u4icmusic

You are correct. I was surprised how packed it was yesterday. There's no way they had any capacity limits yesterday with the crowds and parking lots that full. If they did, then they raised their capacity and are either at normal or close to normal capacity, because it is way more crowded than last year. It was loaded with kids too.

No, they are filling most, if not all the seats. Today, I was by myself and the ride operator asked me if I minded having 2 more people in the row (of 4) with me and I said no problem. We all had masks on.

I just got home from a half day at Dollywood. I used one of my Time Saver cards to get on Mystery Mine quicker than the posted 90-minute wait time because I wanted to check out the new modification. I think the removal of the horseshoe loop makes the ride more fun. The curved drop they added instead of the horseshoe loop in fast and fun. The ride was smooth as silk, as it has always been to me. It must be riders of a certain height have issues with roughness. I thought it was fantastic today and the modification changes very little of the ride. Personally, I liked the horseshoe loop, but a lot of people thought it was too jerky. The new track is way smoother in that one section. The rest of the ride is identical with no changes and very smooth. They were supposed to be at reduced capacity today due to COVID, but it was packed. So packed, that I left at noon to head back to Knoxville. Too many people, too close together and many not wearing masks or wearing them improperly. My first ride of the morning was Lightning Rod, which I rode last Friday and thought it was rough in row 9. This morning, I got the first row and it was much smoother than row 9. Both rides were great today, but the lines were long. I got on Lightning Rod at 10:15 am and when I got off the wait time was 110 minutes at 10:18. For me, no ride is worth that wait, except for Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point. I parked in Lot B because I was so early, but when I left, lots D/E were mostly full. Lightning Rod was only running one train again. The ride operator said they were running two trains on Monday, but the second train was causing issues so they pulled it off for today, hence the long waits.

The ride operators never give a reason for the shut down. Not sure if it was the sensors. You would think after 4 or so years that they would have the sensor issues worked out. I'll be going again this Wednesday and I'll check it out. I only got to ride 1 time last Friday before it died again, lol.

Not necessarily. There are other factors involved in a launch that don't exist with a chain lift.

This is not a new coaster. The retracking to 2/3's I-Box track should not have affected the launch in any way. These kinks should have been worked out during testing over the last few weeks. I'm sure this is embarrassing for Dollywood after they paid so much money to have it retracked. I'd be really pissed at RMC at this point if I was Dollywood and would consider a lawsuit.

I was hoping they would make the train two stops instead of the loop. I'd like to see a second train station in Wildwood grove. That would save a lot of walking since they don't have sky buckets.

That might be for the second phase of Wildwood Grove?

They removed a ton of trees around Tennessee Tornado too. They are still lying on the ground.

Here is video of a test train on Mystery Mine yesterday. Mystery Mine Modification

I totally agree with you. That's why I was so surprised. My friends also found it rough while others at the park though it was smooth. The people sitting in the front of the trains had a smoother experience. I only rode once in row 9 and to me it was rough. Still fast as Hell and super fun though. A top coaster for sure. There were two rollbacks yesterday when I was there, so the ride was down a lot of the time considering the park was only open from 10 am to 6 pm. I left early but I heard the ride opened up again at about 5:30 pm. Ride times were close to two hours in the afternoon, so I'll ride it again when I go next week. They are assigning rows now, so you cannot pick a front row or front of train seat at this time. Not sure if this is a permanent change or temporary because of COVID. The ride operators said the ride is running at the same speeds and 2019 and it sure felt fast to me once we got over the first crest. They also only ran one train yesterday, so hopefully they will get a second train running to help cut down on the wait times.

I've ridden Lightning Rod when it first opened and I rode it today. Other than the slight slowdown going over the crest of the first hill, there is NO difference in the ride experience. Although, like I said above, the ride was very rough. All my friends that rode it thought the same. Still super-fast, intense and fun, but rough. The ride is very short too, like a minute long, but still one of the best I've ridden just because it is so relentless. Not as good as Steel Vengeance, but I doubt nothing ever will be, but still fun as Hell. Also, there was no social distancing on Lightning Rod. All seats were filled today. as they were on many of the rides.

