Dollywood Discussion Thread

[cfc]

Now I have heard they actually did make a change to furry this year.

 

"Blazing Furry"? Now that could be interesting.

[A.J.]

^They added furrys to the ride? That's it. I'm out! There is no amount of right that can reverse this wrong!

At least they didn't add Fuzzies to the ride...

 

[teknohillbilly]

I've followed this board for a long time, and finally decided to register and get involved. Dollywood is my home park, if I have one, and I'm there at least once a month through the operating season. With that said, this 2014 ride has me very curious, and of course, I have no idea what it is either. One thing that has been said has my rusty brain gears turning though - Screamscape had reported there were thin yellow rails seen behind Adventure Mountain, but those were probably just part of the demolition. My question is, where were there any yellow rails (or yellow anything) on Adventure Mountain? The thin part makes sense, but yellow?

(and I have to say, the Blazing Furry comments had me rolling on the floor, but I think a more interesting ride might be the Flaming Furry.)

[PhilipB]

Yellow could be another way to say Tan/Beige. That's what I'm thinking they're seeing.

[Vonni]

How much of Adventure Mountain is there left to remove?

[Guy T. Koepp]

I'm wondering if they're going to keep the wood tower structures and the landscaping? Guess I'll find out more when I'm there next week.

[dstephe9]

How much of Adventure Mountain is there left to remove?

 

I was there this weekend.. Most of AM is gone except for the main stands (The wood tower structures mentioned in the post above). It's almost as if they are leaving those at this moment in time.. no sign of removal at all.. Another odd part of the AM removal is the fact they have not removed the queue line yet or the landscaping. The rest seemed to be gone..

 

There was a lot of work going on but up behind the main AM area.. Really at this point it honestly just looks like the are making a pathway. Nothing is really being built.

 

On a side note, Kudos to the Pizza guys in the lumber camp! If anyone from Dollywood reads this thank you for cooking that last 12LB pizza just for the one slice my girlfriend was wanting! I know you guys where trying to close and then had problems with the oven!! Everyone there was very friendly and even offered another slice for the trouble! (these slices are huge so I took half a slice ) haha

 

Also, what they added onto Blazing Fury (Spelled correctly this time hah), was small but was a nice addition! Like mentioned, it is very noticeable

[PhilipB]

What the heck have they changed in Blazing Fury!? Oh my God, the suspense is killing me!!!!

[BeemerBoy]

^ * SPOILER ALERT*

 

The last drop is now through a pool of acid. Only half the train lives, which makes it unpredictable....and fun!

 

Don't tell anyone.

[ernierocker]

Yeah, it's okay to tell everyone what the change to Blazing Fury is. It's not like we are talking about a major spoiler to a movie or a book. Sheesh.

[Guy T. Koepp]

^ * SPOILER ALERT*

 

The last drop is now through a pool of acid. Only half the train lives, which makes it unpredictable....and fun!

 

Don't tell anyone.

 

Damnit! I was hoping for taser wielding sharks. Oh well, you can't always get what you want.

[coasterfreaky]

Since you all are begging to know more!

 

Here's a hint...

[Guy T. Koepp]

They're popping popcorn with lasers! Awesome!

[ernierocker]

^You were close! Looks like it is laser-wielding sharks instead of tasers!

[Guy T. Koepp]

^I'm OK with this.

[betterday85]

On a side note, even with all the improvements they made over the winter, the carnival area is getting pretty dingy looking! They need to add something new there or at least touch up the paint on those rides!

 

I couldn't agree more. The entire Village and Country Fair areas are in need of a clean up/paint job.

 

While on the topic, areas of the park that are visible from the train need love, too! The old wooden fence between the Country Fair and old entrance road looks bad, the Rampage/Rockin' Roadway area needs attention, and the Celebrity Theatre building needs a wash and painting (and clean-up on the back side, clean those heat pumps off!).

 

The improvements made during the winter off season look great! The changes are most noticeable in the Entrance/Showstreet area. Fresh paint jobs have made a huge difference to this area.

 

Yeah, a lot of the train area looked like old dumping grounds the last time I was on it. HAHA, that was over a year ago though! Its been a while since on Rockin' Roadway so I have no idea how its looking. The fair though is the worse. Parts of it are reminding me of a dirty 6 flags park this with how ran down and dirty it is looking. A clean paint job will fix that right up!

 

The entrance area looks great! Not sure how well I like the new season ticket scanners though.. i can see that slowing down the entrance. Instead of putting your card in and it spitting it out the other side you now have to manually take it out like you would an ATM before entering the gate.

