Dollywood---Photo TR

[DBru]

My brother had a baseball tournament near Knoxville, TN last weekend with his traveling team, and since Pigeon Forge would only be about 30 minutes away, I convinced my parents to take us down there a day early to go to Dollywood.

 

The weather forecast called for a nice, sunny day; sadly, that prediction was wrong. The sun rarely appeared while we were at the park. Since the weather wasn't all that great, and no one else in my family enjoys amusement parks, we left around 3:00pm. I would have been upset, but the park was insanely crowded (for this early in the season), and I had ridden most everything I wanted, anyway.

 

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my visit. Granted, I've enjoyed Dollywood more in the past, but the coasters are still really fun, the food is good, and the atmosphere is just amazing. The only thing new to me on this trip was the cinnamon bread---it was incredible. Make sure to visit the Grist Mill (near Dreamland Forest) and pick up a loaf next time you are at the park. You will NOT be disappointed!

 

I didn't take a load of pictures, because the weather conditions made it hard to get very good ones, but here is what I have to share:

 

Welcome to Dollywood!

 

First stop.

 

The walk up to Timber Canyon is a long one. It looks nice, though.

 

He got a hand to the face shortly after this picture was taken.

 

Oh yeah, there's a coaster up here, too.

 

Thunderhead...THROUGH THE TREES!!! (Sorry, I've never gotten to say that before. Quota filled.)

 

Thunderhead is made of wood. Lots and lots of wood.

 

I know it's hard to believe...but this HUSS ride was actually running!

 

Yeah, it was packed. I've never seen so many school groups in my life.

 

Mystery Mine towers over everything in the area.

 

Though the drop off the trestle still gives amazing air, the trim before it hits really hard now, and this whole section has become incredibly rough. Have all the Eurofighters aged this badly?

 

Oddly enough, the most intense part of the ride is the smoothest. (And look at that beautiful blue sky! )

 

At least you get a nice view of Timber Canyon from the queue line.

 

Heading on around the loop, we finally come to Tennessee Tornado. The crew at Tornado was amazing today---they were running two trains on the coaster without coming close to stacking them! (If you've ridden it, you know how shocking that is.)

 

Tennessee Tornado has reclaimed its spot as my favorite coaster in the park. It's sad that Arrow went out of business before they could build another megalooper...they were finally catching on to something!

 

This is what Blazing Fury looks like when it has an hour-long line.

 

Blazing Fury dispatches very often, considering the only restraints are those little silver lap bars. (Hear that, Cedar Fair?!)

 

"Fire in the hole!" (Yeah, I know this picture sucks...but it's not seen too often, so I thought I'd include it.)

 

This was a cool little chapel.

 

I believe they even have a church service here on Sunday mornings.

 

Dolly wasn't in here. Trust me, I looked everywhere.

 

[rant] So apparently, this film is back 'by popular demand'... BULL CRAP. I see no way that anyone would possibly request to bring back this piece of junk. The storyline is boring, and simulator does nothing other than jerk side-to-side violently and give you a major wedgie. Definitely the worst motion simulator I've ridden. [/end rant]

 

I'll end this report with a picture of Daredevil Falls: one of the best flume rides I've ever ridden. Even without the show-water, you've got to admit that is one awesome-looking finale!

 

 

Although short, my Dollywood visit was a nice one. The park was clean, the rides were fun, and the employees were very friendly & efficient. If you haven't been to this southern-style park yet---get there. I guarantee you'll love it!

 

Thanks for reading.

[the ghost]

Daredevil is probably the third best looking flume I've seen after splash mountain, and Duddley Do Right. I really hope to visit this park someday(hopefully on a TPR trip) There is absolutely nothing like this in California(besides Gilroy, but I've never been there) those were nice pictures.

[WFChris]

Hey, nice PTR!!! New, different shots of the park as opposed to the same ol same ol...

 

 

Chris.

[Voyage_freak]

nice TR, I hope to head down to Dollywood this year sometime, if not I will have to make it there next year, already hitting a couple of places this year.

[Electerik]

Wow. I've never seen Dollywood that busy--and I almost live there.

[DiSab]

I don't know how other Eurofighters age, but if Mystery Mine has gotten rough in, what, two years, that's not good. Steel coasters shouldn't start showing their age for at least 7 or 8 years, and that's probably still a little quick for some rides. It's not good if it's already getting rough...

[PKI Jizzman]

Did you saturate the photos? The colors just don't look realistic to me.

[DBru]

^Some of the photos are slightly saturated, like the Timber Canyon sign, and the one of Dolly's RV (because they came out a little too dark), but other than that, those are the natural colors at the park...

 

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

 

Erik, I know; it was insane! I've been to the park plenty of times, and all the others it's been a ghost town compared to this. We saw probably 10 different schools there. At least now I know when NOT to go to Dollywood.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

Nice TR. How is the hangtime on mystery mine? (I'm thinking that may be my first Eurofighter as I'm a total Gerstlauer virgin)

 

Is Timber Tower really that thrilling? I hear it's not, along with other topple towers...

 

~ Jess "Someday I'll ride a Gerstlauer...someday..." Chan

[DBru]

^The hangtime is great. In fact, the whole finale is amazing...but it only lasts for about 10 seconds. The rest is just really bad.

 

Timber Tower is...interesting. I mean, the scenery is nice, but the ride itself is boring. It was the shortest line of the day, but we didn't ride it, because there were much better things to do.

 

Personally, I consider the Dizzy Disk (Zamperla Disco) to be the park's signature flat ride. Timber Tower may look cooler, but Dizzy Disk is much more thrilling.

 

 

Oh, and what Gerstlauer does best is spinners---those things are great!

[Electerik]

Oh, and I agree that Mystery Mine's first half has gotten worse. But, frankly, that first half was always a bit bangy. The elements are simply too small for a ride with over-the-shoulder restraints.