Dollywood Discussion Thread

[appel]

Well, seems like a normal opening day of a high tech coaster

It's up and down today, not running constantly...

[prozach626]

Pretty heartbreaking to see it have issues on opening day but glad to see the park is getting more and more confident in the ride. +

 

Heartbreaking? Let's not be so dramatic.

[coasterbill]

By "heartbreaking" he means "entirely predictable". I don't know the last ride that didn't break down on it's opening day. Even with tons of soft openings and technical rehearsals.

Edited June 13, 2016 by coasterbill

[rollin_n_coastin]

I'd like to stress that as busy as the park is today, there's a wooden roller coaster at the other side of the park that offers as much air time as Lightning Rod and is still so much fun. Seriously, Thunderhead has been a walk on all weekend, even this afternoon. Run over and give it some lovin'

 

I totally understand how frustrating it can be being in line and the ride closing down. It happened to us a few times, once when we were at the end of the queue. Just make sure you go in to LR with patience, and a lot of it. It's not like they don't want us riding. Who knows when all the kinks will be worked out but wouldn't expect it to be running problem free for the next few weeks at least. Also, a ride attendant mentioned that time saver won't be available during the opening period over the next few weeks, so keep that in mind.

[prozach626]

 

I totally understand how frustrating it can be being in line and the ride closing down. It happened to us a few times, once when we were at the end of the queue. Just make sure you go in to LR with patience, and a lot of it. It's not like they don't want is riding. Who knows when all the kinks will be worked out but wouldn't expect it to be running problem free for the next few weeks at least.

 

I like your strategy. It reminds me of how my wife and I automatically go to a restaurant expecting terrible service. These are just normal expectations for 2016.

[rollin_n_coastin]

 

I totally understand how frustrating it can be being in line and the ride closing down. It happened to us a few times, once when we were at the end of the queue. Just make sure you go in to LR with patience, and a lot of it. It's not like they don't want is riding. Who knows when all the kinks will be worked out but wouldn't expect it to be running problem free for the next few weeks at least.

 

I like your strategy. It reminds me of how my wife and I automatically go to a restaurant expecting terrible service. These are just normal expectations for 2016.

 

Well, it depends on the restaurant and on how much you want that food, regardless of what you have to endure to get it .

 

There hasn't been one day yet where LR has run problem free so until that happens, why would anyone expect anything different? The meal in this case is truly worth it.

[nannerdw]

there's a wooden roller coaster at the other side of the park that offers as much air time as Lightning Rod

Define "as much."

 

Seriously, though, Thunderhead is great, and it seems to never generate a line when I'm there, even on Saturdays.

[DefeatistNation]

Thunderhead is the best ride there.

[rollin_n_coastin]

there's a wooden roller coaster at the other side of the park that offers as much air time as Lightning Rod

Define "as much."

 

Seriously, though, Thunderhead is great, and it seems to never generate a line when I'm there, even on Saturdays.

 

Haha! Ok maybe not as intense but for sure as much . It was running great.

[CP Maverick]

By "heartbreaking" he means "entirely predictable". I don't know the last ride that didn't break down on it's opening day. Even with tons of soft openings and technical rehearsals.

Top Thrill Dragster opened on opening day!

 

[coasterbill]

By "heartbreaking" he means "entirely predictable". I don't know the last ride that didn't break down on it's opening day. Even with tons of soft openings and technical rehearsals.

Top Thrill Dragster opened on opening day!

 

 

And then it broke down a lot throughout the day. Plus I'm not saying a ride never opens and runs flawlessly on opening day, I'm saying it generally doesn't so this isn't a big deal.

[jjzadero]

This has certainly been an unconventional/rushed grand opening announcement/media blitz, but you can't fault the park in a situation like this.

 

Dollywood is my home park, and I love it dearly, but... I've seen this mentioned time and time again over the last couple of months. It seems there's always someone or something else to blame, but we can never fault Dollywood for anything, apparently. Exactly when will Dollywood have to take responsibility for the massive cluster this rollout has turned into? And yes, there are many things that have simply been out of their control, but the "not ready for primetime" handling of it all has been an embarrassment.

[nannerdw]

Now what the park really needs are 3 skyrides (BGW style) to go between Thunderhead, Tornado, and Lightning Rod.

They could call it something clever and weather related, like The Jet Stream

[coasterbill]

Now what the park really needs are 3 skyrides (BGW style) to go between Thunderhead, Tornado, and Lightning Rod.

They could call it something clever and weather related, like The Jet Stream

 

I approve of this idea.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ Mmmmm yes, bring back skyrides.

 

Very much missed. I somewhat understand the mechanics, the cost involved, the wind.

 

But still, it would be nice to have a park actually install a new one. And the one

through MONSTER at Adventureland Park looked pretty cool! Even though it wasn't new.

On a rainy night, at the PNE(Playland), years and years ago. When we had a Skyride, too.

[coasterdude5]

Now what the park really needs are 3 skyrides (BGW style) to go between Thunderhead, Tornado, and Lightning Rod.

