Photo TR: Dollywood 7/28/2007

[sscamatt]

We arrived at the park around 11:45am. The park opened at 9am and we would have liked to get to the park at open, but we were dead tired from the day before and it was a little bit of a drive from Holiday World.

 

 

These pot people are all over the park:

 

We opted to get the Q2Q, this is Dollywood's version of the Q-bot. It is a much better implementation than the Six Flags system. First off, its cheap, for 2 people, it cost us $16.40 total, that's $8.20 a person. The system lets you reserve one ride and one show at a time. Unlike the Six Flags system, you don't have to go to the ride to reserve a ride, they are all on the little handheld device and you can pick where you want to go and the earliest time it will allow. The time that is given is the earliest you can go, but once that time has passed, you will continue to be able to board that ride whenever you want. In other worlds, you can't be late for the ride. In the eyes of Dollywood, as long as you waited your time, you can go to the ride whenever. This is awesome and other parks with some sort of Q-bot should take note. The Q2Q system made the very enjoyable:

 

 

We reserved Mystery Mine and then rode the Rockin' Roadway:

 

 

 

 

We got off Rockin' Roadway and Mystery Mine was ready for us. It is located in the newest section of the park, timber canyon. Thunderhead, the Timber Tower and Mystery Mine are all located in this area. It is going to connect with the craftsman area of the park for 2008.

 

Mystery Mine was a lot of fun. The coaster itself isn't anything amazing, but the theming around it makes it. The two vertical lift hills are unique and the ride is surely a hit with the general public. If this dark ride/roller coaster combo is the route that new rides are taking, that is fine by me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up was Thunderhead. I rank it in my top 5, but some other woodies I've ridden give better rides. Maybe I rode it on an off day:

 

 

 

They cook some good food at Dollywood:

 

We queued up the Disk-O on our Q2Q and rode the train, it is a real train unlike what most parks have and takes a nice scenic ride through the woods. It goes around a tour of the 2008 expansion. From the looks of it, the new ride is going to be huge. The pictures I took didn't come out very good because trees block most of the view.

 

Dollywood has interesting flyers:

 

And these giant vegetables:

 

We rode the Veggietales coaster. It is really short and only goes around once. The longest we waited for anything all day.

 

Next up was the Disk-O. It was having some trouble running because of the rain when we got there. The maintenance guy kept wiping something off, he would run it, and it wouldn't make it all the way up. Another maintenance technician came and rode it and all was fine. We got on the first ride after it re-opened. This is the standard run of the mill disk-o and isn't anything special. The one at Kennywood runs a lot better because it has the larger track:

 

Blazing Fury was next. This ride is very interesting to say the least as it was built in house late 70's. They run 3 trains so dispatches are quick:

 

Next up was the Tennessee Tornado. This is probably one of the best Arrow looping coasters ever built, but then again, it is one of the newest so it should be. It is very smooth:

 

 

Next up was Daredevil Falls, an awesome splash down ride:

 

 

 

There is a poncho machine out front:

 

And of course we rode Mountain Sidewinder. Probably the most interesting water ride in a park every built:

 

 

 

If you have a basketball, they deflate it before you ride:

 

Then they weigh you on a scale. The boats hold 5 people, but total weight of the boat must be between 400 and 750 pounds. Our boat of 4 was 743 pounds, 7 pounds under the weight limit, so it sure was an interesting ride.

 

 

The boats are made of some weird foam material. This ride is in the park, but you get soaked! The turns inside are amazing and you feel like you are going to fall out. If your going to Dollywood, this is a must see attraction:

 

 

 

We rode the Timber Tower then got re-rides on Thunderhead and Mystery Mine.

 

 

Your feet will get wet if your in the right place at the right time:

 

The beavers come out, but they weren't spraying water today:

 

Some other photos:

 

 

 

[coasterdude5]

Great trip report, Dollywood is an awesome place. With the Q2Q, I wish there wasn't an age requirement to it, but that's not too big of a deal. It was good to see that Timber Tower has reopened.

