Dollywood Discussion Thread

[appel]

I'll discontinue the sass, Ernie.

 

Side note - I'm very happy that LR has been operating seemingly consistent for the past week. I find it hilarious that the boards quiet way down when the coaster's actually running!

 

....running with one train is not what I consider consistent or reliable.....I hope they will work out all the kinks soon......

[LukeFlynn]

I'll discontinue the sass, Ernie.

 

Side note - I'm very happy that LR has been operating seemingly consistent for the past week. I find it hilarious that the boards quiet way down when the coaster's actually running!

 

....running with one train is not what I consider consistent or reliable.....I hope they will work out all the kinks soon......

 

Running one train clearly improves reliability right now. Running two trains at this point would most likely cut the reliability in half, negating the benefits of speedier waits. I'm sure they'll get it there eventually, but at least people actually have somewhat of a chance.

 

It's only been closed for 25 minutes out of the entire day... that's a LOT more than can be said when they were consistently running two trains....

[DoinItForTheFame]

Just throwing this out there... But Dollywood really is an amazing park!!!

 

Having SDC as my home park, and frequenting it often then coming here is werid!!! It's like having one of those weird coaster dreams where you know that you're at SDC but nothing is lining up the way it would if you were actually in the park!! . . . Yeah, same thing with Dollywood. "It's like, oh, hey, I'm at SDC!! Oh, wait. . . No, if this were SDC that building would be over here instead..."

 

Make sense?? Hmmm... I hope so. It made more sense in my mind...

 

EDIT: Turns out my phone auto-corrects SDC to SEX!!! That post was really confusing at first.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

EDIT: Turns out my phone auto-corrects SDC to SEX!!! That post was really confusing at first.

Best thing I've read all day.

 

I get what you're saying too. Dollywood is so similar in some respects, and so different in others, that it kind of messed with my mind. Like I was in a place that I subconsciously felt I should already be familiar with.

[djcoastermark]

^^Nothing better than having a good time, all day at SDC.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Okay, so finally made it back to the hotel after a great time at the park. . . The main thing I'm going to talk about in this post is Lightning Rod, there will be a separate TR in a different thread for the rest of the park.

 

Day 1:

 

So day one, we arrived later in the afternoon/evening, and of course headed straight for Lightning Rod since it was actually open!! Long story short, by the time we got into the front row of Lightning Rod, we both had pretty severe headaches, we were killer thirsty, exhausted, slightly annoyed, and just overall not in a good mood. We took a lap on the coaster, and we were left thinking... "Meh... that was it??" Okay, yeah, next please. . . Needless to say, we were rather underwhelmed, and didn't care for the coaster. We thought it was rough as hell (which we now blame on the headache.) You know how when you have a killer headache every tiny little vibration is like someone taking a jackhammer to your head?? Yeah, that's how LR was our first go. We were one and done that day.

 

Day 2:

 

Having learned our lesson the hard way on day one... We decided to make sure we were well taken care of before heading to the park today, and WOW what a world of difference it made. We took a ride on LR, and we were blown away. Obviously it is not a rough coaster, it's an amazing coaster. Everywhere we left "meh" and underwhelmed yesterday BLEW us away today. HOLY F**KING SH!T that ride is insane!! It seriously doesn't let up from start to finish. The launch is CRAZY!! It seems to go on for ever! It sure seems a lot larger when you are on the coaster than it does from the ground. The first 2 Dolly humps are amazing, and that first drop The airtime is INSANE on this coaster, and that quad-down might just be my favorite coaster element ever!!!

 

To those of you who have Dollywood as your home park... I hate you!! You all are so lucky to have such a beautiful park, with such friendly employees, and such a great coaster lineup! Again, there will be a more detailed photo TR for you all at a later point, just wanted to explain how LR went from a "meh" coaster, to an AMAZING coaster!"

[Djwadeknox]

Another beautiful Sunday at Dollywood and all rides are open for business. Mid 80’s for highs today and mostly sunny skies. Going up this afternoon to enjoy a beautiful evening in the park.

[dstephe9]

I'm here this evening as well.. park is fairly dead this evening but from the sounds of it, it's been like this all day

 

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[Nrthwnd]

^ How's It-who-must-be-not-named been working?

[dstephe9]

It's been closed for the past few hours, I got here kind of late.. not sure if it's ran any today or not

 

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[TBpony414]

It's been closed for the past few hours, I got here kind of late.. not sure if it's ran any today or not

 

We got in line at 6:20pm and it was running fine, I checked the app religiously the whole drive down here and it was operating consistently. Unfortunately we were 3/4 of the way thru the queue and at 6:41 it went down. I know this because I was texting a family member a video of what ended up being the last train of the night, not because I have a LR journal like Rainman does for Wapner haha. Some worker went onto the brake run and looked at something right away. They announced 15 mins later that it'd be at least a 20-30 min delay but we were welcome to wait it out. We bailed and 50 mins later they updated it to CD.

