Dollywood Discussion Thread

[TEDodd]

Gee, I wonder what the reason for that could possibly be.

This has nothing to do with SARS-CoV-2.
The craftsmen I talked to in 2018/2019 said DW wasn't as good to work with vs the past. Charging higher fees, larger percentages of sales, and overall making it less hospitable. A few that were there in '18 said they weren't coming back in '19 and they didn't.
I started noticing it before the illuminights stuff was started. Much like the decline of world craftsmen and food during Festival of Nations in recent years. 

[u4icmusic]

5 hours ago, TEDodd said:

This has nothing to do with SARS-CoV-2.

The craftsmen I talked to in 2018/2019 said DW wasn't as good to work with vs the past. Charging higher fees, larger percentages of sales, and overall making it less hospitable. A few that were there in '18 said they weren't coming back in '19 and they didn't.

I started noticing it before the illuminights stuff was started. Much like the decline of world craftsmen and food during Festival if Nations in recent years. 

I would tend to agree with you that new park management had focused more on cutting costs, saving money and losing much of the magic that Dollywood used to have. It's turning into another Cedar Fair styled park now and that is a shame.

[u4icmusic]

15 hours ago, Jdprince45 said:

Theory on next coaster

 

 

I don't believe half the crap in this video. There is no way their attendance levels were that high with state-mandated COVID attendance and capacity restrictions.

[prozach626]

Dude is smoking some strong stuff in that video. The "prediction" youtube videos always make me laugh. They're responsible for users in groups such as the SFSTL Facebook page predicting hypers and RMC's for the past 10 years, yet we can't even get a full size endeavor. 

I'm predicting Knoebels will get a giga coaster in 2031, based on nothing, because my theory has just as evidence.

[SharkTums]

I don't understand how all of these crazy coaster sites are still in existence after years of claiming first on some rumor and then being wrong, but Screamscape has been around for like 20 years so...

[Garet]

I'm predicting that Dollywood's next coaster will be a (hopefully)  more reliable Lightning Rod. You heard it hear first... or second.... or fourteenth, I've lost count after pages on the prices of fudge and the ratio of wood:steel for what can be called a wooden roller-coaster. 

[Djwadeknox]

Watch out for that first drop.

[SharkTums]

New jump the track element!

[TrippinBillie]

I thought maybe they'd add a barrel roll diving into that main drop and surprise us all.  Coulda been cool to launch, small dip, up hill barrel roll, big drop.  What a start to a coaster!

[KBrylczyk]

5 hours ago, SharkTums said:

New jump the track element!

Do go on...

Seriously, though, does anyone think Alan Schilke hasn't looked into this element as a real thing?

[michaellynn4]

Anyone else getting some serious RCT vibes from seeing just that one piece missing?

Like I'm halfway looking for a way to complete the section and get the satisfaction of knowing the circuit lines up right.

[dankeykang]

^ Just add one of those "S" pieces and that should do the trick 

Regarding the layout, no major changes are needed.  In all seriousness, Lightning Rod is the only coaster I've experienced that makes me feel like I'm gonna sh*t myself (saying this as a good thing).  Wood or steel, as long as this is still the case, I'll be more than satisfied.

[sdcfan88]

2 hours ago, michaellynn4 said:

Anyone else getting some serious RCT vibes from seeing just that one piece missing?

Like I'm halfway looking for a way to complete the section and get the satisfaction of knowing the circuit lines up right.

LOL yes totally. Or reopening the ride as you watch guests sail off the edge.

[Nrthwnd]

Maybe they're going to add the Vertical Loop that Son Of Beast had.... way back when?

"It could fit in there." (The centerfold of a past Kings Island guide book)

[TrippinBillie]

Anyone know why they cut down so many trees for this?  The removal of trees was getting me excited for a track/layout change or added element.  Seems strange to clear so much land to just ibox it.

[southpuddle]

1 hour ago, TrippinBillie said:

Anyone know why they cut down so many trees for this?  The removal of trees was getting me excited for a track/layout change or added element.  Seems strange to clear so much land to just ibox it.

