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Dollywood Discussion Thread

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

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Has the water splash returned to Blazing Fury?

 

The splashdown was replaced with magnetic brakes, and iirc Dollywood said they couldn't use the new brakes and have a splashdown too. I don't think the splashdown will return, but they have said they would tweek it, so its a work in progress.

 

I had heard somewhere that the drive-train and axel that pulled the train out of the water was breaking down a lot and so that's why they started looking at solutions to fix that issue...and from that came the magnetic brakes and the loss of the splashdown. Not sure if that's 100% accurate or not.

 

 

That makes no sense. Magnetic brakes work against water. Like Perilous Plunge at Knott's.

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^^ I just looked at a couple pictures of a drained PP and i'm not seeing anything that looks to me like magnetic brakes. But I'd love to see pics though if you have one of them! I see drive tires at the end of the run-out. i'm looking at one from 2011 & one from 2008.

 

Whatever the reason it is still very popular with guests. I walked by it yesterday and the line was out the door.

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^^I just looked at a couple pictures of a drained PP and I'm not seeing anything that looks to me like magnetic brakes. But I'd love to see pics though if you have one of them! I see drive tires at the end of the run-out. i'm looking at one from 2011 & one from 2008.

 

I've always been under the impression that these are (were) the brakes, and also that they are (were) adjustable so as to change the size of the splashdown:

 

lrg-2124-img_7438.thumb.jpg.5a7cd6ddfdb3f7c102aed66c6555539c.jpg

 

It's also worth noting that the new flume at Phantasialand just opened with magnetic brakes to slow the car down as well. I'm not sure why Dollywood doesn't believe that they work with a water splash, but they clearly do.

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Ok i see now. thank you!

 

Again, i'm not sure, but I spy a couple key differences in the PP/intamin design vs. BF....

1) the PP/intamin brakes appear to me to be mostly above water. The BF was under the train and so it was below the water.

2) PP also has drive tires at the end of its run-out, similar to BF...HOWEVER, BF has an incline before declining back in to the station. So, one of the reasons i heard and i mentioned above was that the drive-train system that pulls the train up the incline was having issues related to the water. I think this is the key reason for using magnetic brakes and ditching the water. So if BF didn't have the incline it may have worked out better. That's just my guess as to why.

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^^Correct, the center "rail" is the magnetic brakes however they were not adjustable. The drives tires were on a pneumatic table that would always be in the retracted position until the boat came to a stop in the run-out and then the dispatcher has to press the "Run-out jog" button to jog the boat out of the run out. Once pressed the pneumatic table would bring the drive tires up to the drive plates at the bottom of the boat. The dispatcher only had 45 seconds to jog the boat out of the run-out otherwise the ride would fault.

 

Sorry to derail the thread. I just thought I would comment from my operational experience with PP.

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^Cool, thanks for chiming in. This is all very interesting to me.

 

This center rail on PP looks like what is on BF, except there are two rails side by side, so the fact that its under water wouldn't affect BF, so i would have to believe the issue is more with the drive train that pulls the coaster up the incline and out of the water. That issue, whatever it was, necessitated adding magnetic brakes and removing the water.

841234559_blazingfurymagbrakes.jpg.3ef294a597ceefd85ec0898d5f41c45f.jpg

blazing fury mag brakes / former splash down area

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I'm all in favor of them finding a creative way to incorporate water again in some form, though I have no idea of the feasibility beyond what's already been explained over the years. I'm not even that fond of water on rides, but the splashdown adds a nice extra thrill to the surprise drop on Fire in the Hole.

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Just to recap what Dollywood said about it at the time...

 

"in an effort to bring Blazing Fury up to date, magnetic braking was installed during the off-season this year. With the new magnetic braking system in place we are unable to utilize the water effect. However, we are working on a replacement effect to simulate the experience felt and seen prior to this season. We will be sure to let everyone know when this process is complete."

 

That was around June 16, 2011....page 118 in this thread.

