Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

Went yesterday, LR was closed. Another interesting thing I noticed, all theming has been removed from the overhead trestle on mystery mine. All wood, all theming, all everything! My camera batteries were dead and so was my phone so no photo, but it looked bad. Hopefully they will redo it and didn't remove everything due to the incident. It's basically just the track and metal frame now

 

 

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

[u4icmusic]

I know it's a bummer to see Lightning Rod down, but I can definitely see the need to do track work and this seems to be the appropriate time (post-Labor Day) to do it.

 

When we went, there was a rough spot in the track immediately following the quad-down, where the track turns to the right before the little speed hill into the final overbank. It was tolerable in all rows except the back row, where it slammed so hard that we only rode back row twice during our visit. I mentioned it to one of the ride ops and they were aware of it, too.

At this point, they need to either tear Lightning Rod down or do an RMC conversion on it. It's really bad publicity for Dollywood and is extremely upsetting to guests to visit and have the coaster closed. I was there Saturday and spoke to the lead ride operator from Lightning Rod and he said the manufacturer told them to shut it down and not to touch it. He had no idea when it was going to reopen. Remember when Timber Tower never ran and Dollywood removed it after only a couple of years?

[AmyUD06]

At this point, they need to either tear Lightning Rod down or do an RMC conversion on it.

 

Um...just LOL.

[coasterbill]

I'm not sure what they need to do with Lightning Rod, but it's hard to think of a modern coaster that's been this much of a turd after years of operation (though "operation" is a generous phrase here). The stratas come to mind, but even with them; they break down a lot intermittently but they operate for a decent chunk of the day most days.

Edited September 21, 2020 by coasterbill

[u4icmusic]

At this point, they need to either tear Lightning Rod down or do an RMC conversion on it.

 

Um...just LOL.

What's so funny about that? The ride never works and it is only 4 years old. Three if you count the year it didn't run at all. There are design flaws in this coaster. You shouldn't have to retrack a coaster after such little use. It's been modified several times and it is still not operational. It they did an RMC conversion on it the steel tracks would last forever with few, if any issues. They tried this concept, it didn't work. It's time to do something about it.

[AmyUD06]

It was funny since the ride is already a RMC.

[SharkTums]

^He's laughing because it IS an RMC!

 

But I do agree with everyone, something needs to be done, it's getting ridiculous.

[TEDodd]

Are there any coasters that are definitely closed for the winter event? Or are they all completely weather dependent?

 

All weather dependent. None are specifically closed for Christmasn (unlike Six Flags that shuts down sections of the park).

 

Only the water rides close when the weather cools off.

[coasterbill]

Are there any coasters that are definitely closed for the winter event?

 

Well... there's one

[TEDodd]

Are there any coasters that are definitely closed for the winter event?

 

Well... there's one

Which? What coaster is closed for the winter Thanksgiving/Christmas events.

 

I've ridden ever coaster in the park in December.

[coasterbill]

Which? What coaster is closed for the winter Thanksgiving/Christmas events.

 

The same one that's closed for Spring, Summer and Fall events.

 

(It's a joke... though it WILL totally be closed)

[TEDodd]

Which? What coaster is closed for the winter Thanksgiving/Christmas events.

 

The same one that's closed for Spring, Summer and Fall events.

 

(It's a joke... though it WILL totally be closed)

 

I see.

 

That's an assumption. LR could be back up by mid Nov.

 

For a ride that's "always" closed I've ridden it a lot.

So many I've lost count.

[coasterbill]

Oh lighten up a little and embrace the fact that the ride is a huge, huge POS

[robbalvey]

Which? What coaster is closed for the winter Thanksgiving/Christmas events.

 

The same one that's closed for Spring, Summer and Fall events.

 

(It's a joke... though it WILL totally be closed)

 

I see.

 

That's an assumption. LR could be back up by mid Nov.

 

For a ride that's "always" closed I've ridden it a lot.

So many I've lost count.

 

FFS IT WAS A JOKE!!!

 

That being said, I've been to the park three times since the ride has been open and I've gotten on it once. So...

 

The other thing that is quite moronic about your post is that you live somewhat close to the park and probably have more of an opportunity to change plans based on what rides may or may not be operating.

 

When you live a plane ride away and you have to make plans months in advance, you don't have that luxury.

 

So that being said, YES, the ride has been down quite a bit and so many other people have missed out.

 

Next time, before you go making such an ignorant statement, maybe you should try telling the entire story.

 

[Pseybert]

I know there are bigger things going on in the world, but my wife was super excited for Lightning Rod for our first visit next week. I don't know how to break it to her that it's not happening. Someone reassure me and tell me there's a 1% chance!

[TEDodd]

FFS IT WAS A JOKE!!!

 

I got that. (Hence the "I see" statement)

Doubt the person asking about rides closed for winter would have though.

 

As was my quip about it "always" being closed.

 

Just checked and noticed there were some nuances on the web view vs Tapatalk. Like Bill's comment about it will be is in small print, while TT shows no indication of that.

 

But fine, he can be snarky ("it WILL totally be closed") but I can't.

 

you live somewhat close to the park and probably have more of an opportunity to change plans based on what rides may or may not be operating.

 

Somewhat? 4.5-5 hours. I certainly don't wake up one morning, run to DW, then come home. It's at least a long weekend, normally a week long trip, and planned a month in advance.

 

But a trip to Pigeon Forge is not just about DW or a particular coaster. Unlike the 3hr trip to SFoG.

