coasterdude5 Posted June 16, 2007 Posted June 16, 2007 Double Dosage of Dollywood Our last vacation took us to scenic, tourist-trap infested, Gatlinburg. It's a great place and alot better to stay in than neighboring Pigeon Forge. Day One - June 12th, 2007 The park was packed on Tuesday. Lines were pretty long and most of the pathways were near-gridlock in places. I won't dance around - I did not like Mystery Mine. It was rough, painful, and a short and overall boring ride. The tight transitions made for a head-banging experience I've never experienced on any other ride. ===Spoilers Ahead=== You drop about 10 or 20 feet out of the station and abrubtly pop back up and make an odd outwards banked turn to the left. You then pass by the red-eyed crows and then turn to drop below the "crusher" you then pop back up again for more head-banging and round a tight 90 degree turn for the first vertical lift. You stall for a few seconds before beginnning the journey up the vertical lift. You leave the building before coming across the bridge. The first vertical drop was, IMO, the best. You soar through the horseshoe turn and through the two turns. You then head back into the building and stop again at the foot of the larger lift. You climb the lift and watch the graphic of the mine collapsing (could've done without that), before stopping at the top for the "explosion". The sound effects are great as you anticipate the drop. The 85 foot drop is alright but not too much air. You then fly through the two inversions and get some decent hang-time before hitting the break run. I would love to say this ride is awesome and all that but in truth it's not. I heard several people they would never ride it again it was so painful. But I rode it four times over 2 days at different times of the day and it was about as bad each time. I was heavily dissappointed. ===Spoilers End Here=== Tennessee Tornado surprised me. It was alot better this time than I had remembered it being. I didn't remember being as smooth as it was and it still keeping the forces. And with Timber Canyon on the other side of the park this area is easily forgotten so the lines were short the whole time. Thunderhead still hauls all the way through the course without letting up at all. Best wooden coaster (that I've ridden). It didn't seem any different from when I rode it three years ago. I also rode all the other stuff like the cool Blazing Fury, River Rampage, the train, and I got some "insight" for the future. According to the engineer, Dollywood is adding new attractions for the next 10 years, one of which being a "gondola" ride that will transport guests from one end of the park (I'm guessing Craftsmen's Valley), to Timber Canyon. Onto what you really care about: Timber Canyon: I'll be back. More soon. Airtime-induced hill ahead folks. Best one in my book. Even the logo owns. The ride lets up... at the end. Thunderhead still owns Timber Canyon and all of the park for that matter. Stream through Timber Canyon Is that lady waving at me? This part takes you face-to-face with bears. It looks cool. Mystery Mine wants all the attention, though. It's alot shorter in person. Timberrrrrr Tower!!! (I drank red kool-aid as a kid) It's cool being able to see Timber Canyon/Thunderhead Gap upside down. The trestle of doom.... Leaving the ride gives you a great photo opportunity. Haha, and this place has an eagle reserve on the other side of the park. The ride itself isn't that tall, but the building is. More hang-time. You can make out "Mystery Mine" in this picture. Hang-time. Despite what this picture shows, Mystery Mine is not as dark as it looks. But first, a view of Lumberjack Lifts. Due to the sun's position, these next few shots of Mystery Mine will suck. Hahahaha!!! Haha, I didn't know they actually put you through the water. Mystery Mine, well, there she blows. Alright, here's a tip if you're at Dollywood. Say you've gotta be at Mystery Mine soon (why?). All you gotta do is get behind one of these scooters. They don't stop for nothin! Does three coaster years equal three human years? I see Thunderhead. It's good to be back Dollywood, with your fancy No Smoking signs. If you are within 10 miles of this park and haven't heard about Mystery Mine, you're an idiot.
coasterdude5 Posted June 16, 2007 Author Posted June 16, 2007 More photos from day one: More Dollywood pictures soon. Hang time... ON. Sun glare... ON. If you can brace yourself well enough it's not too bad. First half of the ride is pretty slow. Except for the first drop. Too bad it's just as rough in the afternoon as it is in the morning. Now we can see MM better. They don't let you get away with anything here! Here we are again... It's cool that parks have working churches in them. This shot came out pretty well. They're there. See any eagles up there? Splash! I sorta forgot about Daredevil Falls Over-banked awesome-ness. That shot never gets old. I wish all arrows were this cool. Intense. Heck yeah!! I am fond of this ride as well. I love this ride. Cinderella. Anybody recognize this? (it's from the pre-MM episodes) Most people don't realize that Mystery Mine is in fact, anorexic. Does anyone know if this will ever function as an unloading station? Under Thunderhead. Haha. Under the Thunder... You get a great shot of Timber Canyon from the train. The Grist Mill. It makes for great family photos. I think they updated the Lucky Mine with a new store or something. Dollywood is awesome. Attack of the strollers! But they eventually spread out. Crowds were pretty heavy at first. Showstreet
kraken613 Posted June 16, 2007 Posted June 16, 2007 Looks like you had a good time. Thunderhead is amazing thats why i've ridden it 100 times! Mystery Mine is also cool i've been on it 30 times and as time goes on that first half is getting bumpy. When i rode the first time before the grand opening it was so smooth now its a little bump last time I rode. Its better if you flow with the ride it makes it more enjoyale. Its cool to let go on the drops and have the freefalling feeling.Tennesee Tornado looks like it was running good it can be smooth most days but it has its bad days. They have good rides and food at Dollywood thats why I like it so much.
