Dollywood Discussion Thread

[coasterfreaky]

just got home from dollywood, while there, i was riding the shooting star with my son and when we were at the top i noticed that there is a large section of construction back behind the county fair area. i haven't heard anyone mention that yet, didn't have my phone on me to take photos, but it's a pretty good sized area, and quite high up. there was a back-hoe sitting up there, and it is the same hill as all the other work is being done on. the thing that makes me happy is that this area "as far as i can tell" is quite a piece of distance from the main construction site. i believe the "rod" coaster is gonna be pretty huge in length. "we can only hope and speculate". a couple of weeks and all will be revealed, " so they say ".

 

"it is the same hill as all the other work is being done on"...it doesn't sound to me like you're talking about something new - we have discussed everything we can see at this point. Some of us have been watching & commenting on here from the first clues of RMC retracking parts of Blazing Fury, the minute Caz Walkers went away and construction walls popped up, etc. Could you be even more specific what you saw?

[A.J.]

^^^ If Dollywood plays it's cards right, it could turn this into a "mystery coaster," like

Phantasialand is doing with it's new coaster. No layout revealed, track covered, parts

of the theming kept under wraps.

 

That would be cool for DW to pull off. If they could do it.

Again, that sort of thing is something that they need to do, at least until this season is over, to make sure people continue to visit in 2015.

[WildEagle2014]

^^^ If Dollywood plays it's cards right, it could turn this into a "mystery coaster," like

Phantasialand is doing with it's new coaster. No layout revealed, track covered, parts

of the theming kept under wraps.

 

That would be cool for DW to pull off. If they could do it.

Again, that sort of thing is something that they need to do, at least until this season is over, to make sure people continue to visit in 2015.

 

Actually there is a new area of the hillside that has been cleared off directly across from the Country Fair area, although it looks like it could just be for an access road. yesterday we made a quick drive over on the trolley access road and discovered several loads of lumber just laying by the road. Also a quick loop through the employee parking lot revealed the entire extent of the construction area. It is going to be absolutely huge!

The cleared area extends all the way back to the upper employee parking lot...covering almost the entire area circled in red. The green area is where the new clearing is located.

[ASE]

Actually there is a new area of the hillside that has been cleared off directly across from the Country Fair area, although it looks like it could just be for an access road. yesterday we made a quick drive over on the trolley access road and discovered several loads of lumber just laying by the road. Also a quick loop through the employee parking lot revealed the entire extent of the construction area. It is going to be absolutely huge!

 

Yup. That's what I didn't want to post pics of to keep from getting in "trouble"...haha But yeah....gonna be one heckuva ride!

[mordecai-75]

just got home from dollywood, while there, i was riding the shooting star with my son and when we were at the top i noticed that there is a large section of construction back behind the county fair area. i haven't heard anyone mention that yet, didn't have my phone on me to take photos, but it's a pretty good sized area, and quite high up. there was a back-hoe sitting up there, and it is the same hill as all the other work is being done on. the thing that makes me happy is that this area "as far as i can tell" is quite a piece of distance from the main construction site. i believe the "rod" coaster is gonna be pretty huge in length. "we can only hope and speculate". a couple of weeks and all will be revealed, " so they say ".

 

"it is the same hill as all the other work is being done on"...it doesn't sound to me like you're talking about something new - we have discussed everything we can see at this point. Some of us have been watching & commenting on here from the first clues of RMC retracking parts of Blazing Fury, the minute Caz Walkers went away and construction walls popped up, etc. Could you be even more specific what you saw?

the area these other folks are now discussing.

[namelikethis]

Some thoughts on the Great American Summer event.

 

I was at the park last Thursday. This is the third year of the event, and I've attended at least once every year. Every time I've been in the past, the park was not terribly busy after dark, but I was very happy to see that the park was busy up until 10pm. I feel like the "Lite the Night" show is a great addition, but probably needs tweaking. For the uninitiated, the event is billed as a dance party in Timber Canyon. If you look back in the thread, you can see the construction of the stage on the pad that Timber Tower used to occupy. I thought the lighting package was absolutely excellent. The stage was beautiful, the surrounding surfaces and environment were utilized effectively, the costumes were well very fun, and overall, there was a lot more energy in the area. I'm not going to lie, it made me think a lot about the Electric Lights parade at Disney. The performers were engaging - there were stilt walkers and jugglers out roaming the area in front of the stage and interacting with a lot of guests and kids. It seemed everyone really enjoyed the street performers. If I had to be critical of an aspect, it would have to be the sound quality. The speakers just weren't the quality that you'd expect at this kind of event. The quality of the equipment in conjunction with questionable mixing at times really detracted for a big part of the show. The first 3 or 4 minutes, the ambiance music of the area was playing over the show. I'm hoping that in the future, if they continue this event (which they definitely should), they put some heavy duty tweaking into this.

