Dollywood: 8/5/2014
1. Tennessee Tornado (Arrow Megalooper)
2. Wild Eagle (B&M Wing Coaster)
3. Firechaser Express (Gerstlauer Launched Family Coaster)
4. Blazing Fury (Herschend Powered Coaster (Indoors))
5. Daredevil Falls (Shoot-the-chutes ride)
6. Smoky Mountain River Rampage (River rapids ride)
7. Thunderhead (GCI Wooden Coaster)
8. Mystery Mine (Gerstlauer Launched Eurofighter)
9. Wild Eagle (2nd time) (B&M Wing Coaster)
10. Skyrider (Family swing ride)
11. Barnstormer (S&S Screamin' Swing)
I heard from many that Dollywood is one of the best parks in America. Well, I have visited it, and I'm pleased to announce those claims are true. Dollywood is an awesome park from theming to even the rides. Is it as great as Phantasialand? I wouldn't say so, because while Dollywood has been claimed by everyone as a great park, I didn't hear much about Phantasialand until I went, so it was an awesome surprise. But yes, Dollywood is a very good park! So what are we waiting for? Let's talk about the rides:
Tennessee Tornado was a pretty fun megalooper and I liked how it was in the woods. This is my third Arrow Megalooper I think, with the other two being Viper at SFMM and Anaconda at Kings Dominion. I liked Viper better (it was a great ride at least in 2010), but I definitely liked Tennessee Tornado better than Anaconda at Kings Dominion (for those who follow me, you probably know I don't like Anaconda at all). Great layout as well. Overall, very nice looper!
Wild Eagle was a surprise for me. This was my second Wing Coaster and some claimed it wasn't that great compared to others. Well I rode it, and it was actually a very fantastic coaster! It is now my favorite Wing Coaster overall. The fact that it was on a mountain made it a very spectacular experience, plus the view of the layout from the top of the lift. The ride itself really delivered, and it became a 5-Star. Definitely my favorite coaster in Dollywood.
Firechaser Express: An even greater surprise and a great example for what IMO a family coaster SHOULD be. It became a 4-Star on my list, which is quite an accomplishment for a family coaster! So why that ranking and not a 1, 2 etc? Everything it does is well done from effects and theming to even overall ride experience. This was the perfect family coaster! For starters, the layout including the backwards section was excellent. It was thrilling yet accommodated riders who did not like straight drops like my mother. When I got off the ride, I immediately thought of the rumored Amber Mine coaster for Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure. IMO, this type is what I want for that coaster. It will give IOA the family coaster they've needed for a while. I even think there is space for one (if they use the Trike Encounter plot, as well as parts of a redesigned Camp Jurassic). So yes, an amazing family coaster and coaster in general! Well done Dollywood!
Blazing Fury: Alright, I'm just going to say this... it's my least favorite ride in Dollywood. I just... didn't get this ride. I didn't even think it was a coaster when I rode, but at the same time I knew it was (RCDB classifies it). Still it felt like a simple train ride with drops. I would appreciate it more if we had a compelling story to follow as well as exciting effects and animatronics... but we didn't. Instead it's based off of forest fires (which funny that, Firechaser Express was, and they handled that idea MUCH better on that ride) with very little effects (and boring ones) as well as outdated animatronics. I guess since I go to Universal a lot, I expect animatronics to be just as great as the ones there, but these ones were bad. I suppose the one thing I will defend this ride for is that it was made by Herschend themselves (the company who runs Dollywood and Silver Dollar City in Missouri). I like how rides can be designed by theme park companies themselves. Still, this ride needs an update, NOT a removal, but an update. Definitely one of my least favorite coasters.
Daredevil Falls: Typical shoot-the-chutes ride. Fun ride but nothing compared to Jurassic Park River Adventure at IOA.
Smoky Mountain River Rampage: While I didn't like it as much as Congo River Rapids at BGT or Popeye at IOA, it was still a fun ride. A bit slow, but cool.
Thunderhead: This is my favorite non-Intamin wooden coaster. The layout is just exhilirating, especially when the train goes through the station! I've done four other GCIs: Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa), Lightning Racer (Hersheypark), Wildcat (Hersheypark), and White Lightning (Fun Spot America). None of them are as good as Thunderhead! Awesome wooden coaster! :D
Mystery Mine: While it did break down while we waited in line, I enjoyed the ride! This was a very intriguing roller coaster, and no doubt one of the coolest I've seen. For starters, after the station, you are immediately dropped into an indoor section. Also, both drops caught me offguard! The theming is also top notch! This was my first Gerstlauer Eurofighter and it was a very awesome experience.
