Dollywood Discussion Thread

[coasterdude5]

I've never seen more whining about a park in my entire life. I hope I never have to be stuck in a ride queue with any of yall.

My apologies, I didn't realize I was in the presence of someone immune to the effects of oppressive heat and humidity that the region faced over the weekend. I'll take hot weather over cold any day of the week, but I was done with it by Sunday afternoon.

 

And suggesting that a park add mist fans to an outdoor switchback queue does not qualify as whining. If a Six Flags park can do it, so can Dollywood. The park already has them covering half of the Wilderness Pass area, so it's not a huge ask for them to add one or two to Lightning Rod's outdoor queue. We know they've had plenty of time to do so.

 

I live, and have always lived in georgia. Oppressive heat?! Dude, if you can't stand in sunlight for 20 minutes...I'm not really sure what to tell ya. Hit the gym and chug some gatorades.

I've lived in Tennessee for the majority of my life. As I said in the post you quoted, I prefer the heat. I'm used to it. But I'm not the only person at the park. There are those who may not be acclimated to the higher temperatures, especially if they're not from the area. And last weekend temperatures across the state were not typical of late spring. And that doesn't even take into account the poor air quality that accompanied the heat.

 

Your suggestion to go to a gym and chug Gatorade makes zero sense in the context of this exchange, so I'm going to assume you have no idea what you're talking about.

[mordecai-75]

Just give them time and they will add the fans, Firechaser's loading station was miserable on hot days, they just put a fan in this season, it makes a world of difference. It will happen with LR eventually as well.

[cal1br3tto]

And my probably-too-long review: http://c101.co/232LIhc

Great review. I could feel the excitement! If I have the same experience, that would automatically make it a top-5 coaster for me (not that I haven't been roughly anticipating that).

[DILinator]

Wow! This thread has become a steaming pile of pontificating poo!

 

To get back to the simple question I asked prior to all the back and forth about what constitutes acceptable or proper weight...

 

To those of you who have ridden LR already, who have also ridden MF (probably the least fat-friendly coaster I know of), how do the restraints compare? Are they similar in clearance? Or is MF clearly more restrictive? Just looking for opinions on that specific question here, no arguments, and certainly no interest in "fat-shaming" type of comments...

[njcoasterguy34]

I haven't ridden Lightning Rod yet, but I have ridden Storm Chaser and Wicked Cyclone. I fit into both of those with no problems, but could not fit into Millennium Force because the seat belt was about an inch shy of reaching the buckle. That really put a damper on my day at Cedar Point.

[chadster]

Well I'm certainly glad to see that everyone has found something new to bitch about, I was super concerned that once the ride opened officially that this thread would die!

 

(Yeah, you've already forgotten about the issues in getting everything dialed in, eh?)

[Superbatboy]

However, it's typical of the American mentality to blame the seats instead of the person.

This.

 

I've never seen more whining about a park in my entire life. I hope I never have to be stuck in a ride queue with any of yall.

My apologies, I didn't realize I was in the presence of someone immune to the effects of oppressive heat and humidity that the region faced over the weekend. I'll take hot weather over cold any day of the week, but I was done with it by Sunday afternoon.

 

And suggesting that a park add mist fans to an outdoor switchback queue does not qualify as whining. If a Six Flags park can do it, so can Dollywood. The park already has them covering half of the Wilderness Pass area, so it's not a huge ask for them to add one or two to Lightning Rod's outdoor queue. We know they've had plenty of time to do so.

 

I live, and have always lived in georgia. Oppressive heat?! Dude, if you can't stand in sunlight for 20 minutes...I'm not really sure what to tell ya. Hit the gym and chug some gatorades.

Chugging gatorades and hitting the gym are counterproductive, considering gatorade has about 35g of sugar per bottle

[DILinator]

I haven't ridden Lightning Rod yet, but I have ridden Storm Chaser and Wicked Cyclone. I fit into both of those with no problems, but could not fit into Millennium Force because the seat belt was about an inch shy of reaching the buckle. That really put a damper on my day at Cedar Point.