 

As for the fireworks, I didn't really notice a big difference between this year and previous years. Maybe some of the more trained eyes can pick out some differences, but my opinion remains widely unchanged about the show. It's good, it fits the park well, and it serves its purpose. It's nothing mind blowing, however. Something I did notice this year that I have not in the past is immediately after the show, they played "Together, You and I" followed by a Thank You message from Dolly. Once again, very reminiscent of the Disney “Kiss Goodnight” at the end of their night shows.

 

I was with a friend, and we're both at the park more often than we'd like to admit. We both agreed that this event, though nothing major, really represented how far the park has come over the past few years. From a small park with one coaster to a destination resort with world class rides and entertainment in only 16 years. Dollywood and Herschend is doing it right.

[jjzadero]

It's so exciting to read new info about Dollywood's new 2016 coaster. It sounds like it will definitely be a ticket seller! Just a quick question... I realized that I'm actually going to be at Dollywood on August 7th, which is the day of the official announcement. Does anyone know if they have any type of special events for this type of thing? Do they do this announcement in the park? Might Dolly be there? Would love to experience something cool this day!

[dstephe9]

Dolly does normally make these announcements and she does usually do it on park yes.

 

But Pete Owens also said earlier in this thread that he will bring us the official announcement.

 

So no idea really. She might not be making this one but i don't officially know.

[betterday85]

Dolly will be at the park on August 8 and 9 for her 4 sold out benefit concerts, so I bet she will be making the announcement on August 7.

[ernierocker]

It is a safe bet that Dolly will be making the ride announcement on the 7th. Usually for media days, she makes scheduled appearances throughout the day. (performing in shows, appearing in the parades. i.e.)

[mpmbee]

Dolly will be at the park on August 8 and 9 for her 4 sold out benefit concerts, so I bet she will be making the announcement on August 7.

 

Didn't know about these concerts that Dolly is doing. I will be at the park on the 9th, would it be safe to assume that it will be absolutely rammed then?

[lanslide41]

Some thoughts on the Great American Summer event.

 

I was at the park last Thursday. This is the third year of the event, and I've attended at least once every year. Every time I've been in the past, the park was not terribly busy after dark, but I was very happy to see that the park was busy up until 10pm. I feel like the "Lite the Night" show is a great addition, but probably needs tweaking. For the uninitiated, the event is billed as a dance party in Timber Canyon. If you look back in the thread, you can see the construction of the stage on the pad that Timber Tower used to occupy. I thought the lighting package was absolutely excellent. The stage was beautiful, the surrounding surfaces and environment were utilized effectively, the costumes were well very fun, and overall, there was a lot more energy in the area. I'm not going to lie, it made me think a lot about the Electric Lights parade at Disney. The performers were engaging - there were stilt walkers and jugglers out roaming the area in front of the stage and interacting with a lot of guests and kids. It seemed everyone really enjoyed the street performers. If I had to be critical of an aspect, it would have to be the sound quality. The speakers just weren't the quality that you'd expect at this kind of event. The quality of the equipment in conjunction with questionable mixing at times really detracted for a big part of the show. The first 3 or 4 minutes, the ambiance music of the area was playing over the show. I'm hoping that in the future, if they continue this event (which they definitely should), they put some heavy duty tweaking into this.

 

As for the fireworks, I didn't really notice a big difference between this year and previous years. Maybe some of the more trained eyes can pick out some differences, but my opinion remains widely unchanged about the show. It's good, it fits the park well, and it serves its purpose. It's nothing mind blowing, however. Something I did notice this year that I have not in the past is immediately after the show, they played "Together, You and I" followed by a Thank You message from Dolly. Once again, very reminiscent of the Disney “Kiss Goodnight” at the end of their night shows.

 

I was with a friend, and we're both at the park more often than we'd like to admit. We both agreed that this event, though nothing major, really represented how far the park has come over the past few years. From a small park with one coaster to a destination resort with world class rides and entertainment in only 16 years. Dollywood and Herschend is doing it right.

