Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

So they should just stop growing and not stay relevant? While it sucks, I'm a huge supporter of nature in that area.. I love the area and mountains, this doesn't feel corporate to me.. it feels like survival and growth

 

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[chickenbowl]

So they should just stop growing and not stay relevant? While it sucks, I'm a huge supporter of nature in that area.. I love the area and mountains, this doesn't feel corporate to me.. it feels like survival and growth

No, of course that's not what I'm saying. I simply believe there's a way to expand the park without completely razing everything in sight.

 

 

Doing it this way is probably just cheaper/easier. I'm still hoping for the best with this, but I think it's fair to be bummed out at the loss of the forest that existed here

[A.J.]

Theme park landscaping is tricky. You can absolutely make an area feel lived-in even if it's brand-new. The most recent example of this is Disney's Hollywood Studios' Toy Story Land. Of course, it's themed to a toy scaled backyard, so there aren't really any shade trees necessary, but from a landscaping standpoint the land looks like it has been there for years. You can especially see this when you look at photos of the last S-Turn of Slinky Dog Dash. All of the foliage is so grown-in, and yet the land hasn't even been open to the public for a month.

 

Another reason why new additions seem "barren" is because pathways and plazas are just so much wider now, in general, compared to, say, even ten years ago. The park gets larger, attendance grows, and the "new" people need space to move. In my world, there are general "rules of thumb" regarding how much space a guest should have in their bubble.

 

The new shade trees placed in the land will grow up eventually. I highly doubt that Dollywood is going to lose their identity, or their setting, or their charm, as a result of the expansion.

[Shavethewhales]

I certainly understand the sentiment. The balance between the original ambiance and modern necessity has been something I've watched for years. When SDC was young, there was tremendous effort to save every tree they could. The pathways wound around trees and in some cases they even build buildings around some of the bigger older trees so that they were growing through the buildings. DW did a lot of similar things back when it was SDC East.

 

It was "easy" back when they had thousands of visitors and not millions. There's just no way now with them becoming big resort destinations. It has to be planned and replanted forest instead of authentic. People already complain about the terrain and ADA access at the parks, and anything new is under much stricter scrutiny.

 

The good news is that by getting all the clearing and leveling out of the way in one swoop, they can replant a lot in another swoop and in ten years it will look much better again. Wilderness pass is all rock, so I don't think they had such an easy time there with tree management, but this should be better. Some of the trees they planted at SDC this year are mature, several year old trees. The new eating area looks like it has always been there because the 'new' trees are so big. I'm sure they will do the same at DW.

[dstephe9]

Yeah the pathways is a good point. The old side of Dollywood looks more grown in, 1.) Because of it's age, but also because of the narrow paths.. the new part is now much wider.. it has rides vs buildings only going up the path again making it look like it never grew back.. it's a much more open area if Dollywood was simply building a ride like LR, they wouldn't need to level everything.. but this is a new land with not only a ride or two but new infrastructure, new buildings, new sections and more.. they will replant the area with smaller trees and I'm sure they will do a good job

 

And yeah I also agree with the one big swoop thing. It's much easier to scale the way they want by doing it in one big swoop, even if it requires leveling the place.. when this area gets built they might do it again in 5 - 10 years for a new area or might announce something sooner and continue with the growth in one big swoop

 

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[neilnky]

This was on Screamscape. Great pictures! http://www.wildgravitytravels.com/wildwood-grove-dollywood-2019-july-construction-update/

[ViperGTS500]

Is it worth visiting dollywood for the first time even if lightning rod isn't open?

[coasterbill]

I mean, you know they're getting a massive addition next year that probably includes a coaster and by then Lightning Rod might be working so I'd just wait.

 

Is Dollywood a great park regardless? Of course. But unless you're in the area anyway or it's not a major expense then I don't see why you should go now.

[grsupercity]

Is it worth visiting dollywood for the first time even if lightning rod isn't open?

