tntornadox

I really want to try Celebrity's new Solstice class of ships... while traditionally, they do tend to cater to an older and often more mature demographic, it seems like they are making strides and going younger with this new class of ship, not to mention, IMO, they look absolutely beautiful on the inside. It seems like it would fit my personality perfectly- upscale without being stuffy with the focus being on service. Exterior Lobby Center Atrium with suspended tree. Pool And, of course, Solstice's most innovative area- the Lawn Club.

I think eventually the Cannonball would have came down... especially given Arrow's demise, the parts for their coasters aren't exactly cheap anymore. CHAOS had been trimmed back to merely an indoor coaster by the mid-90's... it's footprint could have been useful as well.

It probably wouldn't be too much different... Gaylord never had any intention of investing in the park after the addition of CHAOS... Hangman came along, but it was several years later after attendance started to dip that they finally reacted by putting their money where their mouth was... Now, speaking of a large indoor atrium/waterpark... Gaylord could pull this off with perfection, I think... all the lush vegetation and everything- it would be amazing.

So, they are devoting alot of land and resources in the Magic Kingdom to fill the little girl princess niche, I see... looks great, but one question lingers in my mind... What about boys?

^ Excellent post, however it is not entirely the retail chain's fault- the consumer wants cheaper merchandise and is not willing to pay the price usually for good service, so the stores who do attempt to provide excellent service and pay their employees a decent wage are unable to compete in the marketplace, cuts must be made to stay profitable. Case in point, traditional department stores (such as Sears or JCPenney) who still do cling to traditional customer service and flood the floor with salespeople have been suffering greatly the past decade or so as consumers head to discount stores, they are unable to compete due to the high overhead involved, whereas Walmart runs with the bare minimum of employees and therefore can charge alot less. Consumers drive the market.

^ Some of the signs tell the story of the 'Tennessee Mining Company' who 'owns' the ride since the Tennessee Tornado blew through and carted all the coal off to West Virginia... LOL (seriously, one of the 'twister tales' says this). Note: The TT ops shirts say "Tennessee Mining Company" on them.

Actually, Tennessee Tornado has an extensive back story- however, unless you actually have to wait in the lower queue house and have time to read all the informational signage, you wouldn't know it. Truth: TT replaced Thunder Express, an old Arrow mine train that originally operated at what was then Six Flags over Mid-America- in the late 90s, Silver Dollar City, Inc. (Precursor to HFEC) decided to enter the major thrill market starting at Dollywood with the installation of Daredevil Falls in 1998. In 1999, SDC received Wildfire from B&M and Dollywood got TT from Arrow- the reasoning is simple- TT's back story is a tornado blew through and twisted up the track of the Tennessee Mining Company- so they had to keep the station intact; considering the old mine train was an Arrow and the track gauge is the same, they went with Arrow for Dollywood's major addition. It is short in length and the story goes is the 'tunnel' ran the entire project way overbudget so the ride had to be shortened to make up some of the difference, whether it's true or not is up for interpretation. Speaking of TT, this season is its 10th Anniversary- as I have said before- Thunderhead may have put Dollywood 'on the map', but Tennessee Tornado got the ball rolling into turning DW from a small regional park into the acclaimed attraction it is today, and is still one of the smoothest Arrow loopers in existence.

Restaurants and movie theaters' overhead are like a piece of cheese compared to a park the size of SFGAdv... that's where that argument doesn't hold water.

During my time at Dollywood, the park was closed early on several days- a 'soft closing' at DW means the rides are gradually closed- the back of the park (TN Tornado) working forward until all rides are down. They made this decision based off attendence- revenue being generated vs. operating expenses. When you look at it this way, it makes alot more sense for them to close early. As for coasters running in the rain, the policy at DW was to run until a guest complained about it hurting them, then we would shut down the ride. In the end, the park is a for-profit business and their bottom line is alot more important than a few carloads of people- and that is being bluntly honest.

^ Don't mention Funship Freddy- I dunno how he is supposed to be a kids character because he even freaks me out...

I wonder if this package won't open more doors between the two- bringing some elements of Universal and DreamWorks aboard RCI's ships? Characters perhaps?

