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Dollywood Discussion Thread

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

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On 6/19/2021 at 9:31 AM, Djwadeknox said:

here it is not behind a paywall. Wording for 2023 is family coaster. Also think we will see some parking garages to help with parking closer to the park.
 

https://pigeonforge.news/local/dollywood-plans-new-multigenerational-coaster-talks-resorts-news/

Dippin' Dots lady told me it was going to be an inverted coaster but no loops. will break record for longest invert.

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Some art leaked for one of the possible concepts for the 2023 coaster. It looks like a long, sit-down, family multi-launch coaster in the back of Wildwood Grove...which I personally find strange considering Firechaser Express is right around the corner.

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1 hour ago, DBru said:

Some art leaked for one of the possible concepts for the 2023 coaster. It looks like a long, sit-down, family multi-launch coaster in the back of Wildwood Grove...which I personally find strange considering Firechaser Express is right around the corner.

Last time I was at Dollywood Firechaser had about the longest line in the park so maybe that's not a bad thing. That line might have a mixture of capacity and popularity but people seem to love that ride, so a "bigger" and "better" version of that might be a solid addition.

 

If Dollywood had ride like Cheetah Hunt or Copperhead Strike in the back of Wildwood Grove that would be amazing.

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In my (uninformed) opinion, the concept art looks much more "motorbike coaster"-esque than something like Cheetah Hunt of Copperhead Strike. But I agree that something like either of those would be an excellent addition.

I was lowkey hoping for a Mack Xtreme Spinner or indoor coaster...but who knows! Maybe those are 2 of the other potential concepts. 😉

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Honestly, even though Firechaser only goes like 35 mph, I found it to be one of the best rides at Dollywood.  Maybe I'm just getting older and my tastes are changing, but I'm becoming more and more a fan of fun "quirky" rides these days.  I'm all for something like this if it's true.

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Oh, trust me, FireChaser Express is one of my highlights at Dollywood, too. But I prefer when parks add coasters that bring a new experience to their collection, rather than something similar to what guests can experience right down the midway. (See my ramblings about how Orion is a fine ride but would've been a better addition to nearly any other park than Kings Island)

Additionally, between FireChaser, Dragonflier, Whistle Punk Chaser, and Blazing Fury, it’s not like the park is exactly hurting for family coasters. 

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^Yeah I don't buy it either. Hershend has always been good about variety and having unique attractions at their individual parks. I don't see them doing what would amount to merely being a bigger version of a Firechaser type coaster.

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Unable to purchase time savers for my trip the first week of Aug.  Anyone know if this means they are sold out or do they go on sale closer to the actual date?  Thanks in advance.

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I think something similar to Cheetah Hunt would be a great addition to the park.  Would definitely bridge the gap between Fire Chaser/Dragonflier and the more intense coasters in the park (LR, TT, MM).  

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I was told by the Dippin dots Lady before this leaked that it would be very similar to Dragonflyer, it would be 1000' longer than wild eagle but have no inversions.

My theory is that its a new gen Vekoma inverted with a record length, no inversions.

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The way Dollywood has set up the single rider line for Lightning Rod is really great if you are willing to use it. I don't remember it being that way in 2019, the last time I visited the park, but I was able to lap Lightning Rod at will over the past 2 days.  Crowds were light on Friday. Park was busier on Saturday but not as busy as I was expecting for a Holiday Weekend. 

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On 6/17/2021 at 3:09 AM, TEDodd said:

Where do you suggest they get employees. Close rides to put bodies in food servIce?

I'm sure they hire anyone that applies right now.

Per the wait time site, WE tried to run Fri (10:00-10:30) but otherwise down since. It did run all day last Thu though. 

Dollywood needs to up their pay. Cedar Point upped their pay to $20 an hour. Dollywood needs to do the same. There's nothing worse than a theme park being understaffed. I also find it laughable that people are listening to the Dippin' Dots girl for new coaster information.

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On 7/10/2021 at 6:08 AM, u4icmusic said:

Dollywood needs to up their pay. Cedar Point upped their pay to $20 an hour. Dollywood needs to do the same. There's nothing worse than a theme park being understaffed. I also find it laughable that people are listening to the Dippin' Dots girl for new coaster information.

Do they? Every park was struggling a month ago. How are they faring now?

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12 hours ago, prozach626 said:

Do they? Every park was struggling a month ago. How are they faring now?

I was there Sunday. There were still several restaurants closed with signs on them that said, "closed due to the current staffing situation." They are also having job fairs over the next two weeks. Their pay is between $10 and $11 per hour. You can get more than that almost anywhere else right now.

2 upcoming job fairs:

Wednesday, July 21 | 2 - 6pm at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort & Spa

Monday, July 26 | 2 - 6pm at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort & Spa

What's also odd is that people that I've seen working there for years are no longer there. I'm sure part of that was people not wanting to work during Covid, especially since a large part of their staff was older. The new staff is much younger now and not as friendly either. We had a blast, but it was so hot out on Sunday that we couldn't stay all day to see the fireworks and drone show, which everyone is raving about.

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On 7/10/2021 at 7:08 AM, u4icmusic said:

Dollywood needs to up their pay. Cedar Point upped their pay to $20 an hour. Dollywood needs to do the same. There's nothing worse than a theme park being understaffed. I also find it laughable that people are listening to the Dippin' Dots girl for new coaster information.

$20/hr for that sort of unskilled labor?
Might entice a few but then ticket and food prices will increase a lot to cover such high labor costs.

The problem with the government paying more to sit at home and do nothing.
At one point here it was equal to $15/hr for a 40hr week (more if you include taxes which generally wasn't deducted), For part time people with only 30 hrs it was like $20.

$20/hr is more than my son makes as a mechanic for the city (not unskilled labor).

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There's no such thing as unskilled labour. Every job requires skills. Customer service is a skill like any other, and the above lamenting of the longtime employees not coming back tells you exactly how important customer service skills are.

 

And your assertion that unemployment payments were the thing that was keeping people from accepting work is belied by the labour force participation rate not increasing in the states that removed the federal unemployment benefits.

https://www.epi.org/blog/there-is-no-justification-for-cutting-federal-unemployment-benefits-the-latest-state-jobs-data-show-the-economy-has-not-fully-recovered/

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I will GLADLY pay more for a meal at a theme park if it means that the staffing is at a level where the line to get said food is not an hour + line.

if Dollywood really is only paying $10-$12 an hour for their employees?  yeah, they need to up the pay, immediately.

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21 minutes ago, bert425 said:

I will GLADLY pay more for a meal at a theme park if it means that the staffing is at a level where the line to get said food is not an hour + line.

if Dollywood really is only paying $10-$12 an hour for their employees?  yeah, they need to up the pay, immediately.

Yes! And if the boss doesn't want to do that, well, we know what to do.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5W6_MVZ_RPBbty31wTuW

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Off topic on a lighter note a Storm Chaser friend of mine unveiled his new license plate today which I pointed out to him that it fittingly matches a certain popular rollercoaster at Dollywood. He loved it and laughed.

217568766_10159566696088410_1618182052422748642_n.jpg

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