Dollywood Discussion Thread

Shavethewhales · June 13, 2011

I don't expect to see rotating seats, but it's definitely a possibility. When they talk about a world's first element, it could have something to do with the seats, such as them tilting into more of a flying position or something.

I really think this is going to have a eagle theme the more I think about it. I've heard the blue angels idea come up a couple of times, but the park would pretty much have to throw the rest of it's original charm and theme in the trash if it went that route. An eagle/bird theme fits the track color, banner, ride type, park theme, and pretty much anything else one could think of associated with this project.

I have high hopes that they'll push the limits of the medium with this thing. Think about how a sloped barrel roll would feel on one of these things, or a hammerhead curve that includes a flip, similar to some of the things their new flyer in china does. Heck, even a vertical loop would be kind of cool.

Drachen77 · June 13, 2011

As a B&M snob I am incredibly excited to see one coming to Dollywood. I know that most coaster enthusiasts seem to be a little "down" on B&M's lately, but from a GP standpoint they are fantastic rides. They are smooth, safe, and reliable. Dollywood and Busch Gardens have somewhat of the same philosophies to rides, they want thrilling rides but they don't need to blow your eyes back into your head or make you nauseous for them to be exciting. They are looking for rides that can appeal to many guests, and B&M does that very well.

Dollywood has an incredible selection of rides and this will only enhance that.

coasterfreaky · June 13, 2011

What do you people have against Butterflies?? Eagles would be a good logical choice for flying, wing-riding themes, then i would rank butterflies highly in there too since that's Dollywood's logo and Dolly has long been known in the music industry as "The Iron Butterfly", but not one specific leg of the armed forces...a total non-fit for dollywood.

PhilipB · June 13, 2011

I think it'd be cool to have the seats move throughout the ride. However, they would be controlled. Like, imagine you got to the top of the lift and your seat tilts forward and you're flying! It would be even better than a flyer because I feel like you wouldn't be able to see the track as well, kinda giving you more of an isolated feeling.

ernierocker · June 13, 2011

^^Yes, that's it! A wing rider themed to butterflies with the name Iron Butterfly. The trains will have audio that plays In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida throughout the ride.

Edited June 13, 2011 by ernierocker

Drachen77 · June 13, 2011

^^Yes, that's it! A wing rider themed to butterflies with the name Iron Butterfly. The trains will have audio that plays In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida throughout the ride.

Yeah, but can they make a roller coaster that lasts around 17 minutes?

r3vo · June 13, 2011

I love the idea of the seats rotating into a flying position... that actually makes a lot of since and would fit the eagle theme nicely. Would also be a world first element wouldn't it? The idea of riding to the top of the lift sitting normal then it rotates your forward for the rest of the ride is something I would love to see and something B&M could easily do!

ernierocker · June 13, 2011

^^Yes, that's it! A wing rider themed to butterflies with the name Iron Butterfly. The trains will have audio that plays In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida throughout the ride.

Yeah, but can they make a roller coaster that lasts around 17 minutes?

Yes, they can have a long drawn-out dark ride portion like Blazing Fury. It's perfect!

QueerRudie · June 13, 2011

^^Yes, that's it! A wing rider themed to butterflies with the name Iron Butterfly. The trains will have audio that plays In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida throughout the ride.

Yeah, but can they make a roller coaster that lasts around 17 minutes?

Yes, they can have a long drawn-out dark ride portion like Blazing Fury. It's perfect!

But to make it more 'family themed' they'd need to get Reverend Lovejoy from the Simpsons to announce it..

"And now for our opening ride: "In the Garden of Eden By I. Ron Butterfly"

Skycoastin Steve · June 14, 2011

^

Seems like all that would have been perfect at Hard Rock Park!

ernierocker · June 14, 2011

But to make it more 'family themed' they'd need to get Reverend Lovejoy from the Simpsons to announce it..

"And now for our opening ride: "In the Garden of Eden By I. Ron Butterfly"

Brilliant! It is all coming together now...

coasterfreaky · June 14, 2011

In other Dollywood related newz...Timber Tower Remains Closed and Splash Country has narrowed down its 2012 projects to..."The three options are mostly geared towards children play areas and a secluded area for the season passholders."

DSC...http://www.wbir.com/rss/article/172919/2/Splash-Country-wrapping-up-plans-for-new-attraction

TT....http://www.wbir.com/rss/article/172946/2/Dollywoods-Timber-Tower-still-not-operational

tntornadox · June 14, 2011

Splash Country needs some more lounging 'secluded' and SHADED rest type areas in the park, IMO.

Drachen77 · June 14, 2011

I am very interested to know what is wrong with Timber Tower and why this is such a problem to get fixed. Why would there be a dispute about it? Maybe this is why there are not more in the country; people don't want to deal with Huss.

tntornadox · June 14, 2011

I guarantee it has everything to do with the excessive downtime the ride faced...

PKI Jizzman · June 14, 2011

If you have a decent problem with a HUSS ride then you can expect between 2-8 months of downtime. Learning from problems Delirium and Tomb Raider....they always needed a custom part (when they had a major breakdown) and it can take a long time to get.

Drachen77 · June 14, 2011

I take it that's why you don't see too many major Huss rides around then. I think most of them look pretty cool but you just don't see many. Cedar Fair and Six Flags liked the Top Spin rides and Giant Frisbees but that's about it. Their smaller rides are around a lot but not many of the "Giant" rides.

tntornadox · June 14, 2011

I just wish Dollywood would rip the thing out and install a conventional drop tower in its place... much more reliable. It doesn't have to be so tall it's an eyesore, but anything's better than what's there now.

dragonskeep · June 14, 2011

The little drop tower frog hopper thing at Busch Gardens Tampa is actually pretty fun. An 80 or 90 foot version of that could be a blast. It seems to me the parks would want to add more flats than they do although there doesn't seem to be much of a selection. The big parks just don't seem to have that many options for flat rides. Which ones am I forgetting?

ernierocker · June 14, 2011

^I'm not quite sure what the last half of that post is supposed to mean, but Dollywood is doing just fine in the flat ride department. There is a whole section of the park dedicated to them including a frog hopper.

Edited June 14, 2011 by ernierocker

dragonskeep · June 15, 2011

I meant that parks are not building many flats, I am aware of the ones at Dollywood. A smaller drop tower seems to be a good replacement for TT, one of the random drop sequence rides but a little bigger.

Shavethewhales · June 15, 2011

For DW to just rip the thing out they'd have to deal with those foundations. It'd probably cost a couple million just to break those out of there. They looked massive, and I know it's never cheap to excavate huge/complex foundations. Plus, the park wants to get something out of their huge investment in the ride. Didn't it cost somewhere around $7 million? For only operating a spotty two years or so, they definitely have a right to feel owed something by HUSS.

I hope they can just fix it though. It's a pretty unique ride (probably ever more so now that no one is buying HUSS rides anymore), and a lot of kids seemed to really enjoy it.