Dollywood Discussion Thread

This happened to me on Maverick in June. I made sure I had my mouth closed and that f**ker still got in there so I spent the next 15 solid minutes hacking and throwing up like a crazy person. I swear I could feel fragments of its wings in my throat the rest of the night.

The ride is called Maverick and set in the Old West. You should have had your bandana covering your mouth!

If rain feels like needle at high speeds I have no doubt a bug will pierce right through a bandanna if it's fast enough

It's bad enough I inhaled one of those stupid mayflies on MF one year at CP - luckily, it was a small one, but still not fun to get off a coaster hacking and about throwing up because a bug is stuck to the back of your throat!

 

This happened to me on Maverick in June. I made sure I had my mouth closed and that f**ker still got in there so I spent the next 15 solid minutes hacking and throwing up like a crazy person. I swear I could feel fragments of its wings in my throat the rest of the night.

I'll one-up both of you - a few years ago at CoasterMania, we hit a swarm of mayflies at the bottom of Raptor's first drop and my boyfriend at the time ended up with one lodged in his eye. Took a solid 10-15 minutes to get it all out with the water fountain nearby - I (very vividly) remember pulling a wing off his eye toward the end.

Why do they close rides for wasps? Just put up a sign letting people know and then let them decide if they want to ride or not. Six Flags New England will happily send Batman trains into the world's largest bee orgy on a daily basis and nobody complains.

Aside from the many people at DW that DO complain about them, they are literally up there by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. The species of wasps that shut the rides down also is not local to the area. They are in a migration pattern from the New England area headed towards the gulf and Texas, travelling along the smokies. This is important because guests may not know if they are allergic and if they get stung we may not be able to get them off the ride quickly enough before an allergic reaction occurs. Shutting down before someone gets the chance to get stung is always the better option. Also, should a ride have an error and stop on the lift and need evacution the situation is instantly much more severe.

I think they are actually a migrating bee but I might be wrong

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Why do they close rides for wasps? Just put up a sign letting people know and then let them decide if they want to ride or not. Six Flags New England will happily send Batman trains into the world's largest bee orgy on a daily basis and nobody complains.

Aside from the many people at DW that DO complain about them, they are literally up there by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. The species of wasps that shut the rides down also is not local to the area. They are in a migration pattern from the New England area headed towards the gulf and Texas, travelling along the smokies. This is important because guests may not know if they are allergic and if they get stung we may not be able to get them off the ride quickly enough before an allergic reaction occurs. Shutting down before someone gets the chance to get stung is always the better option. Also, should a ride have an error and stop on the lift and need evacution the situation is instantly much more severe.

I'm not saying you are wrong but I have never heard of a migrating wasp being I studied them in college and was taught they do not migrate. Could you please find the source and post it. I'm curious and I've been searching for the last three hours and can't find anything. Thanks...

He works at the park haha. I do know from personal experience of going years and years that Dollywood usual gets them mostly around this time of year the worst. We take trips around my birthday and Thunderhead used to always go down. Wild Eagle is another one that has problems. The hotter the days the worse they are.

Been at park for a few hours and LR been closed the entire time I have been here as far as I can tell

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Looks like LR just went for TC to CD today...

Edit: Overall though, even with LR being closed it was still a great trip.. mainly my GF and I just walked around (something we do about once a week at Dollywood).. they already had their fall festival decorations up so those where nice to see.. even had a lot of Christmas Lights up and on already.. Big tree is up as well.. petty day at the park and did ride two rides, both walk on.. Blazing Fury we had a train to ourselves and fire chaser was only half full..

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It's bad enough I inhaled one of those stupid mayflies on MF one year at CP - luckily, it was a small one, but still not fun to get off a coaster hacking and about throwing up because a bug is stuck to the back of your throat!

 

This happened to me on Maverick in June. I made sure I had my mouth closed and that f**ker still got in there so I spent the next 15 solid minutes hacking and throwing up like a crazy person. I swear I could feel fragments of its wings in my throat the rest of the night.

I'll one-up both of you - a few years ago at CoasterMania, we hit a swarm of mayflies at the bottom of Raptor's first drop and my boyfriend at the time ended up with one lodged in his eye. Took a solid 10-15 minutes to get it all out with the water fountain nearby - I (very vividly) remember pulling a wing off his eye toward the end.

That has happened to both Michael and me - not riding a coaster, but when riding in a golf cart. That hurts like hell and it takes forever to get those little bastards out of there!

