Dollywood Discussion Thread

Entrance Plaza of Wild Eagle.

Sorry, shouldn't of used "front" there.

Sounds cool. A perfect match if you ask me, I always thought coasters were art.

Sounds cool. A perfect match if you ask me, I always thought coasters were art.

I agree!, coasters are a step above b/c you can admire them from afar as well as enjoy them by the experience they provide. A two-fer!

I'm glad they are going to use rusted steel. It keeps it more in tune with the Smoky Mountain's color palate. For some reason I think a whole eagle made out of polished steel might have looked way too shiny, bordering on tacky. The maintenance to keep it shiny would be a one person's full time job.

Q- So sir/ma'am, what do you do for a living?

A- I polish the Steel Eagle.

Q- What?

A- Seriously! I polish a 40 foot wingspan Steel Eagle.

Q- What else do you do?

A- Nothing else. I start at one wing tip and cover 10 square feet of steel a day. When I'm finished, I start over. Between the blowing dust, pollen, train ash, and kids fingerprints, it's a full time job.

Q- Wow! That's a shiny Eagle. You can see your reflection.

A- On a sunny day, the temperature within 50 feet can get 40 degrees hotter. I've burned peoples retinas over on Adventure Mountain.

Q- You should be proud.

A- You have no idea!

 

Also, coasters operate until the temperature strikes 36 degrees, a little late, but it's good to know information regardless, I think.

 

 

Interesting. Has this always been the case or is this a new policy? I have always heard it was 41 degrees.

 

I had heard that it was 41 degrees to open them, but after they were open they could keep them open until the temp dropped to 36. Perhaps this is a warming up thing? I don't know, it seems logical. All I know is that last week when I was there we rode Thunderhead in 37 degree temps. I had icicle tears streaming from my eyes. It was awesome!

I had real tears streaming from on eyes on December 31st, 2009 when they would not let Guy and I (and Jarrett) ride because the temperature dropped to 40 degrees while we were waiting on line. Sounds like a change in policy.

Even if it was 41 degrees, there weren't many days (if any?) that temperature became a problem for Smoky Mountain Christmas. Really was perfect weather and low crowds most of the time!

Yeah, i think saying your policy of closing rides is around 40 degrees just simplifies their policy for the GP. Seems as though, as tntornadox said, it is a ride-by-ride basis. I've been on Tornado and Thunderhead's platforms when they've announced that it was 36 degrees and they would be closing soon. So really it's just a bonus if the temp drops below 40 and you can continue riding. My advice as an enthusiast is to get your coaster rides in early and then move to Country Fair, where the rides (in my experiences) stay open when the coasters close down for low temps.

My second piece of enthusiast advice is to make a hoodie one of your layers of clothing since DW won't let you on coasters with hats!

Absolutely, they try to make it simple but in reality its not, different rides have different temperatures and 40 is easier to say than 36. Official policy dictates that we serve the remaining guests in the queue line when we hit our shutdown temperature, however, new guests will not be admitted to the queue line at that point. Tornado and Thunderhead cannot operate 2 trains below 45 degrees, and that may hinder us from time to time as well. Both of those may open with 1 train at 37 degrees while Mystery Mine cannot open until the temp hits 40.

The best course of action is indeed riding what you WANT to ride early on in the day during the Christmas season, it's best to 'plan' for it to get too cold later, if it doesn't, even better.

 

My second piece of enthusiast advice is to make a hoodie one of your layers of clothing since DW won't let you on coasters with hats!

THIS!

The rust on the eagle sculpture really will fit the whole "feel" of Dollywood, while the steel will represent the massive B&M behind it. Seems like a perfect fit for the plaza and should fill up quite a bit of room in that big space between the WP midway and Wild Eagle station. I can't wait to see the finished plaza/station!

Not sure if anyone has posted an actual picture of the eagle statue yet, but Screamscape linked us to a picture of the (for now) wingless-monument from a local news reporthere

Full report: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollywood-unveils-country-largest-steel-194300431.html

Dollywood has posted a brand new "Egg to Eagle" update!

http://dw-2012.com/?p=647

This has been an exciting week to kick off the new year! 2012 is going to be epic - a season at Dollywood that you do not want to miss.

 

The announcement this week of North America’s Largest Steel Eagle has created quite a bit of excitement. I think we should stop (just for a split second) and think about it…

 

A huge structure, the biggest of its kind in North America is being custom built to live at Dollywood and welcome guests to North America’s First ever steel wing coaster. Not to mention that the wing coasters manufacturer is non-other than B & M. (Epic seems like a good choice of words!)