 

Maybe I've spent too much time at Cedar Point where they'll work up to the minute the park closes and sometimes even after that to try to get a ride back up and running... but I don't understand this "ride went down Bob, what should we do?" "Well it's almost the evening, it ran most of the day kinda sorta so let's just close it up til tomorrow and call it good" stuff. Tomorrow is a new day and I hope they can get it running! Mystery Mine is a trip and Thunderhead was a surprise hit for us.

[coasterbill]

Yeah, that doesn't sound good. Hopefully it opens up today for you. Fingers crossed...

[TBpony414]

Yeah, that doesn't sound good. Hopefully it opens up today for you. Fingers crossed...

You worked your magic because it opened a few mins ago. We waited out front while they tested for over an hour and then were on the 3rd train row 7! WOW!!!! The overbanks are insane with airtime that defies understanding and the quad down is glorious. Got the Time Saver unlimited now so we can basically marathon it (and Mystery Mine lol which we loved) all day.

[coasterbill]

Glad to hear it!!

 

Glad you liked Mystery Mine too. Despite the bitching from the enthusiast community I think that ride is spectacular. Anyone who thinks it's rough is a complete bitch.

 

PS: Don't forget to get the Cinnamon Bread from the Grist mill while you're there. Plan on there being a line, but there's a reason.

[dstephe9]

Yesterday there wasn't really a line for the cinnamon bread at least between 6:30ish and 10ish

 

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[coasterbill]

You've just got to get lucky with it. A lot of times they just run out of bread and you have to wait while they bake more. The last 2 times we visited the longest line of the day was for Cinnamon Bread at the end of the night (about 30 minutes both times).

[LukeFlynn]

Love mystery mine in the back row. My neck definitely thinks the front row is extremely jerky, however.

[Canobie Coaster]

Mystery Mine has some jerky points in the first half, but nothing that ruins the ride. Granted I know it's coming so I can brace myself to have a pain free ride.

[Djwadeknox]

Yeah, that doesn't sound good. Hopefully it opens up today for you. Fingers crossed...

You worked your magic because it opened a few mins ago. We waited out front while they tested for over an hour and then were on the 3rd train row 7! WOW!!!! The overbanks are insane with airtime that defies understanding and the quad down is glorious. Got the Time Saver unlimited now so we can basically marathon it (and Mystery Mine lol which we loved) all day.

 

 

Glad to hear luck was on your side today. Looking forward to a review. I hope you get a night ride this evening.

[Big Papa]

Got my first rides on Lightning Rod today. The second ride seemed noticeably faster than the first. But holy crap I'm not sure why they have seats on that thing because your butt is never in them.

[Djwadeknox]

Did they run 2 trains today. Noticed the line time was down today,

[Big Papa]

Just one train from what I saw. The crowds were pretty light overall. I am staying at Dreammore Resort so with the complimentary timesaver I didn't have to wait more than five minutes for any ride.

 

On a related note has anyone that stayed at Dreammore tried the pizza and/or the dinner buffet they have? The wife and I are considering trying them the next couple days and wondering if they are worth the money.

[TBpony414]

I'd never forget the Cinnamon bread, Bill! We tried twice last night (Sun PM) to get it. Waited 20 mins in a massive line around 7:30pm and they ran out before we got close. It'd be 22 mins (seriously?!) til the next batch was ready so we went back at 9:30pm and they were like "oh yeah no we sold out a while back. But we have cookies!" Between getting close to the station in line for LR only to have it go down for the night and then being denied cinnamon bread twice it was a rough start to our trip lol. Today was much better!

 

FYI this is quite long, or it seems long at least on my notepad! I'll try to add pics in but no promises that it works since I'm on mobile and half asleep. We arrived at opening today (Mon) and headed straight for LR. They were testing and occasionally ratcheting restraints (cue flashbacks to the Maverick breakdown with Nrthwnd and Bert back in June) so we waited it out in a line at the entrance. At 11am it opened and we were on the 3rd train of the day, row 7. WOW!!!!! Absolutely insane!

 

In the few short minutes we had been riding, the queue line already jumped to 45 mins so without hesitation we got the Unlimited Time Savers. Proceeded to walk right back around and into the station 5 more times in a row skipping the at one point hour+ line and trying out various seats. I think we liked row 7 the best, interestingly. I prefer the left side and SO prefers the right so it works perfectly.

