sdcfan88

Interesting, I didn't think either was that bad and re-rode both 5x (went on opening night for the Timberwolf reborn event) But I am a wood coaster guy so maybe I am just used to them.

It's been quite an interesting year at SDC! On top of them getting a $26 million dollar Mack Coaster they also got a new steam train engine brought into service! This is exciting news for all you theme park train enthusiasts! Say hello to Engine 504: Trip report video from a former employee of the park: Photo Album: https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheSirWillow/photos/?tab=album&album_id=933831653463736

^How would that work with the normal 50% off admission for having a SDC season pass? I too might be interested.

Yeah I wouldn't mind boomerang going away either. its removal would open up a nice plot of real estate for a sizable coaster. Maybe they can get a medium sized Mack about the size of Time Traveler in there.

Wildfire is best ridden from the front center seats. Then the back. Still my top steel coaster at the park. Powderkeg is a close 2nd due to that awesome launch and airtime on the first two hills.

I highly doubt that. That was a kids playground area at Silver Dollar City (Branson) for over 15 years. It is unlikely HFEC would reuse the name/theme even if it were at a sister park.

Thinking about heading out that way for the first time next week after the holiday weekend. What would be the best day to go?

While I am going against the grain here and this might cause riots for some coaster geeks and enthusiasts but I am extremely relieved that RMC is not the default end all answer to redoing ALL aging wooden coasters. Don't get me wrong, examples like Steel Vengeance or New Texas Giant are great and all but most of the the ones that have had the RMC treatment (including the two mentioned) might as well be all new coasters as they are no longer true wooden coasters but hybrid steel track with a wooden frame destroying the character of the original. I am glad GCI is stepping up and doing the retracking on various classic wooden coasters like Timber Wolf and keeping the look and feel of a true wooden coaster intact. And speaking of GCI, Prowler is a fantastic wood coaster for being nearly 10 years old. Rode it while I was up there. Not sure what all the hate and roughness complaints towards it are all about. It rode great!

Rode the refurb'd Timber Wolf Friday night. It was Awesome!

^Awesome trip report! IMO While Time Traveler is awesome and fun in its own category. Wildfire and Powderkeg have remained neck and neck to me as the best coasters in the park. ThuNderaTion is also highly underrated for what it is.

^Agreed on both accounts, also note that this coaster gets more fun with every subsequent ride experience.

I was there on Friday and got updated photos and operational video of Time Traveler. I have to say it's gotten A LOT better since it has finally broken itself in. I had not rode it since opening day and it feels quite a bit more intense now. Really the only gripe I still have is how it stops at the first launch. Hopefully in the off season they can copy/paste the programing used from the second launch onto the first to eliminate that 10 second pause. (which also seems to be having issues stranding riders on the track causing the ride to get shut down for maintenance) Either that or construct some kind of simple show building with some smoke and lights or something. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

Nice looking to be up there Fri-Sat for the ACE event!

Yup, its expected with any coaster as they age and there has been talk about the nasty jolt that has developed near the bottom of ThuNderaTion's helix around the time when Time Traveler's construction kicked into high gear. On the latter I suspect between the ride being over 20 years old and the heavy equipment and all the rain we had over the past couple years it might have caused a bit of a shift during that time which created that jolt that can knock you pretty hard if you are unprepared for it.

^This is true. I wont go into details but we have had many discussions and incidents where we have been at odds with the NWS office (Tulsa) on general data, warnings, and storm assessments. I remember one incident a few years back where a fellow chaser of ours was flat out called a liar. Caused a lot of internal drama between the office and the media. It was pretty ridiculous. Dan's Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/danskoff/ Alternatively: https://www.facebook.com/NWAWeatherAuthority/

Come to think of it SDC's Time Traveler would have been a perfect fit if it was named and themed to weather like most of their sister parks coasters currently are. (e.g. Tennessee Tornado) Could have been called Ozark Twister: The Ride

^Funny you shared that post from him. Such a small world, I am a storm chaser for Dan at his TV station. I was in Oklahoma watching the additional storms heading towards the state when that incident happened. On a more serious note, that video still makes me cringe. Why continue to drive TOWARD the tornado with a travel trailer that will basically be caught like a sail!? *facepalm* Not sure if this is a common sense issue or an education issue or more concerning... both.

Yeah I am really not a fan of the mandatory photo booth right in the queue line. Hoping they redo it sooner than later. Or at least make it optional to help with flow.

Wildfire is usually a walk on too. The only real coaster up until this year that has had a consistent line is Powderkeg. Probably why they went with the launched segments on Time Traveler to balance out the demand since launch coasters seem to be popular at the park.