coasterdude5 Posted June 17, 2007 Author Posted June 17, 2007 ^ The second half of the ride (after the drop) was actually not bad if you held your head in the right position.
coastercrazed49 Posted June 17, 2007 Posted June 17, 2007 Nice Trip Report. My friend is going to Dollywood in the summer and I am so jealous of him.
Disney Dood Posted June 17, 2007 Posted June 17, 2007 How does Thunder compare to Mean Streak? That was a joke, right?
Qixote Posted June 17, 2007 Posted June 17, 2007 How does Thunder compare to Mean Streak? I've never rode Thunderhead. But if it doesn't have a trim brake on the main drop, then it must be infinitely better than MS. Even aside from the nasty trim brake, I'm sure MS is nothing but a big uninspired pile of lumber compared to TH.
kraken613 Posted June 17, 2007 Posted June 17, 2007 ^ The second half of the ride (after the drop) was actually not bad if you held your head in the right position. I love letting go and floating throught the second drop and the HANG TIME!
coasterdude5 Posted June 17, 2007 Author Posted June 17, 2007 Thunderhead doesn't compare to any wooden coaster I've ever been on (even though that's not alot).
crazydaveh Posted June 17, 2007 Posted June 17, 2007 I asked because I was VERY disappointed in MeanStreak. I love Gwazi at BGT and have heard that Thunder is similar, yet better than Gwazi. Mean Streak was so slow and didn't pack a woodie punch. That's all I was saying. I have yet to make it to Dolly's house, hope to get there this fall.
coasterdude5 Posted June 18, 2007 Author Posted June 18, 2007 ^ See, I hated Gwazi, but I think it would be great if it were smoother.
coasterdude5 Posted June 18, 2007 Author Posted June 18, 2007 Day Two Thursday was considerably less crowded than Tuesday. I rode Mystery Mine twice, I still didn't like it, but it was a bit better than Tuesday. I rode Thunderhead over and over again until a storm came and closed all the rides. I rode Tennessee Tornado twice, and it's still the best arrow I've ever been on. Onto the pics: Come on, are you serious? Thanks for reading! Alright, I will. This is how they get your money. Alright, I need a gift for my girlfriend, grandparents, friends. Oh yeah, we'll stop at the Emporium on the way out. Storm is coming. Rides are closing. Rollover. The building is alot taller in person. Undershot of the train. Mystery Mine is a terrain coaster. Partially The trestle of doom returns... The queue goes directly into the station from here. This portion of the ride is especially painful. The theming is awesome, though. Back to the "fun". Good-bye... Oh yeah... It was broken so they had to run an empty train. Tennessee Tornado. A gem. Grist Mill. Nah, I'll pass. Veggie-Tales Sideshow Spin Who picked that name? Ferris Wheel was one of the rides not removed in 2004. Yep, sure is. County Fair was re-done in 2005. Everybody starts screaming before the waterfall, but you don't get wet there. While not a "rampage", you do get wet. Whet your thirst for being wet on River Rampage. Red's Diner is awesome. 45 minutes? No thanks, no thanks. Whoops. KidsFest is coming.... Run for the hills... Dollywood sign. Here we are again.
kraken613 Posted June 18, 2007 Posted June 18, 2007 Around a week ago none of the parts you say are bad on Mystery Mine were. I found out if you pull the restraint down tight hold on ang get stiff its alot rougher. You need to pull the restraint loose let go and flow with the ride. It also depends on where you sit in the train and what train your in. Your height depends on how it will be. The only realy rough spot is in the dark section before the first lift and all you have to do is put your head forward. Maybe it wasnt running well the days you were there. Somedays Mystery Mine will be smooth and others alittle shacky but not painful.
coasterdude5 Posted June 19, 2007 Author Posted June 19, 2007 ^ I tried that, it still bangs you up during the first section. The theming is still incredible so that makes up for it.
brandon Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 ive never been to dollywood and i was wondering what kind of ride blazin fury is
kraken613 Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 ^ Blazing Fury is a Dark Ride, Water Ride, Roller Coaster combo. Its lots of fun but pretty cheesy!
coasterdude5 Posted June 19, 2007 Author Posted June 19, 2007 Though a bit cheesy, Blazing Fury is nearly as good as Revenge of the Mummy, IMO. They use tires to drive the train over the hills so you get a decent amout of air, especially in the back.
kraken613 Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Yeah the front you get pretty wet. The back you dont get wet and get decent air!
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