Trip Report: Dollywood
ACE CoasterCon June 2023

Not going to write a usual trip report because we were in and out of the park over a 4 day period.
Sunday - went in the late afternoon and early evening because there was an ACE takeover of the train, and the ACE dinner. Did not stay for evening ERT (9:30 to 11:30).
Monday - went to ERT in the early morning (7:30 to 11:30), left before lunch and spent the day doing other stuff in Gatlinburg and the national park.
Tuesday - spent the whole day from 7:30 until just after 9, did not stay for evening ERT.
Wednesday - went to ERT at Dollywood's Splash Country (8:00 to 10:00), then went to Dollywood for lunch and the afternoon. Did not stay for ERT but we did get to see the fireworks (from outside of the park).

So here is my report on the coasters, in the order that we did them.

- Big Bear Mountain, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. They have a winner on their hands - it's so much fun. It uses 3 sets of LIMs (think they were LIMs) to launch you out of the station, then 2 more times along the track.. There is a soundtrack playing in the train, so you get lots of music and right before each LIM set you hear things like "Let's go git him!" or "There he is! Git him!" I would actually call this a family coaster - there are no loops and no really big drops. Most of it is the train going from side to side but not at an extreme angle. Also some helixes, and one drop through a tunnel (where you hear a bear roar). It's very smooth. The only thing it's missing is a little more landscaping along the track. It's very bare (ha ha) along the course as you head out. I rode it once (trying to make sure my neck stayed OK) and Matt rode it about 7 times total all week.

Monday morning was the official group photo there at 9:45. They were delayed taking it, and then the general public came in and were held back until they got the photo. Can you imagine getting to the park early enough that you get led up to be first on the brand new ride, only to first find a plaza packed shoulder to shoulder with coaster nuts? Who after the photo is taken, pretty much turn en masse and create a 30 minute wait for you? Yeah, it was that.

- Tennessee Tornado, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. Only Matt rode this one. My neck did not like the look of it and I'm glad I skipped it. He said it was running quite rough.

- Thunderhead, early Monday morning in the rain. A great wooden coaster. I think it's now my #1 woodie. For me, it was pretty smooth compared to other woodies. The interweaving track was a lot of fun, and we did the requisite scream as we flew through the station. I rode it twice, Matt rode it about 5 times that morning, then we rode it another time on Tuesday.

- Whistle Punk Chaser, early Monday morning shortly after the rain stopped. We were supposed to get ERT on this but they wouldn't run it in the rain. But we saw it on Tuesday running in the rain, so not sure why they wouldn't run it Monday. It's cute but very jerky. We got 3 circuits. I think most of us rode it for the credit. I've been on better circular kiddie coasters but the theming on this one is really good.

- Dragonflier, Tuesday. It's a nice little inverted coaster that looks and seems tamer than it really is. We had some pretty good G forces on it. It has an 81 inch height limit, so Matt squeaked under by 1 inch. I think the ride needs a longer track. They had to cram a lot of track into a small space. I think this was the hardest one to stand in line for, because they can only load 1 train and for some reason, it was slow loading that day. So lots of time spent looking at nothing, then a short period of watching it run, then back to looking at nothing.

- Mystery Mine, Tuesday morning and evening. I chose this one as our BTS (Behind The Scenes) tour and damn I'm glad I chose it. I had to choose blindly because I had no idea what all the coasters were like. They had so many people for this year's CoasterCon (1292 registered) that you had to sign up and reserve a ticket. What we got was an intense education in coaster maintenance and how this ride runs. We started in the station as they were testing the restraints, then went down the maintenance area right below the station (there's a scissor lift to get cars down to the maintenance track.) Then we got to go out into the areas that are indoors, with more and more information as went along, then out to the exit from the 2nd drop and the corkscrew. I took a huge number of pics. We got to climb in and out of the track and generally have a blast. So later when we rode it, we could say yeah, we were there. Yeah, we know what that is. Hey, look down, there's <insertstuffwesaw>. Another nice touch is that at the top of the 2nd lift they projected the CoasterCon logo. Except that when they set it up, they probably didn't realize that we'd be looking at it from another direction. So it was reversed LOL.