[TEDodd]

I know there are bigger things going on in the world, but my wife was super excited for Lightning Rod for our first visit next week. I don't know how to break it to her that it's not happening. Someone reassure me and tell me there's a 1% chance!

 

Next week? Not likely. I haven't seen any mention of work being done currently.

 

I think they are waiting on parts.

 

It would be nice if DW or RMC would give some info on what was being done and a timeline for repair.

Like if they have to wait for something to be manufactured and the supplier is backlogged due to the shudowns.

[dankeykang]

I think this year we simply have to accept the fact that most maintenance issues will take much longer to fix than normal. Storm Runner and Steel Curtain are two other examples that immediately come to mind. That said, I made my first trip to Dollywood last month and really enjoyed it. Lightning Rod was open but I still would have had a great time even if it hadn't been operating. Thunderhead, Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado are a solid supporting cast, and Firechaser Express is one of my favorite family coasters. The staff are super friendly and the atmosphere was very charming, even with the COVID restrictions in place.

 

I know it's been linked a few times on this thread recently, but the LR page on dollywoodwaittimes.com is the best site for checking the ride's status. It has data all the way back to 2017! Even though it can't predict the future, it's a good way to gauge whether the ride has been running with any degree of consistency, if at all.

[DBru]

Add me to the list of people who are ready for something to be done with Lightning Rod. 7 visits, 1 ride. And it’s still all over their ads, which I find especially annoying.

[coasterbill]

I think this year we simply have to accept the fact that most maintenance issues will take much longer to fix than normal. Storm Runner and Steel Curtain are two other examples that immediately come to mind.

 

Yeah, but the difference is that this isn't even slightly unusual with Lightning Rod. Despite being an Intamin rocket coaster, Storm Runner is reasonably reliable and Steel Curtain is only a little over a year old and also located in a Parques Reunidos park where I fully expect everything to be f*cked up 24/7 365 because they're an absolutely horrible embarrassment of a company.

Edited September 22, 2020 by coasterbill

[RCjunkie]

Add me to the list of people who are ready for something to be done with Lightning Rod. 7 visits, 1 ride. And it’s still all over their ads, which I find especially annoying.

 

This is what has prevented me from visiting the park to ride Lighting Rod. I wish it was more consistent than 50/50 on any given day.

[TEDodd]

This is what has prevented me from visiting the park to ride Lighting Rod. I wish it was more consistent than 50/50 on any given day.

 

Looking at the wait times linked earlier it's much better than 50/50. Not as good as it should be, but still better than 50/50. Look at Jun-Aug.

Down 3 of 16 days from Jun 15-30, 80% up for the day. A bit of down time some days.

July looked similar (haven't counted). Then a big problem early August (down 5th, up 14-17, then down since)

 

Would be nice if the dataset could be downloaded and analyzed.

[Canobie Coaster]

Rides can have downtime during the day or an occasional major issue can occur (ex. cable snap), but what makes Lightning Rod so frustrating is that it seems like it has had a major issue that has kept it closed for weeks/months at a time each year.

 

I think 2019 was the only year Lightning Rod didn't have a major spell of downtime. The only time I recall the ride closing for multiple days last year was after a snowstorm when the tracks iced up (Tennessee Tornado was also closed those days).

 

Steel Curtain is only a little over a year old and also located in a Parques Reunidos park where I fully expect everything to be f*cked up 24/7 365 because they're an absolutely horrible embarrassment of a company.

 

Imagine if Lightning Rod were at a Parques Reunidos park.

 

For as much downtime as Lightning Rod has had, I trust Dollywood would never try to transfer a train onto a track while another one is on the course leading to a collision.

[TEDodd]

but what makes Lightning Rod so frustrating is that it *_seems_* like it has had a major issue that has kept it closed for weeks/months at a time each year.

 

Why I'd like to see an analysis. Actual data vs anecdotal.

 

Maybe even find a pattern, as to how long between break downs and how long it's down.

 

I'm sure DW/RMC has that but they aren't sharing.

The wait times page has it's flaws, but it all we have.

 

Does anyone known who owns the site?

Are they on this site?

[Canobie Coaster]

The legacy wait time data I have on the wait time site goes back to 2017. Link

 

2016 was the ride's first year and while the wait time site doesn't have the data, I found an article where Dollywood's director of public relations said the ride was down 70 of 183 days in its opening year. And that doesn't include days where it spent most the day broken.

 

Link

 

The data for 2017 starts on May 17. Lightning Rod was listed as closed for the day from at least May 17 until it reopened on June 16. So the ride was down for at least a month straight. When I was there the first week of June that year, I saw employees working on the lift.

 

In 2018, Lightning Rod was listed as closed for the day from July 4 to October 10, so it was closed for almost 3 straight months including almost the entire summer. That was the year of the rumored pothole at the base of the main drop.

 

2019 the ride seemed to run reliably.

 

This year, the ride seemed to run fairly well until it went down August 21-24. I saw some new wood on the final turnaround and the rumor was that it was closed for trackwork. Lightning Rod reopened on August 28 and ran for 1.5 hours total towards the start of the day. It ran pretty much all day on August 29 without any breakdowns. It ran well on August 30 outside of an hour breakdown, but on August 31 the ride went down after a rollback and hasn't reopened since.

 

 

So the ride has been down for at least a month in 4 of its 5 years. This isn't even looking at the ride's uptime on the days it opened.