Dollywood Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

^^Those 2 companies deserve it. Dollywood doesn't. Pete has been awesome to the enthusiast community even though he had no obligation to be because coaster enthusiasts are insufferable and Dollywood has always excelled when it comes to customer service. They're just as frustrated by this as you are, most likely more.

[STDog]

To change the subject for a brief period of time: what's the best place to get coupons for the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster? Are they available only in certain areas, or is it pretty much every restaurant in Pigeon Forge or Sevierville?

They are everywhere. Restaurants, stores, online.

 

Don't know how much they save though.

[thedlr]

To change the subject for a brief period of time: what's the best place to get coupons for the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster? Are they available only in certain areas, or is it pretty much every restaurant in Pigeon Forge or Sevierville?

 

We saved a couple of bucks using coupons from http://www.visitmysmokies.com/smoky-mountain-coupons/. Looks like these expire soon though.

[slickpoetry]

Great trip report PVA62. You really have a talent for photography.

[ASE]

If you've ever wanted to know how they load trains onto the Wild Eagle...

 

I'm at the park...workers are on the lift hill of Lightning Rod...still not open, but will check back in a bit.

[coasterbill]

Does Wild Eagle only have room for one train in transfer? That's very strange for a B&M.

[Paradox]

Does Wild Eagle only have room for one train in transfer? That's very strange for a B&M.

It might be long enough lengthwise to allow for two, I don't remember exactly.

[DefeatistNation]

Does Wild Eagle only have room for one train in transfer? That's very strange for a B&M.

 

Probably accounted for it never having a line ever

[coasterbill]

Does Wild Eagle only have room for one train in transfer? That's very strange for a B&M.

 

Probably accounted for it never having a line ever

 

My point is that most B&M's transfer all trains off each night. So since Wild Eagle has 2 trains that would generally mean it wold have 2 transfer tracks. Some rides (like a lot of Arrow coasters) transfer all trains off but one and one just stays on the track but B&M's don't usually do that so I found it odd.

[cav07]

Any news on Lightning Rod?

[coasterbill]

Evidently it has not caught on fire yet today so things are looking up.

[djrappa]

^Love this!

[ASE]

Lightning Rod is still closed...I'm told that replacement parts are done on 1 train, but not he 2nd train...hearing conflicting reports as to if they even received the parts for the 2nd train. There is a train parked at the bottom of the launch hill...no visible work going on, but I can't see 2nd train.

 

Will check back in a bit.

[Nrthwnd]

...And seriously...enough with the #itwillneveropen. It will be automatically deleted.

 

Here's hoping.

[boldikus]

...And seriously...enough with the #itwillneveropen. It will be automatically deleted.

 

Here's hoping.

 

[Superbatboy]

...And seriously...enough with the #itwillneveropen. It will be automatically deleted.

 

Here's hoping.

[ernierocker]

[ASE]

So here's the latest update I got from the employees outside of Lightning Rod… It will not be open today. Bummer. But he says they have one train ready and hoping to have that one running tomorrow (SATURDAY) while they fix the second train.

 

They also confirmed that the recalled parts are the only issue right now… So once they get those parts replaced, it will be good to go.

 

There is definitely more crew working on it today than any other day this week...so it looks promising!

[ASE]

Also, FWIW, there were quite a few ride operators in uniform ready to operate it if they opened today, so they were definitely optimistic of it opening.

 

Also, the crowd was crazy low today...pretty much every ride was a walk-on. About the only wait was mystery mine because they were loading/unloading 1 car at a time. Great day to be at Dollywood!

[LiftThrill]

#itllopen

 

Seriously though it's awesome to see they're finally getting LR into shape to be operable consistently. After the plague of problems and media bs, now they can finally get the finishing touches done and get this badass ride open!

[coasterdude5]

Also, FWIW, there were quite a few ride operators in uniform ready to operate it if they opened today, so they were definitely optimistic of it opening.

That could mean something, but they were also on hand in uniform two weekends before its "grand" opening (right after the flood). They were rotating them around different rides. But in this instance hopefully it means they're on standby in case it opens earlier than expected.

[djrappa]

They had people in uniform all week.

And I call shinanigans on the only problem being the part recall.

If they had one train ready and that was the only issue they'd be running it...

[ZeroGravity55]

Does Wild Eagle only have room for one train in transfer? That's very strange for a B&M.

 

Almost all the wing coasters only have one transfer track. Gatekeeper has more than one, but I believe during daily operation, CP leaves one train sitting in the station and the other on the brake-run. I remember seeing someone post that awhile back. The only thing I can think of is B&M uses a harder polyurethane wheel on the wing riders which allows them to sit on the track for long periods of time.

[DefeatistNation]

Gatekeeper has 3 for all 3 trains

[coasterdude5]

No "LR is closed" alert on the website (at least not on mobile). Hopefully that's a good sign!