When to queue
Go at 9pm.
- Typical wait at 9pm
- 8min
- At 11am, its worst hour
- 24min
Dollywood
Thunderhead wait times
- Typical wait
- 24min
- At its busiest
- 30min
- Shortest queue
- 9pm
- Running
- 99%
24minTypical wait
A typical day, opening to close
Thunderhead at Dollywood averages 24 minutes. It is shortest at 9pm and worst at 11am. It has run 99% of the park's opening hours recently.
Thunderhead queue times, day by day
Every reading through the day, against what Thunderhead usually does at that hour. Pick another day underneath.
Thunderhead over recent weeks
Typical waits from this ride's own recorded readings
Thunderhead has averaged about 24 minutes of queue across its recorded readings, peaking around 30 minutes, with the longest queues near 11am, and the shortest near 9pm. Pick a date below to see that day minute by minute.
- Typical
- 24min
- Peak
- 30min
- Running
- 99%
- Busiest at
- 11am
Last 9 days, tap one
Which day
Pick a Tuesday.
- Typical wait on a Tuesday
- 6min
- On a Saturday
- 23min
Does Thunderhead break down?
Rarely.
It was running 99% of the time Dollywood was open over the last two weeks, so it was down about 1 minute in every opening hour.
- Running, share of opening hours
- 99%
- Queue readings recorded
- 10,717
The record
60 minutes.
The longest queue posted for Thunderhead, on Saturday 7 November.
Every ride at Dollywood →When is the Thunderhead queue shortest?
Usually at 9pm, about 8 minutes, against 24 at 11am. Turning up at the right hour saves 16 minutes on a single ride.
Thunderhead queue times by hour
Typical wait, last 90 days · minutes
139a
1510a
2411a
1812p
171p
202p
153p
174p
155p
156p
117p
128p
89p
Walk on under 10 minShort 10-19 minModerate 20-34 minLong 35-59 minVery long 60 min and up
Best time to ride Thunderhead
9pm on a Tuesday
Thunderhead averages 8 minutes at 9pm. The longest queue it has ever held is 60 minutes.
24maverage
Which day is quietest for Thunderhead?
Tuesday, at 6 minutes on average, against 23 on Saturday.
Thunderhead by day of the week
9 days with a recorded queue
- Mon7m
- Tue6m
- Wed6m
- Thu7m
- Fri16m
- Sat23m
- Sun17m
Does Thunderhead break down?
It ran 99% of Dollywood's opening hours across 9 recorded days. It ran without a recorded stop on Wednesday 11 Nov.
Uptime and closures
99% of opening hours · 9 days recorded
99%
Excellent
Running 99% of the minutes Dollywood was open.
Each square is one day, its share of opening hours running. Tap a day to open it above.
How long can the Thunderhead queue get?
The worst queue recorded for Thunderhead was 60 minutes on Saturday 7 Nov.
Longest Thunderhead queues on record
Peaks in the last 14 days · Every one a real date
- 1Saturday 7 Nov60m
- 2Friday 6 Nov55m
- 3Saturday 31 Oct50m
- 4Sunday 8 Nov40m
- 5Monday 9 Nov15m
- 6Wednesday 28 Oct10m
- 7Thursday 29 Oct10m
- 8Friday 30 Oct10m
Which months are busiest for Thunderhead?
March runs longest at 32 minutes on average, and September is quietest at 12.
Thunderhead through the year
All-time average by month · minutes
28Dec
31Jan
32Mar
27Apr
30May
24Jun
20Jul
16Aug
12Sep
24Oct
22Nov
About Thunderhead
Thunderhead is one of 33 rides tracked at Dollywood, 9th longest of 33 by usual wait. It queues about 24 minutes on a typical day, longer than the 20-minute park average.
Thunderhead has averaged about 24 minutes of wait over recent weeks, and is typically busiest around 11am and quietest around 9pm. Over the last two weeks it has been open around 99% of the park's operating hours. It's typically quietest on Tuesdays and busiest on Saturdays.
How we measure
- Readings
- The queue time Dollywood publishes for this ride, read every few minutes while the park is open.
- By hour
- This ride's own last 90 days, within opening hours.
- Day by day
- Its last 14 days.
- Running
- The share of the park's open minutes the ride was running.
Frequently asked
What's the current wait time for Thunderhead?
The live wait time for Thunderhead at Dollywood is shown at the top of this page and refreshed directly from the park's own ride system. Check live Thunderhead wait times.
Is Thunderhead open right now?
The live status badge at the top of this page shows whether Thunderhead is open or closed right now - it updates automatically from Dollywood's own ride system. Over the last couple of weeks, Thunderhead has been open around 99% of Dollywood's operating hours. You can also see the live status of every ride at Dollywood.
What's the best time of day to ride Thunderhead?
Based on historical wait time data, Thunderhead is typically quietest around 9pm. For most rides the queue is shortest in the first hour after the park opens and the last hour before it closes, with midday through mid-afternoon the busiest window.
What is the best day to ride Thunderhead?
Thunderhead is usually quietest on Tuesdays, and busiest on Saturdays based on recent weeks - visit on a Tuesday for shorter waits.
How long is the line for Thunderhead usually?
Over recent weeks, Thunderhead has averaged about 24 minutes, with lines usually longest around 11am. Wait times usually build through the morning, peak from midday to mid-afternoon, then ease off before close. Weekends and school holidays run noticeably longer than quiet weekdays. This page shows today's live wait time, the day's average, hourly breakdowns and the full history of peak lines for Thunderhead at Dollywood.
Is Thunderhead often closed or broken down?
Over the last two weeks, Thunderhead has been running about 99% of the time. We track Thunderhead's uptime and downtime automatically - see the "Reliability" and "Downtime History" panels on this page for its full record over the last 30 days, including any current closures and how long they've lasted.
Where can I find Thunderhead at Dollywood?
Thunderhead is at Dollywood - see the park map and full ride list for its exact location. The Dollywood page also shows which rides nearby have the shortest lines right now.
Can I get wait time alerts for Thunderhead?
Yes - create a free alert and we'll notify you when Thunderhead's wait time drops below your chosen threshold (for example, "tell me when Thunderhead is under 20 minutes"). Great for timing your sprint from across the park.
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Other rides at Dollywood
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