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This is a weird take, but I actually feel like if this park just went back to exactly the way that it was in 2015 it would be a better park. Much prettier, better food, better Mystery Mine, Slidewinder and no coaster that never works making you feel like you're missing out when you show up and it's closed 50% of the time. The only thing that I'd miss is Drop Line and a few infrastructure upgrades.

I still love that they clear-cut a forest to make an area themed to trees with no trees in it. It's like the new Lorax movie but real, also that movie sucks and so does Wildwood Grove.

NO excuses lol, you are old enough to remember how Eleanor Roosevelt made celebrating birthdays a thing for adults right???

Except for one poorly executed fake tree that looks like steel pipe cleaners stuck together. Imagine THIS, but with musical instruments sculpted into it instead of sports references. And how cool would it be if you could go it it like this?

Take a ride on the "New Texas Giant" at Six Flags Over Texas:

I feel like the park gets slightly uglier every year and all you ever here is "But wait until it's done!". Between cutting down tons and tons of trees and not even always clearing them, Wildwood Grove (just... all of it), removing the theming elements and leaving an abandoned track piece on Mystery Mine and this it seems like they're much less focused on aesthetics and small details lately. I love the park, but it does seem like it's taken a few steps backward recently in that area.

Well there's Christmas but we're not all that special.

This is such an impossible question to answer. The only wrong answer here is Universal Studios Florida. I could see the argument for any of the others and my favorite would be whatever I'm in the mood for that day. Best theming goes to Animal Kingdom hands down and if you like animals too then it's going to crush all of the others. "Best rides" depends on what type of rides you like, Islands is a great mix and has the best coasters and 2 incredible dark rides but I could also see the argument for Hollywood Studios because Rise of the Resistance and Tower of Terror exist.

^ Ha! Call it a "Confused Patty". Should work. A TV commercial, just released, from A&W (for Western Canada), has the TEEN BURGER for $3.99, a deal for two weeks only. Aaaaand ...... in the commercial, Yours Truly is there..... somewhere! Truth! I swear I haven't seen it yet, but will post a LINK if I can. Amazingly (to me) I was one out of at least 40+ people, who got to be featured in this commercial! Maybe it was the grey hair and beard, hee hee. "Almost Gandalf", right? Who knows. I got the gig! And a free Teen Burger at the time! To be continued.... (Which literally means: "Until I see it, for myself.")

^ Ah, I see. Pardon my ignorance. It's an age thing, and I am standing by that excuse.

I Mean, I don't write the rumors, just talk about them. But THIS may help bring some clarity to your inquiry and help you see where the park stands/stood.

To be honest I could have a horrible day and as long as I get a couple rides in, maybe get my 7 year old brave enough to try a big coaster I will be over the moon. It has been since January 2020, a baby, and a pandemic since the last time I have had a good coaster ride in. Had 2 quick rides on the Zippin Pippin since it is local to me but MAN I got the itch. Gonna be good to get a proper trip in.

Not the exact same spot but pretty darn close. This is from November 2021, I believe I was standing between the Spidey ride and the Spidey gift shop.

Friday was also my first time to this park, and I thought it was great. Nighthawk was the only one I didn't get on. Fury, Afterburn, and Copperhead Strike are all awesome. Harmony Hall had some great food too. Really impressed with Carowinds.

I'm sure they have a plan for this hillside, we just don't know what it is yet. Lots of rumors have circulated around it for years and they keep making progress on it. The removal of the tunnel really opened the space up. The retaining wall is old, quick fix would be a painted mural or something. The mountainside is still cleared here, likely pointing to a development yet to be announced. This is also probably why they needed to open the space up. It's not as bad in person and I am sure will be nice once the flowers grow in Believe me, I'm usually very critical about Dollywood, and visit 50 - 100 times a year. So far this year, I have no complaints. Maybe it's because I'm visiting larger parks more and I see how much better Dollywood is, or learning to not be in a hurry at amusement parks because lines and crowds are to be expected, or maybe it's because they are making progress of becoming a much larger destination.

Great presentation! And it definitely reminded me of how many kinds of coasters are already out there. Thank you for putting your post together. And I hope you get what you've wished for, too.

Not true. Boomerang and Fireball are less than ten years old.

This was the actual view of the better of our cabins. You could see Lightning Rod in the distance if you knew where to look. The shots were taken from the parking lots where there were less trees in the way.

I'm pretty sure most people book cabins in Pigeon Forge for the view of the Smokies. I picked cabins with views of Dollywood's coasters. I was able to get some unique shots of Lightning Rod and Wild Eagle the past few days. Speaking of Lightning Rod, the coaster only opened for the final 8 minutes of the day on Sunday due to the prior day's snowstorm and then it ran like it's usual self on Monday with a delayed opening and multiple breakdowns.

Sweet, very sweet... but insert 'When Pigs Fly' cliche here

or a 4D Free Spin. Then re-locate Scream from SFMM and install in the back (Tidal Wave) towards the East. Then SFSTL will be complete coaster wise for a long time, imo.

Ninja was built in '86 and should have been scrapped in '87.

That's the way Ninja was designed though, Ninja was designed to be a steel coaster with a "feel" of a wooden one, same with Blue Hawk from SFoG, but its gotten a lot worse as it's aged though. I could be wrong but I think they are still using the original trains from Arrow, which.. Werent great to begin with.. Most of the parks who have the same track type have upgraded to the 6 car Vekoma trains and a different style of restraint system which reduce the awful jerkiness of the ride by a ton. Blue Hawk in SFoG a few years ago got some track refurbishment and new trains which apparently makes the coaster (which is identical to ninja in terms of roughness at the time) basically smooth and has the added benefit of making the coaster run faster.

This looks… ummm wow. Like momma always said if you can’t something nice… the tunnel maybe needed work, but all that’s missing from this picture is the Walmart the sidewalk is in front of (Sorta momma,I failed)