Water Park Strategy Guide

Dollywood Splash County is open and ready for excitement! The park is HUGE and there are so many places to explore! Make the most of your trip by having a plan when you arrive!  The first thing you should do is check out the map here.

If you have young kids:  After walking through the park entrance, veer left and shoot straight for Little Creek Falls. Here, you can enjoy an entire activity area just for smaller children. It’s very close to the bathrooms, Campsite Grill, and the drink re-fill stations, so it’s the perfect location for your family to spend a full day of fun!

If your youngster is a thrill-seeker, you may want to bypass Little Creek Falls and keep going.  Bear Mountain Fire Tower is also for young children, but it has an extra level of excitement with seven slides and water cannons, and a gigantic bucket above that spills 1,000 gallons of water overhead. Nearby, you’ll see the Dogs-N-Taters—they have the BEST food for kids!  Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, corn dog nuggets, nachos, and fries.

If you have older school-age children, you may need a different strategy to make the most of your stay.  As you enter the park, the first ride you’ll see as you enter the park is the TailSpin Racer. You must be 42” tall to ride (for reference, it’s the same height requirement as Dollywood’s Blazing Fury!).  It’s a thrilling ride- and it’s a water slide that’s longer than a football field! Not a thrill seeker? Walk on by.

Your strategy with older kids will to be to stick to the right side of the park.  Here, you’ll find Downbound Float Trip and Mountain Waves.  These are two great areas to rent a Retreat or snag a few chairs for a fun-filled day. Fire Tower Falls, Swiftwater Run, The Butterfly, and Mountain Scream are a few of the rides around the Mountain Waves wave pool area. You must be 48” tall to ride them (for reference, it’s the same height requirement as Dollywood’s Lightning Rod!), but don’t let the height requirements discourage you—there are several other rides in that area, and throughout the park, for all ages!

Now, I’ll tell you about our favorite area in the park: The Cascades. The Cascades area is wonderful for all ages! I have a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old and this is the perfect place for both of them. It’s further back in the park- in fact, you’ll have to walk a bit because it’s tucked in nicely, past Bear Mountain Fire Tower. Don’t let the walk worry you- it’s WELL worth it (trust me!). This is my family’s favorite area because it is so laid-back and so beautiful.  It’s like the perfect hidden gem in the back of the park. Our strategy is shooting straight for The Cascades to snag a shady chair and play in the gorgeous 8,000 square-foot pool and waterfalls. It’s also a short walk to RiverRush water coaster (a 42” height requirement) and the perfect place to rent a Canopy or Retreat.