 

On ride #2 we were in row 12. On the brake run SO says to me "my back really got slammed at the bottom of the first drop, what was up with that? It was smooth as glass on our first ride!" Yes, sadly, the bump at the bottom of the first hill is real and OUCH did we get nailed on it a few times today. The closer to the front of the train the better it was, however neither of us noticed it on row 7. My SO loves coasters but thinks it's embarrassing that I go on forums so bad no idea about the hotly debated bump. It absolutely seemed to get worse as the day went on.

 

Let's start with the launch. Holy crap does that thing fly!! It feels like rocket boosters and I loved every second of it. 47mph is crazy fast. The way the ride whips over and thru the hills completely sideways is wild and the airtime on those moments defies all possible understanding. The quad down is incredible and I'm sure half the park could hear me cackling with laughter during it. I just couldn't stop smiling and cheering!

 

Unfortunately after 8 total rides on this beast today, including our last one just moments before the fireworks went off, we are both a bit beat up. My left upper thigh area has some nasty marks from the seatbelt (thanks to the multiple left wave/overbank insanity) and my left shin has a huge goose egg on it, I guess from how I had my leg positioned and hitting the restraint. I barely even touched the seat on any of my rides so it's not surprising I'm a little battered. A true airtime machine indeed!!! I thought the seats and restraints were quite comfortable so no complaints on my end. It's not anywhere near as violent as Skyrush but slightly more crazy regarding its elements than El Toro. It's very short and is over before you know it. I'm ok with that though. What a great ride! Can't wait to go back for more laps on it tomorrow, and also to see the bubble show which wasn't playing today.

 

To the user who asked - They only ever ran 1 train on LR today and I'm so freaking thankful they didn't mess around trying to get another one running. There were a lot of walks of shame, only one was actually close while the other people were not going to fit in a million years yet they still insisted on trying. One skinny lady in the train ahead of us belted herself in no problem but then sat there, leaving her lap at up. They did the spiel about how you have to do your own bar blah blah blah and the ops came by to check hers. She motions to them to put it down. They tell her she has to do it and she says "it's ok, you can just do it" and back and forth it went. Eventually she pulled her own bar down but stupid things like that waste time.

 

There was also some serious screaming from the LR ops (not from Al though today, surprisingly. Maybe he got spoken to?) at kids shaking the heck out of the queue gates. Why they don't have big signs on the gates saying DO NOT TOUCH and bright red paint on the ground 18" behind each gate I don't know. It'd save the ops from having to repeat themselves no less than three times each cycle, that's for sure. Maybe they'd only have to tell people once per dispatch instead LOL. Is it common sense not to do that crap? Of course! But this is America and we can't have nice things and shaking the gates apparently messes up the ride sensors so unfortunately it's an issue. I'm constantly amazed by the parents just standing there oblivious to their children smacking gates and pounding or climbing on them, on any ride. It's even worse on LR where they clearly tell you every 90 seconds it to not touch the freaking gate. Someone this evening got kindly told to please put their permanent marker away and to not mark up property such as signs or rails in the queue that isn't theirs. Seriously people???

 

Switching rides, the Wild Eagle statue is extremely impressive in person! We also rode (in no particular order) Barnstormer, Slidewinder, Blazing Fury 2x, Mystery Mine 2x, FCE, Wild Eagle 2x, TN Tornado, Thunderhead, the train which was excellent, saw the wild bird show, ate cinnamon bread and had an icee, saw the fireworks, and probably something else I'm missing. We took a break for a couple hours in the middle of the day to go back to the cabin so I could take my dog on a walk so my notes are a bit jumbled. Tomorrow is the Ripley's aquarium followed by Hillbilly golf, then DW in the evening.

 

Now onto the pics:

We made it!

This sign concerned a lot of people who stood there reading it and then debated whether it was safe to ride, clogging up the ride entrance in the process.

Queue line and station are well themed

Grab bars to help pull the restraint down and/or hold onto if you're a-scurred.

Pic of a pic of our ride photo. My SO was pretending to be driving since we were in row 1, LOL

Klondike Katie was the name of our train

She smokes like a chimney (apologies for the blur)

But does a great job taking us into the woods!

Nom nom nommmmm

Fun fact: raccoons are my favorite animal. Later in the evening we saw a gorgeous skunk walking around near this sign.

Ducks and turtles! Lots of them, and big ones too.

This dude was enjoying the beautiful weather... and French fries people were throwing down there.

For Coasterbill

Love this giant eagle! The end.

[njcoasterguy34]

Hey, I have that exact same shirt your SO was wearing!! Nice pics, by the way.

[coasterbill]

Great report! So glad you got on Lightning Rod.