Is Lightning Rod going to be the #1 RMC?

DKNY6363 said:
I would love to make it to Texas. Do they run coasters straight through their Christmas event? If I do Texas I'm looking at either mid October, or early December.

I believe they normally have a couple of coasters closed during the Holiday in the Park events.

So far, I've only ridden Goliath and Wicked Cyclone. Goliath was great, especially the zero-g stall. Wicked Cyclone had a very distracting vibration, as if it was running on square wheels. I'm not sure if it's always like that, or if I just visited at a time when the ride wasn't getting proper attention from the maintenance department.

I've only ridden WC and Goliath and they are both great rides. I really don't rank rides because there's too many differences between coasters. The problem with the vibration on wc was due to the paint chips sticking to the wheels which is why rmc has started leaving the track unpainted where the wheels ride. I asked Allan Schilke which was his favorite when i met him at wc media day and he said Goliath was easily his best coaster so far. As for LR, i will let you know when i ride it in june as i will also be hitting up storm chaser that same week.

I totally get not wanting to rank rides. I just use it as a guide when I have nothing else to go by. What I seem to be getting though is that Goliath is closer to the top of the RMC pile then it is the bottom.

My rides on WC were all fantastic. I honestly didn't notice any roughness, but then again I have not much to compare it to. It blew away Bizarro that day IMO.

I'd rank the ones I've ridden as follows - Wicked Cyclone/NTG/Outlaw/Iron Rattler/Goliath.

Wicked Cyclone is definitely the best of the bunch IMO. What RMC did with the transformation of that coaster is nothing short of amazing. The pops of airtime on WC are shorter in duration, but there are more of those moments compared to the others. I thankfully didn't experience the vibrations that others have mentioned on any of my rides.

As far as the original question, I'm still not sure if Lightning Rod will be a "great" coaster or merely a "good" one. I liked Outlaw Run and Goliath, but I didn't love either coaster. I'm optimistic that the longer length of LR will push it above the two aforementioned rides. If I had to guess where it'll fall for me it would be between Wicked Cyclone and NTG which would put it in my top 15 coasters.

At the end of the day all I want Lightning Rod to be is a fun ride, and it looks like it will be. I do have concerns about the capacity and the downtime (all of the RMCs I've ridden thus far have had issues with this, and adding a launch component complicates things even more), but we'll see how it all shakes out the next few months.

I called it on Fury to say it would be number 1 and judging by this ride I would go as far as saying it will be the number 1 RMC, though not sure about number 1 overall. Looking at some of the construction pics out there, the terrain its being built on looks absolutely stunning.

Then you win.
I'm glad to see Fury 325 ranked so highly here at the Coasterbuzz 100 and it deserves it. But as pointed out our list only includes our members, then those that made it there, and what their personal preferences are. I'm sure enthusiasts from far and wide will be flocking to DW for a spin on Lightning Rod, but I'm also sure a few of those will include Carowinds on the trip and will be hitting Fury as well. So who knows, but in my opinion it's not much to worry about.

Speaking of Lightning Rod and the launched lift, I think that element has the potential to be one of the most thrilling things ever. In watching the POV rendering I noticed it seems to increase in speed the higher you go. It's tall enough that the fast trip to the first "surprise" airtime moment will be downright scary to most riders. I think its genius. And let's hope it works well, is reliable, etc.

I just ordered my Dollywood Senior Gold Season Pass, which includes parking, 20% off food and merch, 10% off DreamMore Resort, and one bring-a-friend-free ticket good in the spring. And this is one little senior who will be wearin' out some rides this summer, so the joke's on them. I can't wait.

Richard Bannister said:

Kolmarden's ride does look to have the edge over Lightning Rod, but the geographical distribution of those who vote in enthusiast polls means that it'll never do as well in the rankings.

Agree 100% Once some clubs from U.S. venture over there, that will change. I remember back in 2002 after ACE did a tour of Europe, parks & coasters over there got much credit.

Being in the states, I would go to LR. But, if given a choice, I would chose Wildfire.

FYI, ACE's Spring Conference hits Carowinds and Family Kingdom, and ACE Southeast is hosting an event at Dollywood with Lightning Run ERT the day after the Conference.

RCMAC: At NoCoaster, Pete Owens said Lightning Run trains will hit 45 mph as they crest the lift hill and 70+ mph heading down the first hill. He said "your seat's going to be off your seat alot" with all the air time the ride will have.

Yahtzee!

I think its amazing though that "we" the enthusiast community here can pick apart a new coaster so quickly just from looking at it that we know if its going to be an amazing ride or not.

I will be one of those enthusiasts who will flock to ride lightning rod this summer if all goes well. Looks so unreal. Again my envy for the rides you guys get down there is just getting deeper and deeper. It actually hurts so bad that I cry myself to sleep at night wondering why it happened to me. Like Nancy Kerrigan, "whyyyyy, whyyyyyy"!

Wooden coasters as "hyped" as Lightning Rod in my time as an enthusiast:

Son of Beast

The Voyage

Pretty sure that's it....

Oh, and while I'm here...."quadruple down" >= giggity...

I can still feel the pain from the first (and last) time I rode son of beast... Oh the horror.

I have only ridden Goliath, and all I can say is, Lightning Rod looks to be able to eclipse Goliath. Goliath is too short, no time to appreciate the elements, and the wait is interminable. Lightning Rod's lift hill launch will blow Goliath out of the water, and the quadruple down element will seal the deal. Although SFGAm is my home park, it will serve them right because Goliath was a poor fit for such a busy park.

I'm not sure how long the closure will last, but for those that plan on travelling down I-75 to Dollywood on the 19th or anytime soon after might want to keep an eye on this.....

http://www.tn.gov/tdot/news/i-75-closed-at-mile-marker-142-in-campb...-rockslide

This ride is supposed to open in a couple weeks, has it started testing yet?

I'm really looking forward to this one -- and revisiting Dollywood in general! -- especially given Outlaw is my favorite of all the existing US ones (ridden all except Wicked Cyclone). Iron Rattler isn't far behind for me though, agree with Tommy, it flows well and is very re-rideable.

gamerguy said:

This ride is supposed to open in a couple weeks, has it started testing yet?

Yes, it just started testing but Dollywood announced that it won't be open for Opening Day.

DKNY6363 said:

I have only been on Wicked Cyclone.

Yes. You have been on one of the inferior reconstructions. RMC is at their best when they create new rides. It won't just be the #1 RMC, it will probably be the best wooden coaster anywhere.

Lightning Rod Construction Update

Don't forget about this one that looks to be opening before LR at Kentucky kingdom.

https://m.facebook.com/mark.brunner.754/posts/1166827056669718