When we finally got to ride it we had about a 30 minute wait. Then we got called up because they needed a group of 2, and got put in the back row. This ride is so much fun. We loved the vertical lifts. The ride wasn't especially jerky, except in a few spots, which I was able to remember and brace myself for on the second ride in the front row. We love the twist that turns you upside down before dropping you back down.

I'm sure Kings Island already has plans for the area where Vortex was located, but a Mystery Mine ride would fit in so well there.

- Lightning Rod, Tuesday morning. 1 hour waiting and we were the next to be allowed up into the station. Oops, rollback. Maintenance required, train lowed on scissor lift from station to maintenance area, we'll come back later. They gave us a ride re-entry card.

- Lightning Rod, Tuesday afernoon. Oops, another rollback. And now they're out walking the track. Another hour wasted. Come back later.

- Blazing Fury, Tuesday evening. The whole week was patterns of rain, clearing, more rain, clearing, thunderstorms, rain, clearing, etc. After the ACE dinner in Celebration Hall, we split up. Matt wanted to ride rides that my neck may not have liked, and I wanted to take my time in the Craftsman's area. Then the rain started. So when I got to Blazing Fury I went in and texted Matt that I was waiting in line for an INDOOR roller coaster. He got my text, heard the first crack of thunder, and quickly looked it up on the map to find out where it was. He made it in just as I got to be next for the first seat.

I really liked it, but it was rough. Since the actual coaster part is mostly in the dark, it was hard to judge when I should brace myself. The track is interesting as it winds its way up. I wanted to maybe ride it again on Wednesday but it had a longer line and my neck tapped me on the shoulder and said "No."

- FireChaser Express, Tuesday evening. Only Matt rode this and now I regret that. After we got off Blazing Fury we stood in the exit tunnel for a long time while a huge rainstorm moved through. Then when it let up we headed up the hill. We sat in the sheltered area with benches just up the hill from FireChaser. Then when the rain let up a little Matt went to check it out. He got on the 2nd train and tried to convince me to ride it, but I was just so tired of riding coasters in the rain that I said no. But I should have done it. He said it was a lot of fun - very smooth and he liked the part where you switch and go backwards.

- Wild Eagle. Neither of us rode it. Matt is too tall by 2 inches. He might have tried it, but he was afraid of waiting in line for a long time just to be turned away at the station (it's happened before), and I was using his experience to determine if my neck would be OK. Other people who were larger than average said the restraints were very uncomfortable. So we skipped it.

We did Mystery Mine again (this time first row) and Thunderhead again. They were both on evening ERT, but at about 7:30 in the evening they were walk-ons. So why wait for ERT with 1200 people when you can just walk-on multiple times?

- Lightning Rod, late Tuesday evening. We are DETERMINED to get on this dang thing. We get up to being in the next group to go into the station and again, rollback. It's like we are a curse on the ride. They were having serious rollback issues the entire 4 days we were there. But we're determined to ride it so we waited it out. But this time, instead of rolling the train back into the station, they just unloaded it and started it back up again. It made it over the top this time. Then again for the next 4 test runs. After about 15 minutes (about 80 minutes total waiting), they loaded it up and we all crossed our fingers. It made it over the top, so we were next. On the previous 2 tries I wanted front seat. This time, I didn't care, I just wanted to ride it, in whatever seat was available.

We load up, hear the engines roaring, get released and launched and WE MADE IT! Then it was just a really fun ride in the twilight, so not completely dark but dark enough. My favorite part was the straightway as you descend the hill, as you drop, and then drop, and then drop again. The only issue was that the ride killed my neck. It threw in the towel, waved the white flag, and cried out "no mas!" I'm glad I got to finally ride it, but I may never ride it again. Or at least it's going to be my last ride of the visit.