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Hey just made my first full visit to the park this season and thought I'd post a quick trip report. I usually only go on weekdays such as Monday and Wednesday to avoid the crowds, but since spring break is on the park was as crowded as a typical summer weekend. I entered the park at opening time went straight to the back of the park, hoping to get a ride on Firechaser before the crowds reached it. That was not to be. I'm guessing even though the park was closed they let people through the gates to line up at their favorite rides, because the line extended past River Battle. Only Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado opened with the park, however, so I headed over to check it out.

 

It appears they did a few adjustments in the off season, as when I took my seat in the last car I noticed the seat padding appeared to have been replaced. A trim brake was also installed on the last small jump onto the brake run, so it's much less violent for riders in the front of the train. It does slow it down to a crawl on the brake run, however. The first time I rode it I thought something had malfunctioned as we almost came to a complete stop and then just barely creeped into the station. I think it's for the better though. Now if it can just get a fresh coat of paint and a station rehab. image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

 

Blazing Fury was next in my list, as I wanted to check out the changes made throughout the ride. As was said before, they replaced most of the fire affects for something just a tad more realistic. They also replaced almost every one of the animatronic characters, leaving only three that I remember. There was no wait time at all so I rode twice in a row. (Poor Blazing Fury, overshadowed by its new cousin that by now had finally opened and had a 2 hour wait time.)

 

I then did the obligatory run on Daredevil Falls, although it about froze me to death. image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

Barnstormer came next and had almost no wait time as usual. Slidewinder, just like most of the coasters, was still closed so I had to skip it as well. I then made my way to the Country Fair to see what improvements had been made there. Not a whole lot, actually, but Wonder Wheel looked pretty snazzy as it received a nice red and tan paint job.image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

Dizzy Disk got some touch ups as well, although nothing was done to the track portion of the ride which needed it most. image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

I believe the Wave Swinger also got a paint job, but other then that everything looked the same.

 

I slowly made my way back to the coaster end of the park, only to find that Thunderhead had closed and was making test runs. Mystery Mine had finally opened but had lines extending almost into the street, so I skipped it again. Firechaser still had at least a 2 hour wait, so I knew I'd have to ride it another day. It's nice to see that it is a hit with the public and fulfills their wish to make a ride the whole family can enjoy. I'm not one to wait in lines here since DW is my home park and I can always come back the next morning if I had a bad day before.

 

Wild Eagle had been strangely silent all morning, but finally around noon it was seen making test runs. I rode Thunderhead while waiting (it had reopened a few minutes before and for some reason had almost no wait time. I don't know why, but for some reason today it surpassed Wild Eagle as my favorite DW coaster. All last season I couldn't decide which one I liked better, but leaned toward Wild Eagle. Maybe it's getting that airtime extravaganza in the front seat! image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

 

I finally made my way to WE, and joined a small line waiting at the entrance. We probably waited another thirty minutes as they made almost 10 runs. Finally, however, it opened and the first full train left at 12:25. I got my favorite seat in the house (left side, outer last seat). image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

I didn't do too much after that, as all the rides had atrocious wait times. I did try the new Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin' Dots, and yes they're awesome! image.thumb.jpg.07aa3f22409c4a870f79cc7b414f1ddb.jpg

Fire Chaser Cherry Bomb Dippin Dots. Yum!

 

I was pretty disappointed with DW's management for the first time today. You would think that on a spring break week, when Pigeon Forge becomes a madhouse and one solid traffic jam (which I happened to get into on my way back), they would be better prepared to handle the crowds and get them spread throughout the park. Some places were almost deserted, while Wilderness Pass was packed. Having only two of the major rides open with the park as well as having a lot of the food and shops closed did not help at all.

 

The improvements made in the off season, while not as extensive as I had hoped, were great. I really loved the new plaza at the park entrance. Overall, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Monday morning (and certainly not the worst day I've had there before.)

