Dollywood Discussion Thread

[ZeroGravity55]

Maybe you saw something that none of us did, but none of the post on here, copied from Danny's IG, had any questions to Danny in them. He freely posted the feeds of what he "thought" was true for the ride and park and it turned out to be a false statement. Dollywood has a very strict media relations policy and the employee handbook clearly states what you can and can not post on social media. One of the big no-no's is posting statements answering public questions or providing answers for public comments. Danny knows this policy, or at least signed his handbook statement that he does, so why put yourself at the risk of termination for violating policy and posting "crap" on social media that you don't know what you are talking about, and now one of the companies that Dollywood works with had to go on social media and post a correction to Danny's post calling out his error. It doesn't look good for Dollywood when one of the company employees is spewing wrong information about a new ride and one of the companies that is building it.

 

Dolly has rescheduled media day for 03.24. This would be a great day to be at Dollywood if you want to ride the new coaster.

 

To be fair, this Danny guy said several times in replying to comments that he didn't think the ride was going to open on time. Nobody chose to to screenshot that.

[ArgoZ]

Speaking of bags, are the roller coaster stations bag friendly or are rented locking cubicles necessary?

 

I see what you did there. "Bravo, bravo!"

[jarmor]

Wait . . . So one of the main people in here complaining about the coaster not being ready for opening weekend, as they have planned to travel thousands of miles to experience lightning rod, isn't arriving to the park until the 3rd week of operations?????? The fact that they have been testing leads me to think it's not a huge problem , operational wise, but something we will never probably know like just needed more time to fine tune it.

[thrillrider]

I have learned over the years, not to plan a trip to a park the day a coaster is "supposed " to open. My rule of thumb is to give my planning at least a 2 week buffer from the opening date of said coaster.

There are exceptions, but typically coasters that are utilizing new technology like this are typically bound to have bugs to work out.

[DoinItForTheFame]

. . . Don't carry large bags. . .

 

Am I the only one that finds it ironic that "large bags" are an issue at Dollywood of all places?!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Lame.. They doing it like six flags where they check everyone at entry or like Disney where they only send people with bags to the checkpoint??

 

Just curious.. I hope like Disney!!! I have a small packable bag I take into Disney for this reason.. I load up my cargo pockets and then put it all in the small backpack that also fits in my pockets when I get inside the park haha

If they're doing it like SDC does, then only the people with bags have to stop. Our bag was checked in a couple of seconds. Since their list of probihited items is remarkably shorter than most parks', it was quick and easy.

[Mrenata]

Wait . . . So one of the main people in here complaining about the coaster not being ready for opening weekend, as they have planned to travel thousands of miles to experience lightning rod, isn't arriving to the park until the 3rd week of operations??????

 

If you are talking about me, I never said I was going on opening weekend. You haters jumped into that conclusion and started judging my "poor trip planning" - which is not so poor by the way

 

As I stated before, being able to ride Lightning Rod or not was not the main reason I complained about the park (It took me 3 trips to CP until I could finally ride Dragster - and that was years after the ride opened). Same with SFMM's Deja Vu, which I only managed to ride on the last year of operation, after maybe 3 or 4 failed attempts the years before.

 

If I can ride Lightning Rod on this trip, great, since it seems like it will be a top 10 coaster. However that doesn't change the fact that I still don't have a ticket to the park, since i can't purchase them online and that they still haven't replied a message I sent via their website 2 weeks ago.

[jarmor]

Wait . . . So one of the main people in here complaining about the coaster not being ready for opening weekend, as they have planned to travel thousands of miles to experience lightning rod, isn't arriving to the park until the 3rd week of operations??????

 

If you are talking about me, I never said I was going on opening weekend. You haters jumped into that conclusion and started judging my "poor trip planning" - which is not so poor by the way

 

As I stated before, being able to ride Lightning Rod or not was not the main reason I complained about the park (It took me 3 trips to CP until I could finally ride Dragster - and that was years after the ride opened). Same with SFMM's Deja Vu, which I only managed to ride on the last year of operation, after maybe 3 or 4 failed attempts the years before.

 

If I can ride Lightning Rod on this trip, great, since it seems like it will be a top 10 coaster. However that doesn't change the fact that I still don't have a ticket to the park, since i can't purchase them online and that they still haven't replied a message I sent via their website 2 weeks ago.

