dstephe9 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Exactly and the fixed the old ladies broken arm that was broken for years haha Are you sure they did the entire track though? I remember the video about it a few years ago and they mentioned only doing the drops. Not saying they didn't do the entire thing, I just don't remember it haha Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't remember if it was every single section of track but I know they did a ton of work. Apparently the water inside the building had taken a major toll on everything so I know it was a pretty comprehensive refurbishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't remember if it was every single section of track but I know they did a ton of work. Apparently the water inside the building had taken a major toll on everything so I know it was a pretty comprehensive refurbishment. Makes me wonder when/if SDC will do something similar to Fire In the hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't remember if it was every single section of track but I know they did a ton of work. Apparently the water inside the building had taken a major toll on everything so I know it was a pretty comprehensive refurbishment. Yeah I'm not sure either.. I know the last section with the drops was redone.. the video was funny because it was actually when RMC was redoing a lot of coasters so the maintenance guy was like "I don't want any rumors to be started, but RMC is here working on Blazing Fury".. this was a year before LR was announced I believe.. maybe 2 years, not sure Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't remember if it was every single section of track but I know they did a ton of work. Apparently the water inside the building had taken a major toll on everything so I know it was a pretty comprehensive refurbishment. Makes me wonder when/if SDC will do something similar to Fire In the hole? FITH was refurbed in 2007. Trackwork, new animatronics, the whole thing. Glad to see Blazing Fury got the same treatment. Oh, and for those asking for a Disney-quality dark ride, you're looking at one. Fire in the Hole and Blazing Fury were developed in conjunction with the Disney imagineers. In the 1970s, this is exactly what Disney rides looked like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Exactly, the key phrase is what they looked like in 1970.. almost 50 years ago.. even the originals at Disney look light years ahead of BF now.. It's time for a modern dark ride for Dollywood in my opinion. I'm not sure Dollywood a ever got new animatronics for BF, they just repaired the broken ones (yes the old lady who "has been kissing that steam train" had a broken arm for years it seemed haha) but the new trackwork was very welcomed.. the hills are now so smooth! I love BF and not saying it's a bad ride, just saying it's time for Dollywood to build a new ride to go with it it's actually one of the only rides I ride pretty much every visit. Me, personally, I love boat rides.. I'd love a modern flooded mine.. or maybe incorporate the "haunted aspect" like someone mentioned above and do a haunted flooded cave.. or maybe just a cute boat ride of some type Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djwadeknox Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) Dollywood had a behind the scenes tour today for media. Should have a full report on the six o'clock news. Bad news for those that like those huge slices of Pizza at Lumber Jack. This year much smaller Personal pan pizzas to help make the lines move faster. Also the backstage is being totally redone to be the front porch cafe. Kinda of farm style restaurant with locally sourced products.. They are going over 225 improvement projects throughout the park during the off season. The low end on a project is 5000 and then it goes up from there. Spending a few million total just on improvements to the park. I will post a video report when it is posted on the news stations. Nothing going vertical yet for the drop tower. Edit adding link to know news paper. http://knoxne.ws/2k8zAdE New video http://wate.com/2017/02/09/dollywood-adding-new-attractions-helping-sevier-county-economy/ Another local station video http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/dollywood-offers-sneak-peak-at-upcoming-attractions/406544698 Edited February 10, 2017 by Djwadeknox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 No more large pizza is the worse news ever! That's why the line was so long there.. now it'll be no different than the other pizza joint.. that rlly didn't not make my night haha.. the lines where never super long like a lot of restaurants.. I bet it also has to do with cost cutting.. but I really loved the restaurant Hopefully it's still made the same way and not some cheap personal pan style tiny pizza.. if the flavor is still the same and still that stone baked pizza style I'm sure I'll still enjoy it but the novelty of a large slice of pizza is gone. I always see families buying the entire pizza and just see their face when they bring it out haha. Curious to hear about other projects.. I know they planned to do a lot of remodeling this year.. A lot of the park needed a facelift and it sounds like they are getting one.. glad to hear they are moving a lot of AC units to rooftops and out of sight.. