The Roller Coasters of Dollywood - From Worst To BEST!

Dollywood offers some of the BEST roller coasters in the World... and here's an overview of each one the park offers and how I rank them from worst to best! With some shocking surprises along the way! I've visited dollywood over 30 times and you really can't find a bad roller coaster at the Tennessee theme park.
From their new Big Bear Mountain family launch roller coaster to Lightning Rod, Dollywood really is a coaster paradise that is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mountains!
How do you rank the roller coasters at Dollywood?
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Keywords: Dollywood theme park, Dollywood roller coasters, dollywood roller coaster rankings, Best roller coasters at Dollywood, Dollywood thrill rides, the roller coasters of Dollywood, Dollywood attractions, Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg Tennessee, Pigeon Forge, Pigeon Forge Tennessee, theme parks, roller coaster rankings, Dollywood coaster 1-10, Dollywood Top 10, Top 10 dollywood,
Dollywood Insiders Guide - • Dollywood Insider Guid...
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[@KeepRidinCoasters]

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[@paulfwood6177]

The Tennessee tornado was and still one of my favorites to this day going through the mountain when i was a kid was just amazing. Imo dollywood really doesn't get the love it deserves because when it comes to the allaround experience it really is up there as fun for everyone and some kettlecorn and bbq is so delicious. I remember when they had the old school black n white motion ride that gets you in a police chase and when you left it had the car wrecked into the powerlines outside the exit.. haha classic. Plus during the holidays its just beautiful just very memorable

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

It’s so much fun! Thanks for watching! 🎢

[@Dailydrivens14]

Wasn't that ride called thunder road? I remember it from back when I was a kid!

[@satalac]

Thunder Road was so much fun!

[@evoandy]

Tennessee twister is such a dark horse. I LOVE that coaster.

[@Bestie.123]

Huh

[@Professionalratard]

@@Bestie.123some people call tornadoes twisters

[@thecoasterauthority]

@@Bestie.123yeah, they meant tennessee tornado

[@nathanielthomas2502]

Dollywood is my 3rd favorite amusement park behind 1.Cedar Point 2. Busch Garden Williamsburg The growth of this park is astonishing & the setting is beautiful probably only match by its sister park Silver Dollar City

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

SDC and Dollywood are both two of my favorite parks for sure!

[@jordancaleb3419]

@@KeepRidinCoastersI really need to go to SDC. I really wanna ride outlaw run. Lol

[@nathanielthomas2502]

@jordancaleb3419 I imagine Outlaw Run will be in operation unlike Lightning Rod which is always a coin flip

[@mr.nibblenips4231]

Ever been to Universal Studios Orlando? They got some good ones there.

[@IHeartTecca]

@@mr.nibblenips4231 Hulk and velocicoaster are amazing. My favorite parks are BG Williamsburg, Dollywood, Universal IOF, and Animal Kingdom

[@lucygarrett9785]

Went to Dollywood for the first time last year and I highly recommend for anyone who hasn't gone! Tennessee Tornado had no line so we rode it three times, fantastic ride, might be a favorite of mine now! Definitely don't underestimate Dragonflyer, we sat in the back and that first drop was pretty awesome!

[@lucygarrett9785]

I agree with Lightning Rod as #1 though, left me breathless!

[@sasquatchmom19]

Making my first visit to Dollywood today and used this video to help map out the order of rides to try! Thank you!

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

ENJOY!!! have fun and be sure to ride thunderhead for me :)) thank you

[@justiceleaguebattleformetr9239]

Here’s my ranking: 1. Lightning Rod 2. Big Bear Mountain 3. Mystery Mine 4. Thunderhead 5. Dragonflier 6. FireChaser Express 7. Tennessee Tornado 8. Wild Eagle 9. Blazing Fury 10. Whistlepunk Chaser

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

Wow thunderhead so low... I respect it but shocked... love the BBM placement :)

[@justiceleaguebattleformetr9239]

@@KeepRidinCoasters I originally had it at #3, but after having way too much fun on Mystery Mine I had to rank it over Thunderhead

[@ShinyRedStar-dn2yf]

