Well, Sat. April 17th, 2004 has come and gone. I still can't stop thinking about that woodie up there in the Smokey Mountains.

The weather was perfect! The crowds in Dollywood were relatively light while the main drag in Pigeon Forge was gridlocked the entire day due to the car show.

All the recent talk of Thunderhead is certainly true. I will not go into details as there is nothing more to say than this woodie is in a class by itself. You can't really compare it to Boulderdash, or Tremors or any of the other great woodies. Thunderhead is a compact twister style coaster that delivers a solid, intense ride from the moment it drops off the lift until the second it hit's the brake (with still plenty of momentum left I must say!).

During the ACE ERT each trainload of people got DOUBLE rides. What a treat!! To me, a fantastic woodie is one that delivers in the front seat and back seat. There are certain coasters out there that give you either a good front or good back seat ride.
Thunderhead gives you an intense ride in both front and back seats although I feel the front seat is more intense.

People have complained about the Millenium Flyers restraints but I personally have no problem with them. Yes, they could be improved but they aren't enough a problem to keep me from ranking this woodie very, very high.

Also, I must give kudos to the Arrow, Tennessee Tornado. What a surprise!! The first drop totally surprised me. It just kept going and going, into the pitch black underground tunnel. This has got to be the biggest sleeper hit of the multi-loopers. The ride is really very good! The hang time in the loop is awesome!

GCI should be commended as well as Dollywood for building this masterpiece. I upgraded to a season pass and will certainly be back soon.

Also, my thanks goes out to ACE regional rep. Robert Ulrich for his hard work in organizing this great event. There were around 100 people there which meant plenty of double-rides for each.

Here are a few pics I took of Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado yesterday:

http://members.aol.com/GCIthunderhead/pics.html

This is a trip report, so it's going in that forum.

Those are some nice pictures of the coasters.

Man, I've got to get to Dollywood soon. I'm all about Thunderhead. It looks amazing and I haven't seen a bad review yet.

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I know that alot of people here like to call themselves coaster enthusiasts, and why not, they are enthusiastic about coasters. Though I can firmly say that there is too much enthusiasm being placed on Thunderhead. I read about it being a "world's greatest style ride", and unfortunately it just is not. The laterals are decent, but no really good slams to the side. I managed a one click ride, which is not that big of a deal considering how the Millennium Flyer is designed, I loosened the seatbelt completely, and began a search for GCI air. There are a couple places people may be calling "airtime" which are definite misconceptions, (the quick right hand dive before the high bank turn into the fly through station, and the left hand dive out of the fly through station). Fellow enthusiasts, that is NOT airtime. Cornball Express' last two hill hills is airtime, Phoenix is airtime, etc. The only air I can credit to Thunderhead, and it is not that good, is the partially banked bunny hill after the left hand drop out of the fly through station. The ride overall is not an enthusiast's first choice, but it is by no means a bad ride. It feels somewhat tame compared to a CCI such as Legend or Boulder Dash, but I'm happy to say it has more pep than Lightning Racer. I would like this ride more if the curves weren't banked as much to allow for harder laterals. It is best to keep in mind that Dollywood was aiming for a coaster that would laregly be popular with the GP, and that younger kids could ride, too. I'm certain it was never intended to be a big fear inducer.

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The ride totally blew me away. I had no idea what to expect. The trains were awesome too. It made the ride so much smoother. They look good too.

From the very beginning until the very end, this ride does not stop, or even slow down. It has not one slow spot. I love it. It's my new #1 favorite woody!

I also upgraded to a seasons pass and I will definatly be going back as well!


Here's some more pictures of the ride.

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Awesome pics! I will soon be able to go to Dolly Wood all the time. My dad is moving to Knoxville in may and I can go visit him any time I want! I cant wait to ride this thing!

Cool, pov pics of the ride bk2004. Did you take them or what.

I wanna ride Thunderhead soo bad! Ive been on Roar, Wildcat and Lightning Racer. GCI's Rule. I wish thunderhead was a bit closer to me but it gives me a good reason now to go to Tenn!

Thunderhead took my top woodie spot after the first ride. It is relentless-not a bland section on the entire ride! The fly-through is amazing! The whole station building shakes!

Thunderhead also has alott of good air pops. (Or whatever you want to call it) Some that last 2 or 3 seconds like on the drop after the double up and the hops before and after the helix. (The first drop commands you to stand up, no matter what car your in!)

Not to mention riding this baby in total darkness!! I was in the front seat of the last train out that night.WHEW!!!! This coaster literally takes your breath. I'm going to get good use out of this season pass.....and a lot of extra miles on my car

I have to agree that Thunderhead is a great woodie. I remember getting off it opening weekend and said Raven What. It does have more airtime or whatever Ta2KX calls it.

Also look for an event hosted by Rideworld/Thrillride at Dollywood in September that will consist of two hours of ERT in the dark.

You know, it's funny coasterdave, we have the same name. But what makes us different is I know a fair share more about what makes a great wood coaster. Sure, we all have our opinions on what the best wood coaster is, but from an enthusiast's stand point (which I was led to believe everyone here is), Raven is a far superior ride. Airtime and lateral forces are objective things; not buzzwords to hype up a new ride. I'll be looking forward to your review of Hades in 2005. What is that you ask? It's a massive wood coaster designed by Gravity Group (the reincarnation of a company called Custom Coasters International, but us enthusiasts call it "C-C-I") The last time I checked a validated wood coaster poll, "C-C-I" had more top-rated coasters by far than GCI. Wow, in fact, "C-C-I" had more top 20 wood coasters than all other companies combined. Impressive, don't you think? I'm not here to bash your opinions, God help me if I make you feel bad, but you ought to think more before you post straight-up B.S.

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Airtime
(n.)

1.)The time during which a radio or television station is broadcasting. Also called airspace.

2.)The time at which a radio or television program is broadcast.

Well, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that CCI also has twice as many coasters (if not more) than GCI. Duhhh! But did you ever stop to think that the Ozark Wildcat and Thunderhead may be the turning point for GCI? Sure their first few coasters were "pretty" although they didn't deliver to most enthusiasts.
Look at CCI's first creation Sky Princess. Nobody was raving about it in 1992.....

WildMouse I am so jealous!!!

Man thanks for the pics, wow this thing just keeps getting better.

I read someones review of it, trashing the coaster because it doesn't have air time.

So what!? All woodys don't have to have airtime in my book. If it's a fun ride, and good speed and transitions, that's all it needs in my book.

Can't wait to ride it this summer. I wanted to go to the ACE event, but it just didn't work out with my friends schedule.

Later this summer...

And I'm almost shocked that noone (in general) has ridden Tenn. Tornado! It's like my #2 or #3 Arrow looper behind Loch Ness Monster. It's awesome!

I can't wait to see what Dollywood's coasters will look like in another 10 years if they keep up this trend.

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Thunderhead delivers everything you'd want in a wooden coaster, if not more! Do not listen to those who have slammed the coaster for apparently having 'no airtime' this fact is a lie to say the least. Thunderhead has plenty of air, and intensity throughout it's course.
One bad apple in the bunch is to be expected, I guess.

-Celebrating 5 years of Tennessee Tornado!-

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