Favorite non-Disney theme park?

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LifeIsForLiving's picture
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Favorite non-Disney theme park?

Mine is Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN (hands down). The setting is breathtaking, great rides, world-class shows, and the friendliest staff anywhere (sorry to say, but including WDW). Pigeon Forge is adjacent to Gatlinburg near all sorts of wonderful things to do and see (the muscle car museum, Great Smokey Mountain National Park, Ripley's Aquarium, hiking, rafting, and on and on). Thunderhead at Dollywood is my favorite wooden coaster anywhere. It's not the tallest or the fastest or the scariest, but it is the most fun (and I've been on a lot). That ride makes me giggle like a school girl and I can ride it over and over. The staff (many of whom have retired from other careers) are apparently well taken care of and it shows. You get the impression they really enjoy being there. If you're walking around with a map in your hand, before you can ask for directions an employee will often see you and ask when they can help you find. I've had that happen a couple times elsewhere, but here it's the norm. When I've needed directions to somewhere far, say the other side of the park, the employee stopped whatever they were doing (including working in a retail store) and walked us to where we wanted to go. I've not been treated better at any park, ever.

For thrill rides, if that's what you're in the mood for, it's Cedar Point. Doesn't have the atmosphere of some other parks, but sometimes you (I know I do) just want to ride thrilling rides and scream your head off.

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I've heard a lot of really good things about Dollywood. In fact I've never heard anything but good things about it. I suspect people (including me) have a prebuilt stereotype that it's going to be cheesy.

I really enjoy thrill rides too and Great Adventure in New Jersey is a lot of fun for me. I've never been to Cedar Point, but obviously it's like Mecca for thrill ride people. I've never been close to it at a good time to visit sadly.

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I have family who've been to Dollywood and LOVE it. And I used to go to Cedar Point as a kid, though things have certainly changed there since then!

Great Adventure is good, too--lots of good coasters.

I think my favorite non-Disney theme park would have to be IOA, as I haven't been to too many other places... Decent rides, an attempt at themeing--can't ask for TOO much more right? Wink

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cdub wrote:
I've heard a lot of really good things about Dollywood. In fact I've never heard anything but good things about it. I suspect people (including me) have a prebuilt stereotype that it's going to be cheesy.

I really enjoy thrill rides too and Great Adventure in New Jersey is a lot of fun for me. I've never been to Cedar Point, but obviously it's like Mecca for thrill ride people. I've never been close to it at a good time to visit sadly.

I certainly understand why people might assume it would be cheesy. That said, I don't find it to be that way at all. I was never a huge Dolly Parton fan and I'm not originally from the South. I was born and raised in the big city in California. The overriding theme is family and wholesome fun. After having been there a number of times, you grow to see Dolly's 'vision' if you will, of what a theme park should be. Through that, I've gained a deep respect for her as a person and a philanthropist.

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I've heard that the shows at Dollywood are amazing. That basically you get what would be high-caliber musical shows basically included in the price of your ticket.

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Brad wrote:
I've heard that the shows at Dollywood are amazing. That basically you get what would be high-caliber musical shows basically included in the price of your ticket.


Best way I can explain it; that's the only reason I watch shows now. Before Dollywood, I seldom if ever took time to see shows at theme parks. The ones I had seen, even the ones I enjoyed, were not compelling enough to take time away from other attractions for me. The shows at Dollywood are WORLD CLASS, many of them things you can not see anywhere else. Not just musical performers either. They, depending on the time of the year, have talent from all over the world. The Festival of Nations is a great time to go to Dollywood.

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When's Festival of Nations?

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SpaceAce wrote:
When's Festival of Nations?


Spring, this year it was Mar 28th - Apr 27th. I don't see any confirmed dates for next year, but the times I've been was around the same time (best I recall).

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how many times have you been to dollywood?

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greebil wrote:
how many times have you been to dollywood?


Around ten. When I lived in Nashville, I vacationed in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge as much as possible. It's one of my favorite places to be. Had our honeymoon there.

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:
greebil wrote:
how many times have you been to dollywood?


Around ten. When I lived in Nashville, I vacationed in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge as much as possible. It's one of my favorite places to be. Had our honeymoon there.

are there "dollywood resorts" like at disney? or do you just stay at nearby places?

