LukeFlynn

They are probably just doing a lot of various things so they can operate it consistently without having to take it down periodically for an hour or so. Fine by me, I think they picked a fine time to do it. The park has been slow since Monday.

I'm not a big fan of the name Drop Line, but I'm glad Lightning Rod is Lightning Rod... it's honestly the only coaster name I actually like at DW next to 'Tornado and Thunderhead.

I'm curious as to how the train leaks oil? I mean, I'm sure things are greased regularly.. but I cant' figure out why it would be leaking oil...

Recently Tennessee Tornado has been getting a lot of hype by the "enthusiast" community, mainly the Coaster Studios guy. I think it's well deserved, especially since the GP definitely underrate it. It's near and dear to me, but it's since moved down one spot on my DW list to make room for LR.. I just can't get enough of that fabulous launch.

It's truly a shame.

I believe someone posted some a few pages back.

It had a 15min wait earlier. Thursdays and Wednesdays are usually the slowest weekdays from what I've observed.

I last rode it preview day, it was definitely not there. Perhaps they just had some work to do to it.

The Bear affect isn't there this season. I'm pretty sure I remember it last season, but it hasn't had the sound effects in a number of years (you used to hear roars and screams). Blazing Fury is also in a rather desolate state, it's gone down hill since the main water was removed from the drop. Now this season there isn't even a waterfall area which was probably the coolest part of the ride (right before the first drop). I understand that it was taking a toll on the interior of the building, but surely they could renovate it and use more resistant materials instead of just removing crucial elements from the ride. They've done a lot of track work (it actually has RMC track on the drops ).. but that's about all they've invested into making it better. Speaking of junk piles.. around Lightning Rod's quad down, you can see where they've cut down trees and just left the cut up trunks lying there rather than recycling or disposing of them.. sure, it will decompose eventually, but it's just not nice to look at.

I also heard that they went with Funtime because it provided the most capacity in the smallest footprint.

We like the Smoky Mountain Brewery. +1 without a doubt

I like Mystery Mine in the second row only, the front row is a serious head banger for me. It's the only coaster at Dollywood that gives me a headache.

+1 Lightning Rod is sometimes an exception, but generally true.

I don't think it's had a full day of downtime yet (it was up earlier today), so at least it has that going for it.

Wow, this is moving and motivational, truly. I was there on pass-holder preview day and remember seeing a golf cart type thing equipped with a gurney, I wonder if that's why it was there. Also on the topic of trunks, you can clearly see them below the station if you're on the transfer track/final brake run.. just look down and to the left. And while we're talking about things they removed from the trains, when it debuted, it also had a windshield type thing on the front car.. they did a botch job of chopping it off and sloppily painting over it.

Something interesting about the trunks on LR I heard from a ride operator today: Evidently, they leave them off so that they can use the battery pack to evac people (A process I had the fortune of seeing, early this AM). This made sense to me at first, but surely RMC thought of this.. furthermore I believe the trunk actually has a hatch that can be opened to access such input. Honestly, I think this just further rehashes the point that ride ops are just (for the most part) glorified GP with the keys to the castle. I'm not trying to be condescending, but the more you talk to them the more you realize it. But hey, it's not exactly a bad thing. I tend to avoid being overly nerdy or chatty with ride ops, it's just awkward... in this case, they actually butted into an existing conversation with someone else.

Yes, this was more like a routine launch issue, perhaps not enough power at first. LSMs can be a bit finicky, I'm just glad they got the sensor issues fixed.

Actually, it did only make it halfway up the hill, it was definitely a rollback, not a refusal to launch. They ran it a few times empty and all went back to normal in about 30 minutes, I was one of the first public riders.

WE HAVE ROLLLLLLLBACCCCCCKKKK!

It was open to anyone.. I don't remember how you got signed up.. you either purchased it online or called Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Ahh. I've never seen any promotions about tours, so I assumed it was just exclusive.

How does one even go about getting a backstage tour at DW anyways? Do you need to be part of one of the coaster clubs or what?

This post has made my day.

I've seen "less than" wait times on several rides, especially on slow days. I think it's only logical/reasonable for people to blame the launch system because Velocity Magnetics has no track record with launching. I think there is a lot more to it though. Surely Dollywood/HFE knew what they were getting into before partnering with them.

Just opened, less than 15 minute wait.