.. even had a lot of Christmas Lights up and on already.. Big tree is up as well.. petty day at the park and did ride two rides, both walk on.. Blazing Fury we had a train to ourselves and fire chaser was only half full..

 

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The big Christmas tree is up in Timber Canyon, on the stage across from Lumber Jack's Pizza already? If so, that's really early & really odd. IMO, it's out of place way up there. It needs to be more centrally located in the park, where it's supposed to be in Rivertown Junction on the lake. I can understand how they're wanting to spread attractions out through the park, but last year I could barely hear the Christmas music synched to the lights & overall it just feels too crowded there to take in the "full" effect, and there weren't any smaller "accent trees" in place to go along with the presentation. When it was in Rivertown, park guests could view it from various locations/angles around the lake itself. The viewing area seems limited and too cramped in Timber Canyon, along the midway between the Lumberjack Lifts and Thunderhead.

Yup it's up already, I was very surprised.. earliest I have seen it up. I thought wow, Christmas tree in September already! Lol I don't like it there either and wish it was still in the big pond. Much easier to watch it there..

The tree wasn't on or anything but the park closes before dark right now to.. like I said though, Christmas lights where turned on, on several buildings already though

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Why do they close rides for wasps? Just put up a sign letting people know and then let them decide if they want to ride or not. Six Flags New England will happily send Batman trains into the world's largest bee orgy on a daily basis and nobody complains.

Aside from the many people at DW that DO complain about them, they are literally up there by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. The species of wasps that shut the rides down also is not local to the area. They are in a migration pattern from the New England area headed towards the gulf and Texas, travelling along the smokies. This is important because guests may not know if they are allergic and if they get stung we may not be able to get them off the ride quickly enough before an allergic reaction occurs. Shutting down before someone gets the chance to get stung is always the better option. Also, should a ride have an error and stop on the lift and need evacution the situation is instantly much more severe.

I'm not saying you are wrong but I have never heard of a migrating wasp being I studied them in college and was taught they do not migrate. Could you please find the source and post it. I'm curious and I've been searching for the last three hours and can't find anything. Thanks...

He works at the park haha. I do know from personal experience of going years and years that Dollywood usual gets them mostly around this time of year the worst. We take trips around my birthday and Thunderhead used to always go down. Wild Eagle is another one that has problems. The hotter the days the worse they are.

These findings came in 2012 when WE was constructed and saw the wasps for the first time. Reasearch by the University of Tennessee and local entimological groups that found this bread of wasps to not be local to the area, and to be quite aggressive. They've never found nests in the area and the wasps never create them while they are here leading the researchers to believe there was a different bunch of wasps each day (otherwise, why wouldnt they set up shop if it's so perfect?)Additionally, Paper Wasps are commonly found in the northeast in the spring and the south/southwest during the fall and winter. This lead to the notion that the species was migrating, however this has never been pursued further. The red wasp, however, IS local and has its mating season during this time of year and is the species that is most prevalent when TH shuts down for their swarm. As for their love of WE and TH, both species look for a high and hot place to gather during the day and gradually dissipate as it gets darker. The local red wasps like wood and cling to TH, but thanks to the pressure treatments and chemicals used in "weather-proofing" the wood, the wasps cause no harm to TH. The Paper Wasps seem to seak altitude as well as heat and WE's lift is the highest and warmest thing in the immediate area. This makes it prime realestate for their activity.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle also sees a swarm this time of year.

These findings came in 2012 when WE was constructed and saw the wasps for the first time. Reasearch by the University of Tennessee and local entimological groups that found this bread of wasps to not be local to the area, and to be quite aggressive. They've never found nests in the area and the wasps never create them while they are here leading the researchers to believe there was a different bunch of wasps each day (otherwise, why wouldnt they set up shop if it's so perfect?)Additionally, Paper Wasps are commonly found in the northeast in the spring and the south/southwest during the fall and winter. This lead to the notion that the species was migrating, however this has never been pursued further. The red wasp, however, IS local and has its mating season during this time of year and is the species that is most prevalent when TH shuts down for their swarm. As for their love of WE and TH, both species look for a high and hot place to gather during the day and gradually dissipate as it gets darker. The local red wasps like wood and cling to TH, but thanks to the pressure treatments and chemicals used in "weather-proofing" the wood, the wasps cause no harm to TH. The Paper Wasps seem to seak altitude as well as heat and WE's lift is the highest and warmest thing in the immediate area. This makes it prime realestate for their activity.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle also sees a swarm this time of year.

