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[Swoosh]

Potential site of DW's next big thing though?

With all of the cleared land they have back near Wildwood Grove?  Not a chance.  They'll continue expanding out that way.

[mg]

Wildwood Grove is open (mostly) now and seems like they did a great job on the new area. It looks to be their version of Fireman's Landing or Grand Expo. I'm most jealous of Dragonflier. It looks to be a perfect ride to fill the gap between small kiddie coasters and the bigger trill coaster as it only has a 39" minimum height. At SDC, kids go from the Grand Expo Coaster and FitH straight to Thunderation and Powder Keg. Having a smoother, more approachable coaster to transition would be really nice to have.
The way that they put the nets on the ride is a bit strange looking though. Apparently they didn't want to put the nets off of the ride due to cosmetic reasons of the area.

Dragonflier POV: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O2fUUtWL_VQ

[sanddunerider]

Would be interesting to see the pics of the new area..  NOT promo pics,  but real pics form real people..   Sounds like a nice area.

[mg]

Would be interesting to see the pics of the new area..  NOT promo pics,  but real pics form real people..   Sounds like a nice area.

There are multiple tour videos on YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zp9JWTXADyw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m8CDoMOX30o
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JoX7f5iQ6Jo
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E24cj_DgV18

I haven't watched all of these so not sure of the quality.

[biscuitcreek]

There was a segment on Wildwood Grove and an interview with Dolly by Jenna Bush Hager on Today with Hoda and Jenna on Monday. Most of the segment was filmed in Wildwood Grove.

[chittlins]

Dollywood likes their non inverting coasters lately.

Since Wild Eagle:
Firechaser
Lighting Run
Dragonflyer

Plus older Thunderhead and Blazing Fury

[mhguy77]

Wild Eagle:
Firechaser
Lighting Run
Dragonflyer

Plus older Thunderhead and Blazing Fury

I think if they added PowderKeg to that (Good Coaster) They would have a better mix than SDC.

[mhguy77]

Wild Eagle:
Firechaser
Lighting Run
Dragonflyer

Plus older Thunderhead and Blazing Fury

I think if they added PowderKeg to that (Good Coaster) They would have a better mix than SDC.

On second thought I think when we lose FITH DW will have a better mix

[Swoosh]

^ you act like there will be a "gap year" between the demise of old FITH and the debut of the new FITH. 
(there won't be)

[mhguy77]

^ you act like there will be a "gap year" between the demise of old FITH and the debut of the new FITH. 
(there won't be)

Probably not Swoosh but you know its not a technology thing its a history thing.  That can not be rebuilt. 
If Echo Hollow is an indicator of "things to come"..........  well.

[chittlins]

Let's tell the truth about some things with FITH. The inside/covered queue is woefully small especially during bad weather when everyone goes to it because it keeps running while all the other coasters close and just overall age of the ride.

That said, I think they need to keep the storyline and theme of the ride. Just this weekend we watched the Missori episode of Aeriel America on Smithsonian where the Baldknobber lore is featured.

[sdcfan88]

Found a video on YouTube where some park guests got a walkaround tour on Thunderhead overlooking Wildwood Grove recently. Ozark Wildcat and Celebration City is mentioned a few times with Pete Owens himself stating the former OzCat Trains were indeed transported and put into use for Thunderhead's operations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zYyEv1LDXY

[Gilligan]

A bit bored tonight (rarely EVER happens), so I'll write about my trip to Dollywood the day before Christmas Eve.  It wasn't a destination - just passing through on my way out east.  The weather was rainy, there was a long line to the parking area, and we almost turned around to leave about 5:00. When we made it to parking, we were told to look hard for a spot as there were probably less than 15 left (and the tram wait could be 45 min.) We finally found one close enough that we could skip the tram.  It was close to 6 when we walked thru the gate, and my first impression was ...meh. The park was very lit up, but the lights at the front were mostly pink, purple, and blue - not so Christmasy, but very "in your face" Dolly!  The bakery was listed as having gluten free muffins, but there were none and no one seemed to know anything about them.  Very few places I can eat, but we found a restaurant that had a smoked ham dinner that I could eat with substitutions, and it was grea! I wish SDC had more plate dinners like this for $13.  We didn't have much time, so we walked toward the crafters area so hubs could see the blacksmithing.  I think it was on the way there we ran into the Glacier area - very cool!  Very, very cool! Hundreds of strands of twinkling lights above your head with wave patterns, fog machines, and space music symbolizing northern lights.  We loved it! The entire area was very cool with icy white lights, icebergs, bears, trees, etc.  The big tree looked very similar to SDC's, but with the addition of snow machines dropping pretty heavy amounts of snow on visitors near the tree. That was cool! The parade was okay; promoted Dolly quite a bit; not as good as SDC's.  I did like the guy with the banjo walking the line to entertain you with music as you waited for the parade. There were over 20,000 in the park that night.

My honest opinion?  I had very little time in the park, the roller coasters looked cool, the crafts are way more expensive than SDC - mugs from the pottery shop were $35.  Northern Light show was worth the trip! I liked it much more when I quit comparing it to SDC.  I still wouldn't make it a destination, but I wouldn't mind stopping by again to see the whole park, shows, and music. Oh, and there are no perks in the park unless you have the more expensive Silver Pass.