“I will never step foot there again”: Dollywood guests revolt over timed, tracked fountain drinks
Dollywood guests are pushing back after learning the park quietly rolled out a new drink-filling system that times and limits how much soda visitors can pour.
The “Scan. Fill. Go!” setup uses QR codes printed on cups to monitor refills at Pepsi Fast Fill machines, cutting off drinks once time or ounce limits are reached.
The way it works its: customers buy all-day or season drink cups with a QR code printed on the cup, scannable at "Pepsi Fast Fill" stations throughout the park. Once the cup is scanned, parkgoers have less than 30 seconds to fill their cup as the machine tracks the amount of soda poured and cuts off access once time or ounce limits are reached.
The automated fountain machine system was put into place to promote efficiency, reduce wait times, and cut down on soda theft.
The Pepsi Fast Fill system is similar to the Coca-Cola Freestyle system used throughout Universal Orlando parks. PepsiCo’s self service fountain machine system is already in use at Hersheypark, Kennywild, and ICON park.
While Dollywood isn’t the first theme park to instate the “Fast Fill” system, fans are disappointed because scanning a QR code that times and monitors beverage access kills the southern hospitality vibe the park is known for.
People ranting about Dollywood’s beverage policy change online say introducing tech that prioritizes efficiency over humanity points to a larger societal trend fueled by corporate greed. Automated systems like “Fast Fill” exert more control over consumer behavior while leveraging upcharge culture.
“We are cooked if they’re portioning fountain soda ????.”
Trying out Dollywood’s new drink system
TikTok creator Nathan Johnson demonstrated Dollywood’s new “Scan. Fill. Go!” system at Red’s Diner in a video shared on Dec. 30, 2025.
“I am at Red's Diner, and I just got one of the new cups with the QR codes on it. So I'm gonna test it out and see how it works.”
Johnson showed off the standard paper cup and its QR code. “So this is just a standard fountain drink. It's not a refillable cup you can see,” he said. He scanned the code and the machine started counting down from 16 seconds as he filled his cup with ice and soda.
Later, Johnson went for a refill. He scanned his cup again, and after a few seconds the machine abruptly stopped dispensing soda.
“Okay. It cut off now, and it said… remaining balance zero. So you only get so many ounces in your cup.”
“I'm not exactly sure how many ounces those cups hold,” he explained. “Probably around 15. But you can go up and get refills. You just have a limited number of ounces.” Johnson scanned the cup one more time to see what happened.
“So even though I'm out of ounces, I'm gonna go scan my QR code again and see what it says on the screen. I'm assuming it'll just say that I have no available ounces.”
“Code balance depleted,” Johnson read from the machine. “So I cannot put anything else except for water in this cup.”
@nathansmalls22 How do you feel about Dollywood’s new drink system?
♬ original sound - Nathan Johnson
Dollywood fans weigh in on the new drink tech
Fingers crossed the park can save big by nickel-and-diming guests with a menu item that’s already marked up over 1000%. Because it sounds like Dollywood lost some customers.
"We are cooked if they're portioning fountain soda," wrote one commenter.
“Immediately no. Not supporting any business that does this,” wrote another.
TikTokers voiced similar sentiments in the comments section. “This screams we hate our customers.”
“I will never step foot on Dollywood again”
“Dollywood is supposed to be better than this”
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