Theme Park Wait Times / Dollywood / Thunderhead
Thunderhead Wait Times
Live wait, plus a model forecast by day and hour for Thunderhead at Dollywood, built on 16,735 measured readings.
Park hours today: 9am–8pm
Best time to ride Thunderhead
On a typical Monday, Thunderhead runs about 53 min at rope drop, peaks near 56 min around 11 AM, and eases to 6 min by close. Across the week, Monday is the worst day (about 56 min at its midday peak) and Sunday the calmest (about 21 min). Use the day and time controls above to check any day of the week.
Averaging 11 min, this is the #21 longest line of 54 tracked rides at Dollywood (park average 10 min). The longest is Raging River Rapids at 40 min.
Typical Thunderhead wait by day
| Day | Rope Drop | Midday Peak | Late Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 17 min | 21 min 11 AM | 3 min |
| Monday · busiest | 53 min | 56 min 11 AM | 6 min |
| Tuesday | 46 min | 46 min 11 AM | 4 min |
| Wednesday | 38 min | 38 min 10 AM | 12 min |
| Thursday | 34 min | 37 min 11 AM | 11 min |
| Friday | 22 min | 31 min 11 AM | 1 min |
| Saturday | 25 min | 33 min 11 AM | 6 min |
Thunderhead average wait by month
| Month | Avg Wait | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 18.9 min | 6,189 |
| July 2026 | 14.4 min | 7,582 |
| August 2026 | 10.6 min | 3,945 |
Thunderhead wait time FAQ
▾When is Thunderhead shortest?
Thunderhead is shortest at rope drop (about 53 min) and in the final hour of the night (about 6 min). Midday is the worst window, peaking near 56 min around 11 AM.
▾Which day is Thunderhead busiest?
Monday runs the longest lines, peaking around 56 min midday, while Sunday is the calmest at about 21 min. Use the day and time slider above to check any day.
▾What is the wait for Thunderhead right now?
Thunderhead isn't reporting a live wait right now. The park may be closed. This page updates automatically when lines go live.
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Reliability, measured
How often this ride was actually running, not how long the line was.
Across 980 hours that Dollywood was open, Thunderhead was running 94.56% of the time, with 55 separate interruptions. That ranks #11 for availability out of 36 tracked rides at Dollywood, where the typical ride runs 95.63% of operating hours.
Measured 2026-05-23 to 2026-08-15 from ride status polled about every minute. Scheduled refurbishment is recorded separately and is not counted as an outage. How we measure
Based on 16,735 measured readings, updated continuously · How we measure
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