I’m still working my way up to big thrills, still can’t do inversions. I was just at Dollywood the other day with a friend and both of us really liked Thunderhead. So we saw Lightning Rod and thought it would be similar. We got up to the top after waiting 20 minutes or so. We started getting worried that this was more intense than we thought after seeing the first hill. We thought we heard someone say it went 23 miles per hour while we were 2nd in line. We let out a sigh of relief and got ready for a light, fun ride. We got strapped into our seats, they gave the speech again. Oops, it was 73 miles per hour! We started going up the first hill freaking out a little bit. I was so scared to the point of where it was not fun as we went up and up and up. We got to the top and started going down. And it was fun! It was so fast and crazy and somehow not that rough. The airtime was INSANE. The sideways elements were super fun too. I will give a word of warning. The restraint has a lap bar connected to a foot restraint. So if you’re like me with a larger stomach and small legs, be ready to be still safe, but not as strapped in by the leg restraint. You’ll be safe, you’ll just be experiencing extra height on the airtime moments. Anyway, went on it by mistake, absolutely loved it

[@Professionalratard]

Best mistake ever😂

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

The airtime gets me. I know I cannot fall out but I don't like the fact that my butt has left the seat. I understand all about inertia and everything but still, basic scientific principles aside, it's disheartening sometimes

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Well that explains the overabundance of air time for me then! Thank you!

[@hilarybrown9865]

How are the drops !!? I like thunderhead and the drop gives me no issue but I know lightning rod is much taller!

[@ShinyRedStar-dn2yf]

@ I’ve never rode Thunderhead, so I have nothing to compare it to. It’s pretty fast and scary, but then it’s kind of one and done. The rest of it is all so consistently fast that it sort of blends together

[@xkovacsx09]

Lightning Rod was closed for maintenance when I went :( Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado were awesome though!

[@martintingelhoff8546]

Just went. Wild and eagle and lightning rod are two of the best. Big bear mountain is smooth

[@EthanNichols-l3e]

I am going to dollywood in July can't wait I'm so excited

[@misscandy84]

looks so much fun 1 day want to go rhere

[@robertbarga3694]

Just returned from a 3 day trip to Dollywood. My expectations of which coasters would be my favorites and the reality were very different but in many ways your list and my list are really similar. Big Bear mountain was my biggest surprise of the trip. It may not be the most intense coaster ever but it's just a great and super fun ride. It was easily my favorite followed closely by Thunderhead. Wild Eagle was surprisingly "un-smooth" for a B&M and just felt older than it is but Tennessee Tornado was the opposite and I ended up really loving that one. (Could be a bit longer though) I went to Dollywood for Lightening Rod (bucket list coaster), but to my shock I just didn't care for it that much. I'm assuming a couple of years ago it was smoother, but for an RMC it was almost kind of rough and those wave turns feel kind of awkward instead of thrilling. I feel like the ride is drop, wave turn, wave turn, quad down and then it's over. I put Lightening Rod as #4 in my ranking and that really shocks me. I liked Big Bear, Thunderhead and even Fire Chaser better than Lightening Rod.

[@velocicoaster1949]

Love the videos Brandon! Any thoughts on the universal Orlando tweet with islands of adventure!?

[@Phillips.2263]

Hey Brandon, you should put the inversions in the coasters stats. Keep up the good work!

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

Great idea thank you! I will for my next video.

[@DavidVitrano]

Dollywood needs these coasters. (B&M) Hyper, Sit Down and Dive (GCI) Infinity Flyer (Gravity Group) Wooden Shuttle (RMC) T-Rex and Raptor (S&S) EL Loco, Axis, 4D Free Fly (Vekoma) MK1001, Splash Party and Flying Launch Coaster (Mack) Extreme Spin, Inverted Power Coaster, BigDipper, Water Coaster, Super Splash and Power Splash (Triotech) Dark Coaster (Intamin) Blitz, Return of the Swiss Bob and Swing Launch

[@coastersandcosplays]

Here's mine, full of plenty of hot takes haha 🤣🤣 1. Thunderhead (Wife's 400th) 2. Lightning Rod (My 500th) 3. Big Bear Mountain 4. Mystery Mine 5. Wild Eagle 6. Firechaser Express 7. Tennessee Tornado 8. Dragonflier 9. Blazing Fury 10. Whistlepunk Chaser

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

Great list! Love the love for thunderhead

[@betsyhall7464]

Thunderhead gives me a giant headache and hurts every joint in my body. It completely turned me off riding wooden rollercoaters.i have ridden it prob 8 times but won't anymore. My top picks are 1. Eagle 2. Big bear 3. Fire chaser

[@coastersandcosplays]

@@betsyhall7464 have you ridden it in the last 2 years? They re- tracked it and it's super smooth now!

