More ways to save
Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country
2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
About 4 hours from Nashville, 6 hours from Memphis, and 45 minutes from Knoxville.
Dollywood is celebrating its 33rd season with a stepped-up entertainment focus, spending $1 million more on its acts and shows than ever before. The headlining artists in 2018 have 42 gold albums, 18 platinum albums, 30 Grammys, 14 Country Music Association Awards, 10 American Country Music Awards, five American Music Association Awards and 62 Dove Awards. Shows are included with Dollywood admission.
Dollywood’s Splash Country is entering its 18th season with new upgrades and amenities for guests, like Luxury Loungers.
Admission to Dollywood is $69, $56 for ages 4-9, and $64 for ages 62 and older (plus tax). Admission to Dollywood’s Splash Country is $49, $44 for ages 4-9, and $44 for ages 62 and older. Ages 3 and younger get in free to both parks. Parking is $15.
A season pass to Dollywood offers unlimited visits and it costs $119 for adults and $109 for children, which is less than two days’ admission. If you don’t plan to make more than one trip, there are multi-day and multi-park options: Dollywood guests, for example, can add one day for just $20. The best prices on tickets are available when staying at either Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa or Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Cabins.
1-800-Dollywood Dollywood.com 502-813-8200 kentuckykingdom.com or
Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay
Kentucky Expo Center, 937 Phillips Lane, in Louisville.
About 2 hours from Nashville, 3 hours and 45 minutes from Knoxville, and 5 hours from Memphis.
This year, Kentucky Kingdom is introducing two new rides, “Extreme Scream” and “Rock ’n’ Roller”; a new show (Avian Adventure) featuring the acrobatic displays of free-flying Andean condors, African eagles and other exotic bird species; and two new “movies you ride” in its 5D Cinema. Among the park’s five world-class roller coasters are Lightning Run (a 10-story steel coaster), Thunder Run (a classic wooden coaster) and Storm Chaser (voted the No. 2 Best Ride in the World in a 2016 USA TODAY Readers’ Choice poll). Kentucky Kingdom also offers lots of children’s rides and a second “Sea Lion Splash” show featuring the lively antics of rescued sea lions.
Kentucky Kingdom’s water park, Hurricane Bay, boasts two wave pools, more than a dozen water slides, a water coaster, an adventure river, a lazy river, and two water play areas with slides and other activities geared toward children.
Regular general admission to both Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay is $54.95 (plus tax) for adults and $39.95 (plus tax) for children under 48 inches tall and seniors age 55 and older.
Visitors from out of state (with the exception of five southern Indiana counties, which are part of the Louisville metro area) can purchase a two-day ticket for $39.95 (plus tax) simply by showing a driver’s license or other picture I.D. evidencing proof of residence. This special offer includes both Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay, a free second day, and free soft drinks. Please note that the special out-of-state ticket must be used on two consecutive days. or
Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari
452 E. Christmas Blvd., Santa Claus, Ind.
Less than 3 hours from Nashville, 5 hours from Memphis, and 4 hours and 45 minutes from Knoxville.
This family-owned destination, which opened as Santa Claus Land in 1946, has consistently been cited as a top-value, super-clean, family-friendly park.
In recent years, Holiday World has added Thunderbird, the nation’s only launched wing coaster, which joins three wooden roller coasters and an array of family rides. The park will have all new shows this season, including magic shows and comedic stunt shows.
Splashin’ Safari, named a top water park by USA TODAY and TripAdvisor, includes Mammoth and Wildebeest water coasters. Mammoth is certified by Guinness World Records as the longest water coaster on the planet. New this year are Tembo Falls, eight junior water slides, plus Tembo Tides, a junior wave pool. General admission is $49.99,
Look for last-minute deals. Check the park’s websites or call ahead before you go to see if there are any new promotions or deals that might save you money on admission, parking or food.
Ask about military discounts. Whether you are active or retired, most parks have these. Some have first responder discounts, too.