So that's my opinion of the coasters - here's other thoughts about the park and some other rides:

- Daredevil Falls. We hit this Wednesday while looking for all the stuff to ride that we hadn't done yet. We were carrying stuff so we didn't do a kid switch, we did a stuff switch. A nice cross between a log flume and a big-boat-create-splash ride. The drop is great and better themed than most log flume drops.

On Friday, June 23, 2023 at 8:40:55 PM UTC-4, sharondbond wrote:
> Trip Report: Dollywood
> ACE CoasterCon June 2023
>
> Not going to write a usual trip report because we were in and out of the park over a 4 day period.
> Sunday - went in the late afternoon and early evening because there was an ACE takeover of the train, and the ACE dinner. Did not stay for evening ERT (9:30 to 11:30).
> Monday - went to ERT in the early morning (7:30 to 11:30), left before lunch and spent the day doing other stuff in Gatlinburg and the national park..
> Tuesday - spent the whole day from 7:30 until just after 9, did not stay for evening ERT.
> Wednesday - went to ERT at Dollywood's Splash Country (8:00 to 10:00), then went to Dollywood for lunch and the afternoon. Did not stay for ERT but we did get to see the fireworks (from outside of the park).
>
> So here is my report on the coasters, in the order that we did them.
>
> - Big Bear Mountain, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. They have a winner on their hands - it's so much fun. It uses 3 sets of LIMs (think they were LIMs) to launch you out of the station, then 2 more times along the track. There is a soundtrack playing in the train, so you get lots of music and right before each LIM set you hear things like "Let's go git him!" or "There he is! Git him!" I would actually call this a family coaster - there are no loops and no really big drops. Most of it is the train going from side to side but not at an extreme angle. Also some helixes, and one drop through a tunnel (where you hear a bear roar). It's very smooth. The only thing it's missing is a little more landscaping along the track. It's very bare (ha ha) along the course as you head out. I rode it once (trying to make sure my neck stayed OK) and Matt rode it about 7 times total all week.
>
> Monday morning was the official group photo there at 9:45. They were delayed taking it, and then the general public came in and were held back until they got the photo. Can you imagine getting to the park early enough that you get led up to be first on the brand new ride, only to first find a plaza packed shoulder to shoulder with coaster nuts? Who after the photo is taken, pretty much turn en masse and create a 30 minute wait for you? Yeah, it was that.
>
> - Tennessee Tornado, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. Only Matt rode this one. My neck did not like the look of it and I'm glad I skipped it. He said it was running quite rough.
>
> - Thunderhead, early Monday morning in the rain. A great wooden coaster. I think it's now my #1 woodie. For me, it was pretty smooth compared to other woodies. The interweaving track was a lot of fun, and we did the requisite scream as we flew through the station. I rode it twice, Matt rode it about 5 times that morning, then we rode it another time on Tuesday.
>
> - Whistle Punk Chaser, early Monday morning shortly after the rain stopped. We were supposed to get ERT on this but they wouldn't run it in the rain.. But we saw it on Tuesday running in the rain, so not sure why they wouldn't run it Monday. It's cute but very jerky. We got 3 circuits. I think most of us rode it for the credit. I've been on better circular kiddie coasters but the theming on this one is really good.
>
> - Dragonflier, Tuesday. It's a nice little inverted coaster that looks and seems tamer than it really is. We had some pretty good G forces on it. It has an 81 inch height limit, so Matt squeaked under by 1 inch. I think the ride needs a longer track. They had to cram a lot of track into a small space. I think this was the hardest one to stand in line for, because they can only load 1 train and for some reason, it was slow loading that day. So lots of time spent looking at nothing, then a short period of watching it run, then back to looking at nothing.
