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Dollywood Discussion Thread

P. 796 - Ride closing 10/30 to remove launch and install chain lift!

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11 hours ago, coasterbill said:

If I ran a park that operated for 9 1/2 months out of the year in a place where it snows and I was adding another hotel but a lot of the draw is already indoor shows I would just go on an indoor-ride-building-binge and then go year-round like BGW.

I mean they already operate most of their rides in December anyways. Wouldn't be much of a leap from them to do it now, but a few more indoor rides wouldn't hurt.

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I didn't see the sign for single riders for Lighting Rod, so I waited a long time yesterday morning. I got in line at 9:45. They were only running one train when they opened the ride at 10 am, so it was SLOW going. Then there was a rollback just as I was close to boarding. That took another 30 minutes to fix, then run test trains. The next time I went to ride Lighting Rod is when I happened to see the single rider line. After you walk up the stairs, there is another sign that tells single riders to go into the middle lane, which is also used for Parent Swap riders. It's a bit confusing, but on the third try I got it right. The first time I used the single rider line, I stayed in the Time Saver line, which was not correct and the ride host made me go to the back of the single rider line in the Parent Swap queue, which I did. So, if you go as a single rider, go into the Time Saver line, then go to the middle queue. The sign overhead still says Parent Swap, but the line is really for single riders. They never put a second train on while I was there. It appears the partial retracking didn't help the issues or reliability. The second photo shows the maintenance crew totally dumbfounded  about what caused the rollback. Then a guy reached down and appeared to adjust a sensor and the ride started back up. The same thing happened when I was there two weeks ago at about the same time. It rained off and on most of the day, but the park was fairly empty and all the rides were running, most with no lines. It was a fantastic day to go.

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13 hours ago, JJLehto said:

Wow that is quite an expansion! On top of a park that's already blown up a good bit, and yeah on top of the pandemic. THAT is impressive/dedication. They need to watch out, at this rate it may lose its beloved "smaller gem" status among enthusiasts and become "corporate" XD XD XD 

But nah good stuff, I already want to go back and IF they had some time of record breaking coaster for 2023 pencil me in already! 

I think “small gem” ship sailed a year or so ago. It’s still a unique product, but they definitely have their eyes on a bigger prize these days. 

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On 5/20/2021 at 9:58 AM, TEDodd said:

It'll always be a woodie to me.

It was designed as such and will never compete with tubular steel coasters. Different design paradigms. 

 

As for night rides, it's s whole new beast. When overcast/no moon, the drop is into darkness and no light til the quad down. 

It was designed with Topper Track, which is and was tubular steel. That is how the partial retracking worked put so seamlessly. Both the steel tracks were the same size. The only difference is that the Topper Track had wood underneath it while the I-Box track has steel underneath it. The part the trains ride on are identical, therefore Lightning Rod was never a wooden coaster from day one since it was always on tubular steel track. It was all a marketing gimmick by Dollywood and RMC. Lighting Rod has always been a hybrid steel coaster. It feels exactly the same now as it did before the retrack. The only difference is that it is more durable with the stronger I-Box track because the wood under the Topper Track could not take the impact.

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2 hours ago, u4icmusic said:

It was designed with Topper Track, which is and was tubular steel. 

Well Thunderhead rides on a steel plate on top of the wood stack. Difference between topper is just the steel box replacing the upper layers of wood. Most people don't consider square/rectangular shapes tubes, tubes are circular, like a straw or pipe.

But my point was it was designed with the same criteria used by traditional steel topped wood tracks. That's quite different from how round tubular steel designs (like TT, MM, FCE, and WE) are done. And that's the differentiation to me, not the track material or the support structure. Could it be done with traditional track.

LR could have been built with traditional steel plate on wood, Topper Track, I-Box, or even they new 208 RetraK. Just a matter of longevity. Given what happened to the Topper Track, it would have chewed through traditional wood track really fast.

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7 hours ago, megan said:

I think “small gem” ship sailed a year or so ago. It’s still a unique product, but they definitely have their eyes on a bigger prize these days. 

Which is quite fine with me! Was having a bit of a jab at some enthusiasts is all heh but I agree and don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Quite the opposite, development is good I mean I’ve always heard how wonderful the park it was but since it was not close/convenient I never thought to go until recent years where they have quite a lineup. People chagrin at the idea but idk the same people all bust the chops of parks that are stagnant for years so what can ya do? 

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8 hours ago, megan said:

I think “small gem” ship sailed a year or so ago. It’s still a unique product, but they definitely have their eyes on a bigger prize these days. 

I think the "small Gem" idea stems from the fact that pretty much every amusement park in North America is dwarfed by Disney and Universal's parks.

I think the Disney / Universal market is out of reach for them, the general public will come from all over the world to go to those places. I feel like Dollywood and Silver Dollar City are attempting to stake their claim on their domestic markets, much like higher-end theme parks in continental Europe. I think they want to capture people who would normally come to the Smokies or the Ozarks for another reason and keep them in their resort bubbles for as long as possible.

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26 minutes ago, A.J. said:

I think the "small Gem" idea stems from the fact that pretty much every amusement park in North America is dwarfed by Disney and Universal's parks.

I think the Disney / Universal market is out of reach for them, the general public will come from all over the world to go to those places. I feel like Dollywood and Silver Dollar City are attempting to stake their claim on their domestic markets, much like higher-end theme parks in continental Europe. I think they want to capture people who would normally come to the Smokies or the Ozarks for another reason and keep them in their resort bubbles for as long as possible.

Agree with the domestic slant, but I think they are looking to convince people to come to Dollywood first (SDC not as much) with a (soon to be) slate of 4-5 hotels, cabins, campground, water park, dry park, dinner shows (why they don’t provide shuttle service to on site guests to those is beyond me). Not just coming for another reason, then stay on a DW, but making that the main focus of the trip. 