Don’t forget about AAA. Some parks also have discounts for members — or other types of discounts, so ask, ask, ask.
Social media: Follow the parks you want to visit on Facebook and Twitter in case they have special offers for their followers.
Get a group. Most of the parks have special group rates, so find out how many people it takes to get the discount.
Pack a picnic. Most of the parks don’t allow outside food and drink other than water, but some have designated areas outside the park where you can take your own picnic and snacks.
Do the math. If you plan multiple trips over the summer, figure out whether the cost of a season pass would save you money. And be sure to include the fact that most of them include free parking. and $39.99 for ages 60 and older and anyone less than 54 inches tall. You can add a second day for $30. Ages 2 and younger get in free. Price includes admission to Holiday World and the Splashin’ Safari water park. Parking and soft drinks are free, as is park-wide WiFi, inner tubes, and sunscreen.
Buy online at holidayworld.com/save and save up to $20 with Pick Your Price discounts. Ms. Cheap readers get an extra $1 discount by using the promo code TENNESSEAN.
1-877-463-2645 or holidayworld.com
Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water
Six Flags Over Georgia, 275 Riverside Parkway SW, Austell, Ga.; Six Flags White Water, 250 Cobb Parkway N. #100, Marietta, Ga.
About 4 hours and 15 minutes from Nashville, 3 hours and 20 minutes from Knoxville, and 5 hours and 40 minutes from Memphis.
Six Flags Over Georgia has almost 300 acres with more than 40 rides and attractions, plus the Caribbean-themed Hurricane Harbor Waterpark. Admission to the Hurricane Harbor is included with admission to Six Flags Over Georgia.
The new ride this year is the Twisted Cyclone roller coaster, which combines a wooden structure with a modern steel track for multiple inversions, including a 360-degree zero-gravity roll. It joins last year’s big addition, the 22,000square-foot indoor Justice League: Battle for Metropolis in 4D, which is lets riders tag alongside iconic DC superheroes — Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and more — in an epic battle against The Joker, Lex Luthor and his henchmen through 11 high-intensity scenes. Riders are armed with a stun blaster, with more than 600 targets to destroy.
Six Flags White Water, which is about 20 minutes away, features more than 40 slides and attractions. Always popular is the Dive Bomber, a 10-story water capsule slide with a nearly 90-degree dive at speeds of more than 40 mph. Other popular water park attractions include Wahoo Racer and Typhoon Twister. Regular admission for Six Flags Over Georgia is $69.99, or $49.99 for children less than 48 inches tall. Ages 2 and younger get in free. Parking is $25. Six Flags White Water admission is $46.99, and $41.99 for children less than 48 inches tall.
Season passes and a new membership option are the best deals if you plan multiple visits during the season. The season pass allows you to visit all year as many times as you’d like and gets you into White Water for free, too, while the memberships offer even more perks for a monthly fee based on 12 months memberships. Otherwise, buy your tickets online at least one day before your trip to get the best prices (you can save up to $20 per ticket). Check the website for other savings during the season. Buying online can also save time by letting you skip the ticket booths and head straight for the front gate! 1-770-739-3400 sixflags.com/overgeorgia
Nashville Shores
Tenn. or 4001 Bell Road, Hermitage,
20 minutes from downtown Nashville, 3 hours and 20 minutes from Memphis, and 2 hours from Knoxville.
This 20-year-old Nashville water park on Percy Priest Lake had a major expansion eight years ago, doubling its size and adding lots of features, such as a wave pool and lazy river and the popular Kowabunga Beach interactive sprayground and slide area. It has since added the Big Kahuna, a sixstory family raft slide that seats up to four people for an exciting, serpentine ride full of unpredictable twists and turns, thrilling drops and back-to-back curves. And in 2017 the park added Barefootin’ Bay, a water play attraction for little ones, with 35 interactive water features, spray toys, mini-slides and a tipping bucket. New this year is Aqua Park, an interactive playground on the lake, with over 40 exciting water features including monkey bars, action towers and bridges.