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Annie wrote:
I have family who've been to Dollywood and LOVE it. And I used to go to Cedar Point as a kid, though things have certainly changed there since then!

I love Cedar Point! I used to live 35 minutes away and would go at least 8 times a year..I went on Millenium Force, the first day it opened, in the first car...it was great!

We live right by Great Adventure, but haven't gone yet, since Jason isn't a big fan...but nothing will beat Cedar Point!

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caitiesus wrote:
Annie wrote:
I have family who've been to Dollywood and LOVE it. And I used to go to Cedar Point as a kid, though things have certainly changed there since then!

I love Cedar Point! I used to live 35 minutes away and would go at least 8 times a year..I went on Millenium Force, the first day it opened, in the first car...it was great!

We live right by Great Adventure, but haven't gone yet, since Jason isn't a big fan...but nothing will beat Cedar Point!

Has he been to Cedar Point?

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greebil wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:
greebil wrote:
how many times have you been to dollywood?


Around ten. When I lived in Nashville, I vacationed in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge as much as possible. It's one of my favorite places to be. Had our honeymoon there.

are there "dollywood resorts" like at disney? or do you just stay at nearby places?

No Dollywood resorts, but there are more great places to stay than you can shake a stick at. There are chalets, cabins, resorts, hotels, motels, whatever you and yours are comfortable with. I've stayed in numerous hotels/motels as well as resorts/chalets. First few times I went, I took a weekend trip and had everything paid for by one of the vacation property companies. They paid for a nice hotel for the weekend, two dinners, and gave us Dollywood tickets. Granted they do all that to try to sell something, but I've taken advantage of those deals numerous times and only bought anything once (and I'm glad I did). If that's not something you're interested in, there are TONS of great places to stay without listening to their hour or so sales pitch.

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caitiesus wrote:
Annie wrote:
I have family who've been to Dollywood and LOVE it. And I used to go to Cedar Point as a kid, though things have certainly changed there since then!

I love Cedar Point! I used to live 35 minutes away and would go at least 8 times a year..I went on Millenium Force, the first day it opened, in the first car...it was great!

We live right by Great Adventure, but haven't gone yet, since Jason isn't a big fan...but nothing will beat Cedar Point!

I drove from Nashville every time I went to Cedar Point, so it was a bit more of a trip for me. We'd have to make a weekender out of it. Millenium Force is still one of my favorite steel coasters. Wicked Twister is one of my favorite 'non-traditional' coasters, if you will. I think that ride gains a lot (of holy crap points) being right on the water.

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Brad wrote:
caitiesus wrote:
Annie wrote:
I have family who've been to Dollywood and LOVE it. And I used to go to Cedar Point as a kid, though things have certainly changed there since then!

I love Cedar Point! I used to live 35 minutes away and would go at least 8 times a year..I went on Millenium Force, the first day it opened, in the first car...it was great!

We live right by Great Adventure, but haven't gone yet, since Jason isn't a big fan...but nothing will beat Cedar Point!

Has he been to Cedar Point?

He has been to Cedar Point and like it more than Great Adventure.

Life - I agree with you about Wicked Twister. The only bad part about it is that since it is right by the water, it is closed due to wind ALL the time!

Millennium Force is my favorite roller coaster ever Smile

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:
I think that ride gains a lot (of holy crap points) being right on the water.

laugh I've never heard of holy crap points, but I bet Kingda Ka at Great Adventure has a whole lot of them!

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bali wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:
I think that ride gains a lot (of holy crap points) being right on the water.

laugh I've never heard of holy crap points, but I bet Kingda Ka at Great Adventure has a whole lot of them!

I bet it does:) I've heard Kingda Ka is one of the best around. In the context, it makes sense. Wicked Twister sits right on the shore of lake Erie, so it gets a bit windy. It's shaped like a big 'U' and twists at the rise on either end. As you go up to the top on either end the while track sways while you're looking down at the ground far below or the lake. It's pretty darn scary, some would refer to something like an "OS factor", I try to keep it family friendly silly

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The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!

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That's one thing I love about WDW. You rarely have unexpected closures of rides. Other than refurbs you rarely don't get to ride something you want to ride.

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Annie wrote:
The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!

