Jwalther420

Just visited the park today. Other than a 50min delay to start the day, I didn't see any downtime on Lightning Rod. I'm a huge fan of coasters and like intense ones (i305 is a fav) but damn this thing almost goes over my line. It's amazingly intense and never stops. I learned while riding outlaw run a couple years ago that the RMC restraints across the thighs ends up bruising me. I was hoping that would somehow change for LR but alas, no. By my 3rd circuit, the quad down was cringe-inducing. Park was fairly slow today with only LR really carrying a wait and even that only hovered around 30-40 mins. We're staying at the Dream More so the 2x fast passes on LR really helped.

Ouch! Thanks - I have not been following that closely. Their banner says Oct31 so I made the assumption this was something new. Sad this coast has been having so many issues.

Looks like Dollywood is reporting Lightning Rod is closed on a banner on their website. Is it safe to assume that they would only post this in a banner if it was down for more than just an hour or two? We had plans to go this coming weekend but may have to change those anyway for another reason but I would be really bummed if we ended up going and LR was closed. Also, I assume this has to do with the reported pot hole on the first drop?

Heading to the park tomorrow (daughter's birthday - can't avoid a Saturday). We're serious riders. I'd rather not blow the money on Fast Lane + but will if its necessary. What kind of wait times should I expect on a really really hot Saturday on Fury, Intimidator, etc.?

Don't know how legit this is but my coworker was there yesterday and overheard one of the ride managers saying it may be 1-2 weeks for I305 to be fixed.

Quick recap of my visit: Got to the park at 8:30 for some breakfast of coke and ridiculously good pecan roll thing from the bakery. The park was pretty empty even at 9:30 when they dropped the chains to allow guests back to the rides Following someone's advice from earlier, I separated from the crowds heading to Outlaw Run and went straight to Powder Keg. The maintenance crew was still doing their morning checks so we didn't get to ride until close to 10am. I got 6 laps in before any crowds really showed up. What a great coaster! This ride wasn't even on my radar and it really surprised me! My best run was in the front seat on an almost empty train. The ejection over the first hill was amazing. The last little turn/drop thing before the brake run is also a nice surprise. I really enjoyed this ride. I went next to Wildfire. The crowds were starting to show up now. Got 1 ride in and thought it was a pretty standard B&M floored coaster. Smooth as silk but nothing I'd travel to ride again. Back to Outlaw Run to try it again after my 4 quick laps the night before. I found out very quickly that I was really pretty bruised from my 4 laps the night before. The ride was still amazingly intense and wild but I found myself cringing from the lapbar being smooshed into my thighs on the air time pops. I have big quads so my legs were pushed into the totally unpadded ornate side bars as well. The thing is...the ride is not at all uncomfortable the first day. You could ride 20x and not feel bruised or sore. Its the next day that gets you. For anyone planning a multiday trip to SDC, hit outlaw run as much as you can the first day because, if you're like me, you'll not want to ride it much the next day. I rode some flats, the mine train, and ate some pretty sub-par bbq from the Bluegrass and BBQ festival area then headed back to Dallas and my 7 hour drive. All in all, I enjoyed the park and really REALLY loved Outlaw Run (when i wasn't bruised). Powder Keg was a real surprise and treat! Definitely worth the 7 hr drive. For those of you who have been to Dollywood, SDC is similar but I have to give it to Dollywood for staff being overly nicer, food being better, and the park generally looking nicer. Still, SDC is well worth a visit for anyone considering!

Ended up getting 4 laps in before park close - 2 in back seat and 2 in front seat. Wow what a ride! The ejector air has my big thighs bruised already but in a good way. I can't say yet which seat I like better. I can say that the sensations are nothing like any wooden coaster I've ever ridden. Only knock I can give it is for how short the ride is. But holy cow is it short and sweet. Totally worth the 7 hr drive up...and I haven't even explored the rest of the park. That's for tomorrow. --Justin

Just got to Outlaw Run. Thanks again all for the recommendations. Took 412 and it was almost exactly 7 hrs door to door. Unfortunately the ride is down right now. Just went down. Good news is I got right up front for the back seat. I'm waiting it out!

Thanks again Chittlins and everyone else for the guidance on the best way to SDC from Dallas. I think I'll the 412 option on the way there and stop by Kings River Store from something fried! My way back I'll be beat from a day of adrenaline so perhaps I'll take the I-44 option where i can mostly stick to interstates and not have to concentrate as much. I'll give my .02 on which route I prefer.

Thanks guys very much for the info! Jfruge, About the route - google maps takes me up US75 from Dallas North into Oklahoma to I-40, east into Arkansas to I-540. North on I-540 to around Bentonville area then east on US-62 through Pine Knob Conservation area to finally coming up to Silver Dollar City from the south on 13. This way looks more direct but looks like the scenery would be pretty nice. Google Maps has an alternate route to take I-44 through Northern Oklahoma to Springfield then down to Branson. I'm assuming this is the one you mentioned takes forever? Thanks again!

