Dollywood Discussion Thread

[RollerManic]

Alan Schlike at IAAPA said the topper track on Outlaw run could turn 3* in a foot. He made it soumd like a big acceivement, so I'd say topper track is still very versitile.

[Evenstar]

I'm taking my two grandkids mid July. Any word on crowd sizes? We are getting Time Savers. Do each one of us get one or is there one for the whole group?.....Thanks

[Dollywoodlover20]

I'm taking my two grandkids mid July. Any word on crowd sizes? We are getting Time Savers. Do each one of us get one or is there one for the whole group?.....Thanks

Mid June- July (the whole month) is usually Dollywood's peak time. It's vacation time obviously, whether families are particularly visiting the smokies or just doing a drive by back from the beach. During this time (besides Rod Run) you will see the Pigeon Forge hotel prices at their highest. Anyway, mid July your crowds will be dense and lines long at times. If you're going to get a Time Saver then you should have no worry about that. With Time Savers (or when I last used one it was called Qbot) every member of the group gets one. My family and I never did really use them because for us honestly the longest lines are usually River Rampage(especially in July, you will almost wait near or over an hour), Blazing Fury, and Thunderhead/Wild Eagle at times. If they are running two trains on the major coasters you're fine.

[ZeroGravity55]

While I do see Dollywood going the Topper Track direction, ever since I seen Twisted Colussus I have been in love with the I Box track just for the fact of how it seems to be able to do almost anything.

It looks like topper track can do pretty much anything, as well!

 

Photo from the park index:

 

They both can do the same things.

 

Everybody should hope for Topper Track. Unlike the I-Box track, Topper Track can run with all steel wheels, which means it will feel like a woodie and be an absolutely out of control ride.

[TyRush]

That picture is really cool since the wood is wet. It would be neat to see a coaster built with a darker stained wood, but no need for the extra money I suppose

[Dollywoodlover20]

I'm wondering one thing, if this is one of the biggest single investments then why haven't they started a website for it to build hype? They done it for Mystery Mine and especially Wild Eagle all to build the hype. Didn't they even do it for Barnstormer?

[Vonni]

^ Oh wow, I hadn't even thought of that.

[A.J.]

I'm wondering one thing, if this is one of the biggest single investments then why haven't they started a website for it to build hype? They done it for Mystery Mine and especially Wild Eagle all to build the hype. Didn't they even do it for Barnstormer?

Think about that for a second - why would they want to build hype for 2016 when the 2015 season is just getting started? I could see them doing that in like...August, but right now, any form of 2016 announcement could change guests' travel plans for 2015. I think that they should definitely be working on the attraction now, but I wouldn't acknowledge the attraction's existence until later in the season if I were them. But I'm not, so...

[ASE]

I'm wondering one thing, if this is one of the biggest single investments then why haven't they started a website for it to build hype? They done it for Mystery Mine and especially Wild Eagle all to build the hype. Didn't they even do it for Barnstormer?

Think about that for a second - why would they want to build hype for 2016 when the 2015 season is just getting started? I could see them doing that in like...August, but right now, any form of 2016 announcement could change guests' travel plans for 2015. I think that they should definitely be working on the attraction now, but I wouldn't acknowledge the attraction's existence until later in the season if I were them. But I'm not, so...

 

A.J. hit the nail on the head. Also, Dollywood tries to sell as many season passes as possible...and if they hyped the 2016 attraction too soon, people may save their money for a season pass next year....after all, season passes for a family of 4 run up around $500...which is quite a stretch for most of the target demographic.

 

I'd expect the website, videos, and all the hype to be released at the announcement in August. It'll be worth the wait.

[dstephe9]

I'm wondering one thing, if this is one of the biggest single investments then why haven't they started a website for it to build hype? They done it for Mystery Mine and especially Wild Eagle all to build the hype. Didn't they even do it for Barnstormer?

They did have sites for all those, even for fire chaser express, but not until all rides where officially announced..

 

Currently they are just dropping hints.. The biggest investment hint was actually dropped about a year ago now I believe.. Is it still true?? Idk but at that time they said this ride would be in the price range of wild eagle.. I'm sure its still true

[BestDude48]

I'm wondering one thing, if this is one of the biggest single investments then why haven't they started a website for it to build hype? They done it for Mystery Mine and especially Wild Eagle all to build the hype. Didn't they even do it for Barnstormer?

They did have sites for all those, even for fire chaser express, but not until all rides where officially announced..

