Skycoastin Steve

^Go directly to Cheetah Hunt if you get there at opening. If you don't get there at opening, give the line some time to die down and go later in the afternoon. The rest of the rides won't have a wait longer than 15-20 (if that), so you can take your time exploring the rest of the park. If you're going to be there all day, I highly, highly, highly recommend getting the all-day dining pass. It's a hell of a deal. Make sure you see Iceploration, and make sure you visit the kangaroos at feeding time.

^That's some good news! Now I just need SkyRush to be announced as opening Memorial Day Weekend (or sooner) so I can finalize my plans to visit those parks that weekend.

What's funny is I was actually expecting constructive criticism.

We left early and watched the game at the cabin, and we both melted down pretty severely. I still haven't gotten over it or the Butler game last year (and may never get over it). I'll be sure to include Jen next time, and thanks for the addition to the park index!

^Yeah we were halfway out of Gatlinburg when we realized we had forgotten to do the Earthquake ride. That's what next time is for, though!

I think Alabama Adventure is getting this coaster. But if I'm wrong, it could be SFNO, Geauga Lake, or Freestyle Music Park.

^Let me guess, you live in New Jersey?

^It's entirely possible that it was an opening weekend thing. I was pretty surprised at how slow things were going at Thunderhead, but I'm sure they'll get it worked out before too long. Jen and I actually went to Miss Lillian's at a different time than the rest of the group, so I'm not sure if any of them did the chicken dance. However, at the time I took this picture, she had just finished playing the chicken dance.

I gotta say, this thread has almost been as entertaining as the KD thread was while 305 was being built. (Cue AJ flipping out because SkyRush was compared to 305 again )

