fredoflasvegas Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 ^ I asked one of the hostesses about it, and they said that there is a high chance of it opening later today. Any luck yet? Not yet. I asked again a little while ago, and they said they weren't sure if it would open today or not. This news certainly leaves me very hopeful for tomorrow and Friday, when I will be at Dollywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjzadero Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 So, was the article from Travel and Leisure a fake or does Dollywood continue to have the most inept PR team on the planet? Or both? "The ride now has been repaired, however, and is ready for visitors, Pete Owens, Dollywood's director of communications, told Travel + Leisure." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 So, was the article from Travel and Leisure a fake or does Dollywood continue to have the most inept PR team on the planet? Or both? "The ride now has been repaired, however, and is ready for visitors, Pete Owens, Dollywood's director of communications, told Travel + Leisure." There's no telling. But I think part of this poor handling may be that the park (and possibly Hershcend as a chain) has never dealt with such a complex situation like this before with a new ride opening. It's been a perfect storm of massive proportions — and I doubt the park has prepared for this sort of "crisis" PR situation. And if they have, that preparation certainly isn't showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cav07 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 So, was the article from Travel and Leisure a fake or does Dollywood continue to have the most inept PR team on the planet? Or both? "The ride now has been repaired, however, and is ready for visitors, Pete Owens, Dollywood's director of communications, told Travel + Leisure." At this point, I think anything and everything is an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knaiwear Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Who on earth tells the media that the ride is open when it's not open?! smh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Who on earth tells the media that the ride is open when it's not open?! smh Remember, the ride has been having several different issues.. motor burned up, the recall, passable launch issues.. they might have fixed the recall issue and had the ride ready for today and then something else failed.. we have no idea when Pete told the magazine it was repaired.. it might have been last night or something.. This is assuming they actually spoke with Pete Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knaiwear Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 ^all the more reason to avoid making a public statement until the ride is actually open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appel Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 As there is still the banner on Dollywood.com, I would expect that the coaster is still down, despite what Pete Owens supposedly said in this article. However I hope they can fix the issues and reopen as soon as possible. Hope to hear some updates from visitors these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 You guys do know that the PR department that you guys are insulting actually read and post to this forum, right? I understand the confusion and irritation, but perhaps a little politeness or tact is in order?? Just checking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrappa Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Yeah I don't think there is any need for insults. The way I see it the ride crews last priority is probably to tell marketing what is going on. It's would be to get the ride running again. So they probably informed PR that the seat issue was fixed and then it was good to go. By the time they found another issue the release was probably already sent out. I know all too well how frustrating it is to have to stop work on commissioning/repair frequently to update marketing people etc. really slows the job down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I know all too well how frustrating it is to have to stop work on commissioning/repair frequently to update marketing people etc. really slows the job down. But that's not an excuse. As inconvenient as that communication may be, sending pertinent information to the public-facing PR team is important — especially now that the coaster has "officially" opened and people are expecting it to be open. Of course, there is no need to go into specifics as to what the problems are or divulge more technical information than necessary (like why did the park name drop RMC on the website alert? 99% of visitors to their website likely have no idea who/what that is). Everyone on the park side needs to be on the same page so that incorrect information isn't relayed to the public. That's for everyone's benefit. I have an incredible amount of respect for the park's PR team — they do an outstanding job. Having worked in a similar capacity in my last job, I know and can empathize with the stress of dealing with an impatient/uninformed public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I haven't seen anything insulting to the PR team in the last posts. Just stating that they seem unprepared to deal with this problem. I don't see that as an insult. I see it as a well founded opinion based on the way the situation has been handled from March 18 on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STDog Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 (edited) (like why did the park name drop RMC on the website alert? 99% of visitors to their website likely have no idea who/what that is). LR is the only ride on the site that has info on the manufacturer. But RMC is mentioned a few times and was often mentioned in early info about the ride. http://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Rides/LightningRod/AboutTheRide Was WE or FCE done similarly? Nothing on the park pages mention the manufacturer of them, now. Edited June 24, 2016 by STDog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrappa Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Have to respectfully disagree coasterdude. A daily update or maybe twice daily update if there is a change expected is reasonable. But you simply can't expect the maintenance crew to be updating PR on every thing with the ride. Their work and stress load would be huge right now. And to be fair LR is effectively temporarily closed right now. Because it is meant to be open and will be as soon as they can correct the current issue. Thunderhead has been down for a while today, do they issue a press release on that? No LR will be open the second it can be and people just have to be patient. It's not like they are up there going "oh haha this will screw with people's plans, let's keep it closed" I've flown out here from Australia to ride the thing and it doesn't look like it will happen and I'm ok with that because shit happens and if that was the sole reason for coming here that would be incredibly stupid of me. I feel if I can be cool about it, no one else has an excuse not to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cav07 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 As of now, LR's train is sitting on the launch track. Hopefully, it will be running soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appel Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 As of now, LR's train is sitting on the launch track. Hopefully, it will be running soon. Wonder why they don't move it to the station/maintenance area... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 ^Of course this is purely speculation, but they may be trying to launch it but the system keeps giving errors. I hope this situation gets ironed out soon. I would hate to see more parks reluctant to purchase a similar model from RMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 The saving grace of the situation is the fact that Dollywood is such an amazing park. I know I would be disappointed if I had traveled there and Lightning Rod was down - but there is just so much to see and do (and eat) there that I would not leave unhappy. And to note - I really just don't understand people who do not get this. I'm not saying they are wrong (but they are ,) but to not be able to find AT LEAST a day's worth of things to enjoy while visiting Dollywood is just Science Fiction to me. Back on topic....the videos and pictures I've seen make me REALLY look forward to riding LR next time I visit. If you could actually ride it WHILE eating Cinnamon Bread...I'd be in Nirvana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrappa Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 It's gone now so either they launched it or it went back to the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 If you could actually ride it WHILE eating Cinnamon Bread...I'd be in Nirvana The cinnamon bread is still the best ride at Dollywood, so don't set your Lightning Rod expectations too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrappa Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 And they're not stupid enough to set fire to the Bread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjzadero Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 While the cinnamon bread at Dollywood is absolutely amazing, has anyone been to the Donut Friar in Gatlinburg? Their cinnamon bread is crazy good and just barely tops Dollywood for my #1 spot. It's ridiculously good. They open at 5 am, so try to get there early-ish... this stuff goes pretty fast and is usually gone by mid-afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeT Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 And to note - I really just don't understand people who do not get this. I'm not saying they are wrong (but they are ,) but to not be able to find AT LEAST a day's worth of things to enjoy while visiting Dollywood is just Science Fiction to me. Science Fiction ? Bwahahahaha... Anyway, am I the only one thinking, that Dolly`s cinnamon bread deserves it`s own thread ? Shouldn`t we all treat that bread not just like a food nor a a ride...but more like an amusement park ? Or even a chain ? Come on guys...people who are new to the forum will never expect posts about that food "hidden" in the Dollywood thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjzadero Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 (edited) So... Travel + Leisure (which has almost 2 million followers) has now shared their "Lightning Rod is ready to ride" story on Facebook. This also shows up on Dollywood's Visitor Posts on Facebook. Meanwhile, these mobile ad vehicles are all over Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg at this very moment. Pointing out these things is not being impolite, btw. Edited June 23, 2016 by jjzadero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 This thread is unbearable lately... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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