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinslasher Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) On 2/9/2017 Dollywood hosted us for the 2017 Media Construction tour. It was a gloomy day at the park with temperatures really never getting above 40 and having rain and snow. But is was a very good day. Before we entered the park, the Dollywood team talked shortly about some of the side projects they were completing this year, including a new HR building, redoing the front gate restrooms as well as many new AC units and roofing, as well as a lot of painting. Did you know Dollywood uses approximately 20,000 of paint a year! We started our day with a tour of the former Backstage Restaurant. This restaurant has been gutten and is receiving a complete transformation to a new theme called "Front Porch Café". It will replace the former movie theme with a new, brighter country theme. Representatives at Dollywood say it will have a new menu with some of the popular items returning as well. It looks like it will be a very nice change for the area. Next Stop the Glass blowing shop... Welcome to a day at Dollywood for the 2017 Media Construction Tour Tickets anyone? We started our tour off with rain and snow and at about 34 degrees. Goodbye Backstage! Dollywood's team hard at work on the transformation. The new logo for the Front Porch Café! Our 1st stop was the former Backstage Restaurant. This restaurant will now be called Front Porch Café. Dollywood is transforming this location from the former movie theme to a new country themed restaurant. It will feature a new menu with some of the old favorites returning. As we were walking to our next location, the glass blowers, I figured I'd snap a pic of Lightning Rod. Edited February 10, 2017 by pinslasher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinslasher Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) Part 2 Dollywood Media Tour GLASS SHOP: Our next stop was the Rainbow Glass shop. During this off season, they have been hard at work, as you can see from the pictures. They are reconfiguring the craftsmen's area to be able to accommodate two craftsmen at one. So as I understand it, it means TWO glory holes! The area that you see built off the side of it is a new, bigger area to blow your own glass, which will be pretty cool. They are also redoing the retail space of the business due to how dated the interior was prior. The cost of this renovation is around $300,000.00. Lastly, the name of Rainbow Glass will be changed in 2017 to Mountain Blown Glass. TIMBER CANYON: A very nice modification coming to Timber Canyon in 2017 is the widened and partial straightening of the walkway leading up to Timber Canyon. This should help a lot during the busy summer months. They will also be adding better lighting, sound and theming to this path as well. THUNDER HEAD: Thunderhead received a new coat of paint on the main ride buildings. They are going with a green theme instead of the red to change it up a little. LUMBER JACK PIZZA: This restaurant is undergoing a big renovation to help with moving guests through the line and better service. They will no longer carry the giant pizzas. They will be adding 4 freestyle soda fountains, like the did in Red's last year, adding more POS Stations and reconfiguring the serving area. We shall see! Now, probably what most are looking for... WHISTLE PUNK CHASER: This junior coaster will be located in the area between Thunderhead and Drop Line. It takes the space previously help by the children's playground and water areas. They were staking off for footers when we were there. (see pics below) I got as many pics as I could without getting in trouble in that area. PROJECTED OPENING IS END OF MAY. DROP LINE: Drop line will be a 230ft Drop tower located in the space previously occupied by EVERYTHING from picnic tables, a Christmas tree, a crazy night show and the long gone Timber Tower. The existing q-line is expected to be used for this new ride. This ride will give you amazing views of the Great Smoky Mountains. PROJECTED OPENING IS END OF MAY. SPLASH COUNTRY UPDATED NEXT. New addition to Glass Blowing Shop Working on the retail. Now people can walk 6 across You can see the new paint. Future home of DROP LINE Some Mystery Mine love! Marking off for footers! Edited February 10, 2017 by pinslasher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinslasher Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Last stop was a very short trip to Splash Country Mike Brown talked briefly about the Tailspin Racers coming to Splash in 2017. He said it was around a 2.2 million dollar expansion. Welcome to Splash Country! Footers for the new ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenbowl Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 ^ Great pictures! Can you confirm if they are still aiming to open Drop Line and the Kiddie coaster around Memorial Day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinslasher Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 They are aiming at the end of May to open the 2 Dollywood attractions. Splash Country's slide will open with Splash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestreak Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Very cool! Thanks for the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I'm still sad about the pizza but the freestyle machines are welcoming Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaellynn4 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Great pictures! Interesting