Thanks TyRush and Chadster! Any feedback on the downtime issue?

Hi folks, I will be spending a few days for work in Dallas starting Sunday May 12th. This may be my only opportunity to make it to SDC anytime in the forseeable future. I see that SDC is open that Monday 5/13. The idea is to drive up to SDC on Sunday, spend the day at the park on Monday, drive back Monday evening. My questions are - how crowded is the park likely to be on that Monday? They're closed Tue and Wed. Also, the Outlaw Run downtime has me a bit worried. Does it generally last just 90mins here and there are have there been days that its closed the entire day? I'm nervous to drive 7 hours from Dallas to SDC only to have the main reason for making that drive be closed. Thanks, Justin P.S. Any recommendations on a nice place to stay in Branson?

I have to get my 3 boys out of the house for 5 days later this week. Was considering an epic trip to Cedar Point for Friday and Saturday followed by 2 days at Dollywood. (we're from NC) Any idea on what kind of crowds to expect on Friday night and Saturday 10/4-5? My kids (10,10,12) are too young/scared to hit the actual haunt attractions so really I'm interested in hearing what kind of lines to expect on the coasters during this time. Never been to Cedar Point near any haunt times. Thanks all! --Justin

Oh...forgot to mention. I saw a few pages back where someone (KDCoasterFan?) said Grizzly was running better than ever. I believe we were on a train with a problematic wheel or something. In fact, they shut the ride down after our trip. It was MUCH rougher than even our previous visit this spring. I'm not a Grizzly expert but this was the roughest ride I've ever had on it. Both sides of Rebel Yell were running on Saturday, at least before evening. They shut the right side down sometime before 8pm. This ride is certainly the smoothest I've ever ridden it. We were sitting 2nd seat from back (not over wheels) but man was it a smooth ride. It felt like we were riding on air cushion. On each bottom, I was expecting the typical hard knock and jolt up my back but it was smooth as butter. Great ride! Hurler was rough as usual. Just terrible. It needs the retracking like Carowinds Hurler got 2 winters ago. I305 was running great, as usual. They were actively spraying down the wheels which seemed odd because it was only 70ish out. This was my first trip though where I left the day with bruised shoulders from the OTSR straps. I've ridden it multiple times a day, multiple trips, and have never had that bruising. I hope this isn't indicative of the padding breaking down in the straps. Might have just been my shoulders getting older. Can I just say here that CP needs to replace Maverick's OTSR with the straps. AmIRight? Even though I've had my allotment of kids, I didn't feel ready to be Shockwaved...down there. We skipped it as usual. This was my first trip riding Windseeker at KD. Excellent addition to the park. Great views from up high and a nice, relaxing breeze. Certainly not a thrill ride but a lovely experience.

Just got back from a quick double trip - KD on Saturday and Busch Gardens on Sunday. I wanted to give some feedback on Fastlane as I wanted to try it out before our trip to Cedar Point later this summer. It was definitely a splurge. Me and my 3 sons were $160 total. The park wasn't THAT crowded that we needed to fastlane but it was crowded enough that it helped...quite a bit. Random thoughts: 1. Look at the list of rides supported closely - no Grizzly, Rebel Yell, or Anaconda. Granted, none of these had very large lines Saturday but the Fastlane definitely doesn't work on all coaster. Just don't get it expecting to walk on any ride you want. Odd inclusions were Blueridge tollway and Flying Eagles. I suspect they threw in some flat rides which had easy fastlane access already. 2. We didn't get any dirty looks or comments from the non-fastlane public. Of course, walking on Flight of Fear, we didn't see any of the poor suckers waiting for at least an hour as the Fastlane entrance is through the exit. 3. I did feel guilty at first walking right by a long line of people waiting to ride. I got over it quickly. 4. You really do just walk right into the loading station for almost all rides supported. I can't remember waiting more than 5 minutes to get on any ride. For some, like Flight of Fear, we practically walked right onto the train since they had a grouper holding back the general line. 5. Be prepared to ride a LOT of rides if you buy fastlane. I felt all day that I had to get my money's worth and ride as much as possible. By the end of the day, I was whipped. I believe we rode I305 8x, FoF 5x, Windseeker 6x, Droptower 5x, Dominator 6x, etc. The park was crowded enough that by my estimate we rode 5x as many rides as we could have without it. I can see on VERY crowded days that this number could be even higher. 6. You only get 2 rides on Volcano but despite what they say, you can sometimes get front seat. On Saturday, they were pooling the fastlane riders until there were enough to fill an entire train. We happened to be at the front of the fastlane riders and could choose any row on the train. Front row is outstanding! The way it works is they use a ballpoint pen and make a small mark on your fastlane wristband to show you've ridden once. As it happens, they forgot to mark us once so we got a 3rd ride in. On our 3rd ride, they weren't pooling fastlane riders so they told us which row to go to (row 5 for us). Hope this helps anyone looking to buy Fastlane this summer.

