Thunderhead (roller coaster)
Thunderhead | |
---|---|
Thunderhead's logo and two Golden Tickets for the Best Wooden Roller Coaster | |
Dollywood | |
Location | Dollywood |
Park section | Timber Canyon |
Coordinates | 35°47′48″N 83°31′55″W / 35.79667°N 83.53194°W |
Status | Operating |
Opening date | April 3, 2004 |
Cost | $7 million |
General statistics | |
Type | Wood |
Manufacturer | Great Coasters International |
Designer | Mike Boodley |
Track layout | Twister roller coaster |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 100.4 ft (30.6 m) |
Drop | 100 ft (30 m) |
Length | 3,230 ft (980 m) |
Speed | 53.7 mph (86.4 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Duration | 2:30 |
Max vertical angle | 60° |
Height restriction | 48–76 in (122–193 cm) |
Trains | 12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train. |
TimeSaver Pass available | |
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Thunderhead at RCDB |
Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the ride opened on April 3, 2004, as the anchor attraction of a new section added to the park that season called Thunderhead Gap. Thunderhead features 22 turns and 32 crossovers,[1] and utilizes GCI's Millennium Flyer trains, which have been used on all GCI coasters since 1999.
History
[edit]On June 26, 2003, Dollywood unveiled plans for a third coaster addition to the park called Thunderhead for the 2004 season, following Tennessee Tornado, which opened in 1999.[2] Thunderhead officially opened to the public on April 3, 2004.[3]
The ride was named after Thunderhead Mountain, a peak within the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park that was heavily logged during the early 19th century.[citation needed] Thunderhead is a slang term in the American South for Cumulonimbus clouds.[citation needed]
Ride experience
[edit]The train exits the station and turns right. From there, it makes its way through a left turn and climbs the 100.4-foot (30.6 m) chain lift hill. Upon reaching the top, the train drops 100 feet (30 m) to the right at 53.7 miles per hour (86.4 km/h). Riders go through a right-handed banked turn after the drop. This is followed by a left-handed curve. Next, the train approaches a right turn, heading towards an on-ride camera, which takes photos of the riders. After a 180-degree right turn, riders go through a fly-through station element while traveling 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The train makes a loud noise as it travels 8 feet (2.4 m) above the station. It then goes through a left-handed curve. A smaller airtime hill leads to a 270-degree helix. Riders then go through a right turn and a left turn before hitting the brakes. The train slowly turns 90 degrees to the right, passing by the transfer track. This is followed by a 180-degree left turn that leads back to the station, where riders exit the train.
Construction data
[edit]- 700,000 board feet of Southern Yellow Pine
- 3600 yards of concrete
- 250,000 bolts
- 2,000,000 screws
- 185,000 feet of steel rebar[4]
Rankings
[edit]Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking | 6[5] | 1[6] | 1[7] | 2[8] | 2[9] | 5[10] | 5[11] | 5[12] | 4[13] | 5[14] | 5[15] | 5[16] | 7[17] | 8[18] | 10[19] | 11[20] | 10[21] | 10[22] | 4[23] | 4[24] |
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster[25] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Gallery
[edit]- Thunderhead's second drop
- Thunderhead's first airtime hill
- Thunderhead's station fly-through
- Thunderhead's drop after its station fly-through
References
[edit]- ^ "Thunderhead (Dollywood) :: ThrillNetwork.com". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- ^ "New Wooden Coaster To Roll Into Dollywood For 2004 Season". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Thunderhead (Dollywood)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "Thunderhead (Dollywood) :: ThrillNetwork.com". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2023 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Amusement Today. 27 (6.2): 71–72. September 2023. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "2024 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2024. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Member Survey". napha.org.