Thunder Eagle...any word on this SBNO woodie?

I read recently about a park getting a CoasterWorks design (forget which park right now). It piqued my curiosity as to the fate of their existing coaster in TN which stands idle. Has anyone heard if there's any attempts to buy this ride, or if it's for sale on one of the used ride sites I haven't checked? Just wondering, hate to see coasters sitting sadly idle waiting for people to thrill...
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Don't quote me on this, but I heard that the coaster is stil SBNO but the Go Kart tracks have reopened.
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I haven't heard anything about TE since it closed. As to wether or not the go-karts are open again, it wouldn't suprise me. This time of year Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge are ravenged by shopping people, & we used to ride over there while we were living in the mountains for the lights &, well to ride go-karts.

I did notice, on rcdb that Dollywood has sold thier mine train, which I remember being a good mine train, so maybe Dollywood's up to something? An SBNO down the road, though:(. The first year that ride was opened it was themed towards Dale Earnheart, and was called Exterminator(it was changed long before his death), they advertised on the radio for about a week, LOL, after that, I haven't heard of anyone riding it. It's a longshot, but maybe Dolly wants it?

I did notice, on rcdb that Dollywood has sold thier mine train, which I remember being a good mine train, so maybe Dollywood's up to something?

Actually, Dollywood sold their mine train in 1998 to make way for the Tennessee Tornado :). The mine train is opening at a park next year, Magic Springs and Crystal Falls as 'Big Bad John'. Interesting name eh?

Yup. I think Big Bad Bigkirby would have been a better choice ;)

I'll bet Thunder Eagle's second train is in mint condition ;)

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I heard from several People Who Should Know at IAAPA that the land that Thunder Eagle sits on has been sold to a developer, and they are preparing to remove the coaster. No word on what form that removal would take. Whenever possible I advocated for turning it into a wood coaster kit, but it's not my decision to make.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

C'mon Dave, after meeting you, I'm sure you could *convince* someone to take on the coaster. I "suggested" to the folks at Wild Adventures that they could get a bargain...figure if they liked their "reduced" CCI coaster, maybe they'd go for it. I hope the developer is smart enough to realize that thing is still worth some money (just don't set a ridiculous asking price like BGW did for DF - small wonder they didn't sell it, eh?)
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

I dunno, since, honestly, the ride was basically a dud.

-------------Tyler Eaves
Coastergames.net - File Downloads!
Coastercount.com - Free track record keeping!

Hey Tyler, do you have any idea how much Coastercount rocks? :)
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Buckeye Lake's coming back! :)
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
WoodenCoaster.com

:)

Thanks ;)

-------------Tyler Eaves
Coastergames.net - File Downloads!
Coastercount.com - Free track record keeping!

The entire park and parking lot was shut down with 'No Trespassing' signs when I was there in late Sept..
Just a minor correction for a post above, it was slated to be named Intimidator, but before it opened in 2000 was changed to Thunder Eagle.

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~ Exclusive RaceWorld and Thunder Eagle Pictures at COASTERnet.CoasterBuzz.com!

*** This post was edited by Blast Coaster on 12/2/2001. ***

Blast Coaster, the "Intimidator" name was based on an agreement with Dale Earnhardt and Nascar. My understanding is that Earnhardt was behind the idea, but that his *people* (lawyers) had some issue with it...

Oh, and Tyler, even if the ride wasn't ALL that, woodies are retracked/reprofiled all the time, seems like moving it would pose an excellent opportunity to make any improvements...seems to me BGT has only the twister-type layout of Gwazi, and IOA has NO wood. Can we please get some woodies down South...I mean, this is where the pine is GROWN...

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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Its a dang shame that park closed. TE was a pretty good ride. Very family friendly with a decent kick. The park lost a really good chance there to be bigger (not physically), but they needed to have better signage up to lead visitors to them, we drove past it 3 times before we found the entrance.

Trouble is, Gator, the people I was talking with were people who had been involved with the construction and operation, not people who might be able to save the thing. :(

--Dave Althoff, Jr.