13. July 2025
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Entertain & Relax

Dolly Parton’s Stampede (Pigeon Forge)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Dolly Parton's Stampede (Pigeon Forge)

115.41 (USD) / VIP Experience
Dolly Parton's Stampede (Pigeon Forge)
3.5

Rating

 3.5/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Entertaining show
  • Fantastic servers and meal organisation
  • Overall nice theater

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some show parts felt outdated
  • Bad organization and structure of VIP program
  • Food average
  • Booking process very difficult for foreign visitors

For my Six US States and Nashville trip in May and June 2025, I decided to skip Dollywood. The Dolly Parton amusement park in Pigeon Forge was a must-do on my list somehow. However, I struggled with the admission prices and the fact that I might had to skip multiple attractions due to my body size. However, staying in the Great Smoky Mountains should include some Dolly flavor, shouldn’t it? I thus went for Dolly Parton’s Stampede, one of many dinner shows in the highly touristic region. I was really curious about this experience, for which I bought the VIP Package to go for the best experience of the evening. Here is my review.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – Location & Admission

Dolly Parton’s Stampede is located on the quite Southern part of the Great Smoky Mountains Parkway, close to the crossing heading to Dollywood. There are numerous hotels and services around. It is also a short drive away from attractions like the Ripley’s Super Fun Park. There is a large parking lot around the venue, which is also sufficient if one show is already running and you arrive for a later one. You can also watch the horses before and after shows from the parking lot. There is also a sister show in Branson, Missouri.

Typically, Dolly Parton’s Stampede has two to three shows a day. They are published at the website. Depending on the day and time, they typically start at 59.99 USD / 71.26 USD post-tax and fees, which includes value seating, including the seat and the four course feast. There are typically regular and premium seats for a 10/15 USD pre-tax and fees upgrade. I went for the VIP admission. Apart from front row seating, you can download a souvenir photo (which I honestly forgot to do), a meet & greet with cast member and a lanyard. The total price for that was 115.41 USD after all fees and taxes. The booking process was really odd. I could only choose to sit in the South – and was assigned to the North later. Furthermore (and much more bothering), the booking engine only works for US, Canadian, British and Australian customers. For others, you have to tweak like using a US address and phone number. As the system is rather strict in checking it, it took me a while to beat it.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – Pre-Show

You are asked to be at the theater about an hour before the show as a normal visitor and 90 minutes before as a VIP. You spend the waiting time at a two level venue next to the indeed venue, where Dolly Parton’s Stampede is bringing up a rather enjoyable traditional country music act. The only exception is when you buy the most expansive tickets. You are asked to wait close to the area where you meet the cast members. From that area, you cannot see the stage. Furthermore, the information given was absolutely wrong. We were told to be there at 19:40, 50 minutes before the show I booked. In fact, the two main actors for the meet and greet arrived some 15 minutes later. With the loud music still in the background, I could hardly understand them. Communication was a real issue in this place. I am rather fluent in English, but multiple staff members had a terrible (local?) accent and were extremely hard to understand, even after asking back and stating that you are not a native speaker. I felt very annoyed by the whole pre-show program, which could have in fact been really nice.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – The Arena

The arena is U shaped. The open part is where the actors come in and out. The arena just has a few long rows with the fixed table in front of you. When we were allowed to enter the arena, the seats were already made. There was a glass, a plastic plate, a bowl for the soup and a simple fork as well as napkins at your place. Here and there, there were sets of salt, pepper, ketchup and similar condiments. The view from the first row was amazing and despite it was rather bench seating, it was reasonably comfortable. I guess that even from worse seats you do have an absolutely fine view.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – Food

The meal is fixed, you are able to book a vegetarian or gluten-free option option, though. The waiters come with major plates or bowl and put the parts of the meal (which are served separately) directly on your plate. The creamy vegetable soup was served with a biscuit as a starter. There is no spoon, so that you drink the soup (definitely the weakest part of the meal) out of the bowl. The barbecue entree consists of rotisserie chicken, smoked pulled pork, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Overall, these dishes were rather fine, even though not meeting restaurant quality. Due to the dull setting in the arena, the pictures are not too good, unfortunately. As a desert, you could choose between two kinds of cake. Before the show, you opt either for a soda, coffee and tea, which is refilled during the show. Overall, you have to say that the waiters do an amazing job and serving the dishes and refilling the drinks is organized in an impressing way.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – Show

The show is not only a horse show, as you might think at first side. There are even some other animals, like buffaloes, involved. It is made up as a battle between North and South, split by the Northern and the Southern part of the stands. They act as there will be a winner at the end… but I won’t spoiler too much. Some of the games in the rink include action by the members of the audience. Even though there are some really good parts, I would not rate the show being breathtaking. Some European amusement parks do better shows, indeed. However, it was in fact really entertaining. At the end of the show, you can also talk with the actors.

I have to state that there were some parts of the show I did not like. For example, the beginning of the show suggested that the early North American settlers found new and uninhabited land. Dolly’s partner felt to somehow forget the Native Americans which have partially been removed from their land in a slightly unfriendly way. I also troubled to have animals like buffalo in a show like that. I also did not like that kids are chasing chicken through the arena, which are obviously stressed by that. Last but not least, the very patriotic finale somehow feels unavoidable.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – Services

As said, I had some interaction issues with the staff. If you want to have alcoholic drinks before or during the show, you can buy that at a bar outside the main venue (at the music stage). There is also a souvenir store. However, when I left Dolly Parton’s Stampede after my show, I did not pass any more vending place.

 

Dolly Parton’s Stampede – My View

Overall, I had an enjoyable time at Dolly Parton’s Stampede. However, there were some real downsides. The key two items about the show bothering me were the questionable pre-show organization and the absolutely weird booking process. Some parts of the show also felt rather outdated to me. On the positive side, the waiters were absolutely amazing and the meal organization was great. The show is absolutely suitable for families, if your small ones can sit down for some 90 minutes.

 

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