 

Currently they are just dropping hints.. The biggest investment hint was actually dropped about a year ago now I believe.. Is it still true?? Idk but at that time they said this ride would be in the price range of wild eagle.. I'm sure its still true

 

It is true

[BestDude48]

While I do see Dollywood going the Topper Track direction, ever since I seen Twisted Colussus I have been in love with the I Box track just for the fact of how it seems to be able to do almost anything.

It looks like topper track can do pretty much anything, as well!

 

Photo from the park index:

 

They both can do the same things.

 

Everybody should hope for Topper Track. Unlike the I-Box track, Topper Track can run with all steel wheels, which means it will feel like a woodie and be an absolutely out of control ride.

 

Exactly. The Hybrid RMC Model and the Classic Wood RMC Model can basically do the same and the wheels do make it feel like a woodie

[Ape]

Is Dollywood typically busy on Tuesdays in June? my buddy is there and said they haven't had a chance to do much because its really busy.

[ASE]

Is Dollywood typically busy on Tuesdays in June? my buddy is there and said they haven't had a chance to do much because its really busy.

 

It's busy just about every day in summer up until the 2nd week in August. Best thing to do if you have a single day ticket is arrive after 3pm and you get the next day free. On the free day, arrive 30 minutes before the park "opens" (they'll let you in) and ride as much as possible early. That's your best chance of squeezing everything in on a single day ticket.

[Ape]

That's so odd to me because we went a Saturday in June in 2012 and rode everything multiple times and checked out the entire park. we were done and left at 3pm

[ASE]

That's so odd to me because we went a Saturday in June in 2012 and rode everything multiple times and checked out the entire park. we were done and left at 3pm

 

Dollywood's crowds have grown dramatically the last couple of years...I don't know if it's Disney's $100+ per ticket prices or what, but Dollywood has set record crowds the past 2 years in a row.

 

3 years ago we went on Mother's Day and the park was practically empty...we went last year on Mother's Day and they had a record-breaking day.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Yeah, Dollywood is hit and miss. I've generally found that a Tuesday, Wednesday is best for visiting during the Summer months, but I've been hosed by crowds during that as well. On the other hand, I've been on days I would have thought it would have been packed and had the run of the park.

 

I always rely on my gut feeling by the way the crowd grows from opening till about 11ish. If it's starting to get packed, I spring for a Q2Q and breeze my way through the day.

 

Gotta say, with Alana's dad and his F'ed up hip. He can only walk for very short stints before he has to sit. With his gimp parking pass and ADA card, we have been getting pretty spoiled with the VIP treatment at parks. Seriously! if you have the means, you gotta get yourself a cripple. I can't wait for the day I can tool around a park on my Rascal and hop on rides via my own special entry.

[sirspud]

I'm gonna be at the park probably on a Thursday late July. My wife and I won't be doing a lot of flats at all but want to get in all the coasters and the more interested non-coaster rides. Does anyone have any tips as far as general strategy for the park? Depending on what we are doing in the National Park we may be either showing up early afternoon or we may plan on doing the park in half a day, getting there in the morning.

[Shavethewhales]

So to anyone going soon, I definitely appreciate the continued construction snap shots. Even if nothing much has changed since the last photo, I don't mind knowing staying up to date with the latest on the site.

 

You've got to think some larger clearing should be happening soon. I wonder if they'll have the station built before they even start on the track. Seems like they're going to focus pretty much solely on that until RMC arrives.

[BellasMom]

Hi! This is my first time posting so I'm not sure how to upload the photos of the construction that I took on Monday. The hillside looks the same as it did a couple of weeks ago but they have poured concrete for the building they are working on.

[Guy T. Koepp]

^You can attach photos just below where you would hit the submit button for your post. Scroll down a bit on the reply page

[BellasMom]

Ok, thanks! I took these on Monday.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Dollywood haz concrete!

[boldikus]

Gotta say, with Alana's dad and his F'ed up hip. He can only walk for very short stints before he has to sit. With his gimp parking pass and ADA card, we have been getting pretty spoiled with the VIP treatment at parks. Seriously! if you have the means, you gotta get yourself a cripple. I can't wait for the day I can tool around a park on my Rascal and hop on rides via my own special entry.

 

[Dollywoodlover20]

As I was looking around at pictures online I noticed something about the signs that I don't know if they were originally there. The sign now had headlights inserted into it and a car is in front of a portion of it (I'm pretty sure the car has been there).