Probably for crane access. Now that the ride has been built, it's not possible to get cranes in the same places they were able to during the original construction.

[u4icmusic]

For those that visited Dollywood after they reopened from the COVID closure, what did you think about operations, ride wait times, food and beverage wait times and your overall feeling of either feeling safe or not with the COVID restrictions. I think Dollywood will reopen in March with the same or very similar restrictions due to COVID-19 at least until the vast majority of the US has been vaccinated. I'm even thinking theme parks may ask for proof of vaccination to allow entry or to allow you to not have to wear a face covering. Any other ideas about what you think might happen going forward?

[Canobie Coaster]

I visited Dollywood twice in 2020.  The dispatches were no different than usual.  The coasters had a grouper who would pump hand sanitizer into your hands and then assign you a row.  They would take seating requests and allow you to wait off on the side if you wanted a specific row.  Wait times were a bit longer than usual in the summer, so I went with Timesaver (especially since it was easier to distance).  As for mask compliance, it started strong at the start of the day, but it became worse towards the end of the day probably due to the heat/humidity.

[coasterbill]

Mask compliance was better than I expected but it wasn’t great. social distancing isn’t a thing but that’s true of most regional parks. If you care about that, buy Timesaver.

[805Andrew]

6 hours ago, u4icmusic said:

For those that visited Dollywood after they reopened from the COVID closure, what did you think about operations, ride wait times, food and beverage wait times and your overall feeling of either feeling safe or not with the COVID restrictions. I think Dollywood will reopen in March with the same or very similar restrictions due to COVID-19 at least until the vast majority of the US has been vaccinated. I'm even thinking theme parks may ask for proof of vaccination to allow entry or to allow you to not have to wear a face covering. Any other ideas about what you think might happen going forward?

I went to Dollywood for Smoky Mountain Christmas in December and mask wearing was strongly enforced prior to boarding the parking lot tram entering the park. Once inside the park people pretty much kept their masks on but some people put them under their noses in the queues.  Also nobody was following the social distancing markers in the queues but I blame that more on the rural Tennessee clientele than on the park. When I went to Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia on the same trip I noticed a lot more people were paying attention to the distancing markers in line but I think that has more to do with the Charlotte and Atlanta clienteles being better educated and well aware then the parks' enforcements of their COVID policies. 

Now as for ride operations, Dollywood was loading every row on every coaster except for Firechaser Express and the kiddie but only one party per row, which is fine with me. With the exception of Firechaser Express lines moved pretty quickly and operations were smooth. Once an hour, they would clean each train and run it once cycle empty but it didn't delay the line too much. Six Flags Over Georgia had very similar procedures to this and operations were pretty smooth as well. Carowinds on the other hand, had a very tedious procedure that was overkill stopping the trains every 30 min for cleaning with empty cycles and only loading every other row on Copperhead Strike which lead to 90+ min waits and only one party per train on Ricochet which led to 90 min posted waits as well (I skipped it). Only Afterburn was loading every row and still had 30-60 min waits when I was there due to slow operations. If I was you I would avoid Cedar Fair parks until COVID is over and visit Six Flags parks instead (I can't believe I'm saying this) for better operations. Disney and Universal are good to visit too as long as it's not peak holiday weekends or breaks. As for Dollywood, as long as you're okay with people not distancing well in queues and are willing to wear a mask go ahead and visit because nothing else is really diminishing the experience there (except for Lightning Rod being closed, but Lightning Rod being closed is part of the Dollywood experience anyways - at least for me).

[dstephe9]

Another thing to point out during covid-19

1.) Festivals were limited
2.) Live shows were limited even during Christmas when they started live shows back
3.) Unless it was a weekend, a lot of restaurants were closed and so were a lot of shops
4.) Smoky Mountain Christmas seemed scaled down, even with light's.