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Damn. For a minute there, I really thought the steel vs wood argument was going to kick back into action. There's still a chance we can get a mask argument and LR track type argument going at the exact same time, since this thread has been notorious for both. It would be... the perfect storm. Imagine standing in line next to someone wearing an RMC shirt, while they talk shit on all the vaxxed people outdoors not wearing their masks, and tell you you're stupid for not thinking LR is steel.

I'd leave the queue, get in my car, and drive it to another planet.

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Got some Intel from the Dippin' Dots lady today... I think she got a little excited and spilled the beans. 

She pointed at Dragon Flyer and said it will be a bigger version of that in the new expansion area. It will easily be 1000' longer than Wild Eagle . So that would make it at least 4150 ish feet long making it the longest invert coaster. The interesting thing is that it will not have any inversions  but will be a terrain based inverted coaster. My prediction is it will be built by Vekoma.

Also, had a ride op tell me that Lightning Rod will finish getting Ibox this offseason. So everything but the brake run and station will be Ibox.

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I'm heading to Dollywood this Thursday and about to purchase our tickets.  Does TimeSaver Unlimited include every ride at Dollywood?  I didn't see LR listed as an option

 

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Thanks!  I had no clue about Blazing Fury and didn't even ride it on my first trip to Dollywood 2 years ago.  Of course Blazing Fury isn't included on the TimeSaver Unlimited!  LOL. Just my luck.  Hopefully the line for that isn't too long

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43 minutes ago, B Rip said:

Thanks!  I had no clue about Blazing Fury and didn't even ride it on my first trip to Dollywood 2 years ago.  Of course Blazing Fury isn't included on the TimeSaver Unlimited!  LOL. Just my luck.  Hopefully the line for that isn't too long

There are lots of rides that aren't in Timesaver, but the big one are generally included.

The bottom half of this page shows what Timersaver can be used with (rides and shows)

https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Guest-Services/TimeSaver-Pass

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8 hours ago, SSL said:

To be fair, Blazing Fury doesn't really ever have that long of lines anyways unless it's raining or something.

Interesting. I used to be, they must’ve dropped it when they added dragon flyer. 

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On 6/7/2021 at 12:48 AM, middle_keeny said:

Got some Intel from the Dippin' Dots lady today... I think she got a little excited and spilled the beans. 

She pointed at Dragon Flyer and said it will be a bigger version of that in the new expansion area. It will easily be 1000' longer than Wild Eagle . So that would make it at least 4150 ish feet long making it the longest invert coaster. The interesting thing is that it will not have any inversions  but will be a terrain based inverted coaster. My prediction is it will be built by Vekoma.

 

Im hoping this is a satire of how enthusiasts are, in which case brilliant stuff! Otherwise...a length breaking inverted coaster w no inversions? You think Vekoma? So the park will have two Vekoma inverts? 
Sure, and I heard that the record breaking gerstlauer is going to Lakemont Park, will be 2 miles long and 15 inversions

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59 minutes ago, JJLehto said:

Otherwise...a length breaking inverted coaster w no inversions? 

A long terrain following inverted coaster sounds like fun with the right terrain, no inversions required.

Having been in a helicopter sitting in the doorway at 60kts and 100ft AGL following rivers and through mountain terrain, replicating that sort of experience with an inverted coaster really sounds good.

 

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Dollywood cannot keep the park staffed. In addition to several restaurants being closed, now we can add rides to the list of closures due to staffing. It only takes 3 ride hosts to run this ride. Do you really think this is a staffing issue, or do you think Barnstormer will be removed or relocated? It's kind of tucked away and hard to see from Craftsman's Valley, as is Daredevil Falls. Maybe they are going to rework that area of the park. That could also be where the rumored giga coaster may be going.

barnstormer.jpg

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I think it's staffing. Not the first ride I've seen closed with staffing given as the reason.

A few days ago someone mentioned Whistle Punk Chase being closed for staffing.
Just checked and the web site still show it closed.

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3 hours ago, TEDodd said:

I think it's staffing. Not the first ride I've seen closed with staffing given as the reason.

A few days ago someone mentioned Whistle Punk Chase being closed for staffing.
Just checked and the web site still show it closed.

Don't you find that odd that a ride that can operate with 2 or 3 ride hosts gets closed down? I always thought that ride was in a crappy location. I think rides like that do better in the open where people can see them. If you don't know that ride is there and miss the sign, it is easy to pass up. School is out here, so they should not have an issue finding ride hosts. They may have to up their pay some like other parks have done though. I rode Barnstormer last week, so I was surprised to see it closed.

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1 hour ago, u4icmusic said:

Don't you find that odd that a ride that can operate with 2 or 3 ride hosts gets closed down?

No. That's 2 or 3 people from each ride to help with rides than need a lot more people to operate and speed up operations for those rides with long lines.

If closing Barnstormer and WPC speeds up popular rides like LR and WE, which do you think would be better for guest relations?

That said I wish all of Owens Farm was more visible. Not much there anymore other than the bathrooms. Even the mill does most business downstairs now (I remember when upstairs was the main shop).

 

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10 hours ago, u4icmusic said:

Dollywood cannot keep the park staffed. In addition to several restaurants being closed, now we can add rides to the list of closures due to staffing. It only takes 3 ride hosts to run this ride. Do you really think this is a staffing issue, or do you think Barnstormer will be removed or relocated? It's kind of tucked away and hard to see from Craftsman's Valley, as is Daredevil Falls. Maybe they are going to rework that area of the park. That could also be where the rumored giga coaster may be going.

barnstormer.jpg

Excuse me, Rumored giga? I thought Dollywood had a height limit that they couldn't go past... where did you hear this rumor at?

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