Jccoasterfan

I think I need some ibuprofen. I'm just glad to see the coaster back up and running. I will be visiting in a few weeks so hopefully it stays open and doesn't have any more hiccups in between now and then!

Glad to hear the ride has finally reopened! Hopefully it will stay more consistent in terms of operation. WBIR-TV wrote yet another article talking about the coaster's downtime and some of the gp comments on their facebook page about it are nearly unbearable. Not able to post a link to that article but it doesn't really discuss too much, other than talking about how many days the coaster has been closed, etc.. It's more of a follow-up to last month's article.

Pretty much. Although both Cyclones had totally different layouts, I won't believe anything yet until some sort of announcement is made. It's definitely something that bears watching, but now its too early to believe anything. They could just be preparing to tear down completely and build an S&S freespin in its place But anyways, I may visit the park this coming Tuesday to try out the new Justice League ride. I'll see if the markers around Cyclone are indeed legit.

^ That's great to hear! It sucks that I have yet to visit the park this year and I only live about an hour away. Hoping to try out the ride later this year. To stir up some speculation, I came across a few pictures on Instagram showing what appears to be green markers on some of Cyclone's footers, as well as a few more markings on the ground. I can't comment on how long they have been there, but I don't recall seeing them on any of my visits during last season. As much as I loved Georgia Cyclone over the years, it just got brutally rough to the point where I can't ride it anymore (with the exception of the very front row). The small amount of Topper track really helped the first bit of the ride in terms of smoothness.

A lot of these posts are making my head hurt. We honestly don't know if the launch is even the issue. According to what Pete has said in recent interviews and at a previous off-season coaster event, it sounds like the issues are coming from the trains themselves. Again, we don't know. He always kept saying how the trains are "next generation" and how advanced they are. The whole issue could just be the trains and their sensors, but we just don't know if that's true and we likely won't find out anytime soon. This is all just speculation and its been going on for a quite a while now. That "rumor" about the lawsuit was a post on Twitter but earlier I couldn't find it. I'm guessing it got deleted. I personally don't believe we'll see a lawsuit anytime soon and I'm sure that things will get worked out eventually. I have to admit, it is kinda dumb to speculate on that as we have no clue what's going on with the ride itself. The issues may be smaller than we think. Anyways, changing the topic a little bit, is Whistle Punk Chaser offically open yet? I know that two weeks ago when I was there they were letting people on the ride. I haven't seen anything on the website saying so yet.

I rode Lightning Rod for the first time back on June 2nd last year. I remember waiting in line for over 20 minutes to see if they were gonna have tech rehearsals that day. At first they put a sign on the door saying the coaster won't run today, but about an hour later we saw them testing the ride again while we rode Wild Eagle and quickly walked back to the other side of the park. They kept telling us that there is no guarantee the ride will operate. Shortly afterwards, the front entrance doors opened and I happily got my first ever ride in. Since then, my total ride count on Lightning Rod is 13 times. Someone on Twitter recently said that the coaster will be down all week. It sounds about right if they are indeed waiting on another part but we can only take that with a grain of salt. I also heard somewhere that Dollywood's in a lawsuit and that the coaster won't run anytime soon. That last statement seems like a bunch of crap to me at the moment, so I wouldn't believe it yet. Regardless, This is one very complicated coaster and hopefully they can get things working soon.

Kinda bumping this with an update, we actually may be looking at going Friday on our way down instead but aren't locked into either option. Any input is appreciated. I have never been to the Gatlinburg area on a holiday weekend. There have been times when we've gone on a Friday and crowds were significantly less than on weekends. That being said, although I can't recall a time in recent history where I've visited on a Monday, I think Friday would be the better option. I visited the park once on a Friday last year and wait times were pretty low. Crowds were decent but not at the level for things to be considered "crowded". It all depends, but this time of the year can be tougher to estimate. Since its a holiday weekend, Friday would be my choice.

+1. Unfortunately we didn't bother with buying any cinnamon bread this past Saturday because we figured the lines were super long. Every ride/shop/stand all had a decent line. The park was just beyond packed that day, and the most crowded I've ever seen it. In speaking of, does anyone know if Dollywood had a record day Saturday? It really seemed like it did as a lot of rides had at least an hour wait most of the day. Not to mention how hot and humid it was, I left the park with a bad headache and waiting in line just to get a cup of water took about 10 minutes. Still had a blast though!