They could call it something clever and weather related, like The Jet Stream

It's funny you mention that. IIRC, nine or ten years ago, a gondola-style sky lift was proposed in a ride survey. And according to my dad, a train conductor mentioned the same ride concept when we were there sometime in the mid 2000s. I believe it was going to connect Thunderhead Gap with Craftsman's Valley (or perhaps the upper train loop). Does anyone else remember hearing about that or am I insane?

[brenthodge]

This has certainly been an unconventional/rushed grand opening announcement/media blitz, but you can't fault the park in a situation like this.

 

Dollywood is my home park, and I love it dearly, but... I've seen this mentioned time and time again over the last couple of months. It seems there's always someone or something else to blame, but we can never fault Dollywood for anything, apparently. Exactly when will Dollywood have to take responsibility for the massive cluster this rollout has turned into? And yes, there are many things that have simply been out of their control, but the "not ready for primetime" handling of it all has been an embarrassment.

 

Totally agree with you on this (and I'm the same way rooting for this park to really get the attention it deserves) -

 

I still can't believe with all these delays there was EVER a realistic expectation from the around the beginning of March on that LR would be open by opening day, yet they sort of choked down that side of the story saying things were "looking good". They could have then promoted "early season previews" or soft openings from opening day till at least Memorial day - even made it a "pass holder exclusive" for a few weeks "If the ride is operating - no guarantees" - with an opening event planned for Memorial day, then as they saw that was probably not a goal - could have given a better update several weeks out - not two days.

 

At this point it seems like she has just kind of limped to the parade and didn't quite get the fanfare that was (Im sure originally) planned. Maybe theres something still in the works, but for a marque attraction, it seems like the "opening" has been more about drama and frustration.

 

Again, I'm sure in the long run it won't really matter, and they will reap all the benefits planned from this addition, but it has not been the best handled PR event in park history! It just seems like they had enough of a heads up and could have actually turned the delays into a positive. Anyway - onward!

[STDog]

Now what the park really needs are 3 skyrides (BGW style) to go between Thunderhead, Tornado, and Lightning Rod.

 

Got my daughter to agree to the zip line Friday. Looking at the map of the lines I was thinking raise the roof on the top of LR's lift hill and build a zip line platform up there. Would need a new line that lands there and a line off.

Edited June 14, 2016 by STDog

[dabrian]

Me and my boys got our first two rides today and it blew our expectations out of the water. Non stop fun from start to finish. Dollywood has hit a home run with Lightning Rod.

[Dollywoodlover20]

Has anyone on here that's ridden it (anyone that's bigger in the thigh area) have an opinion on the seats? I watched a video on YouTube an this couple was saying out of all the coasters in DW, Lightning Rod had the smallest seats. Thinking back to WE, I was like "Really? Smaller than the European body style made Wingrider seat?" But I looked at this picture and questioned it.

[ZeroGravity55]

^ You're subjected to more forces on Lightning Rod, especially lots of extreme negative forces, which is why it's a tighter fit than Wild Eagle.

[nannerdw]

^It seems to slow down the loading process quite a bit, too. Almost every train had at least one person who had trouble closing their restraint far enough.

[DILinator]

^This is definitely an issue with those RMC trains... I was at an enthusiast event at KK a little over a week ago, and virtually every train during our ERT session on Storm Chaser was delayed, and took forever to dispatch, due to somebody always having a really hard time fitting. The ops tried their hardest, and in the end, some were able to get cleared to ride, but many others were not...

 

I'm hoping to convince my dad to come down with me for Thrills in the Hills, and he sounds game, but he's worried about fitting, if he goes all the way down there for LR. He didn't fit on MF the first time went this year, but did the second time... Anybody who has been in both MF's and LR's trains, and may be a little larger in size, I would appreciate any perspective on how the two restraints compare. Thanks!

Edited June 14, 2016 by DILinator

[nicman]

well it's a good idea, it encourages people to lose weight.

[coasterdude5]

^ But really. I'm sure this will offend someone, but perhaps rather than the trains getting smaller, we're getting bigger.

 

Like the poster above experienced at KK, nearly every LR train I was on was delayed because someone couldn't pull the restraint down far enough. And these were not "big boned" riders, many were grossly overweight.

 

I was ahead of a very large woman who waited the entirety of a 90-minute breakdown on Saturday only to be turned away. I felt awful for her, but I knew when I saw her in line that she probably wouldn't be able to ride.

 

I understand that some people have conditions that contribute to their weight. But for the majority of us, it's calories in vs. calories out. So you may have to lay off the cinnamon bread and Aunt Granny's buffet and run a mile to ride. For me, it's worth the effort.

 

Perhaps the park could perform seat checks at the entrance, at least during the opening rush. Yes, I know that would slow the line. But I know I would be devastated if I lost 1-2 hours of my day waiting in line for something I couldn't ride.

Edited June 14, 2016 by coasterdude5