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Dollywood: General Discussion

Good news, Lightning Rod is once again in a technical rehearsal phase (i.e. soft opening). Hopefully they don't have yet another issue and they can get it up and running on a regular basis soon.

:)
 
Bump!

After Lightning Rod this year (although it is still having problems and is currently closed until further notice), investment at Dollywood is not slowing down. There will be two new rides in 2017 - a drop tower and a kids coaster.
  • Drop Line - New in Summer 2017, Drop Line is a 200-foot tall free-fall experience that towers over Timber Canyon and provides an incredible view of the park before its exhilarating finish. The drop tower ride lifts Dollywood guests nearly 20 stories above the Canyon’s pool, before plummeting them back to the ground in a thrilling rush.
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  • Whistle Punk Chaser - Whistle Punk Chaser, a new junior coaster opening in Summer 2017, throws thrilling twists and turns at Dollywood’s younger loggers, helping prepare them for the day they can join their parents aboard the award-winning Thunderhead wooden coaster.
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There will also be a new slide attraction at Dollywood's Splash Country waterpark. More information about 2017 can be found here.

It looks like the drop tower will be provided by Funtime, part of the Ride Entertainment group. They built the drop tower at Nigloland this year.

All of this investment at Dollywood is remarkable, I'm yet to visit but still feel like I love the place. That's three coasters in the space of four years, each catering for different markets. Dollywood just make so much sense!

:)
 
More good solid investments. The view at the top of tower will be incredible, shame about the drop bit ( I'm scared shitless of drop towers).
The small coaster just underlines Dollywoods commitment to a complete day out for everyone.
 
I am impressed at the level of investment and wondered how they afford to constantly invest heavily, then I saw the price of admission - $65 :eek: I think I'd pass and head to Cedar Point for $40 instead :rolleyes: Disney works out at $55 a day as well o_O
 
Spike said:
I am impressed at the level of investment and wondered how they afford to constantly invest heavily, then I saw the price of admission - $65 :eek: I think I'd pass and head to Cedar Point for $40 instead :rolleyes: Disney works out at $55 a day as well o_O
Click to expand...

It's expensive but you are paying for a quality product. Also they do a good offer whereby if you arrive after 3pm and purchase a single day ticket you get entry the next day for free! I'm sure they normally do two day ticket offers as well however at the moment they are doing a 3 days between September and October for $99 offer which is great value.

The kids coaster is going to be a Zamperla Family Gravity Coaster, possibly a clone of Grand Exposition Coaster at Silver Dollar City (which in itself is a clone/standard model).

:)
 
I saw this yesterday and have taken a look into a bit more. You can see on this map what has been destroyed (although there have been a lot of false reports in terms of what has and hasn't been destroyed) and just how close the fires came to Dollywood, thankfully the park has been spared. Here is a photo of Dollywood's DreamMore Resort showing just how close the fires came:

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The town of Gatlinburg, just south of Pigeon Forge, has been the worst hit. Here is another somewhat spectacular photo showing the fires:

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It never really crossed my mind that this area could be hit by wildfires. I've never been but it is obviously a very beautiful area of the US that is reliant on its tourism industry. I hope the worst is indeed now over and that the area can recover what has been lost.

:)
 
It would look like the area is suffering from an extended drought. There are also wildfires in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

:)
 
Looks pretty damp to me in that last image above. (OK, I know that's not always going to help, but come on, this is an "a fire? at a Seaparks‽" kind of situation.)
 
They had some rain on Tuesday, which may well have been what helped to save Dollywood, but authoraties have said it's not enough to officially end the drought. The worst of the fires should be over by now though.

:)
 
Bump!

Dollywood are currently undertaking major land clearing, it is thought this could be for a whole new area of the park:

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And here is a graphic showing roughly where the land clearing is:

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More photos and information can be found over on Coaster101.

It's going to be very exciting to see what materialises here, it's a huge area!

:)
 
More has recently been revealed about the expansion that @Rob was referring to above. A local news outlet has managed to grab some info, such as:
  • The area will feature 8 attractions.
  • The area will feature a restaurant amongst other amenities.
  • The entrance to the new area will be between Mystery Mine and Drop Line.
  • Attractions include an enclosed family coaster, a pendulum-style ride (thought to be a swinging ship) and an indoor play area amongst others.
  • The area will span a total of 5 acres (for some perspective, that is the same size as CBeebies Land and around the same size as the former Flume site including the wooded area).
Here is the link: http://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/dollywood-developing-5-acre-expansion/51-526144541

Sounds good! The enclosed family coaster, on further reading, is also apparently going to be a lot better than I expected! According to a planning document that I can't currently find, the layout specified is a Vekoma 453m Suspended Family Coaster, which is basically a clone of Orkanen, the fab-looking SFC at Farup Sommerland in Denmark.

While it isn't what I and many others initially expected, I'm sure this will be a lovely addition to Dollywood!
 
Matt N said:
More has recently been revealed about the expansion that @Rob was referring to above. A local news outlet has managed to grab some info, such as:
  • The area will feature 8 attractions.
  • The area will feature a restaurant amongst other amenities.
  • The entrance to the new area will be between Mystery Mine and Drop Line.
  • Attractions include an enclosed family coaster, a pendulum-style ride (thought to be a swinging ship) and an indoor play area amongst others.
  • The area will span a total of 5 acres (for some perspective, that is the same size as CBeebies Land and around the same size as the former Flume site including the wooded area).
Here is the link: http://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/dollywood-developing-5-acre-expansion/51-526144541

Sounds good! The enclosed family coaster, on further reading, is also apparently going to be a lot better than I expected! According to a planning document that I can't currently find, the layout specified is a Vekoma 453m Suspended Family Coaster, which is basically a clone of Orkanen, the fab-looking SFC at Farup Sommerland in Denmark.

While it isn't what I and many others initially expected, I'm sure this will be a lovely addition to Dollywood!
Click to expand...

It's also worth noting that this expansion is only using part of the land clearing that was made last year. That means they're leaving room for future expansion, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a large thrill coaster down the line. This does look like a great addition for Dollywood though!
 
I’m hoping to be there in a couple of years time, I’m sure I won’t see a major new coaster on the site when I go but I really like how they are expanding the park. The plans for this expansion sound great though.
Dollywood is such a forward looking park it’s almost refreshing to see.
 
An updated look at the land clearing taking place at Dollywood, thanks to vertec909 over on TPR:

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Unfortunately there does seem to be a significant impact on the aesthetics in this area of the park, although no doubt it is necessary for the expansion work taking place and will be worth it in the end.

:)
 
Dollywood will be announcing their new area on August 3rd!

Meanwhile, Lightning Rod is currently "closed for repair". They had better get the damn thing repaired soon although I am fully expecting to be spited by it when I visit!

:)
 
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