Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Tmcdllr]

I believe the vertical loop is the tallest and first of its kind on this type of ride.

[dragonskeep]

The ride,I believe, was supposed to have a number of firsts, not really records. The loop is one and certainly the trains are another, if Wild Eagle opens before X-flight. The best asset Dollywood seems to have is setting, I hope it is utilized on this ride.

[A.J.]

Still excited for this though, hope it's better than X-Flight (will serve six flags right for stealing unique elements from The Swarm)!

Six Flags, Thorpe Park, and Dollywood aren't responsible for the layout of the rides - B&M is. B&M can't steal an element of their own design.

 

As for the loop, it is the highest, but not necessarily the tallest. The drop off of the 210-foot peak is only 135 feet, so the loop can't be more than 120 feet or so above the bottom of the drop.

[Rollercoaster5000]

Really? This was posted on TPM

 

Hi THORPE PARK Mania fans.

 

We hope you're all excited about the arrival of THE SWARM. We're having great fun building up to its launch and we hope you are too!

 

We wanted to write a little message to you all following the news that Six Flags Great America will also be launching a winged rollercoaster next year very similar to THE SWARM. Some of you may have noticed that when we say it's going to be very similar, it really is going to be VERY similar. When we set about designing and developing our winged coaster we had to make sure it had the THORPE PARK stamp on it. One of the ways we achieved this was by developing the unique inverted dive at the start of the ride that will be sure to kick-off your awesome apocalyptic flight in adrenaline-fuelled style! As you can imagine then, we were quite surprised to see that the new ride at Six Flags will also adopt the'THORPE PARK Inversion'!

 

While we could be bitter about this, we would actually like to wish Six Flags Great America the best of luck with the 'THORPE PARK Inversion' and we hope that this is a start of things to come, that one day the 'THORPE PARK Inversion' will become famous in the rollercoaster world! We aim high!

 

Thanks again for all your support and we'll see you all at Fright Nights.

 

The THORPE PARK Team

 

I'm glad they were sensible and wished them good luck, but I don't think they are happy with Six Flags although if they did want it to be a unique element they should have implemented measures to prevent parks from using it, so they have shot themselves in the foot.

And as for Wild Eagle.. that could do with a better layout, they have used a typical B&M layout and added Wing Rider trains, would have preferred more of a terrain coaster tbh

[krakenmaniac]

Hey does anyone know when there will be an animated pov of Wild Eagle. I've had my doubts but a pov could probably put them to rest.

[ernierocker]

Hey guys! You might want to keep your eyes on the TPR Facebook page this morning!

www.facebook.com/themeparkreview

[Hockeydad]

Been waiting for a reason to go back to DW, and the past couple of announcements just haven't done it for me, (giant swing and ropes course). The coaster looks absolutely beautiful, and I have to agree the setting is always pretty awesome with the Smokies as your back drop.

[chargersmichael]

One thing I love about Dollywood...they add something new every single year! This time they stepped it up...I'm really excited for the ride I just wish it would go a little longer . Dollywood is my favorite park!

[robbalvey]

TPR is at a Wild Eagle construction tour this morning! Keep an eye on TPR's Facebook page for updates! http://www.facebook.com/themeparkreview

[robbalvey]

For an even BETTER look at the construction tour, click this link: http://themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=184&linkid=10947

 

Be sure to check out http://www.dollywood2012.com for up-to-date information about Wild Eagle!

We've made it to Dollywood! Now what are we doing here in a tropical depression?

Wild Eagle Promotional banners are already out in the park!

This looks like the place! (Hi Pete!)

Hey, this looks like we are on a construction tour of Wild Eagle

The electrical building is already up.

Let's check out the rest of the site!

Edited September 6, 2011 by robbalvey

[almightyfire]

To ME, this ride will top six flags because of the terrain. I am not necessarily in love with most six flags parks due to concrete. I dont think ANY of these so called winged coasters are a new innovation when all they are is a duplicate of X at SFMM. If a coaster is under 4500 ft long and the lift isnt over 200 ft then i dont see the point. Now that is MY opinion not necessarily anyone elses.

[robbalvey]

More construction tour pics...

 

Be sure to check out http://www.dollywood2012.com for up-to-date information about Wild Eagle!

Part of the platform at the end of the brake run and the ride station.

Now, use your imagination... Wild Eagle's Lift hill will head up this ridge here!

A puddle of mud (not the crappy band) and footers for the brake run.

Edited September 5, 2011 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

And a few more construction tour pics...

Be sure to check out http://www.dollywood2012.com for up-to-date information about Wild Eagle!

More footers for the brake run!