If rides are your only reason for going, you should be happy. My wife and I visited probably 20+ times, not as much as normal but still a lot

While a lot of below sounds like complaining, it was mostly a great season with great visits. I just wanted to note some of this

Rides: On busy days, rides did back up due to lack of shows and other activities

1.) I actually saw them running double trains on rides such as TN Tornado more this year than I have previous years by a lot and wait times averaging 5 - 10 mins. (This ride is normally a walk on). Some visits they skipped seats, some they didn't

Trams: operations here sucked. Skipped rows, long waits, rude drivers. Running the small trams vs longer trams

Security Check: they changed this up a few times this year. During the final months I didn't like how they made you place your cell phone and keys on the table but made you walk through metal detectors with your backpack. They almost always make it go off and then holds up the line while they search it. Just search it while walking through.

Cost Cutting: For those that visit Dollywood a lot, this got much worse later in the season. French Fries changed from home made chips or large potato wedges to simple frozen fries. Plastic forks were so cheap the broke constantly. Even homemade cookies at places changed to packaged. A lot of our favorite foods felt, looked like, and tasted like they became more processed and less homemade. I'll note this last one BUT please note, this was the final day of the season and it was NOT like this a few weekends before. Even the cinnamon bread that last day was almost like it was premade. None of that cinnamon goop in the bottom of the container they now serve in.

Food prices did seem to go up, even with the cost cutting above. We always save our receipts curious how much money the gold pass saved us, and this was confirmed. Prices went up, some even changed mid season

Overall though not many complaints as most of the season was great but not perfect

[tndank]

Didn't get to Dollywood til November and December.  Masks on guests inside the park was probably one of the worst I've seen on some days, better on others.   I hit about a dozen parks this year.

No one cares about 6 feet inside Dollywood.

Walk, don't take the tram at the end of the night.  It's a cluster over there and not worth the time.

Lines are healthy on busy days.  It wasn't easy to find low attendance days to have some marathons like normal years after August.

 

[dstephe9]

Didn't get to Dollywood til November and December.  Masks on guests inside the park was probably one of the worst I've seen on some days, better on others.   I hit about a dozen parks this year.
No one cares about 6 feet inside Dollywood.
Walk, don't take the tram at the end of the night.  It's a cluster over there and not worth the time.
Lines are healthy on busy days.  It wasn't easy to find low attendance days to have some marathons like normal years after August.
 

Glad I'm not the only person who thought trams were a cluster. My experience every trip was like that. Luckily, most of the time, until like October, Gold Pass got to park between B and handicap. During the Holidays, my wife and I actually drove around B lot or C lot until we found someone leaving from a spot that was walking distance. We actually walked to and from D&E one night

Plus side, the parking lot walk in the evening is always nice. dark, not many people. It was always a nice walk my wife and I enjoyed

[TEDodd]

Glad I'm not the only person who thought trams were a cluster. My experience every trip was like that.

I usually pay the upcharge for Preferred parking. The hill is a b*tch at the end of a long day but beats waiting on the tram.

But since they increased the upcharge I've used normal parking on slow days (when I usually visit) and when I get there early enough.

[coasterbill]

12 hours ago, 805Andrew said:

Also nobody was following the social distancing markers in the queues but I blame that more on the rural Tennessee clientele than on the park. When I went to Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia on the same trip I noticed a lot more people were paying attention to the distancing markers in line but I think that has more to do with the Charlotte and Atlanta clienteles being better educated and well aware then the parks' enforcements of their COVID policies. 

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been to a park all year where people follow the distancing markers unless there are people there actively enforcing it (at which point people are trained by the end of the day and just do it on their own).

While I’m not giving the rural Tennessee crowd a pass on that, I also don’t think they’re any worse than most other places. Six Flags Great Adventure is in a market that got hit the hardest by covid (in terms of deaths since it happened early-on) and it’s a free-for-all. American Dream... same thing. SeaWorld, Knoebels, Dorney, Hershey... all atrocious.

The only (major) parks I’ve been to this year where people stand on those lines are Kings Island, Carowinds and Cedar Point where they had people walking through the queues constantly instructing people (though the parks are terribly run aside from that) plus Disney and Universal.

People insist on having no personal space. Why? Who knows?