Dollywood Discussion Thread

Bobby what ERT, and when was it scheduled? I am heading down from Toronto, next weekend, and I would like to know if they are anticipating it will be down that long. If the ETR is Aug 3 I think I am going to outta luck

This is the calendar of ERT dates for season pass and it still has LR as the ERT for Saturday August 4th but that could be wishful thinking on their part. https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Guest-Services/Early-Entry

Bobby what ERT, and when was it scheduled? I am heading down from Toronto, next weekend, and I would like to know if they are anticipating it will be down that long. If the ETR is Aug 3 I think I am going to outta luck

This is the calendar of ERT dates for season pass and it still has LR as the ERT for Saturday August 4th but that could be wishful thinking on their part. https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Guest-Services/Early-Entry

Word is that the park handed the problem over to RMC again as there is still warranty going on. The ride might be closed at least for the next two weeks, the ERT yesterday was cancelled last minute....

Source: well its from reddit but better than nothing as the park does not say anything at all...

^^ I was there, reported it on the last page, it is true. Also until yesterday morning Lightning Rod was listed as the ERT for this event and was changed the morning of. Unless they get the issue worked out I would assume they won’t change it unless they have to.

I was looking around to find info on the LR situation. Besides what we’ve heard about retracking (MUCH NEEDED at the drop), and padding added to the seats (I thought the seats themselves are fine?), I’ve also seen that Velocity Magnetics has shut down? Anyone know if this is true or false?

So let’s talk about Dollywood’s hint. “Planting the seeds for something BIG” with colorful vines and leaves. The first thing that pops into my head is the old Dreamland Forest. Could we see a revamped version of that make a comeback? Could this be an intire forest land? Which...wouldn’t totally fit when you think. Yes it’s in the mountains, but they’ve made a feild into it really. Looks like a piece of land towards Cades Cove.

Retracking LR I rode TH yesterday and dang OMG I felt like it was trying to kill me TH needs a retrack

I just saw on Screamscape that vertical construction has officially began in the new area

Is the Vekoma family suspended coaster been confirmed?

No

Retracking LR I rode TH yesterday and dang OMG I felt like it was trying to kill me TH needs a retrack

I thought Thunderhead was still really fun in the front row as of last year. Did you try it up there?

I was looking around to find info on the LR situation. Besides what we’ve heard about retracking (MUCH NEEDED at the drop), and padding added to the seats (I thought the seats themselves are fine?), I’ve also seen that Velocity Magnetics has shut down? Anyone know if this is true or false?

So let’s talk about Dollywood’s hint. “Planting the seeds for something BIG” with colorful vines and leaves. The first thing that pops into my head is the old Dreamland Forest. Could we see a revamped version of that make a comeback? Could this be an intire forest land? Which...wouldn’t totally fit when you think. Yes it’s in the mountains, but they’ve made a feild into it really. Looks like a piece of land towards Cades Cove.

As for LR, my wife and I just got back from Cedar Point, and after riding Steel Vengeance, she said LR was defective from the beginning! I explained the track difference but she still thinks LR has never ran correctly after seeing how smooth Steel Vengeance was compared to LR. One day I wore a Dollywood shirt and several people stopped me and said they would visit Dollywood when LR is fixed, lol.

I'm excited for the expansion and hope it only continues! Dollywood needs to get that pop back in their attendance!

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Retracking LR I rode TH yesterday and dang OMG I felt like it was trying to kill me TH needs a retrack

 

I thought Thunderhead was still really fun in the front row as of last year. Did you try it up there?

I've been hearing for years about Thunderhead being rough. Every time I ride it I just think it's awesome and end up walking off confused at what people are complaining about. Like you, we always ride in the front now but only because it seems like it has a lot more airtime up there.

... then I ride Mystery Mine and walk off with that exact same level of confusion

^ I just lean forward slightly on Mystery Mine and have a blast. Same thing I do on Untamed and the other EuroFighters with OSTRs.

If Mystery Mine was at any park not named Dollywood, it would probably suck, but since it IS at Dollywood, the random A$$ layout, slight jankiness, location, and theming make it a truly one-of-a-kind ride.

We're still deciding between Smoky Mountain Christmas or a BGT/SWO spin for Thanksgiving. It's pretty hard to go wrong between those two, from what I've heard. If we choose SMC I'm gonna have to pack every hoodie I own because my winter gear is a little lacking (living in Texas and all)

It's themed after a mine car, I have always thought that had to do with the funky layout and the roughness at time. I see nothing wrong with it

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I've been hearing for years about Thunderhead being rough. Every time I ride it I just think it's awesome and end up walking off confused at what people are complaining about.

