Dollywood Discussion Thread

[u4icmusic]

On 3/9/2021 at 5:53 PM, michaellynn4 said:

I somehow totally missed this. Was that horseshoe element that bad maintenance-wise? I enjoyed it when I rode it, can't imagine it was reprofiled due to complaints.

I'm not so sure it was a maintenance issue, but they supposedly received a lot of complaints about that section being too rough and jerky. I loved it, but I guess others did not. I'm hoping there was more added to it that we don't see in those two photos, otherwise it will be shorter and not extended like the park rep had stated.

[Canobie Coaster]

Considering Lightning Rod was running at 0 mph for a large amount of its life, I don't care if it's 1-2 mph slower if it means the ride is open more often.  That being said, this POV was probably taken in the worst possible conditions (empty train, not warmed up, cold day) and it's still hauling by the end. 

[coasterbill]

Did I call this or what?

Anyway, I did better side-by-side comparison for you.

[u4icmusic]

54 minutes ago, Dar said:

I made a side-by-side comparison of the new POV with a previous one filmed in the same position by the same team.

http://www.youtubemultiplier.com/604a8689ebd50-lightning-rod-comparison.php

New on the left, old on the right.

New one seems a lot slower over the top and first drop, and generally through the layout? Obviously some of that is gonna be because it's new and cold, but it's still a fair difference to make up! The old video is 30 seconds shorter, and some of that will be fluff like station and credits faff, but it's still big gap?

 

15 minutes ago, Canobie Coaster said:

Considering Lightning Rod was running at 0 mph for a large amount of its life, I don't care if it's 1-2 mph slower if it means the ride is open more often.  That being said, this POV was probably taken in the worst possible conditions (empty train, not warmed up, cold day) and it's still hauling by the end. 

If you look at the side-by-side videos, the lift does appear to be slower over the first crest, but if you time both of them pulling out of the gate and stop them both at the same spot on the last brake run, it's only a few seconds difference that I don't think any riders will notice. They just want the ride to be running and not closed all the time. I know last season, I went to Lightning Rod many, many times only to find it closed.

[JJLehto]

I expected the "1-2 mph slower is better than moving at 0" / "slower and reliable > unreliable" type of comment was coming so: 1 I dont care. I just dont, tis my venting  2 its annoying when that type of comment comes from people who've ridden...like yeah, easy for you to say lol Like, ya gotta at least give us that one. "pfffft quit whining this is better than it not running" from someone whos ridden something multiple times to the person who's never experienced it. Not here necessarily IDK who has, but I've gotten that from others and for other rides in the past and sorry, its not real helpful lol 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway I did acknowledge it could be time of year and empty train. I shall await rider reviews. But yeah aint apologizing. Its valid to be concerned it may run slower only been trying to ride this for years and I cant help big daddy rona thwarted last time. I guess it's my eyes. Even in that side by side...it looks slower. BUT I had my vent, not gunna sweat it now. We shall see. Long as people say the ride feels unchanged that's all that matters. 


 

[jonskinny12]

3 minutes ago, JJLehto said:

I expected the "1-2 mph slower is better than moving at 0" / "slower and reliable > unreliable" type of comment was coming so: 1 I dont care. I just dont, tis my venting  2 its annoying when that type of comment comes from people who've ridden...like yeah, easy for you to say lol Like, ya gotta at least give us that one. "pfffft quit whining this is better than it not running" from someone whos ridden something multiple times to the person who's never experienced it. Not here necessarily IDK who has, but I've gotten that from others and for other rides and sorry, its not real helpful lol 

I haven't ridden it and I completely disagree with your second point here. I made my only trip to Dollywood a few years back and would have very happily ridden it running slower than normal, instead of not riding it at all. These changes are finally making me consider a trip back to the park as long as it helps the reliability. Coasterbill's side-by-side more accurately describes my 2+ days at the park than the other side-by-side.

That said, sure the ride is running slower in the new video but this isn't even a remotely fair comparison. Look at any video of any roller coaster running an empty train in the cold next to a full train in warm weather and there's going to be a difference. If you were going to try to compare a POV, at least do it with something comparable like a POV taken before the ride ever opened with topper track. But still, just don't because it's pointless.