Disneyland and Six Flags Magic Mountain both this weekend. It will be my first ever time at those parks.

As far as the first rollback today, I believe it stopped 1/3 up the hill (according to the instagram video). Not sure about the others, but I assume they were probably similar.

I saw online that today's first full train ended up having a rollback. Judging by the app, the coaster was probably down for about 30 minutes. Apparently right after it reopened, the same thing happened, forcing over an hour of more downtime. I believe it was open for only a few minutes after that but quickly went down yet again. It wasn't until around late afternoon that it was changed to "closed for the day". It seems that the majority of these rollbacks are occuring when the train is full of riders. Anyways, I thought Thunderhead ran smoother compared to my previous visit back in March. Now I have yet to ride Mystic Timbers (I was supposed to this month, but change of plans), and I'm really curious to see how it compares to Thunderhead as Thunderhead is the only GCI I've ever ridden. Probably won't be able to ride Mystic until next year.

I'm currently at the park, and crowds are very heavy today. Obviously LRod is closed, but it hasn't stopped me from having a good day. As mentioned earlier, Thunderhead had a long wait this morning. They were cycling both trains but only filling one up with riders. We were told that they just finished rebuilding one of the trains and that sometime soon they would be allowing riders on that certain one. They had to run it empty for numerous cycles before allowing guests on. I believe now they are loading both. I rode Drop Line for the first time and really enjoyed it! The views were spectacular. However, I do feel like Acrophobia at Six Flags over Georgia is more intense. At least the seats were more comfortable on Drop Line! It really seems like a great addition to the park! Other news, Whistle Punk Chaser has soft opened! Not sure when they've started it, but noticed a lot of people riding earlier and had a decent line! I did happen to walk by LR and saw one of the trains sitting on the transfer track. It does appear that some work is being done on the coaster today. A ride op was standing outside the station and was rudely yelling at guests that "the ride is closed all day". Even folks who walked by trying to ask a question were cut off with that statement before they had time to finish. I'm sure that the ops are frustrated as much as we are about the coaster being closed. Hopefully they can figure out what the issues are and get the coaster up and running by at least this upcoming week.

Well Dollywood closes in 45 minutes and guess what just finally opened not too long ago.. Yup. LR currently has a 45 minute wait. I'll be at the park next Saturday and I'm really looking forward to Drop Line! Hoping for a lap or two on LR but it won't mess up my trip if it ends up being closed. Fingers crossed though.

I'm sure they really are. Let's just hope that Dollywood doesn't end up in a lawsuit with RMC (like what happened to Timber Tower with HUSS) but I highly doubt it, unless something major happens. With so many pissed off people from the GP, who knows what could happen, but it will be stupid to speculate on that part. Both rides were completely different from each other and each had their own set of issues. In reality, we shouldn't even compare Lightning Rod to Timber Tower.

^ Yet, I feel that a lot of the general public are still talking down on the coaster more so than we may think. A good example is found in the facebook comments on a latest WBIR article talking about the coaster being down more than open. The article interviewed Pete Owens, which he stated that the coaster is running more consistently than last year, which we pretty much knew already. At the same time, I do feel like a lot of others are making the ride's issues sound worse than they really are, and this was mentioned earlier in a previous post. I just hope that the park can get these issues worked out sooner than later. Lightning Rod is an incredible coaster, and it will just be even better once its reliability is up. After all, this is Dollywood. Having Lightning Rod closed on any visit of mine won't stop me from having a blast at the park!

I will agree to some extent that Thunderhead is a little rough, but it's nothing that really takes away from the ride experience, in my opinion. I rode in the very front last December and it ended up being one of the best rides I've ever had on it all last season. I believe the front feels more "out of control" compared to the other rows. After getting one lap in on the coaster back on passholder preview day, I did notice a bit more of a "rattle" compared to last season. Then again, it may have been because I sat towards the middle. But for those saying the coaster is very rough, I wouldn't necessarily agree as of now. It remains my second favorite coaster in the park, right behind Lightning Rod. In speaking of LR, it looks like its having another bad day. The app has showed "temporarily closed" all morning so far.

