Dollywood 2017

[AintNutinElse2Do]

Sounds like another great year on the way.

http://www.dollywood.com/themepark/YOF2017

[flightoffear1996]

They are getting alot of stuff next year.  Might make it worth a visit!

[calakapepe]

Probably to rekindle the excitement for the many who didn't get to ride Lightning Rod.

Though it's possible the drop ride may have been coming anyways, I feel like that addition is to rekindle the thrill seekers. Finally Timber Tower will not be left a vacant space

I can see the kiddie coaster and the water slide having been in the works already anyways.

[rhyano]

for anyone asking like i was earlier who is manufacturing the rides, I emailed Pete and asked, here is the response i got:

 

 

The ride is manufactured by Funtime, an Austrian company.   Their product name for it is Skyfall.  

 

Whistle Punk Chaser is a Zamperla ride.  We have a couple of their other rides in Country Fair.  Their product name for it is Family Gravity Coaster.

-Pete Owens

[TTD-120-420]

The same Funtime that made the WindSeekers?

[malem]

The WindSeekers are Mondial rides.

[AintNutinElse2Do]

 

for anyone asking like i was earlier who is manufacturing the rides, I emailed Pete and asked, here is the response i got:

 

 

The ride is manufactured by Funtime, an Austrian company.   Their product name for it is Skyfall.  

 

Whistle Punk Chaser is a Zamperla ride.  We have a couple of their other rides in Country Fair.  Their product name for it is Family Gravity Coaster.

-Pete Owens

 

What throws me off is that the Funtime Skyfall is the tallest portable model at 262' and no mention of park models.  The restraints also look very different than in the artwork.  Though those things can change from a multitude of angles.  

http://www.funtime.com.au/data/tech9.htm

 

As for the kiddy coaster I was really hoping for a Wooden Warrior treatment but hey this is all more than I was expecting for next year.  Being at Dollywood at midnight closings might be my favorite addition though.

 

Edit,  Nevermind I found a video of one of their much taller models at Nigloland

 

[TTD-120-420]

The WindSeekers are Mondial rides.

I remember now. This has me confused. http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2010/08/new_ride_at_cedar_point_tops_o.html

"That wager is being complicated by threats of legal action from Funtime Group, an Australian-based ride manufacturer that claims it holds the U.S. patent on the ride. Funtime built what is believed to be the world tallest swing ride, the 384-foot StarFlyer in Vienna, Austria."

[dragsterguy21]

Apparently Lighting Rod is open now, but there was a major reduction in the speed of the ride. Apparently there is a lot less airtime and is kind of forceless.

[AintNutinElse2Do]

^and that was a horrible rumor that's been debunked by those having been able to ride before and after. As well as comments made by Irvey O.E.

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[TheRickster]

On 10/26/2016 at 1:05 PM, calakapepe said:

Probably to rekindle the excitement for the many who didn't get to ride Lightning Rod.

Though it's possible the drop ride may have been coming anyways, I feel like that addition is to rekindle the thrill seekers. Finally Timber Tower will not be left a vacant space

I can see the kiddie coaster and the water slide having been in the works already anyways.

Man I didn't know it was actually taken out... That's a shame. HUSS honestly kind of had a flew to close to the sun moment. They really were the first ones to start making high capacity thrilling flat rides that weren't just drop rides. I'm kinda bummed I never got to ride it.

[Creed Bratton]

A friend was at the park this morning....Lightning Rod was open and he said that it was significantly slower on the launch than it was opening weekend. 

[Kenban]

Even if the launch is slower and the train crawls over the top it will have little effect on top speed. The ride is 165 ft tall.  A free fall calculator puts it at just over 70 mph.  

[silver2005]

^That doesn't account for air and friction resistance plus its not a 90 degree drop.  

[Kenban]

57 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

^That doesn't account for air and friction resistance plus its not a 90 degree drop.  

True but even if the ride crests the hill at 27 mph which is the speed at the end of the launch not the speed at the top of the hill.  The calculated speed only increases to 75 mph.  This is close to the top speed according to Dollywood which is 73 mph.

My point which looking at my post I never really made is that the speed of the launch has little effect on the rest of the ride.  Gravity is an acceleration over time, by increasing the initial velocity you reduce the amount of time during which the train can gain speed.

[Rivertown Rider]

Dollywood has announced they are closing River Battle on September 4.  While I enjoyed the attraction and hope it get relocated somewhere else as opposed to demolished the ride never seemed to be super popular.  The other three water rides in the park always have enjoyed longer lines that River Battle even though River Battle was the youngest of them all.  It will be interesting to see what the park does as there are rumors that this will start the long rumored expansion from the River Battle area up to the train loop which will really open land up for future expansion.

