Fall is such a fabulous time to visit Dollywood. There are pumpkins around every turn, fun fall photo ops, spooky nighttime lights, and of course, loads of treats to be had during the Harvest Festival, which runs September 27 – November 2 this year. It’s highly atmospheric and is sure to put anyone in the fall spirit even if it’s still 90 degrees outside.
I had the pleasure of eating my way through Dollywood today with fellow food bloggers (shoutout to CHOMP, JCP Eats, The Salted Table, and Cosmopolitan Cornbread) so that I could tell you all about the best fall treats and eats in the park. I’ll tell you about the park, Pumpkin LumiNights Festival, and the Dream More Resort later but this post is solely dedicated to the must-try fall eats. Here we go!
Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake, Splinter’s
I don’t even like funnel cake and I loved this dessert. Wow. It has so much more substance than your typical funnel cake. Ooey gooey pumpkin pie funnel cake is topped with sinful maple pecan glaze, whipped cream, and pecans. The texture is similar to that of the inside of a cinnamon roll. It looks like a funnel cake but it blasts every other funnel cake I’ve ever had out of the water. If you eat one thing at Dollywood in the fall, eat this!
Pumpkin Fluff, Front Porch Cafe & Other Locations
This is my dream pumpkin pie: all the filling, none of the crust, none of the spice. This jar of goodness consists of pumpkin pie filling, vanilla pudding, whipped topping, and a reasonable amount of pumpkin spice. I don’t like pumpkin spice and I still loved this cute little jar.
Apple Pie Cream Cheese Danish, Spotlight Bakery
Warm cream cheese and apple? Sign me up. Of all the pastries we tried at Spotlight Bakery, this was my favorite. My apple-loving dad would flip out at a bite of this! The apple topping is nicely spiced with cinnamon and the whole thing is drizzled with icing but it’s the warm cream cheese that really made this pastry special.
Honorable mention: Caramel Apple Danish
Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwich, Sweet Shoppe
Super creamy pumpkin ice cream is sandwiched between two soft sugar cookies. This thing is enormous. You could easily share it amongst a party of four.
Specialty Cones, Sweet Shoppe
Speaking of ice cream, the Sweet Shoppe offers harvest cones decorated with festive colored sprinkles. We tried the fudge ripple ice cream in a special harvest cone and I loved how sturdy and fresh the cone was.
Cinnamon Bread, Gristmill
The famous Dollywood cinnamon bread made this list because there is no wrong time to eat it. Besides, cinnamon is a fall flavor! This loaf lived up to its legendary status. It’s impossibly soft and smothered with cinnamon, which just so happens to be one of my favorite flavors. I preferred the apple dip to the frosting (which was too sweet for my taste) but I preferred the bread on its own.
Reuben Wontons, Front Porch Cafe
This was a surprise! I don’t care for reuben flavors but I loved these little guys. Corned beef, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese are wrapped tight in wonton wrappers and then fried until golden and dressed with a thousand island dressing. They’re served with delicious pickles.
Low Country Boil, Festival Booth
I’m not a huge boil person but the sausage was great and the dish wasn’t too spicy for me. Each packet comes with potatoes, shrimp, corn, and sausage and is quite filling if you’ve worked up an appetite on the rides.
Pierogies, Festival Booth
This is one of my favorite eats in the park! The European potato dumplings are filled with caramelized onions (my favorite!) and drizzled with sour cream. I’ll take a dozen, thanks.
Fried Green Tomato BLT & Skillet Potatoes, Market Square
This is a fun southern twist on a classic BLT. The sandwich has two slices of bacon, lettuce, a special sauce, and fried green tomatoes. It’s hearty and tasty and served with skillet potatoes, which Dollywood only serves during the harvest festival. The potatoes are cooked with peppers and onions on enormous skillets.
You can also get just fried green tomatoes from the booths if you don’t want a whole sandwich!
Harvest Float, Various Venders
This is simple: just orange fanta and ice cream with whipped cream. Kids (or the kid in you) will love it!
Harvest Rice Krispy Treat, Spotlight Bakery
I’m a sucker for a rice krispy treat and this one is just so darn cute!
Cookie Pizza, Lumberjack’s Pizza
I’m also admittedly a sucker for cookie pizza. For the less adventurous who want a fall treat, play it safe with one of the many decorated chocolate chip cookies found around Dollywood.
Apple Pie, Spotlight Bakery
This technically isn’t part of the harvest festival but it’s famous and what’s more fall than an apple pie? ‘Tis apple season after all! Dollywood’s famous apple pie is 25 lbs+ and $189.99 (plus shipping). It’s legitimately difficult to pick up. A single slice is 3-4 lbs and $18.99 and could be split by your whole family.
Cinnamon Roll, Spotlight Bakery
Alright, technically this is available year-round but again, cinnamon is a fall flavor so I had to include it. It’s one of my favorite pastries in the park!
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
I’m going to level with you: this had too much spice for me but since the PSL has such a cult following and so many people adore pumpkin pie spice, I’m including the milkshake on my list. It’s creamy and spicy and tastes like fall.
Harvest Cider
Orange fanta, pineapple, and whipped cream are a refreshing soda combination and oh-so-Instagrammable.
Love it? Pin it!
Happy harvesting,
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Disclaimer: This article is intended to be a general resource. Any recommendations are based on personal opinion. A portion of this trip may have been compensated but opinions are my own, always. I’m not a fan of negativity so if I don’t like something, I don’t write about it. I’m here to tell you about the best of the best!
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