Yup, Verbolten was up and running by late morning. We rode around 1:30 and they had a brief downtime where some trains full of people were stuck on the brake run for 20 mins. Defintelqy kinks being worked out. There were some additional theme elements active compared to our rides the day after the grand opening. The creaking sound on the bridge was working. One bad thing I noticed is the ride seemed even more rough than just a couple of weeks ago. Hope this thing ages well!

FYI - Verbolten is down this morning - Sunday. They have 3 trains in the sheds. Not sure what is up but it doesn't look like there will be progress anytime soon.

I understand Elissa. My comment was more a remark on why ride heights are set the way they are. You guys definitely know better than me. Do heights get set based on how scary rides are or based on the physical limitations of the restraints vs. the motion of the ride. I'd like to think the latter is true and height restrictions aren't some artificial gauge on a subjective measure of scariness.

My .02 on the Tower of Terror being so low in relation to coaster is that the movement of the ride is more predictable. The motion is in 1 plane and is probably easier to design a restraint that holds in riders in a wide range of sizes. I think its a bad comparison.

Good call Robb on the other rides. See my ninja edit above. I doubt my kids would have ridden Verbolten when they were 42" tall. It does get a little hairy inside in the dark.

I don't know how these decisions are made really. I'm sure most of it is technical in nature...how is the seat formed vs. the average length of the femur of a 48" tall child which would prevent it from rounding the corner and slipping out of the restraints. I'm sure some of it is political. I suspect for BGW, part of it lies in that they have no coaster with a height restriction under 48". LNM is 48". They already have some confusion with AC being 52" and not the more typical 54" for B&M hypers. Maybe they didn't want yet another tier of height restrictions, even if 46" or 44" tall children could safely ride verbolten. They already have like 7 colors of bands for the various height restrictions in the park. Maybe 8 was too many. Ninja Edit: of course, BBW was 42" so that blows my theory away. For the record, the dark portion does get pretty intense, especially for a 42" individual. My 4 kids having recently gone through that phase, I suspect it would have been too intense for them at that age/height. --Justin

There are tons of small trees planted all over. I'm sure by next year it will have filled in quite a bit. I expect it to be as thoroughly landscaped as the rest of the park. Still, given that there were machines all over that ground a month ago, it's in great shape and looks fantastic.

Went to the park yesterday, Saturday, against the crowd recommendations of folks in here. Well, short answer is they were right. Heavy crowds from 12-7. Got in park at 10:15 and walked right to Verbolten and the line was almost down to the bridge. Turns out this is about 55min wait. Ride itself has been talked up plenty on here but here are my observations: -Ride is definitely not a soft ride. Wouldn't say it has the knocks like Dominator but you definitely feel the wheels. Not sure if this is a result of the seats or what. It's not a rough ride at all...just not a B&M super smooth hyper. -Launch into building is fun -More Gs inside building then I expected. I don't recall if I ever saw the actual layout inside but clearly there is a pretty tight helix in there. -Not sure if some theming was turned off but lots of portions in total darkness inside the building. Frankly, I was expecting more theming. What was there was cool and interesting, especially the reveal at the brake run and right before the drop. -First time we got spirit of the forest theme. Didn't know any different since it was out first ride. -Second ride we got lightning theme. For those wondering, its pretty close to the same except less illumination on the forest theming and obviously lightning strikes before the drop. Couldn't really tell soundtrack differences other than thunder. -Launch after leaving building is strong and enough to knock you back in your seat if you're not prepared. Unfortunately, momentum is lost as you're essentially shooting uphill. By the time you reach the bridge a hundred yards later, brakes are hardly needed. -Drop from the bridge is fun but not abrupt. Back seat didn't get that whip out air. Overall impressions: great family coaster. Not very intense except for the higher G portions inside the building. As for the rest of the park, despite the lines, we got at least 1 ride in on everything and multiple rides on Griffon, Dark Kastle (kids love it), etc. The park really does clear out around 8pm. We checked Alpengeist line around 6:45 and it was well over an hour. We checked back around 8pm and it was 7 mins long. Another note - we were in line for Verbolten for a 3rd ride around 9:20pm. Line moved very slow and eventually stopped. We saw them sending multiple empty trains. Once they started sending people again, noticed that they were having difficulty opening the last car's restraints. Took 2 ride ops to get one train open. The line was really crawling and we had a 3.5 hr drive back so we ditched. The line seemed to be moving at 1/2 or 1/4 speed compared to earlier in the day. Pics have already been done a million times but maybe there is something new in here:

Thinking of hitting the park tomorrow, Saturday. Someone mentioned a few pages back that they think the crowds will be huge. I've done a bit of crowd research though and it seems mid-may is a decent time for BGW. I know we as coaster enthusiasts obviously know about the Verbolten opening but does the general public really know and plan their trip to the park based on that? Alternative would be hitting Kings Dominion or Carowinds tomorrow since we're in Raleigh and have Cedar Fair platinum passes. Thoughts? --Justin

To be fair, the Hurler at Carowinds had extensive track work done before last season and is MUCH smoother and more enjoyable than the Kings Dominion version. The latter is almost unrideable.