 

Thanks for your reply! I have ridden only Storm Chaser among the RMCs, and my impression is that they are a little bigger space-wise than MF. My dad was able to do MF last time there, but just missed out the first time this year (after being cleared at the test seat, for the information of the guy that was claiming there was never any difference between the two). I would love for him to come to Dollywood with me, so hopefully he feels slimmer, and confident enough to give it a go!

[Dollywoodlover20]

Fun fact about Wild Eagle, most of us know row 4 is known as the big boy seats because of the extended belt length. One year I was riding with my friend who is 6'3 (yes, his shoulders were bruised after the ride) but anyway when I asked the host about if there were any seats made for bigger people she looked at me like I was stupid when clearly row 4 is differently colored for a reason. Her response was "No sir, every seat is the same, if you can't fit well...haha try the train." So we went to row 4, successfully got on, and done the wave like the queen to her. Yes throwing "shade" to her.

 

Anyway, for me my only problem will be my legs. So from the I'm going to work out until I go, I have a month and a week to do so. Oh by the way, if you go on WBIR's post about the opening you will see the areas fear of riding LR because of rumors of reaching abnormal speeds, structural movement (which made me laugh), and others complaining of back injuries. Take note the one complaining of back injury was a 60 some year old couple.

[nicman]

For thunderbird, you can still ride even if you are 6 '6

 

http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2015/01/19/height-anticipation/

[coasterdude5]

structural movement (which made me laugh)

Yeah, you can see it here:

 

But anytime I hear someone try to make a deal about a "swaying coaster," I just direct them here: http://www.coaster101.com/2014/05/28/coasters-101-roller-coasters-sway/

[STDog]

(after being cleared at the test seat, for the information of the guy that was claiming there was never any difference between the two).

 

I don't recall anyone saying there never was, only that I had never seen or heard of it.

 

If that's the case there, that's something that needs corrected.

No reason for them to not match and it does a disservice to the park guests.

[Ape]

yeah it does, whiny enthusiasts who are forced to wait an extra 30 seconds may melt.

[UrbanLegend]

Whoops I didn't realize it was Shitposting O'Clock when I asked my question. That seems to have died down, so I'll try again:

I'm planning a trip in July with 3 friends. I assume the TimeSaver Q-Bot works the same as at Six Flags, aka buy it online for a certain day, go to a building and pick it up, and reserve your ride times throughout the day, correct?

Also, it seems like the cheapest bet for the actual tickets and parking is to buy them discounted from a participating grocery store, and take the tram into and out of the park? Does anyone have recommendations for particular stores that sell tickets?

[jynx242]

Whoops I didn't realize it was Shitposting O'Clock when I asked my question. That seems to have died down, so I'll try again:

I'm planning a trip in July with 3 friends. I assume the TimeSaver Q-Bot works the same as at Six Flags, aka buy it online for a certain day, go to a building and pick it up, and reserve your ride times throughout the day, correct?

Also, it seems like the cheapest bet for the actual tickets and parking is to buy them discounted from a participating grocery store, and take the tram into and out of the park? Does anyone have recommendations for particular stores that sell tickets?

[coasterbill]

Whoops I didn't realize it was Shitposting O'Clock when I asked my question. That seems to have died down, so I'll try again:

I'm planning a trip in July with 3 friends. I assume the TimeSaver Q-Bot works the same as at Six Flags, aka buy it online for a certain day, go to a building and pick it up, and reserve your ride times throughout the day, correct?

Also, it seems like the cheapest bet for the actual tickets and parking is to buy them discounted from a participating grocery store, and take the tram into and out of the park? Does anyone have recommendations for particular stores that sell tickets?

 

It's always Shitposting O'Clock somewhere...

