2026
So far in 2026, Dollywood Express Train Depot has had the longest average wait at Dollywood, at 60 minutes, followed by NightFlight Expedition (50 minutes) and FireChaser Express ® (35 minutes). 22 of the 36 rides have an average wait of 15 minutes or less.
| Ride | Overall average wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| Dollywood Express Train Depot | 60 |
| NightFlight Expedition | 50 |
| FireChaser Express ® | 35 |
| Smoky Mountain River Rampage | 26 |
| Big Bear Mountain | 25 |
| Dragonflier | 24 |
| Mystery Mine ® | 24 |
| Lightning Rod ® | 23 |
| Firehouse Fun Yard | 20 |
| Thunderhead ® | 20 |
| Hidden Hollow | 17 |
| Rockin' Roadway | 17 |
| Tennessee Tornado | 17 |
| Wild Eagle ® | 17 |
| Blazing Fury | 14 |
| Shooting Star | 14 |
| Sky Rider | 13 |
| Black Bear Trail | 12 |
| Piggy Parade | 12 |
| Whistle Punk Chaser® | 12 |
| The Amazing Flying Elephants | 11 |
| The Mad Mockingbird | 11 |
| Demolition Derby | 10 |
| The Scrambler | 10 |
| Treetop Tower | 10 |
| Barnstormer | 9 |
| Daredevil Falls | 9 |
| Lemon Twist | 9 |
| Drop Line® | 8 |
| Lumberjack Lifts | 8 |
| The Waltzing Swinger | 8 |
| Busy Bees | 7 |
| Frogs & Fireflies | 7 |
| Great Tree Swing | 7 |
| Village Carousel | 7 |
| Lucky Ducky | 5 |
So far in 2026, NightFlight Expedition has seen the longest peak waits at Dollywood, with its daily maximum averaging 84 minutes, ahead of Dollywood Express Train Depot (60 minutes) and FireChaser Express ® (60 minutes).
| Ride | Average maximum wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| NightFlight Expedition | 84 |
| Dollywood Express Train Depot | 60 |
| FireChaser Express ® | 60 |
| Smoky Mountain River Rampage | 48 |
| Dragonflier | 47 |
| Big Bear Mountain | 46 |
| Lightning Rod ® | 46 |
| Mystery Mine ® | 46 |
| Thunderhead ® | 45 |
| Rockin' Roadway | 35 |
| Wild Eagle ® | 32 |
| Tennessee Tornado | 30 |
| Blazing Fury | 23 |
| Shooting Star | 23 |
| Black Bear Trail | 22 |
| Whistle Punk Chaser® | 22 |
| Firehouse Fun Yard | 20 |
| Hidden Hollow | 20 |
| Sky Rider | 20 |
| The Mad Mockingbird | 19 |
| The Amazing Flying Elephants | 17 |
| Barnstormer | 16 |
| Daredevil Falls | 16 |
| Treetop Tower | 16 |
| The Scrambler | 15 |
| Demolition Derby | 14 |
| Lumberjack Lifts | 14 |
| Frogs & Fireflies | 13 |
| Lemon Twist | 13 |
| Drop Line® | 12 |
| Great Tree Swing | 12 |
| Piggy Parade | 12 |
| The Waltzing Swinger | 10 |
| Village Carousel | 9 |
| Busy Bees | 8 |
| Lucky Ducky | 6 |
So far in 2026, Dollywood has been quietest in August and September, when crowd levels have averaged as low as 31%. The busiest month has been October, at around 77%.
| Month | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Jan | 87 |
| Feb | — |
| Mar | 64 |
| Apr | 56 |
| May | 49 |
| Jun | 56 |
| Jul | 51 |
| Aug | 33 |
| Sep | 31 |
| Oct | 78 |
| Nov | — |
| Dec | — |
So far in 2026, Sunday has been the quietest day of the week at Dollywood, averaging 43% compared with 59% on Saturday. Weekdays and weekends are similarly busy.
| Day | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Sun | 43 |
| Mon | 46 |
| Tue | 56 |
| Wed | 49 |
| Thu | 50 |
| Fri | 54 |
| Sat | 60 |
| Event | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| 🎃 Harvey's Boo Bash | 95 |
| 🎄 Smoky Mountain Christmas | 87 |
| 🏃 Run Dollywood Race Weekend | 83 |
| 🌾 Harvest Festival | 56 |
| 😎 Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration | 54 |
| 🌸 Flower & Food Festival | 51 |
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| October 09, 2026 | 98 |
| March 31, 2026 | 98 |
| March 30, 2026 | 97 |
| October 12, 2026 | 97 |
| March 19, 2026 | 97 |
| April 08, 2026 | 97 |
| January 02, 2026 | 96 |
| April 07, 2026 | 95 |
| October 17, 2026 | 95 |
| October 05, 2026 | 95 |
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| August 30, 2026 | 4 |
| September 02, 2026 | 5 |
| May 06, 2026 | 7 |
| April 14, 2026 | 8 |
| August 31, 2026 | 8 |
| April 16, 2026 | 9 |
| September 10, 2026 | 10 |
| September 23, 2026 | 11 |
| August 20, 2026 | 11 |
| April 15, 2026 | 12 |