Bobby2889

I should be headed to the park Thursday 24 and Friday 25, with Haunt happening what are the chances of having a decent first visit. Any advice appreciated.

Looks like they are changing the lift chain.

The Wildwood Grove page on Dollywood’s website has a construction cam. It records a small time lapse and refreshes sometime around noon each day. The tree is getting its branches and greenery.

^^ They are gone, my boyfriend actually pointed it out or else I never would have noticed. Didn’t think I had seen anything about their removal either.

I feel like Mystery Mine rarely operates smoothly at the season opening. I saw it testing on Friday. It definitely wasn't temperature related though.

Looks like thunderhead is getting some first drop love, via the webcam.

I agree, i don't think this was at fault of the ride, more so the people on it. Ive been grouped with people I don't know, they throw their hands up, "rock" it, etc... The GP are to Blame for a lot.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much, Pete recently said they are aiming for a May opening.

I’ve seen many people state the supports are blue, I’m assuming they are referring to the pieces for Mad Mockingbird.

Looks like not only track but other ride parts have arrived. We have track!

Not at all what I would have guessed. It almost sounds like a rename for Timber Canyon. (I realize it isn’t.) Back to the new train crossing, do we think this may become backstage area or do we really think we are that close to expanding that far back.

^^ 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.

Jenna, this weekend is the 10th annual Thrills in the Hills event, they scheduled ERT for Lightning Rod last night and changed it last minute. The ride today is still closed, during a maintenance tour today, they told us the issue has been turned over to RMC as it’s still under warranty. That’s pretty much all they wanted to say. Good news for you though, media day is the 3rd so Dolly will be at the park for the announcement.

ERT has been changed to Wild Eagle, so Lightning rod is hopefully getting the love it needs. Side Note: The Park just dropped a seed on social media.

The trunks are like the hoods, the details are less 3D and more of a graphic.

The new train hoods are no longer under the break run, however new trunks can now be spotted in the same location.

It is worse. CraZanity works because it plays on the words crazy/insanity now there is just a “Z” in there because why not? SpinSanity could have worked, but SpinZanity is cringeworthy.

My boyfriend and I had a chance to stop in and activate our memberships today so we decided to spend the last two hours in the park. Great day to do so, lines were non existent. We got in Dare Devil Dive, Goliath, Justice League, GASM, Monster Mansion, Batman, and Scorcher. We entered the que for Mind Bender just as it went down, so we missed out on that today, and at that time Batman was the only ride operating in Gotham City. We finished the day with a Sundae style funnel cake. I will say, operations on DDD make me cringe, not that the rest of the park is great, but goodness, running 4 trains and all 4 were stacked in the station and brake run. Twisted Cyclone looks fantastic. Not just the coaster, the entire area looks amazing. Appears they are down to finishing touches. No testing activity or coaster work, but tons of work sounds coming from inside the station and que areas. Enjoy some photos taken with an iPhone. Love this little theming touch, humor is greatly appreciated. I’ve never noticed the weather vane before, or the other “steeple” atop the station. Finishing touches going into the photo area. Is it new? Goliath, and it’s humps. I’ve always had a thing for Batman, and the ride. One last photo before we head back to Nashville.

Looks like they’ve redesigned the front of the train, I’d assume these are waiting to be installed.

The problem isn’t the amount they replant, it’s the size. They hardly plant any mature trees when replacing removed mature trees. I know mature trees are more expensive but sometimes it pays off. It will take much longer than 5 years, Timber Canyon has just started to feel grown in over the last few years, over a decade after it was built. I don’t doubt this expansion will be beautiful and well landscaped, I just know it will still appear empty for a while. Take a look at Wilderness Pass, it’s still struggling to grow in. I do think Dollywood does the best with what they have though, there isn’t much topsoil for the trees to root, so I assume this has a lot to do with the slow growth. I’m still excited to see more plans released, we haven’t really got any clue to what the area will look like as far as themeing and landscaping.

Unfortunately with all the grading needed to flatten a large enough area to expand in, all trees had to be removed, I don’t see any way they could have gotten around it. I wish they would take a page from Disney’s book and plant full mature trees and build berms to encase the areas better.

The Vekoma coasters were added prior to HFE purchasing the park, however this does familiarize them with Vekoma a little.

I really think the expansion will be a way to work in the snow park they’ve been talking about. It’s the last piece of the year round operations puzzle, and that area seems large enough to do that.

It could be a similar situation like we saw with Adventure mountain, where it was removed and then sat vacant a year until they announced Firechaser.

Are there any single riders lines at the park, I'm gonna have an opportunity to visit in about 2 weeks during a weekend was wondering if I would need fast passes or if single rider lines exist? Any info is greatly appreciated.