Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

Everything at 0 makes me think they are having an issue with the wait time system lol.. This time of year, they are having a lot of school field trips so I'd imagine something has at least a 5 min wait lol

 

Even on dead days FC has a 5 - 10 min wait haha..

 

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[LukeFlynn]

It had a 15min wait earlier.

 

Thursdays and Wednesdays are usually the slowest weekdays from what I've observed.

[dstephe9]

What concerns me some is that according to the National Park Service, national park attendance is up 30% already this year vs this time last year for the Smokies, however, I have yet to see Dollywood have any record days yet and most days they seem to struggle getting parking up to lot F.

 

It would be interesting to hear what Dollywoods attendance has been so far this season but last year we already had record breaking days by now and days that had parking all the way up to splash country.. so I haven't seen any signs from the outside saying Dollywoods attendance is up

 

Obviously people are visiting the area, I wonder if Dollywood is seeing growth so far this season

 

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[CaptainUnknown]

What concerns me some is that according to the National Park Service, national park attendance is up 30% already this year vs this time last year for the Smokies, however, I have yet to see Dollywood have any record days yet and most days they seem to struggle getting parking up to lot F.

 

It would be interesting to hear what Dollywoods attendance has been so far this season but last year we already had record breaking days by now and days that had parking all the way up to splash country.. so I haven't seen any signs from the outside saying Dollywoods attendance is up

 

Obviously people are visiting the area, I wonder if Dollywood is seeing growth so far this season

 

The fires last year brought the area national attention. I would not at all be surprised if that has anything to do with it.

[Thunderhead01]

Is there footage of Drop Line testing

[LukeFlynn]

I believe someone posted some a few pages back.

[coasterbill]

last year we already had record breaking days by now and days that had parking all the way up to splash country.. so I haven't seen any signs from the outside saying Dollywoods attendance is up

 

Last year they also announced the largest single addition in the park's history in the form of the fastest and only launched wooden coaster in the world. While it didn't open on time, tons of people expected it to and booked trips to Dollywood. If that DIDN'T generate larger attendance numbers at the beginning of the season than they have in a typical season then you would have cause for concern.

[Thunderhead01]

I believe someone posted some a few pages back.

 

Actually that was just pictures

[dstephe9]

What concerns me some is that according to the National Park Service, national park attendance is up 30% already this year vs this time last year for the Smokies, however, I have yet to see Dollywood have any record days yet and most days they seem to struggle getting parking up to lot F.

 

It would be interesting to hear what Dollywoods attendance has been so far this season but last year we already had record breaking days by now and days that had parking all the way up to splash country.. so I haven't seen any signs from the outside saying Dollywoods attendance is up

 

Obviously people are visiting the area, I wonder if Dollywood is seeing growth so far this season

 

The fires last year brought the area national attention. I would not at all be surprised if that has anything to do with it.

I'm sure that has something to do with it, I just hope Dollywood is benefiting from it.. so far from my visits, they don't seem to be but looks aren't official numbers at all lol.

 

Or maybe it's just proof that the folks who visited Dollywood last year for LR could care less about the National Park and didn't even visit it..

 

With 30% more folks in the area than last year, you would hope Dollywood would see some of those people. If they don't, I wonder if the increase in ticket prices are the reason? Something to speculate about.

 

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[Midgetman82]

Is there footage of Drop Line testing

 

Here's one:

 

There's one on Instagram that shows a little bit of its light package under the drop car.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSZEr2ogRNN/

[coasterbill]

Those lights are sick.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I'm impressed they bought a light package, considering how rarely they're open after dark.

[coasterbill]

True, but it'll look great during SMC and assuming temperature isn't an issue with this ride it'll likely be a complete re-ride fest after the coasters close for temps since there won't be anyone back there.

[coasterdude5]

Those lights are sick.

They're nice, no doubt. But do they make sense at Dollywood, especially in a timber/logging-themed area? I could understand them in Jukebox Junction or even County Fair, but in "Timber Canyon," an LED light package seems out of place.

 

I know I'm being nitpicky, but for a park as beautifully themed and well thought out as Dollywood, the tower's adornments surprise me.