[Guest]

The time that is given is the earliest you can go, but once that time has passed, you will continue to be able to board that ride whenever you want. In other worlds, you can't be late for the ride. In the eyes of Dollywood, as long as you waited your time, you can go to the ride whenever. This is awesome and other parks with some sort of Q-bot should take note.

Exact same system SFGAm has, other parks dont have it cause its a brand new technology from Lo-q this year.

[Groteslurf]

Nice Tr and pics.

 

I've never seen that boatride before. Certainly looks special.

Hope to ever make it to Dollywood.

[dr.gumbo]

Great photo TR and nice pictures of the Mountain sidewinder. Does anyone know who built the Sidewinder or did they build it themselves?

 

Again thanks for the TR!

[CoasterFanatic]

Love the guy deflating the basketball. Those people should be scattered throughout all the parks!

[coasterdude5]

Hey one question:

 

http://www.pbase.com/sscamatt/image/83166665/large.jpg

 

On that picture, is that real graffiti or theming or what? I've never been on the ride so I can't tell.

[kraken613]

^

I think it might be theming because its been there for as long as

I can remember.

[Shavethewhales]

Wow, I'm surprised DW hasn't upgraded the Slidewinder to the new boats like what SDC's waterboggin got back in 2003. The new boats are crazy, they send you farther up the sides of the trough and allow more water to be splashed in, but I think they had to modify the track to allow for them.

 

Anyway, great photos.

[I love DW]

Great photo TR and nice pictures of the Mountain sidewinder. Does anyone know who built the Sidewinder or did they build it themselves?

 

Again thanks for the TR!

 

I don't know who built the Mountain Slidewinder itself but Dollywood makes all the boats for it.

[deaconnor]

That's a great tr but I have a question. What is the deal with Lumberjack Lifts? You have to pull yourself up?

[All Clear]

How necessary/beneficial would you say the Q2Q is? I've never been to any place that used that kind of system before and I'll be hitting Dollywood for the first time next week. Do you feel like it really helped you out a lot?

[Loco]

Love the guy deflating the basketball. Those people should be scattered throughout all the parks!

 

Tell me about it.

 

Anyways, nice TR! Im really aching to go to Dollywood soon.

[Holtskee]

Wow, I'm surprised DW hasn't upgraded the Slidewinder to the new boats like what SDC's waterboggin got back in 2003. The new boats are crazy, they send you farther up the sides of the trough and allow more water to be splashed in, but I think they had to modify the track to allow for them.

 

From what I've read the new boats on the Waterboggan actually

"neutered" the ride, because the new boats don't bank that high on the curves or get up as much speed.

 

Anyway, I'm glad Dollywood is still using the custom ones on Slidewinder. They look better by having a flimsy feel, adding to the thrill factor. The fact that they were built in-house adds to the uniqueness of the park.

[Shavethewhales]

^Well, thinking back, it probably was a better ride in the old days, but it's hard to say whether it was the boats or the new track that made it worse. I tend to think the most damage was done by the new layout, which is designed specifically so that there isn't so much danger of being thrown out. Now the ride is all about getting soaked rather than thrills, although there are some turns where the boats still really fly.

 

If DW's boats bank like SDC's used to, then I hope they keep them. I had no idea that they were made in-house though, which makes me wonder even more why SDC got new boats.

[sscamatt]

On that picture, is that real graffiti or theming or what? I've never been on the ride so I can't tell.

 

Its theming, but it is done really well.

 

How necessary/beneficial would you say the Q2Q is?

I would highly suggest getting the Q2Q. We went on a Sunday and the park was packed. It is $10 for the first person and $5 for each additional person plus tax. You can use it to your advantage by queuing up a ride, waiting in line for another, then the second they scan you, queue up the next ride that you want to ride as you are entering the ride. This allows you to wait in line for the next ride while you are riding.

 

What is the deal with Lumberjack Lifts? You have to pull yourself up?

 

You don't actually pull yourself up, if you pull on the rope, a motor pulls you up, but you have to bring in the rope for you to continue upward. I've seen this ride at other parks, but not themed like this. I can't remember off hand where.