Dollywood Discussion Thread

[Vonni]

When were footers prepared for Firechaser and Wild Eagle? And were they before or after the rides announcements?

[sirspud]

Is it possible to come in after 3 and experience the park in 7 hours? Not looking to do a ton of flat rides or anything.

[Firechaser]

Is it possible to come in after 3 and experience the park in 7 hours? Not looking to do a ton of flat rides or anything.

I would say that it is definitely possible to experience the coasters and certain areas of the park, but if you wan't to experience the park as an experience you would want to do the "go in after 3 next day is free deal".

[RollerManic]

See that wood in the background of the second picture in a post last page? 100% confirmed RMC Topper Track Aquatrack.

[sirspud]

Is it possible to come in after 3 and experience the park in 7 hours? Not looking to do a ton of flat rides or anything.

I would say that it is definitely possible to experience the coasters and certain areas of the park, but if you wan't to experience the park as an experience you would want to do the "go in after 3 next day is free deal".

 

I'm considering trying to do the park after 3 and then using the day after option if necessary.

[ernierocker]

When were footers prepared for Firechaser and Wild Eagle? And were they before or after the rides announcements?

 

The footers for Wild Eagle started going up some time in August. I am not sure the exact date but they were there when we did the construction tour during Labor Day weekend. (The grand announcement was during the same weekend)

[coasterfreaky]

When were footers prepared for Firechaser and Wild Eagle? And were they before or after the rides announcements?

 

The footers for Wild Eagle started going up some time in August. I am not sure the exact date but they were there when we did the construction tour during Labor Day weekend. (The grand announcement was during the same weekend)

 

There's some pics on page 97 of this thread, from May 2011 that show some footer work for Wild Eagle. And they were digging footers in March when the park opened that year.

[ernierocker]

^Yeah, you are right. I was thinking track pieces.

[Dollywoodlover20]

Just seen another shot of the wall on Instagram, those aren't headlights they're hubcaps. Which brings me to think that the theory of Cas Walkers being redesigned and brought back to life will happen but in the form of a ride. Maybe give a little back story to Cas' garage in the que along with local moonshine runs lately? (Just a thought) The launch has to have a reasoning of some sort with Dollywood. This isn't any other park where you launch for no reason, Dollywood goes all out.

[chargersmichael]

One thing I have to say about Dollywood, I absolutely love the place! I haven't been to the Park in 8 years (last time was when Mystery Mine opened).

 

To see all of these additions year after year, I really need to plan a trip back to this park!

[boldikus]

Apologies if this has been posted here is a really great article about Dolly and the park.

 

I really really really really really want to visit Dollywood.

[ECZenith]

I will post my trip report here rather than make an entire new thread... Other pieces can be found in the BGE and Carowinds threads for B&M photo goodness.

 

Jessica and I went to Dollywood and the Smoky Mountain area for the very first time from June 14 to the 21st. The weather was hot and crowds were light to medium. One of the things I was most impressed with was the beauty of Gatlinburg and all the different attractions on the turnpike. The kind southern folks were a relief from the Massholes I'm used to dealing with back home. The first part of my report will focus on the attractions of Pigeon Forge and beautiful nearby Gatlinburg .

 

First off, to the member who suggested the Smoky Mountain Moonshine distillery... Thank you! It was so much fun and no where else in the world have I been able to drink such good stuff for free. We ended up taking home a few jars. If you are in the area you must check this place out!

 

Other attractions we did were as follows:

 

Ripley's Aquarium of The Smokies: I have been to at least a dozen aquariums including Long Beach and Boston and this one actually ended up bein my favorite. The shear variety of creatures, wonderful architecture and theming make this worth the money! You can also purchase a combo ticket here to include other Ripley's attractions like the Haunted Adventure, Moving Theater, Odditorium, World Record Museum, and mini golf courses. We opted out of this because we wanted to do more rides and buy moonshine instead... How is the haunted house ? I am a big fan of walk throughs, I regret not checking it out.

 

Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster: One of several in the area. This is the first time I have been on a mountain coaster and it was a little alarming how fast in went ! I was completely thrilled and awe struck by the beauty of he mountains. That solo lift hill climb was wonderful in the woods.

 

Jurassic Jungle: This boat ride could have been better. It was long only because of many stops along the way. With a little more love and effort this ride could be great. Save your money and do the mountain coasters instead !