Who has two thumbs and is excited about doing the PTR for Dollywood's opening weekend?? THIS GUY! Alrighty, so it's time to get completely caught up. This past weekend, Jen and I met up with a plethora of our TPR friends for a weekend at Dollywood. We stayed at one of their large cabins that sleeps up to 16 people, which came complete with a hot tub and a beautiful view of the mountains! As a quick plug for them, I'd like to say that I was highly satisfied with everything about the cabin, as well as the level of customer service they provided (which comes to be expected at Dollywood). If you are spending several days in Pigeon Forge, make this your #1 choice for lodging! [/endplug] As for Dollywood, Jen and I had only been there one time before, so we were anxious to go back. And as was the case three years ago, I was highly impressed by so many things at the park. The extensive theming, friendly staff, AMAZING food, great and unique rides, and overall cleanliness are the big time pluses. The only one glaring negative for me was the slow operations pretty much across the park. This could be attributed to a lot of things, most notably the age of their ride ops, but for a park that has rides that are built to be quick-loading, they sure did drag quite a bit getting them dispatched. We had to wait almost 20 minutes for 5 trains one time for Thunderhead, which is absolutely abysmal. I mean, that's Gwazi bad. Either way, it was the only real negative I had for the park, and the rest of the positives definitely made up for it. Now for Wild Eagle. I was definitely a little skeptical about this ride, especially after hearing reviews of the two wing coasters B&M built in Europe. And to a certain extent, the "complaints" about the other wing coasters held true here. It wasn't the most forceful ride in the world, and it had its slow bits, but I still thought it was a fantastic ride. It's definitely one of those "experience" rides rather than just a straight "thrill" ride (although it has thrilling moments). The first drop and loop actually have the most force on the ride, and going into the loop in the front row (which is by far the best seat on the train) was surprisingly forceful. The zero-g roll on the left side was probably my favorite moment just because of the awkward rotation over top of the track and the hang time you experience throughout the inversion. The same can also be said for the massive corkscrew at the end of the ride, you just hang forever going over the top! Then when you add in the view from the top, the incredibly beautiful ride area, and the wonderfully themed station, it's one terrific addition for Dollywood! My thoughts on other attractions in the park will be covered in the captions, just so this part doesn't get too wordy. I only have about half my pictures in this report, so as always, if you want to see the rest, my facebook album is public. As a side note, all these photos were taken throughout Saturday and Sunday, but they won't be in chronological order at all. Enjoy! The view from the deck on our cabin. Lovely! And now we turn to wave at all of our neighbors on the adjacent hillside! And now, WELCOME TO DOLLYWOOD!!! How pretty, they had the tulips out for everyone to admire. I see a massively massive statue of a bald eagle, we must be in the right spot! Look at that eagle, it looks so wild! What you don't see in this picture is the eagle came to life and carried those people away just after I took this picture. Clearly the best photo of the ride sign, and therefore worthy of the Park Index. (if Larry is reading, that is) Thanks to our Q-Bot (seriously, best deal ever), we didn't have to wait in this line. Look at that beautiful hillside. Oh, and the coaster ain't bad, either. I was loving the little details in the theming, like these eagle heads that were on a lot of the bannisters. Here we see this new species, Eagleus Wildus, diving towards the ground at what can only be assumed to be a helpless mouse about to be devoured. It's pretty badass. Watch Eagleus Wildus do acrobatics in slow motion. "WHOA, WATCH OUT!" says that bird! The Eagleus Wildus has been referred to by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most fearless bird in all the animal kingdom. It really doesn't give a $hit. The Eagleus Wildus is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other coaster whatsoever. It just takes what it wants. Eagleus Wildus has a fairly long track, with a distinctly thick spine, broad trains, and, you know, their restraints are loose, allowing you to move about freely and twist a bit. Now what's interesting is that other coasters just like to wait around until Eagleus Wildus is done giving them rides, and then they swoop in and pick up the scraps. Thanks for the riders, stupid! And of course, what do you think Eagleus Wildus has to eat for the next three weeks? COBRA. Eagleus Wildus. And while Eagleus Wildus earned the coveted Skycoastin Steve Stamp of Approval, I'm pretty sure it just didn't give a $hit. And now back to the trip report, we tried out the cheesesteaks from one of those giant skillet places, and they were DELICIOUS! The homemade chips weren't bad, either. And speaking of food, I was glad to see the park was prepared for the imminent influx of ACErs. Anddddd speaking of ACErs......... Tennessee Tornado was doing its thing quite well the whole weekend, I still love that giant loop! Blazing Fury isn't the same without the water splashdown, but it's still a silly and fun ride. Thunderhead was still amazing, and now I warn all Midwest nutjobs to avert your eyes before finishing this caption....... Thunderhead is now ranked above Prowler in my wooden poll. But I really wish there were more places to photograph this ride. S&S Swings are spectacular. That is all. I mean seriously, I could ride these nonstop for days. That's what she said. Only in Tennessee......... Only in Tennessee can your Aunt be your Granny. Now for a joke. Why is a toothbrush not called a teethbrush? Answer: It was invented in Tennessee. So we had heard a lot about this place and the crazy lady that dwells there. And we found her, although I wasn't sure whether to be charmed or creeped out. Come to think of it, I felt that way about a lot of things in Pigeon Forge. While this may not look the greatest......... It sure tasted wonderful! And now for more "only in Tennessee" things, we have a church in the park. A church that actually has service during operation on Sundays. "If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself??" We stopped by to watch this guy blow some glass for a little bit. I wanted to see what it was like to stick my hand in the oven, but Jen warned against it. Thankfully she's smarter than me. We checked out the Irish dance show, I honestly wasn't that impressed. Celtic Fyre at BGW is light years better. But it still had chicks shaking their booties, so I enjoyed it. Feeling rather inferior to Eagleus Wildus. Feeling that badass, Eagleus Wildus spirit, he clearly doesn't give a $hit! One thing we didn't get to do last time we were at Dollywood was Slidewinder. The rafts were a bit disconcerting. I mean, they were made of rubber, about an inch thick, and weighed maybe 2 pounds. My life flashed before my eyes. But I survived. And I got wet. Jen and I also missed out on the cinnamon bread last time. Not this time, it was amazing! And for another installment of "stuff we missed last time," we did the log flume. And my whole left side got drenched on the log flume. The last food item I had left to try was their fried bologna sandwich. I used to make fried bologna sandwiches all the time when I was a kid, so naturally I was excited. Friggin' YUM! Well in the words of Porky Pig, in regards to the Dollywood portion of the trip report, that's all, folks! And in the words of that creepy kid in the movie Scream, BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!! It's credit whoring time!!!!! Nascar Speed Park was a bit seedy, somewhat creepy, and a LOT janky (or klassy!), but when has that ever stopped us? Nascar themed kiddie coaster FTW! Awwwww, the cars look like little stock cars. We also picked up our third Intimidator "credit." Ok, so it was a go-kart track, but we rode it! Look! It's Sparky! And now for the GRAND FINALE!!! Poll question: If you saw a T-Rex and a Raptor fighting each other, would you be standing this close to them? And would you be wearing a corset? Another poll question. If you were dinosaur exploring, would you look this fabulous? Creepiest mannequin ever! Now WATCH THE VIDEO!!!!!

