A Guide To Dollywood For The Special Needs Mom
Are you planning a trip to Dollywood this year for the family and have a child with special needs? Not sure what to expect? Well this is your guide to Dollywood for the special needs family!
I’ve always enjoyed amusement parks and Hubby is a big fan. In his opinion, the faster, the higher, and the scarier the ride the better. The wonderful thing about marriage is you don’t have to agree on everything!
Any family who has a member with special needs knows amusement parks can be difficult for our loved ones. Max may have difficult moments at amusement parks, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy them or can’t go to one.
As a Mom of a child with special needs though I know it helps to be prepared so today I’m going to share our experience at Dollywood.
Dollywood Location
Dollywood is located in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. It’s a beautiful area of the country and is next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park so there’s lots to do!
Dollywood’s physical address is…
2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Distance To Dollywood
We live in Erie, PA. Erie is 608 miles or about 9 hours and 48 minutes from Dollywood. Here is the distance from a few other major cities to give you an idea of potential drive time.
Nashville, TN to Dollywood is 216 miles, about 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Knoxville, TN to Dollywood is 30.6 miles, about 51 minutes.
Atlanta, GA to Dollywood is 247 miles, about 3 hours and 56 minutes.
Raleigh, NC to Dollywood is 340 miles, about 5 hours and 43 minutes.
Indianapolis, IN to Dollywood is 390 miles, about 6 hours and 10 minutes.
Dollywood Hours
Definitely check Dollywood’s calendar when planning a trip because the hours vary depending on the time of year and it does close for the months of January and February. There are also days of the week when it’s not open, typically Tuesdays. During the peak months of June and July though it is open every day.
Dollywood Tickets
Dollywood offers several packages for tickets. You can do a 1, 2, or 3 day park pass. These are the prices for the 2024 season.
1-Day Theme Park Pass. (Ages 10-61) $92
2-Day Theme Park Pass. Visit anytime within a 5 day period. (Ages 10-61) $119
3-Day Theme Park Pass. Visit anytime within a 5 day period. (Ages 10-61) $129
You can also purchase a 1, 2, or 3 day two park pass giving you access to Dollywood AND Dollywood’s water park. These are the prices for the 2023 season. They haven’t released the prices for the 2024 season as of March 2024.
1-Day Two Park Pass. (Ages 10-61) $99
2-Day Two Park Pass. Visit anytime within a 5 day period. (Ages 10-61) $119
3-Day Two Park Pass. Visit anytime within a 5 day period. (Ages 10-61) $129
When the Mathe crew went we only did Dollywood.
Dollywood also offers a military discount when valid personnel military IDs and dependent IDs are verified online using ID.me according to the Dollywood website.
If you LOVE Dollywood and want to go all the time Dollywood does offer season passes. There’s the Silver Season Pass and the Golden Season Pass.
The silver season pass does have some blackout dates where you would not be able to use it to get in to Dollywood, whereas the Golden Pass gives you access to golden hours and events, free parking, as well as discounts on food and merchandise.
For an extra cost you can add water park access to your season pass.
To my knowledge, there isn’t a ticket discount for people with disabilities, but you can get the accessibility pass which I will talk about. Scroll down a little if you can’t wait to read about it!
Parking and Electronic Convenience Vehicles At Dollywood For People With Disabilities
Parking at Dollywood for people with disabilities is pretty easy. There are van accessible spots as well as a guest drop off and pick up area at the front entrance. There’s a tram service from the parking lots to the park and wheelchairs are allowed on the tram.
After entering the gate there is a building to rent wheelchairs, strollers, and electric convenience vehicles (ECV). Twenty percent of Dollywood’s ECV fleet is available to reserve online ahead of time each day. You do have to make the reservation 48 hours ahead and cancellations must occur by 5pm the day prior in order to receive a refund.
Checking out a cool car at the Rockin’ Roadway ride.
Dollywood’s Accessibility Pass For People With Disabilities
We bought our tickets in advance online. Once we were there we asked about an Accessibility Pass for Max. We were directed to the Ride Accessibility Center.
