[Jarsh]

If you can get away from working during a potential Winterfest event, come to the ACE event at the park on November 19.

[FamousAmos]

I was going to ask you what day it would be on. Thanks.
Do you think we would be able to stay at DreamMore Resort again for the discounted rate like back in January? That was a lot of fun. Got to meet many new people and hang out with several of you.

[Jarsh]

I will be looking to get a discounted rate again, but I don't know what that rate would be at the moment.

[FamousAmos]

Great! Thanks More than likely we are going to want to stay in teh area for a few days or so. But anything is better than nothing.

[arby]

I'm curious to understand why you consider it a one trick pony? Looking at the course, it seemed like a very interesting layout.

I consider TTD to be a one trick pony as it's essentially a launch and that's it. There are numerous elements on LR that look like it will be a lot of fun.

I'm not sure if it was just a bad ride or something but the only thing I liked was the quad down and that was it.(The only coaster at the park I felt for me that was top 10 worthy was mystery mine)

Thanks! Yeah, like Jonathan said, we have completely different preferences on coasters, which is perfectly fine. I was just curious what you didn't like about it. My favorite coasters are wooden coasters, so I'm sure I'll love LR.

Thunderhead is in my top 10 wooden coasters and I make sure to ride it every time I'm at Dollywood even if I ride nothing else.

[Chris]

I'll make an exception in this case on the condition we get a full review later.

As promised...

• My new 2nd favorite coaster, taking over SkyRush's position. The ejector air on this thing surpasses SkyRush, but with a comfortable ride for all. It is intense and lasts throughout!
• The launch was nice. It wasn't anything crazy, though. I put the intensity of the launch around FireChaser Express (aka, not much), but it of course lasted much longer than FCE.
• I didn't expect much from the false drop but wow! Probably my 2nd favorite element on the ride.
• As I said before, the ejector air is sustained throughout the entire ride and the lateral ejector air was just as intense as the rest.
• Then we approached the quad down... maybe my favorite element on any coaster. Ever. I usually never have a problem riding with glasses or sunglasses but on each dip down, my glasses easily moved an inch up my face, barely being held on by the tips of my ears. By the 4th dip, I was holding on to my glasses, fearing I might lose them.
• The lateral air on the final turnaround was an intense as it looks.
• The ride maintains its momentum throughout the entire ride. In fact, my one and only beef, and the only reason it does not take my number 1 spot over Fury 325, is the length. It ends with SO MUCH momentum. It almost feels like it's gong faster during the quad downs than during the first drop. It feels like it could go on forever.

[swampfox43]

Your review is spot on with my opinion Chris. The only difference in my review is that LR became my new #1 woodie, moving RVFII to #2. Primarily due to the launched lift adding to the sustained momentum. My heart was racing so fast when we hit the final brake, it took me a second to gather my self. Intense is putting it lightly, lol. I haven't found the right adjective to describe LR.

[Axel]

I liked it... it was super intense. But it was very rough in several spots and we were sore after riding. People joked about needing a chiropractor after riding it. Also, very hard to keep your hands up the entire length.

Riding some of my favorite woodies this last week back-to-back (in bold), the following are my latest woodie ratings:

1) Waldameer's Ravine Flyer II
2) Holiday World's Voyage
3) Dollywood's Lightning Rod
4) Lake Compounce's Boulder Dash
5) SFGA's El Toro
6) KI's The Beast
7) Dollywood's Thunderhead
8) Hersheypark's Lightning Racer
9) Holiday World's Raven
10) Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run

[swampfox43]

I liked it... it was super intense. But it was very rough in several spots and we were sore after riding. People joked about needing a chiropractor after riding it.

A couple areas were a tad rough, but we found that riding a non-wheel seat helped tremendously.

[aoriole19]

So LR is open now right? The website still says technical ride rehearsal, but it sounded like you guys said otherwise. I'm going tomorrow, regardless of whether it's open, so just wondering what to expect/hope for.

[tarheel1231]

Did anyone else notice they removed the "trunk" on the back car of Lightning Rod? I'm guessing they removed it because with less weight, the launch requires less power.

[Jonathan]

I've seen some people say LR was really smooth and some say it was rough. I'm curious what's going on there. Outlaw Run was smooth as glass so I wonder what might be different here. Avoiding wheel seats is always a good rule of thumb on woodies, though.

[aoriole19]

Standing in the LR queue now and have been for about an hour. It's (somewhat ironically) closed due to lightning. All the rides have been closed for a while now, so we only got on 2 coasters (including the kiddie coaster) and 1 flat /:

Very disappointing that I wasn't able to get on LR, Mystery Mine, Wild Eagle, Firechaser Express, Tennessee Tornado, or Thunderhead, or more than 1 flat ride, considering the amount of money my family spent on tickets and renting a car. But there's no chance of getting any kind of free ticket or anything, is there? I don't want to be the annoying family that complains wanting a raincheck, but if it would work..... I'd do it. Haha

[Chris]

I would go to guest services and explain the whole situation (car rental and all). The worse they can say is, no.

[Jonathan]

Dollywood actually has a really good raincheck policy. Pretty sure they will give you tickets to come back without hesitation (unless they've changed).