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!
I made a little write-up about regional theme parks like Dollywood (and Silver Dollar City):
The top two tiers of theme parks are the nationally-known parks that bring in people from more than just a regional area. Obviously this can be seen with Disney and Universal parks (Tier 1; see my Disney vs. Universal post) but it is also the case to a lesser case with Busch Gardens and Sea World (Tier 2). Other theme parks (Tier 3 and beyond) might only be an out-of-state destination for the biggest of theme park fans. This is why they are called regional theme parks.
Regional parks are often owned by a larger organization. Six Flags has many U.S. parks (including water parks) plus one in Canada, one in Mexico, and others they are hoping to open throughout the world. Cedar Fair has many amusement parks, including the roller coaster-heavy Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.
I have been to a couple of special Tier 3 theme parks—Dollywood (in 2021) and Silver Dollar City (most recently in 2019). Both of these parks are owned by Herschend Family Entertainment, a company which also owns two other theme parks plus some other entertainment venues. Amusement park enthusiasts can tell that the two parks that I have been to are sister parks. Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO are both tourist cities known for entertainment. The parks consist of unique roller coasters, crafts people (like blacksmiths), live music, good guest service, and better-than-your-typical amusement park food. They both have special-run festivals (which helps to get locals into the parks multiple times per year). I experienced the Food & Flower Festival at Dollywood and the Bluegrass Festival at Silver Dollar City.
If I had to choose a favorite between these two, I would give the nod to Silver Dollar City. I learned more about Dolly Parton in the museum at Dollywood, but I prefer the general theme of Silver Dollar City. I have not ridden the Mystic Rivers Fall raft ride at Silver Dollar City, but that looks really neat (with a special lift and large drop). At Silver Dollar City, the Time Traveler (extreme spinning) and Powder Keg (launch) coasters are quite memorable. They have counterparts, though, at Dollywood in the Mystery Mine (part dark ride) and Lightning Rod (see more details in previous post) coasters. Both have similar indoor enclosed power coasters (Fire in the Hole at SDC and Blazing Fury at DW). Whereas SDC has a tour of a real mine, DW has the Dollywood Express railroad that takes guests up the mountain in a historic locomotive.
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