>
> - Mystery Mine, Tuesday morning and evening. I chose this one as our BTS (Behind The Scenes) tour and damn I'm glad I chose it. I had to choose blindly because I had no idea what all the coasters were like. They had so many people for this year's CoasterCon (1292 registered) that you had to sign up and reserve a ticket. What we got was an intense education in coaster maintenance and how this ride runs. We started in the station as they were testing the restraints, then went down the maintenance area right below the station (there's a scissor lift to get cars down to the maintenance track.) Then we got to go out into the areas that are indoors, with more and more information as went along, then out to the exit from the 2nd drop and the corkscrew. I took a huge number of pics. We got to climb in and out of the track and generally have a blast. So later when we rode it, we could say yeah, we were there. Yeah, we know what that is. Hey, look down, there's <insertstuffwesaw>. Another nice touch is that at the top of the 2nd lift they projected the CoasterCon logo. Except that when they set it up, they probably didn't realize that we'd be looking at it from another direction. So it was reversed LOL.
>
> When we finally got to ride it we had about a 30 minute wait. Then we got called up because they needed a group of 2, and got put in the back row. This ride is so much fun. We loved the vertical lifts. The ride wasn't especially jerky, except in a few spots, which I was able to remember and brace myself for on the second ride in the front row. We love the twist that turns you upside down before dropping you back down.
>
> I'm sure Kings Island already has plans for the area where Vortex was located, but a Mystery Mine ride would fit in so well there.
>
> - Lightning Rod, Tuesday morning. 1 hour waiting and we were the next to be allowed up into the station. Oops, rollback. Maintenance required, train lowed on scissor lift from station to maintenance area, we'll come back later. They gave us a ride re-entry card.
>
> - Lightning Rod, Tuesday afernoon. Oops, another rollback. And now they're out walking the track. Another hour wasted. Come back later.
>
> - Blazing Fury, Tuesday evening. The whole week was patterns of rain, clearing, more rain, clearing, thunderstorms, rain, clearing, etc. After the ACE dinner in Celebration Hall, we split up. Matt wanted to ride rides that my neck may not have liked, and I wanted to take my time in the Craftsman's area. Then the rain started. So when I got to Blazing Fury I went in and texted Matt that I was waiting in line for an INDOOR roller coaster. He got my text, heard the first crack of thunder, and quickly looked it up on the map to find out where it was. He made it in just as I got to be next for the first seat.
>
> I really liked it, but it was rough. Since the actual coaster part is mostly in the dark, it was hard to judge when I should brace myself. The track is interesting as it winds its way up. I wanted to maybe ride it again on Wednesday but it had a longer line and my neck tapped me on the shoulder and said "No."
>
> - FireChaser Express, Tuesday evening. Only Matt rode this and now I regret that. After we got off Blazing Fury we stood in the exit tunnel for a long time while a huge rainstorm moved through. Then when it let up we headed up the hill. We sat in the sheltered area with benches just up the hill from FireChaser. Then when the rain let up a little Matt went to check it out.. He got on the 2nd train and tried to convince me to ride it, but I was just so tired of riding coasters in the rain that I said no. But I should have done it. He said it was a lot of fun - very smooth and he liked the part where you switch and go backwards.
>
> - Wild Eagle. Neither of us rode it. Matt is too tall by 2 inches. He might have tried it, but he was afraid of waiting in line for a long time just to be turned away at the station (it's happened before), and I was using his experience to determine if my neck would be OK. Other people who were larger than average said the restraints were very uncomfortable. So we skipped it.
>
