silver2005

Finished up my trip just strolling through Gatlinburg today (probably got in another 4-5 miles walking). Got through the rest of my check list including checking out a few of the museums (movie cars and Ripley's), went up the Sky Ride (chickened out on the bridge, only got a third of the way across before actual vertigo took over). Had wonderful blackened rainbow trout for dinner (Trout House on US 321 between the strip and Hillbilly Golf). Got some good sunset photos of town on the bypass before turning in. Ready to get back to Cincy. Got 2 days to wind down before going back to work.

@Oldiesmann go dig through public domain for good shed music.

I feel like Dollywood has the history and equity built up to be able to avoid that. It was a huge ratio of families compared to other demographics. Not many groups of just teens. Remember PF and Gatlinburg are pretty isolated compared to most traditional parks.

No, no and no.

A Vekoma, Mack or Premier launch coaster (talking custom here, not Skyrocket) would fit in. CW could use a better launch coaster.

Dollywood TR July 15 Got in a pretty full day at Dollywood today, got their just after open till close. Overall spectacular day at my favorite park, and everything today pretty much solidified it as such (as much as I still love Hershey at #2, Dollywood is a mile above them if I could show margin for error between my park rankings). They mesh every single aspect so, so well. Great balanced ride line up, great food (had a great burger at Reds and FINALLY tried and loved the cinnamon bread), well performed shows, aesthetics and theming used in such a way that's engaging, detailed, and doesn't expose BTS areas too much (which takes meticulous planning, massive kudos), excellent staff, overall great atmosphere. Also helps they're in a great location up in the foothills of the Smokies. Rides like Wild Eagle and Barnstormer take advantage of that IMO. Adding Ms Parton's history to the whole shebang is the cherry on top. Much respect to her as a musician and overall. To me at this point, the only parks that have a shot of topping Dollywood are SDC, the 2 Busch Gardens parks, or if I ever get to one, a good European park like Alton Towers. I made several laps around the park, 2 counterclockwise and 2 clockwise. Routed so 2 coasters in, Wild Eagle lined up to be #130 for me (only got 3 new credits, LR, WE and FE). Saw a few music reviews which were pretty fun. Not much in the way of shows. The park still has some covid protocols in place like no use of indoor theaters, no drinking fountains, and more serious limit of customers via reservations. I also didn't get any of the REALLY good food as they were either closed to staffing, or because there were fewer, had long waits. Speaking of which, food prices are amazingly reasonable. More serious kudos for them sticking to that practice. Waits were all over the place. Lightning Rod was by far the longest at over an hour. Some other slower capacity rides like FireChaser were around 30, and higher capacity stuff, in particular Wild Eagle, Tornado, and Thunderhead, were walk-on to 10 minutes. Non-Coaster Reviews (disclaimer on everything, all the following have good theming with a few minor exceptions)- Barnstormer- As stated, the world needs more S&S Screaming Swings pronto. The added height being on the mountainside added some vertigo-esque views with it. Daredevil Falls- this is my favorite log flume. More original with the theming than stuff like Splash Mountain, though, the saw mill at the top of the lift didn't have a bit of its theming going. Still a nice course and good build up to the drop. Gets you decently wet for a flume. Smoky Mountain River Rampage- This on the other hand doesn't get you that wet. Only a few dips which don't do that much and some sprayers that are rarely used by guests. Kind of an uninspired and flat course, too. Dollywood Express- Best train ride at an amusement park. The crew manning the mics and the drivers have fun with it. Cool that you can hear the engine and whistle around the park (miss that with KIMVRR). Nice long course that's heaven for a good photographer, too. Lots of great history with the engines. Coaster Reviews (Alphabetical Order) Blazing Fury (2 laps)- I have a big soft spot for this. Between my 4 visits, I probably have 3 dozen rides logged on it. Such a cool dark coaster (yes, it has drops clearly powered by gravity), and the story line going through a burning town makes it gloriously unique. FireChaser Express (1 lap)- Pretty fun family coaster. Its pretty amazing how only a few tire motors get those trains up to speed so quick on the launches. Has a nice course along the hillside and has some decent forces for what it is. The way they use and incorporate the backwards stuff works pretty well, too. Lightning Rod (1 lap)- Short but sweet. Doesn't have the mind bending forces that other RMC's I've done have due to the work done on it, but its a pretty good coaster none-the-less. The last few hills down the hill have really good acceleration before curving off the top of the last hill. It along with Wild Eagle look MASSIVE from afar. Favorite RMC is still SteVe, but I like it better than Storm Chaser. Mystery Mine (1 lap)- Jerky for sure. I'm leaning to liking the new track work for a bit more comfort. I don't like that it requires 2 lifts as both sections are short. However, the 2nd lift and the finale through the heartline roll and dive loop works well, especially with the theming surrounding the lift, holding brake, and drop. Love how it looks at night. Tennessee Tornado (4 laps)- The best half of an Arrow looping coaster out there. Forceful akin to its older brothers with a bit more smoothing in the transitions being its not a Toomer creation. Very re-rideable. Insane in the back on the first drop a la Vortex (probably more since its underground). Super hard stop on the final brakes though. Also a little rough in spots, but not that detrimental. Also has the tornado sound effects in the train shed turned off which makes the brakes slowing it down pointless. Also, depending on where you sit (I think back), you get some weightlessness on the first loop. Thunderhead (6 laps)- Aged like fine wine. However, if you're not prepared for the intensity, it does have the potential to kick your butt. It has gotten a bit of roughness, but I'm still fine with it and its still my favorite GCI. I finally got the opportunity to ride it at night and it delivers in spades. Even has a subtle lighting package. Its OMG good in the back as well. Very good in the front. Still only one of three wooden coasters that have left me breathless (others being trimless Voyage at HWN and Knoebel's Twister). The aging is definitely a good sign for Mystic Timbers' future. Wild Eagle (5 laps)- While GateKeeper will remain my favorite wing coaster, Wild Eagle delivers a very graceful ride. The smoothness as well as incredible views of the area (you can see Gburg and PF from the top if you look way to the left, better if seating on the left) just makes a great combination. Gorgeous station as well. One of the most beautiful coasters I've ridden as a whole. Also managed to snag last train of the night. I actually could watch the course at night as during the day, its facing into the sun most of the first half up to the Immelman.

