Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

Yes, and you likely won't see the drop tower being installed at all until they close.. they have the large Christmas tree light show in its spot for now..

 

Not sure how long it takes to install that tree and take it down.. I do know they started putting it up late Sept early Oct so ultimately it might take a while I'm sure not that long though.. Plus they may have work to do on the water effects, pond, and platform after the tree goes down.. half the season, the pond was empty (it has water now) so it might be having some issues that they need to work on if they plan to keep it (concept art shows the pond).. I'm sure the control office and line will remain the same fr timber tower, it all looks in great shape as far as I can tell so that should speed up the process a little. It's already basically themed with basic theming which is all you need for a flat like the drop tower.

 

I'm sure they are playing it safe as well so "summer 2017" is a safe date for them to give rather than March like they originally did for LR

 

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[Djwadeknox]

I noticed when I went that that the 2017 Dollywood Refillable Mug is one of the plainest mugs I seen them produce. No Picture of Dolly or the new rides for next year. They are black and have the Lightning Rod logo on it and Dollywood all in silver print. Makes me wonder if the 2 new rides for next year might have been a last minute decision.

[dstephe9]

I love the new black mug! Ha-ha I was happy to see it and tossed my 2016 one and grabbed it right away but that's just me haha

 

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[Djwadeknox]

I love the new black mug! Ha-ha I was happy to see it and tossed my 2016 one and grabbed it right away but that's just me haha

 

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I don't hate them but they normally have next year's ride info on them or Dolly.

[dstephe9]

I just think they look sharp as a plain black cup with the LR logo on it. But I love stuff that stays contemporary and basic

 

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[middle_keeny]

On the way to the park this afternoon, I passed a truck with parts for the new ride. So I'm assuming they will start as soon as the park closes.

 

Took a disk ride on LR also, can assure you that the potholes have been fixed.

[knaiwear]

So the maintenance guy who said they weren't planning on addressing the potholes was..... Mistaken? Confused?

[dstephe9]

No, he just said it wasn't high on their priority list. Remember, the park was closed for a week.. they really didn't have to much to do to get ready for the Christmas celebration (most lights had already been put up).. So they probably just knocked out a lot of maintenance issues while closed.. He actually said they did plan on addressing it, it was just further down their list.

 

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Edited November 10, 2016 by dstephe9

[knaiwear]

I guess... but saying "down the road, but its far down our list" on 11/1 doesn't really translate into fixed on 11/10 to me. Or even earlier considering other recent reports of no pothole. Just seems odd.

[dstephe9]

The pothole feeling was there right before they closed the ride this last time.. it was down for about a month this last closure. He never said where they were at on their list of items they intended on working on..

 

So I personally don't find it very odd at all, I can't recall the post but I don't even know if the maintenance guy mentioned that he was working directly on the ride himself or if he was just a Dollywood maintenance worker. When he posted what he posted, they may have been further down the list than he thought. If I recall, he didn't even say the ride would necessarily be open when it did anyways. It was a very pretty week that the park closed during.. they could have got a lot of work done that week without any rain and being such a mild week in the mountains.. mid 70s and all

 

Also, if the issues were with the launch PLC (like Irvine Engineering kind of hinted at saying it wasn't their ride control PLC that was having the issues) Dollywood maintenance might have had time doing other items on their list while the PLC provider for the launch was on site working

 

All these are theories but I don't find it odd that they were able to knock out a lot of their issue list last week

 

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[knaiwear]

Also, if the issues were with the launch PLC (like Irvine Engineering kind of hinted at saying it wasn't their ride control PLC that was having the issues) Dollywood maintenance might have had time doing other items on their list while the PLC provider for the launch was on site working

 

Same maint guy also said the launch was working beautifully. It's an awfully big stretch to say that the launch is working beautifully if the launch controls were the problem of a month-long downtime.

 

I also don't see how a pothole on a ride that has topper track can be casually fixed cause maintenance has got a few extra hours and the weather is nice. I would think it would require some modification to the steel and/or structure itself but I am certainly no expert here.

