This year alone has added ten roller coasters to my list. These are the last ten coasters in a list of fifty.
Dollywood
After all these years, we finally made it to Tennessee's Dollywood. Considering its place in the Herschend family of attractions, which includes our beloved Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, I thought we would have made a trek to Pigeon Forge much sooner than this. After all, our season passes at SDC earn us half-price admission.
Our first ride was on the wooden Thunderhead, which was surprisingly smooth compared to the older ThuNderaTion at SDC. A short walk then took us to Dragonfly, a low-flying, suspended coaster that doesn't really intimidate.
Mystery Mine was next. We thought we would get a similar attraction at SDC many years ago, perhaps themed to an ice house, but it never came to fruition. This coaster is not a train, but a single car that holds a dozen or so people. Because of this, it can take tighter turns and sharper hills. The theme is more developed on the indoor portions, with audio and video elements added. Even a hot blast of fire explodes in riders' faces. We enjoyed the ride simply for the more immersive theming.
The newest coaster at Dollywood is Big Bear Mountain, just opening this year. This is another low-lying coaster, but incorporates some speedy hills. Riders board "jeeps" to hunt for the notorious big, black bear that seems to be tormenting the area. On-board audio with music and narration could have been louder to get the full effect. All in all, this was a neat, little ride that adds a bit more to the Smoky Mountain flavor of the park.
Tennessee Tornado is one of the older coasters in the park. I guess this used to be another runaway mine train, but it has been converted to a mine that has been struck by a twister, making it a pretty unique theme. At SDC, the area would have been broader and the theme emphasized more, but with its landlocked footprint, the theme seemed to be pretty limited. I doubt many people even noticed the theme at all.
For the last several years, this park family has focused quite a bit on first responders. SDC has Outlaw Run, looking at law enforcement and an entire area dedicated to firefighting, called Fireman's Landing. Of course the classic Fire in the Hole is the one that started in all some 50 years ago. Dollywood continues the obsession with two rides. Blazing Fury is their version of FitH, even following the same track design. Many of the same features are replicated on this more modern track system, including the scenery and fire effects, all of which seem to still be working, including the fantastic covered bridge on fire, which collapses just as the train is ready to cross. While FitH's life is coming to an end this year (with FitH 2.0 - we anticipate - coming on board next season), Blazing Fury still stands strong. Unfortunately, BF's theme is generic - a Smoky Mountain village on fire - it does not have the deep historical theme of vigilante Bald Knobbers. That single element in FitH is what has connected the ride to us, and Blazing Fury misses the mark by being generic.
The second homage to firefighters is called Firechaser Express. This is somehow a firefighting train that takes riders through a short track of turns and suddenly stops inside a fireworks factory that is, yes, on fire. An explosion then blasts the train backwards through another series of turns and hills and returns it to the station. This is another attraction we thought might be coming to Silver Dollar City a few years ago, especially when they built Fireman's Landing to replace the garish Geyser Gulch. Thankfully, it did not fill the space, making it possible for the huge, new building with Fire in the Hole's replacement to be added to the area instead.
Lightning Rod is the most extreme coaster I can remember riding. It is similar to Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run in that it is a hybrid wooden coaster, but it has no full inversions. Lightning Rod is built on the side of the mountain and uses the contour of the land to its advantage. The theme is a souped up hotrod. The restraints are also similar to Outlaw Run, with nothing on the shoulders, but with the added seat belt and ankle restraints. I knew I needed to make myself bigger than I was in order to keep the ride operators from pressing down on the restraints so hard that it would limit my breathing (That happens on OR all the time, and it makes for a miserable, uncomfortable experience.). The maglev launch makes this the fastest wooded coaster in the world, and I don't think it ever slows down. About a quarter of the way through, I was ready for it to be over, and yet it kept going. All I could think was, "I want to get off." I think it's too much - especially for a park family that prides itself on its attractions for the entire family.
Finally, Wild Eagle was another first for me - my first wing coaster. Sitting off to the side of the track rather than over or under it, I expected this to be a really cool experience. After the wild ride we had on Lightning Rod, I wasn't keen on anything with wild in the title, but Wild Eagle was something I wanted to try out. As the name implies, the initial hill lifted us high above the park. All in all, even though it is impressive to look at, it was a pretty uneventful coaster.
After all these years, we finally made it to Tennessee's Dollywood. Considering its place in the Herschend family of attractions, which includes our beloved Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, I thought we would have made a trek to Pigeon Forge much sooner than this. After all, our season passes at SDC earn us half-price admission.
Our first ride was on the wooden Thunderhead, which was surprisingly smooth compared to the older ThuNderaTion at SDC. A short walk then took us to Dragonfly, a low-flying, suspended coaster that doesn't really intimidate.
Mystery Mine was next. We thought we would get a similar attraction at SDC many years ago, perhaps themed to an ice house, but it never came to fruition. This coaster is not a train, but a single car that holds a dozen or so people. Because of this, it can take tighter turns and sharper hills. The theme is more developed on the indoor portions, with audio and video elements added. Even a hot blast of fire explodes in riders' faces. We enjoyed the ride simply for the more immersive theming.