Lol anyway yes. The skip the line program is the same as Six Flags. When you pick it up, someone can manually reserve shows for you also if you'd like and you get preferred seating near the front. They have to do that for you. You can't reserve shows yourself, only rides. I normally hate shows but they're generally very solid at Dollywood. It's also been my experience that they severely underestimate wait times which is nice.

 

Sadly I don't know much about parking discounts.

[DILinator]

(after being cleared at the test seat, for the information of the guy that was claiming there was never any difference between the two).

 

I don't recall anyone saying there never was, only that I had never seen or heard of it.

 

If that's the case there, that's something that needs corrected.

No reason for them to not match and it does a disservice to the park guests.

 

It's pretty well known, that MF's seat belts are not all created equal. I've seen a bit of difference from seat to seat. Now, MF may be an atypical example, but still, it does happen. I agree that having test seats that don't match what's actually on the train DO do a disservice to guests, and whiny enthusiasts have nothing to do with it. Take it from me, who has been with both a father and a wife who have had to do the walk of shame... Nobody wants to have to do that, and most people are aware of their proportions enough to know when they should get in a test seat, and if they fit there, but not at the coaster, there IS a problem the park should correct.

[Big Papa]

Also, it seems like the cheapest bet for the actual tickets and parking is to buy them discounted from a participating grocery store, and take the tram into and out of the park? Does anyone have recommendations for particular stores that sell tickets?

 

Dollywood.com/mcdonalds has $6 off tickets with black out dates of July 3rd and 4th. Probably one of the only discounts you will see without staying at Dreammore or get the 3 days 2 parks for $99 from the Dollywood website.

[coasterbill]

MF (probably the least fat-friendly coaster I know of)

 

I don't know. I can think of a wickedly twisted ride in the same park that might give it a run for it's money. Mystery Mine does too. No issue for me but I can sympathize.

[DILinator]

MF (probably the least fat-friendly coaster I know of)

 

I don't know. I can think of a wickedly twisted ride in the same park that might give it a run for it's money. Mystery Mine does too. No issue for me but I can sympathize.

 

It's interesting, that I hear a lot of people say that about WT, but have never seen anybody I've been with have issues. Yet, they can't get on MF... I'm thinking it must be where the person's girth is located on their body that makes the difference. More up top, no WT. More of a beer gut, or for females, being unusually large around the hips, no MF.

[coneyislandchris]

MF (probably the least fat-friendly coaster I know of)

 

I don't know. I can think of a wickedly twisted ride in the same park that might give it a run for it's money. Mystery Mine does too. No issue for me but I can sympathize.

 

It's interesting, that I hear a lot of people say that about WT, but have never seen anybody I've been with have issues. Yet, they can't get on MF... I'm thinking it must be where the person's girth is located on their body that makes the difference. More up top, no WT. More of a beer gut, or for females, being unusually large around the hips, no MF.

I literally ran into this same situation Bill describes when I was there last month; MF was tight but got there in the end. Meanwhile, WT required me to shed an outer layer of clothes in order for the belt to reach.

[boldikus]

I carry all my extra weight in my stomach. The missus tells me I'm "all belly". I had no problems with MF on any of my rides yet was almost walk-of-shamed on Wicked Twister - and I never have an issue on Possessed.

[AdventureJack]

POV!!!

[DILinator]

Not sure what to say about the WT thing... I've never seen it myself, all the while seeing many MF issues... *shrugs* Not saying you're wrong, obviously, but it does make me curious about what is the defining difference. My dad is the "beer belly" kind of guy, and struggles with MF. Now that I think about it though, I can't recall him riding WT definitively, so I'll have to ask him what his experiences are there.

 

Bringing it back on topic, I just hope he can fit on LR, forget MF and WT!

[coneyislandchris]

I carry all my extra weight in my stomach. The missus tells me I'm "all belly". I had no problems with MF on any of my rides yet was almost walk-of-shamed on Wicked Twister - and I never have an issue on Possessed.

Possessed restraints were much more forgiving compared to WT. Not sure why, but definitely noticed the difference between the two. And yep, I'm a belly guy too (though working on that).