Agree. I expect wooden coaster to be like TH not like the modern retracks (or built that way from the start).

I like LR, buy it doesn't feel like a woodie. Neither do the retracks like New Texas Giant or Twisted Cyclone. Fun rides, but not the woodie experience.

^ Thunderhead is an actual wooden coaster (and was perfectly fine in the front, middle, and back last year). Lightning Rod is a wooden coaster but uses topper track which makes it ride different from a typical wooden coaster. New Texas Giant and Twisted Cyclone are completely different in that their entire track is all made of steel. So putting any of these three groups into the same category to gauge how a wooden coaster is supposed to "feel" isn't really fair.

Disclaimer, I haven't been on anything with topper track (LR was closed when I went last year ) so I'm going based on what I've seen and read about that. Please correct me if I'm wrong. But I've been on 3 different RMCs with I-Box track, 2 of them being hybrids.

I have only been on one with topper track and that's LR but I have been on two RMCs with full Steel and those are smoother than LR. Again, not an accurate test because LR is my only topper but I do know from my second coaster with full Steel (Steel Vengeance) and it is much smoother than LR.

I should be hitting up twisted cyclone soon so we will see if the full Steel holds up to being smoother.

As for thunderhead, I agree, it is rough and only getting worse, but it's nothing worse than most traditional Woodies. Ride some of those coasters that are 50 years old and you will see rough

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Thunderhead is wonderful for a wood coaster. Its aged better than most.

So putting any of these three groups into the same category to gauge how a wooden coaster is supposed to "feel" isn't really fair.

My point was neither Topper nor Ibox feel like a wooden coaster, even if people call them such. It's not just the support structure.

TH is what I expect of a woodie. I've ridden plenty rougher. A few a little smoother, but TH is not particularly rough.

Not sure if anyone has posted this but its a neat article! It talks about Dollywood starting the "Next 5 Year" and talks about the need to grow capacity. It also says they have been happy with lodging so they are looking into expanding that portion! There is a whole section about Dollywood and their planned expansions at the bottom. A lot of information in this, even though they didn't leak anything out. "a COUPLE big additions", "Expanding Lodging", lots of info

https://blooloop.com/features/jane-cooper-herschend-family-entertainment/

Your big additions that I assume their talking about are next year’s addition and possibly 2020, which I would assume is their next big coaster. If they are wanting to expand Dollywood’s footprint, I’m curious as to how big it’ll possibly get? Could we possibly see an area in the future go behind TT? I mean I never thought we would end up behind Thunderhead and here we are. That used to be a valley/mountain and now it’s flat.

I'm assuming most of these plans are after the 10 year plan. She said they are looking at the next 5 year plan. They announced their 10 year plan, 8 years ago she says.

While one big addition could be the area they are working on now, I'm still a believer that this is only the start of the expanded areas and they will continue to expand up and around the mountain

At the start of the 10 year expansion they said they would start working their way up the train loop at the end of the 10 years. How far up? No one knows but they can continue to move mountains and on up

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She also mentions staffing as being an issue at all their parks. I think, eventually, Dollywood is going to need staff housing and will need to breakdown and build some. Right now they rent hotels for their summer program but they can't bring in all the staff they need just by renting hotels. We all know parks that have staff housing, charge for it, so Dollywood can do the same. It might even help them bring in some international staff so they can help keep the park open longer and possibly year round.

Work campers only go so far, I think they will need to do something to bring in the younger staffers. Investing in staff is a sure way to help capacity, especially since a lot of Dollywood's capacity issues are rumored to be staffing issues

There are always hotels being sold in the area, buy one that's not on the strip and convert it.

Hey all. Going to Dollywood in about 2 weeks. I am more then likely going to get the 10 ride skip the line system. Unless people say it is not needed. I see that Lighting rod is not open right now. Can i get some tips and other advice that would really help me. Also how much is parking?

^ If Lightning Rod reopens before your visit (big if with that ride's track record unfortunately), I'd recommend springing for the TimeSaver Unlimited. If you get the standard TimeSaver, you can only skip Lightning Rod's queue once. If it's open, it will have the longest line in the park and you'll want to reride it a ton.

FireChaser Express usually can have a 40-50 minute wait unless you hit it right at opening or close. Mystery Mine usually is around 30 minutes. And the other coasters usually don't have much of a line. On a hot day, the river rapids could have an hour wait as well.

I forget how much parking was, but I think it was in the ballpark of $12-15. If someone else who visits the park more frequently, please correct me.