> We did Mystery Mine again (this time first row) and Thunderhead again. They were both on evening ERT, but at about 7:30 in the evening they were walk-ons. So why wait for ERT with 1200 people when you can just walk-on multiple times?
>
> - Lightning Rod, late Tuesday evening. We are DETERMINED to get on this dang thing. We get up to being in the next group to go into the station and again, rollback. It's like we are a curse on the ride. They were having serious rollback issues the entire 4 days we were there. But we're determined to ride it so we waited it out. But this time, instead of rolling the train back into the station, they just unloaded it and started it back up again. It made it over the top this time. Then again for the next 4 test runs. After about 15 minutes (about 80 minutes total waiting), they loaded it up and we all crossed our fingers. It made it over the top, so we were next. On the previous 2 tries I wanted front seat. This time, I didn't care, I just wanted to ride it, in whatever seat was available.
>
> We load up, hear the engines roaring, get released and launched and WE MADE IT! Then it was just a really fun ride in the twilight, so not completely dark but dark enough. My favorite part was the straightway as you descend the hill, as you drop, and then drop, and then drop again. The only issue was that the ride killed my neck. It threw in the towel, waved the white flag, and cried out "no mas!" I'm glad I got to finally ride it, but I may never ride it again. Or at least it's going to be my last ride of the visit.
>
> So that's my opinion of the coasters - here's other thoughts about the park and some other rides:
>
> - Daredevil Falls. We hit this Wednesday while looking for all the stuff to ride that we hadn't done yet. We were carrying stuff so we didn't do a kid switch, we did a stuff switch. A nice cross between a log flume and a big-boat-create-splash ride. The drop is great and better themed than most log flume drops.
>
> - Train. They need to stop using coal. Seriously. Not just the global warming concerns. It stinks and gets coal ash on you. Seriously, convert it. Please.
>
> Except for the fuel issue, it's a nice long ride, worth waiting for.
>
> - Demolition Derby. It's got too many cars and so is too crowded. Many traffic jams.
>
> - Sky Rider. It wants to be a Flyers but it isn't. We got no action from moving the wings the few inches that they moved.
>
> - Smokey Mountain River Rampage. Matt rode it and I shot him, although one shooter was a dud. He said it wasn't that great of a rapids ride. And I like the shooters where you get to press a button and have it arc up and land on someone in the boat.
>
> - Rockin' Roadway. A fun turnpike type car ride. For us, they put "COSTRCON" license plates on the cars that are on display in the used car lot.
>
> - The Mad Mockingbird. Their version of the Flyers, and they were bumpered. We rode this after the dinner on Saturday and the operator had a lot of fun with us. He ran it fast enough that we were able to have some fun. Unfortunately for him, we were having too much fun and he kept having to tell us"Please don't whip my cables."
>
> - Black Bear Trail. OMG, the cutest ride in existence! Again, we all rode it Sunday after dinner. There were only ACErs in the area and it was extremely popular. What's not to like about cute little bears that you ride along a trail as they boogie up and down? I only regret that I just took pictures, not video.
>
> That's my trip report on the park. We also did Dollywood's Splash Country where they have a water coaster, which was a lot of fun. We had the park as ERT from 8:00am to 10:00am and with only a few dozen of us braving the 66 degree temps and rain. We could ride whatever we wanted over and over. The only things they didn't run until the public hours were the wave pool and the firetower play area.
>
> We were also spoiled rotten from all the great food that they fed us as part of the conference. We had breakfast every morning as part of ERT, with the cinnamon bread as part of it. Then 2 dinners (Sunday and Tuesday). They also gave us each a $25 food voucher. I know that I will already be disappointed in the food if I ever go to another CoasterCon.
>
> Sharon

