Dollywood Discussion Thread

[dstephe9]

We have a cabin and I’ve been surprised at how many people write in the guest book and say they go to the island and don’t mention Dollywood. It might be because the cabin sleeps 15 and that would be very expensive. Also I’m surprised at how many People go to the dinner shows in town. Dollywood has gotten more expensive and are bleeding a lot of the locals as they expand out to more of the region vacationer.

This is kind of why Pete pitched the expansion as an all in one price. By the time you pay for a dinner show or two and a fun zone you are getting close to Dollywood prices of not higher, but some people probably view it that way. If we don't go to Dollywood we can do more in the area. Do more dinner shows and so on. That's why Disney wanted lock in Disney World, that way the money stays inside Disney.

 

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[Dollywoodlover20]

Another thing that was asked in the survey was “How likely would you be to purchase a pass for 184 dollars”.

Then the next portion gave you two options. You were to choose answers based on having the option of paying for a Single day admission, 2 day ticket, or Super Pass (with of course boosted prices).

 

There were also options such as; one day admission Mon-Friday, Seasonal, 2 or 3 day Friday-Sun Jun-August.

Like some confusing options and they all had varying prices. For me, I never know when exactly I can go. I just get a free weekend or day and I’m like “Dollywood sound good?” And we go down. So for me the Gold Pass has been the best.

 

I don’t see myself purchasing a Super Pass simply because I don’t intend on going to Splash Country.

[Djwadeknox]

The one thing I wish they would add is a Dolly Dining Plan! Dining plans are a must at parks today!

Edited September 18, 2018 by Djwadeknox

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I don't know about that, Dinn hasn't really made a good coaster in a while.

 

(Seriously, people, how hard is it to spell the word "dining"?)

[dstephe9]

The one thing I wish they would add is a Dolly Dinning Plan! Dinning plans are a must at parks today!

I want a dining plan also!

 

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[mckayj93]

I'd love a dining plan! Either per day or per year, I'd be interested. I live 3 hours away, and I'm always shocked at how people shell out more at the shows and tacky places on the strip- and never touch Dollywood or the National Park. Dollywood's one day ticket I think is too much, but not bad with the 2 or 3 day deals they do in the summer. I think value dropped a bit when they got rid of the free after 3pm / 6pm deal. Season Pass I feel is very reasonable though. I always get Gold, I never have enough time to justify getting Super. I'd only be able go like once in the summer.

[dstephe9]

Take this however you want but this post is from someone who toured RMC (might be a poster here, I'm not sure) and spoke with engineers working on LR

 

 

However, I don't see any reason not to trust this post plus it lines up with Pete mentioning it's closed for track work

 

It also mentions no ETA on the fix date

 

For those that don't want to read the entire AMA, here are the bullet points. As proof, the guy has a photo of him laying on test track

 

"Another engineer was working on Lightning Rod stuff. It's not actually currently down because of the launch! He said that they have that working pretty reliably now. A piece of track has to be reprofiled because of unintended forces present. The clamps for the magnetic fins on the bottom of the trains were also causing some issues (they work fine but don't last nearly long enough). The company who made the LSMs were very secretive about their design, so RMC has had trouble knowing exactly what forces are present, and there are a lot and they are powerful. At least you know that they share our pain of not knowing secrets He had one of the clamps in his office, which I got to look at and examine"

 

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[Jccoasterfan]

^ The launch not being the issue seems to line up with what Pete said. I’m assuming the “piece of track” the engineer was referring to is the pot hole section, though I could be wrong but it seems to point towards that.

 

Also, Screamscape reached out to Dollywood the other day about the status on Lightning Rod and Mountain Slidewindwer. Full quote:

 

some of you may have noticed that the Mountain Slidewinders attraction is no longer listed on the park's website. As confirmed with the park, this is normal, as the park closes the Slidewinder each season after Labor Day weekend.

Next up we checked on the status of Lightning Rod and the park confirmed that they 'have been working with the manufacture to deal with some performance issues. We are optimistic it will reopen this season."

[Jccoasterfan]

I just updated the Dollywood app, and I noticed that its no longer showing ride wait times. Anyone else notice this? Not only is it no longer showing on the app, but the link/button to it just says “rides” now, instead of saying “ride wait times” like before. Starting to wonder if they’re going to a similar system like Six Flags and Cedar Fair where the wait times only show up while in the park. Not that its a huge deal, but I liked its similarity to the Disney apps where you could check anytime, regardless of where you’re at. Guess its time to rely on the third-pary website.

[dstephe9]

Possible but I have seen their app do this before and with fall hours starting today, very possible there is just a glitch..

 

It's also possible they are making you be in the park to see wait times.. last year their records crowds were during the first few weekends of the fall festival. Maybe they are afraid long wait times will keep folks away

 

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[tinaalsgirl]

So, I'm gonna be taking my first ever trip to Dollywood in about a month. What do you guys think the crowds will be like on Halloween, 'cause that's the day we're gonna be going? I wanna focus on rides; I looked over their slate of shows, and none really jump out at me.

[Bobby2889]

Looks like not only track but other ride parts have arrived.

We have track!

[Vonni]

^ Very pretty green

[dstephe9]

So, I'm gonna be taking my first ever trip to Dollywood in about a month. What do you guys think the crowds will be like on Halloween, 'cause that's the day we're gonna be going? I wanna focus on rides; I looked over their slate of shows, and none really jump out at me.

