jolash
Mega Poster
So I finally got to visit Dollywood. I've only been trying to get there for about 10 years now, but I can finally say I've been.
Overall the park is very impressive. One of the most outstanding and noticeable things is that their prices on EVERYTHING are very reasonable. For example.... giant, delicious smoked sausage on a bun smothered in onions, peppers, and sauerkraut, with a huge basket of their loaded swirly fries (cheese, chili, sour cream, bacon), and a large soft drink. For an amusement park, I did not feel bad paying $20 for this generous meal. Also, I picked up what felt like quite a handful of souvenirs for a grand total of just $15, while at Cedar Point a few weeks back I bought just three items in the Gatekeeper shop and spent nearly $50.
Speaking of throwing CP into the conversation, Dollywood gives you a LARGE cup when you ask for some water, whereas I'm used to the CP Dixie Cup shot of water.
Another notable characteristic of Dollywood is the average age of their employees. The vast majority of their workers are senior citizens. This is not a good nor a bad point, simply an observation.
Dollywood is really all it's made out to be. Everything is terrific and there is very few flaws in it. BUT... there is one tragic downfall in the park that, personally, made my day very, very frustrating, and that is their ride operations. Sure, you could say that the park's ride hosts are some of the friendliest you'll find anywhere, but it also seems that they've never heard of the word capacity. Now, all of the coasters in the park are only made for 2-train operation (excluding Mystery Mine, which I'll get to in a second) so I'm not expecting efficiency like you find on any of the 3-train B&Ms, but you should at least have the station empty and ready for the train already on the course to arrive. To be sitting on the brake run for 2 minutes is uncalled for. Tennessee Tornado was also only running one train.
Mystery Mine's capacity is a whole other monster. I'm not sure how this ride's loading/unloading was originally designed, or is supposed to work, I believe all 6 cars are in use. There are 2 loading platforms in the station, although one is chained off and not in use. That leaves one platform open that is used for both the loading and unloading of the same car. This results in at least 3 cars waiting to unload at any one time. I don't understand why the waiting cars can't unload at the rear of the station, and be ready for new passengers when they arrive at loading. Anyone know the mystery behind this mess? (pun intended)
The only other note I'd like to make is that Thunderhead is, in my opinion, ever greater than it's made out to be. I normally need to take a few laps on a ride to really get a feel for how much I like it. But on Thunderhead, one lap, and I knew that this is my favorite wooden coaster I've ever ridden. (dethroning Boardwalk Bullet). Such unrelenting speed and chaos.
Overall I was very happy with my visit. Dollywood has a lot of cool things I've never seen before, and a lot of things other parks could take some notes on. If only they can fix the ride operations....
OH! I almost forgot. Dollywood is currently hosting the traveling museum from the National Roller Coaster Museum. There are a lot of cool things in there... ancient artifacts of past rides, old souvenirs, even clips from movies featuring roller coasters. The have a piece of track from Big Bad Wolf, track from the old Texas Giant, and a piece of the chain from the original Rattler, all available for you to touch and get your hands on. Lots of history about the changes of roller coasters, history on different manufacturers, (inc. Arrow, Gerstlauer, B&M), a wall of wheels from different makers. I saw an anniversary sign from BBW signed by Ron Toomer, some old Drachen Fire merch, and they even have some of the blueprints and design sketches for Wild Eagle. If you can get to Dollywood, check this exhibit out, or hopefully it'll land at a park near you!
Overall the park is very impressive. One of the most outstanding and noticeable things is that their prices on EVERYTHING are very reasonable. For example.... giant, delicious smoked sausage on a bun smothered in onions, peppers, and sauerkraut, with a huge basket of their loaded swirly fries (cheese, chili, sour cream, bacon), and a large soft drink. For an amusement park, I did not feel bad paying $20 for this generous meal. Also, I picked up what felt like quite a handful of souvenirs for a grand total of just $15, while at Cedar Point a few weeks back I bought just three items in the Gatekeeper shop and spent nearly $50.
Speaking of throwing CP into the conversation, Dollywood gives you a LARGE cup when you ask for some water, whereas I'm used to the CP Dixie Cup shot of water.
Another notable characteristic of Dollywood is the average age of their employees. The vast majority of their workers are senior citizens. This is not a good nor a bad point, simply an observation.
Dollywood is really all it's made out to be. Everything is terrific and there is very few flaws in it. BUT... there is one tragic downfall in the park that, personally, made my day very, very frustrating, and that is their ride operations. Sure, you could say that the park's ride hosts are some of the friendliest you'll find anywhere, but it also seems that they've never heard of the word capacity. Now, all of the coasters in the park are only made for 2-train operation (excluding Mystery Mine, which I'll get to in a second) so I'm not expecting efficiency like you find on any of the 3-train B&Ms, but you should at least have the station empty and ready for the train already on the course to arrive. To be sitting on the brake run for 2 minutes is uncalled for. Tennessee Tornado was also only running one train.
Mystery Mine's capacity is a whole other monster. I'm not sure how this ride's loading/unloading was originally designed, or is supposed to work, I believe all 6 cars are in use. There are 2 loading platforms in the station, although one is chained off and not in use. That leaves one platform open that is used for both the loading and unloading of the same car. This results in at least 3 cars waiting to unload at any one time. I don't understand why the waiting cars can't unload at the rear of the station, and be ready for new passengers when they arrive at loading. Anyone know the mystery behind this mess? (pun intended)
The only other note I'd like to make is that Thunderhead is, in my opinion, ever greater than it's made out to be. I normally need to take a few laps on a ride to really get a feel for how much I like it. But on Thunderhead, one lap, and I knew that this is my favorite wooden coaster I've ever ridden. (dethroning Boardwalk Bullet). Such unrelenting speed and chaos.
Overall I was very happy with my visit. Dollywood has a lot of cool things I've never seen before, and a lot of things other parks could take some notes on. If only they can fix the ride operations....
OH! I almost forgot. Dollywood is currently hosting the traveling museum from the National Roller Coaster Museum. There are a lot of cool things in there... ancient artifacts of past rides, old souvenirs, even clips from movies featuring roller coasters. The have a piece of track from Big Bad Wolf, track from the old Texas Giant, and a piece of the chain from the original Rattler, all available for you to touch and get your hands on. Lots of history about the changes of roller coasters, history on different manufacturers, (inc. Arrow, Gerstlauer, B&M), a wall of wheels from different makers. I saw an anniversary sign from BBW signed by Ron Toomer, some old Drachen Fire merch, and they even have some of the blueprints and design sketches for Wild Eagle. If you can get to Dollywood, check this exhibit out, or hopefully it'll land at a park near you!