[Shaggy]

46 minutes ago, Rivertown Rider said:

Dollywood has announced they are closing River Battle on September 4.  While I enjoyed the attraction and hope it get relocated somewhere else as opposed to demolished the ride never seemed to be super popular.  The other three water rides in the park always have enjoyed longer lines that River Battle even though River Battle was the youngest of them all.  It will be interesting to see what the park does as there are rumors that this will start the long rumored expansion from the River Battle area up to the train loop which will really open land up for future expansion.

Its funny, but water rides have taken a turn in popularity over the years.  Back in the 1980's-early 1990's they were a hot commodity and people would wait for hours to get soaked on these in a dry ride-park.  But actually, I think the "soaking" part is what ultimately has cost their popularity - that and the onslaught of parks with waterpark/bathing suit options.  I know I personally don't want to walk around a park soaking wet - especially with squishy shoes.  

Amazingly themed and fun too look at, River Battle was not a "thrilling" ride by any means.  Couple that with the "soaking" aspect and those 2 negatives cost them a good percentage of their riding audience. 

Knowing Dollywood, they'll add something much better in it's place.  The park is smart, and they don't let unpopular rides stagnate for too long.  Frankly, the ride would probably be immensely popular if moved to Splash Country.

[westcoaster]

Maybe theyll move it to water side 

[Rivertown Rider]

The park has been a little snake-bit with some of their additions over the past 15 years or so.  Timber Tower suffered problems and downtime and Adventure Mountain was also there a very short time.  That is not to say anything about the constant up-and-down problems with Lightning Rod.  Hopefully whatever they add has very minimal downtime.

[Gannersdaddy]

My wife and I were looking into going and getting passes.  As it would be for the 3 of us, I can not see why we would not get 2 regular ones and 1 Gold pass.  It is not like just one of us would be going alone, so I can not see needing 3 parking passes and as long as we use the gold card for 20% off purchases, I would think it would not matter.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this?  I keep meaning to contact the park but have yet to do it.  

[AintNutinElse2Do]

^Pretty much the best option. Just make sure the Gold Pass goes to the one that's always gonna go. Growing up my folks often gave me the gold pass because they'd always go when I went but I'd often go without them too. The only instance you might want everyone to have gold us when visiting other Herschend properties. Even then I'm not sure if the gold pass holder is limited to one discounted ticket or not. I've only experienced that once when I visited Wild Adventures which was supposed to 50% off but they couldn't figure it out so they gave me a complimentary ticket instead.

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[Gannersdaddy]

On 9/14/2017 at 11:29 PM, AintNutinElse2Do said:

^Pretty much the best option. Just make sure the Gold Pass goes to the one that's always gonna go. Growing up my folks often gave me the gold pass because they'd always go when I went but I'd often go without them too. The only instance you might want everyone to have gold us when visiting other Herschend properties. Even then I'm not sure if the gold pass holder is limited to one discounted ticket or not. I've only experienced that once when I visited Wild Adventures which was supposed to 50% off but they couldn't figure it out so they gave me a complimentary ticket instead.

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Update: We ended up getting all Gold for the 3 of us. So far Ganners and I have been 5 days (with 3 more to go). Other than not needing to look at which pass to use for discount's,  we probably could have gone my initial route.

 

On the plus side, it is 4 days until 2018 and we just got off the world's fastest wooden roller coaster.

[Gannersdaddy]

Just hit about the last ride of the night on Lightning Rod.  It's around 37 here and they have shut down the entrance. It's a fun night ride but man the front was brisk 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Gannersdaddy
Wrong pic. Not sure I can delete 1st on phone

[Creed Bratton]

@pianoman and I were there on Wednesday and a little bit on Thursday. 

We got 1 ride on Lightning Rod and I'm happy we did. As we were about to board, we heard that they closed the main doors and would try to get everyone in line on before the temp dropped too low for operation on Wednesday. 

We left on Thursday we were cold, it didn't look like most rides were going to open so we headed out toward KI for a meal and some hang outs before heading home. 


I will say, 2019 will be the year to go again....that land clearing is massive and holy crap! 

[Gannersdaddy]

I know what you mean. We saw some footers when on Thunderhead. They have been working on it all week (we have been here since Tuesday). I am not sure what is going up there. The terrain lends itself to so many possibilities 

[Creed Bratton]

I've heard some rumblings from a friend in the rides office, pretty much have been told that I need to be back there in 2019.

[Gannersdaddy]

6 minutes ago, chugh43 said:

I've heard some rumblings from a friend in the rides office, pretty much have been told that I need to be back there in 2019.

Good to know.  Already looking at Pass holder Night (March 16). Let's see how 2018 works out

[Rivertown Rider]

The land clearing was massive when I was there in November and I'm sure it is much bigger now.  The videos and pictures of the land clearing don't do it justice until you see it in person.

[Gannersdaddy]

Getting ready for our 1st train ride. I will see what pix I can get.

We finally got some cinnamon bread (a loaf for me and Ganners and then 1 for my wife). She might be out of luck by the time we get home.

[Gannersdaddy]

Update: WOW! Whatever they are doing up there is pretty big. I got some pix then my battery died.