Re: Firechaser Express | Dollywood | Gerstlauer Dual Launch
Hyde244 said:
Blazing Fury is a water ride, roller coaster, dark ride, and cure for cancer all wrapped into one.
Scratch out the water ride part. They removed the splash at some point between 2008 and 2012. I liked it a lot better with the splashdown when I rode it in '08 but when we went back in '12 it just fell into a large room full of nothing and braked. When I rode it again this summer I noticed that they had laser-like planes of light at about water level in the room so it looked like they were trying for the illusion of water without an actual splashdown...and I actually liked it better when there was nothing in the room.
It's a fun ride, but capacity was a nightmare when I rode it this year. I'll probably get gagged, bound, beaten, tied to a cinderblock and thrown in the river, pulled out, get beaten again, and get thrown back in the river for saying this, but I really think Dollywood needs to do something to update the ride system. The old-school campy special effects are great fun and the scene climbing up to the burning bridge is my favorite dark ride scene in existence, don't get me wrong, but the actual ride system lacks. The shaping on the drops is pretty painful (that first dip feels like it got pulled straight from a bad Arrow) and like I said before, capacity is awful.
The solution I've come up with is to get another manufacturer to redo the ride system completely; Zierer. Get them to put force coaster trains and hardware over the spot where the original tracks are and have them smooth out the drops a bit. And I was thinking that in that room where the splashdown was, maybe replace that final drop with a "grand finale" show scene where something explodes before engaging a small VD element. Keep two of the three drops and it keeps its status as a credit but you could add an extra block section or two this way and maybe put some better-looking trains on it (though I wouldn't mind seeing them just refit the wheel assemblies on those all-fiberglass trains it has now) and theme them like fire trucks.
In regards to the whole "firefighting-themed coaster next to firefighting-themed coaster", correct me if I'm wrong but aside from Tennessee Tornado, all that stands between BF and the FCE lot is that huge basketball game and a midway game or two. My thinking: move that basketball game to County Fair with the rest of the midway games and build a small playground themed to a firehouse there. The park seems to like building playgrounds to fit the theme of each area (that one over by Thunderhead and the one in Owens Farm next to Barnstormer really make the area feel complete) and I wouldn't mind seeing them give each area one. Last time I was there I spoke with some guests and a lot of them said they wanted to see the park more family-friendly, and if they had more of these playgrounds it might help that. If they build a "Smoky Mountain Fire Station" area that goes from a diagonal line drawn from Blazing Fury's plaza past Tennessee Tornado's to Wild Eagle that has Blazing Fury, Firechaser Express, and the firehouse-themed playground (seriously, I could totally see a nice play structure fitting in that spot) creating a nice family area.
A good way to avoid drawing such strange borders between areas would be making BF's queue partially outdoors and extending the beginning back around the building. The area out front looks nice and they could possibly have it wind around there and just turn it into queue and move the entrance out back with the rest of the fire-themed stuff. This would keep you from having to deal with such strange boundary lines and on bad days it'll keep them from having to use the indoor cattlepen unless they need to. Do the Zierer refurb I was talking about and it'll get the popularity to need it.
Again, I'll probably get shot for saying this, but they could also retheme Tennessee Tornado to just fit into the area and draw the line a bit further back. Theme it to one of those fire whirls and (not sure if it's such a good idea in the forest but they might put some fire cannons on it) paint the existing theming to look charred and it might fit. I think they should just keep it the way it is and move Blazing Fury's entrance back.
So I just went on a good rant about a crazy idea I had but it might not be as crazy as one might think. Kids love firefighters and a lot of kids want the job when they grow up, and it's the perfect theme for a family area. Not sure if they can work around the placement to make an entire area out of this theme, but it's definitely worth a shot and they should take it if they can.
BACK TO FIRECHASER EXPRESS:
Just something I want to throw out there, but that show scene before the backwards launch where that big firecracker blows up, I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm honestly expecting the launch room to be a wooden room with shelves of fireworks on either side and in the front, a television screen that shows the Big Bertha thing. Dollywood did this with Mystery Mine's second lift and while it's amazing when it's on, I went two days this year and rode it once each day, and it was only on one of those days. While Mystery Mine's can be off and the ride only looks a little stupid, Firechaser Express will look REALLY stupid if this isn't turned on. I really think there's no other convincing way they can have a giant firework explode in your face hundreds of times a day than a screen with an animation.
Sorry for the long post.