On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 1:59:29 PM UTC-4, Ansley wrote:
> On Friday, June 23, 2023 at 8:40:55 PM UTC-4, sharondbond wrote:
> > Trip Report: Dollywood
> > ACE CoasterCon June 2023
> >
> > Not going to write a usual trip report because we were in and out of the park over a 4 day period.
> > Sunday - went in the late afternoon and early evening because there was an ACE takeover of the train, and the ACE dinner. Did not stay for evening ERT (9:30 to 11:30).
> > Monday - went to ERT in the early morning (7:30 to 11:30), left before lunch and spent the day doing other stuff in Gatlinburg and the national park.
> > Tuesday - spent the whole day from 7:30 until just after 9, did not stay for evening ERT.
> > Wednesday - went to ERT at Dollywood's Splash Country (8:00 to 10:00), then went to Dollywood for lunch and the afternoon. Did not stay for ERT but we did get to see the fireworks (from outside of the park).
> >
> > So here is my report on the coasters, in the order that we did them.
> >
> > - Big Bear Mountain, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. They have a winner on their hands - it's so much fun. It uses 3 sets of LIMs (think they were LIMs) to launch you out of the station, then 2 more times along the track. There is a soundtrack playing in the train, so you get lots of music and right before each LIM set you hear things like "Let's go git him!" or "There he is! Git him!" I would actually call this a family coaster - there are no loops and no really big drops. Most of it is the train going from side to side but not at an extreme angle. Also some helixes, and one drop through a tunnel (where you hear a bear roar). It's very smooth. The only thing it's missing is a little more landscaping along the track. It's very bare (ha ha) along the course as you head out. I rode it once (trying to make sure my neck stayed OK) and Matt rode it about 7 times total all week.
> >
> > Monday morning was the official group photo there at 9:45. They were delayed taking it, and then the general public came in and were held back until they got the photo. Can you imagine getting to the park early enough that you get led up to be first on the brand new ride, only to first find a plaza packed shoulder to shoulder with coaster nuts? Who after the photo is taken, pretty much turn en masse and create a 30 minute wait for you? Yeah, it was that.
> >
> > - Tennessee Tornado, Sunday evening after the ACE dinner. Only Matt rode this one. My neck did not like the look of it and I'm glad I skipped it. He said it was running quite rough.
> >
> > - Thunderhead, early Monday morning in the rain. A great wooden coaster.. I think it's now my #1 woodie. For me, it was pretty smooth compared to other woodies. The interweaving track was a lot of fun, and we did the requisite scream as we flew through the station. I rode it twice, Matt rode it about 5 times that morning, then we rode it another time on Tuesday.
> >
> > - Whistle Punk Chaser, early Monday morning shortly after the rain stopped. We were supposed to get ERT on this but they wouldn't run it in the rain. But we saw it on Tuesday running in the rain, so not sure why they wouldn't run it Monday. It's cute but very jerky. We got 3 circuits. I think most of us rode it for the credit. I've been on better circular kiddie coasters but the theming on this one is really good.
> >
> > - Dragonflier, Tuesday. It's a nice little inverted coaster that looks and seems tamer than it really is. We had some pretty good G forces on it. It has an 81 inch height limit, so Matt squeaked under by 1 inch. I think the ride needs a longer track. They had to cram a lot of track into a small space. I think this was the hardest one to stand in line for, because they can only load 1 train and for some reason, it was slow loading that day. So lots of time spent looking at nothing, then a short period of watching it run, then back to looking at nothing.
> >
> > - Mystery Mine, Tuesday morning and evening. I chose this one as our BTS (Behind The Scenes) tour and damn I'm glad I chose it. I had to choose blindly because I had no idea what all the coasters were like. They had so many people for this year's CoasterCon (1292 registered) that you had to sign up and reserve a ticket. What we got was an intense education in coaster maintenance and how this ride runs. We started in the station as they were testing the restraints, then went down the maintenance area right below the station (there's a scissor lift to get cars down to the maintenance track.) Then we got to go out into the areas that are indoors, with more and more information as went along, then out to the exit from the 2nd drop and the corkscrew. I took a huge number of pics. We got to climb in and out of the track and generally have a blast. So later when we rode it, we could say yeah, we were there. Yeah, we know what that is. Hey, look down, there's <insertstuffwesaw>. Another nice touch is that at the top of the 2nd lift they projected the CoasterCon logo. Except that when they set it up, they probably didn't realize that we'd be looking at it from another direction. So it was reversed LOL.