So has the park come out and said definitively that this will open Memorial Day weekend?

^It's not B&M invert track, so it's not going to KD.

^I'm in this video for a split second standing in the grass inside the layout. What a fun day that was, and also the day I signed up at TPR. My life has been full of bizarreness ever since.

^^Okay, just misunderstood what you said. My apologies! CP could in theory expand into the peninsula by removing some of the campground/cabins/resort stuff, and they could also expand into the parking lot and move parking off point. If they wanted the park to get bigger, there's room to expand, even if it doesn't seem like it.

This is why you are posting on TPR and not working for P&D at Cedar Point.

^Do you know how much stuff is actually squeezed into CP?

^The rest of the track doesn't have catwalks to attach the lights to.

Like I said.

The rides are 100% confirmed not opening this year, it's only going to be a water park from now on.

^^That's just ridiculous. What kind of gas mileage do you get?

I liked the horror flick course a little better. The holes were more challenging, and the gags were a bit funnier. But the sci-fi one was still fantastic!

Come check out my trip report of Hollywood Drive-In Mini Golf! http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1162366#p1162366

Just curious, how many miles have you put on the Mini so far?

My favorite thing about when new coaster track is spotted, is that everyone starts speculating where the ride may go, and it's inevitably everyone's home park.

I really need to catch up on my trip reports! Next we have Hollywood Drive-In Mini Golf, the brand new and totally awesome mini golf course at Universal's City Walk! This is actually from about three weeks ago (March 4 to be exact), I just took forever to get the report up. There have already been a couple smaller reports of the course, but this one will be pretty comprehensive. Ready................go! A little entrance sign action, this place looks terrific at night! First we'll check out the "Sci-Fi" course. Invaders from Planet Putt! This little guy will be your putt putt liaison today. Just don't beat him, or he'll vaporize you. Every hole had a clever introduction sign. This is where laziness sets in and I don't caption any of the signs, they speak for themselves. You're going to stick your alien probe WHERE?!?! The outhouse had strobe lights that went off when you shot the ball under it. This is definitely an attraction you want to do at night! Like any good mini golf course, this one had all kinds of obstacles. So far, so good, haven't been vaporized! This reminded me of the tripods from War of the Worlds, although it had more than three legs. This was the first of two crazy contraptions, you hit the ball in that hole below the red tube and it carries your ball up to a trough in the wall next to it, and your ball rolls down randomly out onto the green near the hole. Awwwww, a love bug! Things are getting uneasy, UFOs are descending upon us! This hole was a bit crazy, when you hit the ball into the "TV," crazy strobe lights went off while your ball bounced around inside and came out the other side. Mesmerizing! The final hole is a giant worm next to the Bates house. Awesome! Only way onward is down the worm's throat...... The hole in the worm's mouth is on a rotating platform, which might have been the most challenging putt ever! Now it's time for the other course...... Themed to old horror flicks, it's The Haunting of Ghostly Greens! I love corny jokes, and this hole had them all! And it also had wolf feet! This just cracked me up. When you hit your ball into this tomb, a sinister dead man laughed at you while you tried to finish the hole. This hole was shaped like a doggy bone and had various pets "buried" underneath it. This mound was the beloved family cat, and it meows at you while you try to putt. Seriously, it's hilarious. If you successfully hit it into the snake's mouth and through his body, he poops the ball into the hole. I got a hole in one on this one! The sign wasn't kidding, "loogies" get hawked at you as you cross the bridge! (ok, so it's really water, but the effect is there) I've heard of sand traps on a golf course, but web traps? There was a loop inside the tree stump, so if this hole had an rcdb listing, it would have one inversion. There were many terrifying things behind the vines, but worst of all, there was.............. JEN! GAH! This hedge maze has the potential to trap you forever until you freeze to death, kinda like the end of The Shining. Thankfully we made it out. This hole came complete with chainsaw sound effects. Probably the most frustrating hole on the course, you have to ramp the ball into one of those steps so it drops down near the hole. Sorta like skee ball meets mini golf. Time for the last hole! Another crazy contraption, watch the video! And in the end, Hollywood Drive-In Mini Golf earns the Skycoastin Steve Stamp of Approval! Seriously, if you're in Orlando ever, stop by here and play this, but make sure you play at night. The full experience can only be had when it's dark!