Big Bear Mountain is the newest coaster in the park. With that, there is a bit to gripe about. Let me gripe first and then I can talk about the highlights that this ride has.
First thing on my list to gripe about is the astronomical wait times. I checked the park app before I got in line to catch this coaster to see what the wait would be. At that point, it was about 40 minutes. Not too bad for a new coaster. I decided let me take a chance on this. That 40 minute wait time ended up turning into an almost two hour wait time. The line moved somewhat quickly when I first got in line, but quickly came to a halt.
I checked the park app to see if it had broken down, it had not. The line, at this point, was moving at a crawl. We inched closer and closer, and at some point we were moving at a decent pace, but only because people were abandoning their spots in line. I can understand why, the temperature on this day was higher than it should have been. There are portions of the line that you are not shaded from the sun, so you will be pouring buckets of sweat off your body.
Finally we made it to the front of the line and we discovered why the line went so slowly. And this leads me into my second and final gripe.
The line jumping passes. Like most parks out there, for an upcharge you can purchase the ability to jump the line to enter a ride. Unfortunately, for those of us that refused to purchase this that translates to longer wait times for us. There should be a limit like at most parks, but here, I seen a bunch of people with paper passes that would just walk up. The attendant at the line would halt everyone that has been waiting and allow whatever group that just approached take the spot they wanted.
Do better Dollywood, fix the system so that the line keeps moving and not stop in total when this happens. It was irritating to the rest of us. Thinking that you were next in line to only be told that nope, you weren't.
Now that I'm done griping, let's talk about the ride. It's great!
Everything about it is great. The theming, the story, the ride, all great. The story being that you are tasked with finding Big Bear, who has never been seen, roaming about the Wildwood Grove portion of the park. You take off in an SUV and rush around the track in hopes of seeing the elusive bear. You whizz around until you make it back to your outpost. Unsuccessful in your task, but some of that sweat you got while waiting for the ride has evaporated off of you.
This is the longest coaster in Dollywood. This also has the most airtime hills in the park. Strap in and enjoy. read more