 

As we continue to get closer to earning our wings – take a look at how Wild Eagle’s load station is progressing. Just another milestone in Dollywood Wild Eagle history…

 

“Fly on the Edge”

ADMIN EDIT: I went ahead and edited the post to include the story and photos that accompany this. Feel free to do the same in the future!

Looks like we have trains!

Looks like a test seat to me. Thats always a good sign.

Just an update on the Dollywood/HUSS lawsuit.

Surprise, surprise HUSS has asked the judge to dismiss the lwasuit.

As reported in thhe Kingsport News Times

Defendant asks court to dismiss Dollywood Timber Tower lawsuit By Matthew Lane

Published January 4th, 2012

PIGEON FORGE — A German maker of amusement park rides is seeking a dismissal of a $500,000 lawsuit filed by the Dollywood Co. over one of its newest attractions, Timber Tower, which Dollywood claims has suffered from numerous mechanical failures and has never worked properly since being built nearly six years ago.

Dollywood filed the lawsuit in Sevier County Circuit Court in September 2011 naming HUSS Park Attractions and HUSS Parts & Service as the defendants. Dollywood is claiming breach of contract and warranty, negligence and misrepresentation over the installation and performance of the Timber Tower ride.

The lawsuit was transferred to U.S. District Court in Knoxville in December, while the motion to dismiss was filed on Dec. 29.

According to the lawsuit, Dollywood purchased the Timber Tower from HUSS Maschinenfabrik in June 2005 for $2.2 million and paid nearly $2.5 million for site preparation and the installation of the ride, along with $13,000 for the top decoration of the ride. HUSS finished Timber Tower in March 2006.

However, beginning in May 2006, Dollywood claims it experienced substantial difficultly with Timber Tower, difficulties that would continue through the 2011 season. Soon after completion, Timber Tower suffered from the guide wheels locking up, the control panel view not communicating, problems with the electrical connections and the air compressor failing.

Dollywood entered into a new contract with HPA and HPS in January 2007 for the completion of Timber Tower. However, a few months later Dollywood had to perform additional repairs to Timber Tower, and in June 2007 the company states that 38 guests of the park became stranded on the ride for several hours.

Over the past four years, Dollywood claims it has had to close the ride numerous times for mechanical failures with hydraulic and circulation pumps being replaced, repairs to the speed swing drive, a broken position sensor and gondola not turning.

In 2008 alone, Dollywood had to close down Timber Tower for 627 hours due to problems.

The lawsuit states Dollywood entered into another agreement (rebuilding contract) with HPA and HPS in September 2008 to fix the Timber Tower, but to this day, Dollywood says the ride does not operate properly.

Dollywood claims Timber Tower has not met performance standards and has had to be closed due to persistent problems, causing the company to sustain a substantial amount of financial injury, including repair costs and loss of profits.

According to the motion to dismiss, HPA and HPS argue the companies are not liable for the claims because they are not successors to the original company that entered into a contract with Dollywood.

Court records state the original contract for the Timber Tower was between Dollywood and HUSS Maschinenfabrik in June 2005, which included a one-year limited warranty on the structure and operation of the ride. However, HUSS Maschinenfabrik filed for insolvency in October 2006, and HPA and HPS began to market, sell and service products of the former company.

“Nowhere does Dollywood claim that HPA or HPS were successor corporations to, or assumed any obligation for, HUSS Maschinenfabrik,” the motion to dismiss states.

HPA and HPS argue that under Tennessee law, when a corporation purchases the assets of another corporation, the purchaser is not automatically liable for the obligations of the seller. HPA and HPS further argue the claim of breach of warranty is based on the June 2005 agreement and thus should be dismissed, and that the claim of negligence is too vague to respond to.

A trial date has not been scheduled.

Wouldn't miss the ride at all. You can guess what I would like to go in its spot.

Wouldn't miss the ride at all. You can guess what I would like to go in its spot.

A Huss TopSpin?

^Damn, how did you guess?!?

^An S&S Screaming Squirrel?

I think we all dream of drop towers...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollywood-unveils-country-largest-steel-194300431.html

250k for 6 months work? NOT too shabby. Going to look very cool.

^^Looking pretty amazing! Can't wait to see this in place.

I like it!

dt

250k for 6 months work? NOT too shabby. Going to look very cool.

I'm curious how much of that figure included materials, shipping, and installation? Regardless though, you're right, he's still making a pretty nice 6 month salary.

And yeah, it looks pretty darn cool.