Our Trip to Dollywood

Wings of America Show

       This was the first time we had ever tried to take our family to an amusement park. Having two children with ASD it is intimidating to venture out into large crowds. Add to that a husband with motion sickness, and the inability to wait in line, such a trip has potential nightmare written all over it.  Additionally Dollywood does not offer accommodations for children with ASD. At least fellow patrons were pretty calm about some of the behaviors my kids exhibited in the 2 hour wait for the Firechaser.  This time I went with my brother and his family with Grammie in tow. It really was quite fun.  I ended up with the bravest of my four children, my brother and sister in law with their son riding the fun rides while my husband and mother took care of the less adventurous kids.

Little Piggy Ride

    I ended the day in the Country Fair part of the park which was little kid heaven.  The lady at the little piggy ride must have been a retired school teacher she was excellent as she read the script to the kids as they rode around and around a big fake scare crow. Justin loved it, and rode the ride three times.
     We finished our trip at Splash Country and I ended up with the adventurous group, This time 5 of the kids were willing to ride the rides, including my youngest Justin.
      Towards the end of this trip I thought to ask one of the employees how they liked working at Dollywood. I was surprised that this obviously older worker was not allowed to sit for the entire 10 hour shift, he reported working 4 days a week When I asked about salary (yes I'm one of those people with no shame) he said it was not good.  He was so cheery when he said it I had to think he was joking. I tried to look up salary information online but all I could find was the salary for entertainers which breaks down to $10.95 per hour.  Glass door reports salaries around minimum wage.  I did find reviews of Dollywood that seem support what he said.  See more here. There seems to be a disconnect between the way the guests are treated and the employees.  Maybe Dolly should talk to her employees, the real ones.  Admittedly, the reviews are from former employees, and of course only the employees who are the most upset, or happy, will actually write reviews so they should be taken with a grain of salt.
       Considering the cost of drinks ($21.99 for the one with unlimited refills) and the cost of admission ($58 per adult and $48 per child for one day) couldn't employees at least have a shady place to sit for the 10 hour shift (minus the 1/2 hour lunch break)?
   I would totally agree for teenagers or even college students working a summer job this would be great.  However, many of the park employees looked like they should be enjoying an afternoon on the front porch with their grandchildren, instead of giving directions to lost tourists.  At least dental benefits could be offered, I imagine it would be painful to literally have your teeth rot out of your mouth, and several employees had that problem, I originally thought that they were fake teeth.
     While Dollywood is the largest employer in the area with 3,000 employees, it is seasonal work with the park closed in the winter so employment only lasts for a few months out of the year, and minimum wage with no overtime is not enough to save up for the winter months. While it was so much fun to go, because of how employees are treated I would not recommend returning.  They could afford to pay better.