Re: TR:USA October'16 : SFoG..Lots of (alpine) coasters..etc
Wednesday 5th October
Cheapo hotel I'm in doesn't have any breakfast...
but they have some agreement with the dodgy pancake-house on the opposite side of the road, so I wander across just the 8 lines
of traffic for breakfast (luckily the main drag thru Pigeon Forge is quite quiet early on) - wasn't great but was only $5 so
not really complaining.
Fuelled up for the day ahead (I find a BIG breakfast works well on these trips to get through the day) I head off to the nearby
Dollywood in search of RMC goodness.
Now, it was only in May 2014 that I was here before (TR
here) and whilst I had liked the place, I really hadn't envisaged
coming back quite so soon, but they go and build that supposedly good RMC and have the good-grace to be operating in the week while I was in search of places to visit occupy my holiday times, so here I am again!
This RMC has had an interesting season hasn't it ; plagued with issues its seemingly been 'down' more that its been 'up'. I had
looked up TRs and the like covering the few weeks before I had left and it had appeared to be running in that period, so while I
wasn't fully confident that it'd be running I had given myself a couple of days in the general area (tomorrow and at at a stretch
the next day) if I needed to come back so I was
reasonably optimistic that I'd get on it at some point.
Get into the park a bit before 10 and wander up to see how the rope-drop situation worked with regard to the new ride. In my
previous visit there was nothing of note in the area that the RMC lives in, apart from some Dolly Parton-tat so I had not really
paid any attention to the area.
Chatting to a security chap at what seemed to be the nearest access point, he was all "
no idea whether its running today; it often
doesn't" and that was not really helping my goon-mood. Could see the ride from where I was, but it wasn't testing
Anxiety increases...
But 10am comes, theres plenty of people gathered with a similar plan to me and no-one is saying its
not running and off we
all rush to the
Lightning Rod station.
(no pics for a little while, I was busy gooning, will make up for that in a bit tho')
I'm in the first dozen or so peeps standing outside the station (I'm only not first because I wasn't quite sure where the way in
to the Q was since the doors were shut - d'oh), but I
still haven't seen it cycle. A fair Q has built up behind me though
so this probably all looks ON then!
After seemingly ABSOLUTELY AGES (probably <5 minutes) an op comes and opens the station doors and asks us not to rush, but to
follow him.... YAY!
Station is
really well done, themed like a 1950s garage, tinkering with Hot Rods and the like - loads of detail and little
things to look at - but not just at this moment since I get to rush through the whole line straight to the loading station, which
sits on the second floor of the building, so the Q snakes through the front of the building at ground level and then at the back
of the building there is two levels of back and forth with stairs to negotiate.
Assigned seating though, so no heading to the BACK just yet but I'm in the first train of the day, so all is good really!
Train slides out of the station onto the lift hill - into the launch and...
...bit underwhelming to be honest, the start is OK as the launch kicks in, but it doesn't really accelerate or anything, just
drags you up the hill a bit quicker than a chain-lift would (but apart from the first hit of the launch it doesn't really feel
much better than a good cable-lift).
And then the launch gives out, and you are not even at the top of the hill ; maybe 5/6 of the way up. Hmmm. So you do coast over
the first hill at the top of the launch hill, but its not particularly forceful or fast. That first hill is just a little drop
and back up again into a BIG hill then and it starts to get interesting. That BIG drop lets out into a big sideways hill
(like the second big hill on Wildfire, but it twists to the left rather than the right) and then another hill where it twists
sideways again to the left then right.
By now its heading back up the hillside that it sits on and there are a couple of smaller bumps before it heads over that hilltop
into its stand-out section; the rather awesome quad-down. Not settling with just the 4 bumps as it gets back to the station area
then there is another airtime pop before that big momentum sapping turn and into the brakes - stops a bit suddenly to be honest
but by that point everyone on the train is smiling - don't think I saw anyone sat on the brake run that day without some wide
smile on their face!
So it was good, very good. Couple of superb moments, and pretty relentless speed once it got going (after that BIG hill).
BUT...I didn't love it after that first ride, unlike Wildfire which I just loved from the first moment. There are a few problems
with it too (not that Wildfire doesn't also have a couple of problems) - the launch is not great and the ending also lacks
something (you come off that big turn and a little drop and then just grind to a halt - perhaps just a finishing line flag or
something would help you understand the ride is done at that point). Also, one train operations - presumably for technical
rather than operational reasons, is not good on your new popular ride is it.