^I actually knew that, just seeing if you guys are worth your snuff. My favorite steam engine is a Mikado, the Southern 4501.

The world needs more S&S Screaming Swings. Putting one on a mountain is all the vertigo.

Alright @SonofBaconator what is the name of the wheel configuration for the Dollywood Express engine?

Thunderhead has aged like fine wine. Has a nice amount of bite. So so good. A good sign for Mystic Timbers. And Thunderhead is 15 now. @Maddog I have a bazillion other suggestions for the area. I try to gear my TR threads to help other people plan similar trips which is why I include planning. I also like to do non-park things when I travel.

Wild Eagle is a beautiful coaster in every aspect. Got a super graceful ride for my 130th credit.

So Lighting Rod is pretty darn good. SteVe is still my favorite RMC.

^If CP wants a place like that, I say just convert the Colosseum.

Took on 3 miles worth of trails so far. Went up Clingman's Dome, and took on a lower trail when I got a downpour. Recharging at the hotel after drying off. Planning at least 2 more trails before I'm done. Might head into Gatlinburg again afterwards. I did find a decent parking spot that's reliable, but its on the outskirts with a long walk. Definitely getting there early Friday when I spend the day there. My favorite park looms tomorrow. Also bear-less so far. EDIT: Finished with 5 miles of trails.

I did get in 5 snaps on my ride at Carowinds. Also, wrong highway.

Had my introduction to alpine coasters this evening. Rode Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster and Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster. I like the former just for being longer, but the later is a bit more intense. I'm ranking them on their own separate list. They're also quite relaxing, both were had a nice quiet-ness to them being back in the woods. Also put in a round of putt-putt at Hillbilly Golf. Shot 48 on a 41 par. Hitting the trails in GSMNP tomorrow. Getting an early start, too, especially because I'm doing Clingman's Dome first and working my way back to Gatlinburg. Doing 3-4 trails as the game plan (Laurel Falls is a high likelihood).

Plan for Pigeon Forge- hit the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster and then check out The Island.

^Carowinds pulls that off pretty well.

Hopefully my commute from Charlotte to PF will be less stressful than what it was in reverse. Looking forward to a super relaxing day in PF/Gburg before venturing into GSMNP tomorrow. Definitely need to acquire a map of the national park.

So I just saw that Dollywood stays open until 9:30 now. Couple that with their more strict reservations and TN is looking extremely promising.