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Finally up and running...er flying.

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Awesome weather to be out!

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The crazy line for Wild Eagle!

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Wonder Wheel's new paint job!

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What better way to spend a Monday morning?

image.thumb.jpg.f1fe4d8f13d70270ee78ea1eb40f4a56.jpg

Cold cold cold! (They've fixed the jet sprayers so now you do get soaked if you stand on the bridge!)

image.thumb.jpg.d0a5abf4af2a6ca2e675ca426b523007.jpg

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Dizzy Disk's got a brighter look!

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That coveted front seat...all mine!

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Tornado coming home.

Edited by djcarrell
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Well I don't remember seeing the trim brake on the hill last year. They had to have done something did something to it because used to you would get a good pop of sometimes violent airtime when it jumped up on the brake run but yesterday there was absolutely none. The back of the train basically crawled up the hill.

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Yeah those are magnetic and they've been there since 2007. Were you on an empty or mostly empty train? The magnetic brakes will bring an empty train to almost a stop outside the station, where a full train will coast on through pretty quickly. A train full of passengers will still get you that crazy pop of air.

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I rode several times with a couple almost empty and the other full. It just felt very different from what I'm used to, and I rode it at least 40 times last year. As I said, the first time I thought that something malfunctioned, cause we were sitting there and there was a deceleration noise like when a jet engine is shutting down. Very strange. Maybe they just had the brakes working a little tighter then usual? It did that on every train I was on, no matter the amount of passengers. It isn't that important though.

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Tornado received some work this winter including new wheels. I noticed it is running smoother than it has in a long time and they did install new trim brakes. They are doing their job very well and really do slow the trains down quite a bit and likely will until they wear in a little more.

 

I can't speak to the rides being down yesterday, but if they were testing that late into the day, there must have been some maintenance going on. The past few weeks have been very weird at the park as we aren't very busy by the numbers but the coasters are slammed like a Summer weekend, so the parking lot has been deceiving lately. Unfortunately, it's tough to project how crowd levels will be this time of year considering every school district plans their spring breaks at different times. Last week was Alabama and this week is Georgia. I would expect the crowds to come back to normal during the week within the next week or two!

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Tornado received some work this winter including new wheels. I noticed it is running smoother than it has in a long time and they did install new trim brakes. They are doing their job very well and really do slow the trains down quite a bit and likely will until they wear in a little more.

 

DJCarrell, you were right! I look forward to checking it out. I remember the brake-redo from 2007 b/c that was the year MM opened, and the new brakes on TT were a huge HUGE improvement from the previous brakes that you would slam in to, especially when they were running 2 trains.

 

Thanks tntornadox, too! It's great to have an insider here to share knowledge.

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I'm glad to see this ride getting some upgrades. Tennessee Tornado is a flat out great coaster, it's intense, uses the terrain, is well themed, is really unique and is really smooth. I was blown away by it when I rode it last December... I just can't believe it's an Arrow.

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^ I was referring to this post about this year's upgrades.

 

Tornado received some work this winter including new wheels. I noticed it is running smoother than it has in a long time and they did install new trim brakes. They are doing their job very well and really do slow the trains down quite a bit and likely will until they wear in a little more.
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Just got back from Dollywood. Very crowded day! When I first got there the line for fire chaser was almost down to mystery mine and well over a two hour wait. I skipped it until 6:30 (park closed at 7) and still waited an hour.

 

Loved the new paint job in the fair area, really needed it.

 

Seems as if they are still really cleaning off the mountain side above fire chaser for their expansion. When you ride the train you can see the entire area and it seems to be a big area they want to expand into

 

Never got to ride bf to see their improvements. Like I said, the park was extremely crowded for a Wednesday. Its line was out the door and down the hill most of the day

 

The Africa show is amazing so you need to see it if you visit festival of nations!!!

 

Overall good trip! Just decided go today BC it was so pretty. Didn't even arrive at the park until 1 haha

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