Carnival's chief architect Joe Farcus has wanted to attempt a roller coaster on a ship for a long time now- maybe on Project Pinnacle (Carnival's answer to Oasis)... I don't see this package going away anytime soon- honestly, RCI has been looking for something to offer people a great inclusive Orlando package like Disney offers its guests at Port Canaveral for years now- they have tested several including Nickelodeon- but this seems to be a real winner to me. Frankly, this may have been a huge reason why they moved Freedom of the Seas to Port Canaveral in the first place- this package will surely be a hit!

Universal Orlando and Royal Caribbean form partnership Resort and Cruise Line team up for ultimate vacation. Seeing as many theme park enthusiasts also are cruise line enthusiasts, I thought this would be a great announcement to share with you all. From PRNewsWire: www.prweb.com/releases/Royal_Caribbean/Universal_Orlando_Resort/prweb2240074.htm

It will be eventually demolished- so get your fill now. Metro approved the tax subsidies for Gaylord to move forward with the expansion of the Opryland Convention Center over the current GRR site- the economy may have slowed progress down, but it will happen eventually.

I too have had a grey out on Dollywood's Tennessee Tornado- back car during the Sidewinder element... it was later in the day during the Summer- so she was running as hot as ever that day- pulling even more G's than normal.

^ Considering the economy we are in and SFI's financial footing- you may be boycotting for awhile... or forever.

I think that's what alot of us are looking forward to- seeing what a new Six Flags park where money is not an object will look like. I applaud Shapiro's job performance- I have a feeling the chain would have sank already had it not been for his leadership in these troubled times.

Maybe it's the long rumored B&M floorless for Dollywood- rumors were running rampant for a 2010 addition before their Adventure Mountain hiatus... The rumors said it was supposed to be a large investment- the park's new signature steel coaster to anchor their new area that is coming in the next few years... considering the great number of pieces in the yard, this is going to be a large coaster of the sit-down (probably floorless) design.

Actually, it was very fun back in the late-Summer when I worked at Dollywood walking up to the Tornado (my coaster) early in the mornings and they would have most of the Valley lit up checking the lights... it was so beautiful, like having the park to yourself...

Those steel beams in the DW parking lot are for the overpass that will connect the two lots for parking trams. Seeing as Dollywood uses Splash Country's parking lot ALOT during the busy season, shuttle service is almost neccessary. The entire parking lot will look different next season.

But the demographics are totally different- Branson and Pigeon Forge don't pull the same people Orlando does all year long. They tend to swing more older a majority of the year with Summer and a weebit of Winter being the family friendly months. Indeed, I know Dollywood pulled a majority of its attendence in the three month Summer span, even though it was open nearly all year (Mar-Jan). And while quite a few older folks do visit the parks, not all do- the prospect of walking all over a theme park is bothersome for a number. Dollywood has this demographic problem along with the nature lovers who come merely for the Great Smoky Mountains and really don't visit anything else while in town.

As I would agree- both HFEC parks are in tourist destinations and aren't one trick ponies in their respective cities... unlike most of the CF parks. It's alot easier to gain attendence when you are the only thing in town. i.e. Dollywood competes locally with what seems to be about half of Ripley Entertainment in Gatlinburg.

Herschend is only in contraction because they are smart enough to know when to pull the plug on a project before it goes into the deep red, they also know how to invest in their properties and balance them out- a textbook Dick Kinzel needs to read. HFEC's parks are balanced in almost every way... probably the most well-rounded chain of parks out there.

I always said that Cedar Fair lacks in consistency and has no real brand image to call its own- something Six Flags has over it. Which is why everyone knows of Six Flags, whereas not many of the GP have heard of 'Cedar Fair', they have heard of Cedar Point and maybe Kings Island, but have no idea they are linked (for the most part). My problem with CF is their fanboyism in regards to certain parks, but that's a whole new topic there...

Of course, bear in mind the brakes are located in the 'dark ride' portion of the coaster where all the hairpin turns are located- trust me, you wouldn't wanna be going any faster than you are when you hit that sharp left hand turn prior to the first lift hill- it whips you around pretty bad as is... Another thing, maybe it was just me- but MM seems to be running alot smoother this year vs. last?