🎄 Smoky Mountain Christmas, 2026
So far in 2026, Big Bear Mountain has had the longest average wait at Dollywood, at 48 minutes, followed by NightFlight Expedition (47 minutes) and FireChaser Express ® (46 minutes). 13 of the 31 rides have an average wait of 15 minutes or less.
| Ride | Overall average wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| Big Bear Mountain | 48 |
| NightFlight Expedition | 47 |
| FireChaser Express ® | 46 |
| Tennessee Tornado | 45 |
| Lightning Rod ® | 38 |
| Dragonflier | 37 |
| Mystery Mine ® | 33 |
| Thunderhead ® | 33 |
| Wild Eagle ® | 28 |
| Rockin' Roadway | 25 |
| Sky Rider | 23 |
| Shooting Star | 22 |
| Blazing Fury | 21 |
| Barnstormer | 18 |
| Demolition Derby | 18 |
| The Amazing Flying Elephants | 17 |
| The Scrambler | 17 |
| Black Bear Trail | 16 |
| Treetop Tower | 15 |
| Whistle Punk Chaser® | 15 |
| The Mad Mockingbird | 14 |
| Frogs & Fireflies | 11 |
| The Waltzing Swinger | 11 |
| Great Tree Swing | 10 |
| Lumberjack Lifts | 10 |
| Busy Bees | 9 |
| Drop Line® | 8 |
| Lemon Twist | 8 |
| Piggy Parade | 7 |
| Lucky Ducky | 5 |
| Village Carousel | 5 |
So far in 2026, Big Bear Mountain has seen the longest peak waits at Dollywood, with its daily maximum averaging 78 minutes, ahead of Tennessee Tornado (73 minutes) and FireChaser Express ® (72 minutes).
| Ride | Average maximum wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| Big Bear Mountain | 78 |
| Tennessee Tornado | 73 |
| FireChaser Express ® | 72 |
| Lightning Rod ® | 71 |
| Dragonflier | 68 |
| NightFlight Expedition | 65 |
| Thunderhead ® | 61 |
| Mystery Mine ® | 55 |
| Wild Eagle ® | 55 |
| Rockin' Roadway | 50 |
| Shooting Star | 41 |
| Sky Rider | 38 |
| Barnstormer | 36 |
| Blazing Fury | 36 |
| The Amazing Flying Elephants | 28 |
| The Scrambler | 27 |
| Whistle Punk Chaser® | 26 |
| Demolition Derby | 25 |
| Treetop Tower | 24 |
| Black Bear Trail | 23 |
| The Mad Mockingbird | 23 |
| Frogs & Fireflies | 19 |
| Lumberjack Lifts | 19 |
| Great Tree Swing | 18 |
| The Waltzing Swinger | 15 |
| Drop Line® | 14 |
| Busy Bees | 10 |
| Lemon Twist | 9 |
| Village Carousel | 8 |
| Piggy Parade | 7 |
| Lucky Ducky | 5 |
| Month | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Jan | 87 |
| Feb | — |
| Mar | — |
| Apr | — |
| May | — |
| Jun | — |
| Jul | — |
| Aug | — |
| Sep | — |
| Oct | — |
| Nov | 89 |
| Dec | — |
| Day | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Sun | 79 |
| Mon | — |
| Tue | — |
| Wed | — |
| Thu | 94 |
| Fri | 93 |
| Sat | 78 |
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| January 02, 2026 | 96 |
| January 01, 2026 | 94 |
| November 06, 2026 | 89 |
| November 07, 2026 | 85 |
| January 04, 2026 | 79 |
| January 03, 2026 | 78 |
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| January 03, 2026 | 78 |
| January 04, 2026 | 79 |
| November 07, 2026 | 85 |
| November 06, 2026 | 89 |
| January 01, 2026 | 94 |
| January 02, 2026 | 96 |