[@Steve_MakesmemeZ]

This would be my list to lol

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Wild Eagle is my absolute favorite ​@@betsyhall7464

[@GaryKetchum808]

This park seems ultra stacked for not being owned by SixFlags or Cedar Fair. Might have to make a trip to Tennessee, a state I never thought I’d ever visit.

[@phantasm541]

Fire chaser is my fav!!

[@BamBam62489]

I love love love Dollywood. Been going here since I was very young.

[@michaelanderson2881]

Play this at 1.5x. You'll thank me.

[@CoasterComedy]

Haha you’re right

[@mitchellries256]

Based on my visit from last June, my favorite is Lightning Rod, followed by Big Bear Mountain, Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, Firechaser Express, Tennessee Tornado, Dragonflier, Blazing Fury, and Mystery Mine.

[@skywolf2012]

Looks fun .

[@scottshinbaum1772]

Very fair list. I'd personally knock Tennessee Tornado down on the list to either 6 or 7, but still a nice list.

[@j-ferrell144]

I rode wild eagle, I liked that ride. Thought it was really fun!

[@kuxoverlandingtrailingadve5047]

My list is similar, the only difference is I had Tennessee Tornado and Wild Eagle switched.

[@satalac]

1. Lightning Rod 2. Thunderhead (VERY close to #1, it keeps getting better every year). 3. Big Bear Mountain 4. Tennessee Tornado 5. Mystery Mine 6. Fire Chaser Express 7. Wild Eagle 8. Whistlepunk Chaser

[@firebadnofire9768]

Dollywood has always been very close to my heart

[@coasterfair2602]

Lighting Rod was being built (that’s when I went to Dollywood) and I like Wild Eagle (it’s a fun coaster)

[@eden_ellis237]

I’m going this summer, I’m so excited! I’m only 14, and I’ve been trying to get my friends to ride giant coasters, but they’re too scared lol

[@KingCrimson-rw4xb]

You might wanna get fast passes. I got some for me and the lines were quick. The lines for non fast people were loooong

[@eden_ellis237]

Thanks for the advice! I’ll let my mom know.

[@kahnj]

If I were to guess that X-Flight were your least favorite wing coaster in the United States, would I be correct? I've been on it and really didn't think it was all that great

[@guittarwizzrd]

I watched another video and thunder head looks really rough . My wife and i are going to dollywood in the start of october and i cant wait

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Maybe a little rough but worth it. I ride it over and over and over and over... and I'm an old lady.

[@evoandy]

I rode lightning rod in its opening season on one of the extremely rare days that it didn’t break down the WHOLE DAY. I got like 6 rides in. It’s a top 5 for Me. reminded me of riding the Texas Giant on opening day.

[@paulherrington5837]

Same here, came in expecting it to be closed but me and my mom got a ride in just a couple months after it was built

[@davidkinney1381]

1. Lightning Rod 2. Tennessee Tornado 3. Wild Eagle 4. Mystery Mine 5. Big Bear Mountain 6. Fire Chaser Express 7. Thunderhead 8. Dragon Flyer Going back to Dollywood this coming weekend (14 hour drive from here in Southeast Texas…..worth every minute!) Dollywood is the BEST park in the US!

[@masonnnnnnnnnn]

top roller coasters here 1. Lightning Rod 2. Wild Eagle 3. Mystery Mine 4. Thunderhead 5. Tennessee Tornado 6. Big Bear Mountain 7. FireChaser Express 8. DragonFlier 9. Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster 10. Blazing Fury 11. Dizzy Disk 12. Whistlepunk Chaser

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

Lobe the list!!!

[@Kidperfect0925]

You love scary rides

[@StephiePpn]

I agree. Every park should have at least one mid range coaster like Dragonflier!

[@skeletonking1]

Dragonflier is just a nice ride to relax in. If you are scared of this ride, just try it. When i did it, it really helped me go through what i called the roller coaster levels, each level getting higher with intensity and speed. This is great for people who like to have their legs free and not being too fast.

[@Professionalratard]

I went to dolly wood around Christmas and went on dragonflier and it about froze my face off

[@Bestie.123]

That first drop in Tennessee tornado was absolutely terrifying

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

I have not ridden Tennessee tornado after reading about the terrifying first drop maybe I don't want to haha

[@charismaticadventurer8448]

@@Nancy-dr3ueit’s not bad

[@katyaweikel3922]

Lightning Rod is great, but Thunderhead is my favorite at Dollywood.