The Ride Accessibility Center is located to the left of the entrance and consists of two small offices. There was a small line we waited in and when it was our turn we entered the office and told the Dollywood employee Max has Down Syndrome and autism. We did not have to bring any formal letter from a medical provider or show any proof of diagnosis.
Of course, Max does have Down Syndrome and people with Down Syndrome do have certain physical characteristics. If you’re planning a trip to Dollywood you may want to call ahead of time and ask about your child’s disability and if you need to bring any form of documentation.
We were given the Accessibility Pass for Max for the day. It’s a paper pass and they wrote Max’s name and a way to identify him on it, which for Max, was the color of his shoes.
The Accessibility Pass can be used for the person with the qualifying reason and FIVE others in the party. If the person with the qualifying reason cannot ride the ride then the Accessibility Pass cannot be used for others in the party.
When your party wants to ride a ride look for the Accessibility Pass sign. It’s a blue background with a white figure appearing to get out of a wheelchair and it says accessibility. Enter the ride where you see the sign.
In most cases, a Dollywood employee will be right there waiting. Some will ask who the pass belongs to, verify the identifier written on the pass, and then ask how many in the party.
We were lucky and it just happened we were able to get on every ride right away. We went on a weekday near the end of June.
If there was a ride with a long wait the attendant would write down what time we would get on the ride if we were to wait in the regular line. We would not be able to use the Accessibility Pass again until that time was reached.
For example, if we used the pass to get on a ride with an hour wait and it was 2pm the ride attendant would right on the pass 3pm and we would not be able to use the pass again until 3pm.
Max enjoying the Lemon Twist amusement ride at Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN.
An Overview Of Dollywood’s Layout For People With Disabilities
Dollywood is broken down into 11 themed areas. Having a general understanding of the structure of Dollywood can be helpful as you plan your day.
Rivertown Junction
A replica of Dolly’s two room mountain home is located here along with the Smoky Mountain River Rampage. The Mathe crew enjoyed this ride, but be prepared to get wet!
Also located in this section is a companion care restroom and lockers.
Country Fair and The Village
This was the area we spent the most time in by far! These two areas are right next to each other. The rides here are a little more tame and perfect for younger kids or for those who aren’t big thrill seekers.
Max isn’t the biggest thrill seeker which is one of the reasons we spent a lot of time here. We enjoyed rides like the Dizzy Disks and Lemon Twist.
There are companion care restrooms located in this section as well as adult changing rooms, a baby care center, first aid, and lockers.
Owen Farms
This is the part of the park where you buy Dollywood’s world famous cinnamon bread. Look for the Grist Mill.
Can I just say YUM!
If you love carbs and warm yummy goodness you HAVE to stop at the Grist Mill and buy the cinnamon bread.
There are companion care restrooms here and lockers.
Craftsman Valley
If you’re a bird lover you’ll want to check out the Eagle Sanctuary. The Tennessee Tornado is a fun roller coaster located in Craftsman Valley. It does go upside down and fairly fast at 70mph. Blazing Fury, which is an indoor roller coaster, is also located here.
There’s a service animal relief area and lockers.
Wilderness Pass
Wilderness pass has the Firecracker Express. This was a fun roller coaster that went backwards! Thrill seekers can seek excitement on the The Wild Eagle roller coaster where you soar rather high going rather fast!
This area has companion care restrooms, adult changing rooms, baby care centers, and first aid.
Wildwood Grove and Timber Canyon
This area has a lot of fun rides like the Great Tree Swing, there’s a fun indoor play area called The Hidden Hollow, and there’s the Wildwood Creek Splash Pad to cool off. Younger children will love this area.
Wildwood Grove has an adult changing center, baby care center, first aid, and lockers while Timber Canyon has companion care restrooms and an adult changing center.
Jukebox Junction
Here you can find nods to Dolly's hometown of Sevierville. Some of the storefronts are duplications from Sevierville’s downtown when she was growing up.
