Dollywood Hints at Another Huge Attraction in 2016

[shavethewhales]

http://sdcfans.com/dollywood-tops-of-resort-hints-at-another-major-announcement/

I had actually forgotten just how much HFEC was spending on DW. Staggering to think there's something over $200 million left that they plan to invest in the park over the next decade. The resort is just the first step, but I don't even know where they are heading. Are they going to fill the place with coasters, or try to go more innovative? I've been thinking that they're trying to straddle things. They need some big coasters to stay competitive with Carowinds and other big ride parks as they reach for high growth numbers, but at the same time they want to set themselves apart and eventually focus more on innovative and high-quality attractions like the big destination parks.

So what does that mean for 2016? Will it be a coaster, a dark ride, something in between, or something else entirely? A lot of people are going to be on a big RMC like Goliath or Outlaw Run, which would make a ton of sense, but I'm going to keep things interesting and speculate on what else they could be planning.

[chittlins]

http://sdcfans.com/dollywood-tops-of-resort-hints-at-another-major-announcement/

I had actually forgotten just how much HFEC was spending on DW. Staggering to think there's something over $200 million left that they plan to invest in the park over the next decade. The resort is just the first step, but I don't even know where they are heading. Are they going to fill the place with coasters, or try to go more innovative? I've been thinking that they're trying to straddle things. They need some big coasters to stay competitive with Carowinds and other big ride parks as they reach for high growth numbers, but at the same time they want to set themselves apart and eventually focus more on innovative and high-quality attractions like the big destination parks.

So what does that mean for 2016? Will it be a coaster, a dark ride, something in between, or something else entirely? A lot of people are going to be on a big RMC like Goliath or Outlaw Run, which would make a ton of sense, but I'm going to keep things interesting and speculate on what else they could be planning.

If they get a RMC to go along with their GCI Thunderhead twisty, imma gonnabee pissed. If OzCat and CC was viable it wouldn't matter at all. It was CC that allowed DW to jump ahead . If it never opened. The capital put in it would have likely gone to SDC itself so SDC would likely have one to two more major rides.

It looks like theyhave been clearing land for some time since summer for the 2016 ride. They say its the biggest yet and The B&M was a cool 20 million so I'm  going for a Mack ride with indoor and outdoor sections like Europa's new ride.

[Gilligan]

Does SDC have enough land to keep opening new coasters?

[chittlins]

Does SDC have enough land to keep opening new coasters?

I think yes, At least two big boys and several compact ones.  I've got nothing against a compact coaster they are quit cheaper thus allowing for much more theming which can set them apart.  I've mentioned rides sharing the same footprint and theming before like a fnew high cap flume and a mack/gerstlauer custom bobsled/wild mouse like family coaster. They can be contained  completely indoors(see Hersey's new spinning coaster) and thats a plus for seasonal operations like OTC when the cold can shut down the outside rides. I'd love to see more indoor flats and compact coasters for that very reason.

[shavethewhales]

SDC has space for dozens of coasters. It depends on how conservative they will be with how they use the land in the future, but SDC has a massive amount of land. Somewhere in an old thread we had some links that show how much land they have. The current park sits on only like a quarter of the total land area that they control. DW is kind of the same way. They had the foresight early on to make sure that land will never be an issue for the parks.

It still sucks that CC failed and ended up being a waste, but let's not go back to worrying about the different levels of investment between SDC and DW. A decade ago, SDC was the flagship property of HFEC and it looked like it and Branson was going to take off again and be reinvented as a national destination... but between the recession and Branson's failure to innovate and refresh itself quickly enough Pigeon Forge has ended up taking that role. The fact that PF is closer to major population centers certainly helped this.

Branson in holding strong, but it just isn't growing by leaps and bounds like PF is. Big investments here simply don't carry as much weight. I'm happy with the current level of investment in SDC. A good sized addition every other year is enough at this point in time.

DW is going to be massive by 2022. It will be at least twice the size of SDC in both visitors and the number of attractions. It will probably be the largest park in America outside of parks controlled by movie studios. I'm just glad for HFEC. DW is going to be the tide that lifts the other HFEC properties. Plus, since HFEC pays attention to reproduce successful rides or ride types across the chain, we'll have a lot of interesting things to watch from DW. I don't mind being second in line since that usually means we get the better version.

[shavethewhales]

Major clearing is now taking place at DW. Definitely sounds like it's for a coaster, and the rumor is that a teaser will go out soon that involves a 50's/60's era hot rod speeding off into the distance. The ride will go in an area of the park themed to that era (part of the Dolly Parton branding...)

The only question now is if it will be a launched Mack looper like Blue Fire since they were rumored to have taken a tour of it, or it will it be an RMC following the huge success of Outlaw Run? Up until now I was sold on an RMC since the parks have always played off of each other and Outlaw Run was such a good investment, but I don't think it would fit the theme nearly as easily.

I do have to say though, DW is definitely turning into more of a typical amusement park instead of following the somewhat unique and counter-intuitive standards that the Herschends tried to instill in the place. The craftsmen's valley area of the park is still very much Silver Dollar City Tennessee, but the rest of the park follows typical development standards including razing all the trees to the ground, leveling entire hills, and much more lax thematics in favor of more rides thrown all over the place. It's not necessarily a criticism or a bad thing, as DW is not SDC, but I'm wondering how long before it really starts to effect SDC as well, and if DW will be at all recognizable in 10 years. Will the loss of perceived charm effect what people are willing to pay to visit now that there are coasters plopped all over the place, or will this generation of visitors not care or even embrace that? So far it seems to be the latter...

