Dollywood Discussion Thread

[ernierocker]

Hey guys! Just got back from the park. I know a lot of us were hoping the coaster would turn out to be more like a Powder Keg or Verbolten, but I think with some extensive theming, it could be the perfect family ride for the park. There will be a "trick track" portion of the ride that takes place inside a themed building, so it will be interesting to find out more details on that.

 

The annoucement today was really more about the future of the park and the $300 Million investment the park is going to make. This will really help support the area's tourism for years to come and you can tell the park as well as local officials are really excited about the resort and everything that is to come in the future.

 

I did take a few photos of the announcement and a few of the construction site. Not much going on, basically just some earthwork on the Tennessee Tornado side of the Adventure Mountain site.

 

How about some photos?

The stage is all set for the biggest Announcent in the park's history!

Dollywood's DreamMore Resort

And FireChaser Express!

This just so happens to be the shovel that first broke ground in 1984 when Dolly bought the park.

Photo ops with some of the local area officials along with Dolly, Craig Ross and Governor Haslam.

Company President, Craig Ross was up next to make the two big announcements of the day.

Even Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam was on hand to give thanks to Dollywood for everything they do for tourism.

Looks like I made it to the right place.

The Showstreet Palace Theater was completely packed for the announcement!

And here's Dolly!

You could tell how excited Dolly was about the future of the park and the entire Pigeon Forge area.

They also had a short Q&A session. The main points of the session were how big this would be for the region, not only with tourism but creating new jobs. Dolly is really committed to East Tennessee and it shows!

How about some ride stats?

We now know what this means!

Not much to see here. Just a few large construction vehicles moving dirt.

And I can't do a Dollywood update without including a photo of...

CINNAMON BREAD!!!

On to the construction site, the teaser sign is still up

They've scraped the hillside below the access road pretty good as you can see. This is standing directly between the AM site and Tennessee Tornado.

The Q2Q reservation building and the Season pass center have also switched places.

A few new things from around the park. The motion theater is no more and The Dreamsong Theater is now in its place.

New home of the Q-bots next to the Celebrity Theater.

FireChaser Express construction through the trees.

Edited August 21, 2013 by ernierocker

[KingRCT3]

Three trains ? So it won't be a shuttle? Shout, I was starting to think it would be similar to

, the shuttle Gerstlauer. But with mini-launches at the top of the lifts. Because you can find every elements:

- Two helices (one time forward, one backward)

- Six zero-g (one on each drop and the EGF-turn)

- Trick-track section (just before the second lift)

[chickenbowl]

With 3 trains, this must mean it is a closed circuit ride, and not a shuttle coaster, right?

 

When it was first announced, I was expecting this style of coaster:

 

I sure hope Fire Chase Express is more extensive than that.

 

Edit: Wow we were thinking the same exact thing!

Three trains ? So it won't be a shuttle? Shout, I was starting to think it would be similar to

, the shuttle Gerstlauer. But with mini-launches at the top of the lifts. Because you can find every elements:

- Two helices (one time forward, one backward)

- Six zero-g (one on each drop and the EGF-turn)

- Trick-track section (just before the second lift)

[Hockeydad]

I'm actually excited for the FCE! Glad to see DW doing something coaster-wise for the whole family. We had avoided DW for several years waiting for my son to catch up in height. He outgrew the Veggietale ride years ago, but had no other coaster to ride for a while except Blazing Fury. This is a great move. Great theme too! Very touching tribute with all that's happened in recent months with the forest fires out west. Even before it opens, I'll say A+.

 

However, I'm not feeling the love for the resort. I'll just be at my regular spot...Econo Lodge Riverside. I'm pretty sure I can't afford the Dream More Resort.

 

Too bad we can't count the Cinnamon Bread as a credit, it's best attraction at DW.

[cmullin]

Looks like its going to be a neat coaster! Some solid theming and it should be awesome! I saw a Dollywood FB picture that said, "Explore the first two phases of our exciting 10 year plan!" Does this mean more coasters and flats to come soon?

[HWFan]

Quick question, are they spending $300 million on the coaster and resort, or is that for their total ten year plan? It seems like a lot, but I don't know how much it costs to build a resort.

 

Either way, it looks amazing! For me, coasters don't have to be big and fast. As long as it's a fun ride, I'm happy, and this definitely sounds like a fun ride for the whole family.