to see all of the little updates being done throughout the park. Wider pathways FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Thanks so much for posting this! Getting excited for our trip there this spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 It's always interesting to see how much work parks do in the off season, even if no massive new ride is involved. Thanks for the behind-the-scenes look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeansproutMidget Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Wow, awesome pics! I love seeing what parks do during the off-season, and seeing even the small changes like the walkways and the paint. Get's me excited for our trip this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFlynn Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 No more large pizza is the worse news ever! That's why the line was so long there.. now it'll be no different than the other pizza joint.. that rlly didn't not make my night haha.. the lines where never super long like a lot of restaurants.. I bet it also has to do with cost cutting.. but I really loved the restaurant Hopefully it's still made the same way and not some cheap personal pan style tiny pizza.. if the flavor is still the same and still that stone baked pizza style I'm sure I'll still enjoy it but the novelty of a large slice of pizza is gone. I always see families buying the entire pizza and just see their face when they bring it out haha. Curious to hear about other projects.. I know they planned to do a lot of remodeling this year.. A lot of the park needed a facelift and it sounds like they are getting one.. glad to hear they are moving a lot of AC units to rooftops and out of sight.. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Lumberjack's and Dogs 'n Taters were the only food joints I really enjoyed at Dollywood. I'm really sad that they're removing the GOOD pizza, it was surprisingly decent for theme park pizza.. I hope it's not going to be the same swill they have at Victoria's near the county fair area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Awesome off season report!! Thanks for sharing!! I'm so excited for our visit to the park this year!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 No more large pizza is the worse news ever! That's why the line was so long there.. now it'll be no different than the other pizza joint.. that rlly didn't not make my night haha.. the lines where never super long like a lot of restaurants.. I bet it also has to do with cost cutting.. but I really loved the restaurant Hopefully it's still made the same way and not some cheap personal pan style tiny pizza.. if the flavor is still the same and still that stone baked pizza style I'm sure I'll still enjoy it but the novelty of a large slice of pizza is gone. I always see families buying the entire pizza and just see their face when they bring it out haha. Curious to hear about other projects.. I know they planned to do a lot of remodeling this year.. A lot of the park needed a facelift and it sounds like they are getting one.. glad to hear they are moving a lot of AC units to rooftops and out of sight.. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Lumberjack's and Dogs 'n Taters were the only food joints I really enjoyed at Dollywood. I'm really sad that they're removing the GOOD pizza, it was surprisingly decent for theme park pizza.. I hope it's not going to be the same swill they have at Victoria's near the county fair area. Theme Park pizza, even the pizza at Victoria's (beside the country Fair) taste like frozen pizza to me . It probably is!! BUT lumberjacks was fresh baked.. heck, you could watch them doing it.. Although thinner, it always reminded me of stone baked Pizza from Mellow Mushroom or from Whole Foods or other fresh baked places.. you could taste the difference, and it was excellent pizza. They can still make fresh personal pan pizza and if they do, I'm sure it'll be great.. I'm just afraid they will go to your typical frozen pizza though I would be willing to bet they won't spend the time freshly preparing each individual personal pan pizza.. that would take a lot of time. I understand wanting to increase capacity and line speed but I never really stood in line very long for that restaurant. They had plenty of pizza, pre cut pizza, and just handed it to you.. it's still a bummer to me but there is still plenty of good food I guess ha-ha Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 ^ Maybe just the dough bases will be pre-made, then frozen/refridgerated for later use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Maybe haha, if they can somehow keep it fresh I'm sure it'll still be great..I mean, I loved the value and novelty of the huge slices but the most important part was the taste and quality.. if they keep that, ill probably still love it I haven't had time to view the pics yet (they aren't showing on mobile) but could anyone tell if the stone ovens are gone for lumberjack? I'm sure if they are going to premade personal pan pizzas they will switch to those pull through ovens like Little Cesar's and pizza hut use. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Overall though, I'm sure the GP would rather have quick service and just pizza in general so I understand why they are doing it.. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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