Dollywood and Dixie Stampede Reviews : Pigeon Forge, TN
Yeeeeeehaw! We yankees had a chance to visit the fun and festive Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on our Spring 2014 RV trip. Let me start by saying that we had a fabulous time and it was among the highlights of the trip. Let me further say, that whole area is one of the strangest places I have ever been. If you have not been there, I will try to paint a picture in your mind. Imagine beautiful countryside with rolling hills, farms, and the Smoky Mountains in the distance as your gorgeous backdrop. Then throw in a main road full of some of the cheesiest (and child drool-inducing) establishments you’ve ever seen. There are about a thousand mini golf places, amusements, arcades, a big upside-down house (Titanic replica, and so much more (including Dollywood and the Dixie Stampede dinner show). My kids were awestruck as we were driving down the street…shouting “I wanna do that! I wanna do that!” all the way to the campground. Unfortunately (fortunately?), we didn’t have enough time, nor enough money in our entire yearly travel budget, to do all of the things that they wanted to do. So we decided on Dollywood and the Dixie Stampede dinner show as our Pigeon Forge activities. So this is our review of Dollywood and Dixie Stampede…
We arrived at the Dixie Stampede for our reservation. My mom had been to Pigeon Forge and had been talking about how much the kids would LOVE this dinner show, so we decided to give it a try.
Dixie Stampede Review
I had made our reservations by phone so that I could use a coupon code ($5 off adults, $3 off kids) that I found by googling for Dixie Stampede coupons (I always do this). When we arrived, we just gave our name and got our tickets. They then lead you through the entrance and take your photo (which they will try to sell you later at a ridiculously expensive price). There is a “pre-show” before you head into the arena/stadium/dinner show room. In the pre-show room, you can buy slushy drinks in a boot cup (this actually ended up being a good idea for us…you’ll see why), popcorn, and peanuts. Unless you are starving, don’t buy the snacks because you will get enough food during the show. And for those who care about these kinds of things, they DO NOT sell alcohol of any kind, so bring your flask patience. The pre-show is 3 guys singing. They were very good and entertaining, and they tried to get the audience signing along.
After the pre-show, we were led into the main “arena” area, which is a horseshoe shaped stadium with banquette-style seating, where one side represents the ‘North” and the other the “South”. Luckily, we got the North side. The show is actually pretty cool. There are performers that ride horses and compete (North vs South) in different competitions and perform to different songs. Corny? Yes. My daughter’s face was priceless. She could not take her eyes off of the show, the horses, and the beautiful performers. It reminded me of how she reacted to the Disney Princesses in Disneyworld when she was younger & a huge fan. Oh, and we (the North) won. Bonus.
The food – meh. You aren’t really there for the food anyway. Even though it’s a really expensive dinner for a family, it’s just ok. I pre-ordered a vegetarian meal (yes, I am that person), but the rest of the family got the regular meal. A server walks by and puts your food down on the plate with tongs as you are watching the show (and they are fast!). You get bread, vegetable soup, corn on the cob, a potato wedge, pork loin, chicken, and dessert (ours was an apple turnover). The veg meal was pasta. You do not get utensils (except for me because who wants to eat pasta with their hands?).
At the end of the show, a video of Dolly Parton (the owner of this shindig) appears on the large screen and she sings a patriotic song about how it doesn’t matter that the North won…we are all one big happy country. After the show, the performers and their horses stick around so you can say hi, get autographs, and pet the horses. This is where the boot cup (previously mentioned) came in handy. The performers have sharpies, and they all signed my daughter’s boot cup. It’s her favorite souvenir except for the boots she got in Nashville. We had a fabulous time at the Dixie Stampede. It was worth every bite of bland pasta to see the look on my daughter’s face and to have a meal during which the kids were not fighting with each other.
Dollywood Review
To keep going with the Dolly Parton theme of our Pigeon Forge visit, we spent the next day in Dollywood a lot of credit for far exceeding my expectations. I am not entirely sure exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I saw and experienced on our visit to Dollywood.
Dollywood Atmosphere
The grounds are impeccable and beautifully maintained. There are lots of plants, flowers, trees and shade. It’s a cute and quaint looking kind of a park. For me, it kind of combined Duggar-sized family. My daughter was so captivated by the house and the story that she was practically giving tours to other people who would walk in to take a look.
There are also different “themed” areas of the park, which were nicely done. There’s a Country Fair area that is set up like and old fashioned country fair with the games and rides, a 50s style area with a fun car ride, and much more. This was one of the more surprising parts for me, as I didn’t expect it to be themed at all (I did very little research before we went…totally out of character for me).
Dollywood Rides for Wimps and Daredevils
One of the things that we liked about Dollywood was that there was plenty to do for all 4 of us. Two of us are roller-coaster loving, thrill seeking daredevils. The other two of us preferred to look at the eagles and other birds, ride the ferris wheel, and eat candy. We all had a great time. My daughter and husband (there’s your answer to the daredevil question) went on 13 roller coaster rides! They tried out every single one in the park, and repeated their favorites. There are tons of rides and attractions that are not thrill rides too (you can see all of the rides here). In fact, there were so many things to do that we spent an entire day in the park without seeing one single show.
Dollywood Food
We ate lunch at one of the restaurants in the park, Aunt Granny’s All-you-care-to-eat buffet, God help us. We kind of randomly chose it because we were starving and it was close to us. There are lots of restaurants to choose from though, from quick service to sit-down restaurants. Aunt Granny’s was decent for a theme park buffet restaurant. There were many food choices, even for a picky vegetarian. And a buffet is always the #1 choice of the kids…no waiting around and plenty of beige carbs to choose from. And the unlimited desserts. Most of the time I do my best to be a psychotic organic food serving, farmer’s market shopping great mom, but I do occasionally let my kids pig out on desserts at a buffet when we are on vacation.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Pigeon Forge. The kids (and us adults too) had a fantastic time at the Dixie Stampede and at Dollywood. There is so much to do in the area. It would be easy to fill a week here, especially considering the easy access to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (review to come soon). We also made a quick visit to Gatlinburg, and I think I would stay there next time. Thumbs up for Tennessee.
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