Dollywood ride reliability
33 tracked rides at Dollywood ran 89.4% of opening hours across the last 56 operating days, which is good. The least reliable is NightFlight Expedition at 50%, down on 55 of 56 days.
Reliability verdict
Across the last 56 operating days, 33 tracked rides ran 89.4% of opening hours. The one to plan around is NightFlight Expedition, at 50%.
Every Dollywood ride ranked by uptime
Uptime by ride
33 rides · 56 days · worst first
- 1NightFlight Expedition50%
- 2Dollywood Express Train Depot79.3%
- 3Daredevil Falls84.1%
- 4Mystery Mine ®87.5%
- 5Black Bear Trail89.1%
- 6Smoky Mountain River Rampage89.4%
- 7Treetop Tower89.6%
- 8Blazing Fury90.1%
- 9Drop Line®90.5%
- 10Rockin' Roadway91.9%
- 11Big Bear Mountain92.1%
- 12FireChaser Express ®92.3%
- 13Dragonflier92.8%
- 14Lightning Rod ®92.9%
- 15Wild Eagle ®92.9%
- 16Whistle Punk Chaser®93.7%
- 17Great Tree Swing94%
- 18Tennessee Tornado94.2%
- 19Thunderhead ®94.2%
- 20Sky Rider94.3%
- 21Barnstormer94.6%
- 22Lumberjack Lifts95.2%
- 23Demolition Derby95.7%
- 24Shooting Star96.1%
- 25The Mad Mockingbird96.2%
- 26Busy Bees96.4%
- 27Piggy Parade96.8%
- 28The Amazing Flying Elephants96.9%
- 29Lemon Twist97.1%
- 30The Waltzing Swinger97.1%
- 31Lucky Ducky97.4%
- 32The Scrambler97.5%
- 33Village Carousel97.8%
When Dollywood rides break down
Closures by the hour they start
981 breakdowns · late starts excluded
Breakdowns cluster at 7pm, with 154 of the 950 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 424 rides simply were not running at opening, which is a late start rather than a fault and is counted separately. The other 31 closures start in the 9pm 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
22 Aug to 20 Oct
The worst day in this window was 18 Oct, when 74.7% 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 (50%), Dollywood Express Train Depot (79.3%), Daredevil Falls (84.1%) have the lowest uptime at Dollywood across the last 56 recorded operating days. The full ranking of all 33 tracked rides is above.
How reliable is Dollywood overall?
Dollywood averages 89.4% uptime across 33 tracked rides, which is good. 12 excellent, 18 good, 2 patchy, 1 poor.
Which ride at Dollywood is the most reliable?
Village Carousel, at 97.8% uptime over 56 recorded days, losing only 13h 11m in total.
What time of day do rides break down at Dollywood?
7pm is the commonest hour for a closure to start, with 154 of the 950 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.