The newest coaster at Dollywood is Big Bear Mountain, just opening this year. This is another low-lying coaster, but incorporates some speedy hills. Riders board "jeeps" to hunt for the notorious big, black bear that seems to be tormenting the area. On-board audio with music and narration could have been louder to get the full effect. All in all, this was a neat, little ride that adds a bit more to the Smoky Mountain flavor of the park.
Tennessee Tornado is one of the older coasters in the park. I guess this used to be another runaway mine train, but it has been converted to a mine that has been struck by a twister, making it a pretty unique theme. At SDC, the area would have been broader and the theme emphasized more, but with its landlocked footprint, the theme seemed to be pretty limited. I doubt many people even noticed the theme at all.
For the last several years, this park family has focused quite a bit on first responders. SDC has Outlaw Run, looking at law enforcement and an entire area dedicated to firefighting, called Fireman's Landing. Of course the classic Fire in the Hole is the one that started in all some 50 years ago. Dollywood continues the obsession with two rides. Blazing Fury is their version of FitH, even following the same track design. Many of the same features are replicated on this more modern track system, including the scenery and fire effects, all of which seem to still be working, including the fantastic covered bridge on fire, which collapses just as the train is ready to cross. While FitH's life is coming to an end this year (with FitH 2.0 - we anticipate - coming on board next season), Blazing Fury still stands strong. Unfortunately, BF's theme is generic - a Smoky Mountain village on fire - it does not have the deep historical theme of vigilante Bald Knobbers. That single element in FitH is what has connected the ride to us, and Blazing Fury misses the mark by being generic.
The second homage to firefighters is called Firechaser Express. This is somehow a firefighting train that takes riders through a short track of turns and suddenly stops inside a fireworks factory that is, yes, on fire. An explosion then blasts the train backwards through another series of turns and hills and returns it to the station. This is another attraction we thought might be coming to Silver Dollar City a few years ago, especially when they built Fireman's Landing to replace the garish Geyser Gulch. Thankfully, it did not fill the space, making it possible for the huge, new building with Fire in the Hole's replacement to be added to the area instead.
Lightning Rod is the most extreme coaster I can remember riding. It is similar to Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run in that it is a hybrid wooden coaster, but it has no full inversions. Lightning Rod is built on the side of the mountain and uses the contour of the land to its advantage. The theme is a souped up hotrod. The restraints are also similar to Outlaw Run, with nothing on the shoulders, but with the added seat belt and ankle restraints. I knew I needed to make myself bigger than I was in order to keep the ride operators from pressing down on the restraints so hard that it would limit my breathing (That happens on OR all the time, and it makes for a miserable, uncomfortable experience.). The maglev launch makes this the fastest wooded coaster in the world, and I don't think it ever slows down. About a quarter of the way through, I was ready for it to be over, and yet it kept going. All I could think was, "I want to get off." I think it's too much - especially for a park family that prides itself on its attractions for the entire family.
Finally, Wild Eagle was another first for me - my first wing coaster. Sitting off to the side of the track rather than over or under it, I expected this to be a really cool experience. After the wild ride we had on Lightning Rod, I wasn't keen on anything with wild in the title, but Wild Eagle was something I wanted to try out. As the name implies, the initial hill lifted us high above the park. All in all, even though it is impressive to look at, it was a pretty uneventful coaster.
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Ober Mountain
The last new roller coaster I have ridden was a mountain coaster. Ski Mountain Coaster at Ober Mountain in downtown Gatlinburg is one that starts at the top of the hill. Guests have to traverse the steps to get to the top, where single-passenger cars await. Sitting low to the track and holding two handles that brake the car allowing the rider to control the speed, the car then rolls down a track that looks more like some homespun engineer might have designed. This kind of coaster has popped up in several hilly locations in the country. I enjoyed the smooth ride and the ability to speed through the natural woods of the area. The only thing that could have made this better would be an actual bear-spotting, though the rider would be helpless if one of the giant creatures actually approached the track or laid across it. Such is fodder for nightmares. I enjoyed this ride and the other attractions at Ober Mountain, and it has the distinction of being the 50th in my list.
The last new roller coaster I have ridden was a mountain coaster. Ski Mountain Coaster at Ober Mountain in downtown Gatlinburg is one that starts at the top of the hill. Guests have to traverse the steps to get to the top, where single-passenger cars await. Sitting low to the track and holding two handles that brake the car allowing the rider to control the speed, the car then rolls down a track that looks more like some homespun engineer might have designed. This kind of coaster has popped up in several hilly locations in the country. I enjoyed the smooth ride and the ability to speed through the natural woods of the area. The only thing that could have made this better would be an actual bear-spotting, though the rider would be helpless if one of the giant creatures actually approached the track or laid across it. Such is fodder for nightmares. I enjoyed this ride and the other attractions at Ober Mountain, and it has the distinction of being the 50th in my list.
Well, that's a wrap. Even if it's not a list that will impress some coaster enthusiasts, it has to be impressive that I even remembered as much as I did.