> >
> > When we finally got to ride it we had about a 30 minute wait. Then we got called up because they needed a group of 2, and got put in the back row. This ride is so much fun. We loved the vertical lifts. The ride wasn't especially jerky, except in a few spots, which I was able to remember and brace myself for on the second ride in the front row. We love the twist that turns you upside down before dropping you back down.
> >
> > I'm sure Kings Island already has plans for the area where Vortex was located, but a Mystery Mine ride would fit in so well there.
> >
> > - Lightning Rod, Tuesday morning. 1 hour waiting and we were the next to be allowed up into the station. Oops, rollback. Maintenance required, train lowed on scissor lift from station to maintenance area, we'll come back later. They gave us a ride re-entry card.
> >
> > - Lightning Rod, Tuesday afernoon. Oops, another rollback. And now they're out walking the track. Another hour wasted. Come back later.
> >
> > - Blazing Fury, Tuesday evening. The whole week was patterns of rain, clearing, more rain, clearing, thunderstorms, rain, clearing, etc. After the ACE dinner in Celebration Hall, we split up. Matt wanted to ride rides that my neck may not have liked, and I wanted to take my time in the Craftsman's area. Then the rain started. So when I got to Blazing Fury I went in and texted Matt that I was waiting in line for an INDOOR roller coaster. He got my text, heard the first crack of thunder, and quickly looked it up on the map to find out where it was. He made it in just as I got to be next for the first seat.
> >
> > I really liked it, but it was rough. Since the actual coaster part is mostly in the dark, it was hard to judge when I should brace myself. The track is interesting as it winds its way up. I wanted to maybe ride it again on Wednesday but it had a longer line and my neck tapped me on the shoulder and said "No."
> >
> > - FireChaser Express, Tuesday evening. Only Matt rode this and now I regret that. After we got off Blazing Fury we stood in the exit tunnel for a long time while a huge rainstorm moved through. Then when it let up we headed up the hill. We sat in the sheltered area with benches just up the hill from FireChaser. Then when the rain let up a little Matt went to check it out. He got on the 2nd train and tried to convince me to ride it, but I was just so tired of riding coasters in the rain that I said no. But I should have done it. He said it was a lot of fun - very smooth and he liked the part where you switch and go backwards.
> >
> > - Wild Eagle. Neither of us rode it. Matt is too tall by 2 inches. He might have tried it, but he was afraid of waiting in line for a long time just to be turned away at the station (it's happened before), and I was using his experience to determine if my neck would be OK. Other people who were larger than average said the restraints were very uncomfortable. So we skipped it.
> >
> > We did Mystery Mine again (this time first row) and Thunderhead again. They were both on evening ERT, but at about 7:30 in the evening they were walk-ons. So why wait for ERT with 1200 people when you can just walk-on multiple times?
> >
> > - Lightning Rod, late Tuesday evening. We are DETERMINED to get on this dang thing. We get up to being in the next group to go into the station and again, rollback. It's like we are a curse on the ride. They were having serious rollback issues the entire 4 days we were there. But we're determined to ride it so we waited it out. But this time, instead of rolling the train back into the station, they just unloaded it and started it back up again. It made it over the top this time. Then again for the next 4 test runs. After about 15 minutes (about 80 minutes total waiting), they loaded it up and we all crossed our fingers. It made it over the top, so we were next. On the previous 2 tries I wanted front seat. This time, I didn't care, I just wanted to ride it, in whatever seat was available.
> >