Regular admission is $38.99 (Friday-Sunday) and $36.99 (MondayThursday), and $28.99 for children shorter than 48 inches. Ages 2 and younger get in free. Parking is $9 or $29.99 plus tax for a season parking pass. Tubes and sunscreen are free.
Because it’s so close to home, a season pass at $59.99 is tempting since it pays for itself in less than two visits. The best deal for families is to buy four or more passes for $59.99 each, including a free parking pass, if you buy before June 19. Purchase by May 31, and you will receive a bonus “bring a friend free” one-day ticket that you can use on select days. Season passes come with three free tickets for friends on select days and more than $500 in park discounts and other perks.
If you buy tickets online at nashvilleshores.com, you can save $8 a ticket anytime. Present your KrogerPlus card any day and receive $8 off adult one-day admission. There also are coupons at Middle Tennessee Subway and TwiceDaily locations that can save you $8 or more per ticket. You also can get $8 off adult admission when you present a Pepsi or Diet Pepsi can at the park. And there is an after-4 p.m. special for $19.99, which is a good deal because the park is open until 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and 7 p.m. on other nights.
Lake Winnepesaukah Park
Ga. 1730 Lakeview Drive, Rossville,
About 2 hours from Nashville, 5 hours and 10 minutes from Memphis, and 1 hour and 40 minutes from Knoxville.
The 93-year-old Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Rossville, Ga., near Chattanooga, is not exactly a theme park, but it has more than 40 family-friendly rides and attractions.
An unlimited ride pass is $34.95, $24.95 for ages 1-2 and 60 and older, and parking is always free.
Check for Monday Fundays, when a parent (21 and older) gets in free with the purchase of two fullprice children’s tickets, and McDonald’s Wednesdays and Sundays, when area McDonald’s offer $5 off coupons for unlimited rides. On Thursdays through Aug. 2, bring a canned food item per person and get $5 off the unlimited ride pass. There are also Dr. Pepper Fridays, when you can bring any Coke product can and buy one unlimited ride pass and get one at half-price. These promotions do not apply on July 4.
Beech Bend Park
beechbend.com or 1-877525-3946
798 Beech Bend Road, Bowling Green, Ky.
About an hour and a half from Nashville, 4 hours from Memphis, and 3 hours and 40 minutes from Knoxville.
Beech Bend Park, which has been around since the 1950s, added four new colossal water slides at its Splash Lagoon water park last year: Tidal Wave, Cyclone Saucers, Riptide and Polynesian Plunge. The Kentucky Rumbler wooden coaster is ranked in the top 50 wooden coasters worldwide. There is a family coaster called Spinning Out and an airplane ride called Air Race, and Friday night fireworks. The park has more than 30 classic amusement rides, including the Sea Dragon ride that was bought from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
A ticket that includes the theme park, water park, miniature golf, “Wild Bill Hiccup’s Wild West Show” and the magic show, a petting zoo and sunscreen is $35.99, or $31.99 for children under 54 inches tall and ages 60 and older. Ages 2 and younger get in free, and parking is free.
The Daily Sundown Special will save $10 off a regular ticket or $8 off a child’s ticket after 3 p.m. A Friday Night Lights ticket is $15 and is good 59:30 p.m. on Fridays. And there’s a $20 second-day pass that you can buy, meaning an adult could go on Friday night and all day Saturday for just $35.
You can buy discount tickets at Kentucky Houchen’s Foods and IGA stores for $29.99. Also, some Shell stations and Junior Food stores in the Bowling Green area have $29.99 tickets. There also is a $3 to $5 off coupon at Wendy’s in Tennessee and Kentucky.
The Nashville Entertainment Book and the Nashville CitiSaver books have buy one, get one free coupons, and there are coupons on Facebook and if you sign up for email blasts on the Beech Bend website.
Beech Bend offers free admission for current and retired military personnel (military ID is required). Military spouses and dependents receive a $5 discount for adults, $3 for children/senior admissions. 270-781-7634 or