[JJLehto]

That's A OK. You are free to disagree but unlike the internet's usual response I shan't counter or argue, bc you can feel that way and its ok. Just like how I can have mine : D 

I will say, I saw another discussion about this and someone did bring up RMC's are temperamental, which is fair, and apparently this video was recorded very early and it was 40 degrees. So that would certainly explain it. This person said they've seen El Toro test in similar conditions and it looks slow as hell, crawling even. SO that helps a lot. I also appreciated they didnt say Im blind/dumb/crazy (ok ok I may be dumb and crazy but me eyes deff work!). Not like it took away from my overall excitement. Hear nothing but rave things about this place so I'm quite ready to finally make it. 

[Dar]

I have no horse in this, I'm probably never going to get over to ride it, I just thought it was an interesting comparison!

I originally tried it with the first POVs with the original front car and it was a massive difference in speed, so that would have been even less fair

If you line up the big drops, the old one gains speed faster and hits the brakes before the new one reaches the bottom of the big final turn, so it's going to be fun watching it regain that speed as it warms up!

[JJLehto]

29 minutes ago, Dar said:

I have no horse in this, I'm probably never going to get over to ride it, I just thought it was an interesting comparison!

I originally tried it with the first POVs with the original front car and it was a massive difference in speed, so that would have been even less fair

If you line up the big drops, the old one gains speed faster and hits the brakes before the new one reaches the bottom of the big final turn, so it's going to be fun watching it regain that speed as it warms up!

Appreciate the effort! And yeah I mean people, don't tell me my eyes don't work, its clearly slower. Now sometimes my brain doesn't work XD I didn't think about oh right its been brutal cold lately, it may have been morning, nor did I consider slight differences in perspective can look very different. 

Ah dont say that! For making the video: If you ever get to the states I'll pay for your Dollywood ticket! 

[coasterbill]

I really can't stress enough how people have been saying since half-way through the first season that the ride has been slowed down, the launch is slower and whatever else. I'm not saying that people should be happy with a diminished ride experience and suck it up so it operates, I'm saying that it's **probably** not diminished and the "I rode it when it was better" crowd is lying to themselves so they feel cool for being one of the six people to successfully ride it when it first opened.

I have no doubt that the day the ride opens and the train is half empty for social distancing and it's cold and crappy out these people will be blowing up the internet talking about how much better it used to be but let's wait and see if that's actually even true. I'm optimistic that it won't be.

PS: everyone also complained about a pothole endlessly that won't exist any more, so maybe it will actually be better!

Now Mystery Mine? That's a different story. lol

[JJLehto]

26 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

I really can't stress enough how people have been saying since half-way through the first season that the ride has been slowed down, the launch is slower and whatever else. I'm not saying that people should be happy with a diminished ride experience and suck it up so it operates, I'm saying that it's **probably** not diminished and the "I rode it when it was better" crowd is lying to themselves so they feel cool for being one of the six people to successfully ride it when it first opened.

Everyone also complained about a pothole endlessly that won't exist any more, so maybe it will actually be better!

Now Mystery Mine? That's a different story. lol

Oh yeah I know the launch was slowed down years ago, but that never seemed to be a problem everyone always said it hauled ass and noticed no difference sans a less airtimey first hill but the ride was unchanged. If any did gripe that was too much "neutrering" yeah that was deff online ego stroking lol

Nah I was worried it may have been slowed even more so this offseason, to the point where it would be noticeable. But yeah probably not. 

EDIT: Someone nerdier than me actually crunched the numbers. Eyes do deceive. The latest video, despite it being a cold morning empty train, is at worst 2 seconds slower and by the end actually was a second faster. Go figure. So yeah its certainly slower through that first half but 1-2 seconds isnt much. Should deff be unchanged/unnoticeable at full speed. I broke this open so here's my apology. 

lol Mystery Mine. You are one of the few people who seem to like it but even that, I can't experience its full glory XD 

[anonymouscactus]

If operating Kraken (SWO) taught me anything, it's that run times vary GREATLY depending on weather/weight/etc. There is a timer for every cycle that showed on the screen and it always shocked me how big of a variance there was from a cold morning to a sunny afternoon. A 2 second difference in the videos you saw doesnt mean anything. Just as any other coaster I'd assume you'll see a much wider variance than two seconds even during the same day for the exact same ride so comparing the two isn't really a fair comparison if it's only 2 seconds because I'm sure you can find two POVs on the old lightning rod or two POVs on the new lightning rod and see the same variance.

All of that being said, looking forward to trying this again!

As someone else said, visibly I've seen el toro crawl through the layout on a windy day (and subsequently valley near the end of the ride, lol) which is unheard of to most people.

