We visited Dollywood during their Smoky Mountain Christmas event and found it to be a wonderful weekend getaway for a young family like ours. Dollywood provided us with passes for our visit, but as always, all opinions are our own!
Get into the Christmas Spirit in the Smokies
From the moment you arrive at Dollywood you’ll be enveloped in the festive atmosphere. The park is decked out in more than 5 million Christmas lights. We were thoroughly impressed with the lights which were wrapped around virtually every surface, even the tiniest of tree branches! Everything that makes Dollywood so charming and delightful was even more wonderful under the sparkling glow of millions of Christmas lights. Those who’ve been to Dollywood during the holiday will find that this year’s Smoky Mountain Christmas event features new additions to their usual holiday lineup. There are new lighted areas, more live lighted Christmas trees than ever before and one of the most exciting additions, an end-of-the-evening Christmas fireworks display.
Christmas Music and Entertainment
Dollywood just wouldn’t be the same without their award-winning entertainment lineup. Christmas in the Smokies, the same heart-warming show that families have enjoyed for 30 years is back at the indoor DP’s Celebrity There. There is also a new show called Heart of the Holidays which features several members of Dolly’s family and showcases some of her holiday favorites as well as hits from her new Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. The popular show Christmas with the Kingdom Heirs is also back this year.
Throughout the park, you’ll find numerous outdoor performances which help set the mood for enjoying the Christmas event. We enjoyed listening to the Candlelight Carolers who performed on the steps of the Robert F. Thomas chapel. All in all, more than 40 performances take place each and every day that Dollywood is open during the holiday event and all are included with your park entrance! I highly recommend downloading the Dollywood app before you visit to find daily showtimes and many other helpful features such as an interactive park map!
New Lighting Areas
Everyone in our family agreed that our favorite part of the lighting display was the Wonderful Christmas! tree show. The show is held in Wilderness Plaza, a highlight of the Glacier Ridge area and features a 50-ft tall animated tree that comes to live to present a fully-synchronized, light show complete with fake snow at the end! My kids thought it was absolutely magical!
The lights throughout the new Glacier Ridge and Wildwood Grove areas were our favorite, so make sure you don’t miss out on those areas. My daughter (age 5) especially enjoyed the ride called Treetop Tower in Wildwood Grove. We rode it after dark and were able to enjoy views of the beautiful Christmas lights from way up in the air!
Visit Santa at his Smoky Mountain Cabin
Dollywood has gotten innovative with their Santa visits. In their brand-new experience, park guests can take a peek into Santa’s cabin in the Smokies and watch him checking his infamous list! They’ll be able to have their photo made as they peer into Santa’s cabin and watch him at work. It’s the perfect social-distancing-friendly Santa encounter!
If you want to see Santa during your visit, I suggest getting in line early. We attempted the experience but gave up when we realized how much time it would take to get through the line. I’m sure it is much shorter on a weekday as well. We were at the park on a Saturday with warm weather, which definitely meant we were competing with other visitors who wanted to meet Santa too. I’m sure the Santa encounter would be magical!
Dollywood’s Rides are Open During Christmas in the Smokies
This was the first time we visited a theme park after dark. The experience of riding rides in the dark was really neat, especially with the park completely lit up with Christmas lights. Since we were traveling with little kids, ages 5 and age 17 months, I was impressed with the vast number of rides that my kids were able to ride. There were many rides the 5 year old could enjoy, and quite a few that even the toddler was able to try out!
Our kids most enjoyed the little kid rides in the Wildwood Grove area and the Country Fair Area. I recommend both of these zones for families visiting Dollywood with little kids. When you first enter the park, you can visit Dollywood’s Centralized Measuring Station on the lefthand side of the main entrance. Here, your kids can pick up an armband that will make it easy for ride operators to see which rides they are able to ride. All rides are free with park entrance.
Meanwhile, mom and dad’s favorite experience was the train ride through the park. You’ll board an authentic coal-fired steam engine (complete with the black smoke), and take a 20 minute journey through the park grounds and the foothills of the Smokies. We took a ride around dusk and appreciated that we could still enjoy the scenery but also got a chance to check out the Christmas lights from the train. If you’d like to ride the train on a busy park day, it’s recommended to get tickets in advance. The tickets are free, but you’ll need one to board. You can get them from the depot master at the entrance to the Train Depot. We had a bit of a tricky time finding him, we finally found him standing out near the main walking area in the plaza in front of the train boarding area. Just ask someone if you can’t find him!
Dollywood with Babies and Toddlers
One of the surprising things about visiting Dollywood with our little kids was a surprising number of rides that our littles could ride. Even our youngest, who is just 17 months old, was able to ride a number of rides at Dollywood!
Here’s a picture of her enjoying her first-ever theme park ride with her sister!
For those traveling with babies and toddlers to Dollywood, you’ll be glad to know that under 4s are free! Stroller rentals are available, but they aren’t free, so feel free to bring your own stroller. Even though Dollywood doesn’t usually allow outside food inside the park, babies are an exception and you’re able to bring anything they need in a diaper bag.
There are Baby Care Centers throughout the park if you need to nurse or change a diaper.
After the wonderful memories we made this year, Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas is set to be part of our family’s holiday traditions for years to come.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas runs from now through January 3, 2021 and every Christmas season annually!
A Hotel for your Visit to Dollywood
To continue enjoying the magic of Dollywood, consider booking a room at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa. Or, find a hotel near Dollywood on Booking.com! Booking.com!
