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Lightning Rod Status

Ben

CF Legend
Yeah but the lift hill is the dullest bit of the ride - even if it was stationary at the top of the lift hill it would still be a brilliant ride.
(I do understand the point of speed over the top of the lift hill, but I just don't think its important ; the speed the ride gets is from the drop, not the speed over the lift hill, and for people (who haven't ridden it) to be bitching about it maybe being a bit slower is just ridiculous)

The speed the ride has is a combination of the speed from the lift hill and the drop?

I really don't see the issue with people being disappointed IF the ride is now slower? Telling people not to be disappointed about that is a bit rude to be honest - everyone wants to enjoy something at its full potential, so if you no longer can, that'd be a shame.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
^ Literally this. If the ride has in fact been made slower, it's going to be a shadow of it's former self, so people absolutely have the right to bitch and moan about it.
 

davidm

Strata Poster
All I'm "whinging" about is people (who haven't ridden it) saying its now "ruined" because the launch might be a bit slower (and yes the speed over the top and the rest of the lap might be a bit slower).
I'm saying that it will be far from ruined if that were the case (and we don't even know beyond some internet scare mongering that it even is the case) - it will still be a superb ride.
I'm trying to be POSITIVE about the ride, whilst everyone else seems to be NEGATIVE based on some unconfirmed internet-rumour.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Fingers crossed it's either just social media BS or a temporary measure. Obviously it being open is great news and even if it's currently in limp mode it will still deliver a fantastic experience, but maybe not the bat**** amazingness the fully dialed up launch provides.
 

Ben

CF Legend
I don't understand why people aren't allowed to be disappointed IF the rumours are true.

People are now calling it the weakest RMC - if that turns out to be true do you really expect people to go 'oh well' - not that it's down to you to dictate how people reacte.

Something tells me your story would be a little different had you not done it...
 

jay37415

Mega Poster
Ok! Got three laps on it today. Lines were low and did 3 within an hour. First time was row 3, Second was very back and this was row 6 or 7.

To give a little background, I have had season passes to DW since 2011 and watched Eagle being built. Last year when I got wind of LR testing, I let my kids skip school and we rode it on the second day of operations. Since then I stopped counting after 20 rides. Every row and day and night.

Here's my humble opinion of the launch. From what I remember in the past...
On the flat part before the lift, there used to be two LSM's now there is only one. Im guessing its just to get it to the hill. When you watch the train go up from the station, the one thing noticeable is that it does go slower over the first of the "Dolly humps." When the train comes down the quad, its still hauling and you can see the reaction of people being blown away by the ride.

When riding it , I felt that the launch seemed more forceful going up but the launch seemed to stop earlier. From the front seat, the airtime was almost non existent on the false drop and you floated down the big drop. From the back seat, it was more ejector through the first two humps. You can tell it was slowed a tad.

The wave turn was a nice floater in any seat and the top hat was just as intense as before. After that, the train still hauled through the quad but the difference being is that with a little less speed your thighs dont get bruised and rerides are more enjoyable.

My verdict (IMHO) is that they did slow it down. But not enough to affect the ride and a majority of the GP would never notice it. The ride still kicks arse!!!
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Ok! Got three laps on it today. Lines were low and did 3 within an hour. First time was row 3, Second was very back and this was row 6 or 7.

To give a little background, I have had season passes to DW since 2011 and watched Eagle being built. Last year when I got wind of LR testing, I let my kids skip school and we rode it on the second day of operations. Since then I stopped counting after 20 rides. Every row and day and night.

Here's my humble opinion of the launch. From what I remember in the past...
On the flat part before the lift, there used to be two LSM's now there is only one. Im guessing its just to get it to the hill. When you watch the train go up from the station, the one thing noticeable is that it does go slower over the first of the "Dolly humps." When the train comes down the quad, its still hauling and you can see the reaction of people being blown away by the ride.

When riding it , I felt that the launch seemed more forceful going up but the launch seemed to stop earlier. From the front seat, the airtime was almost non existent on the false drop and you floated down the big drop. From the back seat, it was more ejector through the first two humps. You can tell it was slowed a tad.

The wave turn was a nice floater in any seat and the top hat was just as intense as before. After that, the train still hauled through the quad but the difference being is that with a little less speed your thighs dont get bruised and rerides are more enjoyable.

My verdict (IMHO) is that they did slow it down. But not enough to affect the ride and a majority of the GP would never notice it. The ride still kicks arse!!!
You may now spend the rest of the evening basking in the glow of my "sincerest gratitude," which many would kill to experience. Actually, I really am extremely grateful to hear a detailed report from someone who really would know exactly what he's talking about.

Of course, I am disappointed by what you say, as I would have been disappointed by anything other than "WTF? It's exactly as it was before!" That said, given that you do think it's been slowed, I suppose the rest of what you say is about as good as I could have hoped for.

Now the remaining hope has to be that these measures are temporary, and the coaster's full glory is to be restored over the off-season. But I wouldn't count on it. And even if that's true, it won't help me with my booked holiday for a first-time visit this August.