 

This was great to read! I think they would really appreciate hearing the feedback about the audio quality. Seems like it could be an easy fix and especially the need for them to turn of the ambiance music playing over the show.

I'm hoping that the loading station is indeed a rebuild of Cas Walkers.

[Firechaser]

I have a Dollywood season pass and I have already been a few times this year but I am going tomorrow, this is the first time I have been to Dollywood on a day in July. Given that it is a weekday it shouldn't be to bad but what have weekdays in July been like this year?

[mordecai-75]

^ you should be more than good, nothing fancy going on right now. " give lots of love to Thunderhead while your there, it's a special member of a dying breed of coasters." have fun!

[Firechaser]

^ you should be more than good, nothing fancy going on right now. " give lots of love Thunderhead while your there, it's a special member of a dying breed of coasters." have fun!

Thanks for the response, I LOVE Thunderhead but the rest of my family thinks that it is rough, I call it bumpy! I am looking forward to seeing the Gazillion Bubble Show plus seeing the progress on "Lightning Rod, Shot Rod" since I was there on Memorial Day.

[Dollywoodlover20]

When we got on Thunderhead this past weekend, I wouldn't say it was rough it's just that it goes through the elements so quickly it literally throws you from side to side in the seat. If you are a single rider you'll come back with whiplash. I squished my cousin to death because we were like pinballs in the last bit. Haha Fun coaster though.

[coasterbill]

I love Thunderhead, I know some people feel it's just a generic GCI but that one always seemed better than the rest of them to me for whatever reason.

[ElectricUncleSam]

I love Thunderhead, I know some people feel it's just a generic GCI but that one always seemed better than the rest of them to me for whatever reason.

I love it, but people bitch about the lack of airtime.

[Shavethewhales]

I love Thunderhead, I know some people feel it's just a generic GCI but that one always seemed better than the rest of them to me for whatever reason.

 

It's got a decent layout with some length to it and some interesting twists, but it doesn't ride like the GCII's I knew and love. At least not when I rode it back in June. If it was as smooth as Ozark Wildcat was, I'm sure I would have loved it. Honestly I wouldn't even bother with it now though if I were to make it back to the park this year. They've let it fall into being a "blah" coaster.

[ernierocker]

They've let it fall into being a "blah" coaster.

 

How many times have you ridden it? It isn't a rough coaster and rode just like my other dozens of rides over a period of several years back in May. You might have just ridden it at a bad time.

 

I'm not saying it is my absolute favorite ride in the world, but Dollywood has kept Thunderhead running consistently and in no way have they neglected it like you are implying.

Edited July 23, 2015 by ernierocker

[bkwjjm]

I absolutely adore Thunderhead. Yes, it is a little rough at times, but that is what I expect from a wooden coaster. The out-of-control feeling is what makes woodies so awesome!!!!

[sirspud]

Rode Thunderhead today and my wife and I thought it was great. The layout was intense but designed well enough that the intensity didn't put my body through any great trauma from transitioning too quickly. As for rough in a tracking sense, the ride rode extremely well, though better in the middle than the very back. One of my favorite woodies.

[chickenbowl]

I love Thunderhead, it's in my top 10 (#7). When I rode it in 2012 night ERT on the New Hotness trip, I couldn't get enough! I love the floater air and great pacing, but I have a feeling that Dollywood will soon have a wooden coaster that will BLOW Thunderhead out of the water...

[Shavethewhales]

They've let it fall into being a "blah" coaster.

 

How many times have you ridden it? It isn't a rough coaster and rode just like my other dozens of rides over a period of several years back in May. You might have just ridden it at a bad time.

 

I'm not saying it is my absolute favorite ride in the world, but Dollywood has kept Thunderhead running consistently and in no way have they neglected it like you are implying.

 

Yeah, I'll give it another shot next year, but I rode it quite a few times over two days and it was just simply rattly and uncomfortable for me. I like wood coasters with a classic feel, but in this case it mostly just felt like it's due for some work. I'm not trying to dog the park or anything, but we all know how GCII's typically are. They are balls out amazing when they open but start to decline pretty quick when the track starts to wear out. Thunderhead is 11 years old now, right? I remember when people were fawning over it as one of the best rides in the U.S. I wonder how far off the next major re-tracking for it will be.

 

Could just be me though. Seems like I'm getting more sensitive these days. I used to enjoy Mean Streak

[cfc]

I like Thunderhead quite a bit, but it's been a few years since my last visit to Dollywood (when Wild Eagle was brand new).