[Sir Clinksalot]

I think the expansion looks great. Can't wait to make our first visit to Dollywood sometime in the next couple of years.

 

One criticism though, the trailer video. I mean, it's a roller coaster. It seems kind of preachy/heavy-handed. Kind of like that truck commercial that ran during the Super Bowl that everybody seemed to love. Video's that try to elicit some kind of emotion should be reserved for something other than coasters or trucks. I just want to see what the ride is going to look like and how much fun it's going to be. Leave the other stuff out.

 

In the grand scheme though, that's very minor and not a big deal. Overall I think this is a great thing for the park and will fit it quite nicely from what I can tell.

[ernierocker]

Quick question, are they spending $300 million on the coaster and resort, or is that for their total ten year plan?

 

$300 Million invested over the 10 year plan. No details about how much the coaster or the resort individually cost.

[BDFS]

Maybe in true Smokey Mountain fashion there will be about 4 pancake houses .

 

We made the mistake of driving through Pigeon Forge on our way to BGW this past June.

 

I think we lost count at around 20 pancake houses along the "strip."

 

WTF?!

[Chroniq]

As a family with a young child who enjoy doing their theme park trips in a relaxed fashion, the new resort is actually the most exciting news for us. Even though we live in New York, we've been to Dollywood three years in a row because, to us, it's Disney World cooked up on a skillet plate with a whole lot of Southern hospitality. It's a great vacation destination.

 

The addition of the resort solidifies the idea of us flying down there and having a great place to stay with activities for our entire family. While I'm not one for hashtags, the resort truly makes it "DestinationDollywood".

 

 

-Chris "Sincerely disappointed the turtle rumors were untrue. Still like them though" Con

[Vonni]

I must say I'm looking forward to staying in the Resort! You know its going to be nice! And better believe I'll be getting a nice Massage in the Spa! I love Spas!

[jokey]

That resort looks amazing! I'm already planning my trip for 2015!

[Hercules]

I really like the coaster. That section of the park really needs some love.

[Chroniq]

^That section of the park has wild eagle literally 100 feet away... Not sure if it "needs some love".But, adding a family attraction to compliment river battle in the thrill seeker section of the park does make a lot of sense.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Chroniq

[dstephe9]

Looks like its going to be a neat coaster! Some solid theming and it should be awesome! I saw a Dollywood FB picture that said, "Explore the first two phases of our exciting 10 year plan!" Does this mean more coasters and flats to come soon?

 

Yes, they said at the event that the 300 Million is being spent over a 10 year plan with a lot of "Major attractions, rides, and shows" coming. He even specifically said that our guest want bigger attractions and we are going to give it to them.

 

If I understood them correctly they are going to be announcing the next step on a yearly biases around the end of August every year. Dolly said something like that during todays announcement.

 

I am putting my money on them trying to completely expand to the train loop in the next 5 years. I would bet on them building several rides in that area over the next 3 or 4 years with a "big" ride sometime during that frame and then the last 5 years they will probably work on their resort a little more with something major over there and with a few smaller rides here and there at dwood. That is what I hope anyways! HAHA I hope they will eventually have an indoor water park but I see that happening 7 - 8 years down the road towards the end of their plan.

 

A resort helps but they can't put the big rides off to long. Every record year Dollywood has had has been after a major attraction. Example, Mystery Mine and Wild Eagle. I can't imagine a resort alone will bring record crowds to the park

[tntornadox]

As was mentioned today, Dolly and HFE have invested approximately $250 Million into Dollywood since it became as such. The next ten years they intend to invest a total of $300 Million. $150 Million will be going toward new attractions and shows with the rest going toward resort development. Either way, that's a lot of investment for what's currently a regional park that isn't in a major chain, no?

 

Anyway, expect Dollywood to continue adding new things even while they build the resort and into the future. The two aren't connected as the funding is separated.

[Shavethewhales]

$300 million in 10 years is just a ridiculous amount of money for this park. You can build a pretty big park from the ground up with that kind of money. I am unbelievably excited to hear this news. They are going to turn DW into a national destination. It's going to be on the level of Europa park.

 

The new coaster sounds neat as well. Not sure what to say about it without any good concept art, but I'm sure it will be lovely.