 

Gatlinburg Sky Ride: a must see! What a view from the top!

Penguins ! This one is named Star.

A giant spider crab , a great selection of exotic creatures here.

A cuttlefish! As David Attenborough calls them: little sneaks.

Oh my.

Oooooo barracuda!

Beautiful structure

11 shots of moonshine and this becomes a good idea...

Excited to ride but it was a bit of a letdown.

Rawr! We are popular because of the success of Jurassic World , give us your money!

I think they were Intamin boats...

Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster

3 lift hills take you to the 400 foot summit

Jessie enjoyed

Ripley's Haunted Adventure starts with an inclinator which is rather interesting. How is this maze?

You must try the sky ride

So lovely

Gatlinburg from the mountain peak

There is a secret house at the top where you have to get off and reboard. There's a wedding chapel, gift shop and gem mining up here.

[ECZenith]

So this is a Tennessee armored millipede we saw waiting for the train. Do not touch them. They piss cyanide apparently.

Now onto some shots of Dollywood...

 

My first time visit was not dissapointing. The landscape was beautiful and second only to Busch Gardens IMO. I was a lite surprised to see so many older folks working in the park.

 

I checked out Shot Rod construction site and tried to imagine what the layout might be like. How exciting would it be to launch up into a stall inversion before vanishing into the woods... I am intrigued to see how this turns out and I'm just waiting for those white RMC trucks to show up.

Cinderella proudly pulling it's rolling stock. I have a soft spot for iron horses, I've got to say, the train ride gave me the chills when that whistle blew.

Barnstormer intense Screamin' Swing from Stan and Sons of Utah, only one arm was running. These things are a little unnerving but great fun!

It's a long way to the top of the unique Mountain Slidewinder but well worth it, great place to take photos of Wild Eagle.

They had one of the best log rides I had ever been on. It seems all the rides have great theming and show scenes and this was no exception.

I loved Blazing Fury! I really hope it gets the KBF Calico treatment someday though. Such a unique creation should be preserved and reimagined for a new generation.

This electric powered dark ride has the elements of a coaster and some impressive scenes , the drops surprised me a bit.

Awesome cute fun

Mystery Mine was a tight fit for me and very shaky... Those show scenes tho...

Mystery Mine features a unique inversion that shatters most of your bones.

TN Tornado, really short but shockingly smooth for an Arrow.

Thunderhead was great but not my favorite coaster at the park seeing how I am in the dying breed of B&M fanboys.

Relentlessly rough and intense , and quite a long ride

Firechaser Express was another great surprise , awesome show scene where the train reverses.

My favorite photo from this beautiful day

I was very taken by the eagle sculpture. I couldn't get over the attention to detail.

My favorite ride in the park

Having only been on Gatekeeper for Wing Coasters, I found this coaster more intense but I prefer GK. This loop makes your feet tingle on account of the g's

I could stand here all day and watch this zero g roll. But id rather ride it...

Giant flat spin, loved it!

Edited July 3, 2015 by ECZenith

[Guy T. Koepp]

^Pissing cyanide is only their first line of defense. Their bite injects molten lava into your veins and you burn from the inside out.

 

Not a pretty thing to watch.

[Firechaser]

I was a lite surprised to see so many older folks working in the park.

up.

I think I saw on a documentary somewhere that they go to retirement homes in Florida during the winter to find employees.

[dstephe9]

They have a whole program dedicated to older retired folks coming up in campers and staying for the summer to work.. There is a whole FAQ page about it on their job site..

[glouthan]

Alright, so I know we have a little more than a month until the official Dollywood 2016, but for the past few weeks I have been working on a No Limits creation/prediction of what I think Dollywood will be getting next year. The video is below: Enjoy!

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

Here are a few things to keep in mind about the video:

 

The coaster is rumored to be a creation from Rocky Mountain Construction, with a launch, several inversions, and a twisting track layout. Please note that the coaster shown in the video is only an educated prediction of what the coaster may look like. This is not a confirmed layout, and should not be viewed as 100% accurate. With that being said, I did my absolute best to create a coaster that would fit in the cleared space for this coaster, and be a possible roller coaster that Dollywood would create, nonetheless.

