Dollywood Discussion Thread

I could be wrong but I think the operator when boarding and before dispatch mention 70 mph number over the microphone. I may have heard it wrong, anyone else here them say it before? Your right though the mph is all over the place on different sites.

I was the one that asked about the height of the drop up thread, looking at Wikipedia, it show the first drop (excluding fake drop and right 180) as 126 feet. That's pretty amazing it's able to get up to 70 with that short of drop.

 

RCDB say 128ft drop and still has the original 63MPH.

https://rcdb.com/534.htm

 

Need a speed gun to actually measure. I'd like a similar measurement done for LR, WE, and TH too.

 

Regardless of the actual drop or speed, it still a fun ride.

 

And I don't think there were ever real plans for it to be longer or have more elements.

Maybe in the initial planning more was considered, but by the time they were serious in the engineering it

I just looked at a POV. It seems to go up a bit after the turn after the lift, so the entire distance shouldn't be called one drop. To hit 70mph would require the train to be going more than 34mph when it hits the apex point before the main drop, and I don't think that it is going 34mph.

 

(My calculation assume no friction, too, so really it has to be going a bit faster than 34!)

 

This wouldn't be the first time I've noticed an inaccuracy about coaster speeds on Wikipedia. Expedition GeForce would require a lift speed over 20mph (faster than I305 and probably faster than Skyrush when friction is considered) to reach the 74.6mph listed on Wikipedia. I don't think this is a Wikipedia issue. I just think numbers get exaggerated.

I've always heard it said that it's 70mph and there's also a sign in the queue that has the stats and it also says 70

I could be wrong but I think the operator when boarding and before dispatch mention 70 mph number over the microphone.

As dstephe9 mentioned a few posts back, the advertised speed has increased over the years.

They now advertise it as 70 MPH, but the RCDB entry still has the 63 MPH from the original announcement.

I've always heard it said that it's 70mph and there's also a sign in the queue that has the stats and it also says 70

They have actually changed the sign to 70. But yes, they do announce it at 70 now. Even the Dollywood website list its max speeds as "Nearing 70". Wikipedia still has the original speeds

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I have also heard them advertise the speed as “70mph” over the PA system in the queue. I always knew that there was no way it was that quick, but I never got around to finding the official number. That’s definitely a bit of an exaggeration from 63mph though... TT is no doubt a kick butt ride, but the inaccuracy irks me just a little bit.

Wikipedia still has the original speeds

Wikipedia has 70 MPH.

RCDB has the original 63 MPH.

the inaccuracy irks me just a little bit.

I do wonder why the advertised speed has been increased over the years.

One would assume they has some reason for doing so, and not just because they wanted a higher number.

Tennessee Tornadoe's ride description on dollywood.com states the ride travels "at speeds nearing 70 mph" and lists it having a "128 foot drop":

What happens when a mighty twister sweeps through an old Tennessee Mining Company? Locals say the swirling winds twisted ore into what we now call the Tennessee Tornado. A force of nature all its own, this triple spiral-looping coaster makes you feel like you've landed inside a funnel cloud as you zoom down a 128-foot drop through an actual mountain at speeds nearing 70 mph. It's enough to make local weather forecasters issue a "Tennessee Tornado Warning!"

Also, I have been going to the park every season, consistenly since 2000 and the sign on the stairyway wall has always claimed that this Arrow goes 70 mph. But that may go along with the other sign theming in the station que of stories of "tall tales and twisted facts." After all in the South, a little embelishment can be considered a form of art. LOL

Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain that as the park's first major coaster, the Tennesse Tornadoe sat a precedent which continues with Dollywood's tradition of delivering innovation and excitement among the theme park industry!

(^^^^^Sorry, the website description was previously referrenced by dstephe9 in a earlier post.)

I'd imagine it was probably designed to be 63mph but it hits faster than that at times.. Maybe when they advertised it as 65 they where using an average? Now they advertise it at 70 because it hits close to 70 on some runs depending on train weight and whatnot?

Is still imagine it averages around 65 but that's still faster than the original 63

Just a thought

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I got it, you guys. Saying it goes 70mph is confirmation they're going to RMC it with a launched lift hill!

To further confuse the situation, TT is equipped with a variable-speed lift hill. If they're only running one train, they run the lift hill hill quite a bit faster than with two trains (I've been told it's to avoid long stacking times). You're gonna get a faster max speed if they're only running one train.

... and when's the last time they ran 2 trains?

... and when's the last time they ran 2 trains?

Hardly every so that may be the reason they advertise as 70 now

I actually can't recall them running two trains in years! Even on busy days they only run one from what I have seen recently.

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They ran 2 trains on TT when I went last month for winter break. But out of the two days I was there, it was only during one day, and for half of that day they switched back to one train because it was too cold for two. They probably did that because it's always extremely crowded each year on that week.

That's good to know they still do! Like I said, I hadn't seen it any this year but I normally miss the busy days.. out of the times I went this year, only 3 days where busy. One day parking was at Splash Country.. but they didn't run both trains that day either! But that may have been when one of the trains was sent off for refurbishing.. I don't remember

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To further confuse the situation, TT is equipped with a variable-speed lift hill. If they're only running one train, they run the lift hill hill quite a bit faster than with two trains (I've been told it's to avoid long stacking times). You're gonna get a faster max speed if they're only running one train.

