Date Ridden : 5-28-2007 Times Ridden : Only 1 in the back row since the ride ops dont give you a choice....boo!!
This was the first of the tri-fecta of new steel coasters for 2007 I would be riding in a 1 month time period last year. In driving up to Pigeon Forge from my home in northwest GA, Julia and I encountered heavy holiday traffic. I really do not like going to Gatlinburg or PF but this would be my best change to get to Dollywood and its dynamic duo for the entire year unless I wanted to trek up there alone. We were about an hour late to the park and after a long trek through the parking lot (no trams for me!!!) we entered and headed straight to MM. I figured it would only get more crowded as the day progressed so I was going to get this ride in for certain. The line was backed up all the way outside of the queing area. However, it moved quickly and we were in the train after about a 45 minute wait. I was not happy that the ride ops placed us in a car and didnt allow us to choose our seat but oh well. No use in complaining about things that can't be controlled. Following our ride in the mine, our car stopped and we looked at each other at exactly the same moment. We were both let down immensely. Please dont get me wrong....I loved the ride and its heavy theming. The finale with the turn and dive maneuver was outstanding (much better than the move used by the former Manhattan Express in Vegas) but I guess there was so much publicity for this ride that it was impossible to meet the expectations. Dollywood has an exceptional ride with the vertical lifts, the indoor segments, and the outdoor intense moments. But in comparing this ride with its two competitors for 2007 new ride of the year (Maverick and Griffon) it is seriously lacking. As of now, its gets an 8 as a very good ride but not outstanding. Its probably in my top 75 (out of over 300), but not much higher than that.
Due to the indoor dark segments, an online video of this ride is not available.
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