 

For the prediction, I decided to create a layout with a lift and a launch, to fully propel the coaster through the course that has been designed to fit the space that has been designated for this attraction. With 20 million (possibly more!) in the bank for this attraction, those two elements could be perfectly reasonable to fit the budget. For example, some similar coasters like Outlaw Run at Dollywood’s sister park cost 10 million, and is about 2.5 thousand feet of track. The above ride is about only 1 thousand more of extra track, so a launch could use the extra money still left in the budget. What I am basically saying is that a coaster this size from RMC would be perfectly possible with 20 million.

 

-The speed of the trains on the airtime hills is a bit too much, and I realize this. I believe the track friction inside the program was set a bit low; I was playing around with it a bit and must have forgot to change it back to a “realistic” friction to run as a RMC coaster.

 

-The coaster type used inside the program was for a Great Coasters International design, which I chose to be the best to model a RMC coaster. Please note that this design is intended to be an RMC creation, but the simulator did not have the option for RMC. A little imagination helps! 

 

-Also, I have decided to include a mid-course brake run (MCBR) for capacity issues. The coaster is fairly long, so a MCBR would help with capacity and allow the trains to dispatch quicker. A double purpose for this, however is to serve as a safety function. If a rollback was to ever happen, most likely the launch fins would be set to slow the train, but this MCBR could put the train to a complete stop to prevent a valley in another section. I know rollbacks with flying launches are uncommon, but this is a precautionary feature that I thought would be likely to be utilized in the real coaster if it does feature a flying launch.

launch!!!

[maverickpoint]

Enjoy!

 

hey cool, thanks

[Dollywoodlover20]

I will be in Dollywood the 18th and I really hope something can been seen than just a few blocks and dirt. I know in one picture I seen on Twitter the surveyors are on site, and the building for the station/que is starting in the first stage. I just hope to be able to spot something.

[cmullin]

I'm going to Dollywood in Friday, July 24th, are the crowds usually big then? Also, how effective is the TimeSaver Pass? Thanks!

[ASE]

I was at Dollywood today and got some new details. I'll be updating the blog later tonight and will spill what I've found out.

 

Hint: Hybrid

[Shavethewhales]

Interesting conceptualization glouthan. That's actually bigger and more spread out than what I've been thinking. I've been thinking along the lines of something short, but maybe pretty tall, possibly with shuttle configuration. I like this better though, and I like the traditional lift/launch combo.

 

^If you're refering to "hybrid" I-box track, then that's a plus for me. If it will include a launch, I'd rather they go with more steel instead of trying to stay closer to a "true" wood coaster just to get the "first" title that no one will care about in two years. The topper track stays pretty smooth, but not smooth enough to really feel good at high speeds with launches.

[glouthan]

Enjoy!

 

hey cool, thanks

 

Haha, no problem, I love creating stuff like this.

 

Interesting conceptualization glouthan. That's actually bigger and more spread out than what I've been thinking. I've been thinking along the lines of something short, but maybe pretty tall, possibly with shuttle configuration. I like this better though, and I like the traditional lift/launch combo.

 

Thank you!

I tried to use all of the space that was available for the coaster, and for twenty million, I would expect some big things for this coaster. I mean, this has to be the most costly RMC ever, right?

 

I was at Dollywood today and got some new details. I'll be updating the blog later tonight and will spill what I've found out.

 

Hint: Hybrid

 

Ok, wow I'm starting to get really curious now and anxious, haha. That's interesting!

 

One month until the announcement!!!

[Dollywoodlover20]

I feel the same about the Hybrid. Plus you can actually add some color the the coaster as to where I don't really think the topper track comes in that many colors except the basics. I mean think about this, yes this coaster is going to be a wooden/hybrid but it's also in the 50's area of the park. We aren't in Wilderness Pass/Timber Canyon anymore. This is going to be a whole new game and totally different theme, plus what are the 50's (and a ride themed to hot rods) without being colorful? All I'm saying is, I see the basic wood/rustic look only for the other areas of the park.

[glouthan]

^I'm pretty sure the topper track can come in other colors than just the natural color. Take Goliath at Six Flags Great America for instance - the track is orange. Now, the actual part of the track that gets colored is the thin layer of metal that is put over the actual topper track. The same thing happens with the I-Box, which can come in a variety of colors, so it would only make sense for the topper track to do the same.

 

I mean it's only a layer of paint and if they were to paint the track orange like they did on Goliath, they may as well be able to paint the track with any color.

Goliath orange track