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[shavethewhales]

Fresh photos: http://sdcfans.com/2017-project-construction-update-52116/

Sorry about the cell phone pic quality. It's usually crisper, but I guess I need to clean the lens.


The loop around the bathrooms is so tight. It must either be the lift hill and drop, or an inverstion. Doesn't look like it will be the station location, but you can never really tell.

[Swoosh]

Pretty sure the station is going right where the bathroom is located but obviously you'll enter at grade (above) and not below grade like where the current restroom is located. 

[mhguy77]

I dont know about you guys but I am excited we have something real to watch, grow and speculate / talk about.

[Dewayne]

I dont know about you guys but I am excited we have something real to watch, grow and speculate / talk about.

Me too!

[joshblakebran]

As am I. Thanks to everybody who are posting pictures. Some of them I can see things, others I can't. Stinks to be colored blind so I can't make out the flags and such but thanks for the updates. Keep em' coming

[sdcfan88]

Since the Dive coaster is likely 2020 and an invert seems less likely for 2017, are we now thinking a launched wing coaster is in the works? Since HFEC seems to have a fixation on launched rides and big coasters (see Lightning Rod) and Powder Keg is very popular despite the maintenance and downtime issues it seems to have, a launched B&M wing coaster (see Thunderbird) would definitely balance out the park on its coaster collection.

[Swoosh]

The coaster will utilize a traditional lift hill.

[Dewayne]

I can definately see this being a launched coaster somehow. Since PK is usually down more than its running most days, especially when I come, I dont consider PK as a coaster anymore. It breaks down way too much. Something needs to be done with it, or we need another launched coaster.

[Tmboote]

I can definately see this being a launched coaster somehow. Since PK is usually down more than its running most days, especially when I come, I dont consider PK as a coaster anymore. It breaks down way too much. Something needs to be done with it, or we need another launched coaster.

It was just said that this won't be a launched coaster.

[chittlins]

I can definately see this being a launched coaster somehow. Since PK is usually down more than its running most days, especially when I come, I dont consider PK as a coaster anymore. It breaks down way too much. Something needs to be done with it, or we need another launched coaster.

It was just said that this won't be a launched coaster.

Tmboote be all like

[shavethewhales]

I wouldn't take anything posted on here as gospel.

I'm not really expecting a launch at this point either though. I'd really like it, and it would make sense, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards this time.

What could be interesting is if they try to enclose a large portion of it to save Echo Hollow. That's perhaps the biggest mystery from all this - how do you put a coaster within arms length of an amphitheater and keep both open? I'm leaning towards the thought that EH will simply be moved somewhere else in the next couple of years.

I'm also wondering how many trees they'll take out between the park and the new ride. The track markers don't go any further than TNT, so it could still be mostly "hidden" from the park like every other coaster, but being down in the valley will make it more visible if they start taking out trees. I could see them purposefully opening up the eating area just to show off the coaster. That wouldn't be the worst thing, but it will really start to feel more like an amusement park than ever. I know it was kind of jarring for me the first time I went to Dollywood because Wild Eagle is so obvious and really breaks whatever immersion DW had left. A lot of rides are obviously amusement rides, but they don't break you out of that 1880's feeling so much as a giant blue B&M towering over everything.  Still, I guess that ship has sailed anyway at this point. There are hardly any pockets of the park left anymore that have the old SDC feel from before the rides were the focus.

[Dewayne]

The coaster will utilize a traditional lift hill.

He never said it wouldnt be a launched coaster. Have none of you rode PK before?

[Swoosh]

The coaster will utilize a traditional lift hill.

He never said it wouldnt be a launched coaster. Have none of you rode PK before?

It will not feature a launch.  Clear enough?

[chittlins]

I wouldn't take anything posted on here as gospel.

I'm not really expecting a launch at this point either though. I'd really like it, and it would make sense, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards this time.

What could be interesting is if they try to enclose a large portion of it to save Echo Hollow. That's perhaps the biggest mystery from all this - how do you put a coaster within arms length of an amphitheater and keep both open? I'm leaning towards the thought that EH will simply be moved somewhere else in the next couple of years.

I'm also wondering how many trees they'll take out between the park and the new ride. The track markers don't go any further than TNT, so it could still be mostly "hidden" from the park like every other coaster, but being down in the valley will make it more visible if they start taking out trees. I could see them purposefully opening up the eating area just to show off the coaster. That wouldn't be the worst thing, but it will really start to feel more like an amusement park than ever. I know it was kind of jarring for me the first time I went to Dollywood because Wild Eagle is so obvious and really breaks whatever immersion DW had left. A lot of rides are obviously amusement rides, but they don't break you out of that 1880's feeling so much as a giant blue B&M towering over everything.  Still, I guess that ship has sailed anyway at this point. There are hardly any pockets of the park left anymore that have the old SDC feel from before the rides were the focus.

It apples.and oranges to compare the parks, but Magic Springs closes Arkansas Twister down when there is a concert.

[BackInTime]

As Shave pointed out, I think it would be foolish to take anything posted here as a presumptive fact. As recently as OR, there were posts shared insinuating aspects of that ride as a virtual certainty, which turned out to be completely false (by a long shot, I might add), once the ride was completed.

Everything is speculative until an official announcement, or we see indisputable physical evidence to support it.

All that said, I have a few questions. First, is there a legitimate description used to categorize a "family" coaster? I've seen rides like Wild Eagle described as such, but in my book, a family coaster immediately takes me to a more tame ride built to accommodate a broader audience. For me, TNT and Fire Chaser are more legitimate "family" coasters.

Second, once track begins arriving, would seeing it alone give us the ability to discern whether or not this is a winged or dive coaster, or any other variety for that matter?

Lastly, why is anyone assuming the 2017 attraction is not a dive coaster, and that a dive coaster is coming in 2020? We don't even know what's being built as we speak, let alone what might be coming in three and a half years.