[@Mr.Comedy694]

0:48 this one is definitely the scariest

[@tlang8960]

My list: 1. Lightening Rod 2. Big Bear Mountain 3. Wild Eagle 4. Mystery Mine 5. Tennessee Tornado 6. Fire Chaser Express 7. Thunder Head 8. Dragon Flier 9. Blazing Fury 10. Whistle Punk Chaser

[@jilleanbowling3326]

For me the tennessee tornado would prob go in 8 because it beat head around the entire time

[@DinaMiller-b8o]

I went to Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash country yesterday and today I am going back to Dollywood.I went on Mystery mine, Big Bear mountain, Fire Chaser Express, Dragonflier, the swinging boat, Barnstormer, Tennessee Tornado, Wild Eagle, Blazing Fury, Lightning Rod and Whistle Punk Chaser Top 12 most fun rides at Dollywood: Number 12: Whistle Punk Chaser Number 11: Barnstormer Number 10: the swinging boat Number 9: Thunderhead Number 8: Blazing Fury Number 7: Fire Chaser Express Number 6: Mystery Mine Number 5: big Bear Mountain Number 4: Tennessee Tornado Number 3: Wild Eagle Number 2: Dragonflier Number 1: Lightning Rod Favorite rides: Number 12: the boat swing Number 11: Whistle Punk Chaser Number 10: Barnstormer

[@justinflesher4832]

1) Lightning Rod 2)Thunderhead 3) Big Bear Mountain 4) Wild Eagle 5) Tennessee Tornado 6) Firechaser Express 7) Mystery Mine 8) Dragonflier 9) Blazing Fury 10) Whistle Punk Chaser

[@sethEtheshark82]

Going next week!

[@DirectCurrentRides]

I agree with this whole list, except that Thunderhead is their best coaster, especially now that LR doesn't launch.

[@robertbarga3694]

Thunderhead is a fantastic ride.

[@jayjayplays6458]

i’m 9 years old and i went all tallest and i was like nooo

[@HollyLewis-c4d]

I love lightning Rod and thunder head the best and the eagle one

[@justinchavez9530]

Here’s my ranking for each Dollywood coaster: 1. Lightning Rod 2. Big Bear Mountain 3. Wild Eagle 4. Tennessee Tornado 5. Thunderhead 6. Firechaser Express 7. Dragonflier 8. Mystery Mine 9. Blazing Fury 10. Whistlepunk Chaser

[@telecasterbear]

My first visit to Dollywood will be in November of this year.

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Lightning Rod has too much air time for me. I need my butt in the seat the whole time lol Big Bear is very relaxing for me. Last night I rode it around 9:45 right in the middle of the fireworks and it is glorious when you're on it and you can see the fireworks from it. I wrote it with one of the ride attendants and we had a great time. I try ride Big Bear Mountain as many times as I can. I also love Wild eagle. I absolutely hate mystery mine because it shakes the crap out of my head and I always feel like I have a concussion afterwards I have not ridden Thunderhead or Tennessee tornado but I guess if I can do lightning rod I can do those too. I ma local with a gold season pass so I try to go a lot, a lot of times after I get off work in the afternoon. We are very fortunate to have Dollywood so close

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

That's what I get for using voice to text. I rode it, not wrote it

[@MrBro494]

I did not get any head banging on mystery mine?

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

OMG it KILLS my head!

[@michaelkucharski4251]

Of parks to rank coasters, this one is very difficult for me. Their family coasters are great, Tennessee Tornado is a very surprising arrow, and while I like Lightning Rod I never got to experience it with the longer launch and original wooden track, every time I went it was always down until the refurb, at which point I already rode better RMC's. I still haven't gotten a front or back seat ride, so I haven't officially ranked it, but it might not even be in my top 25. But that could change in 2024, we will see. I haven't done Thunderhead since the last major retracking, but I am expecting it to be much better than last time I rode. I love Dollywood, their coaster collection is good, a bit quirky. I agree with your order, but then I think about it and change my mind..

[@dbdperson9595]

Mystery mine is my favorite coaster at Dollywood lol

[@Blxliqシ]

As a person who has went to Dollywood 5 times I can say this is relatable

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

It’s a great park

[@Blxliqシ]

@@KeepRidinCoastersit really is.

[@silverbrass1790]

Mystery mine fd up my neck.

