SFOG1991

Just here to say Skyrush is incredible.

I don't find Dollywood run down overall in any way. I would consider it one of the best kept parks in the country. The buildings look fine to me. I will say, some of the themed elements could use work. The speakers on Blazing Fury drive me crazy because it wouldn't be that hard to upgrade them and turn the volume up so you can actually hear what happens in the scenes. Instead it just takes you by sets at a very fast pace and you can't get a good look at things or hear much of anything at all.

Great report! Glad you had a fun day. It's so nice to see Superman with the dual station functioning again finally. I love doing spur of the moment day trips and weekend trips. Just did Dollywood two weeks ago and Carowinds the following weekend but stayed for two days with a cheap motel in between. Orlando to Atlanta and back in a day is quite impressive to say the least!

Dogs are not allowed in the entirety of the Smoky Mountains National Park which is absolutely ridiculous. Dogs honestly belong there more than humans do. It is nature. The fact that my dog isn't allowed to go in a natural forest really pisses me off.

The ops at Carowinds actually instruct you to do this and then check to make sure everyone does, which was surprising to me! I already knew but most people don't know the trick and the dedication from the employees impressed me.

I enjoy the first half of Vortex, but find the corkscrew to be pretty rough and the remaining layout after that to be bland. I still enjoy it though. Scorcher is an awesome coaster, and I actually think it is in it's best state as a stand up. Floorless wouldn't be as exciting during the airtime moments. Let's not even talk about how awful Green Lantern is.

I rode Intimidator Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The trims were off all three days. I understand the function of trim breaks and that they engage based on the speed of the train and it varies. I have been on Goliath at SFOG when it is 37 degrees in the dead of winter and the trims didn't engage because the train was likely running slower. As for Intimidator, the weather wouldn't be a factor considering it was very warm. I have been on Intimidator every year since it opened multiple times and the trims have always bitten fairly hard. This past weekend they were off and the train was moving very fast. The airtime was consistent on the hills and even kind of whipped you over the last bit of each hill in the back rows. Of course the train was entering the mid course block pretty hot and after that point the ride was a drag, but everything prior to that point was awesome.

^They are off and I hope they stay that way. Intimidator was at the very bottom of my B&M hyper list, while Goliath is likely the best (I've been on all except Mako in the US) but honestly the way Intimidator is running is comparable to Goliath now. You get sustained airtime and get kind of whipped over the last bit of each drop. Night and day compared to when they trims hit hard.

I've been at the park all weekend. Doing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Has anyone mentioned that Intimidator has all its trims turned off? Is this new for this season? I've always thought Intimidator was the most boring B&M hyper but without trims it's pretty awesome! Really moved up in my ranking.

What are the lines usually like for opening weekend? I went opening weekend a few years ago but I forget completely. I am trying to decide between Friday and Saturday ....or... Saturday and Sunday

I consider everything Dollywood offers to be at an incredibly good price considering the quality. People on Facebook complain about prices on every Dollywood post. Usually complaining that prices are too high and lines are too long. Well guess what, those directly correlate. You can't have a low entry fee and no crowds. My Gold Super Pass for Dollywood and Splash Country was $200 and I consider that an amazing value. DreamMore Resort is another example of the good prices they have. It's barely more expensive than a decent hotel on the strip.

The park is obviously struggling severely. I doubt they just choose to not add rides or make the place nice. I give them some credit just for their history and all their rare vintage rides. I feel like it is a tragedy to see the last of any classic rides disappear, and this park holds quite a few that it would be nice to see preserved long term. Skyliner is one of very few coasters remaining from its era, and the Toboggan is one of what, two, left operating? I assume Leap the Dips will be safe so I'm not worried about it being removed.

They do get a boat load of snow during the winter So do other parks in the north with longer operating seasons. If the park was making money, they would make the renovations happen without closing down the park for an entire year. Whether that be over the winter or in conjunction with operations.

That I disappointing as I really like their line up of weird classic rides, but I guess this improvement may help them in the long term, so for the sake of the remaining rides, this is probably a good thing. I just hope all the coasters stay! It is weird for them to do this renovation during the summer. The article says they can't do it during the winter due to the holiday event and the time it takes to put up and remove lights. To me that is just an excuse and any truth to it just means the holiday event holds more value than the amusement park itself. Obviously they aren't doing well financially with the amusement park or else they wouldn't just close it for the year. Anyways, I hope the majority of rides remain and the improvements are in the right places and done the right way.

Xcelerator is 205 feet and they kill that momentum without any issue. You can apply brakes to any speed. Silver Bullet takes up a lot of space, but most of that space is over midways and other things. Knott's can fit just about any coaster into their property if they are creative about it.

^I agree the issues are less severe but Lightning Rod still has a lot of issues. It's gone down multiple times today. The operations are quite slow too. At least it's running for the most part though! Two trains is a huge help.