Well, since I've been on a total of 5 Disney cruises with my family (and I've sailed on all four ships), there is just so much to do. Is this your first time on a Disney cruise? As far as food (not sure if you read up on this yet), but Disney offers a unique thing called "rotational dining", where during dinner, you, your servers, and other tables will rotate to a different restaurant each night (of the three main dining rooms, which on the Dream are Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace). Each restaurant has different theming and menus. They're all good in my opinion! There's also the Cabanas, which is the ship's main buffet, containing numerous food options. We usually eat there for breakfast and lunch most days. You do have the option to eat there for dinner if interested. The food is one of the best parts of the cruise! Also be sure to check out "Flo's Cafe" for some quick food and pizza outside on Deck 11. Deck 11 is also home to "Vanellope's Sweets and Treats". There are so many activities to do on board. Be sure to check out Vibe, which is the teen club on the ship. Since you mentioned your brother being 19 years old, have him check out the "1820 Society", for those who are from 18 to 20 years old. Although they don't have a designated "club", they are allowed into the adult areas but just can't drink. They can't be allowed into the teen spaces, though. Honestly it's so hard to describe everything. You have character appearances around the ship, various movies, and don't forget about the incredible shows and entertainment!! Nothing compares to the entertainment onboard a Disney cruise. Oh, and you'll love Pirate Night! Hope this was enough info to give! As I mentioned before, there's is just too much to discuss really. You all will love the ship!

Exactly. Heck, there was even another comment where someone said they hope Dollywood sues RMC for the coaster being closed all the time. People are just beyond stupid these days.

Can't really tell if that guy in the video really enjoyed the ride or not. When Dollywood shared the video to their own facebook page, I noticed a lot of complaining in the comments. I gotta admit, it's interesting seeing how a lot of the general public really dislike the coaster. I noticed a lot of the comments were dealing with "roughness" and some mentioned how they were "in pain" after riding. Others were of course throwing fits about it being closed all the time. Some of the "roughness" comments seemed obvious that they were likely getting roughness mixed up with intensity (unless you rode the ride back when the pothole existed). Not that any of this really matters, but still a little interesting seeing the other opinions. Anyways, I look forward to getting on Drop Line in a few weeks! (considering it really opens on the 5th)

*Edit: beat me to it!^ Hopefully it can stay open as long as possible and not be too problematic anytime soon, with the exception of occasional breakdowns.

Wow.. Amazing job on the video. Show that to Dollywood, I'm sure they may consider hiring you. As for Lightning Rod, sounds like most of the work is being done behind-the-scenes as an earlier post mentioned that no work was visible (at least as of yesterday).

Interesting to hear about the metal detectors. I believe we will start seeing them at almost every park within the next few years. It's always worth going the extra mile to make sure parks are as safe as possible.

I was just judging by past times when there was downtime. I clearly didn't think when I wrote that. Obviously the issue may be something entirely new or is something that has occurred before (more than likely a new issue, but heck we don't know). Maybe its right not to speculate when the ride may be back in operation, unless we had some sort of information. As I said before, I'm hopeful they can get it back open as soon as possible. I would have to agree about speculation being a little too far at times over this. I'm normally not the type of guy who really likes to speculate much. I do hope its open this weekend as weekends are pretty crowded at the park, especially since a lot of spring breaks are ending.

Too bad we'll probably never find out what the current issue is. I'm guessing it may not be open until at least next week or beyond. Hopefully they can get it back up sooner though. It really stinks how consistently the coaster had been operating this season so far and one day an issue arises causing the coaster to be down for several days. Who knows how long this will last. My next visit will be in early May but I won't be upset if LR is still down. I love Dollywood and all I can say is that I wish the best of luck to the maintenance team on getting this issue resolved.

Honestly it can go just any way. I've seen a few times last season where LR was down one day but opened up the very next. Other times of course were exactly as you mentioned. I did notice that the app had it listed as "TC" right after the park opened but an hour later, it was changed to "CD".