[Thunderhead01]

So what do you guys think about my prediction of an expansion behind TT or I could also see a dark ride going in the old mansion/mine building

[carolinaman]

I went to the park yesterday and today. Yesterday was the park was busy and I didn't get to ride a whole lot. Tried to ride Lightning Rod three time with no luck. First time I was at the gates ready to load and when they were about to open the gates, the Operator said there was lighting detected in the area. So I waited for that to pass (about 30 min). When they gave the all clear they said they would run some test runs. After the test runs were done, they was about to let us on and the operator said lighting was again in the area, so I left. Came back about 5, and I thought I was finally gonna ride. They buckled us in and then told everyone to unbuckle and get back in line as there was a problem. The ride never reopened. Today was a different story. I rode three time today and each time there was maybe 5 to 8 people in line. Man that is one crazy ride. I LOVE IT !!!! Going back tomorrow. I was impressed that the ride time were so accurate.

[Midgetman82]

Those lights are sick.

They're nice, no doubt. But do they make sense at Dollywood, especially in a timber/logging-themed area? I could understand them in Jukebox Junction or even County Fair, but in "Timber Canyon," an LED light package seems out of place.

 

I know I'm being nitpicky, but for a park as beautifully themed and well thought out as Dollywood, the tower's adornments surprise me.

It looks like it's only under the car and the tip of the tower. It's not like the entire tower is lit up all the way. Wild Eagle even has lights on the sides of the trains, making it clearly visible at night when it flies through the trees.

[STDog]

Last year they also announced the largest single addition in the park's history in the form of the fastest and only launched wooden coaster in the world. While it didn't open on time, tons of people expected it to and booked trips to Dollywood.

 

Bingo. Last years numbers just ain't going to be repeated any time soon.

 

Or maybe it's just proof that the folks who visited Dollywood last year for LR could care less about the National Park and didn't even visit it.

 

That's my take. And I suspect the increased numbers in GSMNP are not they type to visit DW.

 

So if normally 50% of the NP visitors visit DW, I figure the extra 30% at the NP so far are less likely to visit DW, say 25%.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Or maybe it's just proof that the folks who visited Dollywood last year for LR could care less about the National Park and didn't even visit it.

[drummermattk]

Hi guys! I recently visited the park on Wednesday and Thursday for the first time! You can check y full TR here:

http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=74635&p=1785369#p1785369

[STDog]

Matt, glad you enjoyed it.

 

Interesting, one of the few true rollback reports. Most mentions are actually shutdowns before the launch (never getting the the LSMs).

[Djwadeknox]

I had the opportunity to stop by Dollywood for about 2 hours on Friday evening. Spoke to one of the a Lightning Rod op's and he said that it was working great that day with no downtime and no rollbacks. He did mention about the front of the train leaking a lot of oil and they put a pan full of kitty litter down on the track to catch it. He said when they first put it down they used a metal pan and when the train started out of the station it stuck to the train due to the magnets on the train it self. They had only one train going that day and the park attendance was under 5000. The wait for Lightning rod was 25 minutes. The day before when everything was 0 on the app times a employee told we they had under 2000 on that day and with the rain most went to shows.

[Jwalther420]

Just visited the park today. Other than a 50min delay to start the day, I didn't see any downtime on Lightning Rod. I'm a huge fan of coasters and like intense ones (i305 is a fav) but damn this thing almost goes over my line. It's amazingly intense and never stops. I learned while riding outlaw run a couple years ago that the RMC restraints across the thighs ends up bruising me. I was hoping that would somehow change for LR but alas, no. By my 3rd circuit, the quad down was cringe-inducing.

 

Park was fairly slow today with only LR really carrying a wait and even that only hovered around 30-40 mins. We're staying at the Dream More so the 2x fast passes on LR really helped.

[LukeFlynn]

I had the opportunity to stop by Dollywood for about 2 hours on Friday evening. Spoke to one of the a Lightning Rod op's and he said that it was working great that day with no downtime and no rollbacks. He did mention about the front of the train leaking a lot of oil and they put a pan full of kitty litter down on the track to catch it. He said when they first put it down they used a metal pan and when the train started out of the station it stuck to the train due to the magnets on the train it self. They had only one train going that day and the park attendance was under 5000. The wait for Lightning rod was 25 minutes. The day before when everything was 0 on the app times a employee told we they had under 2000 on that day and with the rain most went to shows.

 

I'm curious as to how the train leaks oil? I mean, I'm sure things are greased regularly.. but I cant' figure out why it would be leaking oil...

[STDog]

I'm curious as to how the train leaks oil? I mean, I'm sure things are greased regularly.. but I cant' figure out why it would be leaking oil...

 

Hydraulics?

 

Modern trains are rather sophisticated systems and more than just a box with wheels.