[JJLehto]

Yup I apologize for opening the can of worms. It just looks so sluggish, I can't believe its only 2-3 seconds slower but eyes deceive, numbers don't. That deff can be made up from temp and weight alone. I just sweat it seemed so much worse than that but there ya go. Just hoping late May will be enough for it to get fully warmed up! 
Wow El Toro valleying?? That really is unimaginable. 

[SSL]

I was one of the few lucky ones to get to experience Lightning Rod in it's hay day, compared to when they slowed it down... frankly I'm not surprised.. Coaster enthusiasts like myself loved the... well.. just plain, OUT OF BLOODY CONTROL feeling that the ride first gave... My dad though? not so much. He wouldn't ride it again. 

Honestly I could tell a difference when they slowed it down a bit.. but I'm just happy we're gonna (hopefully) get a far more dependable version of lightning rod back. Even a somewhat neutered lightning rod is still probably the best coaster I've ever ridden. Granted, my ride list is rather short.

[clem2754]

I don't think the POV really has told us anything. You can't say that all of the POV's were filmed in the same condition, with the same amount of people, etc. I think it will take riding it to truly determine any differences. I just want to see how the I-Box track makes a differences in the experience for me. Lightning Rod and Outlaw Run to me felt a little different than the I-Box Track. It wasn't quite a smooth and had a little bit of an edge to it. I am interested in seeing how the change in track changes the experience on Lightning Rod. I don't think that will come down to the speed of the ride or the launch and it really won't be something I can judge until I ride it. Honestly I fully expect Lightning Rod to still be an elite coaster and remain as one of my favorites. 

[A.J.]

9 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I really can't stress enough how people have been saying since half-way through the first season that the ride has been slowed down, the launch is slower and whatever else. I'm not saying that people should be happy with a diminished ride experience and suck it up so it operates, I'm saying that it's **probably** not diminished and the "I rode it when it was better" crowd is lying to themselves so they feel cool for being one of the six people to successfully ride it when it first opened.

I have no doubt that the day the ride opens and the train is half empty for social distancing and it's cold and crappy out these people will be blowing up the internet talking about how much better it used to be but let's wait and see if that's actually even true. I'm optimistic that it won't be.

PS: everyone also complained about a pothole endlessly that won't exist any more, so maybe it will actually be better!

This whole discussion reeks of "they slowed Skyrush down" and I really am NOT here for it.

[Chiselphane]

If the only change was that they painted the cars a new color you'd still get people claiming it rides different.

[PKI Jizzman]

Just here to pay my respects to Mystery Mine. I never had any issues with keeping my head forward to prevent any headbanging, and that drop was truly terrifying. Still an all around great ride, but it's crazy to see them go to that effort to rebuild that section. One less element, meh glad they are committed to keeping MM around for a long time. Lap bars would be a welcome add but with the finale I think it would scare off the GP. 

[tndank]

Situation right now:

"..running good all week until yesterday. We had a few things to look at. Probably going to be at least 2 hrs before it opens." 

Oh well. What's a couple more hrs?

[coasterbill]

[SSL]

15 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Just here to pay my respects to Mystery Mine. I never had any issues with keeping my head forward to prevent any headbanging, and that drop was truly terrifying. Still an all around great ride, but it's crazy to see them go to that effort to rebuild that section. One less element, meh glad they are committed to keeping MM around for a long time. Lap bars would be a welcome add but with the finale I think it would scare off the GP. 

I don't know what it was about Mystery Mine, but I always felt sick after riding that thing. I always enjoyoed the ride, but I couldn't reride it even once...

[tndank]

Other things overhead so far:

Employees claim MM flies down that hill and they were surprised they liked it. 

[SSL]

16 minutes ago, tndank said:

Situation right now:

"..running good all week until yesterday. We had a few things to look at. Probably going to be at least 2 hrs before it opens." 

Oh well. What's a couple more hrs?

Assuming this is about LR, not a good start...

[Garet]

1 hour ago, Chiselphane said:

If the only change was that they painted the cars a new color you'd still get people claiming it rides different.

How can you even pretend that it doesn't? Even my 5 year old knows putting racing stripes on things makes them go faster. I mean sure his paint of choice is somehow play-dough but....but... SCIENCE!

 

[Taylor Finn]

Still have a Season Pass until like June 15th. Hoping to get vaccinated and get out there before then. Looking forward to hearing folks report on what Lightning Rod is *actually* like. And also what Craftsman Alley is like. I'm going to miss the little ceramics shop, but alas. Also, my guess is Cinnamon bread is $10/loaf now.