 

I agree 100%.

[teknohillbilly]

Totally agreed about the Village and Country Fair areas. It seems like the Village area is a bit wasted. There really isn't much of anything there, and the Country Fair area being mostly kiddie ride, they really need a big attraction in that area to pull people that way. It's never crowded and I would think the shops there probably aren't bringing in much cash.

On another note, has anyone other than myself looked at the area behind the Tennessee Tornado on Google maps? There's a "road" that goes deep into the woods there, and it looks like it can only be accessed from inside the park. Could this be part of an expansion area that would include the train loop?

[Jhcbiinoc]

A thought occurred to me regarding the alleged trip people from the park made to Europa Park-what if this new for 2014 addition turned out out to in fact be one of the Mack launching coasters, only something on a smaller and more family-friendly scale like this coaster:

 

http://rcdb.com/9819.htm?p=0

 

I could see them doing a version like this with an initial portion at the beginning being a dark ride through a cave filled with explosives, and then a launch into a wild ride up and down the hill side. If this new addition is any type of coaster, I would anticipate it to be something along these lines.

[dstephe9]

Totally agreed about the Village and Country Fair areas. It seems like the Village area is a bit wasted. There really isn't much of anything there, and the Country Fair area being mostly kiddie ride, they really need a big attraction in that area to pull people that way. It's never crowded and I would think the shops there probably aren't bringing in much cash.

On another note, has anyone other than myself looked at the area behind the Tennessee Tornado on Google maps? There's a "road" that goes deep into the woods there, and it looks like it can only be accessed from inside the park. Could this be part of an expansion area that would include the train loop?

 

If it's the road I am thinking of then yes that is the current planned expansion area. The access to the road is beside AM. There is a big gate there.

 

Also, I actually ride several rides in the country fair area.. I love the dizzy disc thing and the sky flyer.

[teknohillbilly]

I like that thing that takes you up and drops you. The bigger ones scare me to death!

I'm so glad to hear an answer about that road because it has had me very curious ever since I first noticed it. It looks like they have a pretty good sized area there to work with.

I also read in the Mountain Press sometime last year that DW had purchased land along McCarter Hollow and was working to get the zoning changed on it. I'm guessing that would be the area back behind Thunderhead or somewhere close. That's a sizable piece of real estate over there too. That would be a good area to expand into as well, but I bet that has more to do with the planned resort complex.

[Tradition]

Speaking of the train loop, back in the Goldrush Junction days, at least one season the train would stop at the loop and the park goers would disembark and enter an area with seats for a short show. Other years a shoot'em-up show would happen on the train while stopped in the loop.

 

It would make sense, some 40 years later, to build up the loop area with a train station, food service, and attractions.

[Bobby2889]

Planning my first trip of the year for May 22 and 23 that's a Wednesday and Thursday. I wanted to know if you guys think crowds will be pretty light on those days?

[teknohillbilly]

I've never seen huge crowds on week days, so you should be safe. As has been said before, Dollywood is very different from other parks because there are so many people who just go see shows and shop. The park can be packed to the hilt sometimes, and you still can walk right onto most rides. I can't remember when the "Thrills in the Hills" event is, but I think you will miss it. Lines are generally longer during events like that. From personal experience, if the park looks busy, I like to shop and play around before riding the big rides in the back (Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, etc.). The ride enthusiasts tend to make a bee line for that area first thing in the morning, and it slows down around lunch. But, if you are adverse to heat, by all means go there first. The Timber Canyon and Wildlife Pass areas are little short on shade and it can get hot back there. Just remember, they give away free ice water at the concession booths, and are happy for you to take it.

[Bobby2889]

Thanks hillbilly, I'm slightly familiar with Dollywood, I live across state but it is the closest park to me. I'm thinking the temps should still be rather mild as compared to late June, July, and August so the heat is not really a factor (hopefully).

 

I'm just kinda trying to figure out whether or not QBOT will be necessary during my visit. With it being a weekday and before the major summer vacationing gets into full swing I'm thinking not. My visit last year in late June on a Saturday and Sunday found 15-30 min waits for Mystery Mine 15 min waits for Thunderhead and 45-90 min waits for Wild Eagle (it was having breakdown issues frequently). Of course with all the water rides having pretty long waits as well with temps being in the high 90's.

[sbrubakerjr]

We are going to Dollywood in May and don't plan on buying QBOT's as we don't think they will be necessary.