Haters????? Is that what we call people who don't agree with our negative outlook on things? And since you seem to edit your posts soooooo much, it's hard to know what you were making a big deal about. Your initial post was bitching about flying 6000 miles to ride kiddie coasters gives the notion you were going opening weekend since that's the only days the park has said the coaster wouldn't be open so far. You went back to edit your post to say you were not coming opening weekend. For you to be an ACE rep, one would think you of all people would understand the way things could go with new coasters and being a foreign traveler, understand every park may not have the capability to do the same transactions via their website. Get to the park first. Before you got all dramatic and considered dollywood to have OMG the worst customer service, see what could be done in person.

 

Maybe I'm wrong for thinking that being an ACE rep and a person who travels frequently, you would have a better understanding of these situations.

[Mrenata]

Check my posts again and find where have I stated that I was going on opening weekend?

 

Everyone planning a trip to Dollywood for the next few weeks have the right to complain, since Dollywood never officially set a new date for Lightning Rod.

 

Being an ACE rep doesn't mean that I have to overlook any park flaws or mistakes because "OMG they are getting a new coaster" or "OMG they have the best food ever". That's what fanboys do. On the contrary, real coaster enthusiasts point out the flaws in order to make the parks improve their way of doing business.

 

Anyone with a rational view of things will understand that Dollywood is a business and should behave as such. If you purchase an airline ticket, the company has to take you from point A to point B on the scheduled time. If something happens and it's the airline's fault (issues with crew, maintenance, etc), they will put you on another flight. If the new flight is not what you expected, they will most likely issue you a travel voucher so you can travel with them again in the future, BECAUSE THEY ARE A BUSINESS THAT COULDN'T PROVIDE WHAT THE CUSTOMER PAID FOR.

 

Dollywood is a business, they are not doing you or any of us any favors in selling us tickets and opening the rides on time. That's what we expect from them!

[Ape]

Is it us being fanboys or you that has the irrational view and since of entitlement?

 

I am also curious why you have to buy tickets into the park ahead of time instead of just buying them when you get there?

[jarmor]

The only thing an airline and dollywood has in common is they both are businesses and the comparison ends there.

 

Anyway, it looks like the season pass payment option has been extended till the 26! So if anyone hasn't gotten one, and has a US form of payment, I would take advantage of it!

[Firechaser]

Meanwhile, Dollywood has finally uploaded the new park map!

[kickflipbacktail]

Being an ACE rep doesn't mean that I have to overlook any park flaws or mistakes because "OMG they are getting a new coaster" or "OMG they have the best food ever". That's what fanboys do. On the contrary, real coaster enthusiasts point out the flaws in order to make the parks improve their way of doing business.

 

Oh god lets not go there. 'Real coaster enthusiasts.' I've never seen 3 little words drip with so much of a false sense of entitlement. 'Real coaster enthusiasts' will do whatever they want, whether they overlook a parks shortcomings, or not. At the end of the day we all love roller coasters, that's what makes us enthusiasts. Who can complain the hardest however, is NOT what makes us enthusiasts.

[cfc]

Good people of TPR . . . enough! Please put a stop to this pointless bickering now.

 

I think everyone has said their piece.

 

Thank you.

[Ape]

^I challenge you to fisticuffs sir!

[TyRush]

This ride flies through the course! Also interesting how the service road runs right under probably the highest stressed part of the structure!

[kickflipbacktail]

Good people of TPR . . . enough! Please put a stop to this pointless bickering now.

 

I think everyone has said their piece.

 

Thank you.

 

Noted. Apologies for adding fuel to the fire.

Anyone got more info on the March 24th media day? (I'd go but that is he same day as Carowinds passholder preview.

[shadox17]

I'll just leave these here:

(credit to Coaster Insanity Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/coasterinsanity/)

[WildEagle2014]

Here's just a few shots of the 50's area. Great job Dollywood!

[vertec909]

There are workers out on the track this morning.

[Djwadeknox]

What time does the park close today? Might head up to take a peak. Lines don't look to long. How is park attendance today?

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

Photos are awesome

[vertec909]

Lines are short and weather is perfect come on up!

[BellasMom]

What time does the park close today? Might head up to take a peak. Lines don't look to long. How is park attendance today?

 

The park closes at 6:00 today. It doesn't seem very crowded at the moment and the lines aren't very long at all.

[Djwadeknox]

What time does the park close today? Might head up to take a peak. Lines don't look to long. How is park attendance today?

 

The park closes at 6:00 today. It doesn't seem very crowded at the moment and the lines aren't very long at all.

 

 

Thanks. I think I will head on up!