 

Though lightning rod is an incredible coaster, the rest of the park is great as well. Go enjoy the park. Gives you a reason to go back in a couple years to ride my favorite RMC to date

[ViperGTS500]

Yes I'll be in nashville next weekend so I'll be not too far but very sad lightning rod wont be open :/

[coasterbill]

Have you been to Six Flags over Georgia? It's about 30-40 minutes further from Nashville and their RMC works.

 

Plus, since you live in Cleveland (according to the thing next to your username) it's a much easier trip to go back to Dollywood whenever you want than it would be to go to SFOG.

[A.J.]

Have you been to Six Flags over Georgia? It's about 30-40 minutes further from Nashville and their RMC works.

 

Plus, since you live in Cleveland (according to the thing next to your username) it's a much easier trip to go back to Dollywood whenever you want than it would be to go to SFOG.

Honestly, Wildwood Grove being rumored for 2019 and Lightning Rod's current troubles are making Six Flags Over Georgia look really good for an autumn trip this year.

[Ape]

I haven't been in this thread much at all but I am surprised the LR is still having issues. Makes me that much happier that we essentially went to get one ride on it year one and left due to heat.

[ViperGTS500]

Good point but 10 and half hours to drive in one day back from SFOG is too much/not worth my opinion

[ViperGTS500]

Or is it more worth going to kentucky kingdom instead?

[A.J.]

Good point but 10 and half hours to drive in one day back from SFOG is too much/not worth my opinion

Sorry, was more speaking for myself, as it's four hours for me versus Dollywood's eight.

[CoasterAuditor]

I used to live 3 hours from Dollywood and now I live 7 hours away. It's terrible. Granted where I used to live the closest park was 2.5-3 hours away in Carowinds before Carowinds got really good.

[VegasBaby]

I haven't been in this thread much at all but I am surprised the LR is still having issues. Makes me that much happier that we essentially went to get one ride on it year one and left due to heat.

 

I feel really lucky because LR was running pretty well when we visited last year. We got 3-4 rides on it each day of our visit and absolutely loved it. It's such a great coaster and the launch is a lot of fun, so I really hope they can get it running consistently. My in-laws live about 1 hour from DW now, so we'll probably visit again next year to check out Wildwood Grove. Hopefully they will have fixed the LR issues by then because I'm dying to ride it again!

[TEDodd]

Is it worth visiting dollywood for the first time even if lightning rod isn't open?

It was worth visiting before the build LR.

 

It's just as worthy now.

[grsupercity]

On our visit last year LR was only running one train. But luckily I got to ride it and it was great. Mystery Mine was down though so I missed that one.

[appel]

On our visit last year LR was only running one train. But luckily I got to ride it and it was great. Mystery Mine was down though so I missed that one.

Speaking of Lightning Rod, has anybody been in the park to get some updates? I thought they should have been finished with retracking by now?

[Ewrawr]

On our visit last year LR was only running one train. But luckily I got to ride it and it was great. Mystery Mine was down though so I missed that one.

Speaking of Lightning Rod, has anybody been in the park to get some updates? I thought they should have been finished with retracking by now?

 

I’ve been here all week and we’ve yet to see any person or machines or anything in the rides area

[appel]

On our visit last year LR was only running one train. But luckily I got to ride it and it was great. Mystery Mine was down though so I missed that one.

Speaking of Lightning Rod, has anybody been in the park to get some updates? I thought they should have been finished with retracking by now?

 

I’ve been here all week and we’ve yet to see any person or machines or anything in the rides area

I guess they did not tell you when they expect it to reopen or anything like that? ....

Seems there is a zero chance that it might be open in 2 and a half weeks...

[TBpony414]

^^ and ^ I will be at the park this coming week, hoping for it to open but fully prepared for it to be closed. Will report back if it opens up!

[John Peck]

Can anyone please tell me whether or not they still have the "Big boy" seat belts on Wild Eagle? Thanks!