Carowinds TR July 12th Got in a full day at Carowinds, sans a small rain squabble that stopped everything for about 90 minutes. Also, man oh man was it humid until and just after the rain. This park is in serious need of water rides outside the water park (as well as a modern wooden coaster, they deserve better than Hurler). I was overall impressed by the park. Has a very simple and quaint layout. Decent amount of shade sans the back of the park. Good music was pumping through the midway especially by Afterburn and Carolina Cyclone. Staff was pretty fair all around, though on average, KI's are better, especially ride ops. I particularly liked the simplicity of the entrance along with Fury blazing across the concourse. Cedar Point gets more points for having the gate designed for the coaster to pass (Fury is the better of GateKeeper by a bit). Got the full Carowinds experience by eating at Harmony Hall (had ok pizza, kept it simple with the heat). Drink plan got a work out. As for path, I started out by Fury, routed to make it my 120th (5 coasters in), and then circled around the other side and made Afterburn #125, ending with 126 total before my new credits in TN. Took in a lot of non-coasters too (Plants vs Zombies was closed for the day). Wait times were 15-40 minutes, but luckily, there was a low quotient of Fast Lane users, so I totally got my money's worth getting one, especially after the storm stopped and things reopened. Ride Reviews and Count Non-Coaster Reviews Southern Star- I'm starting to like looping flats like Larson Loopers and looping ships. Southern Star swings around much slower than Larsons, so the hang time is better. Electro Spin- This is easily the most insane flat I've ever ridden. Completely unpredictable, comfortable as long as you brace yourself. Add that to flats I want KI to have along with S&S Screaming Swings. Drop Tower- Short and sweet for a nice Gen 2 Intamin tower. One ride Intamin gets consistently right. WindSeeker- My 3rd one. Only ride open with a view to enjoy (Skytower seems to be SBNO). Weird seeing Charlotte kind of stick out from a bunch of nothing. Good location in the center of the park, too. Coaster Reviews (Alphabetical Order) Afterburn (4 laps including LROTD row 1 zen ride)- This is easily my favorite B&M inverted coasters. It has a perfect sense of pace, a compact layout, no MCBR, and that old school snapiness of gen 1 B&M designs. The 0g roll and batwing are wicked fast as well as probably my favorite drop-loop-Immelman combination ever. It has just enough ease off the gas where I enjoy it more than Banshee, being highly re-rideable over Banshee gives it massive kudos as well. This might sneak into my top 5. Need to make the trek to FL to ride Montu pronto. Carolina Cyclone (1 lap)- I'm starting to like these smaller Arrows more and more. Fun simple course, really miss The Vortex trains, has good speed through the course including a pretty good helix. Just a fun coaster (love the colors). Sat in the same seat I rode when I last rode Vortex (5-1, the Toomer seat). Carolina Goldrusher (1 lap)- An okay Arrow mine train. It pretty much the same elements reversed between the 2 lifts. The first helix and final drop being underground were cool. Also a nice station (along with a lot of the older coasters). Copperhead Strike (1 lap)- This is a really fun launched coaster. I like the Mack train design, and its surprisingly intense for its size and speed, especially in contrast to the insane hangtime going through the inversions on the slower side. Combined for a very fun ride. Theming was pretty cool, too. Flying Cobras (1 lap)- Like this on par with Hershey's with the new Vekoma train. More coasters also need trains with all the cars different colors. An enjoyable Boomerang. Fury 325 (5 laps)- THIS is how you design a giga boys and girls. Fury is insanely fast and forceful. It really pulls you over the first drop, especially in the back, and every single hill had insane ejector air. All the transitions were super intense as well. The treble clef had insane lateral ejector air (probably helped with the heat, steel coasters haul a** in the heat). Good enough to slide under SteVe for the #2 spot on my steel list and is my current favorite B&M. Hurler (1 lap)- It isn't bad per say, but just boring and rattley. Most of the hills are forceless or just a smidge of air. Way too drawn out, especially due to me having ridden Thunder Run recently which is mirrored, but way more compact and forceful. Intimidator (4 laps)- Really solid B&M hyper, but Diamondback is its superior by a hair. Timmy is a bit more drawn out in spots, though, it does have some decent curves taken faster. Diamondback has more of an aggressive edge over Intimidator. Still a good coaster. Nighthawk (1 lap)- This is a tale of 2 halves, but both of which combine to pale to Firehawk. Its a faster ride throughout than Firehawk, and while the first half is somewhat pleasantly more intense, it is atrocious after the loop. I was hanging on for dear life as soon as it flipped back over for the really bad corkscrews. Also rattled uncomfortably throughout. Just blah. Worse than Superman: Ultimate Flight for me. Probably my least favorite Vekoma (yes, T3 is better). Ricochet (1 lap)- Bad CF Mouse practices return. Only 1 car unloading and loading in the station, very bad at stacking. At least it isn't braked to death like its Dorney counterpart is. CF should stay away from Wild Mice. At least it was good on the mousey parts like good laterals. Vortex (1 lap)- Did this early to prevent my legs from collapsing if I ride stand ups later in the day. Short and intense. Actually somewhat enjoyable. Might not need a floorless conversion. The hill over the lift is surprisingly steep in a good way.

So the small rain cell caused a mass exodus and I might get Fury Marathon ERT to end the day.

@MDMC01 has a Pokémon using Rain Dance it seems. Downpour in Carowinds now.

El Toro is jealous of Fury's mad ejector air today. It. Is. Hauling.

Afterburn is without question my favorite inverted coaster now.