In an industry that often chases records — fastest launch, steepest drop, highest peak — longevity tells a different story. At Dollywood, that story is Blazing Fury.

https://themeparksbydon.com/blazing-fury-storytelling-strategy/

I agree to all that BUT as Dollywood looks to expand and extend their market reach and does so with a 50 million dollar dark ride hybrid, the disparity between the two becomes even more apparent. AND as their reach goes beyond the generational customers that have been coming to the park for decades and looks to connect with a whole new to Dollywood customer, I think they have to either close the quality gap by doing what they did with the original version of this attraction at SilverDollarCity, or provide more historical context for the ride. I was hoping when they did the renovation, they would’ve added some of that in so a “new to the experience “ customer would grasp the reason it is as hokey as it is. I’ve taken quite a few friends on it that have been very “what the hell did I just ride” when they get off, and not in a great way. 

16 hours ago, brenthodge said:

I think they have to either close the quality gap by doing what they did with the original version of this attraction at SilverDollarCity, or provide more historical context for the ride. I was hoping when they did the renovation, they would’ve added some of that in so a “new to the experience “ customer would grasp the reason it is as hokey as it is. I’ve taken quite a few friends on it that have been very “what the hell did I just ride” when they get off, and not in a great way.

My ride on Blazing fury was quite enjoyable, but I did get that sense of "what's going on" in the middle of it. Part of that could be attributed to my experience being a zen ride (where I was the only rider on my train) though I think there was more off than that. If they do anything else to it, I hope they find a way to stick with the current ride system instead of bringing RMC in to completely redo the track. The jankyness added to the experience for me. Besides that, Blazing Fury is less restrictive on guest size than something like Lightning Rod. That kind of thing is important to me as someone with larger family members.

As Dollywood continues to expand I hope they can keep sight on the fact that rides like NightFlight Expedition and Blazing Fury can coexist in the same park. BF doesn't really need to be updated beyond adding a little more context (as Brent put it).