 

I don't know man, the whole thing just isn't adding up for me. Not that I expect it to add up on a coaster forum, we're just getting bits of info and who knows if any of it is real (except for the Irvine Ondrey guy), and it doesn't really matter anyway, so I'll excuse myself now.

[dstephe9]

Several Dollywood folks have said the launch is fine, maybe they all mean the launch hardware and not software?

 

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[middle_keeny]

Several Dollywood folks have said the launch is fine, maybe they all mean the launch hardware and not software?

 

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I have seen comments from 2 different Dollywood Employees and the guys (and girls) from IOE. All have said that the launch system is running the way its supposed to.From what I gathered from this thread, there are two logic systems on the coaster: one for the launch and one for the operation. I noticed last night that they have changed the prox sensors on the brake run and the station (I work maintenance, I notice those kind of things). That leads me to suspect that they installed an entirely new PLC system. On the operation and not the launch. I speculate that a single unified system was developed so both systems operate in unison. Also, there were a bunch of water dummies on the ground by the station. This leads me to believe that some form of extensive testing took place. As I say, this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt unless it get confirmed.

 

I will say this. I rode this the second day of testing back in April(ish) and have pretty much rode this monthly since then, yesterday was the best I have seen it run so far. Did manage a night ride, but the full moon lit things up. Dare I say it.... Voyage gave a better night ride.

[michaellynn4]

Just got back to my hotel room after spending a few hours at Dollywood. Got my first rides in on Lightning Rod. Oh my god, is this coaster insane. The launch into the drop, the overbanked turn and the quadruple down all elevate it to the upper elite of the coasters I've been on. I'm going back tomorrow for a full day, so hopefully I'll get plenty more rides in before heading home.

 

BTW, the ride ran the whole time I was there, most of the time with both trains.

[IOE]

Several Dollywood folks have said the launch is fine, maybe they all mean the launch hardware and not software?

 

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I have seen comments from 2 different Dollywood Employees and the guys (and girls) from IOE. All have said that the launch system is running the way its supposed to.From what I gathered from this thread, there are two logic systems on the coaster: one for the launch and one for the operation. I noticed last night that they have changed the prox sensors on the brake run and the station (I work maintenance, I notice those kind of things). That leads me to suspect that they installed an entirely new PLC system. On the operation and not the launch. I speculate that a single unified system was developed so both systems operate in unison. Also, there were a bunch of water dummies on the ground by the station. This leads me to believe that some form of extensive testing took place. As I say, this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt unless it get confirmed.

 

I will say this. I rode this the second day of testing back in April(ish) and have pretty much rode this monthly since then, yesterday was the best I have seen it run so far. Did manage a night ride, but the full moon lit things up. Dare I say it.... Voyage gave a better night ride.

 

 

I do want to clarify here, as we only worked on the ride control system and not the launch control system, we do not comment on the status of the launch control system in any way. Further as we have not been on site for months, I would have no way to know the condition or operation of that system. As for the idea that the systems were unified, we would need to be notified of such a change, and there has been no notifications or requests to change anything in our system from the park.

 

So you mentioned that you work in maintenance. Is that maintenance at Dollywood? I would guess you were if you were riding back during our testing as you had to be a Dollywood employee or with one of us contractors. I'm sure I know you then too as I was present during all of the testing.

 

-Brian

[middle_keeny]

 

 

I do want to clarify here, as we only worked on the ride control system and not the launch control system, we do not comment on the status of the launch control system in any way. Further as we have not been on site for months, I would have no way to know the condition or operation of that system. As for the idea that the systems were unified, we would need to be notified of such a change, and there has been no notifications or requests to change anything in our system from the park.

 

So you mentioned that you work in maintenance. Is that maintenance at Dollywood? I would guess you were if you were riding back during our testing as you had to be a Dollywood employee or with one of us contractors. I'm sure I know you then too as I was present during all of the testing.

 

-Brian

 

My apologies. I was under the impression that IOE did the launch control system and not the ride system. Thank you for clarifying that up for all of us.