You can't get this view of Blazing Fury anywhere else in the park!

Or this view of Tennessee Tornado!

How about we head up the hill and get photos of some supports!

We have supports!

And we have... Wild Eagle track!

Edited September 5, 2011 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

More Wild Eagle Photos...

Be sure to check out http://www.dollywood2012.com for up-to-date information about Wild Eagle!

Supports for the first drop! Look at that view!

First loop and zero g roll supports!

More supports further back into the construction site.

Wild Eagle's track is going to be very twisty right here!

The supports for Wild Eagle at Dollywood are massive!

Pete Owens, Media/Public Relations Manager, was kind enough to show us around in the rain! Thanks Pete!

Thanks again to Pete Owens, Brian Angello, and everyone at Dollywood for taking the time to show us the Wild Eagle construction site! Looking forward to riding in March 2012!

Check out the http://www.dollywood2012.com website for more information!

Edited September 5, 2011 by robbalvey

[06jds377]

Great pics, I had given consideration to going today - seeing these pics I'm glad I didn't..

 

I can't wait to see the finished product, I'm sure it will be an awesome experience.

[alpengeist04]

Two thumbs up on the Wild Eagle announcement. Finally Dollywood gets their version of Wildfire, but with a twist.

 

As usual, thanks guys for the great coverage on park announcements and construction tours.

[ImmelMatt]

Holy crap, Robb. That, THAT right there is why Wild Eagle is going to be the better ride than X-Flight. Yes, X-Flight is more daring in their inversions and keyholes, but you can't build that view. I get the feeling Dollywood has actively been waiting for the kind of ride, not necessarily an inverted or a flyer, but the type of coaster that will provide the full open-air experience needed to properly grasp that kind of view, and Wild Eagle is their answer.

 

Both coasters are sure to be astounding, but Wild Eagle is going to win.

 

Good god I need to get to Dollywood one day...

[Guy T. Koepp]

Wow! At the rate this thing is going up, it's gonna be done before the season ends this year. I love that Dollywood is committed to opening their rides when the park opens for the season. I can't wait to ride.

[crazydaveh]

I'm honestly going to have to go to Dollywood next year! I'm looking forward to something like this in the Southeast USA. We have a lot of great coasters down here, but it's been a while since we've gotten something "different" than what we're used to. Sure, BGT and SW have added great coasters recently, but a wing flyer sure makes me want to go see some Smokey Mountain rednecks!

[Shavethewhales]

Good grief! When did all those supports pop up? Seems like this thing just grew overnight. B&M's do seem to be pretty speedy to set up once all the groundwork and footers are in place. At this rate it'll be testing by Christmas.

 

I have to say, I was a little disappointed after the announcement because there was no obvious wow-factor attached to this coaster, which is what I was expecting from DW, but the more I've thought it over the more I've come to realize that this really is simply DW's version of Wildfire, and when you compare the two you can tell they did a good job of building upon a past success. This thing will have all the views and big inversions of Wildfire with the added bonus of a cool seating arrangement and an extra helix.

 

I have absolutely no complaints with Wildfire, so I'm sure this will be even better. I'm still holding out hope for some cool theming, and I don't necessarily mean key-hole elements or flybys.

[thrillrider]

The ride looks amazing!!!

 

Has there been any close up views of the train?

[dragonskeep]

The left side looks way better. Did Kevin M. do both sides? Just kidding and I will have the left outside seat please. Thanks for taking the time to do this, it looks really good to me.

 

I have learned that hype is hype and Wingriders will at the very minimum be pretty fun. I understand why the parks do what they do but I think it does them a disservice by building un-realistic expectations in certain circles. There is a lot of great content created for enthusiasts but they should save the GP stuff for their T.V. adds. All we really want to do is un-cover what the ride will be and what it is named etc. I guess I just don't see the upside in it. With that being said , it's hard to keep straight sometimes what has been officially said and what is just rumor. The announcements I enjoyed most this year were Skyrush and Superman. Six Flags animations for X-Flight were also very cool.

 

I look forward to riding as many new rides as I can, and some have surprised me quite a bit.

Edited September 5, 2011 by dragonskeep

[KerryB]

Thanks for the construction update! I cannot wait to head back to Dollywood...and I just want to thank Dolly for opening a new coaster for my Birthday. I know we are close, but this is just about too much!! March in the Smokies anyone?!?

[ImmelMatt]

Holy moly, THE LOOP IS THE KEYHOLE.

[ernierocker]

 

Has there been any close up views of the train?

 

I'm thinking that the trains are either not on site or they have had them under wraps until the announcement was over.