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Or even a small footprint low height terrain wood coaster like Prowler or Zambezi 2.0

Honestly if they go with a "feet dangler" I'd hope its finally gonna be our version of Wild Eagle. For a long time their business model seemed to be when one of the two big Herschend Parks adds something, the other does a similar version sometime later. We are due. Plus it would be a standout over Patriot up the road at WOF.

Though it would be cool if Wildfire got a refresh with a Wing Coaster configuration but that would probably be too costly (and impractical) to do without rebuilding it because the station and track would have to be re-engineered.

Overall I still feel like the layout of Apollos Chariot should be a reference of what we might expect based on the land that's been cleared. https://rcdb.com/531.htm#p=81430

If it's a Mack it might be something like Alpina Blitz but slightly larger. https://youtu.be/FcvSZwQfFB8?si=W-OFp4sOabYvwFuh

Thinking from the marketing standpoint with the upcoming resort, its likely gonna be a big crazy coaster that will be a standout design in the region to entice people to come to the park and stay at the resort. A Mack Hyper/Giga would be the logical choice as a standout. However, they may consider B&M for overall reliability so they won't repeat the downtime issues with some of their new rides in recent years (looking at you Mystic River) and of course B&M has better PPH capacity overall if they are looking at increasing the crowd draw to the park. While Dollywood does have something unique from Vekoma with Dragonflier and Big Bear they may be seen as being too similar to Patriot and Mamba up at Worlds Of Fun. (not that those are bad coasters by any means) What the region lacks is a B&M Hyper/Giga, Dive, and Wing Coaster which the latter does exist at Dollywood and could be worked into the Ozarkian Daredevil-y and/or the Inventors theme at SDC as a flying machine. They could also give it a 200+ foot drop to dethrone Mamba as tallest drop in the region or something to that extent. (use your imagination here)

If it's who I think it may be we might not see components and track staged until July maybe August. Reason we saw stuff so quick with Time Traveler is due to the logistics of the terrain and the fact that parts were being shipped in all the way from Germany.

Yeah that does explain why every time the park adds or expands they seem to find it necessary to raze older parts of the park in the process.

I do wonder if it will be a wood or steel coaster as its pretty obvious to be another coaster just from looking at the clearing there. I'm thinking likely the latter as HFEC doesn't seem to like wood coasters in their parks (scrapped Wildcat and Cheetah) and/or have issues with them. (Lightning Rod)

Yup the worst offender was the clear cutting around TN Tornado at Dollywood. All the trees next to LR that were near the station area are gone too. The days of "Flying thru the Trees" are over.

Did those posts with the pink flags on them have COASTER written on them? Those are just like the ones used when Time Traveler was being built confirming that it was in fact a coaster going in there. Something to look out for on the next visit to the park. Id snoop around to see for myself but I'm not sure how much I will be able to visit this season.

Betting the AP/WF area got clear cut and the waterfall is gone. On the plus side hopefully the dead ends between WF/PK are gone.

I rode TNT at the end of the 24 season and it rode a lot better than it has in awhile. I didn't even feel the pothole going into the tunnel either. They have been redoing small segments of the ride over the past few years (photos were posted on older construction threads here) replacing bits of the track and support structure. This was probably another reason all the shrubbery was removed around the ride so they could have easier access with heavy equipment. SDC knows its a very unique coaster that's part of a dying breed of Arrow built attractions plus it just fits the general atmosphere of the park so well. I think it's safe to say it will be with us into the 2030's at least. The other train has been out for most of the season for an overhaul. Definitely not a sign the ride is going away if they are investing in it like that.

Mack or B&M hyper/giga lol

Fallout of the Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger, as I suspected would happen. No need to offer competitive pricing and benefits as they are monopolizing the industry. This merger should have been legally blocked. Its always bad news for the consumer.

Definitely keep these archived, lots of great park info and convos would be lost otherwise.

Sad how a lot of the park has really lost its character over the years. As much as I like a lot of whats new I would love to go back to Early-Mid 00's SDC and relive my teenage summer years.

Yes as noted here: https://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=3274.msg85113#msg85113

And there were photos posted up a couple years ago showing how they have already been redoing the track and supports for it on the lower turnaround that sits adjacent to Time Traveler.

EDIT: Found it, dates all the way back to 2020: https://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=3977.msg81707#msg81707