 

I do think DW is playing with fire with that video though. I could defiantly see someone raising a ruckus over them seemingly comparing being a firefighter to riding a roller coaster. I get that they're trying to honor fire fighters, but there's a fine line between doing that and exploiting emotion for advertising purposes. I am sure the actual implementation will be tasteful. The chain has been on a streak of honoring heroes lately, with the monument they recently erected outside of Outlaw Run.

[Jhcbiinoc]

I think the Firechaser Express is a perfect fit for the park; a great coaster ride in between Blazing Fury and Thunderhead. I was expecting a launched mine train coaster of some kind and the thought they put into it was well done. It is tough to say with the limited information so far, but I would anticipate this as being on the same type of excitement level as Pony Express at Knott's, only executed much better and with more extensive theming. I was surprised that this was not a coaster similar to SDC's Powder Keg, but I know there have been issues with that ride in the past as far as some down time, and I have not seen S&S doing any more US launch coasters, plus, there is the park's rapport with Gerstlauer and the fact that this will have a 39" height requirement. I also thought it was cool that they gave the tip of the hat to the park's old mine train, Thunder Express, in the naming and theme. I am anxious to see how they plan to run three trains on this; I assume there will be some kind of "switch track".

 

With $300 Million of investments, I feel sure that in a few years Dollywood will receive at least one more "big" coaster on the scale of Wild Eagle or Thunderhead, and hopefully their own take on Outlaw Run in an RMC coaster! Maybe even a terrain based B&M hyper...who knows. But all of the things announced today make what I feel to be a five star park have an even brighter future.

 

I am actually more excited for the resort than the coaster; I loved staying at the Knott's Hotel right next to the park and how it makes the entire place a destination where you can just walk over to the park. Very good decision, and one I thought they really needed, although I hope they do not get into the whole timeshare thing.

Once again, they continue to do things right.

[BeemerBoy]

I do think DW is playing with fire with that video though. I could defiantly see someone raising a ruckus over them seemingly comparing being a firefighter to riding a roller coaster. I get that they're trying to honor fire fighters, but there's a fine line between doing that and exploiting emotion for advertising purposes. I am sure the actual implementation will be tasteful. The chain has been on a streak of honoring heroes lately, with the monument they recently erected outside of Outlaw Run.

You're giving Dollywood's general clientele way too much credit there. Let's be honest, waving the stars and stripes, building monuments to heroes, and playing Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be a 'Murican" is the only recipe you need to succeed in the south....and the sappier the better. Yeah, the video was over-dramatically lame, but that's the point.

[Shavethewhales]

^I guess so. I mean, I definitely get where they are coming from, but I just naturally expect people to raise a hubub over everything these days.

 

Looks like its going to be a neat coaster! Some solid theming and it should be awesome! I saw a Dollywood FB picture that said, "Explore the first two phases of our exciting 10 year plan!" Does this mean more coasters and flats to come soon?

 

Yes, they said at the event that the 300 Million is being spent over a 10 year plan with a lot of "Major attractions, rides, and shows" coming. He even specifically said that our guest want bigger attractions and we are going to give it to them.

 

...

 

 

This is the most exciting thing I've read yet. I've been saying all along how much I'm pining to see HFEC get into slightly bigger attractions than the general cookie cutter, turn-key attractions that all the parks get. Wild Eagle seemed to be a little bland for them, though it is certainly a good attraction for the park in it's own right. Mystery Mine seemed to be a great step in the direction of a "bigger experience", even if it could have turned out smoother. I can't wait to see them hit it out of the park with the next major ride.

[Tysnave]

Am I the only one who was disappointed. It's a great idea don't get me wrong, but isn't it such a small deal after building wild eagle "The first wing coaster in America!" But the double launch thing is pretty awesome!

[Jew]

The name is weird, but I like the backstory and the ride concept itself. Maybe it will turn out like Powder Keg when all is said and done?

[Bobby2889]

Is there a similar trick track on any other coasters?

 

The stats sheet said ""trick track" section twists side to side" is that a first or is it something I have just never seen or heard of before?

[GravityFlyersInc]

Is there a similar trick track on any other coasters?

 

The stats sheet said ""trick track" section twists side to side" is that a first or is it something I have just never seen or heard of before?

 

Trick tracking is basically banking the track from one side to the other and back again. It's usually found on wooden coasters, for example Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure has a "trick track section"

[Vonni]

With all the news of the $300 million worth of work in the next few years, I dont think it would be too far off to expect the long rumored Drop Tower for 2015