Jukebox Junction also has a first aid center.
Showstreet
Upon entering Dollywood you will enter Showstreet. There’s lots of dining and shopping here. This is also where the Ride Accessibility Center is located and where you would rent a stroller/wheelchair/ECV.
There’s also a companion care restroom, an adult changing station, a baby care center, and lockers.
Adventures In Imagination
This area boasts the Chasing Rainbows Museum which is the official Dolly Parton museum with hundreds of artifacts and pieces of memorabilia from her career and life. If you’re a big Dolly Parton fan you won’t want to miss this!
A service animal relief center is located here too.
Helpful Dollywood Tips For People With Disabilities
You can ask for water at any place in Dollywood that sells soft drinks. They will give you a clear plastic cup and you can use the machines to get water and ice. We went on a really hot day so this saved us a lot of money and kept us hydrated.
There are a lot of shows to enjoy with people singing country music, playing instruments, and dancing. Max really enjoyed these. There are show scripts available and listening devices if needed. You can also get early admissions to show venues if requested.
Oxygen or any medications that need to be refrigerated can be taken to 1 of 3 separate 1st aid areas located in Jukebox Junction, The Village, and Timber Canyon.
There are a total of 6 disability accessible restrooms throughout the park and there are at least two relief areas for service animals.
There is a calming center if your child needs a break from all of the hustle and bustle in the park. You can stay in the calming center for 30 minute intervals. There are calming lights, a teepee, and weighted blankets.
To prepare your child for a visit to Dollywood they have a social story you can read and you can check out their YouTube Channel to preview rides.
Dollywood Rides
Truly, Dollywood has something for everyone!
They have rides for kids, but also for those who are more adventurous.
Hubby is a bit of a thrill seeker so he LOVES roller coasters! The scarier the better in his opinion. If you’re a thrill seeker rides such as the Wild Eagle will thrill you.
I enjoyed the Firechaser Express because it went backwards. Other roller coasters for your riding enjoyment are the Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine, Tennessee Tornado, Blazing Fury and Thunderhead.
Max was able to ride the Firechaser Express, Mystery Mine, Blazing Fury, and the Whistle Punk Chaser and do fairly well. The other roller coasters were too scary for him though.
A new roller coaster called Big Bear Mountain will be open for the 2023 season. It was being built when we went.
Max loved rides like Shooting Star, Waltzing Swinger, Dizzy Disks, Great Tree Swing, Lemon Twist, and the Scrambler. They offered just the right amount of thrill for him.
If you have preschool aged children rides such as the Amazing Flying Elephants, Busy Bees, Frogs and Fireflies, and Hidden Hollow (technically not a ride but a super fun play area) will be up their alley!
All of us enjoyed the Smoky Mountain River Rampage, but we all were soaked afterwards!
Mathe Crew Conclusions On Dollywood
The Mathe crew did enjoy our day at Dollywood.
Although we did not need to visit the calming center it was nice to know it was there. It was super helpful to be able to get water and ice at any of the soft drink machines for FREE.
Our favorite food by far was the cinnamon bread at Grist Mill. We rode the train while eating the cinnamon bread which was fun. Heads up, you do get cinders on you while riding the train and they are fairly liberal with using the horn. It’s loud and Max was not pleased. For those with sensory issues take note and consider noise canceling headphones.
The one thing I did not like about Dollywood was the paper Accessibility Pass.
Listen, the Mathe crew…were a bit messy and prone to knocking things over or getting things wet. I was paranoid the entire day we were going to spill something on it, it would get ripped, or get sopping wet going on one of the water rides!
All in all our day at Dollywood was enjoyable. We left with new fun memories and that’s a success in my book!
If you enjoyed this post then consider reading…
Visiting The Great Smoky Mountains For The Special Needs Mom
Hersheypark For The Special Needs Mom
Dandelion Tribe Takeaway: Dollywood strives to be an amusement park that is friendly to those with special needs.
Mama Bear Share: Have you been to Dollywood? What was your experience?
