jjzadero

Let's hope this is the beginning of brighter days for Lightning Rod! So I'm still not 100% sure what technical ride rehearsal means for me if I go tomorrow... I'm feeling dumb Eh, don't feel dumb. If I were you and in the area I would head to Dollywood and go for it. I have a few friends that got rides in today and browsing twitter it seems like it's pretty much open with lots of people riding. Go for it!

Dollywood's site now says... Let's hope this is the beginning of brighter days for Lightning Rod!

So... Travel + Leisure (which has almost 2 million followers) has now shared their "Lightning Rod is ready to ride" story on Facebook. This also shows up on Dollywood's Visitor Posts on Facebook. Meanwhile, these mobile ad vehicles are all over Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg at this very moment. Pointing out these things is not being impolite, btw.

While the cinnamon bread at Dollywood is absolutely amazing, has anyone been to the Donut Friar in Gatlinburg? Their cinnamon bread is crazy good and just barely tops Dollywood for my #1 spot. It's ridiculously good. They open at 5 am, so try to get there early-ish... this stuff goes pretty fast and is usually gone by mid-afternoon.

So, was the article from Travel and Leisure a fake or does Dollywood continue to have the most inept PR team on the planet? Or both? "The ride now has been repaired, however, and is ready for visitors, Pete Owens, Dollywood's director of communications, told Travel + Leisure."

Was this definitely a park employee and not someone from the Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg trolley? I can't imagine anyone from Dollywood saying that.

What do you guys think the best Alpine coaster in the area is? Haven't done any of them and I hope to hit one up this evening.

^Wow, an amusement park being open and informative to it's guests. Take note, Dollywood.

Yet an hour ago Dollywood posted an article on their Facebook page boasting that Lightning Rod is now open. Unbelievable.

Here's a new documentary on the making of Lightning Rod. http://www.wbir.com/news/local/documenatry-building-dollywoods-new-lightning-rod-roller-coaster/245091023

Dollywood is my home park, and I love it dearly, but... I've seen this mentioned time and time again over the last couple of months. It seems there's always someone or something else to blame, but we can never fault Dollywood for anything, apparently. Exactly when will Dollywood have to take responsibility for the massive cluster this rollout has turned into? And yes, there are many things that have simply been out of their control, but the "not ready for primetime" handling of it all has been an embarrassment.

THANK YOU! I have noticed over the past few weeks that a handful of posters have been telling others what they should and should not talk about here. If there's a difference of opinion, why not express that and chat it out in a constructive way? Instead, when someone posts something that a few particular users don't like, they're being told to pack up their stuff and leave. I would definitely consider myself a noob on these forums. I chime in here and there when I feel I can add something to the discussion or have a question to ask, but even with my few simple posts I have come away feeling attacked more often than I should. Because of that I'm pretty cautious about posting anything at all now. It's just not worth the trouble.

Another video showing that LR is hauling A$$ this week. Ride footage starts at 3:30. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

As has been stated, assigned seating for rides at Dollywood is not common, Pretty sure EVERY train that leaves Mystery Mine is assigned seating. Maybe all Dollywood host don't know what they're talking about as proven again here. Wow, way to be completely rude to a park employee that took time out of his day to give us some insight. Unbelievable. Hopefully DRrobbins1993 understands that we're not all a bunch of d-bags and will come back often and join our discussions here. Jesus. Eta... for what it's worth, I have NEVER been assigned a seat on Mystery Mine. More often than not I am assigned a row, but never a seat. Perhaps not all posters here know what they're talking about as proven again here.

I'm excited to hear everyone's thoughts on the coaster! Also, I have my fingers crossed for the final part of that documentary series about Lightning Rod. Does anyone think Dollywood might be releasing an official POV soon?

I'm glad to see that there are sound effects with the ride taking off. That thing is haulin'! I'm ready.

Bring. It. On!

Thanks for sharing! From what I have seen there have only been 2 or 3 videos of LR in action, so these are a welcome addition and much appreciated. I'm finding it pretty ironic that people are giving you crap for using a dated video format, yet their video players apparently aren't advanced enough to play anything you throw at it in 2016. Huh.

Sad news out of Pigeon Forge this evening... 5 dead after tourist helicopter crashes in Smoky Mountains

I couldn't agree more. I am pretty new here, but I read the guidelines and rules when signing up for my account. I don't recall seeing anything stating that this forum is only for experts or those with "authority" on a particular subject. If that were the case, I'd imagine there would be a lot less traffic on this site. Anyway, my cousin was at DW yesterday with some friends. She said that while it was disappointing that they couldn't ride LR, just being able to see it gave them an adrenaline rush. The anticipation continues...

I do not need authority on any subject to express the opinion that a business should not flat out lie to potential customers in their advertising.

^I've been thinking the same thing. Like, people are actually here saying that it's ok for Dollywood to false advertise? Just because they're Dollywood? Umm... no. It's not ok for Dollywood, it's not ok for anyone. If they are really running ads saying that Lightning Rod is "now open," that HAS to stop. End of.

I don't really agree that Dollywood owes guests free stuff for long wait times. However, I do think they owe guests the best experience possible. Running a skeleton crew on extremely busy days just isn't going to cut it. It's one thing to stand in line for pizza for 2 hours because the crowd is so large, but it's unacceptable for that line to be moving so slowly because there aren't enough employees working the pizza place. On the Facebook issue, Dollywood can have the best in-park customer service on the planet (and they sorta do), but in this day and age Facebook is a lot of people's first stop when reviewing, seeking customer services and other general info. If you have never been to Dollywood and visited their Facebook page, they would come off as a company that simply doesn't care about their customers. It's not a good look and I hope they work on it soon. Finally, I'm a bit peeved that they haven't given an update on LR. There's obviously issues, I get it... but at this point I expected more info from Dollywood or RMC. RMC released their initial statement last week saying they would release more info "shortly." It's been a week now... I'm actually getting a bit worried

So, I was over on the Dollywood Facebook page just looking around and I saw a couple of posts talking about huge delays with everything. I guess the Lumberjack pizza place has been swamped and people have been waiting for hours. I really hate to hear this... I'm sure many of you experienced the insane end of season days last year. I was really hoping Dollywood would start the season totally prepared with extra staff on hand. Is an understaffed Dollywood just something we're gonna have to just get used to?

This new coaster sounds... meh. I used to hate that Dollywood was my home park. "Why do I have to live so far away from Busch Gardens?", I'd whine... Well, fast forward several years later and I take it all back. ETA... I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I love BGW... I'm just ready for them to build something thrilling that will bring me back.