Dollywood ride reliability
34 tracked rides at Dollywood ran 86.5% of opening hours across the last 56 operating days, which is good. The least reliable is NightFlight Expedition at 31.4%, down on 55 of 56 days.
Reliability verdict
Across the last 56 operating days, 34 tracked rides ran 86.5% of opening hours. The one to plan around is NightFlight Expedition, at 31.4%.
Every Dollywood ride ranked by uptime
Uptime by ride
34 rides · 56 days · worst first
- 1NightFlight Expedition31.4%
- 2Dollywood Express Train Depot72.6%
- 3Daredevil Falls83.8%
- 4Mystery Mine ®85.2%
- 5Drop Line®87.5%
- 6Wild Eagle ®88.2%
- 7Dragonflier88.6%
- 8Lightning Rod ®88.9%
- 9Big Bear Mountain89.2%
- 10Black Bear Trail89.3%
- 11FireChaser Express ®89.5%
- 12Great Tree Swing89.8%
- 13Tennessee Tornado89.8%
- 14Thunderhead ®90.2%
- 15Rockin' Roadway90.2%
- 16Whistle Punk Chaser®90.2%
- 17Barnstormer90.2%
- 18Blazing Fury90.4%
- 19Treetop Tower90.7%
- 20Smoky Mountain River Rampage90.9%
- 21Lumberjack Lifts91.4%
- 22Sky Rider91.7%
- 23The Mad Mockingbird92.6%
- 24The Scrambler93.1%
- 25Shooting Star93.4%
- 26The Waltzing Swinger93.6%
- 27The Amazing Flying Elephants93.8%
- 28Piggy Parade94.8%
- 29Demolition Derby94.9%
- 30Lemon Twist95.1%
- 31Busy Bees95.1%
- 32Lucky Ducky95.2%
- 33Village Carousel95.5%
- 34Firehouse Fun Yard99.5%
When Dollywood rides break down
Closures by the hour they start
1,258 breakdowns · late starts excluded
Breakdowns cluster at 1pm, with 193 of the 1,221 closures that started before the park's final hour beginning then - so the ride you most want is safest earlier in the day, not saved for last. A further 335 rides simply were not running at opening, which is a late start rather than a fault and is counted separately. The other 37 closures start in the 8pm hour, when the park is shutting - those are rides finishing their day, not failing, so they are left out here.
Dollywood downtime day by day
Share of ride hours lost
3 Aug to 1 Oct
The worst day in this window was 9 Aug, when 44.2% of the park's ride hours were lost and 35 of 35 rides went down at some point.
Uptime is the share of the park's own operating minutes a ride was running, recorded every few minutes and averaged over 56 days. A closure counts as one breakdown when it lasts ten minutes or more; shorter stops still count towards time lost, because a two-minute reset is not a fault. Touching closure windows are merged into one closure - a ride shut all day arrives from the feed as that day sliced into the sampling interval, and counting each slice would report one bad day as a hundred breakdowns.
Frequently asked
Which rides break down most at Dollywood?
NightFlight Expedition (31.4%), Dollywood Express Train Depot (72.6%), Daredevil Falls (83.8%) have the lowest uptime at Dollywood across the last 56 recorded operating days. The full ranking of all 34 tracked rides is above.
How reliable is Dollywood overall?
Dollywood averages 86.5% uptime across 34 tracked rides, which is good. 5 excellent, 26 good, 2 patchy, 1 poor.
Which ride at Dollywood is the most reliable?
Firehouse Fun Yard, at 99.5% uptime over 56 recorded days, losing only 2h 46m in total.
What time of day do rides break down at Dollywood?
1pm is the commonest hour for a closure to start, with 193 of the 1,221 closures that started before the park's final hour beginning then. Rides that are not running at opening are counted separately as late starts, not as faults.
Which rides are closed at Dollywood today?
This page is the longer-term pattern rather than the live picture. For what is shut right now, open the Dollywood live page - every ride shows whether it is open or closed, with the reason where the park provides one.
How is uptime measured?
Each ride's open or closed status is recorded every few minutes through the park's own operating hours. Uptime is the share of those minutes the ride was running. A closure counts as one breakdown when it lasts ten minutes or more; shorter stops still count towards time lost, because a two-minute reset is not a fault.
Does weather affect Dollywood reliability?
Yes. Water rides close in heavy rain, and exposed coasters close in lightning, high winds or very cold temperatures. These figures reflect actual operations including weather closures, which is why uptime varies through the year.

