QueerRudie Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Not trying to nit-pick, but two facts: this area is within 500 miles of 75% of the population in the US. Dollywood lays at the base of the most visited National Park with 11-12 million visitors annually. Ummm... Have you ever driven from any of those 'within 500 miles' places TO Dollywood- not Knoxville? As in: You've got to be kidding me distances. Dollywood is NOT a destination park as is a Disney park, or even one of the 'larger' regional SixFlags/Cedar Points. Dollywood is removed from just about everywhere. And the most visited park? You might ask Yosemite for that title, too. Or Muir Woods. Or Golden Gate National Park... While the Smokey Mountains are a great place to visit, some other national parks will take that title first. Remember, this isn't against Dollywood at all... but in all reality: The odds of a park NOT sponsored by Dolly's image would have long ago failed and closed up in that location- it's simply due to a particular local status. Otherwise, the area could not realisitcally support a park- much less one as great as Dollywood.
ernierocker Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 And the most visited park? You might ask Yosemite for that title, too. Or Muir Woods. Or Golden Gate National Park... While the Smokey Mountains are a great place to visit, some other national parks will take that title first. Actually, that is true. www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-top20nationalparks-pg,0,4023261.photogallery Dollywood is at an extreme advantage because of this with drawing guests.
r3vo Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Not trying to nit-pick, but two facts: this area is within 500 miles of 75% of the population in the US. Dollywood lays at the base of the most visited National Park with 11-12 million visitors annually. Ummm... Have you ever driven from any of those 'within 500 miles' places TO Dollywood- not Knoxville? As in: You've got to be kidding me distances. Dollywood is NOT a destination park as is a Disney park, or even one of the 'larger' regional SixFlags/Cedar Points. Dollywood is removed from just about everywhere. And the most visited park? You might ask Yosemite for that title, too. Or Muir Woods. Or Golden Gate National Park... While the Smokey Mountains are a great place to visit, some other national parks will take that title first. Remember, this isn't against Dollywood at all... but in all reality: The odds of a park NOT sponsored by Dolly's image would have long ago failed and closed up in that location- it's simply due to a particular local status. Otherwise, the area could not realisitcally support a park- much less one as great as Dollywood. So, most remote locations have 6 lane highways that go to them?
QueerRudie Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Ernie and Coasterfreaky: I stand corrected- and I apologize. So, most remote locations have 6 lane highways that go to them? That three six-lane highway didn't just grow there. It was an after-response for the most part, and not there to begin with (As it should be; it would be ludicrous to build a highway to nowhere). But back to my original point: It's remote. it's far removed. You won't find a major jetport with heavy traffic there. (The closest 'jet' airport is TYS/Knoxville- and service there is nowhere near as full as it is at other major cities). It's not that I'm pushing buttons: But let's face facts: Dollywood is not in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C. or L.A.
PhilipB Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 And several other attractions that will bring tourist by the bus load....or, in their case, troll loads? I don't think Dollywood is hurting by any means. I think that after 2012 happens, DW will become a destination park. It's supposed to really put us on the map more than we already are, and I have ever confidence that it will. Honestly though, I kinda like the attendance as it is. I don't live to far from DW so it's not that big of a deal when we get there and they're parking in the overflow lot, I can just come back another day. But, I don't think I would ever want to see it become a regular thing for the overflow lot to be used. Plus, I don't think DW could handle attendance any bigger than it already is. I don't doubt they could do it, but, the paths are two small for one... Does any of that make sense? Ha!
Guy T. Koepp Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Not to mention the fact that the park was a successful small tourist attraction in Pigeon Forge before Dolly got involved with it. http://rcdb.com/4593.htm Just sayin'.
DirkFunk Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Orlando, FL wasn't exactly a hub of activity either. It just happened to be a place with a airfield, warm climate, and a lot of cheap land. Dollywood and its adjoining waterpark combine for about 3 million visitors, with the dry park last year bringing in about 2.4 million of that. Great Adventure had 2.7 million guests. Its not a big jump to major market SF territory.