Skyrider: This was an interesting family ride. Almost like a miniature WindSeeker, however there are some controls on the vehicle that you can use to change the experience.
Barnstormer: After the last ride, we immediately remembered Barnstormer, and it was almost closing time. We ran to the ride just before the park closed and we got in. This is my second S&S Screamin' Swing, the first being Skyhawk at Cedar Point. Very good experience and definitely better theming than the other one! For some reason, however, they had one side running, while the other was shut down (maybe because of the park almost closing, or mechanical issues. After all, Skyhawk did experience some technical difficulties recently).
Overall, A for Dollywood!
Carowinds: 8/6/2014
1. Intimidator (B&M Hypercoaster)
2. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman)
3. WindSeeker (Mondial Wind Seeker)
4. Vortex (B&M Stand-Up)
5. Hurler (International Coasters Wooden Coaster)
6. Drop Tower: Scream Zone (Intamin Giant Drop)
7. Carolina Goldrusher (Arrow Mine Train)
8. Carolina Cobra (Vekoma Boomerang)
9. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman) (2nd time)
My second visit to Carowinds. The first time I visited this place was in 2011 with Kings Dominion and Cedar Point. While I revisited the two others in 2012, I didn't go to Carowinds that year. So now Carowinds is once again equal with the other two.
The stuff that has changed since then was not skyline-changing (except WindSeeker), but are a lot of changes regardless. In 2012, they added WindSeeker. In 2013, they added Dinosaurs Alive. In 2014, they moved the Skycoaster, cleared the Go-Karts for the new 2015 coaster (BTW announced as Fury 325. I'll talk about it later), and built a new building Harmony Hall on the field in front of Intimidator (just to name a few). Harmony Hall, BTW, is an awesome place for shade! The park is as great as I remembered (though the operations were a bit crappier then I recalled, particularly on Vortex and Hurler). One thing that saddened me was Afterburn being down the entire day. :( But it was a great experience like in 2011. Also, between my ride of Vortex and my ride of Hurler, I got to see the construction for Fury 325's entrance area! I have a feeling Thrill Zone's look will change by next year (not just the coaster but the area in general)! So let's talk about the rides:
Intimidator: As usual, Intimidator is one of my favorite coasters at Carowinds! Still has awesome airtime and ride experience! :D
Nighthawk: Also as usual, Nighthawk was fantastic. This and Intimidator are my favorite coasters at Carowinds. While Nighthawk does have bad capacity, that didn't take away the awesome experience I got. At the moment, I decided: this is my favorite type of flying coaster. While the B&M ones I do love almost as much, the ride experience of Nighthawk is definitely better overall, such as laying down on the lift hill and all of a sudden flipping into flying position! That one section I've always loved, and this time was no different. Towards the end, I gave Nighthawk another ride, since I wanted my ride count of Nighthawk to be equal to Intimidator, since like I said, it is my other favorite in the park! Of course with Fury 325 being built, I have a gut feeling my two favorites are going to be challenged by that monster!
WindSeeker: This one was installed with Kings Dominion's in 2012. I've ridden Cedar Point and Kings Dominion's, so this one is my third WindSeeker and my Mom's FIRST WindSeeker. It is an awesome flat ride, and definitely one I would like to see in Florida in the future. I'm a little depressed the popularity of these rides being installed has dwindled. Not one new one has been installed by Cedar Fair since 2012 (key word being "new." Steelhawk opened in Worlds of Fun in 2014, but that was a relocated WindSeeker from Knott's Berry Farm). These rides are great experiences as well as a great way of getting a view around!
Vortex: While this is and has always been the B&M I like the least, it's still a decent experience!
Hurler: As always, it was a very good wooden coaster. I don't understand the hate this ride gets for being rough and headache-inducing. It really was not that bad. Plus, woodies are usually supposed to have that rough feeling. Now that doesn't mean I complain about woodies that are smooth, since I do like El Toro and Colossos a lot, those being my favorite wooden coasters (El Toro probably getting first place) and some of my favorite coasters overall! I just don't see anything to complain about rough woodies. Now rough STEEL coasters on the other hand, I do have a problem with. But anyways, Hurler is a pretty good wooden coaster! :)
Drop Tower: This is a cool drop tower, but I've always preferred the Gyro Drops over the Giant Drops. Still a cool ride!
Carolina Goldrusher: A cool mine train. Mom didn't remember this one, so she was a little worried about if there were drops (but there weren't). XD
Carolina Cobra: Like before, a fun ride experience!
So overall, Carowinds is still a very fun park. I'm still a little disappointed I wasn't able to ride Afterburn or Thunder Road, but Carowinds is still the park I remembered in 2011, and I probably will have to go back again next year to ride Fury 325! :D