So is this going to be a continuing problem for Dollywood the rest of the season, or when the cooler Fall weather comes, will this problem go away? The reason I'm asking is I really want to visit Dollywood again in 2016...Just wondering when the best time would be to do so when the rides aren't shut down.

It usually last most of October until it cools down and stays cool. Nov, you should be fine

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These findings came in 2012 when WE was constructed and saw the wasps for the first time. Reasearch by the University of Tennessee and local entimological groups that found this bread of wasps to not be local to the area, and to be quite aggressive. They've never found nests in the area and the wasps never create them while they are here leading the researchers to believe there was a different bunch of wasps each day (otherwise, why wouldnt they set up shop if it's so perfect?)Additionally, Paper Wasps are commonly found in the northeast in the spring and the south/southwest during the fall and winter. This lead to the notion that the species was migrating, however this has never been pursued further. The red wasp, however, IS local and has its mating season during this time of year and is the species that is most prevalent when TH shuts down for their swarm. As for their love of WE and TH, both species look for a high and hot place to gather during the day and gradually dissipate as it gets darker. The local red wasps like wood and cling to TH, but thanks to the pressure treatments and chemicals used in "weather-proofing" the wood, the wasps cause no harm to TH. The Paper Wasps seem to seak altitude as well as heat and WE's lift is the highest and warmest thing in the immediate area. This makes it prime realestate for their activity.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle also sees a swarm this time of year.

Whoah. Thanks for taking the time to post that interesting info.

DRobbins that's really neat to know, thanks for sharing that with us! Never thought I'd get a mini education about wasps on a roller coaster forum but I like it.

DRobbins that's really neat to know, thanks for sharing that with us! Never thought I'd get a mini education about wasps on a roller coaster forum but I like it.

DRobbins is does VIP tours for DW so I am sure he has a wealth of information about the park. If you ever get a chance to meet him, hes a really cool dude too. Most of the time, he's being a ride op for LR. So if you're ever in the vicinity... say hi!

These findings came in 2012 when WE was constructed and saw the wasps for the first time. Reasearch by the University of Tennessee and local entimological groups that found this bread of wasps to not be local to the area, and to be quite aggressive. They've never found nests in the area and the wasps never create them while they are here leading the researchers to believe there was a different bunch of wasps each day (otherwise, why wouldnt they set up shop if it's so perfect?)Additionally, Paper Wasps are commonly found in the northeast in the spring and the south/southwest during the fall and winter. This lead to the notion that the species was migrating, however this has never been pursued further. The red wasp, however, IS local and has its mating season during this time of year and is the species that is most prevalent when TH shuts down for their swarm. As for their love of WE and TH, both species look for a high and hot place to gather during the day and gradually dissipate as it gets darker. The local red wasps like wood and cling to TH, but thanks to the pressure treatments and chemicals used in "weather-proofing" the wood, the wasps cause no harm to TH. The Paper Wasps seem to seak altitude as well as heat and WE's lift is the highest and warmest thing in the immediate area. This makes it prime realestate for their activity.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle also sees a swarm this time of year.

Very interesting!

That IS cool information, DRobbins...thanks for sharing with us!

So my friend is at the park today and just got off LR with not too bad of a wait. She said it gave her a major headache and was pretty rough though. Anyone else experienced this? I'll be there myself in a few weeks to give it a review but was just wondering if I need to pack ibuprofen lol

It creates a lot of force which can be mistaken as rough but it doesn't shake rattle and roll you lol..

It hurts my legs and stomach the most from the airtime.. not really my head

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LR rattles a bit where there are two little "thumps", with one located near the bottom of the main drop as well as a smaller one after the wave turn. It's honestly nothing that really takes away from the whole experience itself. I hope those get fixed eventually because it actually was noticeable enough that it felt painful during one ride, however I was in the 10th row (wheel seat) during that particular ride.

Other than that, the ride is pretty smooth. A lot of people do mistaken force/intensity with roughness. I did walk off with a bruise on my lower thigh due to the extreme airtime!

Agreed. My non-enthusiast friends weren't too smitten by it their first ride, claiming roughness, but they enjoyed it much more the second time. That intensity can be really jarring when you're not prepared for it. But that 'pothole' at the bottom of the big drop is very noticeable and definitely uncomfortable if not outright painful. The rest of it is glass smooth, just rocket-level intense.

Its been stated before that wheel seats are to be avoided if you are wanting that buttery smooth ride experience on an RMC coaster. I have not ridden Lightning Rod yet but it is apparent on Outlaw Run at SDC which also uses the topper track.