It does. You don't feel it that much when you're on the ride. One of the scariest parts is when you're standing under it in line and watching it sway.

As for ride closures, I concur. I think Disney is about the best in the business when it comes to ride maintenance/downtime. Most every major park I've been to has at least one major attraction closed every time I've been.

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:
Annie wrote:
The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!


It does. You don't feel it that much when you're on the ride. One of the scariest parts is when you're standing under it in line and watching it sway.

As for ride closures, I concur. I think Disney is about the best in the business when it comes to ride maintenance/downtime. Most every major park I've been to has at least one majore attraction closed every time I've been.

They also handle problems so much better. They just hand you a fastpass and tell you to come back later. I don't know why other parks don't have a similar system.

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:
bali wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:
I think that ride gains a lot (of holy crap points) being right on the water.

laugh I've never heard of holy crap points, but I bet Kingda Ka at Great Adventure has a whole lot of them!

I bet it does:) I've heard Kingda Ka is one of the best around. In the context, it makes sense. Wicked Twister sits right on the shore of lake Erie, so it gets a bit windy. It's shaped like a big 'U' and twists at the rise on either end. As you go up to the top on either end the while track sways while you're looking down at the ground far below or the lake. It's pretty darn scary, some would refer to something like an "OS factor", I try to keep it family friendly silly

Here's a thread on the Kingda Ka.

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Good little article about some of the rides we've mentioned.

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Annie wrote:
The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!

laugh That reminds me. When I was working in Manhattan, our building would sway when it was particularly windy or stormy. I think they build that feature into the architecture so that it doesn't put too much stress on the building or something.

Anyway, you'd hear the building creaking as it would sway back and forth. Very strange, but it got to be a little bit soothing...back...forth...back...forth... wink

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bali wrote:
Annie wrote:
The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!

laugh That reminds me. When I was working in Manhattan, our building would sway when it was particularly windy or stormy. I think they build that feature into the architecture so that it doesn't put too much stress on the building or something.

Anyway, you'd hear the building creaking as it would sway back and forth. Very strange, but it got to be a little bit soothing...back...forth...back...forth... wink



Hate when it does that. Happens when I press [Enter] to go to the next line too soon...

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bali wrote:
Annie wrote:
The track *SWAYS*?? No thank you!

laugh That reminds me. When I was working in Manhattan, our building would sway when it was particularly windy or stormy. I think they build that feature into the architecture so that it doesn't put too much stress on the building or something.

Anyway, you'd hear the building creaking as it would sway back and forth. Very strange, but it got to be a little bit soothing...back...forth...back...forth... wink



Yepper, they are designed to flex. Similarly, wooded coasters change with the weather as the wood expands and contracts. One of my favorite things about wooded coasters is you can go on the same coaster two different times of year (or times of the day for that matter) and have a markedly different experience.

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:

Yepper, they are designed to flex. Similarly, wooded coasters change with the weather as the wood expands and contracts. One of my favorite things about wooded coasters is you can go on the same coaster two different times of year (or times of the day for that matter) and have a markedly different experience.

Great point! You can head to Great Adventure and ride el Toro in the early morning and it's completely different than it is in the heat of the day. Interesting.

What's everyone's favorite wooden coaster, by the way? I find some to be to jarring, and others to be great.

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bali wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:

Yepper, they are designed to flex. Similarly, wooded coasters change with the weather as the wood expands and contracts. One of my favorite things about wooded coasters is you can go on the same coaster two different times of year (or times of the day for that matter) and have a markedly different experience.

Great point! You can head to Great Adventure and ride el Toro in the early morning and it's completely different than it is in the heat of the day. Interesting.

What's everyone's favorite wooden coaster, by the way? I find some to be to jarring, and others to be great.

Thunderhead at Dollywood...hands down. Often regarded as the best wooden coaster in the world. I always go on it at least five or six times when I'm there. I can ride it over and over; it's that good.

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I can tell you what is not my favorite wooden coaster: The Texas Giant at Six Flags in Arlington. Riding in the back car is simply one of the most unpleasant experiences I've had in my life. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

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I love all the kudos for Dollywood. My parents stopped there on a road trip a few years back and couldn't stop singing its praises! Now I'm really going to have to head over there.

Is it expensive?