brenthodge

Overall what I was going with, but I would make the funnel cake/snack option 1 point instead and have a very limited selection of those items - maybe even a smaller size like the drink plan cup is. Could be as simple as small soft serve ice cream, classic funnel cake, plain fries, chips - basically anything the location would be doing anyway but no additional toppings or options. Agree that the "Premium Experiences" should be point-excluded, but you would get a season pass discount on those. I like that it's limited to 3 points pr visit. You could eat 3 classic items, or one classic and one signature, or a signature and a treat pr visit. I also still feel there should be no time limit, so if I want to eat my signature meal and an hour later get my plain soft serve, I shouldn't have to stay 4 hours - it give the perception of a lot of "control" to the customer.

Oh, the idiots would loose their minds. Lol

Wonder if more of a “point” system would work. You purchase a plan based on number of points pr day, 1-4 with no time limit, and have CLASSIC items, SIGNATURE items, and PREMIUM dining experiences. Classic items are 1 point, Signature are 2 and Premium are 4 or 2+ half the cost of the experience. Let people decide how to use these points through the day. If you are at the park less and only want a burger each time you come, buy the 1 point and buy other food on days you stay longer. If you come a lot of longer days, or always want more elevated food, buy the 2 or 4 and eat more, or better each time. If you want that International Restaurant Peanuts Breakfast Buffet, you know you are using all your points for that one experience and will be paying for any other food that day, but as Don said, make each of these tiers truly reflective of their “price”.

the phrase "tripping over dollars to save pennies" comes to mind.

Wonder if more of a “point” system would work. You purchase a plan based on number of points pr day, 1-4 with no time limit, and have CLASSIC items, SIGNATURE items, and PREMIUM dining experiences. Classic items are 1 point, Signature are 2 and Premium are 4 or 2+ half the cost of the experience. Let people decide how to use these points through the day. If you are at the park less and only want a burger each time you come, buy the 1 point and buy other food on days you stay longer. If you come a lot of longer days, or always want more elevated food, buy the 2 or 4 and eat more, or better each time. If you want that International Restaurant Peanuts Breakfast Buffet, you know you are using all your points for that one experience and will be paying for any other food that day, but as Don said, make each of these tiers truly reflective of their “price”.

Again, how is going to the park just to eat abusing it? How is getting it to go abusing it? Scan in, use dining plan, wait 4 hours, use again. That’s the policy.

Interesting that it is Dollywood specifically NOT Herschend. I know they are intertwined, but it will be interesting long term to see if Herschend's growth and expansion affects the experience negatively (I propose that it has a bit), and the muscle the Dollywood Company has in the relationship to drive decisions in their favor. Dollywood in many ways "made" Herschend the company it is today. There is no way, had she followed through with the purchase of the land in Gatlinburg and launched the oark on her own, that a little company that owned Silver Dollar City in two tourism areas would be the major player it is today without her influence and celebrity in that region as well as the world. I would think Herschend would be a bit "scared" of doing anything long term to affect DW's stellar reputation. Not sure how easily the deal could be undone if it ever came to that, but HFE still needs Dollywood more that they need Herschend.

Do we think we will see any adjustment in regions going into next year with the loss of the ENCHANTED parks? MidWest region kinda got drained in this deal with the loss of St Louis, Worlds of Fun, Mi Adventure AND ValleyFaire. We are down to what? Ki, CP, CW, GAmer and what else? Personally I don't think Canadian parks should count just because of the added difficulty in travling to them with passport needs. I'm pretty tapped out on KI and even CPoint a bit at this point. I probably wont renew unless they sweeten the pot with the all park access as an incentive again this year. We've got a few more to hit still.

Hence why the giant field of nothingness by a relatively unused food stand with utilities already roughed in as a better location was WAY too logical there even footers for lighting trusses that could’ve been used for poles for string lights

Thanks. I get so tired of the “guests are abusing it” excuse. You scanned into the park. You get 2 meals 4 hours apart. Unless you are acting like someone else by leaving, putting on your disguise and scanning in again (I’m sure someone has done it or at least thought about it) it’s not cheating. Getting a lid and taking it to go isn’t cheating. Sharing it with your kid isn’t cheating.

There’s no reason the two couldn’t be staggered to not overlap. HRN is pretty short. I’d rather see it cut to 15 minutes and do 2 different versions, almost like a playlist through the night. Have it run 6:30 7:30 8:30, 9, 9:30. Then the :30 min show at Showplace perform at 5,6,7,8 so by 6 there wouldn’t be more than 15 minutes in the evening without something going on by the tower. Even if they could add in a small local act by the carousel at 6:45, 7:45, 8:45 for 15 minutes.

Off the rails in 22 actually surprised me how “story driven” it was. It was a bit silly and schmaltzy, but you expect that. That’s when it shouldve ended. Even when that came back in its reduced state the following year it was “ok” but started that transition to “stunts with music” if they could’ve kept the feel from “Off the Tails” then I wouldn’t feel like they were such a waste of the space.

I personally feel like the park is no where near the personal passion project for Dolly it once was. A lot of her family that performad at the park have passed, she no longer has a apartment above Apple Jacks (which itself is gone) and now that she is in her later life legacy building phase, I feel like its only slightly more important to her than a truck stop or a line of perfume at WalMart with her name on it. She'll trot out once or twice a year to publicize things, but her heart seems less in it. the Herschends heart seems less in it and you can feel the company as a whole has a different feel since the move to Atlanta for corporate. I still think its a great company that cares about guest experience, but I feel like now they care more because happy guests make more money than because it's just the right thing to do.

I hate to say it, but the past 2 years at Dollywood you have definitely seen and felt a new "bottom line driven" mentality. If you ve not got a history with that park, its still an amazing experience and "good" value, but if you know the past, you feel the cut backs and its no longer the "GREAT" value it used to be. I personally feel like Dolly has backed out of it being as much of a passion project as it was the first few decades when she actually had an apartment at the park. Its more of an investment now for her as she is in her later life "legacy building phase" and its feels a bit like its another thing like a truck stop of line of perfume at WalMart that she puts her name on and trots out a few times to promote. Im not saying this individual or the Palace parks have had a direct influence on the legacy parks, but they have taken on a huge load with all of those parks and they have to make all the money they can to pay the debt.

C6 Parks and Resorts would’ve been the simplest.