Here is my compiled footage from opening day. Featured in the video: 0:11 Opening Ceremony at Red Gold Heritage Hall 4:15 Pre-Opening Station Tour and POV 6:33 Ride Queue walk-thru 9:10 Ground level POV of ride layout with first riders on board 13:04 New Valley Road area layout with new food and shop buildings

And here are the photos of the queue line and inside the station building. This is the majority of what you will see. There is also no onride photo but a section where they photograph riders passing thru the queue like they do at the Train Station. This could be a big problem on very busy days. Also note that Trailblazer Passes (including season and super passes) are only valid one ride per day on Time Traveler. Everything else is okay and pretty much unlimited. And here are photos of the new area and the reconfigured restaurants and shopping area. The Time Traveler signage really imposes itself over the ThuNderaTion entrance hidden in the background. Again this is a nitpick, but I was really hoping they were gonna rebuild the archway when they redesigned the area and bring back the mine carts versus the simple TNT sign on two wooden poles. Overall, I really am loving the redesigned area and I am glad they managed to save the majority of the landscaping and mature trees that littered this area.

So I went to ride Time Traveler on opening day. I was also part of the smaller media event/tour they had going on and got to grab up close photos and video of the first riders on the coaster down in the valley itself. I have to give a shout out and a special thanks to the SDC staff for being so gracious and accommodating for doing this and for providing us brunch as well. Also got to meet and do some shooting with a bunch of big names in the coaster/amusements community, including the senior staff with MACK rides, and the owners of TPR, GTA, and RCDB. Got a couple rides on Time Traveler itself shortly afterward which I will give a review on in just a moment. And to those of you reading this who were there, it was awesome meeting all of you! In short, with my first impressions with Time Traveler: It was really cool! Definitely a very unique coaster experience combining elements from several proven coaster types into something totally new and different! I really love the train design too and the lighting effects on the cars themselves is very nice! It is no secret I was very apprehensive to the announcement of this type of coaster being built as I loathe spinning teacup type rides... but this is doable for me! The first drop gives you some real hang time with somewhat forceful swinging/pivoting in the first three cars but the back car is where you wanna be as it has a very forceful pull when you drop. Dropping backwards is crazy! The cars barely rotated or twirled throughout the ride with the exception of a couple places, one being during the barrel roll and then towards the end at the final overbanked turn as you hit the break run. I must say it is really weird going thru the vertical loop sideways which is what you will often find yourself doing. Going thru the elements to me is best described as surfing or swinging thru them. Also the launches themselves (particularly the final one) is very forceful, I dare say as forceful as Powderkeg. It is a really fun and interesting experience if you find yourself facing backwards when you experience the launches too. I also had no issues with the seats or the restraints themselves with me weighing 220lbs. These are the best coaster seats I have ever ridden in considering this is my first MACK coaster. I really wished Wildfire could get them. As for the critiques on Time Traveler, the most apparent one is the the ride coming to a complete stop for about 5 seconds at the first launch. Really kills the pacing. To me this needs to be deleted or remedied by adding a simple show building with at least some lights and smoke to help with the theme of "going thru time" on the ride. I felt this was a sorely missed opportunity. Another is (with the exception of the back car on the first drop) there is little to no airtime on this coaster from my personal experience, but this is "coaster enthusiast' type of nitpicking so I can let this one go since the other elements are really awesome to experience as every ride on it is different due to being pivoted in different directions at different times. And finally the overall theming is okay and it is great where it is used (the spinning cogs and multicolor lighting the main loading bay is brilliant and I will post up images of the building queue in another post) but my final critique is the majority of the building is quite simple and barren on theming inside and out. As I said they did a very good job on the loading station level and somewhat on the 2nd floor but overall it feels rushed and unfinished down on the lower levels and outside. Maybe I was just going in expecting another Wildfire type of station building (which is still SDC's best themed station building to date) but you can be the judge for yourself when you visit. I will give them a benefit of a doubt that they haven't finished it yet and they didn't want to say or imply anything to indicate that. Maybe improvements and additions will come next season? Overall though despite all that, I really liked the coaster for what it is. It definitely has its forceful moments with the drop, the vertical loop, and the launches. My recommendation is to not go in expecting another Wildfire or Outlaw Run, it is it's own unique experience and it is family/kid friendly. It is a very smooth and comfortable riding coaster as well. One of the best I have ridden in terms of comfort. I am looking forward to using my season pass a lot for re-experiencing this coaster thru the rest of the season.

Heading up to the park right now, hard to believe after two years of documenting the construction process I am finally getting to ride this thing. Pretty stoked! I am loving all the footage that came out from the media event yesterday. I will post my review later on.

^I think it's safe to say Dollywood/Hershend is done with RMC. Why? Two Words: Lightning Rod

Got my exclusive opening day ticket for Time Traveler. Looks like I will be one of the first few groups of people riding it on Weds morning. Its gonna be crazy! Last I checked you can still buy ERT tickets for $25 valid for that day. HERE