Correct, when they run 2 trains the lift runs slower than when they are operating only one. However with 2 train ops the lift hill speeds up just before the train crests the hill. So there shouldnt be much speed difference between one and 2 train ops on the TT.

To further confuse the situation, TT is equipped with a variable-speed lift hill. If they're only running one train, they run the lift hill hill quite a bit faster than with two trains (I've been told it's to avoid long stacking times). You're gonna get a faster max speed if they're only running one train.

 

Correct, when they run 2 trains the lift runs slower than when they are operating only one. However with 2 train ops the lift hill speeds up just before the train crests the hill. So there shouldnt be much speed difference between one and 2 train ops on the TT.

They also adjust the arrival brakes. You'll notice they slow down the train a lot less with just one train so it can cruise into the station.

I loved the Tennessee Tornado during my visit. While the ride was short, I'd rather every element be a home run than add a potentially rough corkscrew or helix. Though Arrow's track design and transitions were markedly better on this one than any of their other loopers.

I was also there in the peak of summer and it was never more than a 1-2 train wait even with one train operations. The simplistic restraints really let them crank out the trains quickly.

TT was the only coaster at the park (and Blazing Fury, of course) when I made my first and only visit to DW. I really loved it! To echo many others opinion, it really is a shame Arrow ceased to exist after TT because they really hit the ball out of the park this time!

It would have been very interesting to see what Arrow would have been able to come up with if the company had not gone bankrupt. Tennesse Tornado is such a different ride from anything they had done before, and based on what you people are saying it would have been nice if there had been more rides like this built.

 

On a related note, there is a rather interesting Arrow loopscrew in Kuwait that opened in 1996. The shaping of the track looks a lot more advanced than what Arrow had done before, and it looks like it might actually be a decent ride. It looks almost like a transitional ride between the old classic Arrows and Tennesse Tornado.

 

https://rcdb.com/1603.htm

That very same track was also used on Arrow Hypers post Magnum. Ride Centerline, who the infamous Alan Schilke actually works for (and founded) have a ride list that includes basically all Arrow coasters in the 90s, including Drachen Fire. I think Drachen Fire's failure is really what sparked Arrow to revamp their track. Also, the mine train at Fiesta Texas uses the same track, only smaller. Even though they improved their track, I would argue that TT is still the best as it was solely an Alan Schilke project, most of the others look like Toomer's work.

Edit (additional info): I think this track style aligned them to what Morgan (now Chance Rides) was doing at the time. From what I understand, the original Arrow track required much more welding of the cross-sections than Morgan/later Arrow track. This combined with the fact that the track design was 45+ years old and from a time when computer engineering wasn't even on the horizon.. it's no wonder the older rides were rough. I do wish S&S would do something with the modern track, but I think the Chance Hyper-GTX is as close as we're ever going to get to a modern Arrow, if only more of those were around..

My family and I will be taking our first trip ever to Dollywood in March on opening day March 18th, what kind of crowds can we expect if anyone is familiar with that? Is it packed due to being opening day or is it somewhat quiet due to being March? Also I haven't really been following the park until recent but does anyone know the status of Lightning Rod? Is it finally fixed and fully operational or is it still having issues that plagued it last year?

^Lightning Rod was doing ok-ish in the Fall, then constantly went down after that, and they shut it down for the season a few days before the actual season even ended. I have no idea how it will run this year.

. . . does anyone know the status of Lightning Rod? . . .

Lighting Rod is currently closed. But should re-open Saturday March the 18th.

^Lightning Rod was doing ok-ish in the Fall, then constantly went down after that, and they shut it down for the season a few days before the actual season even ended. I have no idea how it will run this year.

It was open enough to win the Golden Ticket for Best New Ride in 2016 (which I thought was Valravn's to lose).

If anything, I would guess it runs more consistently this year.

My family and I will be taking our first trip ever to Dollywood in March on opening day March 18th, what kind of crowds can we expect if anyone is familiar with that? Is it packed due to being opening day or is it somewhat quiet due to being March? Also I haven't really been following the park until recent but does anyone know the status of Lightning Rod? Is it finally fixed and fully operational or is it still having issues that plagued it last year?

Even if LR isn't open, you'll still have several good coasters to ride (Thunderhead, Tennessee Tornado, Wild Eagle, Firechaser Express, Mystery Mine). I've never been there, but it's a park I'd love to get to someday.

It seemed to me that they got it running pretty damn well towards the end but then the cold weather hit and it just didn't want to run anymore. May have been a coincidence hat it stopped running when it got cold out but I tend to doubt that.

^Lightning Rod was doing ok-ish in the Fall, then constantly went down after that, and they shut it down for the season a few days before the actual season even ended. I have no idea how it will run this year.

 

It was open enough to win the Golden Ticket for Best New Ride in 2016 (which I thought was Valravn's to lose)

Personally I thought that win should have went to Monster at Adventureland. Not only was it reliable to open the whole season but that ride is OMFG crazy!