Anyway, thanks again. You are a star!
 

jay37415

Mega Poster
I forget to mention that the way it ran today was more like the way it ran during the very first speed trials just after it was built. After the first downtime last May, the coaster was running faster. So when most of the GP rode it over the summer of 2016, they just assumed that was the norm .

Now that RMC has been tweaking it the last month , I'm wondering if it's currently running the way it was intended to. Just like when it was first built.

Like I said, most people won't even notice the difference (less than 5mph) in speed. If you've never been on it before, you'll still have that WTF moment after your first ride.

Let me know when you come and I'll be glad to meet up.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
I forget to mention that the way it ran today was more like the way it ran during the very first speed trials just after it was built. After the first downtime last May, the coaster was running faster. So when most of the GP rode it over the summer of 2016, they just assumed that was the norm .

Now that RMC has been tweaking it the last month , I'm wondering if it's currently running the way it was intended to. Just like when it was first built.

Like I said, most people won't even notice the difference (less than 5mph) in speed. If you've never been on it before, you'll still have that WTF moment after your first ride.

Let me know when you come and I'll be glad to meet up.
WTF moment is definitely what I'm after. Hope you're wrong about the coaster returning to how it is supposed to be. :-(

Would love to meet up in August, but that might depend on who will be with me (not sorted yet). I'll let you know. Thanks, again!
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
From the front seat, the airtime was almost non existent on the false drop and you floated down the big drop. From the back seat, it was more ejector through the first two humps. You can tell it was slowed a tad.
This shows it's definitely slowed a decent amount then as the false drop was surprise ejector in the front 2 rows. I'm glad it's not affected the rest too badly, but I still hope it's temporary as those rides were the best rides of my life.
If anyone finds a offride video of the launch from the queue line I'd be interested to compare it to the one I have from April.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
This shows it's definitely slowed a decent amount then as the false drop was surprise ejector in the front 2 rows. I'm glad it's not affected the rest too badly, but I still hope it's temporary as those rides were the best rides of my life.
If anyone finds a offride video of the launch from the queue line I'd be interested to compare it to the one I have from April.
In fact, a side-by-side dual POV would be amazing, like the new CF vid of Medusa Steel Coaster and Medusa.
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
Here's one I found which says it's from 2 days ago:


To the naked eye, it does look like it crests the false drop a little slower. However, it might be easier to tell if we had a clip of the quad down.

They may also have added new parts (or just replaced parts) in the wheel assemblies that just need to be broken in? Either way, we'll watch it closely over the next few weeks and see what happens.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
The vid I have is from a slightly different angle but to me, there isn't an obvious difference. I'll try to upload my vid and post on here later.
 

Snoo

The Legend
To be honest folks, the launch was not the highlight of the ride. The quad down made it my number 1, not the first drop or the launch. I think, if it's not HAULING like it was, I still think it's the best RMC out there and still clearly my #1 coaster personally. :)
 

jay37415

Mega Poster
This shows it's definitely slowed a decent amount then as the false drop was surprise ejector in the front 2 rows. I'm glad it's not affected the rest too badly, but I still hope it's temporary as those rides were the best rides of my life.
If anyone finds a offride video of the launch from the queue line I'd be interested to compare it to the one I have from April.

By the time I thought about getting a vid. My phone battery was too low. Too much Clash Royale.

I had a conversation with my kids today who are out of town. I asked if they remember the first ride last May if it had ejector air on the false drop. All agreed it did. So I was wrong in thinking it's running the way it was when it first opened. It's Not! So there is hope that RMC toned it down a bit until they get it dialed in a bit better then will gradually speed it back up.
 

Gazza

Giga Poster
Im not sure how people can say "xxx is better without trims” and "yyy is better once the wheels have had a chance to warm up'.
But then say coming off the launch slower wont impact on the speed through the rest of the ride and hence forces.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Im not sure how people can say "xxx is better without trims” and "yyy is better once the wheels have had a chance to warm up'.
But then say coming off the launch slower wont impact on the speed through the rest of the ride and hence forces.
No-one is saying that mate, or at least I haven't read that, more that the forces feel the same in some parts and less aggressive during the quad. Of course it will affect the rest of the ride but if it's not a massive difference then the ride experience should still be incredible. I think anyone stating it's now the worst RMC is just being a social media dick for attention.
 

davidm

Strata Poster
^ yes that. :)
Reading stuff in a few other places ; theres lots of opinion about that there is no difference in speed either ; so any variation is possibly entirely subjective / more likely affected by whether you're on a fat-train or a half-empty one. S'all good - we should just rejoice that its running again! (been a good week for the 2016 RMCs coming back to life)
 

davidm

Strata Poster
and we've seen this too?
screamscape said:
General Park News - (6/21/17) Just a quick note regarding the status of Lightning Rod. Since the coaster reopened last week, some rumors have started claiming that somehow it had been slowed down. Screamscape went right to the source on this one and contacted Dollywood who assured us that while the maintenance performed on Lightning Rod involved many systems, including the launch system, the coaster is still launching out within the same speed window as before, no trim brakes were added anywhere, and that the trains are still achieving the same 73+ mph top speed as before.
Linky : http://screamscape.com/html/dollywood.htm#General
 
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