This isn’t a theme park food blog and I wouldn’t normally write in tribute of a sausage, but on a recent trip to visit Dollywood and its Great Pumpkin LumiNights I had one of the best theme park meals I have ever had. The “Smoked Brat Sandwhich” blew my mind and my taste buds. It is a great quality bratwurst perfectly prepared on a soft pretzel bun topped with braised red cabbage with a side of fried potatoes, peppers and onions.

April 2025 Update: As of late 2024 the refill price is now $1.99. Given inflation this is still a great deal. Cups are priced at $19.99 each (with unlimited refills the day you buy it) and get as cheap as $15.99 if you buy multiple cups. You can use the same cup for years across the whole chain of parks. All day unlimited refills on an old cup are $6.99 to $8.99 depending on if you are at at SeaWorld, Aquatica or Busch Gardens. You’ll usually get a sticker showing you have free refills for the day. If you get a meal plan you can upgrade to a souvenir cup with unlimited refills for $5.99. Any of these on a hot summer day or sharing with a significant others can be still be a great deal.

Beer and Busch Gardens just seem to go together. We’ve written in the past about the history of the parks, their onsite breweries and ties to Busch Beer. The one sentence summary is there used to be a big Busch brewery near where Iron Gwazi is today and the park was originally started to help market the beer. Today, however, we will focus more on the modern connections with the locations and types of beer you can find around the park.

So this is only for the month of May, but we can hope it gets extended, So exciting!