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Dollywood Discussion Thread

P. 796 - Ride closing 10/30 to remove launch and install chain lift!

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A new Egg to Eagle update can be found here with some shots of the station, landscaping, and the eagle train going up the lift!

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Overview of the plaza

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This should stop anyone from complaining about how the trains came out.

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The station theming is exquisite. Just a month left until opening!!

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Some details were released on the latest update...

 

-The gift shop will be named "Eagle's Flight Outfitters".

-The SkyZip booth will be transformed into a food stand named "SkyView Snacks", so I'm guessing the zipline stand will replace a former food stand further up the Wilderness Pass walkway or a new booth will be made for it.

 

I love the station and the location of the giftshop. I'm excited to see the landscaping has begun as it should look incredible once it is done knowing Dollywood. Plus, the giant eagle sculture will be somewhere in the middle of all of this!

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Plus, the giant eagle sculture will be somewhere in the middle of all of this!

 

 

The shot of the train climbing the lifthill looks great!

 

And the whole setup with the station and

it's surroundings looks wonderful, too.

 

Must - get - there - some - year.

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http://www.timesnews.net/article/9042546/dollywood-huss-settle-lawsuit-over-timber-tower

 

KINGSPORT — The Dollywood Co. and a German maker of amusement park rides have settled a $500,000 federal lawsuit filed over the Timber Tower attraction — a ride Dollywood claimed suffered from numerous mechanical failures and never worked properly over its six-year history at the park.

 

Dollywood filed the lawsuit in Sevier County Circuit Court in September 2011 naming HUSS Park Attractions and HUSS Parts & Service as the defendants.

 

Dollywood claimed breach of contract and warranty, negligence and misrepresentation over the installation and performance of the Timber Tower ride.

 

The lawsuit was transferred to U.S. District Court in Knoxville in December, and later that month HUSS filed a motion to dismiss the complaint.

 

Earlier this month, the two companies announced to the court a settlement had been reached and all issues had been resolved without an admission of liability by either side.

 

“We came to a mutual agreement. We’re wishing each other well and both going on about our business,” said Pete Owens, media and public relations manager for Dollywood.

 

The terms of the settlement are sealed and will remain confidential, a press release from Dollywood stated.

 

Owens said the Timber Tower ride would be dismantled and removed from the park before the 2012 season, which begins March 24.

 

“We’re taking a look at what might go there at this point, but there have been no decisions made,” Owens said.

 

Depending on the type of ride, a replacement for Timber Tower could take Dollywood one to three years to fully implement. Owens noted the Barnstormer ride (which opened in 2011) took 12 to 18 months to come online, the new Wild Eagle ride (opening this year) took a couple of years, while the Mystery Mine took almost three years.

 

“At this point we’re just taking a look at some options,” he said.

 

According to the lawsuit, Dollywood purchased the Timber Tower ride from HUSS Maschinenfabrik in June 2005, and the German maker had the ride installed by March 2006. Dollywood spent more than $4.7 million on the project.

 

Beginning in May 2006, Dollywood claimed it experienced substantial mechanical and electronic difficulties with Timber Tower, difficulties that continued through the 2011 season. In June 2007, 38 guests of Dollywood became stranded on the ride for several hours.

 

Dollywood entered into two agreements with HPA and HPS in 2007 and 2008 for the completion and rebuilding of the Timber Tower ride, but at the time of the filing the ride did not operate properly and Owens said it was down all last year.

 

According to the motion to dismiss, HPA and HPS argued the companies were not liable for the claims because they were not successors to the original company that entered into a contract with Dollywood.

 

HUSS Maschinenfabrik filed for insolvency in October 2006, and HPA and HPS began to market, sell and service products of the former company.

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Atleast Pete said that they were already looking at options of what to put there so it won't be empty in a few years. Personally, I could see this being their 2014 attraction.

 

They should atleast remove queue bars and put some type of classic Dollywood shop, a snack bar, rocking chairs, or a little something for the next year or two. I'm also hoping they fill up the lake that surrounded Timber Tower once it is removed as the empty lake didn't look too good last season.

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Wait, the one at Marineland actually got built? I just remember it being a concrete pad for like three years... but I guess that's their average construction time?

 

The Huss tower ride is shown on Marineland's web site in their ride list and appears to be operational, with the creative name of "Topple Tower."

 

I agree that Dollywood needs to fill their void of a jr/family coaster. Although, I would hate so see something taken out to make it happen in the 50's area, like the rumored removal of the Rockin' Roadway a few years ago. It would be great to see a small woodie like the Warrior from Gravity Group or Vekoma's swinging suspended f.c.

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Is anyone else gonna be there for passholder preview day on the 23rd of March? Me n'tha midgets plan on being there as it's spring break for us here in Sumner county. Whooo! One month!

 

Actually-I was just about to post something similar! I had not planned on going up to Dollywood until sometime in May for Thrills in the Hills, but as it turns out, I will be going to the event on the 23rd.

 

After spending the past few days feeling a bit down, I received a very pleasant surprise this afternoon: a couple of really nice members of my family, who felt bad about my having to back out of West Coast Bash two days before in order to care for my Dad surprised me with a 2012 Gold Pass to Dollywood and have generously offered to be here to look after things with my folks for a few days so I can drive up to make the Preview Day on the 23rd and be amongst the first to ride Wild Eagle (which is the 2012 new coaster I have spoken about being most excited about numerous times.) I haven't been on any of the other coasters at Dollywood than Blazing Fury as the last time I was there it was the only coaster they had at the time, so I am excited about getting on those and just experiencing the park as it looks great.

 

So I am planning on driving up from here all day on the 22nd, staying in Gatlinburg Friday night and then going to the event. Not sure yet if I will stay there for opening day on the 24th or driving back down to Atlanta on the night of the 23rd and doing my first 2012 visit to SFOG as well but I have the 22-24.

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38 guests of Dollywood became stranded on the ride for several hours

 

I get a kick out of seeing parks stumble over themselves to reassure anyone who will listen that Ride A did exactly what it was designed to do when it stalled/stranded riders- that was just the safety system doing exactly what it was supposed to do- no riders were ever in danger. That's essentially what Dollywood did at the time this happened. After it was decided that the ride was more trouble than it was worth (a valid conclusion in this case) and litigation was filed- they turn around and point to that very incident as a reason that HUSS should compensate them. Nothing wrong with that, just thought it was funny. If Timber Tower was incredibly popular among guests, this plays out differently.

 

A few years ago, Busch Gardens and Kumba had the nerve to stop the train I was in on the lift for two dozen minutes without warning. Imagine my outrage when upon visiting the next year, not only was Kumba still standing, they even had the nerve to give it a fresh coat of paint! The look I had on my face as I rode it 4 or 5 times (no line) could have made a glass of ice water boil.

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^Timber Tower was a maintenance nightmare from its opening season. The people being stranded was just the event that gained the most attention by the media here. It gets mentioned in pretty much every article in reference to the ride.

 

Really not sure what you are trying to say here to be honest.

Edited by ernierocker
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