Enjoyed a few hours at the park for season pass holder day. Park was dead. No lines. Lightning Rod was running with two trains, but it was still experiencing somewhat frequent break downs (3 while I was there) and the employees seemed as flustered as usual. Better than any Six Flags operation but for Dollywood it was messy. They failed to fill rows and seemed off even though most of the ops have been on LR last year. It's still much better than last season but I wouldn't say it's in the clear. At least it is running with two trains! Otherwise the park seems as solid as always in terms of friendliness and operational consistency. I LOVE this park. Looking forward to opening day today! Hopefully it's successful but not too busy for my sake anyways!

^Beautiful news! I hope you enjoy it! How are the crowds? I'm hoping to show up by or before 4pm, and hoping the rain holds off.

According to Twitter, Lightning Rod is testing. It was 31 degrees when the park opened this morning and is just now getting over 40, so I assume everything has been closed until now. I'll be at the park for a few hours later today, and all day tomorrow! Looking forward to reuniting with Lightning Rod for the first time since July.

I agree!!! Add in a few straight ejector airtime hills and a quad down for extra awesome. I love how Skyrush rides, but I would love to experience that in a more spread out or out and back layout.

I don't have the guide, but I was at the park on opening day and from what I could see, it is similar to last year except there are more snack options, including some big ticket items! For example, bacon cheddar ranch waffle fries and chicken cheddar ranch waffle fries are both now included as a snack item, even though they cost well over $10. That was a really pleasant surprise. There also doesn't seem to be many exclusions from the meals offered, but I didn't look closely throughout the park.

From my experience at SFOG, most people already call it Arachnophobia even with all the signs saying Acrophobia and the actual definition posted on the wall throughout the queue. It is a more than obvious great idea for this VR though. Oh well.

I think it would make sense at Superman with the dual station, and there is a good chance that will happen. My only disappointment with this is that we won't get to see Superman operate in all of its three train glory. Also, I'm sure the VR line would back up beyond the queue split for the two stations, so in the end everyone would be stuck waiting with the VR people while the non-VR is under-filled. They would probably need a longer separate queue for VR. Maybe they could run a temporary railing splitting the queue into two, but I don't know if that would fit. ideally, VR would be reservation only through Flash Pass entry. That would still back up non-VR Flash Pass users though. If it goes to Blue Hawk, I could see that working if they are running both trains. Expect super slow ops though. Also, the line was decently long during a few of my visits last season, especially with one train ops. VR ops would probably be lower hourly capacity than one train non-VR, so the line could easily still get VERY long. So essentially... VR is a bad idea on every coaster in the park (unless they did a reservation system and only applied VR part of the day)

^Arrive early if possible. The morning is a great time at the park. Buy Time Saver. Go to Lightning Rod first because honestly you need to ride it immediately if it is open in case it goes down. The other rides in the park are all very reliable. DO NOT MISS Mountain Slidewinder. All of the water attractions are great but that is an awesome and unique ride. I would suggest trying Splash Country because it is one of the nicest water parks anywhere and the water coaster is very good (along with many other slides) but if you only have a day that is probably out of the question. If you can extend the trip, two days is really ideal. Also, the park offers a heck of a deal on the 2 Park 3 Day ticket.

People will definitely compare Beast to Mystic Timbers, as they seem to compare any two wooden coasters (I swear I heard someone compare El Toro to RT at some point, and RMC conversions to wooden coasters ), but hopefully over time will see Mystic Timbers and Beast for how different (but still great in their own ways) they are. I could be wrong, but I envision that Mystic Timbers might give us a surprisingly quick and air-time filled ride. I admit I haven't been staring at the photos, because I want to be surprised when I ride it (including the shed), but some of the humps looked promising. I remember when Gold Striker opened, we had high hopes, but it blew even our highest hopes away. I have my sneaking suspicion that this coaster might turn out like that too. The newer GCIs have really outperformed the older ones for me, with the exception being Thunderhead. If this rides anything like Gold Striker, Prowler, American Thunder, White Lightning, or Thunderhead, it will be amazing. I know the GP will compare any wooden coasters, but my point is that after they ride Mystic Timbers they will get over the fact that it isn't as long, tall, and fast. The ride will feel much more crazy and out of control than the majority of The Beast does. I don't think it will ever have the local hardcore fan base that The Beast has though. I've never seen a coaster as adored by the public at any park. Kennywood's Jack Rabbit (or all of their coasters really) are one of the few that seem to resonate so strongly with average guests. Ah I beg to differ about Thunderhead. Maybe we just hit it on a good day, but that was our favorite coaster at Dollywood. It just felt so out of control and downright fun! I totally agree with you on your points. I feel the majoring of people will go into it thinking "It's smaller than The Beast" and come off it going, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? " I might of worded that in a confusing way but I was actually saying Thunderhead is amazing and one of GCIs best. I'm saying their newer creations are best, but Thunderhead is one of their older ones that is also amazing. I think it's one of the best woodies ever built and honestly it's probably the most intense GCI. The snappy changes in direction are wild, especially with the airtime squeezed into them as well.