Hulk wanted to live vicariously through me riding “Lightning Rod” at Dollywood last Friday. I’ll explain that ride and give a fuller report of the park soon.
First a POV for those unfamiliar with it:
In the mini-land of Jukebox Junction (which also has a theater and an antique cars ride) near the entrance to Dollywood is the coaster Lightning Rod. I saved my first ride for the afternoon after getting through most of the other rides I wanted to do. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, but fortunately the actual wait time was about 15. The queue goes through a 50’s style car repair shop. The coaster looks wooden (and was prior to this year) but, in fact, it is steel. It’s deceiving to the rider even though he can see the launch from outside the ride and even in the queue. The train leaves the loading station, crosses a bridge, and prepare for a lift hill. But it is actually a launch up an actual hill. Through the twists and turns, it’s hard to get a feel for what is coming next. It also feels that the train is picking up speed (maxing out at 73 mph) as it makes it’s return to the station. A second ride later in the day was equally thrilling!