Obviously not going to let one ride form my opinion though, and head straight back in - already the Q is something like 30 mins
(this is only moments after the coaster has opened of course), but that means I can pay a bit more attention to the Q line.
Full of little garage-detailing and signage, its really well done.
They've not yet opened all the Q sections though so still only walking through part of the themeing.
While you are on the stairs at the end of the building there is one of the few places you can see the ride from the Q
Smiley brake run people;
Not so lightning-launch;
Mid quad-down though, thats a bit good.
Finishing flag at the bottom of this bit I mean, otherwise it just kinda grinds to a halt here.
Loading;
Second ride is towards the back and doesn't substantially change my "
very good, but not DAAA BESSTT THING EVAHHH" opinion.
but I head straight back into the Q again afterwards.
Q has built up further by now, and that third ride was 45 mins wait. Despite its intensity its a comfortable ride and very
re-ridable I think (Qs permitting), shame the ops are slow this season (when its even running).
But I'm a happy goon, RMC done and the gamble I was taking travelling all this way for the one ride (lets face it, that was what
I was really doing wasn't it) had paid off.
Felt I should at least have a ride on everything else while I was here, so headed off around the park for a bit (will be back
later of course).
There was some "National Southern Gospel & Harvest Celebration" going on at the park ; this passed me by mainly but there seemed
to be a few (more than you would usually expect) sing-y show things going on to keep OAPs entertained;
Wandering up towards the back of the park (Lightning Rod is down the front of the park in the 'older' section I guess, whereas
most of the other big stuff that they have built at the park in the Dollywood-era is towards the back) the first coaster you
come across is this thing, which isn't really much of a coaster
Blazing Fury.
Its 90% dark-ride as you wind yourself up and around the inside of the building with these scenes going on, then the last bit
is a little drop and short coaster section. (Probably as much coaster as that Harry Potter one at Universal Studios that I'll
get to in a few days).
Much more worthy, in a coastery way, is just behind that though,
Tennessee Tornado
And thats quite good for an ageing Arrow looper. Its a bit short to be honest ; big drop, few loops and then it stops - feel it
could do a little bit more at the end with the momentum it has still got.
Just around the corner from the looper are a couple more coasters (I did say everything was round the back of this park) and I
opt for a quick lap on the rather good
FireChaser Express first.
This was new the last time I was here and looks to have settled in well ; nice little ride - "family coaster" looking but is a
bit more substantial than that I think with some nice swoopy bits and a couple of little launches thrown in too.
And fire too - everythings better with fire!
Opposite that is
Wild Eagle, the big B&M wing coaster. Recall being slightly underwhelmed by this on my last visit, perhaps
because it looks so big and complicated but doesn't deliver as much on that as some of the other versions of this type.
Short (5 min) Q so I head to the front, slightly scuppered though as they choose that moment to add the second train to the
ride, so a bit more than 5 minutes in the end.
Entertained as I am as a geek coaster goon by watching them add the train, found that the station view of the last coaster was
quite good also.
Ride both sides of that ; right-front and left-back - its OK, good even, just not as good/interesting as some of the other ones.
Splash Battle drained for the season - I can understand that since its October and all, but its not cold weather or anything,
still very hot weather and reasonable crowds. But what do I know?
Next up is their complicated eurofighter
Mystery Mine - pretty good this, fair bit of themeing, some interesting elements
and surprise stuff going on inside.
Last coaster for me to ride today (got the kiddie cred Sideshow Spin on my last visit - such shame - so I don't even wander into
the Country Fair area that it lives in either) is their
other nice woody, but when I get there, disaster; closed!
Closed due to wasps! What?
Seems by now (early afternoon) the local wasp population shuts rides down. Wild Eagle is shut too. You'd think they would have
found some way of putting the wasps off (actually there were mist sprayers at the top of the rides, assume that might be some
(unsuccessful) attempt at getting rid of the little devils).
Hmmm, I figure I'll go back and play on the RMC (which is currently running) instead then.
By now they have the full-Q at the back of the station (but not the cattle-pen bit at the front of the station luckily) open and
full, so the wait is another 45 minutes or so, but I snag the back row this time (and we all know back s best on RMCs don't we!)