The Harvest Festival and pretty much all of October was probably the busiest time for Dollywood last season. I would say more popular than Christmas and more popular than most summer weekend's.

 

During the day, while school is in session, it's mostly older folks look for fall colors and listening to gospel music but when school lets out it gets very crowded, or did last year. It also depends on the weather but October is usually fairly mild, again, making it a very popular time.

 

I visited several weekends and weekdays (evenings) last year in October and ride times backed up. During the day, not so much.. most stuff was a walk on. That's what makes Dollywood unique! You will see the park transform from older folks enjoying shows and leaves to a very young crowd enjoying night rides on coasters and luminights.

 

I'd stay away on weekends or days when school is out!! It was so crowded last year, they added on to the pathways mainly for luminights and gospel festival, so mainly for this month!

 

Also, for folks visiting over the next few weeks, keep in mind that area schools are out for fall break.. its a staggered break so not all counties are out at once but weekdays might be a little busy for the next week or two. Good time to visit the park though!!

 

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[tinaalsgirl]

So I'm guessing Halloween should be pretty chill crowd-wise? Since it's on a Wednesday.

 

You mentioned that the weather is mild. What kind of temps are usual around Halloween at DW? I get cold really easy, so I need to know how to pack.

[Dollywoodlover20]

So I'm guessing Halloween should be pretty chill crowd-wise? Since it's on a Wednesday.

 

You mentioned that the weather is mild. What kind of temps are usual around Halloween at DW? I get cold really easy, so I need to know how to pack.

Here in the mountains, our weather is pretty unpredictable. One year during Smoky Mountain Christmas it was in the 70’s, year before that it was in the 20’s. Around Halloween it can go either way, but if I were you I’d dress light but bring maybe a hoodie. It may be 70’s-80’s during the day but can drop down in the low 50’s when the sun sets.

[komasixx]

Looks like not only track but other ride parts have arrived.

 

I wanted a pink coaster so bad lol

[Nrthwnd]

^ Here. Not exactly "pink", but.......

(Pardon the Sidebar)

Nasu Highland Park, Japan. Fright Flight Coaster. Pre-2011 TPR Japan visit.

Go Karts gave way to a new enclosed coaster. But the coaster colours stayed the same.

And the palm trees stayed, too. TPR 2011 Japan Tour. Hi Holger!

[neilnky]

I received this Wildwood Grove rendering in my email and it has two trains on Dragon Flier. Do you think it is accurate? I thought I had read several times on here it would be one train so that sort of stuck out to me and I was curious lol. http://dw.dollywood.com/enews/18/Images/9/DW2019_WildwoodGrove_Key_Art.jpg?spMailingID=36305840&spUserID=NjU5OTU1MDYxMTE5S0&spJobID=1362487721&spReportId=MTM2MjQ4NzcyMQS2 Come to think of it Pete had stated there would be a tunnel but I don't see one so the artwork may not be exactly correct right?

[VegasBaby]

I received this Wildwood Grove rendering in my email and it has two trains on Dragon Flier. Do you think it is accurate? I thought I had read several times on here it would be one train so that sort of stuck out to me and I was curious lol. http://dw.dollywood.com/enews/18/Images/9/DW2019_WildwoodGrove_Key_Art.jpg?spMailingID=36305840&spUserID=NjU5OTU1MDYxMTE5S0&spJobID=1362487721&spReportId=MTM2MjQ4NzcyMQS2 Come to think of it Pete had stated there would be a tunnel but I don't see one so the artwork may not be exactly correct right?

 

I really hope there will be two trains on it because the capacity would be pretty terrible otherwise.

[A.J.]

I received this Wildwood Grove rendering in my email and it has two trains on Dragon Flier. Do you think it is accurate? I thought I had read several times on here it would be one train so that sort of stuck out to me and I was curious lol.

If it is the "cloned" 453m Orkanen model, which is what it appeared to be in those leaked planning images, it will have one train with 10 single-row cars. The layout is designed in such a way that the brake run is the station, so the entire ride technically only has two blocks; To run two trains, you need three. So far, none of Vekoma's suspended family coasters have had more than one train.

 

That being said, a piece of key art is often the intent - so perhaps they've asked for Vekoma to do a custom variant (like a Great Nor'Easter vs an SLC) that widens that last turn and allows for enough room for both a station and main brake for 6-car trains. That would be a really hard brake though. I think that their piece of key art is at least somewhat accurate (since it was probably based off of an existing 3D model) - but remember, things can change in an instant.

[komasixx]

Although it could be possible to do two trains by making 2 trains with 5 rows each instead of 1 train with 10 rows, using the first half of the station building as a break run and the other as a loading station, I doubt highly they would do this, the capacity would actually be slowed down in retrospect.

 

Also this is the same exact model used on Orkanen, Dragon Roller Coaster, etc.

 

The breaks are in the station, the final turn into the station is a high speed turn.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

I've seen a photo on Twitter circulating. Lightning Rod is apparently testing

[tinaalsgirl]

I've seen a photo on Twitter circulating. Lightning Rod is apparently testing

 

Oh man, I hope that's true! I'll be at Dollywood on Halloween... hopefully I'll actually get a chance to ride it, 'cause I have no clue when I'll ever be able to go back!

[PKI Jizzman]

I've seen a photo on Twitter circulating. Lightning Rod is apparently testing

 

I'm honestly unaware of what's been going on with it this year. Since when has it been down?

 

I thought they had gotten over major downtime.