I just hope they do something with this new coaster thematically that makes it unique. I'm sure that if it is a Mack launched coaster it will have a pre-show like BF, but even beyond that I hope they do more than they did with Wild Eagle. Firechaser has some decent theming at least.

[chittlins]

Major clearing is now taking place at DW. Definitely sounds like it's for a coaster, and the rumor is that a teaser will go out soon that involves a 50's/60's era hot rod speeding off into the distance. The ride will go in an area of the park themed to that era (part of the Dolly Parton branding...)

The only question now is if it will be a launched Mack looper like Blue Fire since they were rumored to have taken a tour of it, or it will it be an RMC following the huge success of Outlaw Run? Up until now I was sold on an RMC since the parks have always played off of each other and Outlaw Run was such a good investment, but I don't think it would fit the theme nearly as easily.

I do have to say though, DW is definitely turning into more of a typical amusement park instead of following the somewhat unique and counter-intuitive standards that the Herschends tried to instill in the place. The craftsmen's valley area of the park is still very much Silver Dollar City Tennessee, but the rest of the park follows typical development standards including razing all the trees to the ground, leveling entire hills, and much more lax thematics in favor of more rides thrown all over the place. It's not necessarily a criticism or a bad thing, as DW is not SDC, but I'm wondering how long before it really starts to effect SDC as well, and if DW will be at all recognizable in 10 years. Will the loss of perceived charm effect what people are willing to pay to visit now that there are coasters plopped all over the place, or will this generation of visitors not care or even embrace that? So far it seems to be the latter...

I just hope they do something with this new coaster thematically that makes it unique. I'm sure that if it is a Mack launched coaster it will have a pre-show like BF, but even beyond that I hope they do more than they did with Wild Eagle. Firechaser has some decent theming at least.

Good, the less alike the better. Dollywood certainly feels like it's going toward more a Knox Berry Farm feel. It's got booming pop centers like Atlanta and Charlotte and Nashville to draw from.  SDC can grow as well, I rather it be quality over quantity but Branson has to get it's act together and get a better vision.

[U Smell Smoke]

While we were at Dollywood for Christmas I saw where they built a large new parking lot just across the railroad tracks from Thunderhead.  They had to clear a lot of land to make that happen.  I didn't catch the full message but the guy on the tram said they were undergoing a major parking lot reshuffle and reorganization for 2015.  It made me wonder if they are going to repurpose some of the parking that was near the front of the park for park expansion.  That would be one of the few flat areas they have left excluding the train loop on top of the hill.  They would have to rework the turnstiles a bit to accommodate the new park area if they moved it to the old parking lot but it got me to wondering.

[Swoosh]

New coaster to be called SHOT ROD. Trademark filed March 19th. 
Doesn't hide the fact it is for a hot rod themed coaster.

[Dewayne]

Does SDC have enough land to keep opening new coasters?

I think yes, At least two big boys and several compact ones.  I've got nothing against a compact coaster they are quit cheaper thus allowing for much more theming which can set them apart.  I've mentioned rides sharing the same footprint and theming before like a fnew high cap flume and a mack/gerstlauer custom bobsled/wild mouse like family coaster. They can be contained  completely indoors(see Hersey's new spinning coaster) and thats a plus for seasonal operations like OTC when the cold can shut down the outside rides. I'd love to see more indoor flats and compact coasters for that very reason.

YES! YES! YES! YES! Im tired of most of the rides shutting down just for rain. That means i dont get much left to do, except 2 rides, or walk around until the rain stops. WE NEED MORE INDOOR RIDES/ATTRACTIONS!

[Dewayne]

Major clearing is now taking place at DW. Definitely sounds like it's for a coaster, and the rumor is that a teaser will go out soon that involves a 50's/60's era hot rod speeding off into the distance. The ride will go in an area of the park themed to that era (part of the Dolly Parton branding...)

The only question now is if it will be a launched Mack looper like Blue Fire since they were rumored to have taken a tour of it, or it will it be an RMC following the huge success of Outlaw Run? Up until now I was sold on an RMC since the parks have always played off of each other and Outlaw Run was such a good investment, but I don't think it would fit the theme nearly as easily.

I do have to say though, DW is definitely turning into more of a typical amusement park instead of following the somewhat unique and counter-intuitive standards that the Herschends tried to instill in the place. The craftsmen's valley area of the park is still very much Silver Dollar City Tennessee, but the rest of the park follows typical development standards including razing all the trees to the ground, leveling entire hills, and much more lax thematics in favor of more rides thrown all over the place. It's not necessarily a criticism or a bad thing, as DW is not SDC, but I'm wondering how long before it really starts to effect SDC as well, and if DW will be at all recognizable in 10 years. Will the loss of perceived charm effect what people are willing to pay to visit now that there are coasters plopped all over the place, or will this generation of visitors not care or even embrace that? So far it seems to be the latter...

I just hope they do something with this new coaster thematically that makes it unique. I'm sure that if it is a Mack launched coaster it will have a pre-show like BF, but even beyond that I hope they do more than they did with Wild Eagle. Firechaser has some decent theming at least.

What do you mean by BF? I dont think any ride that I have ever seen has any kind of "pre-show". Whats this BF ride you speak of?

[W.P. Warburton]

Blazing fury

[Dewayne]

Oh thanks 

BF is just like FITH. FITH doesnt have any kind of "pre-show". Why would BF have one? What is it like?

[runner1960]

Blazing fury

I'm pretty sure he was talking about Blue Fire at Europa Park and not blazing Fury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU1uGTqX0DM

[W.P. Warburton]

Sorry bout that