One of the biggest expenditures when you visit an amusement park is the food. If you can’t bring outside food and you’re trying to stay inside the park all day, you’ve got to purchase food! One of the upgrade options with your Dollywood Season Pass is to purchase the Water Park Dining Pass. Make a smart move for your wallet and see if the Splash Country Dining Pass is worth the cost for your family. I’m breaking down the different purchase options, examples of food and how much you’ll have to use it to make it worth the price!
Purchasing a Dollywood Season Pass is the best way to save money when you’re planning to visit the park multiple times throughout the park opening. Just a handful of visits and the pass will pay for itself. Plus, there are so many great perks included in the pass – like discounts on merchandise, event access and food discounts.
Sometimes those food discounts aren’t enough. Chances are, if you’re visiting Splash Country all day long, you’re at least going to buy a snack OR a snack and meal per person in your family. Part of the reason outside food and beverage is not permitted at waterparks is because they don’t want any glass products brought inside, which makes sense.
Then you’re left with deciding on whether the Splash Country Dining Pass is worth the money – which can be up to $40 USD per adult season pass ticket.
Related: The BEST Dollywood Splash Country Rides For Young Kids & Toddlers
Is The Splash Country Dining Pass Worth The Price?
All of the season passes can be purchased online and the Dining Pass is an upgrade. You’re emailed a confirmation and the first time you visit the park you show a ticket window your confirmation number to receive your official pass (with your photo). Every time you use your dining pass, you’ll be required to show them the photo ID card. Your card is non-transferable, so the person who holds the card will be required to be the person grabbing the food.
The Two Types Of Splash Country Dining Passes
Basically, you’ll look at the benefits of the Dollywood season pass. Decide which of those passes work for your family. Then there are two passes that have the available dining pass upgrade to add on. The dining passes look the same, but the season pass that they’re attached to makes the difference.
Two-Park Silver + Water Park Dining:
All the benefits of the Two-Park Silver Season Pass, plus includes one (1) meal and one (1) snack every time you visit Dollywood’s Splash Country during operating season.
Two-Park Gold + Water Park Dining:
All the benefits of the Two-Park Gold Season Pass, plus includes one (1) meal and one (1) snack every time you visit Dollywood’s Splash Country during operating season.
How Much Money Does The Splash Country Dining Pass Cost?
To see how much the dining pass costs by itself, you have to break down the cost difference between a season pass with the dining pass and the one without.
The Two-park Silver Season Pass is $214 per adult, adding the dining pass makes it $254 per adult. So you’re paying an extra $40 per adult pass for the dining option. It’s also the same price difference per adult ticket for the Two-park Gold Season Pass. So you’re paying an extra $40 for the season to add the dining pass.
The Biggest Downsides To The Dollywood Dining Pass
There are several caveats to the Splash Country Dining Pass that irk me a bit. Honestly, they’re not hidden in fine print, but they’re easy to overlook when you purchase your pass. First off, meals can only be redeemed between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 pm on the day of your visit. Snacks and souvenir mug refills can be redeemed at any time during the day. That means there is a rush at lunch and you cannot eat off hours to avoid that rush.
Regular fountain drinks are NOT automatically included. Drinks are only included if you received an All-Day Unlimited Refills Mug (with Gold Season Pass purchase) or All-Season Unlimited Refills Mug (with Diamond Season Pass purchase) which can only be purchased through mid-February before the season opens.
All-Day Unlimited Refills Mugs are good for unlimited free refills on the first day of use and then .99 refills each day after. All-Season Unlimited Refills Mugs are good for unlimited free refills all season long.
So you’re still opening your wallet to pay for drinks, in some regard, unless you opt for the most expensive Diamond Season Pass. The earlier you purchase your season pass, the more benefits you can select from and save money in the long run.
How Much You’ll Have To Use The Dining Pass To Pay For Itself
Since the majority of snacks cost around $8-$10 at Splash Country and each Splash Country Dining Pass includes one meal and one snack, you’ll have to visit at least 4 times (and use the pass) for it to pay for itself. You cannot use the dining pass multiple times in one visit. With the average cost of meals ranging from $12-$15 per person, at Splash Country, just 3 visits to use your Dining Pass and it pays for itself.
If you’re local to the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area or within driving distance to easily visit Dollywood Splash Country, I would highly recommend purchasing the Dining Pass upgrade. With just a few visits, you can pay for your dining pass and get your money’s worth.
I think it’s a great deal for families who can visit multiple times throughout the season. Even if you’re visiting from out of town, if you can add multiple days of Splash Country to your itinerary, then it’s worth the money. I don’t always recommend upgrades to water park passes, but this one is a great deal. It’ll take the stress out of your Splash Country visit so you can spend more time splashing around.