I'm going to Dollywood either Friday the 24th or Saturday the 25th. I'm guessing those days will both be rather busy since it's Thanksgiving weekend, but which day would be less crowded, and what should I expect as far as wait times? Thank you!

I would say Friday would be less busy than Saturday.  As far as wait times, Lightning Rod and Firechaser Express can both see their wait times get very busy and I would say Lightning Rod will probably be well over an hour.  I would recommend getting in line for Lightning Rod at park opening (if it is running).  LR tends to have very slow loading times and many times they are only running one train operation.  Because of this it gets very backed up. 

After you do that I would probably head up the hill toward Craftsman's Valley do a counter clockwise trip around the rest of the park, hit Barnstormer (S&S Screamin' Swing), Blazing Fury, Tennessee Tornado, Wild Eagle, Firechaser Express, Mystery Mine, and then Thunderhead.  Of those coasters, Thunderhead is more likely to be busy first thing in the morning and then shouldn't much of a wait after that (20 minutes max but more like 10-15 minutes).  Wild Eagle is high capacity so it will never have much of a wait even on the busiest days.  I would suggest watching the wait times posted in the lines as Dollywood will show all of the adult coaster wait times in line for the other rides.  LR is the most likely to have downtime followed by Mystery Mine so just something to keep in mind.

Any insights in Dollywood passholder preview night / opening weekend?  We are looking to go this year and would like some idea what to expect.  Thanks

It’s no where as busy as KI’s passholder preview. To be honest most passholders at Dollywood are folks who go to see shows. 

 

You can expect a crowd, but it’s no where near KI.