> > We load up, hear the engines roaring, get released and launched and WE MADE IT! Then it was just a really fun ride in the twilight, so not completely dark but dark enough. My favorite part was the straightway as you descend the hill, as you drop, and then drop, and then drop again. The only issue was that the ride killed my neck. It threw in the towel, waved the white flag, and cried out "no mas!" I'm glad I got to finally ride it, but I may never ride it again. Or at least it's going to be my last ride of the visit..
> >
> > So that's my opinion of the coasters - here's other thoughts about the park and some other rides:
> >
> > - Daredevil Falls. We hit this Wednesday while looking for all the stuff to ride that we hadn't done yet. We were carrying stuff so we didn't do a kid switch, we did a stuff switch. A nice cross between a log flume and a big-boat-create-splash ride. The drop is great and better themed than most log flume drops.
> >
> > - Train. They need to stop using coal. Seriously. Not just the global warming concerns. It stinks and gets coal ash on you. Seriously, convert it. Please.
> >
> > Except for the fuel issue, it's a nice long ride, worth waiting for.
> >
> > - Demolition Derby. It's got too many cars and so is too crowded. Many traffic jams.
> >
> > - Sky Rider. It wants to be a Flyers but it isn't. We got no action from moving the wings the few inches that they moved.
> >
> > - Smokey Mountain River Rampage. Matt rode it and I shot him, although one shooter was a dud. He said it wasn't that great of a rapids ride. And I like the shooters where you get to press a button and have it arc up and land on someone in the boat.
> >
> > - Rockin' Roadway. A fun turnpike type car ride. For us, they put "COSTRCON" license plates on the cars that are on display in the used car lot.
> >
> > - The Mad Mockingbird. Their version of the Flyers, and they were bumpered. We rode this after the dinner on Saturday and the operator had a lot of fun with us. He ran it fast enough that we were able to have some fun. Unfortunately for him, we were having too much fun and he kept having to tell us"Please don't whip my cables."
> >
> > - Black Bear Trail. OMG, the cutest ride in existence! Again, we all rode it Sunday after dinner. There were only ACErs in the area and it was extremely popular. What's not to like about cute little bears that you ride along a trail as they boogie up and down? I only regret that I just took pictures, not video.
> >
> > That's my trip report on the park. We also did Dollywood's Splash Country where they have a water coaster, which was a lot of fun. We had the park as ERT from 8:00am to 10:00am and with only a few dozen of us braving the 66 degree temps and rain. We could ride whatever we wanted over and over. The only things they didn't run until the public hours were the wave pool and the firetower play area.
> >
> > We were also spoiled rotten from all the great food that they fed us as part of the conference. We had breakfast every morning as part of ERT, with the cinnamon bread as part of it. Then 2 dinners (Sunday and Tuesday). They also gave us each a $25 food voucher. I know that I will already be disappointed in the food if I ever go to another CoasterCon.
> >
> > Sharon
> Nice Trip Report! I miss reading all the great Trip Reports here on RRC. Maybe I should write some? My son Ben and I attended CoasterCon, I think this was my 15th CoasterCon or so. Ben is 16 but he's ben to about 10! So we are ACE Con veterans. Sadly my wife had to work again, but she came down for the weekend and spend a day at Dollywood, and my 2 older kids couldn't make it. I know my daughter LOVES CoasterCon, but sadly has missed them the last 2 years.
>
> We had a blast, Dollywood is overall one of the best Theme Parks in the country. The atmosphere, food, along with some great coasters makes it a wonderful place. We also did Splash Country and I even rode a few rides, it was a great trip!
>
> Also, Tennesee Tornado isn't rough, it's probably the single smoothest and best Arrow looper left! I really enjoyed riding it, I think I rode it 3 times.
>
> Ted
Yes, please write some!

> Also, Tennesee Tornado isn't rough, it's probably the single smoothest and best Arrow looper left! I really enjoyed riding it, I think I rode it 3 times.

The oxymoron of "smoothest" and "Arrow looper" - by my definition, any Arrow looper is rough :-)

Sharon

On Thursday, 10 August 2023 at 13:59:17 UTC+1, sharondbond wrote:
> > Also, Tennesee Tornado isn't rough, it's probably the single smoothest and best Arrow looper left! I really enjoyed riding it, I think I rode it 3 times.
> The oxymoron of "smoothest" and "Arrow looper" - by my definition, any Arrow looper is rough :-)

You're entitled to your viewpoint. Personally I think Tennessee Tornado is smoother than some B&Ms.

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