[@wrestlingandamusementparkl7789]

Dollywood is a great park I love it

[@jayjayplays6458]

i when i went to thunderhead i was scared😊

[@gandwfishing9041]

Here’s my ranking: 1. Thunderhead 2. Lightning Rod(never is open) 3. Wild eagle 4. Tennessee tornado 5. Mystery mine 6. Big bear mountain 7. Dragonflier 8. Fire chaser express 9. Blazing fury 10. Whistle punk

[@rmel8139]

Are there any rough rides that you dont recommend for older guests? I will be going here soon with my parents who will ride most things but dont handle roughness well anymore. Also, are there free lockers to store items on coasters?

[@scottshinbaum1772]

Thunderhead will shake you up. Lightning Rod will throw you out of the seat. And Mystery Mine will do what he described in the video. The rest are pretty standard roughness or intensity for their ride types. They provide the cubby system that you see at some Six Flags parks as well. No charge for those.

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Mystery Mine is AWFUL, unless you like headaches.

[@All_Games_Channel2025]

Eagle is number 1 for me

[@eeveespalace7736]

Did KZbin take your video down? I swear this was posted before

[@will02468]

Yep, you are correct. I believe there may have been an error in the video, or he changed his rankings up.

[@Niteshift36]

How did Thunderhead not make this list?

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

It did. It was near the top. You must have missed it?

[@fbaum2010]

I had to wait 30 minutes to ride a 30 second ride named Dragon flier Edit: Thing is there was like no drop idk what you guys are talking about and the ride was green. Some of you might be thinking of the wild eagle I waited 2 minutes to get on that. The ride I’m talking about is called dragonflier

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

Yeah the one train operation isnt ideal! Thank you for watching

[@Reputationlover89]

i didn’t ride it when I went in April the line was 90 minutes. It was a monday

[@Bestie.123]

Omg same and the drop was terrifying it wasn’t even high it just went straight down

[@crystalbrown8981]

It is 60seconds dummy

[@OliviaSeymour-zg8jj]

i had a fast pass when i went like four years ago and we used all of our slots on that ride it was really fun

[@Ubexurbanexporers]

I have been to Dollywood 3 times and lightning rod has been broken every time making it the only coaster in the park I haven’t been on

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

I have ridden it a few times. I rode it before they changed the launch and have ridden it since they changed it. I did not notice a big huge difference because what gets me on lightning rod is the airtime.

[@nancymarkiewicz8123]

Are there rides that are not coasters? Do they have animals there❤?

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Plenty of non coasters. They have a bird show - not trained trick birds but birds mostly raptors, which are unable to be released to the wild because of injury or imprinting.

[@nancymarkiewicz8123]

@@Nancy-dr3ue Well thanks for the info. A while back I was wondering if they just keep animals for display, or because they can't do well on their own.

[@MarkPitts-cv4wm]

I can remember when Dollywood was called Silver Dollar City!!!!!

[@randywallace4888]

It was?

[@channingboy6456]

How dare you put wild eagle at #6 😭. My favorite ride

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Mine too! Every time we go upside down I'm looking up at the sky and I say, " hello sky!"

[@SnowrunnerDB]

Bud blazing fury

[@Turbothrill3417]

my dad rode 9 as a kid and then again with me

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

That’s awesome!

[@mariadavis3832]

DON"T ride the blazing fury. That thing hurt my stomach so much because it has a drop in the dark and it snatches the stomach area SO HARD. I thought I needed to go have my guts replaced.

[@tracypenton9867]

1:lightning Rod 2: wild eagle 3:thunderhead

[@ItsDannyRobbins]

Tornado's Top speed is 70mph not 63mph, and Thunderhead's is 55mph not 53mph

[@Isaiah-h2s]

lightning rod is the best

[@PoffHistory]

CoasterForce does one and now you, coincidence? I think not.

[@KeepRidinCoasters]

What do you mean?

[@PoffHistory]

@@KeepRidinCoastersNevermind lol, i mistook Coasterstudios* for you 🙈

[@jacksonwebb5389]

Wild eagle is the best ride there, fire chaser is the worst roller coaster there

[@Nancy-dr3ue]

Eagle is my F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E.!!!

[@smithgdwg]

i hate blazing fury 🥵🥵

[@JohnDoe-wb7fc]

all these coasters are under 20 years old.

[@JocelynsFunCorner]

Not all of them?

[@jamesvitale6666]

I’ve been to Dollywood. No I wouldn’t go back again waste of money.

[@smithgdwg]

i hate big bear😡😡🤬😈 it has bank turns