 

I do not work maintenance at Dollywood. I work in a large automotive factory in maintenance. I checked through my pictures and I rode it on May 24, which was the second day of testing to the public. I thought it was earlier in the year. And YES! I did see a bunch of RMC shirts there that day and maybe an IOE shirt (don't remember exactly).

 

Since I work in a German factory, I deal primarily with Siemens but I understand that the South tends to prefer Allen Bradley. When I was in line yesterday, I noticed that the prox switches that I could see are now yellow instead of green. which led me to speculate that there was a change in the operating system. Was gonna try and get a picture of the prox switched but the park was too crowded so we never went. Again I want to clarify that it was purely speculation and I have no employment/ contractor relationship with Dollywood.

 

In other news: the park was crowded today, we arrived at 11:05 as the park opened and they were starting to park in D/E so we went home.We had already gone Thursday and Friday so no loss. Smoky Mountain Christmas is nice with the changes. they moved it to the Celebrity Theater and now have an Orchestra and use projections behind the cabin.

 

Thought Wonderful Life Was good as well. They really had to condense the story down to fit it to an hour and I think they did a good job at it . I would see it again.

 

Oh.. I know its supposed to be Christmas there but the trees were in Fall Peak. I managed to get this shot of LR..

[Coasterbp]

 

 

I do want to clarify here, as we only worked on the ride control system and not the launch control system, we do not comment on the status of the launch control system in any way. Further as we have not been on site for months, I would have no way to know the condition or operation of that system. As for the idea that the systems were unified, we would need to be notified of such a change, and there has been no notifications or requests to change anything in our system from the park.

 

So you mentioned that you work in maintenance. Is that maintenance at Dollywood? I would guess you were if you were riding back during our testing as you had to be a Dollywood employee or with one of us contractors. I'm sure I know you then too as I was present during all of the testing.

 

-Brian

 

My apologies. I was under the impression that IOE did the launch control system and not the ride system. Thank you for clarifying that up for all of us.

 

I do not work maintenance at Dollywood. I work in a large automotive factory in maintenance. I checked through my pictures and I rode it on May 24, which was the second day of testing to the public. I thought it was earlier in the year. And YES! I did see a bunch of RMC shirts there that day and maybe an IOE shirt (don't remember exactly).

 

Since I work in a German factory, I deal primarily with Siemens but I understand that the South tends to prefer Allen Bradley. When I was in line yesterday, I noticed that the prox switches that I could see are now yellow instead of green. which led me to speculate that there was a change in the operating system. Was gonna try and get a picture of the prox switched but the park was too crowded so we never went. Again I want to clarify that it was purely speculation and I have no employment/ contractor relationship with Dollywood.

 

 

Hi, BP from IOE here. The green prox sensors you might have seen on the track were from a long time ago, before full circuit testing even started. The yellow prox sensors have been installed on the ride for quite some time now, even before there were any official/unofficial riders. Thanks!

 

BP

Senior PLC Programmer

Irvine-Ondrey Engineering

https://www.facebook.com/IrvineOndreyEngineering/

[rebelrailroad]

5k Friday night was fun. There was nearly 2000 folks participating. Park was crazy crowded yesterday with praking at Splash. Rode Mystery Mine which seems to be running smoother than ever. Was on Barnstormer when ride ops shut down due to a cell phone. When will people learn to not bring them out. We didnt stay too long as the park was so full there wasnt much to do without long waits. Honestly, the Christmas lights seemed less this year. I was disappointed to see the Grist Mill totally dark, not one Christmas light. My wife waited in line one hour for cinnamon bread. Well worth it though. Apparently they are trying to get more ovens. Every 10 minutes they send two trays of bread to the lower level and upstairs gets one. This cant keep up with the lines. I know there aren't many show folks here, but they did a great job with Christmas in the Smokies! That show has been an annual tradition for us for nearly 20 years.

[rebelrailroad]

Standing in line for Lightning Rod. They were running two trains with some rows closed. Now the dreaded message just came across "Lightning Rod needs a tune up, not sure how long this will take." Geez, why is this thing always broke!!!