Spot some other issues on it though that hadn't occurred earlier, worst of all theres a real thud/jolt at the bottom of the BIG
hill, really noticeable and uncomfortable. There was another jolt later (forget where now though) as well - not good.
But that doesn't stop me heading around again, frankly its the reason I'm here isn't it and its got to mid afternoon by now so if
not now, when?
Another 30 min Q and still underneath the station when it occurs to me (and the other peeps) that we haven't seen a dispatch in
a little while.
after a few more minutes theres a "temporary stoppage" announcement
and peeps start leaving the Q.
I'm made of sterner stuff (goonier stuff?) though so wait it out, moving up the Q as people leave. Doesn't stay down for long and
they start dispatching again! YAY!
Get to the stairs just before the station a few minutes later and the train has stopped at the launch though. Uh oh.
Sits there for a while, then they evac it. Doesn't look good.
They are announcing its proper-down by now.
But they are not clearing the station, so with little better to do I just hang around.
To their credit though, they don't take too long to sort out the stall (say 20 minutes), send the empty train around a couple of
times and then reopen it. YAY!
Ride row 2 that time then and the jolts are really noticeable - but the ride is still good.
Given its been shut down, the Q has also died down, so cycle back for my last (6th) ride on it and 20 mins Q-ing (and some
negotiation with the batching op) gets me on the back row again.
Getting on a bit (5pm, park shuts at 6) head back to the wasp-spited woody
Thunderhead which is running again (Wild Eagle
is still closed but opens up as I am in the short Q for Thunderhead).
This is great too, nice complicated layout that moves back and forth across a little valley that the coaster sits in. Great
stuff - I like, so have a couple of rides!
Half five by now, and I want to look at the Lightning Rod tat-shop before I go (and I figure that might shut dead on 6) so head
round the park in that direction.
Wasps have shut Tornado too it seems, and Rod is apparently broken again;
Anti-wasp misters?
Rod is running by the time I get there, so take a few snaps;
Lightning Tat wasn't upto much, lots of mugs so get one of them (but its not really what I wanted, just the better of an odd
bunch) and a retro-magnet (was thinking of a retro-styled mug to be honest) - lots of tacky Lightning Rod TShirts, but I'm not
that goony am I?
As predicted tat shop (and ride Q) shut at 6 - they close the station down, shut all the windows etc
Could have snuck through here though for a last ride
So that was that, very nice day at the park, nice new RMC done, no need for those back-up days (apparently it was shut the next
day anyway). Place is probably a 2-day park now, OK it was a quiet day today but I spent a lot of time in Lightning Rod's Q (and
not much time Q-ing for anything else) - imagine on busy days the place could be a pain. But to be fair on busier days they are
open longer - night rides on Lightning Rod might be a very nice thing as a lot of it happens off in the woods away from the
park. Hmmmm.
No halloween stuff here really ; few carved pumpkins but more in keeping with the harvest festival than anything too spooky.
Halloween-stuff not really Dollywood's target market perhaps!
--
Back in Pigeon Forge for the evening, not a coaster despite what they may say;
Head into "The Island" area at night, this was just being finishing construction last time I was here and has ended up being a
nice enough area (close to my hotel) for evening strolling/eating/etc. Disney-Springs-lite?
Food place (some Grill) wasn't that great, the brewery place the night before was much nicer and I'd eaten in local bars on
my previous visit which were better,
But rest of the Island was lit up nice. Didn't do the wheel though (had done it last time anyway in the daytime)
Worlds smallest dodge-thems?
Bang in the middle of the Island place was one of the touristy-moonshine stores (like the couple I'd seen in Gatlinberg the day
before)
So the deal with this is, that they have (free) moonshine tasting 'experiences' going on all the time. You join one of these
groups, the barman/shop assistant checks your ID and then serves you - very rapidly - 15 or so shots of moonshine!
Not big shots, less than a 'single' but still, 15 of them, in about 20 minutes!
You are (quite reasonably) restricted to this once per person, but if you find a couple of these "stores" (like in Gatlinberg for
example) could be a very good way of breaking up a bar crawl!
The sales pitch would have worked on me - in that I would probably have bought a jug of the stuff had there not been logistical
issues getting it home (not convinced it would have survived in my luggage too well on the flight home).
All quite entertaining anyway, as was the fountain show that I could watch in my post-moonshine blur.
But wasn't drunk enough to do this thing that was opposite my hotel!
Next up, some mountains...