r3vo Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Ernie and Coasterfreaky: I stand corrected- and I apologize. So, most remote locations have 6 lane highways that go to them? That three six-lane highway didn't just grow there. It was an after-response for the most part, and not there to begin with (As it should be; it would be ludicrous to build a highway to nowhere). But back to my original point: It's remote. it's far removed. You won't find a major jetport with heavy traffic there. (The closest 'jet' airport is TYS/Knoxville- and service there is nowhere near as full as it is at other major cities). It's not that I'm pushing buttons: But let's face facts: Dollywood is not in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C. or L.A. I'm confused, are you saying Dollywood is currently or was in a remote location? I will agree that it was fairly remote 10-20 years ago, but now it is not. Yes, it is not in an area like the cities you mentioned but by no means is it remote. Just because it is surrounded by mountains and you can't see the Interstate from it doesn't make it remote.
ernierocker Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 Dollywood is a unique park in that it does not need a major population base to draw the crowds. The Smoky Mountains does that for them. And a ton of these people that visit the area are not your thrill-seeking crowd. This is why when you go to Dollywood and see the parking lot full, it doesn't necessarily mean that the rides will have long lines. Dollywood does a great job catering to these people with its shows and food and people are happy with spending the money just for this. I've gone to the park a ton of times with the parking lot full back to Section G and not have to wait more than 15 minutes for any major ride. So, Dollywood has a major advantage when competing with nearby parks like Carowinds or Six Flags over Georgia in that they don't have to add a major thrill ride every year. It will still draw a major crowd because of the tourism draw in the area. But, Dollywood is committed to catering to enthusiasts like us, which is why is such a highly rated park by so many kinds of theme park visitors.
rosscoe Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 quote] Dollywood is NOT a destination park as is a Disney park See thats the thing for me Dollywood is a destination park, and I would choose it over any of the American Disney Parks. As a Theme park Dollywood is near perfect. Sadly the same cannot be said about Disney.
BeemerBoy Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 @BeemerBoy ... both attractions opened though; problems came after. I'm talking about the grand opening of hyped up new attractions. The open is the most important and popular time for a new attraction. The bottom line depends on it. Season passes are sold on it, etc. I won't argue that grand openings of hyped up attractions aren't important, but they're not make or break. Major theme park attractions aren't blockbuster movies. Parks aren't purchasing $10-20 million attractions banking on opening weekend numbers. They're investing in what they believe will be a long-term consistent performer in their portfolio of attractions. Because of that, I believe it's fair enough to "doubt" Dollywood's decisions concerning both Timber Tower and SkyZip. Did TT open on time? I'll take your word that it did. BUT, I've been to the park a bunch of times since the ride's opening, and you know how many times I've witnessed it actually operating? Once.......seriously......ONE TIME. There's a reason a lawsuit exists over this ride, and I'm pretty sure it's not because Dollywood was in the black from this particular investment. Fair enough to doubt their decision despite it opening on time? To be honest, every park in the world can be scrutinized and doubted for their decision making, and Dollywood is no different. With that said though, fortunately for them, Dollywood is on the short list of places that can probably afford to be forgiven for a misstep here or there due to their overall solid performance figures and well balanced offerings.
netdvn Posted June 25, 2011 Posted June 25, 2011 I also said most just opened. Many rides used to open prior to Memorial Day. The industry has be slowly pushing ride openings back over the years. It's a slow boiling frog thing. It's all planning. You plan for delays and things to go wrong. It's ultimately the parks decision to choose manufacturers and make decisions. The earlier you start ... Here's my trump card; if you will: Harry Potter ... one of the largest new tech rides in a while. They opened on time None of these rides have anything on Forbidden Journey crazy tech coordination and mechanical systems, so I blame planning. Entire new parks open on time. Not just one small attraction. Give credit where it's deserved not simply because they finally got it open. Throw Disney in there too. They plan extremely well. Old school park operators used to plan well. Now it's mostly corporate shenanigans. Most parks normally plan these projects years in advance (IIRC, CP plans attractions 3-4 years in advance). None of these projects are done on a whim (and it would be stupid to do so). I'm pretty sure most parks plan for delays as well, but a lot of delays are unexpected and come at the wrong place/wrong time. As for Universal, Rockit didn't open on time. Nor did Madagascar, Battlestar Galactica had major problems before opening and had to be delayed. Just because Forbidden Journey opened on time, doesn't magically make Universal better with planning. Ferrari World had its problems and especially HRP and Wild West World. Disney is good with planning too, but they've faced plenty of blunders, regardless of their planning skills *cough* DCA *cough* and now they have to pay the price for it. Holiday World has been having problems with their new Timberliners. Same goes for Knoebel's and their Flying Turns. "Under promise, overdeliver" much? Every park has made some mistakes and missteps. You can't blame the park for incompetence.
