for-2019 Wildwood Grove area. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it over there after dark (all the more reason to go back soon).
If you’re entering Glacier Ridge through Craftsman’s Valley (near Tennessee Tornado), you’ll see this light installation that mimics the aurora borealis lights. There’s a brief light show that cycles every few minutes.
The towering tree at The Plaza at Wilderness Pass presents a light show at XX intervals throughout the evening.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas is open most dates through Jan. 4, 2020. Check the park’s operating calendar for specific times and dates.
Many thanks to ACE Southeast Regional Representative Josh Herrington and everyone at Dollywood who helped to make this such a fantastic event. Until next year!
Loved this post. Looks like you had a blast!
It was a lot of fun!