Do you ever find yourself shopping at Dollywood and wish you had more hands to carry all of the bags? I sure do! Well, Dollywood, once again, has provided another guest-friendly solution to your problem—Package Pick-Up. I got to spend a day with the Package Pick-Up team to find out all of the details about this program! And, did I mention this is free?!

When an item is purchased inside the park, guests have the option to leave the package with the vendor or store. One of two pieces of paper is attached to the item—either one for pick-up in the park or one for guests who are staying at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa—and the guest is given the carbon copy of the sheet, initiating the first step of the Package Pick-Up process.

There are three routes the Package Pick-Up hosts follow on multiple runs each operating day. To write this blog, I was able to follow Jerry as he stopped at specific shops through Rivertown Junction and Craftsman’s Valley for the day.

Hosts have battery-powered carts they use to move the items picked up along the route. If an item was left at the store for Package Pick-Up, Jerry retrieves the item(s), place them on the cart and continue his route, the second step of the process.

Once Jerry finishes his route, the items are taken to the Package Pick-Up storage room, located in Dollywood Emporium. There, the items are sorted between pick-up at the park or to go on to Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort. If the item is to be picked up at the park, the packages are sorted by last name on shelves throughout the room. If the packages are to go to the resort, they are set in a different holding spot and are sent over to the resort on one of the trolleys transporting guests to and from the resort.

As guests leave the park, they can go to the Package Pick-Up window to retrieve their package. They will be greeted by Brianna, the team leader over the Emporium, or one of the other Package Pick-Up hosts as they turn in their slip of paper to claim their package(s).

When I visited, Dollywood’s Package Pick-Up team was very busy during the Harvest Festival averaging more than 250 packages a day. During Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas festival, they can see an average of more than 500 packages a day!

Dollywood’s Package Pick-Up allows guests to shop anywhere throughout the park without having to carry or keep up with the package and be able to pick-up the package as they leave the park at the end of the day. Another outstanding FREE benefit for guests! With the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival in full swing, Dollywood’s Package Pick-Up is a great service to use as you finish up your Christmas shopping at the many fantastic shops throughout the park!