[Dollywoodlover20]

Looking at the app right now it says LR has a 25 min wait. What was the tune up for?

[ernierocker]

It opened back up at around 5:30ish. Got lucky and was walking towards right when they allowed people back in line and got on the 2nd train back out. Absolutely insane! I need to make several more visits before the year is over now that it seems to be running somewhat reliable.

Edited November 14, 2016 by ernierocker

[middle_keeny]

I thought I read somewhere back that they do a safety check once every 2 or 3 hours. It happened when I was in line the other day. There was about a 5 minute downtime, ran an empty train, then ran a train with an operator on it. So it was down for no more than 10 minutes. This was a little after 5 when this happened, so its consistent with what ernie wrote.

[rebelrailroad]

We waited in line during the closure. Nothing visible happened for about 30 minutes. Then a guy in a black shirt showed up and ran a couple empties while on the radio with someone. A few minutes later I saw a maintenance guy walking beside the track near one of the last hills. He was scaling down the bank in a really steep section. Once he got down to the access road, he closed the access gate and a couple empties were sent out. They then sent one out with one Dollywood staff member in both the front and last row. Once they made it back the ride then reopened. We were on the first train that went out with two rows still closed off. My daughter caught a ladies cell phone who was one row up from us. She had it in her back pocket and it still flew out. It is a great ride but annoying with all the downtime and closed rows.

[dstephe9]

I thought I read somewhere back that they do a safety check once every 2 or 3 hours. It happened when I was in line the other day. There was about a 5 minute downtime, ran an empty train, then ran a train with an operator on it. So it was down for no more than 10 minutes. This was a little after 5 when this happened, so its consistent with what ernie wrote.

 

They do this with most of their coasters or rides at that and usually don't close the ride line for it aside from saying they are doing their safety check and run the train empty.. They let everyone stay in line for the safety check normally and it only last for a few minutes.. If they say it's closed for a tune-up, they usually empty the line and it's down for more than a few minutes.. Sometimes they might let you stay but if a ride is closed for more than 10 or 15 minutes it's usually not a safety check (but you never know with LR, they might do more of a complete check)

 

Good news is, if it closes for a tune-up and they close the ride completely for a few minutes they will usually count this as the safety check they do every few hours, at least in my experience.

 

Also, sometimes they don't even close the rides.. I was on Blazing Fury earlier in the season on a very slow day.. Me and my GF were the only two in the station and the guy on the controls told another op to hop on. he said "hop on, it'll be our safety check, we are dead anyways, then you can take your 15" (I assume he ment his state required 15 min break) he hopped in the front, we were in the back. Never closed for the safety check, he just rode it with us..

 

Someone else mentioned earlier on this thread that the same thing happened to him on LR were an op rode beside him because he was a single rider.. when he asked why, they said they ride every few hours as a safety check.

 

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[CantGetEnoughThrills]

Standing in line for Lightning Rod. They were running two trains with some rows closed. Now the dreaded message just came across "Lightning Rod needs a tune up, not sure how long this will take." Geez, why is this thing always broke!!!

 

 

New guy here. I was in row 12 and two trains away from boarding. As train #2 was arriving in the station, the station attendant on the back right hand side of the station announced, "No phones are allowed on this ride, if you have anything in your pockets it will fly out!!" As the riders were getting off the ride, one of the riders in row 10 notified he got hit in the upper left lip by something. He didn't look like he was bleeding, just was concerned. One of the medics came up the elevator and attended to him. Kudos to Dollywood for making sure safety is their number one priority!!! They kept cycling the ride and looked inside the cars to see if anything fell off the trains. The ride attendant told us we've been running with no problems since they opened for the Christmas part of the season. I'm no expert but, from what I saw the ride was only shut down due to that issue. The ride was able to cycle with no problems! We ended up leaving the line because we had to go home, the wait was 35 minutes but we had waited 1.5 hrs in total. I really wasn't disappointed that I didn't get to ride as I have already ridden it before. I must add they were running the ride with 2 trains and as soon as the previous train hit the brakes behind the station the next train would be sent out!!! Best I've seen this ride run!