Dollywood in the rain! How to enjoy the theme park when the weather doesn't cooperate

There are more days than ever to have fun at Dollywood in 2024 as the park coasts toward its goals of eventually being operational year-round and becoming the No. 1 family destination in the country. And that means making sure guests always have something amusing to discover and explore, even in the rain.

If rain temporarily shuts down some of the popular roller coasters or outdoor attractions, it doesn’t have to mark the end of your Dollywood trip. It’s an opportunity to enjoy a show, walk through a museum, fuel up on food or shop for souvenirs.

Rain is often unpredictable in the Great Smoky Mountains, so a wet forecast doesn't always turn out to be true. Even if it looks like it could rain all day, you might just get lucky with breaks in the clouds or even several sunny hours.

The biggest advantage of going to Dollywood on a rainy day is the short lines! When the lightning stops and the roller coasters reopen, you'll be there ready to enjoy them without the normal crowds.

Check out these ways to make the most of a rainy day at Dollywood!

Explore the new Dolly Parton Experience

Beginning in May 2024, you can have the ultimate Dolly Parton experience. The park’s newest attraction is a multibuilding museum that spans Parton’s iconic career, spotlights her signature styles and wigs, and honors her family.

The Dollywood Experience will feature these three exhibits:

• Songteller: Guests walk through exhibits spanning Parton’s life and career that share the inspirations behind her biggest hits and accomplishments.

• Behind The Seams: A curated selection of Parton’s signature style over the decades is displayed in this exhibit and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of the iconic looks.

• Precious Memories: At the DreamSong theater, audience members can learn about the importance of faith and family to Parton. A new family show written by Parton and featuring her niece, Heidi Parton will debut with the museum, too.

Find an indoor attraction to enjoy

Roller coasters like Big Bear Mountain and outdoor activities are major components of any theme park, but Dollywood has plenty of indoor attractions to enjoy at any time, especially on those rainy days.

• Blazing Fury: This indoor roller coaster passes through the hills and curves of an 1880s town at a fun speed as you and the townspeople outrun a blazing fire. You’ll pass by a cast of characters including firefighters, gunslingers and damsels in distress.

• Calico Falls Schoolhouse: Briefly escape our digital world of computers and tablets and be transported to how the typical one-room schoolhouse appeared in East Tennessee during the 1890s.

• Dolly’s Mountain Home: See where Dolly grew up! In Dollywood is a two-room replica of her Locust Ridge childhood home. It didn’t have electricity and running water, but the tiny mountain home was filled with love.

• Eagle Mountain Sanctuaries: Dollywood houses the country’s largest presentation of non-releasable bald eagles. The 30,000-square-foot aviary offers a rare glimpse of some of nature's most impressive birds of prey as members of the American Eagle Foundation take care of the animals.

• Hidden Hollow: A secret play area is hidden near the Wildwood Tree. Kids of all ages can get in touch with nature, climbing up tree trunk net towers, exploring tree crawls, traversing a series of blocks, and sliding down hollow logs. There’s also a separate toddler area with tiny-sized adventures.

• Robert Thomas Chapel: This one-room country church with wooden pews and hardwood floors is a gathering place and place of worship for guests and neighborhoods. It’s named in honor of the doctor who delivered Dolly Parton. Services are 11:30 a.m. on Sundays during the regular season and 3 p.m. on Sundays during the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival.

• Wings of America show: Some of Dollywood's most exciting performers soar! Get a rare up-close look and some fascinating facts of majestic birds of prey during the Wings of America show.

Be entertained by Dollywood singers and performers

You can’t have a Dolly Parton theme park without music. Wait for the rainclouds to break while enjoying the daily musical performances and shows at Dollywood. Ahead of the 2024 season, the park invested $1 million to upgrade its entertainment spaces and productions and increased the number of shows on the schedule.

Four new shows will debut this year, including the Broadway-style production “From the Heart” and a sing-along show featuring Parton’s biggest songs.

• “From the Heart”: Journey through the life and times of Dolly’s music career, from her earliest songs to her most recent hits. The show debuted in March for the I Will Always Love You Music festival.

• Sing-a-long with Dolly: Here’s your chance to sing with Dolly! For the first time at Dollywood, you be part of the show and sing along with the Queen of Country to her songs.

• “Trio, Again”: Relive the blended sounds of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris from the classic “Trio” album through the modern country trio Three Times a Lady.

• The Parton Family Show: Dolly has written a new family show featuring her niece for the Dolly Parton Experience exhibit.

A full list of entertainment and the daily show schedule is available at Dollywood.com.

Dine at Dollywood

Pizza, pork, pies and everything in between - Dollywood has it all. And culinary director Aaron Banks and executive chef Christopher Seabrook have prepared elevated menu items for the 2024 season, including Honey garlic chicken, fried green tomato and mozzarella, DragonFly Lemonade and white chocolate cranberry bread pudding.

Chow down and get cozy in one of these restaurants inside the park:

• Aunt Granny’s Restaurant: Featuring family-style dishes, Aunt Granny’s has been named as one of the top 10 best theme park restaurants in the country by USA TODAY.

• Front Porch Café: This family restaurant features many of Dolly's favorite meals and Southern dishes like fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits.

• Grandstand Café: If you love the foods served at the county fair, stop by Grandstand Café to grab a bite.

• Till & Harvest Food Hall: Enjoy a variety of classic savory American and Mexican dishes as the rain comes down.

• Miss Lillian's Mill House: Get some delicious home cooking at Miss Lillian’s. There’s also a barbecue corner nearby.

A full list of dining options is available at Dollywood.com.

Splash Country and Dollywood water rides

If you’re already wet thanks to a few raindrops, you might as well enjoy some of the water rides in Dollywood such as Daredevil Falls or Smoky Mountain River Rampage. Dollywood water rides are open seasonally and will close if radar indicates lightning is in the area.

Splash Country, Dollywood’s waterpark, might also be option if it's only drizzling out. Splash Country is open during the summer and has several water-based rides and attractions.

All Splash Country attractions close when lightning is within a 10-mile radius. Attractions re-open when lightning clears a 10-mile radius for 15 minutes.

Stock up on Dollywood souvenirs

Can’t ride the rides and can’t eat anymore? Shop! The Emporium is the flagship Dollywood gift shop, filled with clothes, accessories, home goods and any other Dollywood/Dolly Parton trinket you can imagine. But there are over 20 shops throughout the park. Might as well hit up all of them if it’s raining.

Dollywood rain check policy

Dollywood doesn’t shut down just because of rain, but if park operations are interrupted by severe or inclement weather and your visit is shortened, you can request a rain check. Rain checks are distributed when it's raining at any ticket window and are valid until the end of the season.

Rain checks are not available for season passholders. TimeSaver passes are not eligible for rain checks or refunds. Guests visiting with a Bring-A-Friend free ticket will receive a rain check with the same validity dates as the original ticket.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Dollywood rain: What to do when drizzle dampens your day