Craftsman's Alley is much wider in spots now. The stores are all still stocking mostly Chinese-made junk and very little if anything made by on-site craftsman. They rerouted part of the water flume thing going down craftsman's alley in order to widen it up. It looks much more open and not as congested. It came out very nice.

I just got home from Dollywood. Lightning Rod was down until 1 pm. When it opened, I was on the 3rd train full of people. The ride is just as fast and relentless as before, but I thought it was going to be much smoother with I-Box track and to my surprise, it was ROUGH, really rough. Rougher than I remember it being last year. They were only running one train, so the lines were almost two hours long after I got off. Lines for food and drinks were longer than the lines for rides. Some staff was very rude and they were very understaffed just like they were all last season due to COVID. Mystery Mine was running test cars and it looks just as good as before, and might even be better with the new turn and drop. Lightning Rod though, was a huge disappointment. Just too rough to enjoy.

If you look at the side-by-side videos, the lift does appear to be slower over the first crest, but if you time both of them pulling out of the gate and stop them both at the same spot on the last brake run, it's only a few seconds difference that I don't think any riders will notice. They just want the ride to be running and not closed all the time. I know last season, I went to Lightning Rod many, many times only to find it closed.

I'm not so sure it was a maintenance issue, but they supposedly received a lot of complaints about that section being too rough and jerky. I loved it, but I guess others did not. I'm hoping there was more added to it that we don't see in those two photos, otherwise it will be shorter and not extended like the park rep had stated.

I watched the video too and it looks exactly the same speed to me. I think watching the video and actually riding it will be key here. I'll report back tomorrow night after riding it.

It's not done yet. They are still waiting on parts. I loved it the way it was, but some people found it too jerky, so they are trying to fix those rough spots. I'll be there tomorrow for season pass holder preview day and I'll take a look because Mystery Mine won't be running, but we can still walk underneath the track and take some photos.

Just a head's up. If you don't have a gold season pass, Dollywood has increased their parking fees to $20, up from $15 last year. Preferred parking is $30 with a $10 discount with a gold season pass. Getting closer to Disney parking prices.

Are there rules about how many times one can post? I'm well aware that posts can be edited, as I do it all the time. Personally, the speed makes no difference to the ride experience, except for the airtime on the first crest. There are people that don't believe the coaster was slowed down, so I was showing them how it was. Next time send me a personal message rather than scold me in the forum.

If you watch the testing video from this week, the train barely makes it over the top of the launch hill. Definitely a lot slower than when I rode it when it first opened. If you watch this video, and watch closely at the 14 minute mark, you can see the speed. You can also see the LSM's that were removed. You can hear the narrator talking about the airtime on the crest after the launch. That airtime no longer happens. Also watch at 16:40 to see the original speed and LSM's. This video also mentions that it was built as a hybrid coaster due to the steel supports and Topper Track, so it never was a true wooden coaster from day one. Here's another video showing the original speed over the first crest. It was fun while it lasted.

That slow down doesn't affect the ride experience at all. You still get the high speeds after going down the first two hills. RMC made the decision to remove the last section of LSM's to try and prevent the damage to the Topper Track that was happening and was one of the reasons there was so much down time over the last few years.

They did remove the last section of LSM's after having so many problems with the launch and damage to the tracks on the bottoms of the first two hills. That didn't work, so that is why they decided to replace 2/3's of the Topper Track with the I-Box track over the last few months. When Lightning Rod first opened the LSM's went all the way to the top of the launch hill, but have long since been removed.

For Dollywood park goers that like the live shows, Dollywood has announced all theaters and the Chasing Rainbows museum will be open this year with reduced seating but additional show times to make up for the COVID restrictions. Some theaters and shows won't start up until after the Flower and Food Festival though, so be patient.

Me too, My glasses fog up, so I don't wear them into the park anymore. Makes it hard to see, but I deal with it.