Lighting Rod Update?

Ugh. I need to figure out my strategy for getting on this ride. I will be there Saturday evening and most of Sunday.

As I've said before, Sunday mornings in the Bible Belt are a pretty good time to be at a park. If you're there at opening on Sunday, you might be able to score a few rides before the post-church rush....

And before the fried chicken rush.

I got a free ticket to return to the park since it was down 3 weeks ago when i was there. I'm waiting until it's actually been running for a few weeks with no problems before i make plans to go back.

It was easy staring at a 2 hour wait for Valravn and knowing we would be back in September. This... not so much.

If we're lucky the ride will be running first thing Sunday morning. If we're not we will rush back there and wait until they manage to get it running...

I don't get why they just don't open it? Rides breakdown all the time at parks and the maintenance guys come down and fix the problem and the ride opens again. How often does TTD still have little breakdowns after all these years its been open. I say if theres no safety issues with it, open it and deal with the minor breakdowns like every other park!

If a part has been recalled by the manufacturer, knowingly operating the ride prior to a repair could very well be illegal. Not to mention any potential hazard by operating the ride. Regular downtimes are usually minor and only require the issue to be fixed. Something like this needs the overall recall problem fixed by the manufacturer before clearance can be given to reopen.

Expecting them to simply "reopen it" without solving the problem is a horrible way to look at the situation.

gamerguy said:

I say if theres no safety issues with it, open it

Perhaps there are safety issues with it.

We were at the park Monday and watched as it tested knowing we could not ride.....

Looks like a fantastic ride and has a great finish.

Vater said:

gamerguy said:

I say if theres no safety issues with it, open it

Perhaps there are safety issues with it.

The ride was in technical rehearsals or whatever they are calling it for a month before anything was said about a recalled part and from what i heard they got the parts and replaced them. So now back to rehearsals again wtf? The ride was supposed to open 4 months ago. This should be a lesson to all parks to never use an unproven company to install a launch system to save money. Premier designed the launch system but the park tried to save a buck by hiring the cheapest bidder. I guess they don't know the old saying you get what you pay for.

If there's a blocking issue, then one train operation may be the only safe way to operate.

Clearly the park is not being advised by the right people. You should give them a call and tell them to open it.

"Rehearsal" is a funny way to describe it.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not getting the feelings, and you're not projecting to the back of the theater. Can we move that set piece? The costumes are all wrong."

I said "step pause turn pause pivot step step," NOT "step pause turn pause pivot step PAUSE!"

Really, gamerguy, what's it to ya anyway? Are you standing there looking through the fence or something?
Did you buy a big flashy Senior Gold Pass just for the occasion and after two visits have yet to get a ride? Are you currently of the mind that there's not enough fried chicken to curb your disappointment? Like me?

Seriously, I'm very sure no one is more upset over the rough opening of this ride than the Dollywood folks themselves. You seem to know a lot about who's spending whatever money for whatever reason. But in any case, let's rest assured that they're doing their best to get everything up and running while at the same time keeping things safe for their guests and crew. Why wouldn't they?

There's a laundry list of rides that had delayed openings (sometimes an entire season... or more...) because they took a chance on a brand new concept or technology. And most of those rides are around today providing thrills to those that were willing to wait, knowing that someday it would all be worth it.

Patience, grasshopper.

Jason Hammond said:

If there's a blocking issue, then one train operation may be the only safe way to operate.

I'm thinking it is in operation with only one train because the other trains have not had their restraint mechanism updated, either because of not enough time to install the parts or not enough parts are available right now.

That too would be a good reason. The point is, there are valid reasons to have 1 train operation.

RCMAC said:

There's a laundry list of rides that had delayed openings (sometimes an entire season... or more...) because they took a chance on a brand new concept or technology. And most of those rides are around today providing thrills to those that were willing to wait, knowing that someday it would all be worth it.

Mr Freeze, and it's non-opening for an entire season, is the reason that I am the Coastertool that I am today. It was totally worth it, though, looking back. The 2 Mr Freeze rides are still around today, and even better than ever in "Reverse Blast" form.

Point being that Lightning Rod looks absolutely incredible and looks to be totally worth the wait. Then again, I don't live 45 minutes away from Lightning Rod, and I'm not checking the website weekly, as was the case with Mr F at the time.

Jason Hammond said:

The point is, there are valid reasons to have 1 train operation.

Just ask anyone who works for Six Flags.

Don't forget flying turns that had the 6 season delay...

On a side note, for some reason I'm able to post again!

Plenty of Intamins have extended downtime... I wouldn't think too much of it.