John Knotts Posted June 25, 2011 Posted June 25, 2011 Since NOTHING in life is perfect, of course neither are amusement parks. Not a single one. In fact, if we weren't enthusiasts following their every move, we wouldn't even notice most of this stuff, nor would we care. Most parks meet deadlines and plan accordingly, but there are always exceptions that can't be foreseen from the outset. That's life.
r3vo Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Well, went to Dollywood today. Looks like that have been making steady pace pouring the footers behind slidewinder. Looks like it's gonna really hug the terrain back there. They still haven't fenced off the whole construction area behind slidewinder, which I found fairly odd. Sorry I didn't get any pics. On the Tram ride back, the driver was talking about the new ride. This is what he said: "Who's ridden Barnstomer?" Various shouts from passengers "Have you seen the construction back behind it? That where our 2012 ride is going to go!" "Do you all know what the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the works is? I think it starts with a T and is in the north east somewhere. Anyways, its 458ft tall and goes around 160MPH. Well our coaster next year will beat that!" I was literally shaking my head at how ridiculous this was. Found it very funny! Anyways, there is still a whole lot of track sitting on the accessway behind thunderhead. It looks like they are gonne finish up around slidewinder then work their way towards Tennessee Tornado. Will hopefully be back later in July and will take a camera. I have a feeling there will be a lot more done by then.
ernierocker Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 On the Tram ride back, the driver was talking about the new ride. This is what he said: "Who's ridden Barnstomer?" Various shouts from passengers "Have you seen the construction back behind it? That where our 2012 ride is going to go!" "Do you all know what the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the works is? I think it starts with a T and is in the north east somewhere. Anyways, its 458ft tall and goes around 160MPH. Well our coaster next year will beat that!" I was literally shaking my head at how ridiculous this was. Found it very funny! Sounds like that tram driver used to be a Disney World bus driver.
StarTrekGeek Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 On the Tram ride back, the driver was talking about the new ride. This is what he said: "Who's ridden Barnstomer?" Various shouts from passengers "Have you seen the construction back behind it? That where our 2012 ride is going to go!" "Do you all know what the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the works is? I think it starts with a T and is in the north east somewhere. Anyways, its 458ft tall and goes around 160MPH. Well our coaster next year will beat that!" I was literally shaking my head at how ridiculous this was. Found it very funny! That should be in the "Weirdest Things the 'GP' Have Said" topic.
Velo_editor Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Would an employee be considered "GP"? Those old guys who drive the trams like to spin yarns. I would guess he's probably just making stuff up to get the guests excited to come back. Or he could be completely ignorant, but I'd like to pretend the former.
PhilipB Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Was it Luther and Luther? (One on the front one of the back)... They're great! I'm sure whoever said this was just spinning webs. But, I wish they wouldn't talk like that because it'll get peoples hopes up for whatever we're getting, and when it's not what they want, we'll get poor reviews...
outbackjack Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Most people aren't theme parks geeks like myself, and they rarely pay attention to the tram driver, where as I listen to every word.
odene497 Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I think you could consider a park employee GP, simply in the sense that we use it meaning people who don't really pay attention to ride specifics. Some just see it as a job. Of course, I think the employees at Dollywood are some of the best around and was probably just joking around. Or not. 500 foot wing rider 100% fact.
netdvn Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Would an employee be considered "GP"? Those old guys who drive the trams like to spin yarns. I would guess he's probably just making stuff up to get the guests excited to come back. Or he could be completely ignorant, but I'd like to pretend the former. Depends on a few factors... 1) How high the employee is on the food chain 2) How much of a coaster enthusiast the employee is 3) How much insider info the park is willing to give. For me, I know a lot of insider info about BGW, but most of my coworkers don't only because I've asked around. BGW doesn't really go into insider specifics with their hourly employees.
ernierocker Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Here is an equation that I sketched on piece of paper which will help to determine if someone is "GP" or not: Just subsitute T(s) with the person's name...
Guy T. Koepp Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 ^Now it all makes sense! C'mon people, can't you all follow a simple formula?
QueerRudie Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 ^^ Geez... that formula's missing the equasion for why the universe adds up to 42... or 69 in some locations.
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